• The Environment

    Three Bodacious Green Innovations

    By Posted on 12.16.2008 9 Comments

    Plug-N-Play Cars

    Zero to 60 mph in about nine seconds may sound sluggish, but it's a breakthrough for a zero-emissions, all-electric car that can travel up to 100 miles on a single charge and hit speeds of 85 mph. That's the claim of the i MiEV (for "Mitsubishi Innovative motor Electric Vehicle"), a new plug-in four-door coupe. The i MiEV runs on a pack of 22 lithium-ion batteries, but unlike other electric cars, including the Chevy Volt and Tesla Roadster, the i MiEV doesn't require a liquid cooling system to avoid overheating.

    12.17.2008 at 03:53pm - Comment by matthschul

    i dont understand why these big companies dont hook up with tesla. the tesla roadster gets 250miles to a full charge and it charges like a cell phone. 4 hours and bam its ready to go again. but its 100k sports car. hits 0-60 in 4 seconds and has a top speed of 120. Now personally i dont need all he speed and acceleration. If i could purchase a car that went 0-60 in 9 seconds and could get that mileage and i dont have to pay for gas. 40K sounds right to me. To bad the volt only gets 40 miles thats crap. They could add in a biodisel generator or something to increase the cars charge power or even as an emergency generator if you ran out of power. lets see what he future holds i guess

  • Cars

    Power Struggle

    By Seth Fletcher Posted on 10.29.2008 73 Comments

    The battery that will power the Chevrolet Volt weighs approximately 400 pounds and, stood on end, reaches a height of six feet. The $10,000-plus, T-shaped monolith contains 300 individual three-volt lithium-ion cells, bundled together in groups of three, then wired in series and kept from overheating by an elaborate liquid cooling mechanism.

    10.30.2008 at 12:52pm - Comment by matthschul

    let not forget about the tesla roadster. 250 miles to a full charge. they should have made an economy version rather than a sports car. but at 100k thats not bad. charges in the amount of time it takes your cell phone too.

  • Technology

    Developing Lasers for the Battlefield

    By Posted on 10.7.2008 16 Comments

    Laser weaponry is a hot topic lately (excuse the pun), especially for those who question the ethics of using them on the battlefield. In late September, the Senate approved a Defense Authorization Bill that would provide new funding for military laser weapons.

    10.8.2008 at 05:41pm - Comment by matthschul

    from what i have seen there is a air taser in development. it uses a laser to ionize a direct path to a target then sparks a charge that follows the ionized path was pretty cool to see.

  • Cars

    A Wearable Motorcycle

    By Annemarie Conte and Esther Haynes Posted on 9.24.2008 49 Comments

    The transportation program at the Art Center College of Design has produced legendary car designers, including BMW chief of design Chris Bangle and Henrik Fisker, the creator of the Fisker Karma electric supercar. But this year, after professor Bumsuk Lim’s inaugural motorcycle-design class, the buzz is all about bikes, especially Jake Loniak’s exoskeleton motorcycle concept Deus Ex Machina.

    8.19.2008 at 01:04pm - Comment by matthschul

    The concept is definately cool, im not sure about the full exposure to the road though. debry that can be kicked up by the tires lying in front of you could cause some serious bodily damage. And scubasteve, any motorcyclist hit by a redlight runner is toast...Just some small obstacles this concept has to overcome. Working with teslamotors im sure they could even up the speed and energy effiency of the bike. but hey I WANT 2 TOO!

  • Cars

    Toyota Winglet to Challenge the Segway

    By Posted on 8.13.2008 13 Comments

    Segway users, look behind your shoulder. Another “personal transport assistant” is waiting in the wings.

    8.14.2008 at 10:46am - Comment by matthschul

    Walking is probably the only form of exercise most of the world gets and its the most integral to keeping good health. This will only increase health problems amongst the lazy! hah if you all have seen WALLE that is the future we are slowly creating. Humans for millions of years walked everywhere, its in our genetic code that we are suppose to walk! otherwise we would have wings, fins, or some other evolutionary adaptation.



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