Technology

Shuttle Lands Safely

- Adam Clare 1 Comment

NASA has recorded another successful shuttle landing. CNN is reporting that the Discovery Space Shuttle has landed. The last time a shuttle re-entered Earth’s atmosphere it was vaporized as a result of an accident.

After reviewing what went wrong with the Columbia shuttle NASA introduced new safety standards. Clearly they have worked. This successful landing means that we have not seen the end (and perhaps a resurgence) of human space travel. NASA has announced that the next shuttle launch will be in September.

$100 for a Laptop

- Adam Clare

MIT is currently wanting to give a modern voice box to those living in countries where technology is luxury. MIT has a question and answer page set up, and it will probably answer all your questions.

It Speaks to ALL of You!

- Adam Clare

New Scientist is reporting that a computer program can learn languages. Feed the program text and it will analyze from a mathematical standpoint and be able to form sentences in the learnt languages. Are closer to a device from Star Trek known as the Universal Translator?

Hydristor: Believe the Hype?

- Adam Clare 1 Comment

Inventor Thomas Kasmer has made a neat little device called the Hydristor, which, according to him, has the potential to change the world.

The Hydristor belongs in your car, it basically replaces the transmission. In all transmissions energy is lost, a automatic car has worse mileage than a manual car because an automatic transmission consumes more power. What makes the Hydristor more efficent is how it transfers the power to the drive train and how it absorbs power from braking forces that can later be used to power the vehicle.

The heavier the vehicle the more power the Hydristor can get from braking. As a result the feul efficency of all vehicals can improve, espically heavier vehicles like SUVs.

“In theory, it should work. The biggest advantage of his system is that it’s very small and compact. I don’t think I’ve seen a variable transmission as small and as simple as this.” This quote is from a good article on the Hydristor at PressConnects.com

Aluminum Amperage

- Adam Clare

The CBC Radio show Quirks & Quarks has an excellent podcast on using aluminum to power mobile electronic devices (mp3 link).

“Instead of pumping gasoline, for example, you get a shoe-box of aluminum powder…”

More detail can be found in the podcast or on the Quirks & Quarks archive page.

In related battery news, Panasonic has created a new technology called Oxyride that is supposed to be just as big as the use of alkaline in batteries. The new batteries are supposed to have 1.5 times the life of an alkaline battery and cost the same as a regular set of batteries according to BetaNews.

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