Chinese physicists developed the theoretical basis of a new technology that would allow to transform objects from one into another. The appearance of an optical illusion is based on the use of metamaterials, the properties of which depend on the structure, but not on the chemical composition. The materials bend light rays. For example, the metamaterials with the negative refraction in optical frequencies can make an object behind the materials or near them invisible.
Round-the-world balloooning pioneer Bertrand Piccard unveiled his solar-powered aircraft in Switzerland on Friday, ready for another trend-setting circumnavigation of the globe powered solely by the sun.
The wasp-shaped prototype of Solar Impulse, with the wingspan of a jumbo jet, was rolled out before some 800 guests at an airfield near Zurich after six years of development.
Ten years after Piccard and Briton Brian Jones achieved the first non-stop flight around the globe in the Orbiter balloon, the Solar Impulse team are aiming to demonstrate that reliance on renewable energy is not a pipedream.
AORA, a leading Israeli solar energy technology company, launched world’s first hybrid solar thermal power station at Kibbutz Samar in southern Israel.
This marked the first time that concentrating solar power (CSP) stations can provide environmentally-friendly power 24 hours a day, according to AORA’s CEO, Haim Fried.
AORA’s “Power Flower” station, named due to its unique yellow tulip design, consists of a field of 30 tracking mirrors (heliostats) situated on half an acre of land.
Each of the station’s 30 heliostats tracks the sun and reflects its rays towards the top of a 30 meter-high tower housing a special solar receiver along with a 100 kilowatt gas turbine.
The XR3 Hybrid is a super-fuel-efficient two-passenger plug-in hybrid that achieves 125 mpg on diesel power alone, 225 mpg on combined diesel and electric power, and performance like a conventional automobile. The design of the XR3 Hybrid focuses on existing technologies and a vehicle “personality” that makes conserving energy a fun driving experience.
Iran’s decision to block access to Facebook — less than three weeks before nationwide elections — drew sharp criticism Sunday from a reformist opposition hoping to mobilize the youth vote and unseat President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The decision, critics said, forces Iranians to rely on state-run media and other government sources ahead of the June 12 election.
It also appeared to be a direct strike at the youth vote that could pose challenges to Ahmadinejad’s re-election bid.
“Five-dimensional” discs with a capacity 10,000 times greater than current DVDs could be on the market within 10 years, researchers reported on Wednesday.
A team from Swinburne University of Technology in Australia said that by harnessing nanoparticles and a “polarization” dimension to existing technology, storage can be massively boosted without changing the size of a current disc.
The researchers, who have signed a deal with Samsung Electronics, said the technique had allowed them to store 1.6 terabytes of data on a disc with the potential to one day store up to 10 terabytes.
The L1 prototype is a single seat, aerodynamic, teardrop-shaped 4 wheel mini-car, reminiscent of Bubble cars of yesteryear with a high-tech one-liter diesel engine (6.3kW or 8.5bhp), highway speed of around 120kph (75mph) and gets the holy-grail fuel consumption figure of less than 1 liter of gas for 100kms of travel (0.99liters per 100kms to be exact, around 258mpg). It had a super low drag coefficient of 0.16, no mirrors (using rear facing cameras instead and an internal display) and had an extremely low weight of 290kgs (638lbs) through the extensive use of magnesium, titanium and high-strength aluminum. With its 6.5liter (1.7 gallon) fuel tank, it has a 646km (404 mile) range.
The transportation industry has become a major issue that needs to be addressed with regards to the abundant of vehicles that we have on our roads all contributing greenhouse cas emissions. Gasoline based automobiles are a major contributor to global warming, actually the second largest contribute. As society becomes more aware and more willing to change and adapt we begin to see new types of vehicles that are more efficient, run on new types of different cleaner fuels.
Cars have become an important feature of the modern technological age. In truth, man could not have achieved as much if not for these vehicles that provide us with fast, easy, convenient, and comfortable transportation. It is magical, this whizzing back and forth across towns and cities, and even cross-country on a box with wheels. More time has been saved for productive activities than when we were still using the horse and cart system of transportation.