A View of the Universe

Droid apps

2010-06-17T11:03:00.000-05:00

Starting soon I'll be doing some posts about droid apps. We heard enough about the iphone apps from everywhere, but really who cares. You have to switch to ATT to get it. Droid is going everywhere. My wife just got one we can't wait to start checking out things on it.

SpaceX launch follow up

2010-06-04T23:07:00.000-05:00

It worked. There was talk that at the end it started to spin or something, then the feed cut off, but for the most part it worked great and has probably brought us into a new chapter in space exploration. I'm guessing less than 30 years before we are mining the moon and the asteroid belt for materials.

Here is a link to the launch for those that missed it. Hopefully CNN doesn't move it anytime soon.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/04/spacex.rocket.test/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

The cut off just after the second stage fires though.

Space X launch

2010-06-04T13:33:00.001-05:00

Watching the space X launch today, it was aborted earlier right before liftoff. They have now restarted the countdown. If NASA had been running this it would take a few days to figure out the problem and get another window. Since they aren't, it has been only an hour since the last attempt.

T - 12:00 minutes.

BP Oil

2010-05-30T22:28:00.000-05:00

I can't help but thinking that BP planned this whole thing to drive up oil prices once again. Yes, right now they aren't bad, but just wait, something else will happen and suddenly we'll have a short supply while demand is up (right, because almost 10% of the population is out of work and those that are still working are barely getting by). Not many people are going to go anywhere not knowing what the economy is going to do.

So they are still going to make a ton of money and spend a little to get it cleaned up. The feds are probably even going to help, which means spending even more of our money that doesn't help us out. Okay, so it would clean up the gulf, but this isn't the feds problem. BP caused this, they can fit the whole bill for it. Until the fed stops their spending more than they bring in, the economy is never going to recover.

GM to have fuel cell in produce by 2015

2010-03-18T15:30:00.000-05:00

General Motors Co. is testing a new hydrogen fuel cell system that is expected to be ready for production in 2015.

The system is half the size of the one used in the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell test vehicle. Additionally, it is 220 pounds lighter and uses about one-third less platinum, GM said.

“The smaller size allows you to package it in any number of vehicles, from a sedan to a crossover,” even compacts, said GM spokesman Alan Adler in an interview.

Countdown

2010-02-28T10:21:00.003-06:00

Kepler update

2010-01-29T11:06:00.000-06:00

This is a little late, the news came on January 4th that Kepler has found 5 planets orbiting other stars.

http://kepler.nasa.gov/news/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=16

From the press release:

NASA's Kepler space telescope, designed to find Earth-size planets in the habitable zone of sun-like stars, has discovered its first five new exoplanets, or planets beyond our solar system. Kepler's high sensitivity to both small and large planets enabled the discovery of the exoplanets, named Kepler 4b, 5b, 6b, 7b and 8b. The discoveries were announced Monday, Jan. 4, by the members of the Kepler science team during a news briefing at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington.
"These observations contribute to our understanding of how planetary systems form and evolve from the gas and dust disks that give rise to both the stars and their planets," said William Borucki of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. Borucki is the mission's science principal investigator. "The discoveries also show that our science instrument is working well. Indications are that Kepler will meet all its science goals."
Known as "hot Jupiters" because of their high masses and extreme temperatures, the new exoplanets range in size from similar to Neptune to larger than Jupiter. They have orbits ranging from 3.3 to 4.9 days. Estimated temperatures of the planets range from 2,200 to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter than molten lava and much too hot for life as we know it. All five of the exoplanets orbit stars hotter and larger than Earth's sun.

Fusion

2010-01-29T11:03:00.000-06:00

Everyday we are getting closer to fusion power. Today an article on MSNBC tells about a new experiment that they believe will finally achieve fusion. http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/01/28/2187974.aspx

Problem with this method is that how to capture and use the energy. It probably never will be able to, but it is a good method for learning about atoms and atomic physics. Farther down in the article it tells about 4 other methods that are being tested.

The most known what is ITER, http://www.iter.org/default.aspx. This method uses a big donut shaped device to produce plasma and shape it into a narrow band. This produces heat which heats water into steam and turns generators.

Another is the LDX at MIT. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35126008/ns/technology_and_science-science/
This is similar to the ITER project but defers in the way the plasma is shaped.

Another is the project run by Emc2 Fusion. http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/06/12/1136887.aspx
This to me sounds like another one for experimenting and not actual energy production.

One project that uses a combination of the first one and normal fission (found nuclear power plants), problem is the waste. https://lasers.llnl.gov/about/missions/energy_for_the_future/life/how_life_works.php

iPad

2010-01-29T10:41:00.000-06:00

While the iPhone is neat and you can do lots of things on it, I can't get past the price of it. It's a phone/PDA with too many strings attached. So unless your business is paying for it which I know a lot are (would be nice here too) the only other people that are buying into it are people that have to keep up with the crowd or are complete Apple freaks.

Now, as for the iPad (which is a bigger iTouch (which is an iPhone without the phone)) this is something those Apple freaks are just freaking out about. They think this is the coolest gadget in years and is going to change everything. Problem is that tablets have been around for years. Most major PC makers are on their 2nd or 3rd generation of them and with Windows 7 and multi-touch they are so much better. So Apple is a little late to the game.

And if history shows us anything, they will have problems with it when it first launches just like the iPhone. But of course they fix those fairly quickly. As with any software or hardware vendor, it is impossible to know what your customers are going to try with your product, so they put it out there and listen. I'll let the freaks and Jones get them first and deal with the problems.

When I first heard about it I thought, "Great, another hyped up product we don't need." But after hearing that they will have a $499 version with only WiFi and you don't need to switch cell carriers my wife and I thought this might be the thing for our oldest girl. The great thing about the iPad is that the OS is built with it in mind. PC versions adapt Windows to work on it and it just doesn't quite feel right. It will be interesting to see what happens when it goes on sale in 60 days.

787

2009-12-15T17:43:00.000-06:00

Here is a link to some video of the first flight of the 787. Make sure to take a look at the wings.

http://news.cnet.com/1606-2_3-50080963.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

Sunfire update

2009-12-15T15:09:00.000-06:00

The Sunfire was totaled. So much for that experiment. Now I am trying with the 2002. Currently it looks like I average about 17mpg. Not good, hopefully will get better though as I tweak it more and more and try to lay off the gas pedal.

787

2009-12-15T13:43:00.000-06:00

If you haven't heard yet, the Boeing 787 finally took off today away many delays. There is video on youtube but it isn't very good. Once better video comes out I will get a link to it. This plane has a chance to change the way we fly and the cost.

Sunfire

2009-11-19T15:03:00.000-06:00

So my mileage testing on the Sunfire might be over. The other morning it snowed and it spun into the cable barriers along the highway. Back end is messed up and it is now at the shop getting looked over to see what can be done with it. We've had the Sunfire just over 10 years and I wasn't really ready to let it go just yet.

Beautiful

2009-10-28T10:36:00.000-05:00

The launch is prefect and it was very nice looking. So far everything went as planned with separation of the main stage and second stage.

4 minutes and counting

2009-10-28T10:28:00.000-05:00

Launch set to go at 11:30 EST.

New launch time

2009-10-28T10:18:00.000-05:00

New time is now to launch at 11:30 EST. The window for today closes at 12 EST.

Weather delay for launch

2009-10-28T09:59:00.000-05:00

Currently the launch is delayed do to weather, count down will resume at 11:04 with launch at 11:08 EST. Still depending on weather. The main concern currently is because of the clouds in the area. The rocket can't launch into a cloud because of concerns over static electricity build up as it would pass through the clouds that could mess with the sensors on the test rocket.

New Update

2009-10-28T09:04:00.000-05:00

Time moved to 10 am CST, 11am EST. Weather permitting of course.

Latest on launch of Ares rocket

2009-10-28T08:31:00.000-05:00

The latest info is that it is scheduled to launch at 9:30 CST do to weather concerns, everything else is clear.

For live video go here http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

Ares test launch on for tomorrow

2009-10-26T15:51:00.001-05:00

The first test launch of the new Ares rocket is set for tomorrow morning at 8am EST. Should be pretty interesting to see how this thing goes. Apparently 40% of all new rockets fail on launch.

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/091026-ares-IX-launch-preview.html

More info at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/ares/flighttests/aresIx/index.html

Over 400

2009-10-22T08:39:00.001-05:00

(PLANETQUEST) -- European astronomers this week announced the discovery of 32 new worlds - including a handful of so-called "super Earths" - bringing the total exoplanet tally to over 400.
The latest batch of exoplanets was discovered by an international team of astronomers using the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS), the spectrograph for ESO's 3.6-metre telescope in La Silla, Chile. With more than 75 exoplanet discoveries to its credit, the instrument has become a powerful tool for planet hunters.
Perhaps even more exciting to scientists than the big numbers are the increasingly small planets being found. Several of the worlds recently discovered with HARPS are just a few times larger than Earth, marking progress toward the ultimate goal of detecting small, terrestrial planets. However, none of the planets announced last week are considered habitable.
Finding small, rocky planets that might resemble Earth is a key goal for NASA's Kepler spacecraft, which is currently scanning thousands of distant stars for signs of transiting exoplanets.

http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/news/exoplanets400.cfm

Mars trip simulation

2009-10-22T08:05:00.001-05:00

Starting next year the ESA will simulate a trip to Mars. They are currently looking for volunteers. While the simulation will take place here on earth they will be isolated from the rest of the world.

The crew will follow a programme designed to simulate a 250-day journey to Mars, a 30-day surface exploration phase and 240 days travelling back to Earth. For the ‘surface exploration’, half of the crew will move to the facility’s martian simulation module and the hatch to the rest of the facility will be closed.
Candidates should be aged 20-50, motivated, in good health and no taller than 185 cm. They should speak one of the working languages: English and Russian. Candidates must have a background and work experience in medicine, biology, life support systems engineering, computer engineering, electronic engineering or mechanical engineering.

http://www.physorg.com/news175252902.html

Saturn, the mini solar system

2009-10-17T19:20:00.002-05:00

It's been long known that Saturn and Jupiter have lots of moons. Both have rings, although Saturn's are obviously easier to see. Recently though it was found that Saturn also has its own asteroid belt, sort of.

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/newsreleases/newsrelease20091006/

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered an enormous ring around Saturn -- by far the largest of the giant planet's many rings.

The new belt lies at the far reaches of the Saturnian system, with an orbit tilted 27 degrees from the main ring plane. The bulk of its material starts about six million kilometers (3.7 million miles) away from the planet and extends outward roughly another 12 million kilometers (7.4 million miles). One of Saturn's farthest moons, Phoebe, circles within the newfound ring, and is likely the source of its material.

Saturn's newest halo is thick, too -- its vertical height is about 20 times the diameter of the planet. It would take about one billion Earths stacked together to fill the ring.

GM still working on fuel cells

2009-09-25T11:44:00.000-05:00

From http://wardsauto.com/ar/gm_fuel_cell_090924/

With all the trouble GM has had in the last year its good to know that they are looking to the future still. Their second generation fuel cell technology was unvailed yesterday to lawmakers in Washington. Why there? They are trying to get more funds to further their research.

And this isn't a bad thing in my opinion. If the US government really wants to get off fossil fuels and away from foreign sources of energy then this is the way to do it. GM claims this technology will be ready for the market by 2015. While the article doesn't say exactly how many miles the new vehicles get on a tank of fuel the common standard is 300 and that is basically what the last one got. So by making the new equipment cheaper and smaller it cuts the weight of the vehicle and the cost while giving the same performance.

Hydrogen as a fuel is still anywhere from $4 to $8 a gallon when compared with gas so it isn't cheap. But a recent news article says that in order to cut carbon emissions in the US that the government and other countries should stop subsidizing fossil fuels. If they did that gas prices would easily go back to the 2008 levels or above here in the US making hydrogen a good option. Now we just need a fueling infrastructure to support it.

More mileage testing

2009-09-11T14:59:00.000-05:00

My gas mileage experiment continues. I had to fill up this morning and amazing the Sunfire took more than it ever has, 13.1 gallons. Total miles was 332.2 for 25 miles per gallon this time. That was pretty much all city style driving. I did take I-35 for a short trip from 152 to the hospital exit just to see what RPM I would run at 65 and 70 mph. The RPM were over 2500 to 3000. Yet drop to 55 and RPM is only about 1800. Obviously this car was meant to run at 55 even though it is a 2000 model. I have come to the conclusion that car makers are screwing us on the gearing of their vehicles. I should be able to cruise along at 70 mph with the RPM at 1500. I know there are vehicles out there now with 7 speed automatics and what not, but they are usually mated to a gas guzzling V-8. Plus they don't do much for saving gas. It used to be that in a 4 speed, the 4th gear was an overdrive gear, usually about .87 ratio. Now, in this Mercedes 7 speed, gears 6 and 7 are over drive. One at .82 and the other at .73. I don't think that is good enough. To me I think they are holding back. Give us a .5 ratio final gear for cruising and it doesn't have to be a 8 or 9 speed gear box that they are talking about putting out now. I know, they put more accelerating gears in there so you don't use so much RPM when you floor it, the thing is you don't have too.

So how about this for a solution. A hybrid transmission. No not that type of hybrid with mechanical and electric motors, no I mean a conventional one mated with a CVT. CVTs are a great idea, I had the idea years before they actually came on market (although they were certainly already being developed). I usually have great ideas for something only to see it on the market a year later. Anyway, this transmission would have 3 or 4 accelerating gears so that high torque motors could use it too (currently a high torque motor will tear apart a CVT). The final "gear" would be a CVG (continuously variable gear) allowing for a range of cruising speeds at a certain RPM. I think this would be more beneficial than a 10 speed transmission.

*NOTE: I don't have a patent on this and don't plan getting one, there might already be one, but I haven't checked. I don't believe patents should be approved without a working prototype being created. An idea patent would be ok, but in a very limited time frame, say a year for them to build the prototype. I really dislike people that sit on patents waiting for someone else to build something and then suing the person that actually worked to bring the product to life.

What was it?

2009-09-11T14:16:00.001-05:00

I've been meaning to post this for a couple of weeks. On the night of August 21, 2009 we were camping at Clinton Lake in Kansas (near Lawrence), the night was unbelievably clear with no city lights ruining the view of the night sky. No moon was out, it wouldn't rise for sometime. The Milky Way was clearly visible stretching from one side of the sky to the other. I was looking for shooting stars even there wasn't a forecasted shower (that was the week before). While telling my family about the different stars and where they were and showing them different constellations I happened to glace toward the southwest sky when up above a bright single point of light got really bright then vanished. It lasted only a couple of seconds. The time was about 10:30pm. I have been trying to figure out what it was since then. I thought I had seen a star at that point earlier, but am not 100% on that. It could have been a meteor that would have been coming straight at us. But the way it acted was strange. While I watched it, it started small although very bright (it hadn't been there a few seconds before at that brightness) and grow in size and brightness until it disappeared. I did see 3 meteorites that evening and they were small short streaks in the sky. There was no plane in the area of the light and nothing moved from that point after the flash. My only guess and I am not sure on this is that it was a nova or super nova. Although I wonder if a pulsar would do the same? What ever it was, it was cool.

The coordinates that we were at when we saw it are as follows: Latitude 38°54'22.22"N Longitude 95°22'26.18"W

My main reason for posting this is for any one else that saw it and is searching for information on it.

Pic from Hubble

2009-09-09T14:59:00.000-05:00

A browser issue delayed this a little, apparently Firefox 3.5 doesn't like the new blog tools.

These images are some of the first from the newly refurbished Hubble Telescope. Truely unbelievable images of space.

This first image shows a gas cloud that is a birth place of new stars, the split image show on top the real light image and the bottom shows what is going on in the cloud. The star in the middle of the cloud with the white jets coming out of it is possibly a young planetary system forming.

This one they say is a star exploding, nick named the Butterfly nebula.

The image reveals a small region inside the massive globular cluster Omega Centauri, which boasts nearly 10 million stars. The red stars are the coolest of the stars, while the blue are the hottest.

These are a cluster of galaxies. The 3 golden ones are actually fairly close together and will probably all collide someday. The upper left one is no where near the others, it is actually closer to earth than the others hence the reason you can see more defined stars.

This image was one of the very first after maintenance, it is NGC 6217. The detail is amazing.

All images and info were obtained from nasa.gov.

Hubble Briefing

2009-09-09T10:34:00.000-05:00

Just an update, the Hubble Briefing is going on right now, you can see it at www.nasa.gov.

They showed the pictures already and are explaining them now. Once the pictures are posted I will get them up here.

New Hubble Images next week

2009-09-04T14:15:00.000-05:00

MEDIA ADVISORY : M09-166

NASA Briefings to Unveil Hubble's New Observations

WASHINGTON -- NASA will hold news briefings at 11 a.m. and noon EDT Wednesday, Sept. 9, to release and discuss the first images from the newly refurbished Hubble Space Telescope. NASA Television and the agency's Web site will provide live coverage of the briefings from NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission upgraded the telescope in May with state-of-the-art science instruments, leaving it more powerful than ever and extending its life into the next decade.

Charlie Bolden, NASA administrator and pilot of space shuttle Discovery on the STS-31 mission that launched Hubble in 1990, will join U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., in the unveiling of the Hubble images during the 11 a.m. briefing. A panel of scientists then will discuss Hubble's new and refurbished instruments and the images they produced.

The participants are:
-- Ed Weiler, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters
-- Bob O'Connell, chair of the science oversight committee for the Wide Field Camera 3 at the University of Virginia
-- James Green, the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph principal investigator at the University of Colorado
-- David Leckrone, senior project scientist for Hubble at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
-- Heidi Hammel, senior research scientist at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

The briefings will be held in the James E. Webb Memorial Auditorium, 300 E St. S.W., Washington. Reporters also may ask questions from participating NASA locations by phone. To reserve a phone line, journalists should send an e-mail to J.D. Harrington at j.d.harrington@nasa.gov with their name, media affiliation and telephone number.

The second briefing immediately follows at noon. The STS-125 astronauts will discuss how they enabled Hubble's new capabilities during their historic servicing mission.

Scott Altman commanded Atlantis' crew, which included Pilot Gregory C. Johnson and Mission Specialists Andrew Feustel, Michael Good, John Grunsfeld, Megan McArthur and Mike Massimino.

For more information about NASA TV downlinks and streaming video, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about Hubble, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/hubble

Wireless Power

2009-09-02T11:23:00.000-05:00

No, not power for wireless devices, but actual power without wires. Believe it or not a majority of energy around us everyday is wireless. We just can't harness it and use it to power our devices that need it. Sound, light and radio waves along with all the other frequencies of the energy spectrum are all energy in some form that we use in different ways. Being able to harness it so it can be more useful to us is the key.

A company called WiTricity has developed a way to transfer energy using magnetic fields and sending it from source to destination at a certain frequency wave. Their goal was to get more power to travel longer distances. With energy waves, the shorter the frequency the shorter the distance and speed it travels, hence the reason you see the lightning before the thunder, light waves move faster and you might see it but not hear anything if it is really far off.

WiTricity's goal is to have devices without power cables, a device would plug into the outlet and transmit the energy to the TV, Laptop, cell phones (mainly for charging) that has a receiver for the wireless energy which then converts the magnetic waves back to energy it can use. They claim that it will not add much to the cost of devices. One of the biggest advantages I could see is on laptops, both my wife and I have one and while mine can run for 11 hours in low energy mode, hers lasts less than an hour so if we take it outside or somewhere else in the house we have to unhook the power cord and plug it in where ever we are going to be. This would definitely be helpful.

WiTricity claims it is safe and that the magnetic waves are very similar to the earth's magnetic field. Of course the earth's magnetic field mainly emanates from the poles and at lower latitudes it really doesn't affect us. Magnetic fields is one of the possibilities that male fertility is dropping since all powered devices give off electro-magnetic fields. So hopefully they test this before releasing it on the public.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/09/02/wireless.electricity/index.html

Battery Tech

2009-08-25T09:24:00.003-05:00

http://www.egmcartech.com/2009/08/25/gm-owned-battery-start-up-developing-lithium-ions-with-double-the-energy-density/

Li-ion batteries already pack a lot of power into a small package when compared to regular alkaline batteries. They are smaller and lighter than the Ni-Ca and Ni-MH batteries (think old laptop and cell phone batteries). But they are a fairly young battery and practically still in their first generation. That is one reason they are so expensive and the reason the Chevy Volt will cost so much. The next generation Volt will cost less because cost of components will come down including the battery.

Now according to this article they will also be able to probably double the mileage that they can get out of a car with the same size battery. Or reduce the size of the battery pack in the vehicle and get the same mileage. Actually, because the weight would be reduced they would still get better mileage if they halved the size of the battery.

The main question is how long before we see this technology on the road. Since it is a GM owned company and the US government owns most of GM right now there are really 2 ways of thinking. Knowing how government organizations are run, it takes forever to get anything approved. MAGLEV anyone? On the other hand, GM does have some say in what it can do and has said the Volt will be a continually developed vehicle, if the batteries are ready we could see the new battery packs in the first generation Volt in its mid life face lift probably around 2014 or 2015.

Pay Attention

2009-08-25T08:27:00.002-05:00

Technology is good, it helps the human race advance as a civilization. But it needs to be used at the right place and the right time. I've never been a fan of texting, why not just call the person and talk to them. Of course I've never been a fan of calling people if I really don't have too. I guess I'm one of the few people out there that hasn't texted while driving. A recent survey of over 2000 people found that 53% of the people had texted while they were driving. I have almost been run off the run and run into a number of times by people not paying attention, either talking on the phone or texting and not watching where they were going. Maybe this video out of Britain will help convince them. Caution, very graphic

Stellarium

2009-08-13T19:24:00.002-05:00

Have you ever wanted a good astronomy application and didn't want to pay a lot of money?

Stellarium is what you want. Go to http://www.stellarium.org/ to download it. It is free and a great program. The other day when we were camping I was pretty sure the bright object in the sky to the south west was Jupiter, but wasn't for sure. Last night I checked it out on Stellarium and sure enough it is. I also couldn't find the little dipper or Polaris (the North star). I know 2 of the stars in the big dipper pointed to it, but wasn't sure which ones. With Stellarium I found that it was the 2 stars on the end of the dipper that point north to Polaris which is part of the little dipper. But because of the light of the city, it is hard to see.

It might run slow on a low end system, so it might not be for everyone. But just so you know, it does run on Windows 7.

Kepler ready to go

2009-08-13T19:08:00.003-05:00

After being launched in March of this year the kepler space telescope is ready to find worlds. Recently it under went some tests to see if it could detect exo-planets (planets orbiting other stars). It passed its test by finding a planet that orbits its host star every few day. Yes, it was an already know planet, but kepler was able to find it and because of the precise data and clearer view that it has in space it was able to tell that it has an atmosphere.

The graph above shows when the planet passes in front of the star and how we would see it in phases as it did so if we could actually see it. But kepler is only going to detect and find the planets, another telescope to launched in a couple of years will hopefully get the first real pictures of an exo-planet. Keplers mission is to find earth sized planets in the parent star's habitable zone.

The current count on the number of exo-planets is 357. Most being huge gas gaints even larger than Jupiter.

Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/news/kepler-discovery.html

New engine design

2009-08-13T18:58:00.003-05:00

Source: http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle.ASpx?AR=242332

Ilmor Engineering has developed an innovative 130bhp, 700cc, three-cylinder, five-stroke petrol engine that develops the fuel economy of a diesel engine without any of the emissions shortcomings.

The engineering firm, which has a long history working in motorsport and which was previously part-owned by Mercedes when it prepared its F1 engines, has developed the radical road car engine to showcase its engineering ability.

This is one engine that has promise. The company says that this is just the beginning and that they will improve on the concept cutting the weight of the engine and increasing HP possibly to 150. For a 3 cylinder that is great.

I still find it interesting that all these new technologies for the internal combustion engine are popping up all over the place, yet for the last 100 years the engine had pretty much remained the same. It was only recently (little over 10 years ago) that Porsche managed to get 100bhp per cylinder, now a lot of people have that.

Mileage results

2009-08-11T22:27:00.003-05:00

With this latest tank of gas I was able to pull off 329 miles. This is in the Sunfire of course, the BMW would never be able to do that (I don't think). All of it was city driving conditions. I made sure I was easy on the throttle all the time, barely touching it most of the time. The sad thing is that I could still out accelerate a lot of people. I'm not sure on the exact mpg since I only put 6.5 gallons back in it since gas prices are high right now and they should drop a little more by the weekend. But I think it was around 26mpg. That doesn't sound great but this is on a 10 year old car and with a coil pack that is going bad (has been for years).

With this small tank of gas I am going to start using the neutral coasting down the hills. This drops the RPMs to about 700 rather than 1500 with it in drive. I've tried the shutting off of the car at stop lights before and that is taking it a little to far. I also don't agree with the people that run the stop signs to keep from having to stop. I'm thinking the coasting should get me at least another .5 to 1 mile per gallon.

New tire tech

2009-08-06T10:16:00.002-05:00

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10304634-54.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

Manufacturing tires from a renewable plant source could be less expensive to produce than tires using carbon black which is made from oil, or silica which takes a lot of energy to produce.

But aside from the manufacturing benefits, the researchers found that the cellulosic rubber tires had better traction on wet surfaces and less effected by heat compared to conventional tires.

"Early tests indicate that such products would have comparable traction on cold or wet pavement, be just as strong, and provide even higher fuel efficiency than traditional tires in hot weather," according to a report from Kaichang Li, associate professor of wood science and engineering in the OSU College of Forestry, and Wen Bai, a doctoral student who collaborated on the project.

This is promising. But I have heard other tire technologies that they have been working on for a long time and nothing came of them. Really until there is a reason to change, they won't change.

New Duramax diesel for GM

2009-08-01T23:02:00.003-05:00

This one comes from Wardsauto.com

Although the program is “on the shelf,” General Motors Co. Vice Chairman Tom Stephens says the auto maker’s Duramax 4.5L V-8 turbodiesel is ready when needed.

“The program is essentially complete and could be implemented whenever we choose to do that,” GM’s vice chairman-product development tells Ward’s in a phone interview.

The Duramax diesel was expected in GM’s ’10 light-duty fullsize pickup trucks, the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, and possibly future cross/utility and SUVs.

But the auto maker’s misfortunes, culminating in a June 1 bankruptcy filing, caused it to cancel the mill’s spring introduction. Another hurdle is declining gas prices, making fuel-saving diesels less alluring for many consumers.

Developed over nearly four years and due to be built at GM’s Tonawanda, NY, plant, the engine’s design defies conventional diesel technology with reverse flow of air and exhaust gases entering and exiting the cylinder heads.

Exhaust gases exit toward the center of the engine directly into the turbocharger, which is located in the “V” between the heads. Placing the forced induction system between the cylinder banks is a cutting-edge design that saves weight and space and improves performance and emissions.

Very interesting that it runs reverse what any normal engine does. Maybe they should try some gasoline turbo charged V-6s like that along with the laser ignition and all the other new tech coming along.

Lasers instead of sparks

2009-08-01T22:55:00.004-05:00

This is a couple of weeks old, but still relevant. From Telegraph.co.uk

Scientists at Liverpool University and engineers at car giants Ford have developed a new ignition system which uses focused beams of laser light to ignite the fuel.

The researchers claim the technology is more reliable and efficient than current spark plug technology and will enable cars to start more easily in cold and damp conditions.

In the new system the spark plug is replaced by a laser powered by the car battery which is sent along thin optical fibres into the engine's cylinders where lenses focus the beam into an intense pinprick of light.

When fuel is injected into the engine, the laser is fired, producing enough heat to ignite the fuel and power the engine.

The researchers claim that the laser, which will need to fire more than 50 times per second to produce 3000 RPM, will require less power than traditional spark plugs.

Some of the laser can be reflected back from inside the cylinder to provide information for the car on the type of fuel being used and the level of ignition, allowing the car to adjust the quantities of air and fuel automatically to optimise the performance.

There is no telling when we could see this in production but it does have promise. With the advantages of using a laser and be able to do multiple beams and precise targeting for a combustion camber it could definitely improve power and economy in the standard gas engine.

Super Lotus

2009-07-14T15:52:00.002-05:00

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/236575/lotuss_reborn_esprit_gets_v10_power.html

Report from AutoExpress.co.uk

A legendary Lotus is returning – it’s the new Esprit! The dust has only just settled on the stunning Evora, but already the Norfolk firm is setting its sights even higher. And our exclusive pictures show how the reborn supercar will take shape.

The entry-level Esprit will be equipped with a tuned version of the Evora’s 3.5-litre V6, producing around 300bhp, while a mid-range model gets the 414bhp 5.0-litre V8 from the Lexus IS F. But taking the new Lotus into the big league will be the earth-shattering 550bhp 4.8-litre V10 from the upcoming LF-A supercar.

Mated to a six-speed semi-automatic paddleshift transmission, this unit should provide the Esprit with performance to match some of the fastest cars on the planet.

A 0-60mph sprint time of less than four seconds is expected, and judging by pre-production testing of the LF-A (see Issue 1,066), the car is likely to hit a top speed in excess of 200mph.

Nice looking car and a promise to be fast. Probably expensive too. While I'm sure I would never be able to have one I can't wait to see one in person someday.

Nissan Introduces Dual Injectors

2009-07-14T15:38:00.003-05:00

http://www.egmcartech.com/2009/07/14/nissan-introduces-new-dual-injector-system-for-increased-fuel-efficiency/

Nissan announced today that they have developed a dual-injector system to increase fuel-efficiency on its small-displacement gasoline engines.

“The new fuel delivery system, the first of its kind in the world, uses an injector for each port rather than one per cylinder - speeding up fuel vaporization, reducing the amount of unburned fuel and reducing hydrocarbon emissions, Nissan said in a statement.

Amazing the advances automotive engineers have been able to come up with in the last couple of years since they have been really pushed finally to stop building the same old junk they had for so long. You have to wonder what the internal combustion engine has coming for us next.

Open source car?

2009-07-14T12:57:00.004-05:00

http://wardsauto.com/ar/riversimple_urban_london_0907010/

Former British racecar driver Hugo Spowers unveils the 2-seat fuel cell-powered Riversimple Urban Car in London, which will see 10 prototypes built by the end of 2010 and 50 more by the end of 2011.

Beginning in 2013, the vehicle will be available for a jaw-dropping 20-year lease at a cost of £200 ($315) per month, which includes fuel, Spowers says.

The major investor in the Riversimple car is Sebastian Piech, great-grandson of Porsche AG founder Ferdinand Porsche and nephew of Volkswagen AG supervisory board chairman Ferdinand Piech.

Nine years in development, the Riversimple car weighs a mere 772 lbs. (350 kg), and developers claim it achieves a fuel economy of 300 mpg (0.78 L/100 km), emitting just 30 g/km of carbon dioxide.

“We believe we are closer to market with a commercially viable fuel-cell car than anyone else,” Spowers says.

The FCV's simple design, which eschews gearbox, drive shaft and heavy power-assist braking and steering, enables it to run on the minuscule 6 kW fuel-cell stack. In comparison, larger FCVs from major auto makers typically have at least 100 kW fuel cells.

Spowers forecasts production of 5,000-10,000 units of the FCV annually. He also promises the company will provide free, “open-source plans” on the Internet for downloading in order for entrepreneurs to develop their own variations of the vehicle.

Other manufacturers also will be able to source parts locally, with the only stipulation being any improvements must be shared, so the entire network of builders can benefit.

Unfortunately the top speed is only 50 mph, but since it is open source I'm sure others will quickly get that up to highway speeds. This may be the vehicle to change the future of motoring, we'll just have to wait and see.

Lightning Car Company

2009-07-03T13:08:00.004-05:00

http://www.egmcartech.com/2009/07/03/lightning-car-company-plans-three-additional-electric-models/

The creators of the Lightning GT electric-sports cars are planning three additional models, reports AuotCar. The Lightning GT is scheduled to go into production early next year with a starting price-tag of around £120,000 ($196,014 USD).

The 700 horsepower Lightning GT EV is capable of traveling 250 miles with only 10 minutes of charging. 0 to 60 mph comes in just 4 seconds with a top speed of 130 mph.

That's quite an advanced system it has if it can charge for 10 minutes and then drive 250 miles. And a 700hp electric motor, that is impressive. Can't wait for more specs on it and when it will actually be available. Unfortunately it sounds like they are a high end automaker only and normal people will not be able to get one of these.

NHTSA considering amber turn signal mandate

2009-07-03T10:50:00.001-05:00

While many cars sold in North America feature red turn signal indicators built into their rear light clusters, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that the amber signals installed in some cars can be more than 5 percent more effective at preventing wrecks than their red counterparts, which the agency says blend too much with brake lights.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/nhtsa-considering-amber-turn-signal-mandate.html

I bet if people actually used their turn signals it would be even more effective in preventing the wrecks. Every little bit helps though.

New prototype engine

2009-07-03T09:58:00.002-05:00

http://wardsauto.com/home/scuderi_engine_fired_090701/

Key to the powerplant is the split-cycle design, which separates the intake and combustion processes into separate cylinders. Air compressed in the first cylinder (at a 100:1 ratio) is transferred via a crossover passage to the combustion cylinder, where fuel is indirectly injected by twin injectors.

It takes just one crankshaft revolution to complete a single combustion cycle, rather than the two revolutions required by conventional engines. Scuderi says it is possible to get 140 hp from a 1L displacement, using its design.

This sounds like a very promising new engine although it doesn't say what kind of mileage it gets. It could be like a rotory engine that is 1.3L but gets the mileage of a 3.6L. Hopefully that is not the case since it does cut the emission levels. And 140HP from a 1L engine, WOW! Now if they could just get it to run off hydrogen.

Autos

2009-06-06T11:26:00.003-05:00

So another of my interests is automotive news. I check out about 15 different auto news web sites each day to keep up on what is happening in the automotive world. One of the things that I like most about the information that I read on those sites is the new technology that they are putting in cars, whether it be hybrid technology or Hydrogen ICE or fuel cells. I actually wrote 2 different papers on both hybrid technology and the Hydrogen economy in college. The one on hybrids was about series electric hybrid technology, basically the type of system in the Chevy Volt. A series electric hybrid still has a gas engine, but it is only used as a generator for the batteries and the electric motor. Locomotives have been running this type of system for years and in another year the public will finally have a chance to use it.

But it isn't just the Chevy Volt anymore that will be using this technology. independent automakers are springing up to fill the high mileage car void since most of the large automakers are still to afraid of big oil to really come out with anything ground breaking. Not to mention hybrids are still niche vehicles and they can charge more for them. Yes, I know, the new Insight is cheap, both in price and quality, have you read Jeremy Clarkson's review on it?

As for hydrogen, gasoline prices have to get back to over $4 a gallon for hydrogen to be even close to competitive. And the oil companies realized after last years gas price hikes that they did the world economy wasn't ready for it. They are the ones that crashed the whole system. If it wasn't for them, the fragile housing market and the bad banking practices would have gone on like normal.