Gizmorama
August 4, 2010
------------------------------------------------------------
Need a job? Visit Monster.com
http://www.evtv1.com/evtv1_newads.aspx?u=14722&c=370&a=100226
------------------------------------------------------------
Good Morning,
Talk of a hybrid airliner is one of the highlights of an
air show geared towards experimental aircrafts. Read all the
details on this exciting subject, including who is funding
the project, in the first article.
Until Next Time,
Erin
Questions? Comments? Email me at: mailto:gizmo@gophercentral.com
Email your comments
P.S. You can discuss this issue or any other topic in the new
Gizmorama forum. Check it out here...
http://gizmorama.gophercentral.com
------------------------------------------------------------
Air show examines hybrid airliners
OSH KOSH, Wis. - It might be possible to build a hybrid
electric/jet powered airliner in the not-so-distant future
if a NASA-funded research project flies. The hybrid airliner
was just one of the hot topics at the Experimental Aircraft
Association's annual AirVenture air show, which wrapped up
Sunday at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wis. The
plane would use traditional jet turbine engines for taking
off and climbing, and switch to electric for cruising, the
Chicago Tribune said Monday. Boeing is working on a concept
plane called the SUGAR Volt, using both electric and turbine
engines, and it could be as large as a 737, while weighing
far less and using two-thirds less energy, the paper reported.
On a smaller scale, designers are competing in the NASA-
sponsored Green Flight Challenge. At stake is a $1.5 million
prize for the first team to fly a personal aircraft that
uses electricity or fuel cells. The winning design must
average at least 100 mph, be able to cover a 200-mile dis-
tance, and achieve a passenger mpg equivalent of 200.
Mirrors for new orbiting telescope tested
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The mirrors for an ambitious new U.S.
space telescope are being put through their paces in a test
-- at hundreds of degrees below freezing, scientists say.
Six beryllium mirrors intended for the James Webb Space Tele-
scope to be launched in 2014, were subjected to a temperature
of minus 415 degrees Fahrenheit meant to bend them into the
perfect shape, SPACE.com reported Saturday. The ultra-cold
trial is being performed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight
Center in Huntsville, Ala. The tests will tell scientists
how well each mirror will handle changes in temperature over
a range of environments in space, NASA officials said. Once
in orbit, the telescope will begin scanning the universe in
the infrared spectrum to look farther back into the uni-
verse's history than ever before. Inside the orbiting obser-
vatory, the mirrors must be cooled to extremely low temp-
eratures to become sensitive to faint infrared light. The
mission is expected to cost about $5 billion.
Device can locate hidden, buried bodies
WASHINGTON - Researches say new technology could help law
enforcement find the grave site of a body buried by someone
who wanted it to stay undiscovered. Cadaver-sniffing dogs
or ground penetrating radar are traditionally used to detect
clandestine grave sites, but can be useless in some scena-
rios, such as when a body is buried beneath concrete, a
National Institute of Standards and Technology release said
Friday. A new method uses technology to sense minute levels
of difficult-to-detect chemical compounds from biochemical
changes in a decomposing cadaver, the NIST says. The device
uses a simple probe to detect the chemicals collecting in
air pockets above and close to grave soil, signaling the
presence of decaying flesh. The device can detect a body
buried under a concrete slab by merely by drilling a small
hole and inserting the probe, eliminating the need for un-
necessary digging, the NIST says. The device can sense the
presence of minute traces of chemicals up to 20 weeks after
a body is buried, researchers say.
U.S. researchers claim solar enegy advance
PALO ALTO, Calif. - Scientists say a new process utilizing
both the light and heat of solar radiation could double the
efficiency of electricity-generating solar panels. Stanford
University researchers say the technology, called "photon
enhanced thermionic emission," could lower the costs of solar
energy production to the point where it is competitive with
oil as an energy source, a university release said Monday.
Unlike current solar panels, which become less efficient as
temperatures, panels using the PETE process excel at higher
temperatures, the release said. "This is really a conceptual
breakthrough, a new energy conversion process, not just a
new material or a slightly different tweak," Stanford Pro-
fessor Nick Melosh said. "It is actually something funda-
mentally different about how you can harvest energy." Such
devices could be made with cheap and easily available mater-
ials, the release said. Melosh's team found that coating a
piece of semiconducting material with a thin layer of the
metal cesium produced a material able to use both light and
heat to generate electricity. "The PETE process could really
give the feasibility of solar power a big boost," Melosh
said. "Even if we don't achieve perfect efficiency, let's
say we give a 10 percent boost to the efficiency of solar
conversion, going from 20 percent efficiency to 30 percent;
that is still a 50 percent increase overall."
------------------------------------------------------------
Check out Viral Videos on the Net at EVTV1.com
http://www.evtv1.com/
EVTV1.com