Gizmorama
August 9, 2010
------------------------------------------------------------
The toughest little flashlight you'll ever buy for two bucks!
100,000 hour, super bright LED torch is perfect for camping,
travel or home emergency kits.
http://pd.gophercentral.com/u/14385/c/186/a/474
------------------------------------------------------------
Good Morning,
As we progress further into the 'green' generation, many
pioneers and ideas have come forth to tackle the challenge
of alternate energy sources. The first article describes
the demand for one company's soy-based fuel while the second
article talks about the coast of Hawaii being optimal for a
renewable ocean energy plant.
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
------------------------------------------------------------
Soy-based 'green' polyurethane demand up
GARDEN GROVE, Calif. - Demand for ecologically friendly
polyurethane made from soybean oil is on the increase as
consumers respond to its "green" credentials. Last year saw
an upsurge in controversies over the deployment of grain and
other food commodities in questionably "green" energy gener-
ation. After early warning shots were fired by environmen-
talist groups, support for converting food crop areas into
feedstock for energy dwindled a little. Significant areas
of land previously used for growing food crops has been con-
verted to feedstock crops in South and Central America and
Africa, though exact figures are hard to come by. Deltron,
Inc. is among companies looking into sustainability issues.
Deltron said its wholly owned manufacturing subsidiary,
Elasco Inc., had recorded an increase in sales of its newly
formulated "green" polyurethanes. Elasco engineered and
developed sustainable, energy efficient, proprietary poly-
urethane formulations made from renewable soybean oil. Orders
for its new soy-based polyurethane products have increased
this year, Deltron said. The company said it expected further
increases in its sales to existing clients and potential new
customers who are interested in reducing their carbon foot-
print and marketing their products as eco-friendly. Elasco
focused a percentage of its product development efforts on
formulating more eco-friendly offerings. The soy-based poly-
urethane resulted from that research. It matches the perfor-
mance of petroleum-based polyurethane while dramatically
decreasing its carbon footprint, Deltron said.
Hawaii is ideal for ocean energy plant
HONOLULU - Researchers in Hawaii say the islands may be an
ideal spot for future ocean-based energy plants using sea-
water to produce sustained amounts of renewable energy.
A technology called Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion uses
seawater to drive massive heat engines, an article in the
Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy says. In an
OTEC system, a heat engine is placed between warm water
from the ocean's surface and cold water pumped from the
deep ocean. Heat flowing from the warm water reservoir to
the cool one drives the heat engine to spin a turbine and
generate electricity, the article says. The technology is
almost 50 years old but cannot compete with the relatively
low cost of fossil fuel energy. An OTEC plant would be the
most cost-competitive in places on Earth where ocean temper-
ature differentials are the greatest -- which includes the
western sides of the Hawaiian Islands, a University of Hawaii
researcher says. An OTEC plant in this location could pro-
duce up to 15 percent more power than in other locations,
Gerard Nihous says. Such an improvement could help overcome
one of the biggest hurdles to bringing the technology to the
mainstream, he says. "Testing that was done in the 1980s
clearly demonstrates the feasibility of this technology,"
Nihous says. "Now it's just a matter of paying for it."
Thought-controlled prosthetic arm tested
LAUREL, Md. - A four-year program to create a thought-con-
trolled prosthetic arm has yielded a prototype with nearly
as much dexterity as a natural limb, U.S. researchers say.
Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics
Laboratory will test a Modular Prosthetic Limb system on
human subjects, using a brain-controlled interface,
ScienceDaily.com reported Wednesday. The MPL provides 22
degrees of motion, including independent movement of each
finger, and weighs about nine pounds, about the weight of a
natural limb. Providing nearly as much dexterity as a natural
limb, the MPL is designed to respond to a user's thoughts.
"We've developed the enabling technologies to create upper-
extremity prosthetics that are more natural in appearance and
use," APL's program manager Michael McLoughlin said. "Now ?
we are ready to test it with humans to demonstrate that the
system can be operated with a patient's thoughts and that it
can provide that patient with sensory feedback, restoring the
sensation of touch." "The results of this program will help
upper-limb amputees and spinal cord injury patients, as well
as others who have lost the ability to use their natural
limbs, to have as normal a life as possible despite severe
injuries or degenerative neurological disease," McLoughlin
said.
Tiny robot proves adept wall climber
SALT LAKE CITY - A robot that can climb like a human rock
climber may have many applications, its inventor says, but
he also admits it's a "really cool toy." Developed at the
University of Utah, ROCR -- as in "rocker" -- uses two
claws, a motor and a tail that swings like a clock's pen-
dulum to clamber up an 8-foot carpeted wall in a little
more than 15 seconds, like a human rock climber or an ape
swinging from branch to branch in trees, a university re-
lease said Wednesday. "While this robot eventually can be
used for inspection, maintenance and surveillance," devel-
oper William Provancher, an assistant professor of mechan-
ical engineering, says, "probably the greatest short-term
potential is as a teaching tool or as a really cool toy."
Most climbing robots "are intended for maintenance or in-
spection in environments such as the exteriors of buildings,
bridges or dams, storage tanks, nuclear facilities or re-
connaissance within buildings," Provancher says. But "there's
a lot more work to be done" before climbing robots are in
common use, he says. Compared to some large climbing robots
that can weigh in at hundreds of pounds, ROCR is small and
lightweight at 12.2 inches wide, 18 inches tall and weighing
only 1.2 pounds.
------------------------------------------------------------
Check out Viral Videos on the Net at EVTV1.com
http://www.evtv1.com/
EVTV1.com