topic
archives - science and technology: for previously archived news article pages,
visit the news archive page (click on the button to the left) I-2006:04151730
| II-2006 :0425
| III-2006:0204060709111620242528
“Although they are far from ready to be deployed as marine pollution
fighters or mine detectors, Grasso's robotic lobsters have demonstrated
that the concept is valid and worthy of further investment of research
funding and effort. His first robot, called RoboLobster, successfully
tracked plumes from more than 32 feet in laboratory conditions, where
the flow of the turbulence and plumes could be controlled." [Quoted
from http://www.ehponline.org/members/]
“[...] nature has done all the work and figured out that the
lobster's design is perfect for operating in heavy surf. The lobster
is able to maneuver inside the surf zone where the water is very rough,"
she said. "We want to know, How does it do that and keep from being
knocked around?" [Quoted from abcnews.go.com]
“The detail in this case - was weight. BMC weighed the SLT (55cm)
frame in at 1260 grams (2.74 lbs). And while the Phonak boys were equipped
to bring the bike in at UCI minimums by using various ultra-light parts,
the rest of the bike- buying public was apparently more vocal about
wanting a frame that could be part of an even lighter bike. "Make
it lighter!" was the cry heard at BMC hq in Grenchen Switzerland.
“BMC says the new SLC01 frame weighs in at 960 grams (2.11 lbs),
and that, my non-conversion savvy friends, is almost 2/3 of a pound
lighter (that’s 10 whole fat ounces!) than the SLT01.”
—
“ [...] the 51cm test bike at 16.8 pounds with Shimano pedals
and 2 cages. Price: $3650 US - frame/ fork/ headset”
The vital importance of ounces Pushing 10 ounces for 100 miles is like pushing
1000 ounces for 1 mile! That’s 62.5 lbs, more that half a hundredweight,
or over 28 kgs. [28.35 grams =1 ounce]
“However, through a complex series of HPLC studies of the red
feathers in 44 species of parrots (of more than 350 total species, 80%
of which have red plumage), McGraw and co-researcher Mary Nogare found
a unique set of five molecules responsible for the red coloring in the
feathers, called polyneal lipochromes, or psittacofulvins. The extraction
of these tightly bound pigments in the feathers was non-trivial and
was mostly responsible for McGraw's successful discoveries”
—
“ An independent study cited by McGraw suggests that the red pigments
in parrots can act as anti-oxidants to quench free radicals and potentially
protect cells and tissues within the parrots from oxidative damage-it
can make them healthy. So the next logical question posed by McGraw
was how the coloring in birds acted on their social behavior. Is the
coloring just a function of the bird's health or can it be used as a
sexual trait? In this study, McGraw looked at the relationship of coloring
in barn swallows.”
—
“[...] experimentally altered their mates' appearance to make
his feathers more colorful," says McGraw in a recently published
study for Science. This was the first time that female birds were found
to make mating decisions based on the changing qualities of their mate.”
A concept car, but the company, Loremo, actually seem
to intend to build it. The car is half the weight of a conventional car.
Light-weight concept car from Loremo. Image credit:Loremo
Loremo LS
Loremo GT
Engine
2-cylinder turbodiesel
3-cylinder turbodiesel
Output
15 kW / 20 HP
36 kW / 50 HP
Max. speed
160 km/h
220 km/h
Acceleration
20 sec. (0-100km/h)
9 sec. (0-100km/h)
Transmission
5-gear manual transmission
Drive
midship/rear wheel drive
Consumption
1.5 ltr / 100 km
189 miles / imp.gal
158 miles / US gal
2.7 ltr / 100 km
105 miles / imp.gal
88 miles / US gal
Fuel range
1,300 km (20-ltr-tank)
800 km (20-ltr-tank)
Weight
450 kg
470 kg
Drag
Cw=0,20; Cw×A=0,22 m²
Seats
2+2
Dimensions
384cm x 136cm x 110cm (l x w x h)
384cm x 136cm x 110cm (l x w x h)
Price
< 11,000 Euro
< 15,000 Euro
safety
“Its great crumple zone and its stiff passenger cell make Loremo
more than safe.
“Loremo's linear cell structure meets all static requirements
to crash safety and driving dynamics. This structure weighs only 95
kg and consists of only few sheets metal parts and can thus be produced
at very low cost.”
Video
showing a 50 km/h collision with a static barrier having a 40 % overlap.
The dashboard is deformed by approximately 150 mm only.
“It is difficult, indeed dangerous, to underestimate the huge
changes this revolution will bring or the power of developing technologies
to build and destroy - not just companies but whole countries.”
“Most tellingly, the company spent $400m on MySpace.com, the
social networking phenomenon that has proved hugely popular with 35m
regular users on both sides of the Atlantic. Mr Murdoch has undergone
a Damascene conversion, admitting he hugely underestimated the power
of the web. He said last night: "It is a creative, destructive
technology that is still in its infancy, yet breaking and remaking everything
in its path. We are all on a journey, not just the privileged few, and
technology will take us to a destination that is defined by the limits
of our creativity, our confidence and our courage." ”
BigDog robot carrying four backpacks.Image credit: Boston
Dynamics
Designed in conjunction with US army requirements.
“So far, BigDog has trotted at 3.3 mph, climbed a 35 degree slope
and carried a 120 lb load. Gasoline engine driven, hydraulic actuation.”
Be aware the linked page above is company puff.
“The project is sponsored by the US Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency (DARPA), who want the robotic pack mule to assist
soldiers in terrain too tough for vehicles. Ground-based soldiers
often need to carry 40 kilograms of equipment.
“Raibert says the latest version of BigDog can handle slopes
of 35° – a steeper gradient than one in two. The hydraulics
are driven by a two-stroke single-cylinder petrol engine, and it can
carry over 40 kg, about 30% of its bodyweight. The robot can follow
a simple path on its own, or can be remotely controlled.” [Quoted
from newscientist.com]
Two uses for roll-up solar panel. Image credit:
brunton.com
Forget battery chargers, forget using the lighter plug,
forget accumulators, generators and heavy batteries. Use the sun, then
roll up your solar panel for easy transport and storage.
Flexible Solar Panels
Amorphous solar cells for effective low-light performance
Reverse flow protection
Tefzel® fluoropolymer construction for extreme durability
Waterproof
UV transparent
Link multiple like-units together for even more
output
Rolls and stores in convenient storage tube
Includes vehicle outlet cable & multi-linking cable
One-year warranty
SolarRoll 14 MSRP: $399
* 12"x57" open
* 17 oz
* Max output: 14 watts (15.4 Volts / 900 mA)
*for running satellite phones and charging laptops
SolarRoll 9 MSRP: $279
* 12"x40" open
* 10.6 oz
* Max output: 9 watts (15.4 Volts / 600 mA)
* for running cell phones and charging digital and video cameras
SolarRoll 4.5 MSRP: $169
* 12"x22" open
* 6.4 oz
* Max output: 4.5 watts (15.4 Volts / 300 mA)
* for charging small electronics like cell phones and PDA’s
The new Nikon Coolpix P4 camera has a 8 megapixels image sensor and includes
advanced anti-vibration technology:
“VR Normal compensates for the minor movements that can happen
all too easily during handheld shooting, while VR Active compensates
for more pronounced movements – so you can even achieve rock-steady
results while shooting from a moving vehicle, for example. Allowing
photographers to shoot without blurring in lower light and keeping subjects
clear during pan shooting, [...]”
This
page from Nikon, which leads to further pages of examples, shows before
and after using the vibration reduction setting. [It may take longer than
usual to download.]
The P4 camera has a large number of shooting modes. It comes with a useless
23MB SD storage card, so there will be an additional cost of buying a
512Mb or larger card.
The P3 version, for $50 more, includes wifi connection
capability. I am not sure why you want to pay $50 for that, and amazon.com
seems already to have knocked $50 off the pre-release price. Yer pays
yer money....
The VR technology first appeared in the much more
expensive 8800 model, where it does not look like the technology had been
fully developed.
The response of the 8800 SLR version of the anti-vibration
technology is reported as being a little too sluggish for me to enthuse
upon the larger outlay of approximately $900 for the 8800. However, reports
are that it takes damn fine pictures.
Nikon claim that the technology is equivalent to shooting
at three stops faster, thus much improved pictures can be expected in
low light, at motion scenes, telescoping and macros, and if granny has
a bit of hand tremble.
I have a P4 on order to test out, so this report will
be updated in a few weeks. The technology sounds as if it is very useful
and interesting.
Nikon P4 camera, from amazon.com, USA$399.95,
to be be released on April 20, 2006.
Nikon P3 camera, from amazon.com, USA$399.95,
to be be released on April 20, 2006.
Nikon P8800 camera, from amazon.com, USA$899.99.
Nikon P4 camera, from amazon.co.uk, UK£329.99,
available “within 1 to 2 weeks”.
Nikon P8800 camera, from amazon.co.uk, UK: used.
SkyScout star identifier. Image credit: celestron.com
“The SkyScout is a revolutionary handheld device that uses advanced
GPS technology [and compass] with point and click convenience to instantly
identify thousands of stars, planets, constellations and more.
“Identify
Simply point the SkyScout at any star in the sky and click the "target"
button.
The SkyScout will instantly tell you what object you are looking at.
“Locate
To locate a star or planet, select the object's name from the menu and
follow the directional arrows through the viewfinder.
SkyScout tells you when you are on target.”
—
“[...] optional “Sky Tour” audio presentations that
provide hours of entertainment on a variety of topics”
“Celestial Database
6000 Stars, 1,500 Double & Variable Stars, all 88 constellations,
over 100 deep space objects including Galaxies, Nebulae & Star Clusters,
extra space for custom user objects, over 200 audio descriptions of
the most popular celestial objects”
From amazon.com $399.99,
to be officially released on May 29, 2006.
Red spots on Jupiter. Image credit: Christopher
Go
This growing red spot on Jupiter, officially called “Oval BA”
[Red Junior], was photographed by an amateur astronomer. Like the much
bigger Great Red Spot, Oval BA is a whirling storm, created in 1997 to
2000 as three smaller storms progressively merged. This is also thought
to be the way the Great Red Spot appeared over three centuries ago.
Storm spots on Jupiter merging to make one larger
spot, Oval BA. Image credit: NASA Hubble.
16 Jul. 1998 DE merged with BC to form BE.
14 Oct 1999 FA closes up on BE.
By 2 Sept 2000, FA merged with BE to become BA.
The new storm spot appeared between 1997 to 2000. To begin with, it was
white but recently it has started changing colour, now being a very similar
red hue as its larger neighbour.
“Why red?
“Curiously, no one knows precisely why the Great Red Spot itself
is red. A favorite idea is that the storm dredges material from deep
beneath Jupiter's cloudtops and lifts it to high altitudes where solar
ultraviolet radiation--via some unknown chemical reaction—produces
the familiar brick color.
“ "The Great Red Spot is the most powerful storm on Jupiter,
indeed, in the whole solar system," says Orton [an astronomer at
JPL who specialised in studies of planetaryy storms]. The top of the
storm rises 8 km above surrounding clouds. "It takes a powerful
storm to lift material so high," he adds.”
“This new Hubble image reveals the gigantic Pinwheel galaxy,
one of the best known examples of “grand design spirals”,
and its supergiant star-forming regions in unprecedented detail. The
image is the largest and most detailed photo of a spiral galaxy ever
released.”
This new face-on image of the pinwheel galaxy is a 51-image composite.
Some data on this galaxy:
distance from Earth: 25 million light-years
in the Ursa Major constellation
diameter: 170,000 million light years - twice that of the Milky Way,
our local galaxy
contains about a trillion stars
of which, 100 billion are like our sun - similar heat radiation and
lifespan.
Remember, our star, the Sun, is 8 light-minutes away.
Step by step, the present DNA records will allow ever
more people to be identified without ever giving sample DNA.
“Jobling picked men from the UK's 47-million-strong electoral
register. He says there are about 39,000 surnames shared by 42% of British
people for which male name-holders have a 20% chance of being directly
related through common ancestry.
“A database could be set up with the Y chromosome profiles for
all 39,000 names, says John Wetton from the UK's Forensic Science Service.
"Then evidence from a crime scene may point to a surname and give
police a vital bit of intelligence - a one in five chance," he
says.”
“Astronomers first spotted Xena, known more formally as UB 313,
in 2003, but the discovery was not made public until July 2005. By then
they realised it was amazingly distant - at times, about three times
as far from the Sun as Pluto is. ”
—
“The amount of millimetre radiation suggested Xena is about 3000
kilometres wide - 30% wider than Pluto.”
