Bits & Pieces – A blog by Kannan Balasubramanian
I myself have been searching for long how bicycles balance at normal speeds and found a standard answer which is explained in the following link. But it seems there is something to it.
Check out http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/April11/bicycle.html
An heading which says “Solar power without solar cells: A hidden magnetic effect of light could make it possible”. A discovery has been made at University of Michigan, the magnetic effect which previously was ignored due to weak magnetic field can now be made strong 100 millions times. This could lead to a new kind of solar cell without semiconductors and without absorption to produce charge separation.
The following are some of the excerpts.
Light has electric and magnetic components. Until now, scientists thought the
effects of the magnetic field were so weak that they could be ignored. What Rand
and his colleagues found is that at the right intensity, when light is traveling
through a material that does not conduct electricity, the light field can
generate magnetic effects that are 100 million times stronger than previously
expected. Under these circumstances, the magnetic effects develop strength
equivalent to a strong electric effect.
“This could lead to a new kind of solar cell without
semiconductors and without absorption to produce charge separation,” Rand said.
“In solar cells, the light goes into a material, gets absorbed and creates heat.
Here, we expect to have a very low heat load. Instead of the light being
absorbed, energy is stored in the magnetic moment. Intense magnetization can be
induced by intense light and then it is ultimately capable of providing a
capacitive power source.”
Read more at http://ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=8368
Designer Park Hyun Jin has created a concept laptop which can fold.
An excerpt from the source
The LIFEBOOK X2 concept takes a different approach to portability. It’s not only thin, but also folds into quarters which leads to some interesting features. Open the LIFEBOOK X2 halfway and you have sort of an ultra widescreen palm top. Unfold it completely and you have one full size notebook. This denotes a seam running right across the LCD which is enough for me to dismiss it but the idea is intriguing. What’s say you?
Some pictures from the designer..
Souce: http://www.yankodesign.com/2011/04/12/folded-notebook/
In any manufacturing unit, still humans are required to do some of the taks which autonomous robots can’t do. Now ABB has come up with a robot “FRIDA” which might take the place of humans.
Following is an exerpt from ABB site
An ABB concept robot for industrial dual-arm assembly applications
To meet the agile production scenarios frequently found in the consumer electronics industry and increasingly in other market sectors, the proposed concept includes a flexible gripper, camera-based part location plus all the features that are well known from ABB’s state-of-the-art robot controller, the IRC5. In addition, the robot is compact and intended to fit into spaces ergonomically designed for human workers. This allows the robot to be easily interchanged with a human coworker when the production order is changed or a new layout is required.The robot prototypes come as portable dual-arm units with a controller that is integrated into the torso. They can be carried around easily and mounted into work stations with minimum installation requirements. Due to the intrinsic safety of the proposed robot solution, the requirements for performing a safety assessment of the installation are minimized. Normally, no safeguarding or enclosing of any kind is required, which allows for very fast installation, commissioning and relocation. Key technology features:
- Harmless robotic coworker for industrial assembly
- Human-like arms and body with integrated IRC5 controller
- Complements human labor with scalable automation
- Padded dual arms ensure safe productivity and flexibility
- Lightweight and easy to mount for fast deployment
- Agile motion based on industry-leading ABB robot technology
Today, the development is at a stage where several prototypes have left the research lab and are being tested in pilot applications, with more work required to reach a fully agile assembly scenario. Substantial parts of the remaining research work are being done in the FP7 project ROSETTA.
Source: http://www.abb.com/cawp/abbzh254/8657F5E05EDE6AC5C1257861002C8ED2.aspx
Windows 8 the next iteration of Windows has app stores !
According to Akihabara News, Fujitsu and Docomo will release this year the F-07c a tablet like 4” WSVGA device running on Intel Atom and with 32GB of SSD that will comes runs on dual Boot both Windows 7 and Symbian OS
Audi has been one of my favourite brands. Today I came to know that it has added E-Tron to it’s A3 stable a hatchback.
The A3 e-tron packs an electric motor under the hood which sends power from the rear- and mid-mounted battery packs to the front wheels. Output is rated at 100 kW (just over 130 horsepower) and 199 pound-feet of torque, with the 26.5 kWh lithium-ion batteries providing a range of around 90 miles. The electric A3’s performance figures to be far from enthralling, requiring 11 seconds to hit 60 mph and topping out at just 90 mph, but with a 400-volt rapid charger, getting juiced up can take as little as four hours – or as long as nine with a standard 110-volt outlet.Other modifications include a new gauge cluster, a low consumption HVAC system and a heated windshield, but when the A3 e-tron is set to hit the market is still up in the air. The R8-based flaghip will supposedly go on sale sometime in 2013, but if Audi wants to get in on the EV action sooner – much like BMW is doing with its ActiveE 1 Series – the A3 could be a worthy stop-gap until in the interim.
