'Grimsel' electric racing car breaks world record

The record journey from the car driver's perspective. Credit: AMZ Racing The 'grimsel' electric racing car today broke the previous world record for acceleration in electric cars. The vehicle accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in 1.79 seconds in under 30 metres. The new record was set by students from ETH Zurich and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, who also designed and built the

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Law of physics governs airplane 'evolution': Constructal law explains progression of passenger jets, sets guidelines for future aircraft

This graph shows how -- as the years have passed -- bigger and bigger airplanes have joined the ranks of their behemoth brothers. Credit: Adrian Bejan Researchers believe they now know why the supersonic trans-Atlantic Concorde aircraft went the way of the dodo -- it hit an evolutionary cul-de-sac. In a new study, Adrian Bejan, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at

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Seeking reality in the future of aeronautical simulation

This CFD visualization required a NASA supercomputer to handle the intensive calculations. It shows a mesh adaptation used to simulate a transport aircraft in a high-lift configuration. Credit: NASA / Elizabeth Lee-Rausch, Michael Park The right tool for the job. It's a platitude that is as true for garage tinkerers as it is for the NASA aeronautical innovators who are helping to design futur

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Aircraft wings that change their shape in flight can help to protect the environment

Aircraft wings that change their shape in flight can help to protect the environment. Simulation of a flex module. Credit: © Fraunhofer IFAM A top priority for any airline is to conserve as much fuel as possible -- and this helps to protect the environment. The EU project SARISTU aims to reduce kerosene consumption by six percent, and integrating flexible landing devices into aircraft wings i

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Wave energy integration costs should compare favorably to other energy sources

The Ocean Sentinel has been deployed off the Oregon Coast, one of the nation's first wave energy testing devices. Credit: Pat Kight, Oregon Sea Grant A new analysis suggests that large-scale wave energy systems developed in the Pacific Northwest should be comparatively steady, dependable and able to be integrated into the overall energy grid at lower costs than some other forms of alternative

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What's in the grime tarnishing the Taj Mahal?

Taj Mahal Every several years, workers apply a clay mask to India's iconic but yellowing Taj Mahal to remove layers of grime and reveal the white marble underneath. Now scientists are getting to the bottom of what kinds of pollutants are discoloring one of the world's celebrated wonders. Their findings, published in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology, could help inform eff

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Mode of action of protein channelrhodopsin-2 decoded: Findings facilitate manufacture of optogenetic tools

The pore of the ion channel is opened by removing the amino acid E90. Water molecules enter and tilt Helix H2, thus opening the continuous channel. Credit: © RUB, graphics: Eisenhauer Researchers have shed light upon the mode of action of the light-controlled channelrhodopsin-2 with high spatiotemporal resolution. This biomolecule is used in optogenetic applications, which is deployed to cont

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Better dam planning strategies

This is a map showing combined effect of current and future dams. Credit: McGill University When dams are built they have an impact not only on the flow of water in the river, but also on the people who live downstream and on the surrounding ecosystems. By placing data from close to 6,500 existing large dams on a highly precise map of the world's rivers, an international team led by McGill Un

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'Iron Sun' is not a rock band, but a key to how stars transmit energy

Physicist Jim Bailey of Sandia National Laboratories observes a wire array that will heat foam to roughly 4 million degrees until it emits a burst of X-rays that heats a foil target to the interior conditions of the sun. Credit: Photo by Randy Montoya, Sandia National Laboratories Working at temperatures matching the interior of the sun, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories' Z machine

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Internet addicts often suffer from additional disorders

Chatting via WhatsApp rather than meeting friends in real life, sharing holiday photos on Facebook rather than showing them in person, playing video games rather than going out. Digital media play an important role in our everyday lives. However, some people spend an excessive amount of time online, and they are unable to break free. Credit: Image courtesy of Ruhr-Universitaet-Bochum Internet

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Scientists twist radio beams to send data: Transmissions reach speeds of 32 gigibits per second

Graphic showing the intensity of the radio beams after twisting. Credit: Courtesy of Alan Willner / USC Viterbi Building on previous research that twisted light to send data at unheard-of speeds, scientists at USC have developed a similar technique with radiowaves, reaching high speeds without some of the hassles that can go with optical systems. The researchers, led by electrical enginee

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A smart fluorescent antenna for Wi-Fi applications

A charged argon gas in the fluorescent lamp emits Wi-Fi signals. Credit: Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA A new invention uses ionized gas in fluorescent light tubes to transmit Internet wireless frequency signals throughout a building with the aid of already existing electrical wiring. Due to continuously evolving applications, the electronic communications indu

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World's first ZigBee-based inter-satellite comms system

This image depicts VELOX-I before and after deployment and a picosatellite. Credit: Shuanglong Xie, Guo Xiong Lee, Kay-Soon Low, Erry Gunawan, 2014 Engineers at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have successfully piloted the world's first ZigBee-based inter-satellite communication system. The team at the Satellite Research Centre launched the VELOX-I, which consists of a

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A new wireless energy transfer device can charge any device without using cables

Researchers have designed a new device for wireless energy transfer that will charge mobile phones or laptops without the need for wires. Credit: UPV Researchers at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) have designed a new device for wireless energy transfer that will, for example, charge mobile phones or laptops without needing wires. The system, patented by the UPV, is based on

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Sensors that improve rail transport safety

Cloud-supported sensor network for the condition-based maintenance of rail vehicles. Credit: © Fraunhofer IZM A new kind of human-machine communication is to make it possible to detect damage to rail vehicles before it's too late and service trains only when they need it -- all thanks to a cloud-supported, wireless network of sensors. A train running on damaged wheels could easily be headin

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Li-fi protocol allows use of the Internet at the speed of light

Sisoft Company in Mexico has developed a technology that can illuminate a large work space, an auditorium or an office, while providing full mobile internet to every device that comes into the range of the light spectrum. Credit: SISOFT Sisoft Company in Mexico has developed a technology that can illuminate a large work space, an auditorium or an office, while providing full mobile internet t

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