Car to Car Communication !

Recent technology would allow cars to talk each other,helping to prevent accidents and make better traffic flow that is about to get a real world road test following new which is funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Most of high technology cars already produced with sensors capable of spotting a vehicle in a driver's blind spot, or warning that the car is drifting out of lane,but these technologies, which use radar, laser, or video sensors are limited. Car to car communications could provide more well-rounded earlier warnings, for example, when a car several vehicles ahead brakes suddenly.



Last days, the DOT awarded $14.9 million to the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute to test the technology, known as vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to defense system communication. The system to be tested relies on dedicated short-range radio communication to allow cars to signal one another and take messages from traffic equipment.

The DOT estimates that 80% accidents could be prevented by this technology. "This is the next big security progress, one that is comparable with safety belts, airbags and electronic stability control," said Scott Belcher, President and CEO of Intelligent Transportation Society of America, a nonprofit established to promote advanced vehicle technologies.

The technology will be tested in a lot of situations, it will warn driver when it is unsafe to pass, and if someone is approaching an intersection with a speed could cause an accident. Each car comes with a radio that its speed and direction, as determined GPS, signals are fitted to other vehicles. It will also send this information to suitably equipped traffic equipment.

The University of Michigan is partnering with eight automakers, a number of which began working collaboratively to develop a uniform platform for implementing the technology in 1995. These carmakers will provide 64 cars equipped with the radios, while an additional group of ordinary cars will be fit with devices so they can transmit signals, making up a total of nearly 3,000 vehicles. Drivers will be recruited from among the 20,000 employees of the university's medical center.

Peter Sweatman, director of the Transportation Research Institute, says Ann Arbor is an ideal test environment because it is a concentrated area with only three main roads out of town, making it likely that the cars are equipped regularly meet. The driving portion will run for one year, and data are collected and may be used to decide from the DOT National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, until 2013, when the technology has enough advantages to be approved. This should be approved, the technology would be updated from more than 10 years, says Sweatman

technologyreview.com

What is Induction Coking?

Induction cooking is not a new invention; it has been widely used all around the world. With recent improvements in technology and the reduction of component costs, induction cooking equipment is now more affodable than ever. The design provides an opportunity to understand how an induction cooker works and make an in-depth examination of various blocks and parts of this type of cooking application such as the driving topology, how the resonant tank works, how the pot gets hot and how to remove it safely from the cooking element. The design is entirely controlled by PWM signals.

Power Electronics

What is Power Electronics?

Power electronics is the application of solid-state electronics for the control and conversion of electrical power.

Introduction:

Power electronics converters can be found wherever there is a need to modify a form of electrical energy (i.e. change its voltage, current or frequency). The power range of these converters is from some milliwatts (as in a mobile phone) to hundreds of megawatts (e.g. in a HVDC transmission system). With "classical" electronics, electrical currents and voltage are used to carry information, whereas with power electronics, they carry power. Thus, the main metric of power electronics becomes the efficiency.



The first very high power electronic devices were mercury arc valves. In modern systems the conversion is performed with semiconductor switching devices such as diodes, thyristors and transistors(IGBT). In contrast to electronic systems concerned with transmission and processing of signals and data, in power electronics substantial amounts of electrical energy are processed. An AC/DC converter (rectifier) is the most typical power electronics device found in many consumer electronic devices, e.g. television sets, personal computers, battery chargers, etc. The power range is typically from tens of watts to several hundred watts. In industry the most common application is the variable speed drive (VSD) that is used to control an induction motor. The power range of VSDs start from a few hundred watts and end at tens of megawatts.

The power conversion systems can be classified according to the type of the input and output power:

AC to DC (rectifier)
DC to AC (inverter)
DC to DC (DC to DC converter)
AC to AC (AC to AC converter)

Switching:

As efficiency is at a premium in a power electronic converter, the losses that a power electronic device generates should be as low as possible. The instantaneous dissipated power of a device is equal to the product of the voltage across the device and the current through it (P=V\times I). From this, one can see that the losses of a power device are at a minimum when the voltage across it is zero (the device is in the On-State) or when no current flows through it (Off-State). Therefore, a power electronic converter is built around one (or more) device operating in switching mode (either On or Off). With such a structure, the energy is transferred from the input of the converter to its output by bursts.


Applications:

Power electronic systems are found in virtually every electronic device. For example:

DC/DC converters are used in most mobile devices (mobile phones, PDA etc.) to maintain the voltage at a fixed value whatever the voltage level of the battery is. These converters are also used for electronic isolation and power factor correction.

AC/DC converters (rectifiers) are used every time an electronic device is connected to the mains (computer, television etc.). These may simply change AC to DC or can also change the voltage level as part of their operation.

AC/AC converters are used to change either the voltage level or the frequency (international power adapters, light dimmer). In power distribution networks AC/AC converters may be used to exchange power between utility frequency 50 Hz and 60 Hz power grids.

DC/AC converters (inverters) are used primarily in UPS or emergency lighting systems. When mains power is available, it will charge the DC battery. If the mains fails, an inverter will be used to produce AC electricity at mains voltage from the DC battery.

drlohar.com
wikipedia.org

Applications of Resonance Circuit

Until now, the theory of resonance appears to be a useless curiosity, or at most a distirbance to be avoided (especially if series resonance makes for a short-circuit across AC voltage source!). However, this is not the situation. Resonance is a very importanat property of reactive AC circuits which are used in a variety of applications.

One of field of Resonance is to establish a condition of stable frequency in circuits designed to create AC signals. Generaly, a parallel (tank) circuit is used for this aim, with the capacitor and inductor directly connected together, exchanging energy between each other. Just as a pendulum can be used to stabilize the frequency of a clock mechanism's oscillations, so can a tank circuit be used to stabilize the electrical frequency of an AC oscillator circuit. As we said before, the frequency is set by the tank circuit is only dependent upon the values of L and C, and not on the values of voltage or current present in the oscillations:

Resonant circuit works as stable frequency source.

Another way for using resonance is in applications where the effects greatly increased or decreased impedance at a particular frequency is desired. A resonant circuit can be used to “block” (present high impedance toward) a frequency or levels of frequencies, thus acting as a type of frequency “filter” to strain certain frequencies out of a mix of others. In fact, these particular circuits are called filters, and their design constitutes a discipline of study all by itself: (Figure below)

Resonant circuit serves as filter.

Normally, this is how analog radio receiver tuner circuits work to filter, or select, one station frequency out of the mix of different radio station frequency signals intercepted by the antenna.

REVIEW:

• Resonance can be employed to maintain AC circuit oscillations at a constant frequency, just as a pendulum can be used to maintain constant oscillation speed in a timekeeping mechanism.
• Resonance can be exploited for its impedance properties: either dramatically increasing or decreasing impedance for certain frequencies. Circuits designed to screen certain frequencies out of a mix of different frequencies are called filters.

allaboutcircuits.com

Engineering Fun Facts

1.The word engineering is derived from the Latin word ingeniere which means ingenious.

2.The Newgrange chamber tomb is one of the oldest and most impressive engineering structures in Irish history. It was built in 3200 BC - 600 years before the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.

3.In 1833, William Dargan from County Carlow constructed the first railway from Dublin to Dun Laoghaire
4.In 1884, John Joly from Holywood House, Bracknagh, Co. Offaly invented the first practical system of colour photography.



5.In 1893, the first Ferris Wheel was built by engineer George W. Ferris



6.In 1906, Alice Perry was the first woman in the world to graduate with a degree in engineering. She received her qualifications from Queens College, Galway (now N.U.I. Galway).


7.In 1907, Louis Brennan of Castlebar, Co. Mayo designed Ireland’s first monorail.


8.In 1909, Harry Ferguson made the first powered aeroplane flight in Ireland, travelling 130yards (118.5 m) at Hillsborough in a monoplane that he designed and built himself.


9.In 1944, James Martin of Co. Down invented the aircraft ejector seat.


10.On 3rd December 1992, Neil Papworth, a British engineer, sent the first successful text message to his colleagues at Vodafone; it said: “Merry Christmas”


11.Three major engineering inventions were created in Birr, Co. Offaly

World's largest telescope,Steam turbine,World's first steam turbine powered ship

12.Croke Park is the 4th largest stadium in the world


13.Peter Rice from Dundalk Co. Louth was one of the engineers who oversaw the construction and design of the Sydney Opera House - one of the world’s finest engineering structures.


Source:step.ie (thanks)

Solar-Powered LED flashlight

LEDs have been known to save a lot of power compared to standard incandescent lamps. Here's an LED flashlight, which is their source of light from 5 LED's and the best is, it is solar powered.

Put this solar-powered flashlight under the sun for 6-8 hours, you return with 3-4 hours of super bright lights of the white LEDs. This flashlight can claim to give you 100,000 hours life, simply because it can gain energy from the sun and store in its internal battery. It is unlike ordinary flashlights that from the life of the battery. And it saves you a lot of money to buy batteries, which have increased the price almost every year.



The Solar LED Flashlight is made of a durable aluminum alloy, rust-is water resistant and assured reliability in your time of need made. It is an ideal companion for those who like adventurous outdoor activities. Make sure to get it exposed sunlights during the day, so that it can be very useful during emergencies at or night.

Engineering Wonders of Today and Tomorrow

Dubai’s World Islands

(images via: Homes Dubai and Ursi Paltenstein)

Following on the successful completion of other offshore artificial island communities like the Palm Islands, Dubai’s World Islands was intended to be even more ambitious, not to mention larger. Imagine owning a private island in the shape of a country or continent, surrounded by the warm waters of the Persian Gulf – and your equally “worldly” neighbors?

(images via: ESA and Amazing Dubai Islands)

While Dubai’s vision of a 300-island floating world may someday come to fruition, things aren’t so rosy at the moment thanks to the ongoing world economic crisis. As of late summer 2009 only a single island has been developed and it belongs to Dubai’s ruling Sheik; “the rest looks like a pile of muck” according to a local realtor. With property prices crashing by 50 to 75 percent, many of Dubai’s spectacular construction projects have been put on indefinite hold if not canceled outright.

Bering Strait Bridge

(images via: Mr. James and William Bacon)

A bridge across the Bering Strait connecting Russia and Alaska? No, this is not a repeat from 11,000BC. OFF Architecture won the 2nd Prize in the Professional Category at the 2009 Bering Strait Project competition (yes, there is such a thing) with their grandiose and green bridge-tunnel combo. The design would greatly reduce circulation between the Arctic and North Pacific Oceans, thus cooling the former and mitigating the effects of global warming. Or so they say.

(image via: Inhabitat)

The 53-mile wide Bering Strait is surprisingly shallow – it was a natural land bridge back in Ice Age times – so OFF Architecture’s design would reach from just above the water’s surface down to the ocean floor 100 to 150 feet below. Such a design would necessitate circular “pass throughs” for migrating marine mammals and whales. The thought of a whale having a panic attack inside one of the tunnels gives a whole new meaning to “Thar she blows!!”

Large Hadron Collider

(images via: BBC, Discover Magazine and Device Daily)

The Large Hadron Collider, or LHC being built by CERN is without question the largest and most complex machine ever constructed by Man. It has to be – the universe doesn’t give up its deepest secrets very easily. The LHC is the world’s largest refrigerator, requiring 10,080 tons of liquid nitrogen and nearly 60 tons of liquid helium to bring the temperature of the collider’s huge electromagnets down to -271.3°C (1.9 Kelvin). Want more? The interior of the LHC’s ring tunnel is the emptiest place in the entire solar system – the machine’s particle beams will travel through an ultra-high vacuum with ten times less pressure than you’ll find on the Moon.

(images via: Sun HPC)

Huge as it is, the LHC doesn’t look too impressive from the air since the actual 17-mile (27 km) tunnel lies buried an average 330 feet (100 meters) underground. It IS big however – part of the ring is in France; part is in Switzerland. Since this short blurb gives only a hint of the LHC’s workings, check out this Schoolhouse Rock style rap on the LHC from TeacherTube:

LHC Rap, via TeacherTube

Gotthard Base Tunnel

(images via: WTC 2013 and Popular Science)

The 95.3-mile (153.5 km) long Gotthard Base Tunnel network now being drilled out beneath the Alps, when finally completed in about ten years, will be the longest underground tunnel ever constructed. High-speed trains traveling at 155 mph (250 kph) will significantly reduce travel times between Zurich, Switzerland and Milan, Italy while at the same time relieving the bottleneck of commercial and passenger traffic now clogging existing mountain highways and train lines. Hannibal would most definitely approve.

(image via: Railway Technology)

The most difficult portion of the tunnel is the 57 km (35.4 mi) stretch that will run nearly 2,000 feet (600 meters) under the Gotthard massif below the existing Gotthardbahn track. It’s estimated that 459 million cubic feet (13 million cubic meters) of crumbly, porous rock will have to be removed during the course of tunnel construction – that’s enough to fill the Great Pyramid of Giza five times over. In the above image, one of the huge tunnel-boring machines is shown just as it breaks through to one of the completed sections of the tunnel.

Japan-Korea Undersea Tunnel

(images via: InventorSpot)

Though the shovels have yet to shift any dirt, the blueprints are ready for construction to begin on one of Asia’s most momentous megaprojects: the Japan-Korea Friendship Tunnel. Or the Korea-Japan Friendship Tunnel – the fine details are still being discussed. Should the project get the nod from the politicos, work will begin on joining the southwestern Japanese city of Karatsu with the South Korean port of Busan with a 79-mile (128-km) train tunnel. The distance is more than three times that of the Anglo-French “Chunnel” but the technology is proven. As for North Korea’s take on the project, either Kim Jong Il hasn’t been told or everyone’s scared to bring up the subject.

The wags at Asiadog have put together a nifty video of what they refer to as the Korea < -> Japan Undersea Tunnel, backed by a bouncy beat:

Korea <-> Japan Undersea Tunnel, via Asiadog

Space Solar Power Station

(images via: Inhabitat, Treehugger and Pink Tentacle)

The challenges and difficulties involved in large-scale orbital construction projects are immense… yet someday they will be tackled as the demand for interplanetary spacecraft, space elevators and orbiting power stations becomes irresistible. The latter – a solar power station in geostationary orbit – is now on the drawing board and has been given a sky-high price tag of 2 trillion yen ($21 billion).

(image via: Bloomberg)

The project, conceived by the Japanese government and industry researchers, will see a space-based solar power station built in orbit 22,360 miles (36,000 km) above the earth. The station will generate 1 gigawatt of power from sunlight and beam the energy down to a receiving station where it can be used to power almost 300,000 homes.

Terraforming Mars

(images via: All These Worlds, Daily Galaxy and Electro-plankton)

The most extreme engineering project in the history of the world will be performed OFF the world… on Mars. A variety of schemes have been floated over the past few decades with the intent of making Earth’s nearest neighbor more amenable to life of the earthly variety – in other words, Terraforming. Naturally the scale is huge – comets may be redirected to impact the Red Planet to provide water for oceans, which would be seeded with algae in order to boost the oxygen content in the Martian atmosphere. Other schemes entail the placement of giant orbiting mirrors to focus sunlight upon Mars’ polar icecaps, thus releasing liquid water and gaseous carbon dioxide to kick-start a greenhouse effect.

(images via: LA 2101 and WonderlandJACK)

Terraforming Mars is no pie-in-the-sky scheme; it could be the salvation of our species should our actions on Earth continue to reduce our home planet’s livability. It would be most fitting if someday, as predicted/depicted in The Million-Year Picnic, a short story from Ray Bradbury’s book The Martian Chronicles, this scene should take place: A father answers his children’s desire to see Martians by suggesting they look into the canal their boat is floating on… in which they view their own reflections.

Source:http://weburbanist.com/

Wrist force!

With this bracelet ,you can charge your mobile phone everywhere and just with your wrist force..


By using body temprature, this bracelet can charge its battery and if you need it provides you to charge your mobile phone with a micro -Usb set.

Blood Test by Mobile Phone

Bio / Nano-Photonics Laboratory director Prof. Aydogan Ozcan from Electronics Engineering Department at UCLA.He developed a technique that allows to view in samples of body fluid and micro particles with a mobile phone webcam.

The study is called LUCAS - Lensless Ultrawide Field Cell Monitoring Array Platform based on Shadow Imaging.With some plugs by using an ordinary mobile phone , HIV, malaria, blood diseases like leukemia carried out by Ozcan in UCLA.With this technique,by using a lens thousands of cells can be distunguished at the same time.Liquid sample is placed directly on the photo sensor. Then putting a Led which has 470 nm blue wavelenght light reveals cell’s formal differences.The data obtained from receiver is converting to meaningful information by a special software.