Hybrid vehicle

Hybrids are vehicles that combine an internal combustion engine with an electric motor as the
power source. Add a sophisticated transmission and powerful batteries and it's a recipe that
makes the most of gasoline, the one fuel that's available in all fifty states--at more than 180,000
stations. Hybrids utilize the electric motor and battery storage to maximize the fuel economy
from standard gasoline-burning engines. Depending upon the design and usage, hybrids can
boast up to 30 percent fuel savings (sometimes more) over a comparable gasoline vehicle. And
that translates into less greenhouse gases spewed into the environment also. Best of all, hybrids
are designed for ease of use--just hop in and go.

Hybrids may be classified as the following:

• Mild – uses the electric motor and battery as an assist to the internal combustion engine
• Full – the two propulsion systems (electric motor and internal combustion engine) can
work independently or in conjunction with each other
• Plug-in – the internal combustion engine acts only as a back-up to the main rechargeable
motor and battery system

Gene Therapy

Gene therapy is an experimental technique that uses genes to treat or prevent disease. In the
future, this technique may allow doctors to treat a disorder by inserting a gene into a patient’s
cells instead of using drugs or surgery. Researchers are testing several approaches to gene
therapy, including:

• Replacing a mutated gene that causes disease with a healthy copy of the gene.
• Inactivating, or “knocking out,” a mutated gene that is functioning improperly.
• Introducing a new gene into the body to help fight a disease.

Although gene therapy is a promising treatment option for a number of diseases (including
inherited disorders, some types of cancer, and certain viral infections), the technique remains
risky and is still under study to make sure that it will be safe and effective. Gene therapy is
currently only being tested for the treatment of diseases that have no other cures.

optical computer

An optical computer (also called a photonic computer) is a device that uses the photons in visible
light or infrared ( IR ) beams,rather than electric current, to perform digital computations. An
electric current flows at only about 10 percent of the speed of light. This limits the rate at which
data can be exchanged over long distances, and is one of the factors that led to the evolution of
optical fiber . By applying some of the advantages of visible and/or IR networks at the device
and component scale, a computer might someday be developed that can perform operations 10 or
more times faster than a conventional electronic computer.
Visible-light and IR beams, unlike electric currents, pass through each other without interacting.
Several (or many) laser beams can be shone so their paths intersect, but there is no interference
among the beams, even when they are confined essentially to two dimensions. Electric currents
must be guided around each other, and this makes three-dimensional wiring necessary. Thus, an
optical computer, besides being much faster than an electronic one, might also be smaller.

Some engineers think optical computing will someday be common, but most agree that
transitions will occur in specialized areas one at a time. Some optical integrated circuits have
been designed and manufactured. (At least one complete, although rather large, computer has
been built using optical circuits.) Three-dimensional, full-motion video can be transmitted along
a bundle of fibers by breaking the image into voxels. Some optical devices can be controlled by
electronic currents, even though the impulses carrying the data are visible light or IR.

Optical technology has made its most significant inroads in digital communications, where fiber
optic data transmission has become commonplace. The ultimate goal is the so-called photonic
network , which uses visible andIR energy exclusively between each source and destination.
Optical technology is employed in CD-ROM drives and their relatives, laser printers, and most
photocopiers and scanners. However, none of these devices are fully optical; all rely to some
extent on conventional electronic circuits and components.

Today’s High Speed Train Technology

Since the development of high speed rail, there have been many changes in the technology used
in high speed trains. One of these is maglev (magnetic levitation), but most high speed trains use
other technologies because they are easier to implement and they allow for more direct high
speed connections to cities without the need for new tracks.

Today there are high speed trains that use steel wheels on steel tracks that can travel at speeds
over 200 mph. Minimal stopping for traffic, long curves, and aerodynamic, light trains also allow
today’s high speed trains to travel even faster. In addition, new technologies being implemented
in train signaling systems can enable high speed trains to safely minimize time between trains at
stations, thereby allowing travel on them to be even more efficient.

Worldwide High Speed Trains

Today, there are many large high speed rail lines around the world. The largest though are found
in Europe, China and Japan. In Europe (map), high speed trains operate in Belgium Finland,
France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
Spain, Germany, the U.K. and France currently have the largest high speed train networks in
Europe.

High speed trains are also significant in China and Japan (map). China, for example, has the
world’s largest high speed rail network at just over 3,728 miles (6,000 km). The network
provides service between the country’s major cities using maglev as well as more conventional
trains.
Prior to China’s construction of new high speed rail lines in 2007, Japan had the world’s largest
high speed train network at 1,528 mi (2,459 km). Today the Shinkansen is highly important there
and new maglev and steel wheeled trains are currently being tested.

In addition to these three areas, high speed rail lines are also present as a commuter train in the
eastern U.S. and also in South Korea and Taiwan to name a few.

Advantages of High Speed Trains

Once completed and well established, high speed train lines have many advantages over other
forms of high capacity public transportation. One of these is that due to infrastructure design in
many countries, highway and air travel systems are constrained, cannot expand, and in many
cases are overloaded. Because the addition of new high speed rail can also be high capacity, it
has the potential relieve congestion on other transit systems.

High speed trains are also considered more energy efficient or equivalent to other modes of
transit per passenger mile. In terms of possible passenger capacity, high speed trains can also
reduce the amount of land used per passenger when compared to cars on roads. In addition, train
stations are normally smaller than airports and can therefore be located within major cities and
spaced closer together, allowing for more convenient travel.

Properties of Ceramic Engine

• No lubrication.
• No cooling.
• 150% more power.
• More life.
• 75% lower fuel consumption.
• No pollution

Nanotechnology

A basic definition: Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional systems at the molecular

scale. This covers both current work and concepts that are more advanced.In its original sense,
'nanotechnology' refers to the projected ability to construct items from the bottom up, using
techniques and tools being developed today to make complete, high performance products.

General-Purpose Technology

Nanotechnology is sometimes referred to as a general-purpose technology. That's because in its advanced

form it will have significant impact on almost all industries and all areas of society. It will offer better
built, longer lasting, cleaner, safer, and smarter products for the home, for communications, for medicine,
for transportation, for agriculture, and for industry in general.

Imagine a medical device that travels through the human body to seek out and destroy small clusters of
cancerous cells before they can spread. Or a box no larger than a sugar cube that contains the entire
contents of the Library of Congress. Or materials much lighter than steel that possess ten times as much
strength. — U.S. National Science Foundation

Dual-Use Technology

Like electricity or computers before it, nanotech will offer greatly improved efficiency in almost every
facet of life. But as a general-purpose technology, it will be dual-use, meaning it will have many
commercial uses and it also will have many military uses—making far more powerful weapons and tools
of surveillance. Thus it represents not only wonderful benefits for humanity, but also grave risks.

A key understanding of nanotechnology is that it offers not just better products, but a vastly improved
manufacturing process. A computer can make copies of data files—essentially as many copies as you
want at little or no cost. It may be only a matter of time until the building of products becomes as cheap as
the copying of files. That's the real meaning of nanotechnology, and why it is sometimes seen as "the next
industrial revolution."

My own judgment is that the nanotechnology revolution has the potential to change America on a scale
equal to, if not greater than, the computer revolution. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)

The power of nanotechnology can be encapsulated in an apparently simple device called a personal
nanofactory that may sit on your countertop or desktop. Packed with miniature chemical processors,
computing, and robotics, it will produce a wide-range of items quickly, cleanly, and inexpensively,
building products directly from blueprints.

Intelligent Agents
For some, the term "agent" means only "autonomous, intelligent" agents. An example of this type of
thinking can be found in Franklin and Graesser's paper "Is it an Agent, or just a Program?: A Taxonomy
for Autonomous Agents". Another example of this view is Lenny Foner's excellent article "Agents and
Appropriation". (Then there is the other side of the coin: Sverker Janson's list of "Intelligent Software
Agents" includes anything called an "agent".)

The Franklin and Graesser paper is a good paper because it 1) surveys various agents, 2) presents
a reasoned taxonomy based on features, and 3) avoids assigning any meaning to the word
"intelligent". However, it proposes a "mathematically formal" definition: "An autonomous agent
is a system situated within and a part of an environment that senses that environment and acts on
it, over time, in pursuit of its own agenda and so as to effect what it senses in the future." This is,
of course, not a definition any mathematician would recognize as being formal.The idea of
"senses in the future" is just too open for interpretation to be an objective, much less formal,
definition. Moreover, it equates being an agent with this quality of "autonomous" [Only
autonomous agents were defined - other kind of agents may exist. - Private Communication from
Stan Franklin, June, 1996.]

For Foner, an agent is necessarily "intelligent" and "autonomy" is just one crucial characteristic.
His definition of autonomy has a bit more of operational semantics: "This requires aspects of
periodic action, spontaneous execution, and initiative, in that the agent must be able to take
preemptive or independent actions that will eventually benefit the user."
There are three major problems with attempts to define "agents" as "intelligent". First, as I have
alluded above, the meaning of the adjectives "intelligent" and "autonomous", so far, are
subjective labels. The Foner definition suggests that there might be a test for autonomy, but
saying that some action is "preemptive" or "independent" does not get us far. This definition of
intelligence, as do all, depends upon the opinion of an intelligent observer after interacting with
the candidate agent.

Furthermore, the example agent, Julia, does not exhibit much initiative. The fact that Julia maps
a maze without direction from users with whom she interacts does not distinguish Julia from
almost any other software that performs a background task while answering queries from users
and performing other tasks when directed, such as message forwarding. In fact, Julia never
interrupts to volunteer information except to deliver a message as directed: she speaks only when
spoken to. Julia's claim of intelligence is much more of the Eliza sort: Julia strikes users as a
person. And indeed, the implementation and documentation suggests that Julia is intended to
pass a Turing test just above the level of Eliza.

Second, these subjective labels are applicable only to an epiphenonmenon rather than a design
objective. Except to pass a Turing test, no one sets out to build an "intelligent agent" as that is a
poor target for software. One sets out to build an agent that accomplishes a task in hopes that the
task is so difficult or it is so well-accomplished that the agent might be considered intelligent or
somehow self-directed. This begs the question of why the agent is one, and not some other kind
of software.

Third, various definitions of intelligence exist, but the main deficiency of such a label is that it
does not sufficiently distinguish the resulting software from other technologies that may also
claim intelligence as an attribute. One can take any definition of intelligent software that covers
the work in Artificial Intelligence and find that it does not serve to distinguish "agents" as a kind
of software. The point is that if it is claimed that to be an agent is to be intelligent, then we have
still begged the question of what is an "agent" apart from all of the other intelligent software that
has been developed.

Superconductor Materials General Description:

1) Since the announcement of high temperature superconductors (those which can use liquid
nitrogen (B.P.77K) rather than liquid helium (B.P.4K) as a coolant), much has been written
about their potential use in areas previously closed to superconductors due to economic
considerations.

2) Superconductivity is a phenomenon occurring in certain materials at extremely low

temperatures, characterized by exactly zero electrical resistance and the exclusion of the interior
magnetic field (the Meissner effect).

3) The electrical resistivity of a metallic conductor decreases gradually as the temperature is

lowered. However, in ordinary conductors such as copper and silver, impurities and other defects
impose a lower limit. Even near absolute zero a real sample of copper shows a non-zero
resistance. The resistance of a superconductor, on the other hand, drops abruptly to zero when
the material is cooled below its "critical temperature". An electric currentferromagnetism and
atomic spectral lines, superconductivity is a quantum mechanicalperfect conductivity" in
classical physics. flowing in a loop of superconducting wire can persist indefinitely with no
power source. Like phenomenon. It cannot be understood simply as the idealization of "

4) Superconductivity occurs in a wide variety of materials, including simple elements like

tinaluminium, various metallic alloys and some heavily-doped semiconductors.
Superconductivity does not occur in noble metals like gold and silver, nor in most ferromagnetic
metals.

Superconductor Materials Typical Applications:

1) Superconducting magnets are some of the most powerful electromagnets known. They are
used in maglev trains, MRI and NMR machines and the beam-steering magnets used in particle
accelerators. They can also be used for magnetic separation, where weakly magnetic particles are
extracted from a background of less or non-magnetic particles, as in the pigment industries.

2) Superconductors have also been used to make digital circuits (e.g. based on the Rapid Single
Flux Quantum technology) and RF and microwave filters for mobile phone base stations.

3) Superconductors are used to build Josephson junctions which are the building blocks of
SQUIDs (superconducting quantum interference devices), the most sensitive magnetometers
known. Series of Josephson devices are used to define the SI volt. Depending on the particular
mode of operation, a Josephson junction can be used as photon detector or as mixer. The large
resistance change at the transition from the normal- to the superconducting state is used to build
thermometers in cryogenic micro-calorimeter photon detectors.

4) Other early markets are arising where the relative efficiency, size and weight advantages of
devices based on HTS outweigh the additional costs involved.

5) Promising future applications include high-performance transformers, power storage devices,

electric power transmission, electric motors (e.g. for vehicle propulsion, as in vactrains or
maglev trains), magnetic levitation devices, and Fault Current Limiters. However
superconductivity is sensitive to moving magnetic fields so applications that use alternating
current (e.g. transformers) will be more difficult to develop than those that rely upon direct
current.

Superconducting materials can solve power loss problem in electricity towers

WASHINGTON - In a new research, it has been suggested that superconducting materials can
solve the problem of the power lost due to electrical resistance in steel lattice towers.

Conventional aluminum or copper power lines have a certain amount of natural resistance to the
flow of electricity, so some energy is lost as heat during transmission.About 7 to 10 percent of
the power put on the US grid is wasted due to electrical resistance.That may not sound like
much, but it’s enough juice to run 14 cities the size of New York.According to a report in
National Geographic News, experts and entrepreneurs are looking at the potential of
superconducting materials, which would allow power to zip along for miles with zero electrical
resistance.But, there’s a catch.The super-cables would have to be super-chilled - kept at a
temperature of about -350 degrees Fahrenheit (-212 degrees Celsius) - in order to work their
magic.

Scientists at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), an electric industry-funded nonprofit
focused on technology, said in a new report that a superconducting cable system could be ready
for commercial development within a decade.

Moreover, they said it’s an important technology to consider, given the challenge of greater
reliance on renewable energy.Areas with great potential for wind and solar power are often in
remote regions far from population centers.Super-chilled wires could efficiently shuttle
thousands of megawatts of electricity from distant sites to cities, according to the EPRI report.

“The reason the superconductor (system) is beautiful is it likes big,” explained Steven Eckroad, a
co-author of the report. “It likes high power,” he said.Another advantage of such a system is it
would be buried underground.Proponents say that out-of-sight transmission projects would face
less opposition than the traditional power towers. (ANI)

Hypersonic Plane

From the artist’s impression, it looks like a giant pen placed on its side. It’s the design for a
revolutionary hypersonic passenger plane that will reportedly cut flying time from Australia to
northern Europe to less than five hours.

British designed and European Space Agency funded, the new plane called the A2 can carry 300
passengers and reach speeds of 3000 miles per hour (!). It is part of an ongoing effort by the EU
to further extend the boundaries of aviation travel.

The A2’s designers are gung-ho about the possibility of demand for the futuristic looking jet, but
aviation experts say the cost of flying might prove too expensive. Like the Concorde that was
discontinued five years ago because of diminishing demand, A2 passengers will also have to deal
with the rather expensive tag.

At 132 meters long, the A2 is longer than conventional jets, but still small enough to fit onto a
runway. Conventional fuel however will not be able to achieve desired speeds, and so Reaction
Engines – the company that has developed the A2 – has designed an engine that runs on liquid
hydrogen. Environmental concerns too are unfounded, designers say – Reaction Engines is
researching ways to eliminate any NOX elements produced by liquid hydrogen.There is one
hitch though. Because of the intense heat build-up that can result from flying at such speeds,
planes won’t have portholes. Not a good idea for those suffering from claustrophobia, although
the company plans to get around this by installing flat screen panels in place of windows,
displaying images of scenes outside.

Computer Sensory Recognition

From the very beginning that people had cars to ride on. They already wanted to know the speed
they were moving at. So, right from the start, there were already speed sensors created by men
themselves. Pioneer speed sensors consisted of a rope with knots tied to it. This type of speed
sensor was first used by ships. What they do is they throw this special kind of rope overboard
and as the ship moves or travels; the knots that float to the surface were counted. This was how
knots as a unit of measurement came about.

Up to now, measurement using knots is still being used but in a different way. The rope is now
replaced by a more dependable and exact mechanical speed sensor. Moreover, this type of speed
sensor being used at sea is also now being used on land. A lot of cars traveling on land today are
using updated or a much more advanced version of this type of speed sensor.

Let us also take a look at the history of speed sensors on land-based vehicles. In the early times,
speed sensors for land-based vehicles were linked to cables that ran on gauges, which then tells
the driver the speed on which he is traveling at. This is not a perfect speed sensor but it certainly
serves its purpose very well.

One of its downside is that measurement of speed is affected by a lot of factors. Let’s take for
example the size of the tire. A small tire would display a faster speed while a larger tire would
display a slower speed. This is really a hindrance in getting an accurate reading on the actual
speed being traveled at.

At present, this issue was solved through the ABS System or the anti-lock braking systems. This
system incorporates the use of magnetic speed sensors to give an accurate reading of the speed
being traveled at. There are no more cables. But, it doesn’t end here because you can always
expect that innovative engineers are continually inventing ways on how to keep improving this
type of technology.