When completed, Cobra’s plant will be powered by both photovoltaic panels and solar thermal technology, which uses boiled water to generate energy. Cobra’s key to effective solar thermal is the use of molten salts to store extra energy during the day. When the sun goes down, the salts can continue to generate power for another 7.5 hours.
The Cobra plant isn’t a done deal quite yet — the Spanish company is still deciding between a number of sites in Australia. And while Cobra has applied for funds under the Australian government’s $1.5 billion solar flagships program, it has yet to receive approval. But if the deal goes through, Cobra’s plant could provide over half of the country’s goal of 400 MW of solar power.
An Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV) gathers power via magnetic charging from strips below the road’s surface. The power is used either to drive the OLEV or it is stored in a battery for later use. This brand of charging, called “inductive charging” is used in some electric toothbrushes that get power via a magnetic connection while in their cradle.
In the next few years, KAIST researchers hope to get the OLEV system up and running in buses and roads throughout the cities of South Korea. The projected cost of installing the system is about 400 million won or $353,500 per km of road (not including electricity).
• The surface of the16,000sqm flight deck is covered in a grainy,heat-resistant paint,similar to very coarse sandpaper. The entire painted surface amounts to 370 acres - slightly bigger than Hyde Park.
• Two huge lifts, each with a 70-ton capacity, are capable of transporting two aircraft from the hangar to the flight deck in 60 seconds.
• The ground-breaking twin-island layout allows more deck space for aircraft and better visibility of the flight deck. The forward island is for navigating the ship; flight control is based in the aft island.
• The ship's 29,000 sq m hangar is 150 metres in length and has 20 slots for aircraft maintenance.
• There are 11 full-time medical staff on board managing an eight-bed medical suite, operating theatre and dental surgery.
• Onboard water treatment plant produces over 500 tons of fresh water daily.
• Two Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbines and four diesel generator sets produce 109MW.
• Cabins are spacious and cruise-liner style, with en-suite toilets and shower facilities. Officers and senior ratings have single or two-berth cabins. The maximum number of crew in a cabin is six.
• The carrier will carry more than 8,600 tons of fuel, enough for the average family car to travel to the Moon and back 12 times. This gives a range of up to 10,000 nautical miles.
• Top speed will be in excess of 25 knots, sufficient to cross from Dover to Calais in an hour.
• The two five-blade propellers are each 30ft in diameter - that's one-and-a-half times the height of a double-decker bus.
A highly efficient 3.5-liter V-6 engine delivering at least 263 horsepower and E85 compatibility is 25 percent more efficient than the 4.6-liter Single Overhead Cam (SOHC) V-8 offered in the current Crown Victoria Police Interceptor.
Plus, an all-new 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 twin-turbocharged, direct-injection engine will deliver at least 365 horsepower and 350 ft.-lb. of torque across a broad rpm range.
A high-capacity six-speed SelectShift Automatic transmission delivers the power of EcoBoost to the road via the sophisticated torque-sensing all-wheel-drive system.
People have predicted the death of cash and checks for a long time. But there are certain transactions — like paying a friend back for dinner or buying vegetables at the farmers’ market — for which they remain essential.
PayPal’s new iPhone application could finally change that. It promises to let you quickly divide a restaurant bill and send a friend the portion you owe just by bumping your iPhones together.
The application is free to download from the App Store. Users log in with their PayPal credentials or with their cellphone number and a numeric PIN, and they can send or request money and manage their account on the phone.
To send money, users choose a recipient from their cellphone contacts or bump two phones together. For that, the app uses technology from Bump Technologies, which developed it to swap contact information between two phones. The money is transferred immediately.
