The solar balance

http://www.enn.com/sci-tech/article/43921

/ equatorial equator pole balance stored measuring /

SpaceX test-fires its 'super' rocket engines (video)

http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/02/spacex-test-fires-its-super-rocket-engines-video/#continued

BTJunkie closes: fifth largest BitTorrent search engine gone

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2012/02/btjunkie-closes-fifth-largest-bittorrent-search-engine-gone/

/ BTJunkie BT closes Pirate Bay /

BTJunkie closes: fifth largest BitTorrent search engine gone

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2012/02/btjunkie-closes-fifth-largest-bittorrent-search-engine-gone/

/ megaUpload Suprnova Filesonic Fileserve /

Google+ is growing much faster than Facebook did in the early days

http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-google-is-growing-much-faster-than-facebook-did-in-the-early-days-2012-2

2012 Honda Fit vs 2012 Honda Insight Hybrid: high gas mileage battle

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1072155_2012-honda-fit-vs-2012-honda-insight-hybrid-high-gas-mileage-battle

The Green Overdrive Show: a super efficient engine (video)

New internal combustion engine with claimed 30-50% better fuel consumption is expect to have engines in cars on the road in 2013.

http://gigaom.com/cleantech/the-green-overdrive-show-a-super-efficient-engine-video/

/ Pinnacle, Engines, 30, 50, percent, 30%,  50% /

Pirate Bay dropping torrents after magnetic attraction

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/01/13/pirate_bay_dropping_torrents/

How to become a search ninja: harnessing the true power of Google

Update: Corrected links & new material added in new a posting on Tuesday 26 February 2013.

Broken links: Content linked below is no longer available in those locations.

Part 1
http://m.zdnet.com/blog/seo/how-to-become-a-search-ninja-harnessing-the-true-power-of-google-part-1/1881

Part 2
http://m.zdnet.com/blog/seo/search-ninja-part-2-how-to-find-older-versions-of-software-and-much-more/3496

Microsoft tops Yahoo in US search results for first time, according to ComScore -- Engadget

http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/11/microsoft-tops-yahoo-in-us-search-results-for-first-time-accord/

French court fines Google $65k over search suggestion

Why real-world mpg isn’t improving: big cars & big butts smother automakers’ efforts

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/112071-why-real-world-mpg-isnt-improving-big-cars-big-butts-smother-automakers-efforts

Firefox hits the jackpot with almost billion dollar Google deal

http://m.zdnet.com/blog/networking/firefox-hits-the-jackpot-with-almost-billion-dollar-google-deal/1780

Ex-Google man sells search genius to rest of world

http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2011/12/ex-google-man/

World’s smallest heat engine is the size of a fog droplet

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/12/smallest-steam-microscopic-engine/

Prius gets a low speed sound for the blind (video & audio)

At parking lot speeds, electric & hybrid cars are almost silent.  A risk to the blind, partially sighted & simply inattentive has been suggested.  Legislation has been mooted.  Toyota is doing something about the silence of the Prius at low speeds:

http://eric3579.videosift.com/video/The-Prius-Gets-a-Low-Speed-Sound-for-the-Blind

To date, there is no suggestion of doing anything about near-silent internal combustion engined cars.

Thank hybrids & electric cars for your gasoline car's tech

New technology, pioneered in hybrids & electric vehicles is making its way into internal combustion powered cars.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1068164_thank-hybrids-electric-cars-for-your-gasoline-cars-tech

Mazda's Skyactiv-G 1.3 gets 70mpg (US), No hybrid tech needed

update 15Aug2011

All of these fuel economy figures are better than a Prius hybrid!

Use of a 14:1 compression ratio & a continuously variable transmission (CVT) is suggestive of an Atkinson cycle internal combustion engine which is one of the major efficiency provisions in hybrids (Prius, Civic, Insight & Volt).  In those vehicles, an electric motor (combined with a CVT) is used to provide the low speed torque which Atkinson cycle lacks.

/end update

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1065941_mazdas-skyactiv-g-1-3-gets-70mpg-no-hybrid-tech-needed

Fuel consumption figures used in the above article are a little confusing.   Miles per gallon numbers are based on the US gallon, which is of course, hardly unusual.  However, use of kilometers per litre, is in HHG2Tech's experience, unique.  Just for the record:

30 kilometers per liter = 70.57mpg (US) = 84.76mpg (UK) = 3.33 l/100km

56mpg (US) = 67.26mpg (UK) = 4.20 l/100km

All figures rounded to 2 decimal places.

And 56mpg (US) = 23.80 km/l if anybody cares.

For better engine efficiency, a different kind of throttle

Limiting the amount of air is the only practical way to throttle an internal combustion engine (ICE).  Unfortunately, the throttle in an ICE has long been recognised as a source of ineffciency, due to pumping losses.  A more efficient, though expensive, alternative is to control air intake using the valves.  Efficiency gains are in the range of 10%.

https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/automobiles/27valve.html?_r=1

 

/ valve FIAT MultiAir microprocessors pumping loss /