Tesla trumps Toyota: Why hydrogen can’t compete with pure EVs

Miles per gallon & CO2 reduction.
Credit: Clean Technica/Business Spectator

Short version:
● tall bars are good
● short bars are bad
● bars extending below zero are worse
● among the fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), only the Toyota 2015 FCV outperforms a Toyota Prius
● all FCVs are inferior to all battery electric vehicles

Long version:
http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2014/8/8/smart-energy/tesla-trumps-toyota-why-hydrogen-cant-compete-pure-evs?utm_source=exact&utm_medium=email&utm_content=853446&utm_campaign=cs_daily&modapt= / Toyota Tesla hydrogen RAV4 partnership electric vehicle company Tesla back Prius fuel cell cars hydrogen petrol gasoline mass-market mass market vehicle electricity ubiquitous parked park green electricity far cheaper petrol gasoline hydrogen green hydrogen nonexistent expensive green hydrogen petrol gasoline hydrogen fuel cell alternative vehicle Energy Department Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy transportation fuel cell vehicle FCV boost funding FCV research key technologies climate change science technology hydrogen cars President Obama Energy Secretary Chu Hydrogen fuel cell cars dead end technological practical climate perspective problems FCV global warming greenhouse gas emissions global warming climate change hydrogen produced natural gas methane CH4 hydrogen renewable resources carbon-free electricity expensive wasteful valuable resource state-of-the-art gas steam reforming process Ford Motor company fuel cell vehicle FCVs hydrogen reformed from natural gas significant environmental well-to-wheels basis GHG emissions natural gas reformation process Julian Cox CleanTechnica well-to-wheels WTW life-cycle GHG emissions FCV EV green Californian Energy Commission hydrogen infrastructure budget Climate Progress /

Connect 2 Android devices together for file & battery sharing

Credit: Allputer/The Gadgeteer

You probably know about USB On The Go (USB OTG). It's a standard that allows a USB mobile device to act as a USB host. Practical result: you can connect a USB flash drive, digital camera, USB keyboard etc. to your phone.

But there's another twist: the cable at the top of the article can connected two OTG devices for file & battery sharing.

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2014/08/07/connect-2-android-devices-together-for-file-sharing-and-battery-sharing/ / USB OTG On The Go Android users OTG accessories devices On The Go USB On-The-Go USB OTG specification devices digital audio players cell mobile phones host USB flash drive digital camera mouse keyboard USB OTG roles host client device cell mobile phone read removable media host device USB Mass Storage Device connect connected host computer connect mice keyboards flash drives Android smartphone tablet micro USB connector device cable Allputer cables connect two Android devices together file sharing even battery sharing /

Rendezvous in space — Rosetta & the comet

Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko as seen from the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft
Credit: European Space Agency/Twitter

As Douglas Adams wisely wrote, "... you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space ..."¹

Case in point: the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft. After 10 years & 3.7 billion miles (6 billion kilometres), it has finally caught up to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenk. Rosetta is now in orbit around the comet, & the pair continue to orbit the Sun at 34,000 miles per hour (54,700 kph, 9.4 miles per second, 15.2 km per second).

Further study will include an attempted landing on the surface of the asteroid in November, by a robotic probe named Philae. If you are thinking that part will be easy, think again. There are still many unknowns. One member of the European Space Agency's team recently pointed out that the hardness of the asteroid is, "... somewhere between cement & candyfloss."

http://news.discovery.com/space/asteroids-meteors-meteorites/rosetta-probe-makes-historic-comet-rendezvous-140806.htm

http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21611028-european-space-probe-has-just-arrived-its-destination-rosettas-stone
__________

¹ Douglas Adams: “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy”, Chapter 8, 1979

/ space probe Rosetta historic rendezvous comet 10 year 3.7 billion mile chase Solar System European Space Agency ESA comet Rosetta's flight operations manager Sylvain Lodiot mission control Darmstadt Germany spacecraft orbit around a comet wanderer Solar System primeval dust ice may how the planets formed comet encounters November robotic robot scientific lab laboratory Philae surface first ever landing comet Rosetta's rendezvous Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko 400 million km from Earth signals received ground stations ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain design build launch three-tonne craft tiny target deep space unique mission scientific goal origins understand our future Rosetta mission world science space community Jean-Yves Le Gall president France's National Centre for Space Research (CNES), a major contributor to the project two lobes joined by a neck pucked impact marks first clear views comet project scientist Matt Taylor double lobed structure built from two separate comets that came together in the Solar System's history, or is it one comet that has eroded dramatically asymmetrically launched March 2004 four flybys Mars Earth gravitational force slingshot build up speed catch up 31-month hibernation light from the distant Sun solar panels wake-up call from Earth complex series maneuvers slow down walking speed relative to the comet /

NASA is building a robotic service station for earth-orbiting satellites

Credit: NASA/Mashable

To remain in orbit, a satellite needs to make periodic corrections to its position. Maneuvering requires fuel. Ultimately, a satellite comes to the end of its service life when it runs out of fuel for maneuvering. At that point, the accounting department instantly depreciates that verrry expensive satellite to zero. NASA is developing a robotic refueling system to extend the service life of satellites.

http://mashable.com/2014/08/05/robotic-gas-stations-in-space/ / NASA robotic gas station space interstellar starships refuel rockets outer solar system service satellites orbiting Earth satellites orbit circle Earth transmitting GPS navigation signals weather forecasts television shows fuel to maneuver orbit refuel aging machines satellites more years of service break down retired NASA's Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office Goddard Space Flight Center Maryland Kennedy Space Center Florida refuel satellites solution refueling robotically new technology NASA hopes add precious years functional life satellites expand options operators unexpected emergencies tougher economic demands aging fleets NASA Bob Granath robotic technology fueling NASA fix malfunctioning satellites build entirely new structures outer space Goddard Kennedy preparing spacecraft launch loading propellant excess Space Shuttle Program hardware development costs robotics remote-control capability test remote robot operator valve simulated satellite nitrogen tetroxide spacecraft, flowed smoothly Remote Robotic Oxidizer Transfer Test RROxiTT robot servicing satellites transfer oxidizer satellite refueling Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility space junk refueling costly launches geosynchronous orbit commercial communication satellites refuel repair satellites GEO geosynchronous Earth orbit more sustainable mitigate orbital debris problems NASA's Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office /

Google scans your Gmail inbox for child porn to help catch criminals, but don’t worry about loss of your privacy (yet)

Yes, Google is scanning email, but your privacy isn't being being put at risk. What they are doing is comparing a digital hash code of any image you send against a database of known child porn images.

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/187521-google-scans-your-gmail-inbox-for-child-porn-to-help-catch-criminals-but-dont-worry-about-loss-of-privacy-yet / man Texas arrested police sending child porn friend email direct tip-off from Google Gmail servers alerted the police Google scan inbox Google scanning everyone’s inbox child porn illegal materials gross invasion of privacy statement AFP arrest Houston man technology identify child sexual abuse imagery doesn’t don't scan email content criminal activity plot a burglary child porn investigators manually searches through Gmail inboxes automated system cryptographic hash digital fingerprint attachment traverses its servers technical details Google’s automated system Dropbox automated copyright piracy prevention system Google maintains a database known indecent images of children compare compares hash fingerprint attachment send against that database match human Google double checks result notifies the authorities Microsoft PhotoDNA software hashing detect child porn images modified original developing system Photo DNA automatically identify child porn donated PhotoDNA National Center for Missing & Exploited Children NCMEC OneDrive Bing Facebook Twitter digital fingerprinting video forms of media detect files tagged as child porn databases Google, Microsoft, NCMEC authorities hundred million examples known child porn images videos creating disseminating new stuff automated detection of child porn criminal activity prevent distribution child porn other crimes detects email correspondence terrorists intervene thieves discussing burglarize home rape scan your Gmail inbox display relevant ads detecting potentially criminal activity Google Microsoft child porn bomb-making guides /

Four British-built electric buses hit the streets of London

Credit: Transport For London/Charged EVs

Battery prices continue to fall, but purchase prices of electric vehicles (EVs) are still higher than for comparable internal combustion engine vehicles (ICE). On the other side of the balance sheet, running costs are much lower.

Fuel cost: typically, charging an EV is about one third of the cost of fuel for an ICE to cover the same distance.

Maintenance: Think about the cost of having an ICE vehicle serviced. Most of the cost — labour & material (engine oil, spark plugs, air & oil filters) — is related to the engine.

With 100+ years of development, a state-of-the-art ICE is a masterpiece of engineering. But it's fundamental shortcomings remain: Inefficiency is fundamental to an engine based on compression & expansion of burning gasses. Hundreds of moving parts grinding away at one another; pistons attached to a crankshaft are fundamentally unbalanced.

An electric motor, on the other hand has one moving part, is easily balanced & requires essentially no maintenance.

Health: ICEs emit a range of chemicals harmful to human health, plus particulate matter. Particulate matter from ICE exhausts causes asthma. If you live in an industrialised country, you are suffering from measureable, low-level, carbon monoxide poisoning.

http://chargedevs.com/newswire/four-british-built-electric-buses-hit-the-streets-of-london/ / British built pure electric bus buses into service London MetroCity single-deck single deck buses manufactured Optare Hinduja Group North Yorkshire trial basis route H98 Hayes Hounslow manufacturer test tests initial cost vehicles legacy diesel buses significantly lower running maintenance costs typical lifetime vehicle five hours fully charge overnight 15.2 kW on‐board on board charger 50 kW off-board fast charge technology range of up to 100 miles small diesel-fueled diesel fueled heater winter months more efficient battery capacity heating Optare buses Mayor’s plan central London zero emission zero-emission 2020 electric buses operating hybrid bus fleet ABB Volvo partnership bus fast charging Mike Weston Transport Director of Buses pure electric vehicles technology results trials new clean technology Gopichand Hinduja Hinduja Group Optare’s MetroCity electric vehicle manufacturing excellence technology innovation zero-emissions solution improve air quality in London Europe worldwide /

Does eating salmon lower the murder rate?

Credit: Fine Cooking

Omega-3 is found mainly in cold water oily fish, such as tuna & salmon. For some time, it has been speculated that various positive psychological effects can be associated with high levels of Omega 3 consumption. Now, research is supporting some of those speculations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/magazine/16wwln_idealab.html

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-23/university-of-wollongong-researchers-study-whether-omega-3-fats/4906982

http://www.naturalnews.com/040883_omega-3s_aggression_violent_behavior.html / University of Wollongong researcher good fats Omega 3 reduce criminal behaviour Associate Professor Barbara Meyer university School of Health Sciences prisons prison quality of their cuisine food menu inmate resident violent test novel hypothesis violent aggression largely a product of poor nutrition research researchers inmates less violent diet rich in vitamins fatty acids seafood salmon steak spinach curb violence prison Dr. Joseph Hibbeln senior clinical investigator National Institutes of Health study provocatively titled seafood consumption and homicide mortality correlation higher intake omega-3 fatty acids fish lower murder rates oily cold water fish tuna fatty acids nonviolence fatty acids inhibit violence Bernard Gesch senior research scientist Oxford University better nutrition decrease violence enrolled 231 volunteers British prison study placebo received fatty acids supplements antisocial behavior measured assaults violations inmates supplements dropped by more than a third relative to their previous records control group showed little change trials Holland Norway clear link between diet and violent behavior violence product of free will impulsive acts of violence choice failure to rein in one's worst instincts study conducted researchers Finland tested prisoners convicted violent crimes lower levels of omega-3 fatty acids ordinary healthy subjects Omega-3's foster the growth of neurons brain's frontal cortex gray matter controls impulsive behavior fatty acids keep violent impulses in check violent criminals fatty acids in their diet recent double-blind trial omega-3 given people history of substance abuse symptoms of anger fell by 50 percent omega-3's boosting health silver bullets state of the evidence dietary fat changes in behavior interdependent nutrients nutrition violent behavior brain needs nourished educated nutrients social depression intelligence /