John Glenn 1921-2016

Credit: NASA/Michael Lawrence Films
God speed John Glenn

Scott Carpenter, backup pilot &
capsule communicator
1962 orbital flight

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NASA movie of John Glen’s orbital flight, 20 February 1962

/ John Glenn John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016 American aviator engineer astronaut United States Senator Ohio 1962 first American to orbit the earth circling three times NASA distinguished fighter pilot World War II Korea five Distinguished Flying Crosses and eighteen clusters Mercury Seven group military test pilots selected 1959 NASA America's first astronauts February 20 1962 flew Friendship 7 mission first American to orbit the Earth fifth person in space Congressional Space Medal of Honor Honour in 1978 U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame last surviving member of the Mercury Seven /

X-rays show how gas “pillows” make lithium-ion batteries explode

Credit: Journal of the Electrochemical Society

Abuse or manufacturing errors can cause a lithium ion cell to evolve gas, causing it to expand, or “pillow”. Abuse can take the form of overheating, overcharging, overdischarging, electrical short or physical abuse such as a forceful blow or bending. This process may continue with some combination of heat, smoke, flames & explosion. Perhaps most famously, in the recent events which lead to cessation of production & recall of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones.^1,2,3,4

This much has been known for some time. Recently, a team at Canadian Light Source Inc., has used computed tomography (CT) scan technology to investigate what actually happens inside a cell failing in this way.⁵


Cross sections through a lithium ion cell produced by CT scans:   (a) as manufactured   (b) after overdischarge
(c) image difference map of the two scans with areas of expansion (gas formation) in red
Credit: Journal of the Electrochemical Society

Notice that areas of gas formation are frequently concentrated in irregularities in the manufactured cell. This suggests that improvements in manufacturing techniques can make cells less susceptible to this failure mode.

New Scientist
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2115413-x-rays-show-how-gas-pillows-make-lithium-ion-batteries-explode/?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_source=Twitter&utm_term=Autofeed&cmpid=SOC%7cNSNS%7c2016-Echobox#link_time=1481109691
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¹ Hitchhiker’s Guide 2 Tech: “Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fires – cause – simple solution”, http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/09/samsung-galaxy-note-7-fires-cause-what.html

² Hitchhiker’s Guide 2 Tech: “Samsung Galaxy Note 7 – fires continue – simple solution”, http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/09/samsung-galaxy-note-7-fires-continue.html

³ Hitchhiker’s Guide 2 Tech: “iPhone has fire too”, http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/09/iphone-has-fire-too.html

⁴ Hitchhiker’s Guide 2 Tech: “More lithium ion battery fires – not just phones”, http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/11/more-lithium-ion-battery-fires.html

⁵ Toby Bond et. al.: “Electrode Stack Geometry Changes during Gas Evolution in Pouch-Cell-Type Lithium Ion Batteries”, http://jes.ecsdl.org/content/164/1/A6158.full / Recipe for Swiss roll flambé Toby Bond Canadian Light Source battery has swollen up like an inflatable pillow LiIon lithium-ion lithium ion batteries battery cell cells ubiquitous phones laptops device devices tablets pad iPad hoverboards lightweight hold a lot of charge high charge density recent spate of explosions safety concerns batteries damage-prone damage prone structure Toby Bond Canadian Light Source synchrotron facility Saskatoon Canada Canadian Light Source Inc. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 2V3 Canada contain electrode sheets wrapped in a spiralling Swiss roll jelly roll configuration energy-producing layers causes problems gas forms inside gas build up battery becomes overheated overcharged left drained of charge for too long liquid components battery vaporise and produce gas causes external casing swell up resulting in the characteristic pillow appearance battery can either pillow small amount keep operating pillow a lot cease operation keep generating gas rupture cell explosion fire pillowing battery’s outer appearance looking inside high-powered X-ray technique called computed tomography CT scan process as gas built up electrode layers appeared buckle push apart subtle defects already present battery found to be points of weakness defects probably introduced assembly process suggesting improvements manufacturing make lithium batteries more resistant unclear whether pillowing involved recent battery failures Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones reduce risk develop lithium-ion batteries no liquid components Neeraj Sharma University of New South Wales Sydney Australia working on solid-state batteries can be very safe scientific technical challenges need to be overcome compete with conventional lithium-ion batteries protect your lithium battery from pillowing stop it from overheating Avoid many uninterrupted hours playing 3D games your phone binge-watching movies nine-hour flight /

Nike’s self-lacing shoes too expensive? – try the Xpand Lacing System

Credit: Xpand

With Nike HyperAdapt retailing at $720 (if you can get your hands on a pair),¹ plus their complexity, & the need to keep the batteries charged, you may have decided that self lacing shoes are not for you.

Good news is that the Xpand Lacing System adds most of the same functionality to your own shoes, without any of the disadvantages – for as little as $5 per pair.



New Atlas
http://newatlas.com/xpand-lacing-system/40295/

Gear Junkie
https://gearjunkie.com/xpand-lacing-system

Indiegogo project
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/xpand-lacing-system-shoes/x/9010251#/

Kickstarter project
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/914635363/xpand-lacing-system/
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¹ Sneaker News: “How To Buy The Nike HyperAdapt 1.0”, http://sneakernews.com/2016/11/14/how-to-buy-the-nike-hyperadapt/ / Xpand traditional shoelaces shoelace tied in a bow hide the lace-ends inside your shoes new Xpand lacing system uses elastic laces slim anchors keep your shoes comfortable looking slick elastic laces bulky toggles hang outside the shoe Xpand system providing a means keeping your shoes laced tightly discreet and unintrusive manner designed by Charles Harris partnership with Seattle-based Pillar Product Design Xpand system lace shoes normal laces Lace Anchor lace-end and adjust desired tightness lace-ends trimmed off excess optional additional clip provides a tidy finished look Lace Anchors worn either inside or outside shoe worn inside they rest flat against the inside of the shoe comfort ensure wearer's laces look no different to conventional laces worn outside the shoe look more understated and streamlined than other solutions anchors and clips made of made of fiber-reinforced resin laces elastic rubber available in a variety of colors allows users to put on their shoes in three seconds flat system is easy enough for five-year-olds to use strong enough for triathletes Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign Xpand system production and roll-out /

Strongest hint yet Apple is working on self-driving tech

Credit: Fabrice Coffrini/Getty/Wired

There has been speculation for some time that Apple is building a motor vehicle/electric vehicle/autonomous vehicle – including in these pages.

And Apple registered some motor-vehicle-related domain names such as apple.car & apple.auto some time ago.¹

In the last few days, Apple has been reported as having written a five page letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Quotes include:

● [Apple is] “... excited about the potential of automated systems in many areas, including transportation”

● “... significant societal benefits of automated vehicles”

Despite some of the headlines, the only way that the Apple letter to NHTSA advances the speculation is that in indicates that:

● Apple has an interest in autonomous vehicles

● this interest may extend to an Apple autonomous vehicle, or something less ambitious, such as hardware &/or software for integration into vehicles by other manufacturers

BBC
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38199880

Wired
http://www.wired.co.uk/article/apple-self-driving-car-plans

MacRumours
http://www.macrumors.com/roundup/apple-car/

Ars Technica
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2016/12/apple-is-excited-about-the-potential-of-self-driving-cars/
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¹ Apple Insider: “Apple registers apple.car, apple.auto and apple.cars domain names”, http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/01/08/apple-registers-applecar-appleauto-and-applecars-domain-names / Apple letter clearest hint working on a self-driving car letter transport regulators Apple excited about automated systems transportation Apple given its clearest indication yet working on a self-driving car working with car manufacturers letter National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA Washington Apple uses machine learning products and services smarter investing heavily study machine learning automation excited about potential automated systems transportation comments response proposed Federal Automated Vehicles Policy Apple policy fundamental ensuring safety public acceptance automated vehicles providing flexible path for innovation five-page letter stops short explicitly admitting Apple working on self-driving car despite some headlines suggesting hopes new entrants industry same opportunities established manufacturers testing technology public roads Apple would be so vocal on this matter some stake in its progress rumoured Apple's self-driving car resemble a minivan initial reports design Apple told Wired does not comment on rumours or speculation Apple in talks acquire Formula 1 team owner McLaren Technology Group rumours potential F1 acquisition surfaced July tech giant approached car firm full takeover McLaren later denied claims reports Apple's car development report McLaren claims Apple's car program dubbed Project Titan responsible design and development car Apple has also hired driverless car experts engineers Tesla other car firms Apple /

AirDroid vulnerability threatens millions of users – Update: fix released

AirDroid
Credit: GreenBot

Update 01:50 Saturday 10 December GMT: just updated to version 4.0.0.3 which claims to fix the vulnerability described below.

AirDroid is a utility for the Android phone OS which allows sharing messages & files on phones with desktops & laptops – this functionality accounts for the 10 million + downloads indicated on the Google Play store.

All of those users are now at risk due to a vulnerability in the app which makes phones susceptible to a man-in-the-middle attack. Affected versions include the latest, version 4.0.0.1 (frequently misreported as 4.0.1). Claims have been made that the author has known about the vulnerability for 6 months – although a fix is promised within 2 weeks.

What should you do? Mobile security firm Zimperium, which discovered the vulnerability, advises that users should uninstall AirDroid until a fix is available.

GreenBot
http://www.greenbot.com/article/3146640/android/severe-airdroid-vulnerability-threatens-tens-of-millions-of-android-users.html

Ars Technica
http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/12/at-least-10-million-android-users-imperiled-by-popular-airdroid-app/ / popular remote management utility AirDroid attracted millions users sharing messages files phones PCs firing it up today mobile security firm Zimperium published report several major vulnerabilities threaten threat hijack your device security issue latest 4.0.0.1 release Zimperium insecure communication channels send the same data used to authenticate the device to their statistics server same network simple man-in-the-middle attack intercept user’s email address password AirDroid hacker download malicious updates app give them full control over the device Zimperium contacted Sand Studio vulnerability last month’s release version 4.0.0.1 vulnerability has not been patched advises users uninstall AirDroid until a fix is available Betty Chen, chief marketing officer Sand Studio Greenbot working on the solution roll out within next two weeks security vulnerabilities Google accounts Google Play store AirDroid popular utility 50 million Android users developers obligation users app safe and secure as possible quickly patched similar bug exposed by Check Point /

Amazon Web Services Snowmobile – when a one gigabit per-second connection just doesn’t cut it

Amazon Web Services Snowmobile – 100 petabyte on board
Credit: Amazon

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is in the business of providing cloud storage. If you have made use of such a service, you will be aware of how long transferring even a few gigabytes to the cloud can take (depending on the speed of your connection).

For organisations with storage requirements in the 100 petabyte range (that’s 100,000 terabytes¹), AWS has a different kind of Internet connection – an 18 wheeler containing a 100 petabyte hard drive array. To upload the customer’s data to its cloud:
● Amazon delivers a Snowmobile (or a several) to the customer
● customer copies data to Snowmobile
● Amazon delivers Snowmobile(s) to its server facility
● Amazon copies customer data to its servers

For multi-petabyte data uploads, Snowmobile is faster than even a one gigabit per-second connection.

And Snowmobile? The name is derived from a similar service called Snowball – a device which can hold 80 terabytes – Amazon ships one to a customer – customer ships it back to Amazon Web Services (AWS) for upload to its cloud.

Wired – “Amazon’s Snowmobile Is Actually a Truck Hauling A Huge Hard Drive”
https://www.wired.com/2016/12/amazons-snowmobile-actually-truck-hauling-huge-hard-drive/?mbid=nl_12216_p3&CNDID=

Engadget – “Amazon's new Snowmobile collects data instead of blasting through powder”
https://www.engadget.com/2016/12/02/amazons-new-snowmobile-collects-data-instead-of-blasting-throug/

Mashable – “Amazon just unveiled its most impressive tech yet, and it's an actual truck”
http://mashable.com/2016/12/02/amazon-unveils-a-truck-to-carry-all-that-data/#2pTt5NPMH8qn

Amazon – “Amazon Web Services Snowmobile”
https://aws.amazon.com/snowmobile/
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¹ High Scalability: “How Big Is A Petabyte, Exabyte, Zettabyte, Or A Yottabyte?”, http://highscalability.com/blog/2012/9/11/how-big-is-a-petabyte-exabyte-zettabyte-or-a-yottabyte.html / Amazon new Snowmobile collects data instead of blasting through powder Amazon’s Snowmobile Is Actually a Truck Hauling A Huge Hard Drive new service that makes Google Fiber seem slow rides on 18 wheels today’s speediest internet connections faster to download movies downloading uploading large amounts of data take days months years film studio’s entire video archives satellite imagery collections government agencies lag problem Amazon companies store their information lucrative cloud logistics company solve strangest ideas yet tractor trailer transport your data to Amazon’s own data centers information superhighway joke Amazon new service named Snowmobile Re:Invent conference Las Vegas designed shuttle 100 petabytes around 100,000 terabytes per truck storage five copies of the Internet Archive comprehensive backup web present and past 18.5 petabytesof unique data Amazon businesses ship hard disks full of data Amazon uploading retail giant’s cloud copying 100 petabytes to individual hard drives isn’t practical Snowmobile acts like a giant hard drive comes to you using multiple semis shuttle data around massive amounts of data hitting open road most efficient way to go one gigabit per-second connection Google Fiber uploading 100 petabytes over Internet take more than 28 years average speed 65 mph drive Snowmobile San Francisco to New York City about 45 hours about 4,970 gigabits per second time it takes to actually transfer data onto Snowmobile Amazon take less than 10 days Snowmobile Amazon’s servers truck much much faster Amazon has data centers throughout the country data won’t need to travel cross-country security Snowmobile multiple layers logical physical protection chain-of-custody tracking video surveillance Amazon cloud /

Nikola One hydrogen fuel cell electric semi trailer tractor – making progress

Nikola One hydrogen fuel cell electric semi trailer tractor
Credit: Electric Cars Report

You may have previously read about the Nikola One semi trailer tractor on these pages in June of this year.

In the interim, the specs have changed somewhat, but there is still reason to hope for reduced pollution & improved energy efficiency compared to diesel powered equivalents.

Previously, some details were lacking, but now it appears to be a conventional hydrogen fuel cell installation, with the fuel cell charging a lithium ion battery. Fuel cell vehicles do not compare favourably with battery electric vehicles, but when the competition is diesel ...

Specs include:
● 800-1,200 mile range

● sustainable hydrogen supply produced by electrolysis of water using solar electricity

● 15 minute refill time
● 2,000 ft lbs torque
● 1,000 horsepower
● 320 kWh lithium ion battery
● up to 1,200-mile range
● regenerative braking
● reduced braking distance

● Nikola will be building a chain of 364 solar powered hydrogen refueling facilities in North America

In practice, the claimed advantages include:

● 2,000 pounds lower mass, translates into more load, & more income for the operator

● approximately double the power of diesel powered alternatives translates into reduced speed loss when climbing hills, shorter trip times & more income

● substantially improved acceleration reduces trip times

● regenerative braking reduces energy consumption & fuel costs

● fuel consumption 2 to 3 times better than diesel vehicles

AutoBlog
http://www.autoblog.com/2016/12/01/nikola-one-hydrogen-powered-semi-zero-emisson/

Engadget
https://www.engadget.com/2016/12/01/nikola-unveils-its-hydrogen-powered-semi-truck/

Green Car Reports
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1107560_nikola-one-hydrogen-range-extended-electric-truck-to-be-unveiled-tonight

Manufacturer web site
https://nikolamotor.com/one#specs / This truck will come to market, I promise you that Nikola Motor Company founder CEO Trevor Milton big reveal event new zero-emission semi truck semi trailer tractor industrial area near downtown Salt Lake City Utah Milton Nikola One truck new company change the US trucking industry videos America needs trucks truckers improve vehicles lives lower costs no dirty emissions better cab lower costs mass weight Nikola One compared traditional diesel rig about 2,000 pounds lighter weight cab add payload move more goods more goods means more money purchase or lease price lease $5,000-$7,000 a month 72 months Nikola website million miles of free hydrogen drivers refuel fill up network 364 planned Nikola hydrogen stations US and southern Canada vertically integrated Nikola make hydrogen liquefy it truck it stations solar energy electrolyze water hydrogen H2 no emissions on-board hydrogen fuel cell energy 320-kWh lithium ion LiIon battery frame rail power truck's electric motors hydrogen tailpipe water vapor diesel powertrain Nikola One reduced maintenance semi trucks powertrain 1,000 horsepower 2,000 pound-feet of torque 1,200-mile range tank battery options 15.4 miles per gallon double the average diesel semi /