3D printing company Solid Concepts announced it has manufactured the world’s first 3D Printed Metal Gun using a laser sintering process and powdered metals.
The gun, a 1911 classic design, has already handled 50 rounds of successful firing. It is composed of 33 17-4 Stainless Steel and Inconel 625 components, and decked with a Selective Laser Sintered (SLS) carbon-fiber filled nylon hand grip.
at 3ders.org
This diagram shows how the University of Cincinnati’s SmartLight can direct sunlight from the outside of a building (far right) to the inner part of a building and to a centralized harvesting- and energy-storage hub (far left). Credit: Anton Harfmann, U?
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-11-smartlight-bright-idea-revolution-interior.html#jCp
Very cool but think about this, a century ago buildings had tall ceilings transoms, etc to duct light and air around, then we invented air conditioning and electric lights…and we got lazy. Sounds like the naked monkeys at it again.
Natural gas fired Gas Turbines to get wind speed on the right ‘quarter’ and the combined wind speed provides a boost to get up to 60% fuel savings. All very well till you get in a real blow, it does look like it’ll be a bit of a handful in bad weather, it has big stabilizers like a sailing yacht so maybe it’ll work…anyway it’ll be a figment of computer simulation sthen tank testing for a few years yet.
Motorola Announces “Project Ara,” a modular phone hardware platform
Motorola has announced a free open hardware platform for smartphones called “Project Ara.” The goal is to create a modular smartphone that would allow users to swap hardware components at will. Motorola says it wants to “do for hardware what the Android platform has done for software: create a vibrant third-party developer ecosystem, lower the barriers to entry, increase the pace of innovation, and substantially compress development timelines.”
looks cool seems reasonable for the large geek, nerd, techie, metro, hip, individualist, contingents out there. Making it rugged and relatively ‘duh’ proof will be a challenge.
Do we really go to the races for the visceral shiver a race car’s engine can give you, the aching memory frisson that the stink of castrol can trigger?
Formula One dominator Sebastian Vettel gave short shrift Saturday to the new, electric Formula E series, saying it would be far too quiet and was “not the future”.
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-10-vettel-formula-future.html#jCp
Formula E car specifications
top speed: 220km/h A
Acceleration: 0 to 100 in three seconds
Power: 180KW
Weight: 780kg
Gearbox: Two gears
Batteries: Lithium ion
Voltage: 800V
Range: 25 minutes
Charging time: 90 minutes
Read more: The Engineer Formula E Chassis
beautiful engineering…can be a bit…blocky
Falcon 9 first stage burns an engine during a controlled descent to the Pacific Ocean. (Credit: SpaceX)
Falcon 9 first stage in a controlled descent toward the Pacific Ocean. At this point, the stage was about 3 meters (9.8 feet) above the water. (Credit: SpaceX)
“SpaceX then lit the center engine for a single engine burn. That relight also went well, however we exceeded the roll control authority of the attitude control thrusters. This particular stage was not equipped with landing gear which could have helped stabilize the stage like fins would on an aircraft. The stage ended up spinning to a degree that was greater than we could control with the gas thrusters on board and ultimately we hit the water relatively hard.
from the picture above it looks like it came pretty damn close! WOW!
The i3 is BMW’s Ultimate Electric Driving Machine: BY DAMON LAVRINC 07.29.13
Wired question the “new age refrigerator” look but I like it.
Continues the trend showing that you need to design from the ground up…and know what you are doing…and what you want to emphasize when designing eCars.
WIRED: The Abomination of Ebooks: They Price People Out of Reading BY ART BRODSKY 10.02.13
This World and Others 