Engineering | Keys Corner

Thorium could be the answer to the energy crisis

By John, on August 31st, 2010

The Daily Telegraph points to thorium as a way out of the energy crisis.

Dr Rubbia says a tonne of the silvery metal – named after the Norse god of thunder, who also gave us Thor’s day or Thursday – produces as much energy as 200 tonnes of uranium, or 3,500,000 tonnes of . . . → Read More: Thorium could be the answer to the energy crisis

Maximizing the chance of surviving a plane crash

By John, on July 22nd, 2010

Back in 2001 the US National Transportation Safety Board published a report on the survival rates in air crashes (PDF, 800 KB). They are much better than you might think: Nearly 96 percent of the occupants involved in a Part 121 aviation accident over the past 18 years survived the accident, and in over . . . → Read More: Maximizing the chance of surviving a plane crash

autonomous quadrotor helicopter

By John, on May 28th, 2010

… the thing moves with the speed and grace of an angry bee, while accompanied by the perfectly menacing whine of its little engine.

Wow!

(via Engaget)

How car safety has improved in 50 years

By John, on January 14th, 2010

An interesting video by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety showing a crash test where a 1959 Chevrolet is crashed into a 2009 Chevy. It shows the massive advance in occupant-safety over 50 years. I would not want to be the driver in the older car.

(via Boing Boing) . . . → Read More: How car safety has improved in 50 years

The Zweistil Bike

By John, on August 23rd, 2009

This cool bike is an entry for the 2009 James Dyson Award design competition.

There’s a neat video of the prototype in action on YouTube. The prototype can change it’s configuration while in motion! . . . → Read More: The Zweistil Bike

Wired: Amazon will deliver books via the sewer

By John, on July 29th, 2009

I don’t find Phillip Hermes’ idea for beating the traffic jams of the future particularly attractive:

…the Urban Mole is a capsule that travels through existing networks of underground pipes in order to transport packages as diverse as groceries, signed documents and any title that appears on Oprah’s Book Club. The Mole frees up . . . → Read More: Wired: Amazon will deliver books via the sewer

A mechanical precursor to e-mail

By John, on June 27th, 2009

I read Molly Wright Steenson’s blog girlwonder on an irregular basis – she has lived in Italy, India and several other places – which is pretty unusual for an American, and she’s interested in modern architecture, various aspects of using the web, and design. Which are all things she blogs about.

She published . . . → Read More: A mechanical precursor to e-mail

Ideas around the home

By John, on December 31st, 2008

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Today I finally got around to correcting the programming for our outside lights, which I screwed up when we switched from summer time several weeks ago. The programming for the lights and for the outside blinds is performed by complicated sequences of button-pushes on the above controllers. The sequences are so complicated, and the handbooks so poorly written, that we usually manage to screw up the programming for at least one of the units each year. They drive me mad.

So the next time we move, there is one “must”. We are going to have lights and blinds controlled by a home automation (HA) unit which can be programmed using a personal computer using either a USB interface, or better, via a WLAN connection. At least, I hope so.

Continue reading Ideas around the home

The world’s tallest building

By John, on August 18th, 2008

OK – the Burj Dubai is not completed yet. That’s scheduled for September 2009, at a cost building of three Millau Viaducts. But it has already set a number of records: Tallest structure: over 636 m Building with most floors: 164 Highest vertical concrete pumping: 601 m

It actually looks most impressive photographed from . . . → Read More: The world’s tallest building