A six-story-high rubber duck is making a big splash in Hong Kong. Crowds watched the inflatable duck being pulled by tugboat across Victoria Harbor in front of Hong Kong’s signature skyscraper skyline. Tourist Zhang Wenjin from Shanghai says it’s a big surprise. “This is huge. My daughter liked it when she saw it just now. […]
Automotive/Transportation
The McLaren P1: Tested to Extremes
With only a few months remaining until the first deliveries will be made to just 375 customers, the development programme for the McLaren P1 continues to accelerate as it nears its end. This extensive work is being carried out to ensure that the McLaren P1 delivers on the target of being ‘the best driver’s car […]
Comparing Low Harmonic Drives in Light of IEEE 519
The most commonly used standard in the electric industry for limiting the harmonics in supply systems is IEEE 519. For purposes of this discussion, we’ll define harmonics as currents or voltages with frequencies that represent integer multiples of the fundamental power frequency. Example: the 2nd harmonic on a standard 60 Hz frequency would be 120 […]
Automotive Vents Protect Powertrain Components
[[{“fid”:”247722″,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”type”:”media”,”attributes”:{“height”:200,”width”:300,”style”:”float: right; margin: 10px;”,”class”:”media-element file-media-original”}}]]W. L. Gore & Associates (Elkton, MA) has expanded its line of GORE Automotive Vents to include the new Series: AVS 41 (P/N VE2048) venting solution, which is engineered specifically for powertrain components. This new vent improves component reliability by equalizing pressure, preventing contamination from water, dust, dirt and, other automotive […]
If Cars Could Talk, Accidents Might be Avoidable
When we drive, we get into a glass bubble, lock the doors and press the accelerator, relying on our eyes to guide us — even though we can only see the few cars ahead of and behind us. But what if cars could share data with each other about their position and velocity, and use […]
10 MUST READ posts from April
Here’s a rundown of the most read, most popular, most awesome articles on the web. Take a look at what you missed the first time around or check up on an old favorite to see the conversation in the comments. Keep checking out the Lead at www.ecnmag.com and follow us on Twitter @ecnonline for our […]
Valley Fever Hits 28 at CA Solar Plant Sites
Authorities are investigating a valley fever outbreak that sickened 28 workers at solar power plants under construction in Central California. The Los Angeles Times (https://lat.ms/10TMNwA ) reports public health and work safety staff visited two sites in San Luis Obispo County two months ago. Valley fever is contracted by breathing spores from a fungus […]
China automaker to open electric bus plant in CA
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Chinese company whose mantra is Build Your Dreams plans to build all-electric buses in California’s Mojave Desert. Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris and officials of BYD Automotive scheduled a news conference Wednesday to announce plans to open the first Chinese-owned vehicle manufacturing plant in the United States in the wind-swept […]
Calif. Reactors Might be Retired if Restart Nixed
Costs tied to the long-running shutdown of California’s San Onofre nuclear power plant have soared to $553 million, while the majority owner raised the possibility Tuesday of retiring the plant if it can’t get one reactor running later this year. The twin-domed plant between San Diego and Los Angeles has not produced electricity since January […]
Photos of the Day: Smallest Stop-Motion Film
In this undated image taken from video and provided by IBM, carbon monoxide molecules are arranged on the screen to form the IBM logo, in what IBM claims to be the world’s tiniest stop-action movie. (View movie below). Entitled “A Boy and his Atom,” the one minute video employs individual carbon monoxide molecules that are […]