11034354
submission
An anonymous reader writes:
Alleged: U.S. inventor, Dr. Thie, gets more than he had hoped for when he figures out a way to harness the vortex formed in his vacuum cleaner, combing the principles of quantum physics, Schauberger's vortices, and Tesla's radiant energy. "He pulled out his trusty duct tape, twisted some wires around into some toroid coils like he'd seen some Tesla replicators doing, with a Marco Rodin twist, and put some small magnet fragments in the tornado chamber. The idea was that as the little magnets spun around in the tornado, the coils would pick up the flux from their movement, generating electricity."
11034340
submission
nman4ever writes:
Google Maps Australia has been translated driving directions into Australian English.
e.g. Some of the Directions like
"Chucka U-ey" — Execute a U-Turn, “Hang a Right” — Make a right turn, “Fang a Left” — Make a left turn,
Driving Styles
"Flat chat" — Going very fast, “Hoon” — Fast, irresponsible driver, “Bag em up” — Smoke the tires
These are live on the maps.google.com.au site.
10602566
submission
sterlingda writes:
The associated press reports that Austin police arrested Omar Ramos-Lopez, 20, on Wednesday, charging him with felony breach of computer security. Ramos-Lopez used a former colleague's password to deactivate starters and set off car horns, police said. Several car owners said they had to call tow trucks and were left stranded at work or home. "He caused these customers, now victims, to miss work," Austin police spokeswoman Veneza Aguinaga said. "They didn't get paid. They had to get tow trucks. They didn't know what was going on with their vehicles."
10600400
submission
parallel_prankster writes:
Bruce Bueno de Mesquita is a professor of politics at New York University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in California. In his new book, The Predictioneer (The Predictioneer's Game in the US), he describes a computer model based on game theory which — and others — claim can predict the future with remarkable accuracy. The primary website link also has a game page where he provides an online version of the game and information on how to play.
"Over the past 30 years, Bueno de Mesquita has made thousands of predictions about hundreds of issues from geopolitics to personal problems. Overall, he claims, his hit rate is about 90 per cent. So how does he do it? What more, the CIA seems to be using this model to predict the outcome of political situations around the world!!". The original article from NewScientist (semi-walled, may need to register) is here: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527520.500-the-predictioneer-using-games-to-see-the-future.html?page=1
10599580
submission
thecarchik writes:
So, how, exactly, does one take low-energy lasers, nanoparticles and fuel and come up with a lean, green machine? The answer is suprisingly simple, if you don't dig too deep. Tiny particles called "functionalized fullerenes" help fuel to burn at lower ignition energies, meaning a lower-power ignition source can be used. That's where the low-power laser comes in. Not much more powerful than a typical laser pointer, the laser sets off the fullerenes, which then ignite the fuel--but because they're nanoparticles and distributed throughout the fuel, they help to make for more complete combustion, improving the overall thermal efficiency of the engine. The sum total of the equation? Less fuel for the same power output.
10383430
submission
sterlingda writes:
Yesterday, Slashdot ran a story with the title "The Future of Wind Power May Be Underground". Also published yesterday was a story about the MYT(tm) Engine (Massive Yet Tiny, by Angel Labs LLC), which also has application as a pump or compressor. The company says the engine as a pump/compressor is able to combine all three key elements of pumping/compressing — pressure, volume, and flow — into one device, making it the ideal candidate for applications like pumping and retrieving pressurized air from wind turbines into underground chambers, making the storage cycle much more efficient and cost effective. Yesterday's article was about applying the MYT engine technology to geothermal energy harvesting. On May 15, 2010, Angel Labs will be demonstrating its engine to the Oregon Section of the Society of Automotive Engineers. The MYT (Massive Yet Tiny) Engine by inventor Raphial Morgado, is an award-winning internal combustion engine of new design that features multiple firings in one cycle, producing enormous torque in a small area. They claim 40 times higher power to weight ratio, low parts count, low maintenance, high mechanical efficiency, and low pollution.
10174402
submission
An anonymous reader writes:
A Slovenian turbine-generator called the SP River Pump that is designed to work in relatively slow and shallow moving water supposedly could not only provide clean energy but at a price point many times cheaper than the cheapest grid power presently available. You have to admit that the design is eligantly simple and sound. But could it deliver on the inventor's claim that it could be produced for as much as seven times cheaper than grid power?
10174324
submission
Magnetic solder might lead to a new computer age -
http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/03/05/mag...
10161060
submission
sterlingda writes:
Wired writer, Ryan Singel says the biggest threat to the open internet is not Chinese government hackers or greedy anti-net-neutrality ISPs, it’s Michael McConnell, the former director of national intelligence. And Infowars.com points to the cybersecurity bill (HR 4061) that has passed the U.S. House and is now in the Senate under the direction of the renown internet hater, senator Jay Rockefeller. It would pave the way for requiring that websites be registered with the Federal Government in order to operate, essentially obliterating the free speech pillar of freedom that allows for dissent. The software standardization provision (section 3.1) would require that all software would have to go through the cybersecurity panel, with oversight by NIST, which cooked the books in its report blaming fire as the cause of Building 7 of the WTC collapsing at free-fall speed on 9/11, defying the laws of physics they are supposed to champion. Watch Alex Jones and Jason Bermas discuss the various draconian aspects of the bill, reading from it and commenting [Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3]. I can't imagine any slashdotter supporting this bill if they knew its contents. How did it pass the house with such a strong margin? With your help, maybe we can stop it in the Senate.
10127146
submission
An anonymous reader writes:
PlasmERG Inc., who is developing a noble gas plasma expansion motor that could revolutionize the renewable energy industry with clean, cheap, and reliable power has been selected as a top five finalist among the "Most Promising Renewable Energy Technologies" category for EE Times' prestigious Annual Creativity in Electronics (ACE) Awards, with media sponsorship by IEEE Spectrum. Is it really possible to run an engine on inert noble gas?
10125620
submission
schliz writes:
St.George Bank in Australia has mailed the details of up to 42,000 account holders to other customers. The error was blamed on a programmer at business process outsourcing company Salmat, who "manually intervened" when a file was found to be corrupted during the automated process. Disciplinary action is expected to be taken.
6770484
submission
sterlingda writes:
Bruce Marshall has filed a patent for a hydrothermal system that would harness the vast energy available from deep sea hydrothermal vents in which water seeps into near-surface magma, where it is continuously heated and ejected through vents at around 750 degrees Fahrenheit. The hot water and minerals would be brought to the surface to turn turbines. The vent output is very consistent and energy dense and at very high volumes. This is a brand new, previously untouched, energy source — a discovery on the scale of man's harnessing nuclear power, but cleaner and potentially cheaper. National Geographic estimates the power of just the known worldwide vents at around 17 million megawatts, with thousands of miles of ocean still unexplored. It's difficult to estimate the quality and number of vents that are convenient enough to be practical, but Marshall believes that several thousand gigawatts of power are recoverable worldwide-- the equivalent of perhaps 1,000 or more nuclear power plants. Also, as the hydrothermal fluid rises it carries with it some of the richest ores to be found anywhere, laden with just about every metal and mineral that we mine the surface for now. Anyone have a few spare billion to help build the pilot plant?
6769932
submission
sterlingda writes:
Jack Passerello, who was involved with the invention of the first computer chip, proposes that the fractal antenna technology that is used in cell phones could be engineered to capture naturally-occurring electromagnetic waves and convert them into usable power. An engineering breakthrough would be needed, along with a multi-discipline cooperative approac, to get sufficienty coherence from the wide array of miniscule power inputs.
6769812
submission
sterlingda writes:
Mr. Ohmasa, president of Japan Techno, Inc., has devised a method of producing an unusual hydrogen-oxygen gas by using low frequency vibrations to circulate the water upon which electrolysis is run, creating a highly stable H2-O2 gas called Ohmasa gas which exhibits unusual characteristics. Also, while oxygen normally liquifies at -183 C, and hydrogen liquiefies at -253 C, Ohmasa gas liquefies at -178 C. Also, the Ohmasa gas does not escape from containers that hold oxygen but not normal hydrogen; it holds its pressure in the container, making storage and shipment feasible. Similar to Brown's Gas, one can wave their hand through the Ohmasa gas torch flame, yet that same flame will vaporize Tungsten in a second. When Ohmasa gas is burned, its emission is water vapor. Hence, with this new method, water could conceivably become the energy carrier of choice for energy produced from renewable sources such as solar and wind. Some modifications would likely need to be made to existing engines for it to work well with them, and it would require new tanks (gaseous rather than liquid), and new dispensing orifices.
