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Submission + - CATL launches 170 Wh/kg modular, heavy-duty vehicle battery w/621 mile range (interestingengineering.com)

fahrbot-bot writes: Interesting Engineering is reporting that the Chinese battery company CATL has unveiled its next-generation modular commercial vehicle battery platform, TECTRANS II, at IAA Transportation 2026 in Hanover.

Rather than a basic cell update, the system is a adaptable modular architecture that integrates into existing vehicle lines. Truck manufacturers can achieve up to 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) of range on a single charge, backed by megawatt-level fast charging that replenishes 80% capacity in 25 minutes.

The battery delivers a gravimetric energy density of 170 Wh/kg, exceeding the industry average by 13% and increasing payload capacity by 0.6 tonnes.

CATL rates the heavy-duty truck setup for a 12-year, 1.5-million-kilometer (932,056 mile) operating lifecycle while retaining 70 percent capacity.

Comment Re:So AI agents get a pass? (Score 3, Informative) 96

Yes they do, for the same reason that self driving cars get a pass when doing an illegal u-turn. The laws as written currently do not cover a situation outside of direct human control and intent.

It shouldn't be the case, but to fix this we need new laws first, and laws don't get to be criminally applied retrospectively in Australia, so yeah they got a free pass this time.

I'll note that Trump and his family are financially invested in AI companies, so he has little motivation in down-regulating them while they're making him $$$.

Trump reveals millions of dollars' worth of share deals in big tech and AI

According to official documents, between $6.5m (£4.8m) and $31m worth of stock in Microsoft was sold on behalf of Trump, while they show purchases of between $165,000 and $400,000. Across more than 1,000 trades, shares were bought and sold in AI company Nvidia and software firm Palantir, a contractor with the US defence department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the filing shows.

A White House spokesperson said Trump's stock and bond portfolio is independently managed by third parties, "There are no conflicts of interest."

Apparently, that last paragraph was said seriously.

Comment So AI agents get a pass? (Score 1) 96

Rogue OpenAI Agent Tried to Breach Government Site

If a person or persons tried doing this and got caught, they'd be in jail, but - so far - AI gets a pass from this Administration.

The world wants to secure AI. It may have to try without the US.

World leaders and tech CEOs are using the U.N. General Assembly this week to call for a global approach to rein in AI, particularly following cyberattacks against other technology firms in recent weeks. But that’s against the backdrop of President Donald Trump flatly rejecting in his own speech to the assembly any “globalist scheme of control” on AI.

Noting that Sam Altman and OpenAI are quoted as being in favor of AI controls...

Comment Re:super (Score 3, Funny) 250

However I'm not sure I'm getting the point of the joke on this best of all possible jokes. If it's the "L", then why not Lame Intelligence or Loser Intelligence or possibly even Lost Intelligence? Or maybe I just can't see Ludicrous anymore?

It's a reference to Ludicrous Speed, in the movie Spaceballs, which is faster than Light Speed - with "Ridiculous Speed" in between. Someone else followed my post with "They've gone to plaid!", which is also from that film. (All in the clip below).

Spaceballs - Ludicrous Speed

It's just implying how stupid Trump is being, or is...

Submission + - New tin-based solar cells trap heat 1,000 times longer, could beat 33% limit. (interestingengineering.com)

fahrbot-bot writes: Interesting Engineering is reporting that researchers at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands found that tin-based perovskite solar cells can slow heat loss from high-energy “hot electrons” by a factor of 1,000 and could push solar cell efficiency beyond the theoretical 33 percent limit.

When sunlight strikes a panel, photons jump-start electrons into action. The most energetic photons create super-charged hot electrons. Theoretically, these high-voltage powerhouses should generate far more electricity, but, in practice, they are fleeting. In fractions of a trillionth of a second, these high-energy particles rapidly cool, dumping their bonus energy as waste heat before ever leaving the solar cell.

“This means that the energy is lost before the hot electron exits the solar cell material,” said Jan Anton Koster, Professor of Physics of Novel Semiconductors and Devices at the University of Groningen.

Using a specialized solar cell material called tin-based perovskite, Loi’s lab performed a feat many thought impossible: she slowed the heat loss down by a factor of 1,000. Suddenly, the extra energy lingered for nanoseconds instead of vanishing in picoseconds.

The study findings were published in the journal ACS Energy Letters.

Submission + - Trump says Arch will be a military complex with weapons, drones, sniper's nest (theguardian.com)

fahrbot-bot writes: The Guardian is reporting, along with others, that President Donald Trump is proferring a new argument for building his triumphal arch in Washington DC: it will be converted into a “top grade military complex” replete with drone and ammunition storage space and customized sniper facilities on the roof and plaza.

In a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday morning, Trump claimed that his new plan came at the “strong request” of the US military. He said the 250ft structure would be able to “house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage”. The president added, “There will be no facility like this anywhere in the world.”

This seems like a ploy to get around courts holding up the project by re-framing the project as a National Security matter, as he did with the East Wing of the White House. (Can the Kennedy Center be far behind?)

Comment Re:Migration season (Score 2) 204

Flying low over the central flyway during migration season might not be a good idea.
Geese are non-compressible fluids as far as jet turbines are concerned.

Probably a Canadian Geese trying to sneak into America.

Canada Geese can apparently fend off Bald Eagles, so why not Falcons (F-16s). :-)

The Full Story Behind the White House’s Eagle v Canada Goose Post

T]he official White House X account reposted a photograph of a bald eagle pinning a Canada goose ... It appeared the image was intended to symbolize American dominance over its northern neighbor ...

The full set of pictures from the incident show the bald eagle launching multiple attacks against the Canada goose over roughly 20 minutes. At several points, the goose appears pinned to the ice and in danger of being killed.

However, the goose repeatedly stands back up, spreads its wings and confronts the eagle. By the end of the encounter, the eagle gives up and leaves while the goose remains alive.

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