Electrónica em Blocos, gasolina eléctrica, e Aço Plástico

Através da nossa amiga Catarina Mota, vem-nos esta Óptima ideia, LittleBits!

Ayah Bdeir: Building blocks that blink, beep and teach

TED Talks

Imagine a set of electronics as easy to play with as Legos. TED Fellow Ayah Bdeir introduces littleBits, a set of simple, interchangeable blocks that make programming as simple and important...

http://www.ted.com/talks/ayah_bdeir_building_blocks_that_blink_beep_and_teach.html

Porque os "carros eléctricos" são, sinceramente, uma anedota, e iriam arruinar as já sobrecarregadas e sobre-reguladas Redes Eléctricas, eis algo de REALMENTE positivo, um Combustível Líquido, a partir de Energia Solar, sem ter de roubar Alimento às populações, como o Bio-Etanol...

Researchers generate liquid fuel using electricity

By Darren Quick

While electric vehicles have come a long way in the past decade, they still have many disadvantages when compared to internal combustion engine-driven vehicles. The lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles have a much lower energy storage density when compared to liquid fuel, they take longer to “refuel,” and they lack the supporting infrastructure that has built up around conventional vehicles over the past century. Now researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed a process that could allow liquid fuel to be produced using solar generated electricity.

Using only electricity for the energy input, the team was able to convert carbon dioxide into the liquid fuel isobutanol. They did this by genetically engineering a lithoautotrophic microorganism (one that utilizes inorganic compounds as energy sources) known as Ralstonia eutropha H16 to produce 3-methyl-1-butanol and isobutanol, a colorless, flammable liquid that holds potential as an alternative to gasoline in combustion engines. The microorganism was placed in an electro-bioreactor and used only carbon dioxide as the carbon source and electricity as the sole energy input.

http://www.gizmag.com/generating-isobutanol-using-electricity/22005/

Eis algo de fantástico, um Novo Material que pode substituír o Aço, 30% mais leve, e é um Material fácilmente moldável:

Polyurethane composite could replace steel or aluminum in some applications

By Ben Coxworth

A consortium of German research groups has created a new sandwich-type material that they claim offers strength similar to that of steel or aluminum, yet is significantly lighter and less expensive. It consists of a honeycomb-structured paper core, with glass fiber-reinforced layers of polyurethane on the outsides. To give an idea of how tough it is, it’s about to be tested on the diesel engine housing of a train.

The material is intended for a number of applications, but it was decided that the engine housing would be a good test. The housing will be located on the underside of the train, where it will be constantly subjected to track debris such as flying rocks. It must also contain engine fluids such as oil, to keep them from leaking into the environment, while additionally serving to contain the flames in the event of an engine fire – additives in the polyurethane ensure that it meets fire safety standards.

http://www.gizmag.com/polyurethane-sandwich-material/22004/

...E esta pequena maravilha, com muitas aplicações, mas dá um Brinquedo do caraças...

Collapsible “Buckliball” turns failure into functionality

By David Szondy

Taking inspiration from a toy, a team of researchers at MIT have developed a new engineering structure that is mechanically unstable, yet collapses in a way that is predictable and reversible. The structure, formed out of a single piece of rubber-like material, is fabricated so that it collapses in harmony to form a smaller structure that can then be expanded into the original shape. This structure opens up new potentials in everything from architecture to micro-medical applications.

When we think of structures, we tend to think of them as things that don’t fall down. If you had to come up with one common criterion for bridges, buildings, houses, stadiums, sheds and dog houses, it’s that once built, they should tend to stay upright and not come crashing down around people’s ears. If they do so, that is generally regarded as a failure, so engineers put a great deal of effort into keeping that from happening.

http://www.gizmag.com/buckliball/21954/