AFS Trinity Pulls 150 MPG SUV out of LA Auto Show

This car should easily win the X-Prize for a 100mpg car. The full article is very revealing about the petty jealousy and protectionism some companies face with a superior product which they too could design and produce if they would just DO IT!

“The company’s decision followed actions by the LA Auto Show to muzzle AFS Trinity from highlighting the 150 miles per gallon fuel economy of its XH150 prototype vehicles. “The suppression by the automakers of information about technologies such as this raises serious questions about the judgment, vision, intentions and capabilities of the leadership of these companies,” said Edward W. Furia, Chairman and CEO of AFS Trinity. “Such conduct by the automakers, who are currently seeking tens of billions of taxpayer dollars, ostensibly to develop fuel efficient vehicle technologies, is evidence they are reluctant to embrace solutions they didn’t invent.” First shown at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit in January, 2008, two XH150 prototypes have toured the country for the last ten months and received positive reactions from the American public, national media (see coverage at http://www.afstrinity.com/press-coverage.htm), public officials, Governors, Senators and Members of Congress as well as automotive fleet managers and engineers in Austin, Salt Lake City, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Seattle, Livermore and Sacramento. Furia said, “No one questions the sales potential of a 150-MPG SUV that can carry a whole family and provide better acceleration than similar gasoline models. Every single person who has driven these cars loves them and wants one. We have built two XH150 prototypes and demonstrated them across the country. Yet, none of the major automakers has accepted our invitation to see and drive them, let alone license the technology and mass produce them. They usually claim that they are going to come up with something of their own in the future. In other words, they reject breakthroughs they didn’t invent.” “In the meantime,” Furia said, “American auto plants are closing, men and women who are among the best trained, most productive auto workers in the world are losing their jobs in record numbers, and America is in danger of losing the last vestiges of its heartland heavy industrial base altogether. We want people to know that a super fuel-efficient automotive solution to our dependence on oil already exists, which the driving public enthusiastically supports and that major automakers can license and mass-produce within an estimated three years.” AFS Trinity’s 150-MPG mileage estimate is based on a typical week of driving: 40 miles, 6 days per week and 80 miles on one weekend day each week. The first 40 miles of every day are electric, with gasoline being used only for distances beyond 40 miles. For this driving profile, the XH-150 uses up to 2 gallons of gas to travel 320 miles, which works out to 160 mpg, which the company rounds down to 150 miles per gallon. Furia explained that the difference between the AFS Trinity approach to energy storage in a plugin hybrid and that of other developers is the use of ultracapacitors and proprietary control electronics to solve the power and life cycle limitations of batteries. AFS Trinity’s XH-150 plug-in hybrid electric car recharged from a household power plug. This “extreme hybrid” travels 40 miles in electric-only mode before the gas engine is needed. 78% of Americans drive less than 40 miles per day; so many would never have to visit a gas station if they owned an XH-150.” – Source

Treo SuperTurbine

Fascinating concept and it’s proven itself in real world experiments.

“The Selsam Off-Shore SUPERTURBINE(TM) lowers costs by eliminating all unnecessary components that do not directly contribute to power generation. Flotation near the surface forms a fulcrum, with the weight of the rotors and driveshaft balanced by a downward force from mooring below. The result, combined with the force of the wind, defining the projecting angle of the shaft. The rotors can be staggered, spiral, or in line. Simple in its design, the turbine is an engineering beauty. The driveshaft is made from carbon-fiber formula-1 racing car driveshafts bonded to carbon-fiber hang-glider spars. This government-sponsored project has by far set the world record for power output at all wind speeds from a 7-foot diameter wind turbine of any type.” – Source

The Power to Light the World

I tried to find his patent pending but no success.

“Walter Owens, a retired electrical engineer, has invented a power generator system that actually creates it’s own fuel source – static electricity. Owens says the machine can provide a complete power source for homes, businesses, planes trains and automobiles. In fact, Owens says the applications are nearly limitless, but that’s not what is important. What’s important is that others are saying it, too. The machine (Owens’ small, test-model) has been tested and examined by independent electric motor experts and the results were noted in a report signed by Higinio Rodriguez, president of Gulf Coast Electric Motor Service, Inc. in Pensacola. According to the report, the machine requires 24 volts to start the motor and only 12 volts to start the static charge. However, it takes no amps or watts to supply the static charge. The reports says “How long will it run and at what loss of volts and amps? No loss – indefinitely running.” Owen’s self-sustaining machine produced over 4,600 watts and required no coal, oil, gas or liquid fuel and produced no pollution and no waste by-products. Owens brought his working model to the Herald office in the back of his pick-up truck and gave a demonstration for Herald staff and WMBB-TV 13 reporter Chris Mitchell, who broadcast a report on Owens and his generator on Monday evening. That machine, he said, could supply power to three individual homes – indefinitely. The report by Gulf Coast Electric Motor Service noted that “power output can be significantly increased by reduction of flywheel weight and other system improvements via a research and development program.” To find out more about Walter Owens and his unique power generator system, call (334) 858-3308 or 858-3721. / His idea: a patent-pending prototype for a generator fueled by static electricity. “If this goes over, I’m going to change the nation,” Walters said, as he began to demonstrate how the apparatus worked. “It works this way,” he said. “Static electricity is all around us, everyday. If you stick your hand in Styrofoam peanuts and pull it out, they stick. That’s static electricity. My machine draws the static electricity from the air, as well as producing more. That charge then goes into a coil system that magnifies the charge and converts it into D/C power. “That power then comes out of 12 different wires with enough amps to make electricity flow,” he said. A power converter is used to change the electricity converted from D/C power to A/C power for use in everyday needs, he said. Operating on four car batteries, the machine works by using start-up energy from the batteries to drive a D/C motor that turns a flywheel. That magnetic flywheel runs through a system where 300 feet of 10-guage cooper wires, enclosed in sheepskin, push the electricity into 12 coils, with each coil producing somewhere around 10 volts of electricity. “This thing will build enough electrical power to operate an automobile,” he said. “It needs no gas, no oil. This one unit is more than enough to run a house.” – Source

Inventions: Ohmic Pasteurizer and CardioMate to heal/protect Organs

The invention to protect and help repair internal organs caught my eye.

“Prof Ir Dr Norman Mariun won a gold medal for his research product entitled ‘Ohmic Heated Pasteuriser’. The invention was designed to pasteurise liquid food ingredients without heat exchanger and boiler. “The invention of the product required minimal cost, was easy to manoeuvre and fabricates quality production, apart from saving energy,” said Dr Norman in a statement here today. Another gold medal winner was Prof Dr Suhaila Mohamed for her research product, ‘CardioMate-Functional Food Seasoning for Cardiovascular Health’. “The outcome of this product has effectively aided in recovering from diabetes, high-blood pressure, high cholesterol, atherosclerosis (the ruin of the blood vessels), obesity, kidney-related diseases and combating different types of cancer in animal studies,” she said. Dr Suhaila said the invention could also protect internal organs and reduce the oxidative pressure, besides decreasing the death rate in animals. The bronze medal winner was researcher Dr Alyani Ismail, with her product, ‘Compact ‘Butterfly-shaped’ Ultra-Wide Band Microwave Filter’.” – Source

Altzheimer’s, anti-inflammation and Turmeric

I wonder how many use the excuse of Altzheimers to pack away relatives the family doesn’t want to deal with when they get old???

“Turmeric, the spice that gives yellow curry its color, is widely used in Asia not only for its earthy flavor but also for its therapeutic power. In ancient Hindu medicine, it was used to treat sprains and swelling. Modern medicine uncovered its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, which have been used to treat everything from liver disorders and diabetic wounds to runny noses. Some bandage brands in India even contain turmeric as a disinfectant. Recently, scientists added another potential benefit to the list: preventing Alzheimer’s disease. Intrigued by the fact that the elderly population of India has one of the lowest rates of Alzheimer’s cases in the world, researchers at UCLA began looking at differences between the American and Indian diets and landed on turmeric.
- Source

Gravitational Vortex 50Kw Power Plant is Safe for Fish

50Kw!!!! Incredible and so simple to build.

“While trying to find a method for aerating water without energy input, Austrian engineer Franz Zotlöterer stumbled across the idea of a mini-power plant which is simple to construct and has a turbine efficiency of 80% but which is safe for fish due to low turbine speed and improves water quality by oxygenation. Needless to say, he quickly applied for the patents. The technology can be applied with water drop as little as 0.7 meters. Zotlöterer’s website suggests an idyllic installation along a modern stream that has had its meanders rudely obliterated in the interest of human civilization. His vision is to restore the health of the running water to where it was before human intervention led to reduced oxygenation due to laminar flows–while winning power at the same time. In the prototype installation, the water drop is 1.6 meters, with a flow of 1.3 m3/second, but the utilized water is 1 m3/s flow with 1.3 meters drop. The vortex basin has a diameter of 5.5 meters. In the first year of operation, the plant has yielded 50,000 kWatt-hours of electricity–with efficiency of around 73%, a little lower than the theoretical 80% achievable efficiency due to the use of smaller generator for ease of operation. The cost for installation was about €40,000 after about 40% subsidy. At close to 1$/watt capacity, that is a sweet point that may make this technology a viable alternative energy. If the claims that the turbine has little negative impact or is even beneficial for wildlife can be supported, this would be interesting for anyone with a home sitting on a hill near a stream.” – Source

Experiment-ruining chemicals leach from plastic lab equipment

How disturbing! I wonder how many experiments have been given up on or distorted because of this type of unwitting contamination.

“Thousands of scientists could be unwittingly ruining their own experiments merely by using standard plastic lab equipment, according to a new study. Reporting in Science1, Holt and his colleagues show that the plastic tubes they were using were leaching the disinfectant di(2-hydroxyethyl)methyldodecylammonium (DiHEMDA) into water and the lubricant oleamide into methanol and DMSO. “The compounds that leached out of the plastic were remarkably potent inhibitors,” Holt told Nature News. “We were getting variability caused by these leachates that could completely mask the effects of the drugs.” Although some tubes leached almost no contaminants, even brief exposure to some tubes gave concentrations of around 40–50 parts per million of oleamide in DMSO and around 200–350 parts per million DiHEMDA in water. Another researcher in the department found a similar problem, suggesting that leachates from plastic pipette tips, tubes and micro-plates could be affecting the work of thousands of researchers worldwide. “I suspect quite a large number of researchers are going to have their results affected,” says Holt. These contaminants are used during plastics manufacture. “People in any big science department will say that they don’t trust plastic in some experiments,” says Holt. But the identity of the compounds responsible has never been determined before.” – Source

Unless we get Smarter, we’ll get Poorer

This is absolutely on the mark! The problem is most kids view science as dry and boring, so we need handson experiments that kids can do to show them it can fun and interesting.

“Britain has a fine tradition of science and invention: we must build on this. We need to ensure that the natural interest that young children have in science (be it in space, dinosaurs or tadpoles) extends rather than atrophies – that they are taught well at school, and that enough of the most talented opt for scientific careers. We can’t undercut India and China in labour costs; we’ve got to be smarter. It would be demeaning if our educational standards fell below those of Taiwan and South Korea. But for young people to choose scientific careers, there must be a “demand pull”, too. There must be goals that appeal to their idealism. Nothing would do more to attract the brightest and best of them into science than a strongly proclaimed national commitment to take a lead in developing what the world needs: vaccines against pandemics, better transport systems and IT, better food-growing. Developing clean-energy technologies demands the priority and urgency of a new Manhattan Project. It offers huge opportunities. Why shouldn’t we in the United Kingdom raise our game in these fields, and aim to grasp a lead? We don’t know what will be the 21st century counterparts of the electron, quantum theory, the double helix and the computer – nor where the great innovators of the future will get their formative training and inspiration. But one thing seems a near certainty: unless we get smarter, we’ll get poorer. We must maximise the chance that the key creative ideas of the 21st century germinate and (even more) are exploited here in Britain.” – Source

Tesla Turbines for Fun and Profit!

Such a neat little project, using stacked CDs to build a Tesla Turbine…way cool!

“[Rick] has been building Tesla turbines in various ways and posting his projects to youtube. For those who are unfamiliar, a tesla turbine is a fanless turbine that uses a smooth central disk spun by friction from a gas or fluid. Since the turbine itself has no protrusions, it is extremely stable. There are lots of other benefits, which can be explored on the Wikipedia page. [Rick], as you can see from the video above has found several uses for them, from Halloween props, to generators for lights, to an automated shake flashlight shaker, you can even watch him rev one up to destruction. Though most of these are at relatively low speeds, he has shown that he can make one from CD spindles that is stable enough to reach 10,000 RPM. [Rick] admits that all they really do is spin fast and make cool noises, but they do that pretty well. Update: Moments after this was published, we found an instructable by [Rick] on how to build a blender using a tesla turbine. / Mini hydro-electric with MrfixitRick making power from faucet water pressure, using the Tesla CD Turbine and a Head Lamp Generator. The Tesla CD Turbine is a home-made turbine, constructed from CD’s, CD spindle, supermagnets, and glue. It is based on the principles of the amazing disc turbine invented by Nikola Tesla in the early 1900′s. / The airpowered bladeless turbine (in the photo strip above) was built to test Tesla’s claim of high efficiency. On compressed air it ran a 4Kw generator powering eight 500W lamps!” – Source

What Would an Energy ‘Moon Shot’ Look Like?

“What would it take for a president to pursue meaningful climate and energy policy in a multitasked world? One approach is an Apollo-scale investment in advanced energy technology. The chances of a quick push of this sort are poor given the state of the economy, but what would a “Moon shot” for energy look like? One way to consider the question is to look back at the gush of federal research and development dollars that underpinned the actual space race (and led to a string of innovations that NASA says have produced far greater economic benefits than the research cost). The graph above, generated a couple of years ago by Kei Koizumi at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, provides a hint. The yellow band in the graph is, in essence, a portrait of the space race as reflected in federal money for basic R&D related to going into orbit and to the Moon. (The purple band is essentially the war on cancer and similar health research. Military research, at $75 billion a year, doesn’t fit in this graph.) The green band is a half-century of federal investment in energy research. And that’s not just renewable energy like solar power, but research in all energy sectors.” – Source