Have You Heard of the CityZenn Zenn Car? You Will

The Electric Car

What do you think of when you think "electric car?" Does a supped up golf cart come to mind? Do you think of an odd shaped, three wheeled vehicle covered in solar panels?

When most people think of a totally electric car, they usually picture some sort of science experiment. They may think of a contest between two competing teams of scientists or college students who are trying to make a vehicle that will run totally on "sun energy." Most people don't think, "I'm going to go out and get me one of those." People don't want to drive around in a golf cart or a car from "The Jetsons." Not only is it not practical, but many of these "experimental cars" are outrageously expensive.

The New Electric Car

Well, now there is a "car of the future," and its not a far off science experiment. It is here now and it will be available to purchase for "ordinary people" in early 2010. This revolutionary new vehicle is an electric car that is "normal." It looks just like your combustion engine car. It travels as "far" and as "fast" as your combustion engine car. It can be refueled as fast as your combustion engine car. And what is even better, it costs about the same as your combustion engine car.

What is this new miracle of science? It is the cityZenn Zenn car, by Zenn Motor Company. Thanks to new battery technology, the cityZenn will be able to travel up to 250 miles between charges. It will top out at 80 mph and it will be rechargeable in under ten minutes with a special charger. What is more, it will sell for between $25,000 and $30,000.

This breakthrough in electric car technology has occurred from a company called Eestor Inc.. Previous to Eestor, batteries have either been bulky with a low energy density or prohibitively expensive. If an electric car owner wanted to drive twenty or thirty miles, he had to load his trunk with hundreds of pounds of lead-acid batteries. Eestor's new "batteries" are affordable and hold massive quantities of energy. Up until this point, electric cars have only had a range of twenty or thirty miles. Thanks to the energy storage capacity of Eestor, that range has been increased to over 250 miles.

An Exciting Future

This is exciting new technology and the next year and a half are going to be very interesting. The cityZenn will first be released in Europe and shortly thereafter, the United States. If you are interested in the Zenn car, Zenn currently makes a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) that is available for about $13,000.

The Science Behind Hydrogen Hybrid Cars - The Electrolysis of Water

The Electrolysis of water in Hydrogen Hybrid Cars happens when an electric current passes through the water causing the water (H2O) to break down into its two basic elements, oxygen (O2) and hydrogen gas (H2). It's interesting to note that Industrial applications don't use this method of hydrogen production much since they can do it more affordably by getting it out of fossil fuels.

The way this works in Hydrogen Hybrid Cars is by taking an electrical power source and connecting it to two electrodes, or plates, (or multiples of two) usually made out of some kind of stable metal like aluminum or stainless steel, then putting them into the water. If this cell is made correctly then Hydrogen will form on the cathode (metal plate that's negatively charged), and oxygen will form on the anode (metal plate that's positively charged). Since there's two hydrogen molecules to every one oxygen, molecule in water the amount of hydrogen produced is twice that of oxygen and both are in proportion to the electrical charge that runs through the water.

Using this process, Electrolysis, for pure water uses a lot more energy, which is called over-potential, to cross the activation barriers. Without a lot of extra energy, electrolysis of pure water happens very slowly, if at all. This is because water won't self-ionize, (breakdown), much if left alone.

Seawater is about a million times more conductive to electricity than pure water because of all the electrolytes in it like salt. Many electrolytic cells also may lack these needed electro-catalysts. Electrolysis in Hydrogen Hybrid Cars is far more efficient with the addition of some of these electrolytes such as salt or an acid or a base.

The history of electrolysis dates all the way back to 1789 when Jan Rudolph Deiman and Adriaan Paets van Troostwijk used an electrostatic machine to make electricity and discharged it into gold electrodes placed in a Leyden jar full of water. Then, in 1800, Alessandro Volta invented the voltaic pile, and soon after William Nicholson and Anthony Carlisle used that for the first electrolysis of water. Eventually, in 1869, Z�nobe Gramme invented the Gramme machine that became a cheap way to produce hydrogen through the electrolysis of water.

Next, in The Science Behind Hydrogen Hybrid Cars - The Equations of Electrolysis, we'll look at the scientific details.

Automobile Safety - Latest Technology in Use to Ensure You Are Safe

Automobile safety is a growing concern in the automobile industry. Millions of dollars are spent every year for research on automobile safety. It is also a means of creating competition among vendors because top companies want to give the best safety features as people will tend to buy safer vehicles.

A common person who purchases a car always checks up on its mileage and looks. Safety is the factor that the person neglects. Always the prime importance is to be given for safety because it's your family in there and when you are driving you have a responsibility towards them.

Automobile safety is given importance by all the leading automobile manufacturers over the globe. Technologies such as ABS, Air bags, G-Con Frames etc have been standardized by leading manufactures in all segments of their vehicles. There are latest innovations in automobile safety such as distance tack barking system, track guidance and even auto pilot.

ABS means anti lock braking system. It helps in applying breaks without locking all the wheels of the automobile there by the driver has the complete maneuverability even while braking. Air bags help in protecting the people in an automobile from impacts caused by a crash. G-Con Frames is a new technology used by European manufacturers. It helps during the breaking of the chasse, which prevents the engine to ram in the car at the time of crash; rather it breaks the engine foundation off the vehicle chasse.

Automatic breaking system senses the distance between the vehicle at the front and applies break automatically maintain a fixed distance between the two. There is track guidance system which helps the vehicle to be in track without using the steering wheel. There is also the facility of auto pilot that has been enabled in cars which only needs the destination and it will program itself based on the GPRS and reach you to the destination.

You need to remember that even if the best automobile safety measures are incorporated, it is you the responsibility rests upon because technology can fail. Though it will not, you need to take precaution from your side too by avoiding rash and even drunken driving.

Effect of Technology on Our Lives

Technology is an improved route to an unimproved target. Technology is associated with innovation. It involves the transformation of ideas into something useful. Innovation is just not limited to creative people and organizations, but also involves the availability of technological and scientific talent. Technology and innovation are synergistic. Technology has definitely changed our lives and for the better.

Looking back in time, we realize how much our lives have changed due to the fruits of technology. It has provided us with freedom and less consumption of time and resources. Pointing out a particular technology for the drastic changes in one's life is simply not possible. A nation's economic growth can be measured according to the level of technology. This is because a number of factors are responsible for affecting an individual's life style. The most important factor for deciding the working of a particular technology is the presence of competition. One kind of technology seems beneficial only until a technological advancement does not occur.

The most effective piece of technology is the mobile phone, and now a days being equivalent to a civilization. Due to technological changes, the dependency upon technology has increased many folds. Some advancement occurs at such a pace that they become self-defeating. The ability to convert carbon dioxide into fuel energy is a breakthrough process and once well established in would change our dependency on nonrenewable and limited sources.

With time, the use of internet is rising rapidly. The World Wide Web literally connects over 700 million people round the globe. The state-of-the-art technology has improved our means of communication as well as our educational standards. Due to the innovations in technology, an individual can gain knowledge about any topic at any place and at any point of time in his/her life. It has allowed the ease of availability of education. It has also improvised upon ways to fulfill our needs and to meet our expectations. Innovations in today's tech-world can help us to solve urgent problems.

The revolution in technology has given rise to chat rooms, discussion rooms, personalized web pages and online databases. The IT sector has completely changed the outlook of human communication with e-mails, video conferencing and instant messaging. With the advent of technology, people are building bridges to decrease the distances in their mind. One basic drawback that has taken place is that people are becoming lethargic due to high trends in technology. It is shortening our ability to pay attention. Robotics, automation and computerization are on the go for changing our lives. Implementation of robotics will give higher efficiency and cheaper labor, thereby increasing unemployment rate.

Now the other side of technology is not so green. It is because of improvised technology only that we have seen nuclear and atomic wars. This has also leaded to increase in pollution as well as corruption. Hence, one must know how to balance between manpower and automation. In the world of automation, cars have created freedom as well as concrete jungle. Technology is affecting our near future so it becomes our responsibility to streamline it in the right direction.

Engineering and IT Fields Expecting Exceptional Growth

As any kid with a closet full of energy drinks and taco chips knows, when it comes to computers, hardware is the actual physical machine and software is all instructions that make the hardware work. This means a computer software engineer - these days simply called a computer engineer - can end up working on anything that has a microprocessor in it, from something as small as a smart phone to a robotic assembly line for a car manufacturer onto the NASA space platform.

Of all the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) professions, one of the fastest growing, as well as the most exciting, is computer software engineering. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of 2008, there were currently over 900,000 computer engineers in the U.S. That the occupation is projected to expand by 21% by 2018 should not come as a surprise to anyone who has been reading the news lately.

It should also be noted that while there are significant gray areas in the field. A computer engineer is not a computer scientist, who concentrates on the more theoretical side. He or she is also not a systems analyst, who use existing application or create new apps primarily for business applications.

Computer engineers divide into two categories: applications engineers and systems engineers. Applications engineers analyze users' needs, construct and maintain general software applications and programs. Systems engineers coordinate the construction, maintenance, and expansion of computer systems. The latter also design and implement system security, internet/intranet and data assurance.

The Bureau projects the future of the software engineer to be quite bright. Employers prefer applicants who have at least a bachelor's degree and broad knowledge of a variety of computer systems and technologies. Applications specialists' majors are computer science, software engineering or mathematics. Systems software engineers often study computer science or computer information systems. Postgraduate degrees are preferred for more complex jobs.

On the plus front, salaries are exceptional. The median computer engineer should expect a salary of just under $72,000. Entry level, depending on experience, usually starts at slightly over $50,000. The upper ten percent of computer engineers can earn over $135,000. Jobs come with attractive perks, among them life/health insurance, profit sharing and other investment programs, continued education aid for online colleges and retirement programs.

Because of the extreme need for more computer engineers, a lot of financial aid is also available, from the gifted young high school grad to the experienced engineer looking to stay up-to-date or get his/her Ph.D. This goes well beyond the standard Pell and state grants into such things as the National Science Foundation's S-STEM scholarship. The occupation's main certification program, the American Board for Engineering and Technology, also has a handy guide for assistance, as are many, many commercial entities such as Microsoft, Intel and others.

As said before, the future of computer engineers looks quite bright for some time to come. A science degree is allowing many to step into the varied world of technology. The world has an insatiable desire for the latest technology, and none of it runs without a engineered software program. An online IT degree may just be what your next employer finds the perfect company fit.

The Effect of Your Air Conditioner on Gas Mileage

This world is a crazy place. With the American economy behaving like it is, people all over the country are running around searching for ways to stretch their dollar, change the system, and take advantage of what things might be offered to them free or at a lower rate than usual. Like in older times, American citizens must learn the value of conserving things, using them as much as possible, and waiting to discard and replace them till the last minute. Gasoline is no exception.

Heaven knows how much the cost of gas has gone up in the past few years. Instead of paying under 30 bucks for a full tank of fuel, some people pay upward of 50, every time they fill up. To deal with that kind of craziness, people are looking for ways to save as much as possible, and get the most miles out of that gasoline that they can. For some, they are willing to sacrifice whatever it takes, including the air conditioning.

This idea stems from some statements made a few years back, about the way that the air conditioner works. The engine provides the air conditioning system within your car with enough power to do what it does, and so many people thought that by running the air conditioner constantly in those hot summer months, a person actually diminished the amount of miles that one tank of gas could push through.

While this may actually have been true for some of the older models of cars, it may not always be the case today. So much progress has been made in the fields of science, technology, and engineering, that new cars, with newly designed engines are coming out that are made to be much more fuel efficient than ever before. In fact, a huge change in fuel efficiency has occurred in just the past ten years or so.

What that essentially means is that, if you own a newer model of a car, you may not be in danger of losing a lot of the power your gasoline provides to the utilization of the air conditioning system in your car. Such a minimal amount of energy is expended to keep the air conditioner going, that it doesn't make a very noticeable difference at all.

What would make a difference is rolling down the windows while driving at high speeds. This would actually do just the opposite of what you'd hope. Instead of saving gas by not turning on the air conditioner, you would actually force the car engine to work much harder to produce the amount of energy it needed to go at those speeds with the windows down. Rolling down the windows can actually serve to be detrimental to the aerodynamics of the car, slowing you down, and wasting more gas than you think.

There are many other ways to save gasoline and your money by being smart and informed as to how to drive, and which vehicles are most efficient. Do your research before you buy a new car, and find something that has been engineered to be the kind of efficient vehicle you need.

Technology and the Environment

To one who has seen the adverse effects of some technologies on the environment the question how does technology protect the environment? May have only one answer - it doesn't! The reality however is that from the onset science and technology has been at the forefront of ensuring the environment is safeguarded. Science is a weapon through which good or evil can be done depending on the consciences of those who are using it. There are lot of ways in which technology has been used to restore the integrity of the environment.

From reversing the damage done by the chlorofluorocarbons (c.f.c's) on the ozone layer to minimizing the harmful effects of the greenhouse gases which bring about global warming science has played a key role in safeguarding the environment. Through science machines that were discovered to be releasing c.f.c's into the atmosphere were removed from the market and in there place others were invented a case in point the refrigerators of old and modern refrigerators that are CFC free. Through scientific research it has been discovered that presence of trees and vegetation greatly decrease the amount of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide by absorbing them to use in their natural processes such as photosynthesis which has led to more environmental awareness

Advancements in the scientific process of wastage disposal have led to the discovery and adoption of new and better ways for carrying out refuse and sewerage disposal. Recycling has today become a major activity the world over which has been through the intervention of science. This has led to conservation of resources for example purifying sewerage into clean and safe drinking water and the recycling of polythene into usable plastics.

Use of simple equipment such as garbage cans for disposing litter and recycling of natural waste for instance using vegetable waste as manure may seem inconsequential but in the long term the benefits are left for all to see.

Machines that in the past used to release a lot of toxic fumes into the atmosphere like cars, manufacturing plants and factories and mining apparatus have nowadays been modified to use fuel that does not release harmful gases in the atmosphere. Through the discovery of better ways of making fuel like from use of sugar cane processing the harmful effects of polluting gases have been greatly reduced. Use of more efficient energy systems and means of disposal is how technology protects the environment. Continued scientific research and study into the environmental hazards that abound keeps on creating awareness about what is right and wrong, what should be avoided or done more all in the interest of protecting the environment.

The use of solar panels to harness the sun's energy, application of thermal and wind energy has provided the necessary incentive and alternative to the over use of oil and petroleum as the primary source of fuel which has led to better use of natural resources and the reduction of air pollution from toxic fumes. From these few elaborate examples its clear how science and technology is protecting the environment.