Storing Volts |
While electric vehicles have been around since the late 19th century, they only became practical with the development of energy storage systems that sport a lot better horsepower-to-weight ratio than bulky lead acid batteries. According to the EPA's formula, one gallon of gasoline is equivalent to 33.7 kWh--almost 20x what the Prius's NiMH battery alone can deliver. So it's hardly surprising that the Prius relies primarily on its internal combustion engine for propulsion. Still, the state-of-the-art Li-ion battery in the Chevy Volt--designed at the Argonne National Laboratory--goes a long way toward bridging that gap.
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1972: When scientific calculators truly went low power |
Dave Cochran recently wrote about his long engineering career at Hewlett-Packard on the www.hpmemory.org Web site. Who? What Web site? Well, the Web site is an amazing living museum that's a tribute to Bill and Dave's HP. And Dave Cochran is likely one of the most important people you've never heard about in the annals of low-power design. He spent 25 years at HP, starting as a part-time test technician in 1956 and departing as a celebrated HP engineer in 1981. More |
Interface Transitions and Spatial Clues |
Every time I upgrade any of my electronic devices, there is a real risk that something in the user interface will change. This is true of not just updating software but also when updating hardware. While someone who is responsible for the update decided the change in the interface is an improvement over the old interface, there is often a jolt as established users either need to adjust to the change or the system provides mechanisms that support the older interface. Following are some recent examples I have encountered. More |
Moore's Law: Now It's Personal (And That's A Good Thing) |
Mine's a mostly-Mac household, and for the past few years, my primary desktop system (whenever I've felt need to fire up something more substantial than a laptop, which is increasingly infrequently...but that's another story for another day) has been a dual 1.8 GHz G5 Power Mac. It's big (20.12" high by 8.11" wide by 18.70" deep) and heavy (44 lbs). It often sounds like a vacuum cleaner when it's on. And the lights dim when I punch the power button (just kidding). But it gets the job done. Until recently, that is. More |
September Wireless Update: Nokia's Move to Windows Mobile 7 Now Looks Brilliant |
Following Google's pending acquisition of Motorola Mobile, the Android world seems to be in a quandary. Will Google favor Motorola with advance info on future Android features and releases? Market-leading Google's Android (of many flavors) may no longer look as attractive for Motorola's many rivals. And with webOS now on the block and MeeGo sidelined, Apple's iOS, Google's Android and Windows Mobile 7 seem to be the major ones we should pay attention to. With iOS not an option, Nokia's earlier embrace of WM7 now looks like a brilliant strategic move to me.More |
Training Courses |
Fundamentals of Solar: Off-Grid
This course covers the fundamentals of off-grid, stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) systems, with the aim of providing engineers with a good overview of the technologies, topologies and electronics that make up such systems. The course content includes: � Introduction to Photovoltaic Systems � Grid-Connected vs. Off-Grid Solar Systems � Solar Energy Storage � Charge Controllers � Power Conditioning � Energy Harvesting � Integration Issue.
Fundamentals of Solar: Grid Connected
Photovoltaic (PV) solar technology is at the heart of the multi-billion dollar clean/green/renewable energy industry, powering everything from road signs to entire cities. This course covers the fundamentals of grid-connected PV systems, with the aim of providing engineers with a good overview of the technologies, topologies and electronics that make up such systems.
Fundamentals of Microcontrollers
EE Times Fundamentals course provides an introduction to microcontrollers (MCUs) including usage and selection of the devices. The course also includes a video explaining showing how to get started with an mbed evaluation kit. |