Articles tagged “Green Engineering”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Pre-heating and Cooling Electric Vehicles By Team Planet Green IN Tech & Transport Nov 8 2010 Anyone who's ever tried to start a car on a cold winter morning, cranking the ignition several times before the internal combustion engine finally chugs to life, knows that their car's battery doesn't perform as well when it's cold as it does when its warm. So when it's cold out, what does that mean for electric cars? + READ MORE

Building Electric Car Charging Infrastructures By Team Planet Green IN Tech & Transport Nov 8 2010 For better or worse, we've come to rely on our motor vehicles as long-distance conveyances. Even though the average trip by car in the United States is around 10 miles, we want our cars and trucks to be able to take us the 120 miles to Grandma's house for the two or three times a year we actually need to. How will electric cars get us there? + READ MORE

Will Electric Cars Require More Maintenance? By Team Planet Green IN Tech & Transport Nov 5 2010 In the beginning, your main problem in keeping your electric car well-maintained is going to be finding a mechanic who knows how to do it. But when it comes to more regular maintenance, are electric cars going to require more or less maintenance than gasoline-powered cars? + READ MORE

Cars Without Starters, Alternators or Spark Plugs By Team Planet Green IN Tech & Transport Nov 4 2010 One of the first things you learn in Cars 101 is that you need fuel, air and spark to bring a car's engine to life. It's practically a mantra. With electric cars, we have to toss all that out the window. + READ MORE

All-New Electric Car Parts By Team Planet Green IN Tech & Transport Nov 4 2010 In the beginning, long before electric cars were considered cool by mainstream auto snobs, the category was something of an automotive freak show. Throughout the last decade, though, small companies have sprung up to cater specifically to the market that exists for electric car parts. + READ MORE

Top 10 Electric Car Frequently Asked Questions By Team Planet Green IN Tech & Transport Nov 4 2010 The electric car is sure to figure prominently in any conversation about green vehicles. But the subject raises lots of questions. Are electric cars more environmentally friendly than traditional gas-powered vehicles or alternatives like cars that run on hydrogen? And why are electric cars so expensive? We're going to answer these questions, and more, right now. + READ MORE

Do Electric Vehicles Have Performance Benefits? By Team Planet Green IN Tech & Transport Nov 3 2010 More and more, the future of the automobile is looking to be an electric one. That sounds great for the environmentalist crowd, but what about the horsepower-loving, speed-worshipping petrol heads? Will the electric future get to include those drivers who like to go fast? + READ MORE

AC Motors: kW vs. Horsepower By Team Planet Green IN Tech & Transport Nov 2 2010 For about as long as cars have been around, the thing to say when a powerful car rolls by has been: "How much horsepower are you running?" But now that we're moving to an age of electric vehicles, that may change to "How many kilowatts does that baby have?" + READ MORE

Rapid Charging for Electric Car Batteries By Team Planet Green IN Tech & Transport Nov 1 2010 If you've looked into electric car ownership at all, you've probably seen the estimated charging times: about 8 hours at a 220-volt outlet, which is a workday or overnight. Not so bad, right? Until that day you need to drive a little extra…can rapid charging bail you out? + READ MORE

How Green are Automotive Lithium-Ion Batteries? By Team Planet Green IN Tech & Transport Nov 1 2010 The latest in battery technology is lithium-ion, and it's being used in the electric cars and hybrid cars of the future. Lithium-ion batteries are lighter than previous battery technology and they hold a charge a lot longer, too. Does that make them green? + READ MORE

Challenges Facing the Electric Car Industry By Team Planet Green IN Tech & Transport Oct 31 2010 It's tough to get a new business off the ground. It's even tougher when you're trying to launch a new industry based on a new product that could alter the ways millions of people get around. Just ask any electric car maker; there are a handful of real challenges facing the electric car industry. + READ MORE

How Does Horsepower Figure Into Electric Cars? By Team Planet Green IN Tech & Transport Oct 29 2010 Just like a gasoline-powered internal combustion engine, an electric car's motor generates power that drives the wheels to put things in motion. Unlike a gasoline engine, electric vehicles (EVs) deliver power a little differently. So does that mean "horsepower" can still be used to describe electric cars? + READ MORE

Electric Car Conversion: Genius or Foolhardy? By Team Planet Green IN Tech & Transport Oct 26 2010 People who want to own an electric car face a dilemma. They can either convert their internal-combustion car, or buy a ready-made electric car from one of several manufacturers. But spending $35,000 to $40,000 for a brand-new battery-powered car seems impossible, even with state and federal tax credits. But is converting an existing gas-powered vehicle really a better option? + READ MORE

The Growth of Zero-Emissions Vehicles By Team Planet Green IN Tech & Transport Oct 21 2010 The growth of zero-emissions vehicles has always been a David vs. Goliath story. Virtually everyone except for the big oil companies seems to agree that electric cars are the future, but challenges related to battery technology, infrastructure and affordability have combined to keep them down. Is it finally time for a comeback? + READ MORE

Will a Lanthanides Shortage Hurt EVs? By Team Planet Green IN Tech & Transport Oct 21 2010 Lanthanides might sound like the name of an ancient Greek philosopher. But it’s the term for a row of 15 elements, atomic numbers 57 to 71 on the Periodic Table. Even though they're obscure, they're an important part of building electric cars. So what happens if we run out? + READ MORE

Inkjet-Inspired Gadget 'Prints' New Skin Cells Over Burns By Collin Dunn IN Food & Health Apr 9 2010 Researchers at Wake Forest University have rigged up a device that can spray new skin cells onto burn victims. Really. Inspired by the standard inkjet printer, the device quickly protects and helps heal a burn wound. The procedure could supplant skin grafts as the standard treatment for burn victims. The researchers have mounted the device on a frame so that it can be wheeled directly over a patient in a hospital bed. A laser takes a reading of the wound's shape and size, so that the precise amount of skin cells can be applied exactly where they're needed. + READ MORE

Solar-Powered Irrigation Creates a Harvest of Plenty in Sub-Saharan Africa By Rachel Cernansky IN Tech & Transport Jan 7 2010 A project in Benin found that when solar-powered water pumps replaced irrigation by hand, vegetable intake jumped 500 percent during the dry season. In a region where supplies are not easily stretched from one rainy season to the next--and where women do all the farming and water hauling by hand (and on their heads)--that's a pretty exciting boost. + READ MORE

See Your Genius Green Idea Make it to Store Shelves By Jessica Root IN Work & Connect May 20 2009 All of you innovative crafters and great thinkers out there, listen up. Invent a groovy, green DIY project and Yahoo will prize you with $2,500, eco-royalties and a possible appearance on the PBS show Everyday Edisons. + READ MORE

College Students Bring Low-Cost Solar and Wind Drip Irrigation to Developing Nations By Eric Leech IN Tech & Transport May 19 2009 The National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) combined with the support of the Lemelson Foundation provides $1.5 million to student and faculty programs and ventures annually. Today's featured project by the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell) is a low cost solar/wind drip irrigation system currently being tested in Peru. + READ MORE

Solar Sanitation Systems are Changing Developing Countries By Eric Leech IN Tech & Transport May 14 2009 The National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) combined with the support of the Lemelson Foundation provides $1.5 million to student and faculty programs and ventures annually. Today's featured project by the Georgia Tech Research Institute partnership with the Emory University Center for Global Safe Water, is a much new and improved version of the old outhouse that has been built especially for developing nations and their sanitation problems. + READ MORE