TechShiraj

Scientist Creates New Type Of Combustion Engine (Video)

Seen below is the experimental Wave Disc Generator, a lightweight hybrid engine component invented by Dr. Norbert Muller from the University of Michigan. Thanks to a $2.5 million grant from the federal government Dr. Muller and his associates have been able to perfect the latest incarnation of a combustion device that woks by trapping air. Don’t worry; a more detailed explanation arrives after the jump.

See, those artistic ‘rays’ of the sun-shaped disc trap air so they combust causing the disc to spin at incredible fast speed. When finally graduated from a prototype to a viable automotive hybrid component, Dr. Muller expects it to serve cars with a 500 mile range. Not only does it over-achieves in the performance scale, but is expectedly lightweight with guaranteed reduced emissions. Of course, this sounds like a wish list for a game-changing super-device. Let’s wait for it to come true before heaping any genuine criticism.

The idea is solid, however, and so long as the funding doesn’t dry up (a worrying specter considering present financial straits) Dr. Muller could finally drive power generation to a new plateau.

Below is a short clip of Dr. Muller explaining how the Wave Disc Generator could really make a difference when it comes to energy efficiency and innovation:

Source Gizmag

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Loves it so much in fact, she finishes a few games every other day. Her name’s Umeji Narisawa, a 99 year old grandmother who took up Famicon (better known elsewhere as Nes) a quarter century ago and has been at it ever since. Gotta hand it to the old folks, they don’t outgrow their diversions as much as the younger set do.

Seen above is a picture of her in acton plugging away with her trusty old console. You have to love old cartridges, the magic in them gets better as time goes by.

Unlike a few of the elderly we know, Mrs. Narisawa isn’t no slouch at the controls either. She’s finished Bomberman countless times and actually credits it for keeping her brain sharp. Ah, challenges—without them where will the zest of life come from.

While it’s clear dear lady Narasawa hasn’t taken up World of Warcraft or first person shooters, we believe if fate continues to smile on her she might try out contemporary games. Keep in mind she’s 99 years old and reaching such an age is a serious feat. According to our calculations she was born in 1912 and lived through several major upheavals that have shaped Japanese history, including the Second World War.

Actually if we met her we’d love to ask if she has a favorite manga.

Here’s a video of her in vivid action:

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Some of our readers will remember the Sarcos XOS 2 Exoskeleton suit that we featured on the site last year, the manufacturers of the suit have now said that they should be putting it into production within the next five years.

The video belows Actor Clark Gregg who starred in Iron Man 2 as Agent Coulson testing out the Sarcos XOS 2 suit and from the looks of the video the suit has improved since the last time we saw it.

Who knows in five years time these sorts of suits could be used every day by the military, we suspect it may be a few years before they become as functional as the actual Iron Man suits featured in the movies.

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Apple has released a new update for their Apple TV, the latest version is Apple TV 4.3 and it brings a range of new features to Apple’s set top boxes, which includes support for Vimeo.

The major new feature in the latest version of Apple TV is the ability to stream TV shows that you have already purchased direct from the cloud, and you can also re-download them on other iOS devices if you have purchased them on your Apple TV.

Purchase TV shows on Apple TV. Shows purchased on Apple TV can be re-downloaded on other iOS devices. Shows purchased on other iOS devices or with iTunes automatically show up as available to play on Apple TV.

You can find out more information of what is new in Apple TV 4.3 over at Apple.

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We have already seen some leaked photos and a video of Nokia’s first Windows Phone 7 smartphonewhich is codenamed ‘Sea Ray’, and now it looks like we could be getting closer to an official announcement from the two companies which could come later this month.

Microsoft and Nokia have announced that they are holding a joint special event in Cologne, Germany on the 17th of August, so we suspect the event will be used to unveil the first Nokia Windows Phone 7 device.

Microsoft recently released Windows Phone 7 Mango to manufacturing, so we suspect we will see the first Windows Phone 7 mango device from Nokia later this month.

From what we have seen previously from the photos and the video, the Nokia Windows Phone 7 prototype that we saw looks very similar to the Nokia N9, we are looking forward to seeing what Nokia and Microsoft will be announcing on the 17th of August.

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LED Light networks have been under development for sometime, but the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich Hertz Institute HHI in Berlin, Germany has now been pushing the technology to its limits and is hoping to create a 800Mbps WLAN using the LED light network technology.

Currently the optical WLAN co-opts white LEDs used for regular illumination to transmit data up to 100 Mbit/s, by flickering the LED’s more rapidly than the human eye can see. Devices are then fitted with a simple photo diode to receive the wireless connectivity, with each LED light providing around a 90 square foot range for connectivity.

The team hope to be able to soon push the 100mbps to a whopping 800mbps, “Using red-blue-green-white light LEDs, we were able to transmit 800 Mbit/s in the lab” team member Klaus-Dieter Langer suggests.

“It is best suited as an additional option for data transfer where radio transmission networks are not desired or not possible – without needing new cables or equipment in the house. Combinations are also possible, such as optical WLAN in one direction and PowerLAN for the return channel. Films can be transferred to the PC like this and also played there, or they can be sent on to another computer.”

At the moment the system is still under development and the researchers do need to tackle the problem which causes the devices to lose connectivity if the photo diode becomes covered or shaded from the LED light.

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If like me you have the tendency to sometimes misplace your phone, and then use the tried and tested method of ringing it from another handset, only to find you still have the ringer and vibrate functions disabled. A new app can now come to your rescue allowing you to re-enable your Androids phone ringer remotely.

The new Android application launched this week and enables you to send a special code to the phone together with a designated caller number followed by an SMS from the designated number to re-enable the ringer to normal with ease and locate your phone.

Once your phones ringer is re-enabled simple ring it once again to hear its location. The simple yet innovative Android RemoteRinger application is now available to download for free from the Android Market and could turn out to be a phone saver.

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If you are looking forward to the launch of the new Diablo III even after the announcements released this week by Blizzard regarding no mods, the in-game real-money auction house and the need for an always on Internet connection to play the DRM protected single player game.

You might like the video after the jump showing a little gameplay footage from the beta testing of Diablo III.

The new preview which has been released to a select number of gaming publishers today by Blizzard features the different playable character classes including the classic Barbarian followed by the Witch Doctor, Demon Hunter, Wizard, and finally the Monk.

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After being launched yesterday for a brief time and then being unceremoniously pulled from the Apple App Store this morning Skype’s iPad application has now returned and is once again available to download. If you didn’t move fast enough the first time it appeared and missed the download. Skype hasn’t yet released any information on why it pulled the Skype iPad app shortly after its launch but may that information will shortly come to light.

“Beautiful and simple, this is Skype built especially for the iPad. Call, video call, or instant message anyone on Skype. Plus, if you add a little Skype Credit, call landlines and mobiles at really low rates. “

Thew new Skype iPad application is now available to download from the Apple App Store for free. Skype video calling requires iOS 4.0 or above and Skype for iPad works over Wi-Fi or 3G (operator data charges may apply). Call Skype contacts on their iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, PC, Mac and even Skype enabled TVs.

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Today Iomega has unveiled its latest external Mac storage device in the form of the Iomega Mac Companion which is available in either 2TB or 3TB storage capacities. The new Mac Companion drive has been designed to sit snuggly underneath your iMac and is equipped with a powerful 2.1 Amp USB capable of charging your iPad.

The Iomega Mac Companion drives are fitted with a fast 7200 RPM 3.5-inch hard drive, that is formatted with HFS+ for compatibility with Macs system straight from the box. They are equipped with

The Iomega Mac Companion is available in a 2TB version for $195 or 3TB for $295, and initially will be available exclusively at Apple retail stores and the Apple online store.