EBDI ethanol engines surpass gasoline engine efficiency

February 6, 2009 Automotive technology specialist Ricardo has revealed the development of technology that optimizes ethanol-fuelled engines to a level of performance that exceeds gasoline engine efficiency and approaches levels previously reached only by diesel engines. The technology, called Ethanol Boosted Direct Injection (EBDI), takes full advantage of ethanol’s best properties – higher octane and higher heat of vaporization – to create a renewable fuel scenario that is independent of the cost of oil.





Ricardo's combination two and four stroke motor


“Developing renewable energy applications that can lead to energy independence is a top priority at Ricardo,” said Ricardo Inc President Dean Harlow. “We’ve moved past theoretical discussion and are busy applying renewable energy technology to the real world. The EBDI engine project is a great example because it turns the gasoline-ethanol equation upside down. It has the performance of diesel, at the cost of ethanol, and runs on ethanol, gasoline, or a blend of both.”

EBDI solves many of the challenges faced by flex-fuel engines because it is optimized for both alternative fuels and gasoline. Current flex-fuel engines pay a fuel economy penalty of about 30 percent compared to gasoline when operated on ethanol blends such as E85. The EBDI engine substantially improves ethanol’s efficiency, and performs at a level comparable to a diesel engine.

“In real-world terms, these efficiencies mean that EBDI can reduce the actual cost of transportation when compared to fossil fuels, and it does it with a renewable resource – ethanol,” said Rod Beazley, director of the Ricardo Inc Gasoline Product Group. “The combination of technologies we’re applying to the EBDI engine make the most of ethanol’s advantages over other fuels, which include a higher octane rating and a higher heat of vaporization. Without getting too technical, this means we can use a high level of turbocharging to achieve the high cylinder pressures that ethanol enables. Add in some other advanced technologies such as direct injection, variable valve timing, optimized ignition and advanced exhaust gas recirculation, and we’re squeezing out more power than is possible with gasoline.”

The prototype EBDI is a 3.2-liter V6 engine that ultimately could serve as a replacement for a large gasoline or turbo-diesel engine in a large SUV. The first firing of the engine & initial development is currently taking place and will be installed into a dual-wheel pick-up truck demonstration vehicle later this year. Beazley emphasized that the technology is very scalable. Applications could reach far beyond the automotive and light-truck industry. “Imagine agricultural equipment that, in effect, burns what it harvests – corn, sugar cane or some other renewable substance. It could mean tremendous cost savings across many industries.”

The EBDI project represents a technical collaboration with Behr, Bosch, Delphi, Federal Mogul, GW Castings and Honeywell, to further the advancement and commercialization of this highly promising technology.

Work on this research project has been carried out at the Detroit Technology Campus of Ricardo Inc.

Amazing Pencil vs. Camera Art by Ben Heine

BEN HEINE (born June 12, 1983 in Abidjan, Ivory coast) is a Belgian multidisciplinary visual artist. He is best known for his original series “Pencil Vs Camera“, “Digital Circlism” and “Flesh and Acrylic”.

Pencil Vs Camera

A talented illustrator and photographer, Ben Heine has put together an amazing ongoing project called ‘Pencil Vs Camera’. His creative thinking combines both art and pictures portraying two different things within the same scene.
Ben creates a strong perspective for the viewer by expertly matching the lines of the background scenery. These visual impacts have become a favorite among artists and photographers.
Here are some of the precious collection of ‘Pencil Vs Camera’. If you want to check his complete magic collection, you can visit his website BEN HEINE.

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

The source of all the images is here. You can check all the ‘Pencil vs. Camera’ collection of this amazing person.

Top 10 Best Illusions You Will Ever Find

This is a list of my 10 all time favorite optical illusions. I hope you find them as fascinating as I do. Just check them below one by one and you will really like this.

1. Lilac Chaser illusion

Lilac chaser is a visual illusion, also known as the Pac-Man illusion. It consists of 12 lilac (or pink or magenta-like), blurred disks arranged in a circle (like the numbers on a clock), around a small, black, central cross on a grey background. One of the disks disappears briefly (for about 0.1 second), then the next (about 0.125 second later), and the next, and so on, in a clockwise direction. When one stares at the cross for about 20 seconds or so, one first sees a gap running around the circle of lilac disks, then a green disk running around the circle of lilac disks, then a green disk running around on the grey background, the lilac disks appearing to have disappeared or to have been erased by the green disk.

2. Jastrow illusion

The Jastrow illusion is an optical illusion discovered by the American psychologist Joseph Jastrow in 1889. In this illustration, the two figures are identical, although the lower one appears to be larger.

3. Motion Illusion

One type of motion illusion is a type of optical illusion in which a static image appears to be moving due to the cognitive effects of interacting color contrasts and shape position. To properly view this effect, click the image above to see the full sized version.

4. Jesus Christ illusion

• Relax and concentrate on the four small dots in the middle of the picture for about 30 seconds.
• Then take a look at a wall near you (any smooth, light colored surface), you will see a circle of light developing.
• Start blinking your eye a couple of times and you will see a figure emerging.
• What do you see? … JESUS CHRIST …

5. Super Cyan illusion

Stare at the white dot in the centre of the red circle, and whilst continuing to do so move your head forward and backwards. For the best effect you should stare at it for 2 minutes. You will see a ring of super bright cyan appear around the red circle, and the clever part… this is a colour monitor can not actually produce!

6. Real drawings of impossible situations

These are always cool to look at, a situation that would be impossible in the real world which can be created on paper with relative ease. Baffling!

7. Two Faces illusion

How many faces you can see here. 1 or 2?

8. Face in the Tree

9. illusion in the sea

How many faces you can see above.

10. Color Blindness Test

             
You may not have considered this an optical illusion, but of course it is… at least for some people. You should see 20 in the first image & 21 in the second image. If you don’t see all of these though then you are colour blind!

Very true laws:

1) Law of Queue: If you change queues, the one you have left will start to move faster than the one you are in now.8-|

2) Law of Telephone: When you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy tone.=-c

3) Law of Mechanical Repair: After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch.:s

4) Law of the Workshop: Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.:/

5) Law of the Alibi: if you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the next morning you will have a flat tire. X_X

6) Bath Theorem: When the body is immersed in
water, the telephone rings.:|

7) Law of Encounters: The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don't want to
be seen with.:$

8) Law of the Result: When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will. :O

9) Law of Biomechanics: The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach. >:/

10) Theatre Rule: People with the seats at the furthest from the aisle arrive last. *...*

11) Law of Coffee: As soon as you sit down for a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will
last until the coffee is cold. ~o)

12) Law of Proposal : After u accept a proposal you will get a better one.:'(

TAKE TIME TO READ. It's worth reading it. Trust me :)

Professor : You are a Christian, aren’t you, son ?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor: So, you believe in GOD ?

Student : Absolutely, sir.

Professor : Is GOD good ?

Student : Sure.

Professor: Is GOD all powerful ?

Student : Yes.

Professor: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to GOD to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn’t. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?

(Student was silent.)

Professor: You can’t answer, can you ? Let’s start again, young fella. Is GOD good?

Student : Yes.

Professor: Is satan good ?

Student : No.

Professor: Where does satan come from ?

Student : From … GOD …

Professor: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student : Yes.

Professor: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it ? And GOD did make everything. Correct?

Student : Yes.

Professor: So who created evil ?

(Student did not answer.)

Professor: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor: So, who created them ?

(Student had no answer.)

Professor: Science says you have 5 Senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son, have you ever seen GOD?

Student : No, sir.

Professor: Tell us if you have ever heard your GOD?

Student : No , sir.

Professor: Have you ever felt your GOD, tasted your GOD, smelt your GOD? Have you ever had any sensory perception of GOD for that matter?

Student : No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.

Professor: Yet you still believe in Him?

Student : Yes.

Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your GOD doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student : Nothing. I only have my faith.

Professor: Yes, faith. And that is the problem Science has.

Student : Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Professor: Yes.

Student : And is there such a thing as cold?

Professor: Yes.

Student : No, sir. There isn’t.

(The lecture theater became very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.

(There was pin-drop silence in the lecture theater.)

Student : What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?

Professor: Yes. What is night if there isn’t darkness?

Student : You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light. But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it is, well you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?

Professor: So what is the point you are making, young man ?

Student : Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.

Professor: Flawed ? Can you explain how?

Student : Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good GOD and a bad GOD. You are viewing the concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, Science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing.

Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Professor: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student : Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shook his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument was going.)

Student : Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor. Are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?

(The class was in uproar.)

Student : Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor’s brain?

(The class broke out into laughter. )



Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room was silent. The Professor stared at the student, his face unfathomable.)

Professor: I guess you’ll have to take them on faith, son.

Student : That is it sir … Exactly ! The link between man & GOD is FAITH. That is all that keeps things alive and moving.

P.S.

I believe you have enjoyed the conversation. And if so, you’ll probably want your friends / colleagues to enjoy the same, won’t you?

Forward this to increase their knowledge … or FAITH.

By the way, that student was EINSTEIN.

The Prindiville Lamborghini Aventador J Concept

Here's something you don't see every day - it's a concept based on a concept, and it comes from London coachbuilder Prindiville. Prindiville's eight-only Limited Edition Lamborghini Aventador is already on sale, and it's so keen to get its hands on the Aventador J Concept which Lamborghini showed in Geneva in March, that it has released this concept based on the original concept.



Power is up from 700 to 805 bhp thanks to an ECU remap and a new titanium exhaust, and the top speed will be over 220 mph (350 km/h).



Prindiville Design has extensive experience in carbon fiber manufacture and construction techniques for the automotive, aeronautic and marine industries and every panel, from the front bumper to the rear diffuser and rear wing is reshaped and lightened. Although no figures are available, Prindiville believes the reworked J would be considerably lighter due to many original panels being replaced in carbon fiber. With an extra 105 bhp plus a lot less weight, the Prindiville Aventador J will be an extraordinary performance car, but the chances are that we'll never see it.



The original Lamborghini Aventador J - of which there is only one - sold privately for EUR2.1 million (US$2.75 million) and there is no guarantee another will be produced, or that production might ever happen.

The Prindiville Aventador's disk brakes have been replaced with an even more expensive high-performance grippers and ceramic disks that are claimed to be equally at home on the road and the track.



There's also a completely adjustable suspension system and as might be expected from a car reconstructed by coachbuilders, the quality of its workmanship is likely to be superb.



The interior panels and air vents of the Prindiville Aventador J are milled from aluminum, and a five-inch LCD TV screen offers access to the Prindiville entertainment system which includes a DVD player, satellite navigation, and bespoke software featuring maps, setups, and telemetry of many international race circuits.

Although Prindiville Design produces enhanced versions of the Ferrari 458, Range Rover Evoque, Lamborghini Murcielago, Land Rover Defender and Lamborghini Aventador, it also has visual tuning components for a wide range of other supercar and prestige models, including Porsche, Bentley and BMW, as well as other Lamborghini, Ferrari and Range Rover models.

Prindiville Design also produces tailor-made luggage to fit a selection of top-end supercars and indeed, with its extensive experience in carbon fiber manufacture and construction techniques for the automotive, aeronautic and marine industries, can produce entire one-off cars to a customer’s specific requirements.

3.2 billion-pixel Large Synoptic Survey Telescope camera comes a step closer to reality

Although the pixel count for consumer cameras continues to rise, they will all pale in comparison to the 3,200-megapixel Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) camera.



Although the enormous astronomical camera has yet to be built, last week the U.S. Department of Energy gave its approval for the project to proceed to the next phase of development.

A cut-away view of the LSST camera, with a person for scale 

This means that a detailed engineering design can begin, along with a production schedule and budget. If everything goes according to plan, construction on what will be the world’s largest digital camera should begin in 2014.

The three-mirrored camera will be an essential part of the telescope, needless to say, surveying the entire visible night sky twice every week.

 

The LSST camera's lens-changing system

 It will take over 800 panoramic images every night, gathering about 6 million gigabytes of data a year. Its light-gathering power will be amongst the highest in the world, allowing it to image faint celestial objects using relatively short exposures.

It was designed at the SLAC (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center) National Accelerator Laboratory, which describes what the camera will be doing as “equivalent of shooting roughly 800,000 images with a regular eight-megapixel digital camera every night, but of much higher quality and scientific value.”

A total of 189 sensors and over 3 tons (2.7 tonnes) of components will be tightly packed into its cylindrical body. Work has already begun on the telescope’s 8.4-meter (27.5-foot) primary mirror, at the final site of the observatory on the Cerro Pachón ridge in northern Chile.

Plans for the LSST include studies on things such as dark energy and dark matter, detection of near-Earth asteroids, and analysis of the structure of the galaxy. Data will be available to anyone with internet access.
Source: SLAC via Dvice

 Article Summary:
Although the pixel count for consumer cameras continues to rise, they will all pale in comparison to the 3,200-megapixel Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) camera. Although the enormous astronomical camera has yet to be built, last week the U.S. Department of Energy gave its approval for the project to proceed to the next phase of development. This means that a detailed engineering design can begin, along with a production schedule and budget. If everything goes according to plan, construction on what will be the world’s largest digital camera should begin in 2014.