All posts by Drummer

IAEA Advanced Reactor Information System (ARIS)

All Posts, Power Generating Technology - Nuclear, , , ,

Peter Lobner

Anyone interested in the current state of advanced nuclear reactor technology should  enjoy a visit to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s ARIS website.  Here’s a link to the ARIS home page:

https://aris.iaea.org

Check out the “Publications” tab for several IAEA documents that can be downloaded as pdf files for free.  I recommend one document in particular: “Status of Small and Medium Sized Reactor Designs, “ published in September 2011.  This document contains 1-page summaries of 31 small and medium reactor designs from around the world, each with a small color picture.  I was a bit surprised by the very large number of designs and the diverse technologies embodied in these nuclear power plants.  If you’re really interested in how much small and medium reactors have advanced in the past 16 years, you can compare this 2011 document with the similar, but much more detailed, 1995 IAEA document: IAEA-TECDOC-881, “Design and Development of Small and Medium Reactor Systems 1995,” which you can download as a pdf file for free at the following link:

http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/te_881_web.pdf

Have You Ever Heard of Binaural Audio? It is not Dolby 5.1.

All Posts, Computer Technology, Music / Audio, ,

Peter Lobner

Binaural audio technology is not new, but so far, it is not common in audio systems.  This technology will likely become more common as it becomes integrated in virtual reality headsets, and perhaps high-end audio recordings intended for listening with earphones. Check out the article at the following link:

http://www.polygon.com/2015/2/12/8028379/binaural-3d-audio-virtual-reality-oculus-rift-project-morpheus

In the above article, there is a link to another article that provides a more detailed description and examples for you to hear binaural audio (aka 3D audio) and compare it to conventional stereo audio.  Have a set of headphones ready so you can really hear the difference.  You can go directly to this article via the link below:

http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/12/8021733/3d-audio-3dio-binaural-immersive-vr-sound-times-square-new-york

I think you’ll like binaural microphones!

3Dio binaural microphone 3Dio binaural microphone 2Source: 3Dio

Retrospective Look at Radio Shack and 1981 Microcomputer Technology

All Posts, Computer Technology, ,

Peter Lobner

With Radio Shack in bankruptcy (again), it’s a good time for a nostalgic look at that company’s impressive product line of computers and peripheral devices before the introduction of IBM’s first personal computer (IBM 5150, introduced in August 1981) and the Apple Macintosh (introduced in a Ridley Scott TV commercial “1984”, most notably during the 3rd quarter of Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984).  In 1981, Radio Shack was considered by some to be the “number one microcomputer manufacturer.

1981 Radio Shack Catalog Cover

1981 Radio Shack Catalog Cover

 Take a trip down memory lane in Radio Shack’s 1981 TSR-80 computer catalog at the following link:

https://mashable.com/2015/02/06/radio-shack-catalog-1981/

Remember, “You can’t go wrong with a TRS-80.”

“Flow cell” Battery Technology Being Tested as an Automotive Power Source

All Posts, Automotive, Engineering, Power Generating Technology - Alternate, Power Storage Technology, , , , ,

Peter Lobner

Here’s a great looking new German all-electric car that was introduced at the March 2014 Geneva Auto Show.  It’s a “research” car, not for sale, but an interesting preview of a possible future application of this battery technology in production cars.  The flow cell battery capacity in the e-Sportlimousine is reported to be 120 kWh.  Compare this to current all-electric cars using lithium-ion battery technology: the Tesla Model S has an 85 kWh battery and a Nissan Leaf has a 24 kWh battery.

 Flow-cell battery-powered carImage credit: aetherforce.com

Check out the article on the e-Sportlimousine at the following link, which includes two short videos:

http://aetherforce.com/electric-car-powered-by-salt-water-920-hp-373-milestank/

See many more details on this car and power system at the following nanoFLOWCELL AG YouTube site:

https://www.youtube.com/user/nanoflowcell

A 2014 press release from NanoFLOWCELL AG describes their battery technology and it’s operational use in the e-Sportlimousine, including a description of the power train and how the car is refueled.  See the following link:

http://mediacenter.nanoflowcell.com/mediacenter/press-release/news-detail/2014-03-04-introducing-the-nanoflowcellR/

Regarding the nano-network technology, Wikipedia reports:  “In August 2014, the Quant e-Sportlimousine was approved for testing on public roads using the nanoFLOWCELL® system with a claimed energy or power density of 600 Wh per kilogram (per litre of salt water electrolyte).”

If you are interested in the Tesla lithium-ion battery, check out the Nov 2014, “The Tesla Battery Report”, at the following link:

http://www.advancedautobat.com/industry-reports/2014-Tesla-report/Extract-from-the-Tesla-battery-report.pdf

60 Year Anniversary of “Underway on Nuclear Power”

All Posts, Marine Technology, Nuclear propulsion, Power Generating Technology - Nuclear, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Peter Lobner

Updated 10 January 2020

60 years ago, on 17 Jan 1955,  CDR Eugene Wilkinson, the first CO of the USS Nautilus, SSN-571, ordered the following message sent as his nuclear-powered sub got underway for the first time in New London, CT.

Wilkinson_Message  Source: U.S. NavyWILKINSON-obit-web-articleLarge CDR Eugene Wilkinson and Nautilus.  Source: U.S. Navy

You’ll find an interesting, short backstory to this message at the following link:

 
Wilkinson retired from the Navy as a Vice Admiral in 1974, died in 2013, and is buried in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, CA.
 

There’s a short history of the early Navy nuclear power program and Nautilus at the following link: 

 
 nautilus_23 Admiral Rickover. Source: U.S. Navy
 

We owe a debt of gratitude to Admiral Hyman G. Rickover for the success of the Naval Nuclear Power Program, which is quite visible here in San Diego, with nuclear-powered aircraft carriers based at North Island and submarines operating from Ballast Point in Point Loma.

10 January 2020 update:
 

In July 2018, I completed a set of eight resource documents collectively titled, “Marine Nuclear Power: 1939 – 2018,”  and comprising over 2,100 pages formatted as slide presentations.   The eight parts are:

  • Part 1: Introduction
  • Part 2A: United States – Submarines
  • Part 2B: United States – Surface Ships
  • Part 3A: Russia – Submarines
  • Part 3B: Russia – Surface Ships & Non-propulsion Marine Nuclear Applications
  • Part 4: Europe & Canada
  • Part 5: China, India, Japan and Other Nations
  • Part 6: Arctic Operations

All of these can be accessed through my 25 July 2018 “Marine Nuclear Power 1939 – 2018” post at the following link: 

https://lynceans.org/all-posts/marine-nuclear-power-1939-2018/

 

GPS and Two Alternatives You May Not Have Heard About: GLONASS and Galileo

All Posts, Computer Technology, Physics, Spacecraft and Missions, , , , ,

Peter Lobner

U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS)

The U.S. military-operated Global Positioning System (GPS) achieved full operational capability in 1995 and was declared a “dual-use” (military and civilian) system in 1996.  Today, GPS functionality is embedded in many of the electronic products and vehicles we use on a daily basis.  You’ll find plenty of information on GPS at the following link:

http://www.gps.gov

Russian GLONASS:

Globalnaya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (Global Navigation Satellite System), GLONASS is a Russian military-operated satellite-based navigation system.   The intent for GLONASS to be a dual-use system was declared in 2007 and full global coverage was achieved in 2011.  By the end of 2011, GLONASS claims it met a goal of matching GPS accuracy and reliability, and GLONASS may be more accurate than GPS at high latitudes because of the higher inclination of GLONASS satellite orbits.  iPhones and several types of Android phones have both GLONASS and GPS chips and may use both satellite signals to improve navigation results.  Check out the story at the following link:

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/glonass-gps-alternative-never-knew-existed/

European Galileo:

While European independence from GPS & GLONASS was a key goal behind the creation of the new system, Galileo is intended to be 100% interoperable with GPS and GLONASS.  The first two operational Galileo satellites were launched in October 2011, with two more following in October 2012.  These four Galileo satellites represent the operational nucleus of the future 30-satellite constellation.  The 5th & 6th Galileo satellites were launched in August 2014 into incorrect orbits and are not operational.

You can get more information on Galileo at the following European Space Agency web site:

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Navigation/Galileo_and_EGNOS

Relativistic corrections needed for satellite navigation system accuracy:

These three satellite navigation systems depend on relativistic corrections to ensure that accurate data are delivered to the end users.  You can find a short article entitled, “Real-World Relativity: The GPS Navigation System,”  at the following link:

http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast162/Unit5/gps.html

A Time-lapse Map of Every Nuclear Explosion From 1945 to 1998

All Posts, Nuclear Arms & Arms Control, ,

Peter Lobner

Here’s a mesmerizing 14+ minute video created by Japanese artist Isao Hashimoto with a time-lapse map (single screenshot above) showing all of the nuclear explosions between 1945 and 1998, beginning with the “Trinity” test and concluding with Pakistan’s nuclear tests in  1998. Close your eyes for a moment and it sounds like you’re in a gambling casino near the digital slot machines.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLCF7vPanrY

Rendering Disney’s Animated Movie Big Hero 6

All Posts, Computer Technology, Movie-making & Animation, , , , , , ,

Peter Lobner

Disney rendered the animated film Big Hero 6 on a 55,000-core supercomputer.

Disney Big Hero 6

Read the story at the following link:  https://www.engadget.com/2014/10/18/disney-big-hero-6/?guccounter=1

The 1984 movie The Last Starfighter, along with Disney’s Tron, has the distinction of being one of cinema’s earliest films to use extensive computer generated imagery (CGI) to depict its many starships, environments and battle scenes.  A total of 27 minutes of The Last Starfighter were rendered on a Cray X-MP, which was a 4-core machine with a total computing performance of 0.8 GFLOPS/sec (GFLOP/sec = billion floating point operations per second).  
 
In comparison, Big Hero 6 used a modern 55,000 core supercomputer.  To estimate it’s computing performance, I scaled the known 2012 performance of the 75,000 core IBM Yellowstone supercomputer to get an estimate of 1.2 PFLOP/second (PFLOP/sec = million billion floating point operations per second). So the supercomputer used by Disney in 2014 to render Big Hero 6 has 1.5 million times the computing performance of the Cray X-MP used in 1984 to render The Last Starfighter.  
 
That’s pretty good progress in 30 years, and pretty consistent with what you would expect using Moore’s Law (basically, computing power of new computers doubles about every two years) over that period.