This week’s Top 5 engineering technology articles include some of my favorite topics, space, Tesla, but also some news in the cycling world and a video that’s out of this world (almost).
- China’s Experimental Fusion Reactor Hits Major Milestone
- Tesla Will Unveil The Model 3 On March 31, Begin Deliveries End Of 2017
- Rear Suspension Will Revolutionize Road-Race Cycling
- Got Them! Gravitational Waves Detected – At Last
- The Physics Of OK Go’s Epic New Zero-G Video
China’s Experimental Fusion Reactor Hits Major Milestone
Popular Science
Maintaining a temperature that’s three times hotter than the core of the sun inside something on Earth has always thought to be way more fiction than science. However, as we’ve seen with recent breakthroughs, that ratio is being changed in a big way.
For 102 seconds, China made global history by sustaining plasma at 90 million degrees. The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) has been around for more than a decade, but this latest advance is helping to contribute to the global conversation on fusion as a power source. Germany’s reactor, the reactor being constructed in France, and China’s success this week is only going to further these advancements.
Tesla Will Unveil The Model 3 On March 31, Begin Deliveries End Of 2017
Mashable
And, in terms of advancing global conversation, Elon Musk is not shy about shouting his achievements from the highest peaks. And the Tesla Model 3 is something to be shouted about in terms of where we could go as a society.
Breaking our reliance on fossil fuels for combatting things like global warming might have been the initial goal of the charge toward electric powered vehicles, but Musk and his company have taken this to a whole different level.
What was once considered a toy of the rich is about to debut on a level that the average consumer can afford. This means that with a potential shipping date of late 2017, the rest of this decade’s conversation in terms of automotive advances could easily be dominated by the Model 3.
Rear Suspension Will Revolutionize Road-Race Cycling
Gizmag.com
Racing cycles have gone through their own spate of changes within the last couple of decades. Wheel design, composite materials, and better overall engineering have contributed to better balance, lighter bikes, and faster finish times in premier races like the Tour de France.
One item that hasn’t changed recently has been bicycle suspension. Comfort was always sacrificed in favor of less weight and a stiff frame for handling. However, that could all be changing. A lightweight rear suspension spring is not throwing off the damping of the overall ride and isn’t sapping power from the ride either.
Craig Calfee has been at the forefront of advancements like this since the early 80s. And he knows this could easily be a game changer. With little to no added weight and some flex in the carbon fiber struts, his new design may just be the next Tour de France winner.
Got Them! Gravitational Waves Detected – At Last
Cosmos
Einstein had a theory and now it’s coming true. Gravitational waves formed during the cataclysmic collision and fusion of two mammoth black holes 1.3 billion light years away were detected this week.
This confirms Einstein’s prediction and allows astronomers new insight into the universe. Having been able to measure these rippled waves was a major achievement by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO).
These ripples have been steadying traveling outward for 1.3 billion years and instead of visibly affecting matter like a pond ripple might, the gravitational waves stretch and compress matter, sometimes by less than the nucleus of an atom.
Now that the first set of waves have been discovered, the potential for unlocking greater secrets could be just around the corner.
The Physics Of OK Go’s Epic New Zero-G Video
Wired
Upside Down and Inside Out is the new song by the band OK Go! Their previous videos have always been widely viewed because of the choreography and creativity. This latest video by the band is absolutely no exception.
Flying in a specialized plane that produces the effect of weightlessness, they filmed the video with props and band members spiraling around in the belly of the plane and it looks sensational. Looking at the coordination and examining the technology behind the physics, it’s clear that it took multiple trips on the path to zero gravity, but that shouldn’t diminish the sheer fun that the participants are having.
So, until next time, feel free to check out OK Go’s other videos and watch for all the technological breakthroughs happening around us every day.
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