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<title>Haaze.com / minnubugtae / Published News</title>
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<pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2011 07:11:37 +0000</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Friday science riddle: Why don't moving bikes tip over]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=friday-science-riddle-why-dont-moving-bikes-tip-over</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=friday-science-riddle-why-dont-moving-bikes-tip-over</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2011 07:11:37 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>minnubugtae</dc:creator>
<category>Social</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=friday-science-riddle-why-dont-moving-bikes-tip-over</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Researchers develop this self-stable experimental bicycle to test theories on the stability of moving bikes.(Credit:Sam Rentmeester/FMAX)One of the annoying things about getting older--and yes, there are more than a few--is how frequently you discover that what you were taught either is now outdated or simply flat wrong. But don't get too down about it. Scientists only now are realizing that they've misunderstood the physics of what keeps bicycles upright.For as long as anyone can remember, the science behind why a bike remains stable once it reaches a certain speed had to do with wheel rotation and the stability generated by so-called gyroscopic effects. Also, there was the proper distance between the steering mechanism and the front wheel to consider. (Most of us likely thought it had to do with not being a klutz while pedaling as fast as one possible could. But I digress.) Turns out neither explanation really nails it, according to a research paper published this week in the journal &quot;Science.&quot; To prove its point, a team of researchers from Cornell University, the University of Wisconsin-Stout, and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands designed--well, for lack of a better term, a contraption that belongs (barely) in the bicycle family. As &quot;Science Now&quot; explained it: unlike a normal bike, the front wheel of their vehicle lies in front of the steering axis, so the caster effect can't operate. On top of that, both front and back wheels are connected to duplicate wheels spinning in the opposite direction, so any gyroscopic precession is canceled out.&quot;Not the coolest two-wheeler you'll ever see but here was the fascinating part: once given a push, the bike remained upright nearly until it stopped moving. The reason&quot;It's all about how bicycle leaning automatically causes steering, which can bring the wheels back under a falling bike,&quot; said Andy Ruina, professor of mechanics at Cornell and a co-author of the paper.The researchers found that &quot;almost any self-stable bicycle can be made unstable by misadjusting either the trail, the front-wheel gyro, or the front-assembly, center-of-mass position.&quot;The flip side is true as well: &quot;Conversely, many unstable bicycles can be made stable by appropriately adjusting any one of these three design variables.&quot; You can see a demonstration of the test here.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Waste Management CEO places energy bets]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=waste-management-ceo-places-energy-bets</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=waste-management-ceo-places-energy-bets</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 04 Apr 2011 07:11:29 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>minnubugtae</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=waste-management-ceo-places-energy-bets</guid>
<description><![CDATA[LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif.-- Waste Management wants your waste for more reasons that you might think. The company, which hauls garbage from 22 million customers, is in the midst of a strategy to invest in technology start-ups in an effort to get electricity, chemicals, or liquid fuels from municipal solid waste. Already, the company generates two to three times more energy than the entire solar industry.&quot;We took the venture capital route. We make lots of small investments because you don't know what technology will ultimately will win. We need to spread out bets,&quot; Waste Management CEO David Steiner said during a talk here at the Fortune Brainstorm Green conference today.Garbage to gold: Ways to get value from waste (Images)  Landfill operators, such as Waste Management, have been capturing the methane gas from landfills to make electricity for decades. Incinerators burn trash to make electricity. But Waste Management is seeking to get more value from the &quot;materials&quot; that it collects, said Steiner. Rather than create a single product, such as electricity, the company's strategy is to invest in different technologies that give it flexibility in what collected waste is converted into.With organic materials, such as yard clippings and food waste, the industry is only getting about 60 percent of the inherent value. Organics can be converted into biogas using a process called anaerobic digestion, which can be burned for heat or electricity. Nutrients can be recuperated as well from organics.Another technology called plasma gasification converts wastes into a synthetic gas, a combination of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. From there, that gas could potentially be made into diesel fuel or specialty chemicals, Steiner said. &quot;We think we can extract a lot more value both as a fuel and converting it to syngas. And once we do that, we can get to lots of different chemicals and fuels,&quot; he said.One technology the company badly needs is a way to automatically sort waste so different streams, such as organic material and paper, can be separated without contamination, which Steiner said would &quot;change the game for us.&quot;The company is also investing in information technology, such as better Web sites and on-board computers for its haulers, to improve the productivity and customer service.Changing the company culture to recycling waste for valuable products helps motivate employees since they feel they are improving the environment, Steiner said. The average American generates about four and a half pounds of waste a day and the industry collects about 350 million tons of municipal solid waste a year.&quot;Is this going to create energy independence in the U.S. No, but I see it as creating lemonade from lemons,&quot; he said.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[PayPal reinstates Bradley Manning support group account]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=paypal-reinstates-bradley-manning-support-group-account</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=paypal-reinstates-bradley-manning-support-group-account</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 25 Feb 2011 08:10:12 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>minnubugtae</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=paypal-reinstates-bradley-manning-support-group-account</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Bradley Manning Support Network)PayPal has unfrozen the account of a group helping to raise funds to defend U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, who has been charged with leaking classified files to WikiLeaks. Accused of punitively banning the account of Courage to Resist, the mobile payment company said in a blog post yesterday that the move was instead triggered because the group had not complied with PayPal policy requiring nonprofits to associate a bank account with their PayPal accounts. Though PayPal said it typically doesn't comment on such matters, it felt it needed to clear the record in this case.On Wednesday, PayPal was labeled &quot;evil&quot; by the Bradley Manning Support Network, which is working with Courage to Resist to support Manning, currently being held on charges that he provided sensitive files to WikiLeaks. The groups accept donations to their causes from supporters through PayPal.In a press release, the Support Network claimed PayPal would not unfreeze the account of Courage to Resist unless the company received approval to withdraw funds from the group's checking account, something the network said was not possible.&quot;Our accounting does not allow for this type of direct access by a third party, nor do I trust PayPal as a business entity with this responsibility given their punitive actions against WikiLeaks--an entity not charged with any crime by any government on Earth,&quot; said Courage to Resist project director Jeff Paterson.&quot;While there may be no legal obligation to provide services, there is an ethical obligation,&quot; added Paterson. &quot;By shutting out legitimate nonprofit activity, PayPal shows itself to be morally bankrupt.&quot;In its defense, PayPal said that it will not withdraw funds from a checking account without the authorization of the account holder and had simply put a temporary limitation on Courage to Resist's account for not complying with the policy.After further review, PayPal said it decided to lift the temporary ban on the account, explaining that it now had enough information to fulfill its &quot;Know Your Customer&quot; guidelines, which the company uses to validate the identity of its customers.The Support Network cited PayPal backing down on the matter as a sign that it reacted to pressure from the group's supporters who had petitioned the company to reinstate the account.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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