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<title>Haaze.com / zidfodq / Published News</title>
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<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jun 2011 07:10:50 +0000</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[MIT flow battery breaks mold for cheap storage]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mit-flow-battery-breaks-mold-for-cheap-storage</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mit-flow-battery-breaks-mold-for-cheap-storage</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jun 2011 07:10:50 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>zidfodq</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mit-flow-battery-breaks-mold-for-cheap-storage</guid>
<description><![CDATA[This black, gooey material developed at MIT is the basis of a new design meant to boost battery energy density tenfold.(Credit:MIT)Instead of filling up with gasoline, electriccars with a new design may one day refuel their batteries with &quot;Cambridge crude.&quot; Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology today published details on a battery design that reinvents the operation of traditional lithium ion batteries by using flowable, rather than solid, materials. In a paper published in the journal Advanced Energy Materials, they said the approach has the potential to boost battery storage capacity many times today's levels while being inexpensive to manufacture for both electric vehicles and grid storage.The technology developed in the lab has been licensed to 24M, a company spun out of MIT and funded with about $16 million in venture capital and federal research funding. Yet-Ming Chiang, professor of materials science at MIT and one of the co-founders of lithium ion battery maker A123 Systems, is one of the primary researchers behind the flow battery. The new design combines materials used in today's lithium ion batteries with the concept of a flow battery. Flow batteries, which are used mainly for grid storage, have two tanks with liquid electrolytes that are pumped through a membrane to create a chemical reaction that generates a flow of electricity. Liquids are pumped in reverse direction to store charge.In this case, researchers are using a flowable slurry which contains compounds typically used with lithium ion batteries to build a &quot;semi-solid flow cell.&quot; As in a traditional flow battery, liquids are pumped through a membrane to create the chemical reactions needed to charge or discharge a battery. Since the liquids are densely packed with particles, the gooey liquids ooze rather than flow like water.The advantage of this approach is that more active battery material can be placed into the same amount of space compared to traditional lithium ion battery. In today's lithium ion batteries, packaging and other inactive components take up the bulk up of the space. This flow cell design eliminates the need for the packaging and foils around individual battery cells.Compared to flow batteries, researchers showed in the paper that lithium-based compounds can hold about 10 times more energy than the materials usually used in flow batteries. A bigger battery can be made simply by using larger tanks.How a flow battery works: the active materials--the anode and cathode--are in a liquid form and flow past a membrane to create the chemical reactions to charge and discharge a battery.(Credit:Advanced Energy Materials)Having battery electrodes--the anode and cathode-in a liquid form opens the possibility for electric-vehicle charging stations that replace the electrode material while a driver waits. Researchers call the active materials &quot;Cambridge crude&quot; because it could be used as a liquid fuel in this scenario.Researchers project that manufacturing can be simplified compared to lithium ion batteries. In the paper, they project batteries that cost $250 per kilowatt-hour, which is less than half of today's prices.The researchers have built prototypes to demonstrate the technology and test performance but actual products will take years to develop and match the performance of today's batteries, according to MIT. One of the traditional problems with flow batteries is the complexity and power needed to operate the pumps.The basic architecture is independent of specific battery chemistries, which means that it can benefit from advances in battery materials. &quot;We'll figure out what can be practically developed today,&quot; Chiang said in a statement, &quot;but as better materials come along, we can adapt them to this architecture.&quot; <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Mix your music and experience an artistic adventure: iPhone apps of the week]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mix-your-music-and-experience-an-artistic-adventure-iphone-apps-of-the-week</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mix-your-music-and-experience-an-artistic-adventure-iphone-apps-of-the-week</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:10:23 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>zidfodq</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mix-your-music-and-experience-an-artistic-adventure-iphone-apps-of-the-week</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:CNET)The big news this week from the world of Apple was the discovery that iPhones have been tracking users' locations as they go about their daily lives. Apparently, whenever you use Google Maps, or take a picture, or do anything that consults the GPS, your location and a time stamp are recorded in a log file on youriPhone. Apple is not using this information for anything, but it's not surprising many people find this particular previously unknown feature pretty unsettling.Like probably anyone who heard this news, I had a lot of questions about what was being recorded, why it's being recorded, and what Apple has to say about it. Fortunately, our very own Josh Lowensohn and Elinor Mills put together an extensive FAQ to help you get all the info about the iPhone location-tracking function. Apple has not yet commented, but it will be interesting to see what happens in the coming weeks and whether the company will strip this functionality from later versions of the iOS.This week's apps are a DJ app that lets you mix music on the go and an artistic adventure game that is both challenging and very engrossing.The easy-to-use controls make it a snap to find the right music for the mix.(Credit:Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)Djay for iPhone and iPod Touch (99 cents for a limited time) brings two turntables to your touch screen so you can beatmatch, scratch, and record mixes of music from your library. A unique interface lets you hold your iPhone sideways to view the turntables side by side, or you can switch to vertical and view a single turntable to adjust the EQ and BPM and get more screen area in which to work with your mixes.  Djay boasts a &quot;hyper-realistic low-latency touch-screen interface,&quot; and I found that it definitely feels more precise than similar DJ apps in the category. As an added bonus, your cover art will show up on each record, making it easy to identify your music at a glance.Along with the basic controls for selecting songs, playing, and crossfading between tracks, Djay comes with a few more controls that will come in handy for mobile mixing. You can match songs on your own and adjust beats per minute for smooth transitions or you can have Djay autosync BPM for you. There is even an Automix function to let the app mix your music automatically. The app recognizes your playlists as well, so just queue up a big playlist of dance songs, for example, and then let the app do all the transitions for you.Among the many other features are the ability to create a cue point trigger to start the music on one track at a specific point' full visual waveforms, so you can pick out specific parts of a song quickly' and auto-cut scratching, which lets you use two fingers while scratching for beatmatched cutting.Overall, Djay for iPhone andiPod Touch is probably the best low-cost DJ app I've seen yet in the iTunes App Store. The unique screen orientation feature that lets you view one or both turntables makes mixing and fiddling with settings easier, and automated mixing and beat-syncing features mean just about anyone can create a good mix.As soon as you begin playing, you&amp;39'll notice this game's unique visual style.(Credit:Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP ($4.99) is a stylistically unusual and engrossing action and adventure game that focuses on artistic audio and visuals. Immediately upon starting the game, you'll notice it has a very distinctive style and you'll get onscreen cues that teach you how to control your character. As the story unfolds, you'll travel across a mythic realm and solve puzzles as you go.Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery offers a unique experience and an interesting control scheme that sets it apart from other side-scrolling games. As you travel the world, you'll run across impassable areas that require you to solve visual puzzles before you can move on. The game is sometimes frustrating early on because it's a learn-as-you-go type of experience, but even though you may die a few times, the solution becomes that much more rewarding when you figure it out.As a mythical knight, you have a sword and shield for when you need to do battle with occasional monsters. What's interesting here is that to wield your sword, you need to turn your iPhone vertically to get into battle mode. The buttons are a little bit awkward at first, but I really like the idea of turning the iPhone to switch control modes. As you get further into the game, you'll also unlock spells that will help you defeat your enemies and solve puzzles to continue.Overall, Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery is an exceptional game for its artistic and musical style and interesting ways of presenting puzzles you need to solve. If you're looking for hack-and-slash or shoot-'em-up action, this isn't your game, but if you want to take in an audio-visual experience while solving interesting puzzles, this app is a good option.What's your favorite iPhone app Do you have a better DJ app than Djay for iPhone and iPod Touch What do you think of using iPhone orientation as a way to switch control schemes in either app Do you like the somewhat mystical and slower pace of Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery Let me know in the comments!<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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