Most extrusion screws have hard-surfacing materials welded on the flights to provide longer wear life. When extreme wear occurs in the absence of abrasive fillers, a burr on the flights provides a clue as to what is happening. A burr on the trailing side indicates a very high side force is causing the flights to […]
Green Energy
Cobalt boom turns life upside down in DR Congo
In early 2014, according to local folklore, a man digging a septic tank or a well in his garden in Kasulo came across rocks with a distinctive grey-green sheen: cobalt. From then on – rather like the find at Sutter’s Mill in 1848 that sparked the California Gold Rush — life for local people was […]
Roborace is building a 300kph AI supercar – no driver required
The Argentinian summer Sun beat down on the Buenos Aires city circuit as the cars approached the penultimate turn. It was February 18, 2017, the Saturday of Formula E’s South American weekend, and two cars jostled for first place. But something was wrong. The car in front – emblazoned in red – zipped through the […]
Now the race is on to come with a viable flying taxi
Flying cars are just starting to inch their way out of science fiction. But that is not stopping some companies from planning for flying taxi services. A growing collection of tech companies, aircraft manufacturers, automakers and investors are betting that fleets of battery-powered aircraft will give rise to air taxi services, perhaps as soon as […]
Florida Power & Light opens four new solar power plants
Power & Light Co. opened its four newest solar power plants, as part of the utility’s ongoing investments in renewable energy. “We are committed to advancing affordable clean energy – the right way. We are building some of the lowest-cost universal solar ever in the country, which keeps costs down for our customers,” said Eric […]
California could build ‘renewable engine on the West Coast’ under new energy bill
They were defeated in Sacramento each of the past two years. But supporters of a hotly debated plan to expand California’s power grid to other western states aren’t giving up. Under a new proposal being drafted by Chris Holden, who chairs the state Assembly’s utilities and energy committee, California would organize a regional grid that could eventually cover […]
