car on hydrogen

CARS

HOW IT WORKS: THE TOYOTA MIRAI

THE HYDROGEN-POWERED CAR HITS STREETS THIS FALL

By Nick Davidson Posted March 20, 2015

  

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2016 Toyota Mirai At A Hydrogen Fueling Station

Toyota

The Toyota Mirai arrives in Southern California this fall. Suggested retail: $57,500

In the past year, three automakers--Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai--have debuted new hydrogen cars. The biggest launch is likely the Toyota Mirai, which will hit U.S. streets this fall. Fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) have for years been the white whales of the clean-vehicle set. They emit only water; they fill in three minutes (vs. up to several hours for a traditional electric); and their range is comparable to gas-powered cars, about 300 miles. But automakers have avoided them, mainly because of infrastructure concerns: There are only a dozen hydrogen filling stations in the U.S., mostly in Southern California. That, too, is changing. Last year, the state set aside $200 million to build 100 more hookups by 2020. And that just may drive a national trend.

How It Works

Inside An Electric Car

Illustration by Graham Murdoch

1. Hydrogen Tank

Two carbon-fiber tanks store 11 pounds of hydrogen fuel under very high pressure (10,000 psi). In emergencies (e.g., a crash), sensors trigger shutoff valves to keep hydrogen from escaping the tank.

2. Airflow

The intake grill sends oxygen—a crucial component in the mix—to the fuel cell stack.

3. Power Control Unit

As the car’s energy manager and brain, the power control unit draws electricity from the fuel stack and sends it to the motor. During acceleration, it draws stored energy from the battery for an extra boost.

4. Battery

Unlike in tradi­tional electric cars, the nickel-metal hydride battery in the Mirai stores only excess energy for use during ignition and acceleration.

5. Electric Motor

As electricity passes through the motor, it polarizes the stator—a stationary ring around the rotor—to create a rotating magnetic field. Magnets mounted on the rotor align with that field and spin at the same rate to power the drivetrain. The more electricity that’s sent to the motor, the faster the field spins and the faster the car goes. When braking and coasting, the motor generates electricity for the battery.

6. Fuel Cell

In their most basic form, fuel cells contain an anode, cathode, and a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM). Because each cell generates little voltage on its own, engineers string them together in a series—or a stack. The Mirai’s stack contains 370 cells, each working to transform stored chemical energy into electricity. Here’s how.

In each cell, hydrogen runs through a flow field plate to the anode. There, a platinum-cobalt catalyst splits the hydrogen molecules into positively charged ions and negatively charged electrons.

Then, the PEM permits the hydrogen ions to pass through to the cathode, but it stops electrons, forcing them instead to travel an outer circuit, creating an electric current.

Finally, electrons and ions meet up with oxygen at the cathode to form water, which is emitted primarily as vapor.

This article was originally published in the April 2015 issue of Popular Science,as part of our annual How It Works package.

future car cooler

CARS

IN THE FUTURE, NON-TOXIC ANTIFREEZE COULD KEEP YOUR CAR COOL

NEW FORMULATION COULD HELP AVOID TRAGEDY

By Mary Beth Griggs 

Antifreeze

EvelynGiggles/Flickr CC by 2.0

Antifreeze comes in a variety of sports drink-evoking hues, and has a sweet taste and smell that belie the fact that it is deadly to both people and animals. It poisons nearly 90,000 animals and 6,000 people every year.

But it doesn't have to be this way. Researchers at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society announced the development of a new antifreeze that uses the harmless propylene glycol instead of the incredibly toxic ethylene glycol that is currently used. Propylene glycol is already used in some industrial antifreeze functions, but until now researchers hadn't figured out how to make the thick, goopy fluid runny enough to work well in cars.

They found that by adding metal nanoparticles to the propylene glycol, they could make something that could not only be used in cars today, but might help inspire a more efficient car of the future.

If the new antifreeze catches on, it might help radiators run up to 60 percent more efficiently, which could result in smaller radiators down the line. "A smaller radiator would result in a lighter car, thereby increasing fuel economy and cutting emissions," researcher Edward Clancy said in a statement.

IS THIS POSSIBLE !!!!!

CARS

SXSW 2015: AEROMOBIL SAYS IT WILL PUT ITS FLYING CAR ON THE MARKET IN 2017

AND ONCE THAT'S DONE? A SELF-FLYING CAR

By Loren Grush

Flying Roadster

AeroMobil

Updated 3/16/2015, 4:33 p.m. ET.

In October 2014, Slovakian company AeroMobil unveiled a prototype vehicle that exhilarated Back To The Future fans, as well as pretty much everyone else: the long fantasized flying car. Dubbed AeroMobil 3.0, the car/plane hybrid showed off its driving and flying abilities in a video filmed at the 2014 Pioneers Festival in Vienna. With its wings tucked in, the carbon fiber vehicle drives the streets seamlessly with other cars. Then, it makes its way to a parking lot, unfolds its wings, and takes off from a grass runway. It soars leisurely over the buildings of Vienna, before touching down in a green field.

At the time, the video was just a demonstration of what AeroMobil had accomplished. Now, the company is detailing their vision for the prototype’s future. At South By Southwest 2015, Juraj Vaculik, co-founder and CEO of AeroMobil, spoke at a panel about the future of flying cars, predicting a world ahead in which these vehicles easily merge with existing transportation. For him and his team, the goal is to make medium-distance travel much less of a hassle, and to do so, the company aims to put its vehicle on the market by 2017.

An AeroMobil representative told Popular Science the price would be several hundreds of thousands of dollars, which they argue is on par with a combination of a sport aircraft and a supercar.

But the announcements didn’t stop there. Vaculik also highlighted the company’s next revolutionary venture in this field: the self-flying car. AeroMobile says now that they have shown that flying cars are possible, it’s time to make them drive—and soar—on their own.

The Roadster's First Flight

AeroMobil

Despite its unique look, AeroMobile 3.0, also named the Flying Roadster, isn't all that different from your average sports car or private plane. It runs on regular gasoline and can seat two people. When driving, it boasts a range of 545 miles and a top speed of 99 mph. When airborne, it can reach a top speed of 124 mph, with a range of 435 miles.

Notably, the Roadster—as well as all subsequent vehicles AeroMobile plans to build—can take off from and land on any flat grass field. This element is crucial for the vehicle’s success, claims Vaculik. He argues that it makes the building of additional airports unnecessary, and that instead, flying cars can launch off and land on grass lanes that could merge onto to existing highways. The Roadster only needs 650 feet to take off and just 160 feet to land, so the amount of land required for each runway wouldn’t be too substantial.

Grass Landing

AeroMobil

AeroMobil still has a few things to hammer out before the Roadster can go mainstream, such as securing enough funding for mass production, as well as solidifying regulations and certifications from the European Union. And while most people may want their very own Roadster when it debuts, AeroMobil’s main goal isn’t to replace every single car with a flying one. Vaculik noted that initially, the Roadster is targeted to wealthy buyers and flight enthusiasts.

The company's long-term goal is to cut down on inefficiency. The idea is to provide options for people traveling what AeroMobli considers “medium” distances, or trips at around 400 miles. If someone decides to fly such a distance now, the process of traveling to and from the airport, in addition to the actual time for air travel, adds up to around six hours. But if a person were to simply take off near the starting location and then land close to the trip’s destination, it could cut down travel time to just 3.2 hours.

If the Roadster can accomplish this and generate enough profits, then AeroMobil will pursue their idea for the self-flying car. Vaculik didn’t give any indication as to whether such a vehicle is already being built, but he noted that it would incorporate already existing autonomous driving and flying technologies, and it would boast advanced vehicle-to-vehicle communications systems. Plus, it would be a tad more accommodating, seating four rather than two.

For that, we'll just have to wait until 2017 to see how well the Roadster's debut goes. In the meantime, you can continue to geek out about the car's inaugural flight below...

Michael Dell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael Dell
Michael Dell, founder, chairman and CEO of Dell
Born	Michael Saul Dell February 23, 1965 (age 50) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Residence	Texas, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of Texas at Austin(dropped out)
Occupation	Founder, Chairman and CEO ofDell
Net worth	US$ 18.7 billion (March 2015)[1]
Spouse(s)	Susan Lynn Lieberman (October 28, 1989–present; 4 children)

Michael Saul Dell (born February 23, 1965) is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. He is the founder and CEO of Dell Inc., one of the world’s leading sellers of personal computers (PCs). He was ranked the 41st richest person in the world on 2012 Forbes list of billionaires, with a net worth of US$22.4 billion as of December 2014.^[1]

In 2011, his 243.35 million shares of Dell stock were worth $3.5 billion, giving him 12% ownership of the company.^[2] His remaining wealth of roughly $10 billion is invested in other companies and is managed by a firm whose name, MSD Capital, incorporates Dell's initials.^[3] On January 5, 2013 it was announced that Michael Dell had bid to take Dell Inc. private for $24.4 billion in the biggestleveraged buyout since the Great Recession.

Early life

Michael Dell was born in 1965 in Houston, to a Jewish family whose surname reflects the translation into English of the original German/Yiddish Thal ("valley" or "dale [q.v.]"; modern common-noun spelling Tal) upon the family's immigration to the United States.^[4] The son of Lorraine Charlotte (née Langfan), a stockbroker,^[5] and Alexander Dell, an orthodontist, Michael Dell attendedHerod Elementary School in Houston.^[6] In a bid to enter business early, he applied to take a high school equivalency exam at age eight. In his early teens, he invested his earnings from part-time jobs in stocks and precious metals.^[7]

Dell purchased his first calculator at age seven and encountered an early teletype terminal in junior high. At age 15, after playing with computers at Radio Shack, he got his first computer, an Apple II, which he promptly disassembled to see how it worked.^[8] Dell attended Memorial High School in Houston, selling subscriptions to the Houston Post in the summer. While making cold calls, he noted that the persons most likely to purchase subscriptions were those in the process of establishing permanent geographic and social presence; he then targeted this demographic group by collecting names from marriage and mortgage applications. Dell earned $18,000 that year, exceeding the annual income of his history and economics teacher.^[9]

Business career[edit]

A PC's Limited Turbo PC signed by Dell

Michael Dell lecturing at the Oracle OpenWorld, San Francisco 2010

While a freshman pre-med student at the University of Texas, Dell started an informal business putting together and selling upgrade kits for personal computers^[10] in Room 2713 of the Dobie Center residential building. He then applied for a vendor license to bid on contracts for the State of Texas, winning bids by not having the overhead of a computer store.^[11][12][13]

In January 1984, Dell banked on his conviction that the potential cost savings of a manufacturer selling PCs directly had enormous advantages over the conventional indirect retail channel. In January 1984, Dell registered his company as "PC's Limited". Operating out of a condominium, the business sold between $50,000 and $80,000 in upgraded PCs, kits, and add-on components. In May, Dell incorporated the company as "Dell Computer Corporation" and relocated it to a business center in North Austin. The company employed a few order takers, a few more people to fulfill them, and, as Dell recalled, a manufacturing staff "consisting of three guys with screwdrivers sitting at six-foot tables". The venture's capitalization cost was $1,000.^[14][15]

In 1992, aged 27, he became the youngest CEO of a company ranked in Fortune magazine's list of the top 500 corporations.^[16] In 1996, Dell started selling computers over the Web, the same year his company launched its first servers. Dell Inc. soon reported about $1 million in sales per day from dell.com.^[17] In the first quarter of 2001, Dell Inc. reached a world market share of 12.8 percent, passing Compaq to become the world's largest PC maker. The metric marked the first time the rankings had shifted over the previous seven years. The company's combined shipments of desktops, notebooks and servers grew 34.3 percent worldwide and 30.7 percent in the United States at a time when competitors' sales were shrinking.^[18]

In 1998, Dell founded MSD Capital L.P. to manage his family's investments. Investment activities include publicly traded securities, private equity activities, and real estate. The firm employs 80 people and has offices in New York, Santa Monica and London. Dell himself is not involved in day-to-day operations.^[19] On March 4, 2004, Dell stepped down as CEO, but stayed as chairman of Dell Inc.'s board, whileKevin Rollins, then president and COO, became president and CEO. On January 31, 2007, Dell returned as CEO at the request of the board, succeeding Rollins.^[20]

Penalty[edit]

In July 2010 Dell Inc. agreed to pay a $100 million penalty to settle SEC charges^[21] of disclosure and accounting fraud in relation to undisclosed payments from Intel Corporation. Michael Dell and former CEO Kevin Rollins agreed to pay $4 million each, former CFO James Schneider to pay $3 million to settle the charges.^[21]

Accolades[edit]

Accolades for Dell include "Entrepreneur of the Year" (at age 24) from Inc. magazine;^[22] "Top CEO in American Business" from Worthmagazine; "CEO of the Year" from Financial World, Industry Week and Chief Executive magazines. Dell also received the 2013 Franklin Institute's Bower Award for Business Leadership.^[23]

Affiliations[edit]

Dell serves on the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum, the executive committee of the International Business Council, the U.S. Business Council, and the governing board of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, India. He previously served as a member of the U.S. President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.^[24]

Writings[edit]

Dell's 1999 book, Direct from Dell: Strategies That Revolutionized an Industry, is an account of his early life, his company's founding, growth and missteps, as well as lessons learned. The book was written in collaboration with Catherine Fredman.^[25]

Wealth and personal life[edit]

In February 2012, Forbes estimated Dell's net worth at $15.9 billion.^[1] Dell married Susan Lynn Lieberman on October 28, 1989 in Austin, Texas; the couple reside there with their four children.^[26][27][28]

Philanthropy[edit]

In 1999, Michael and Susan Dell established the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, which focuses on, among other causes, grants, urban education, childhood health and family economic stability. The foundation has provided $65 million in grants to three health-related organizations associated with the University of Texas: the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living, the Dell Pediatric Research Institute, and the Dell Children's Medical Center, as well as funding for a new computer science building at the University of Texas at Austin campus.^[29][30]

By 2010, the foundation had committed more than $650 million to children's issues and community initiatives in the United States, India and South Africa^[31] Today the foundation has over $466 million assets under management.^[32]

In 2002, Dell received an honorary doctorate in Economic Science from the University of Limerick in honor of his investment in Ireland and the local community and for his support for educational initiatives.

In 2012, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation committed $50 million for medical education. The Dell School of Medicine at the University of Texas at Austin will begin enrolling students in 2016.

In 2014, he donated $1.8 million to the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.

Criticism

In the April 2011 issue of Mother Jones, a timeline of Michael Dell's life is detailed in "American Magnate: Michael Dell: How a homegrown geek outsourced, downsized, and tax-breaked his way to the top." The article juxtaposes Dell's spending on luxurious homes and private jet travel with his pursuit of tax breaks and tax holidays and Dell Computer's eventual offshoring of jobs overseas after receiving the incentives for setting up shop locally.