500-mile range electric car will soon be possible, says Elon Musk

Tesla

Tesla to create a 500-mile range electric car.

Tesla Electric cars have the highest energy density battery in the world. That’s twice of the Nissan Leaf. But their range is more than twice that of the Leaf so we come into other factors: what’s the drag co-efficient of the car, how much does it weigh, what’s the efficiency of the motor and gearbox, what’s the rolling resistance? All those factors affect the range.

Continue reading… “500-mile range electric car will soon be possible, says Elon Musk”

Baidu is developing a semi-autonomous car

Baidu

Baidu wants to keep the individual in control.

Would you prefer to ride in a completely autonomous self-driving car, like Google’s self-driving car, or one like Chinese search engine Baidu’s semi-autonomous car?  Instead of cars that have no steering wheels, gas pedals, or brake pedals for drivers to control, Baidu is thinking about cars with intelligent assistants who help you drive.

 

 

Continue reading… “Baidu is developing a semi-autonomous car”

A rescue drone that finds survivors by tracking their mobile phone signals

SMAVNET

The drone can pick out the location of an individual phone within 30 feet.

A mobile phone can be the device that saves you in an emergency, even if you aren’t able to make a call. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne have developed a drone that can pinpoint the location of a mobile phone by picking up its Wi-Fi signal. (Video)

 

 

Continue reading… “A rescue drone that finds survivors by tracking their mobile phone signals”

How five U.S. innovations helped improve schools in Finland even as American’s ignore the same reforms

finland schools

Finland has a staggering record of education success.

Pasi Sahlberg, a Finnish educator and scholar, is one of the world’s leading experts on school reform and educational practices. He is the author of the best-selling “Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn About Educational Change in Finland?”and a former director general of Finland’s Center for International Mobility and Cooperation. Sahlberg is now a visiting professor of practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He has written a number of important posts for this blog, including “What if Finland’s great teachers taught in U.S. schools,” and “What the U.S. can’t learn from Finland about ed reform.”

 

 

Continue reading… “How five U.S. innovations helped improve schools in Finland even as American’s ignore the same reforms”

New York Times has called federal government to repeal marijuana ban

marijuana-legalization

The Times said marijuana should only be available to people over 21 years old.

The New York Times has called for the federal government to repeal its ban on marijuana. They likened the federal law outlawing the drug to the failed prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s and ’30s. (Video)

 

 

Continue reading… “New York Times has called federal government to repeal marijuana ban”