Atif’s Blog

I have moved my blog to blogspot and I am hoping to keep that blog updated as much as I can with far more stuff I have planned to share with you guys. So please check my new blog here. I had tried to move all these posts here over to the new one but couldnt due to some issue on this server. Hope you guys will find my new blog more interesting.

I feel sad about such a great peice of machine which proved itself beyond expecations. I still hope that we may get it back next year when sun rays will hit Mars artic region where this wonderful lander is resting. 

This lander of 350Kg of mass was launched on 4th August, 2007 on Delta 7925 launch vehicle from the Cape Canaveral Airforce Station. It entered the Mars atmosphere on May 25th 2008 at speed of 21,000 Km/hr after travelling distance of 680 million kilometers from earth and was able to decrease its speed significantly down to 8Km/hr within 7 minutes (Thats really amazing). 

Have a look at this awesome image of Phoenix landing in a 10KM wide crater. 

Phoenix footpad image, taken over 15 minutes after landing to ensure any dust stirred up had settled.

Due to insufficient sunlight reaching lander solar panels, it went into safe mode on October 28, 2008. This great lander was designed and intended to live upto 90 days but it lived beyond that time frame. Primary mission was ended successfully on August 2008. On November 10 2008, the lander was declared to have lost contact with earth station (the last signal was received on 2nd Nov). 

Fortunately on board computer has safe mode option and the lander will boot into normal mode when in next Martian spring sun light will hit solar panels kicking on board computers alive. It is very unlikely that lander will survive extreme winter of Martian polar region but I am still hopefull that we may get it back working or at least sending back signals. I will miss this wonderful lander which proved to be a milestone in Mars exploration. 

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Michelin has come up with some cool wheel design with embedded disk brake and motor controlled suspension system. According to the source, the motor driven suspension offers response time of 3/1000ths of a second. I am eagerly waiting to see this in production.

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The 80-megawatt farm is to occupy as much as 640 acres and upon completion in 2011 will be 17 times the size of the largest U.S. solar farm, said Cleantech America LLC, a privately held 2-year-old company.

The farm will also be about seven times the size of the world’s biggest plant and double the largest planned farm, both in Germany.

Bill Barnes, CEO of Cleantech, said the scale of the Kings River Conservation District Community Choice Solar Farm will change renewable energy and make California the global leader for huge solar projects and replace Germany as the solar energy hub of the world.

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Friday wat the last day for Mr. Gates in Microsoft Corporation. He has finally retired after 30 year of hard work and dedication toward tech industry. Whether we like him or not but there is no denying that Mr. Gates changed the whole IT scene with MS DOS and MS windows 3.1. Many people like me started off with DOS and loved it for its simplicity. Then we came across Windows 3.x platform and the whole new era of computing was revealed. Even today almost everyone of us use MS Windows in one form or another. In short, Mr. Bill Gates has been an inspiration to millions of people out there and this man will always be remembered as the founder and pioneer of computing.

Another accolade is achieved by President Musharraf by conducting fair election. The result was very disappointing though proving that we don’t deserve a good leader. Our nation is back in the lap of those proven corrupt politicians who fled the country to escape fraud and corruption charges brought against them by themselves. In short, here is the list of the progress made during President Musharraf Era. I know our people wont change their support for their beloved corrupt leaders but at least they will admit the below facts taken from http://alihammadbaig.wordpress.com/2008/03/06/yes-i-support-musharraf/

• Under Musharraf’s vision: 9 world class Engineering universities being developed. [Source. The 9th was not decided at that time. Now it is decided].
• Private sector institutions have increased from 36,096 (in 1999) to become 81,103 (in 2006). [Source. Read last paragraph].
• Pakistan is the 3rd best in world Banking profitability. [Source].
• Pakistan software now values around $2 billion, including $1 billion exports. [Source].
• Around 80,000 jobs have been created by the Telecom sector alone. [Source].
• Industrial Parks are being setup throughout the country for the very first time. [Source. See also this].
• Major Mega projects like the Saindak, Rekodiq, Marble production, Coal production and Mining & Quarrying are being pursued. [Source. (Rekodig)].
• GDP growth is now 6%. Earlier it was 3.5%.
• Foreign Reserves from $1 billion to $17 billion.
• Karachi stock market: rose from 700 points to 13,000 points. [Source].
• Literacy rate has improved by 11%. [Source].
• Poverty levels have decreased by 10%. [Source].
• 3 dams have been constructed: Mirani, Subakzai, Gomalzam dams. [See this, this, and this. (Kurram Tangi Dam)].
• 6 Motorways completed or under construction: M1, M3, M8, M9, M10, M11. [Source].
• Six major highways under construction. [Source].
• GWADAR advance mega Sea port developed under Musharraf’s vision. [Source].
• Historic 100% increase in Tax collection of $11 billion. [Source].
• Large scale manufacturing is 30 year high. [Source].
• Construction activity is 17 years high.
• Newly found World class copper- gold deposits in Chagai will fetch around $600 million per year.
• A new Oil refinery with UAE will fetch $5 billion & will process 300,000 oil barrels a day. [Source].
• CNG sector has attracted over $70 billion investment in last 5 years. [Source].
• Industrial sector registered 26% growth. [Source].
• Pakistan in 1999 was an economy of $75 billion and now in 2006 it is a $160 billion economy. [Source].
• Pakistan economy is now the 3rd fastest growing economy after China & India.
  (Wkipedia initially used the words “3rd fastest growing.” Now it terms it as one of the worlds fastest growing. This change occurred after this recent agitation).

Knol is a project planned by Google for user-generated articles on topics ranging from “scientific concepts, to medical information, from geographical and historical, to entertainment, from product information, to how-to-fix-it instructions.” It was announced on December 13, 2007. Knol pages are “meant to be the first thing someone who searches for this topic for the first time will want to read”, according to Udi Manber, a Vice President of Engineering at Google. The term knol, coined by Google to mean a “unit of knowledge”, refers to both the project and an article in the project. According to BBC, Knol has been seen by many as Google’s attempt to compete with Wikipedia.

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Nice (France) - A company called Moteur Developpment International (MDI) has developed an engine that runs very efficiently on compressed air. Installed in a prototype car, the four-cylinder engine delivers enough power for speeds of 68 mph, with a range of 124 miles. And the best part, it can be completely refueled from dead-empty in four hours on $2 in electricity. When it enters production, it will start at about $13,000 dollars.

As most of us are aware today, fuel costs are growing excessive. This reality has produced one positive side effect, however. Namely that of the increased interest in alternative power sources. An inventor named Guy Negre has spent the last 10 years designing a pneumatic engine, one that runs on air. His vision has now produced a workable air-powered engine which comes in two-, four- or six-cylinder versions which might be practical.

The engine design is called Compressed Air Technology-34, or CAT-34. It generates no significant heat, only normal heat from changing air pressure. It runs in a manner consistent with the traditional internal combustion engine, though in a 2-cycle manner. The power of compressed air drives the pistons rather than tiny explosions of fuel.

The CAT-34 engine. Notably smaller than internal combustion engines, and about half the weight.

Since there is no significant heat generated from the air engine, it does not need a complex cooling system. This means no large radiator, water pump and no heavy construction. In fact, 80% of the entire engine is made out of lightweight aluminum, making it weigh approximately half that of comparably powered gasoline engines. When in full operation, the surface of the engine could be touched without burning.

The air fuel source is stored in three large cylinders made of carbon fiber. These sit under the car body in the prototype. They are filled to approximately 300 bar (4,300 psi), which is a typical pressure of SCUBA tanks. Carbon fiber was chosen for the tanks because if there is ever an accident, the fiber will split open allowing the air to exit very rapidly, but in a controlled manner without shrapnel or dangerous flying debris from something like a metal tank.

The prototype is extremely lightweight, comprised mostly of aluminum. Still, it is not your family sedan. Some various prototype designs carry up to four passengers in a tight configuration. One of them also has a mini pickup-truck appearance with room for hauling in the back. Still, for a daily commuter the savings in purchase cost and fuel expense may make for a handsome tradeoff.

Over the ten years of development, several prototype taxi and people mover models have been tried.

The sleek two person commuter, in stunning purple no less.

The CAT-34 engine design also includes one additional benefit, the ability to be regenerative. When decelerating the prototype, for example, the air engine can be immediately switched from power mode to compressor mode. It takes the atmospheric air, compresses it and puts it back into the tanks for later use. This allows much of the braking energy, which is normally lost as heat in internal combustion engine automobiles through the brake pads, to be reclaimed as power. This gives the engine an additional boost in efficiency for city driving.

Plans are also currently under way to provide a hybrid air/petrol (gasoline) version which will be capable of driving over 3,000 miles on a single tank of petroleum fuel while providing additional speed and power. That’s enough to drive from Los Angeles to New York with one fill up. Sound impossible? It is what’s being reported.

One other advantage for the daily commuter is that, unlike an internal combustion engine which must be constantly running to provide power, the air engine can come to a complete stop in traffic. It can begin providing power again without engaging a starter. Just like an electric car, the engine power is simply available as needed by pressing down on the accelerator, thereby maximizing energy savings in traffic lights, or while sitting in traffic. Of course, if power accessories like air conditioning are needed, then the engine RPM must be maintained.

And for the pickup buffs, a two-passenger model with enough room for the kids. Just make sure to keep the tailgate up as Mythbusters proved that pickup trucks are more efficient with it up.

While not yet in production, ideas like the air engine are exactly what this world needs. It will inspire other inventors to come up with the next big “gee whiz, why didn’t I think of that?” idea which could truly revolutionize our daily lives. It seems the free market system might actually work after all, even to solve our energy needs. Apparently all it needed was just a little air to breathe.

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Boston (MA) - A team of students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a novel fuel source.  Bacteria feed on plant waste in an enclosed cylinder, providing enough electricity to power cell phones and other small devices.  Could this be an infinite power supply in the future?

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WiMax is finally going to get some shape with real products for end-consumers. Motorola’s new modem is actually a desktop product that, according to the manufacturer will be available (to WiMax operators) in the fourth quarter of this year. With some luck, these devices should reach first WiMax subscribers within half a year.

The CPEi 300 is not aiming to attract the typical crowd of geeky first adopters, but Motorola is strictly targeting the device to provide “wireless broadband connectivity to the unserved or underserved.” The modem will include one data port for basic, data-centric operations and two analog terminal adaptors (ATAs) so end users can plug in their existing analog phones for VoIP service.

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