Connecticut-based company LiquidPiston is developing a portable generator for the US Army that uses its X-Engine, a fresh and extremely powerful take on the rotary engine that’ll deliver as much power as the Army’s current-gen-set at one-fifth the size. New Atlas reports: We’ve written a few times before about the fascinating LiquidPiston rotary engine. It’s not a Wankel — indeed, it’s…
Tag: hybrid
Vista Acquires IT Education Platform Pluralsight for $3.5B
The hectic M&A cycle we have seen throughout 2020 continued this weekend when Vista Equity Partners announced it was acquiring Pluralsight for $3.5 billion. From a report: That comes out to $20.26 per share. The company stock closed on Friday at $18.50 per share on a market cap of over $2.7 billion. With Pluralsight, Vista gets an online training company that…
Google Delays Return To Office and Eyes ‘Flexible Work Week’
With the pandemic still in full swing and the first doses of a coronavirus vaccine just starting to ship in the United States, Google has pushed back the planned return to the office by a few months, to September 2021. From a report: But even as it extends the remote work period for most of its staff, Google is laying out…
More Than 500,000 Full Electric Cars Sold So Far This Year In Europe
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Carmakers have sold more than 500,000 battery electric cars in Europe during 2020, a milestone in the automotive industry’s move away from fossil fuels. Sales of all plug-in cars, including hybrids, have surpassed 1m during the year in the UK and the largest 17 European markets, according to data collated by Schmidt…
Moon lights up Gemini December 2 and 3
These next few nights – December 2 and 3 – the bright waning gibbous moon shines in front of the constellation Gemini the Twins. Find this constellation, and you’ve found the radiant point for the Geminid meteor shower, due to peak on December 13-14. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/moon-lights-up-gemini-december-2-and-3…
‘Welcome To the PC Malaise Era’
Long-time research analyst Wes Miller, who previously worked at Microsoft, believes that Windows-powered PCs are now stuck in the same rut that American cars grappled with in 1973 to 1983. He writes: I’ve said before that Windows has never escaped x86. I’m still not sure if it ever can. So the challenges then come down to three things: 1. Can Intel…
A photonic crystal coupled to a transmission line via an artificial atom
Researchers have recently displayed the interaction of superconducting qubits; the basic unit of quantum information, with surface acoustic wave resonators; a surface-wave equivalent of the crystal resonator, in quantum physics. This phenomena opens a new field of research, defined as quantum acoustodynamics to allow the development of new types of quantum devices. The main challenge in this venture is to manufacture…
A phononic crystal coupled to a transmission line via an artificial atom
Researchers have recently displayed the interaction of superconducting qubits; the basic unit of quantum information, with surface acoustic wave resonators; a surface-wave equivalent of the crystal resonator, in quantum physics. This phenomena opens a new field of research, defined as quantum acoustodynamics to allow the development of new types of quantum devices. The main challenge in this venture is to manufacture…
Struggling Electric Jet Startup Zunum Sues Boeing For Fraud and Misuse of Trade Secrets
Kirkland, Washington-based aviation startup Zunum Aero filed a lawsuit this week accusing Boeing of fraud, technology theft, breach of contract, and misappropriation of trade secrets. The company, which had received millions of dollars from the venture arms of Boeing and JetBlue, said it would be ready to fly its 12-seat hybrid electric jets by 2022. Instead, it ran out of cash…
The Digital Nomads Did Not Prepare for This
They moved to exotic locales to work through the pandemic in style. But now tax trouble, breakups and Covid guilt are setting in. From a report: For a certain kind of worker, the pandemic presented a rupture in the space-time-career continuum. Many Americans were stuck, tied down by children or lost income or obligations to take care of the sick. But…