FLYWHEEL Re-Invented

Global Race for Coronavirus Vaccine

Posted on March 31, 2020 by Mike Osborn CEng

‘Unprecedented times’ seems to be the key phrase these days. A virus that has effected the world – physically, spiritually, mentally and financially. There is hope though that comes in may forms. One form is in the provision of a vaccine via scientific research.

Israel’s Institute for Biological Research—a civilian organization formerly under the Defense Ministry—are soon expected to announce the development of a vaccine for the coronavirus, but this process might require many months of trials and experiments before it is deemed safe and effective (source: Reuters, Haaretz )

The Israel state-funded Migal Galilee Research Institute also announced a breakthrough in the development of a vaccine for the new coronavirus. Their rapid progress was credited to four years of previous research focused on the development of a vaccine effective against an avian coronavirus affecting poultry, that could be adapted to counter COVID-19. (source: Reuters, MIGAL http://www.migal.org.il/Migal.covid )

In the U.S., a coronavirus vaccine trial has given a dose to its first participant. The study, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and conducted in the Kaiser Permanente Health Research Institute in Seattle is currently testing whether the vaccine is safe for human use. (source: Reuters, http://www.nih.gov/news-events/ )

In China, researchers at the Academy of Military Medical Sciences have received approval to launch early-stage clinical trials of the potential vaccine, as reported by state media. (Source: Reuters)

U.S. drug maker Pfizer are collaborating with Germany’s BioNTech to co-develop a potential vaccine for the coronavirus. (Source: Reuters)

Experts at the World Health Organisation say they do not expect any fully tested and approved vaccine to reach the market until the middle of 2021. (Source Reuters, WHO http://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/ )

Another form of hope I have personally found helpful is in the Holy Bible,

“but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength … ”

book of Isaiah chapter 40 verse 31

All the best,

Mike

Posted in research science, Uncategorized, Virus | Tagged business, development, global, research science, technology, Virus | 2 Comments

A train that’s ahead by a nose !

Posted on February 28, 2020 by Mike Osborn CEng

ALPHA-X Maglev

Trains are accepted to be less polluting than aircraft but to truly rival plane travel as a valid alternative they are being developed to go faster. In Japan they are testing the ALPHA-X which stands for Advanced Labs for Frontline Activity in rail eXperimentation. It will be capable of speeds up to 250 mph (402km/h) – 50 mph faster than the current generation of Skinkansen trains. However the fastest in the world is the Shanghai’s Maglev train, which employs a non traditional train technology whereby the train is raised or levitated above a track by magnetism.

For the ALPHA-X to achieve 250 mph engineers have had to modify the ‘kingfisher’ inspired nose cone: namely to make it even longer. Night time trials are being undertaken presently with 16m & 22m length cones. The cone is used to combat the ‘piston effect’ when traveling through tunnels, which can cause an unwanted sonic boom at the other end, which has been known to smash windows ! It is also designed to reduce drag and effect of side winds.

Please see link below to YouTube video of ALPHA-X in action !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKNN-19ysJU

Hope you have a good month

All the best

Mike

Quotation corner:

“If you can dream it, you can do it.”

Walt Disney

“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”

Michelangelo

ps If you have enjoyed the blog please forward to those who might be interested, many thanks in advance, Mike

Posted in aerodynamics, business, design, Engineering, engineering development, environment, humor, humour, MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, polution, quotations, quotes, train travel, transport, travel, Uncategorized, Vehicle | Tagged aerodynamics, business, design, development, environment, humour, pollution, quotes, technology, train, train speed | Leave a comment

Sepsis – early detection technology

Posted on January 30, 2020 by Mike Osborn CEng

Patient deterioration owing to infections that develop into Sepsis is the primary cause of admissions to intensive care units from lower dependency hospital wards. A patient’s respiratory rate is well known to be the earliest signs of Sepsis.

Prototype paper sensors have been developed by Spyras (founded by 25 year old George Winfield), that will be able to detect early signs of Sepsis in hospital patients, by accurately monitoring a person’s breathing. The respiratory rate, inhalation and exhalation periods and depth of breathing, would be analysed and closely monitored. Clinicians would be alerted at the earliest signs of deterioration in the patient.

This technology is very important given that every 4 seconds someone in the world dies from Sepsis, and early detection might save up to 14000 lives a year in the UK alone – staggering.

May there be many more engineering innovations that will continue to improve our essential health service.

Hope you have a good month

All the best

Mike

Quotation corner:

“The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.”

Benjamin Disraeli

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

Sir Winston Churchill

ps If you have enjoyed the blog please forward to those who might be interested, many thanks in advance, Mike

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Business Venture – Laurel & Hardy style !

Posted on December 19, 2019 by Mike Osborn CEng

It’s that time of year for a little light hearted fun.

Please find link below to one of my favourite Laurel & Hardy short films on one of their many business ventures – selling Christmas trees !

A perfect 18 minute break from the frantic season over a cuppa !

Hope you have a good, peaceful & restful holiday

All the best,

Mike

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWdKYiewpVY

ps If you have enjoyed the blog please forward to those who might be interested, many thanks in advance, Mike

Posted in business, Car, Comedy Sketch, humor, humour, Selling, Uncategorized | Tagged business, humor, humour, Selling | Leave a comment

Metamaterials – world changer

Posted on November 29, 2019 by Mike Osborn CEng

In 2006 Sir John Pendry a physicist invented an ‘invisible cloak’, a nano-engineered material that could bend light waves. This heralded the the beginning of a new class of material that could manipulate the properties of light and do things previously thought impossible – metamaterials. This new material owes it’s properties more to structure than chemical composition, this structure is at a scale less than the wavelength of any waves going through it.

Since 2006 the cost to produce metamaterials was prohibitive and therefore non commercial, but now a Canadian company MTI has begun manufacturing metamaterial products. One is a transparent material that can manipulate electro-magnetic fields for real world applications. It is called metaAIR an optical filter that protects pilots from laser attacks. This is achieved through holographic exposure where lasers create hundreds of nanometre scale layers, each of which reflects a different frequency of light. In the last 4 years there has been 40,000 laser strikes which can lead to burnt retinas. It is a transparent film that can be applied to glasses or cockpit glass blocking 99.999% of harmful laser radiation.

Other applications of metamaterials are: transparent heaters, foldable mobile phone screens, transparent 5G antennas, higher efficiency solar cells and augmented reality glasses, metaboards that are part of the furniture that can charge mobile devices wirelessly.

Below are a couple of videos explaining further this new technology – enjoy !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpSGiJcVECw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH3YbgzUL-U

Hope you have a good month

All the best

Mike

Quotation corner:

“Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.”

Mark Twain

“Worry – a God, invisible but omnipotent. It steals the bloom from the cheek and lightness from the pulse; it takes away the appetite, and turns the hair grey.”

Benjamin Disraeli

ps If you have enjoyed the blog please forward to those who might be interested, many thanks in advance, Mike

Posted in Engineering, humor, humour, manufacturing, material science, Physics, quotations, quotes, research science, technology, Uncategorized, university | Tagged business, development, humor, humour, material science, quote, quotes, robots, technology, university | Leave a comment

The WaveFlyer – Electric Hydrofoil Jet-Ski

Posted on November 1, 2019 by Mike Osborn CEng

The WaveFlyer is the world’s first electric hydrofoil jet-ski, developed by an Australian company Electro.Aero, in collaboration with University of Western Australia. Essentially it is a personal craft that ‘flies’ serenely one foot above the water, powered by lithium batteries. It is similar to a jet-ski when stationary in the water but when it gets going it rises up using it’s actively stabilised hydrofoil propulsion system.

It can run for 30 minutes with 2 riders, whereas a conventional petrol jet-ski can run for 2 hours. The foils are most likely inverted T shapes rather than a V which are more efficient but can be prone to being more unstable, which may explain a slight instability in the video below. I should think like all these things it takes time to perfect it’s operation. The height above water is dynamically controlled using height sensors.

Major advantages of the new craft are: low pollution, quiet and smooth operation, and energy efficiency.

It could possibly be used in recreational lakes that prohibit fossil fuel powered crafts. This product has great potential and could really fly – excuse the pun !

Please see link below for YouTube video of the new WaveFlyer – enjoy !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHzUtA0eSKA

Hope you have a good month

All the best

Mike

Quotation corner:

” I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.”

Douglas Adams

“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.”

Sir Winston Churchill

“Age is not a particularly interesting subject. Anyone can get old. All you have to do is live long enough.“

Groucho Marx

ps If you have enjoyed the blog please forward to those who might be interested, many thanks in advance, Mike

Posted in business, carbon fibre, design, electric vehicle, electrical engineering, Energy, engine, Engineering, green power, humor, humour, hydrofoil, MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, Propulsion, quotations, quotes, transport, Uncategorized, university, Vehicle, water craft | Tagged business, design, Electric Propulsion, environment, humour, hydrofoil, Jet-Ski, quotes, technology, university | Leave a comment

The WaveFlyer – Electric Hydrofoil Jet-Ski

Posted on October 31, 2019 by Mike Osborn CEng

Major advantages of the new craft are: low pollution, quiet and smooth operation, and energy efficiency.

It could possibly be used in recreational lakes that prohibit fossil fuel powered crafts. This product has great potential and could really fly – excuse the pun !

Please see link below for YouTube video of the new WaveFlyer – enjoy !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHzUtA0eSKA

Hope you have a good month

All the best

Mike

Quotation corner:

” I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.”

Douglas Adams

“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.”

Sir Winston Churchill

“Age is not a particularly interesting subject. Anyone can get old. All you have to do is live long enough.“

Groucho Marx

ps If you have enjoyed the blog please forward to those who might be interested, many thanks in advance, Mike

Biodiversity from Old Oil Rigs

Posted on September 27, 2019 by Mike Osborn CEng

There are some things left in the sea that actually add to the environment! Old oil rigs and other artificial installations are typically present for 20-30 years in the sea. Through this period the tubes, bars, concrete bricks and other materials turn into beneficial substrate for adhering plants and animals. This rich environment attracts fish and mammals. “In the North Sea an old oil rig will have the same function as a natural stone reef”, explains Jonas Teilmann, senior researcher from Aarhus University. He also says stone reefs are in short supply as stones have been removed and used for pier construction or spread due to heavy trawling.

The cost to decommission the world’s 7,500 oil and gas rigs, and 20,000 wind turbines at the end of their useful lives will be around £100bn, which has been mandated by international convention. Jonas and 30 other international researchers are making a case to review this, because biodiversity is increasing by leaving them in situ. These structures on the seabed are naturally protected from trawling too, which can turn a seabed into a uniform desert. They are calling politicians and officials to put a halt on mandatory decommissioning, and to carry out case by case environmental assessments as to which structures to leave.

It’s amazing how sometimes nature adapts man made objects over time whilst they return to their original default material state, and on the way help the environment !

Hope you have a good month

All the best

Mike

Quotation corner:

“If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee.”

Abraham Lincoln

“Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs”

Henry Ford

ps If you have enjoyed the blog please forward to those who might be interested, many thanks in advance, Mike

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

‘V’ Plane

Posted on August 30, 2019 by Mike Osborn CEng

The simple ‘V’ shape still has power to shock us as a plane design, but Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has been developing the concept design recently, backed by Dutch Airline KLM. The design is partially based on a ‘V’ shaped Airbus patent. The blended wing-body integrates the passenger cabin, cargo hold, and fuel tanks in the wings. Two efficient turbofan engines are mounted towards the back on the same structure as the landing gear strut to minimise the number of heavy duty elements.

The aircraft’s spec matches the Airbus A350 in wingspan, seating, and cargo hold capacity. The key predicted difference is the 20% lower fuel consumption due to it’s improved aerodynamic shape, reduced weight, and decreased size of the ‘V’ shape design.

Why hasn’t this been done before? Because a wing design would need to accommodate a passenger cabin/cargo hold and yet be aerodynamic to create lift. Dr Roelof Vos believes he has the answer and explains that at high altitude a plane’s passenger cabin is under pressure and naturally tends towards a spheroidal shape. The V shaped plane has an ‘oval fuselage’ instead of circular one that accommodates this phenomenon. The design consists of tangentially connected circular arcs, with a trapezoidal substructure to take the compressive and tensional loads.

The V plane design is at the concept stage and undergoing wind tunnel testing and simulations. The initial results are very positive. The project team will present a flying scale model, and full scale interior section at KLM’s 100th anniversary celebration in October.

The question is will this ‘V’ shape plane become a commercial reality and really fly? I really hope so as the design is striking.

Hope you have a good month

All the best

Mike

Quotation corner:

“The innovation point is the pivotal moment when talented and motivated people seek the opportunity to act on their ideas and dreams.”

W. Arthur Porter

“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can never live long enough to make them all yourself.”

Groucho Marx

ps If you have enjoyed the blog please forward to those who might be interested, many thanks in advance, Mike

Posted in aerodynamics, AIRCRAFT, business, design, quotations, quotes, Uncategorized | Tagged aerodynamics, aerospace, business, design, development, humor, humour, quote, technology, university | Leave a comment

Electric Super Car Race !

Posted on July 22, 2019 by Mike Osborn CEng

>>>>> Aston Martin >>>>>> Lotus

When we think of fast electric cars we primarily think of Elon Musk’s Tesla cars, newest one being the Roadster – a direct threat to gasoline super cars. He now has stiff competition from main stream manufacturers but also from a most unlikely corner of the world – Croatia. A small company called Rimac is building one of the world’s most exciting cars an electric beast that can reach over 250mph !

>>>>> Tesla >>>>> Rimac

What are the main players doing? In Italy Pininfarina a car manufacturer established before the second world war is building – a £1.5 million electric hyper car promoted as ‘a beautiful dream car’. In Britain, Lotus are developing a £1.7 million muscle car with an electric heart, Ariel is developing radical engineering on it’s HIPERCAR model, Aston Martin has just announced it’s first electric Rapide.

>>>>>> Pininfarina

Development of electric engines is going a pace – a Tesla model S can hit 60mph in 2.4 secs the sacred realm of Ferraris and Lamborghinis ! Electric cars have an advantage in that continuous high torque can be delivered with improved traction through 4 wheels, without also accommodating gear changes and power bands. Software controls power delivery efficiently in real time for maximum performance.

The one question that begs to be asked, is how do you ever replace that amazing V12 engine sound that puts hairs on the back of your neck?

Hope you have a good month

All the best

Mike

Quotation corner:

“If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.”

Albert Einstein

“Capital isn’t so important in business. Experience isn’t so important. You can get both these things. What is important is ideas. If you have ideas, you have the main asset you need, and there isn’t any limit to what you can do with your business and your life.”

Harvey Firestone

ps If you have enjoyed the blog please forward to those who might be interested, many thanks in advance, Mike

Posted in business, Car, design, electric vehicle, electrical engineering, engine, Engineering, manufacturing, mechanical, MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, power generation, Propulsion, quotations, quotes, technology, Traction, travel, Uncategorized, Vehicle | Tagged battery electric vehicles, business, design, development, electric car, quotes, super car, technology | Leave a comment

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Archives

Meta