Hasta La Gadget!

Compressed air batteries have long promised truly clean energy storage, but they haven’t scaled large enough in recent years to be viable companions to renewable power sources. That changes now that SustainX has switched on the first modern air battery large enough to join an electrical grid. The company’s new ICAES (Isothermal Compressed Air Energy Storage) system in Seabrook, New Hampshire can hold 1.5 megawatts of power versus the kilowatt-level capacities of its rivals. Despite its size, ICAES is sustainable; it doesn’t require ‘dirty’ energy for either compression or releasing air to its generator, and the supply won’t degrade like that of a chemical battery. The New Hampshire system is just a demonstrator to attract interest, but SustainX expects to have its first commercial battery running in China next year. If ICAES (and technology like it) proves successful, we could see more solar and wind farms that keep delivering electricity when they’re otherwise idle.

Filed under: Misc, Alt

Comments

Via: GigaOM

Source: SustainX

These Imperial Seal bookends are definitely the simplest Star Wars-themed bookends we’ve featured so far, but no self-respecting Emperor is going to be caught using AT-AT bookends. In fact, I don’t think the Emperor needs bookends at all. He’ll just Force Lightning any book that dares to move even an smidge out of alignment.

You can pre-order the bookends from Amazon, Entertainment Earth or straight from collectible maker Gentle Giant for $70 (USD).

[via 7 Gadgets]

The LRO’s wide-angle camera imaged the largely uniform and featureless far side of the moon.

(Credit: NASA)

Why does the moon always looks the same from our perspective? It goes through phases, but the face it shows us changes very little because it’s tidally locked to Earth.

The moon does indeed rotate. Since its own rotation is synchronized with its orbital period around our planet, all we see is one of its hemispheres.

But what would the moon look like without this synchronicity? Here’s a video created from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) data that shows us our satellite in all its spinning glory.

Soon to be joined by NASA’s LADEE lunar probe, the LRO has been orbiting the moon since 2009, gathering images with its wide-angle camera.

Related stories

• NASA probe takes off to solve moon dust mystery
• … [Read more]

  Related Links:
  NASA probe takes off to solve moon dust mystery
  NASA’s Instagram account is out of this world
  Startled frog photobombs Minotaur 5 rocket
  NASA rocket launch to the moon visible to East Coast tonight
  Waiting for a blue moon? Tuesday could be your night
  
  

  
  
  

  

  Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • LinkedIn
  • More

  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Email

If you pine after a more organic computing experience, Oreé has a new trackpad you.

China Mobile is the world’s largest mobile carrier with over 740 million subscribers. It has long been rumored that the carrier will officially start selling the iPhone soon. It hasn’t carried the iPhone as yet, despite that fact that its competitors, China Unicom and China Telecom have both been offering the smartphone for quite some time now. Latest stats from Sinatech claim that there are 42 million unofficial iPhones already on China Mobile’s network. If it officially launches the iPhones, the move might become quite beneficial for both the carrier and Apple.

Given that China Mobile uses a unique TD-SCDMA network standard, those unofficial iPhone owners can only use their devices in 2G model with a painstakingly slow mobile data connection. The carrier is in the process of rolling out its TD-LTE network, a standard that the new iPhones support. It is now widely believed that both iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S will be launched on China Mobile in November, when the carrier is expected to light up its TD-LTE network. Apple’s smartphones have already received a network access license for China Mobile from the country’s regulatory authority. China Mobile said earlier this year that its keen on selling the iPhone, and seeing as how 42 million subscribers chose to purchase an iPhone off-contract and then use it on China Mobile, it is widely believed that the launch just might increase the iPhone’s market share in China by quite a margin.

China Mobile Said To Have 42 Million Unofficial iPhones On Its Network original content from Ubergizmo.