EEE Blog

To improve lung cancer diagnosis, good medicine is a polymer pill

2010-05-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

Doctors may soon be able to diagnose lung cancer more effectively thanks to research performed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where scientists have found ways both to increase the accuracy of computed tomography (CT) scans and to lessen the amount of time necessary to perceive telltale changes in lung tissue.

To improve lung cancer diagnosis, good medicine is a polymer pill

Car Steered With Eyes, Computer Scientists Demonstrate

2010-04-30T08:42:00.000-07:00

"Keep your eyes on the road!" Scientists at Freie Universität working under the computer science professor Raúl Rojas have given a completely new meaning to this standard rule for drivers: Using software they developed, they can steer a car with their eyes.
On the site of the former Berlin Tempelhof Airport, the head of the project, Raul Rojas, and his team from the Artificial Intelligence Group recently demonstrated how they can steer the vehicle that is equipped with complex electronics just by eye. More than 60 journalists from around the world were there to watch.

Information about the Software: EyeDriver

The eyeDriver software is a prototype application for steering the research vehicle Spirit of Berlin using eye movements. The software was designed by computer scientists at Freie Universität Berlin in collaboration with the company, SMI (SensoMotoric Instruments). The eye movements of the driver are collected and converted into control signals for the steering wheel. The speed is controlled separately and is not included in eyeDriver. The software shows that you can drive a vehicle alone with eye movements.

The HED4 solution by SMI is used for detecting and tracking the eye movements. It is a converted bicycle helmet equipped with two cameras and an infrared LED, as well as a laptop computer with special software. One of the cameras is pointed to the front in the same direction as the person wearing the helmet (scene camera), while the other camera films one eye of the wearer (eye camera). The infrared light supports the eye camera and is pointed to the eye under observation. A transparent mirror that reflects only the infrared light is used to allow a reasonable viewing angle for the eye camera, without limiting the wearer's ability to see. After a brief calibration the software on the laptop of the HED4 is not only able to capture the position of the pupil in the eye camera, but can also calculate the position in the scene camera that the wearer is looking at. These coordinates in the image of the scene camera (viewing position) are transmitted via an ordinary LAN to the onboard computer in the Spirit of Berlin. The eyeDriver software in the onboard computer in the Spirit of Berlin receives the viewing positions at regular intervals over the LAN in the vehicle and uses it to control the steering wheel. The driver can choose between two modes: "free ride" and "routing."

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Learning from the Brain: Computer Scientists Develop New Generation of Neuro-Computer

2010-02-20T05:24:00.000-08:00

They have been co-ordinating the European Union research project "Brain-i-Nets" (Novel Brain Inspired Learning Paradigms for Large-Scale Neuronal Networks) for three years, and are launching a three-day meeting of the participating researchers in Graz. The scientists want to design a new generation of neuro-computers based on the principles of calculation and learning mechanisms found in the brain, and at the same time gain new knowledge about the brain's learning mechanisms.
The human brain consists of a network of several billion nerve cells. These are joined together by independent connections called synapses. Synapses are changing all the time -- something scientists name synaptic plasticity. This highly complex system represents a basis for independent thinking and learning. But even today there are still many open questions for researchers.
"In contrast to today's computers, the brain doesn't carry out a set programme but rather is always adapting functions and reprogramming them anew. Many of these effects have not been explained," comments IGI head Wolfgang Maass together with project co-ordinator Robert Legenstein. In co-operation with neuroscientists and physicists, and with the help of new experimental methods, they want to research the mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in the organism.
Revolutionising the information society
The researchers are hoping to gain new knowledge from this research about the learning mechanisms in the human brain. They want to use this knowledge of learning mechanisms to develop new learning methods for artificial systems which process information. The scientists' long-term goal is to develop adaptive computers together which have the potential to revolutionise today's information society.
The three-year project is financed by the EU funding framework "Future Emerging Technologies" (FET), which supports especially innovative and visionary approaches in information technology. International experts chose only nine out of the 176 applications, among which was "Brain-i-Nets." Partners of the research initiative worth 2.6m euro include University College London, the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg und the University of Zurich.
For more information, visit: http://www.brain-i-nets.eu

Scientists have devised a new type of superconducting circuit

2009-08-15T07:46:00.000-07:00

Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have devised a new type of superconducting circuit that behaves quantum mechanically – but has up to five levels of energy instead of the usual two.
These circuits act like artificial atoms in that they can only gain or lose energy in packets, or quanta, by jumping between discrete energy levels. "In our previous work, we focused on systems with just two energy levels, 'qubits,' because they are the quantum analog of 'bits,' which have two states, on and off," said Matthew Neeley, first author and a graduate student at UCSB.
He explained that in this work they operated a quantum circuit as a more complicated artificial atom with up to five energy levels. The generic term for such a system is "qudit," where 'd' refers to the number of energy levels –– in this case, 'd' equals five.
"This is the quantum analog of a switch that has several allowed positions, rather than just two," said Neeley. "Because it has more energy levels, the physics of a qudit is richer than for just a single qubit. This allows us to explore certain aspects of quantum mechanics that go beyond what can be observed with a qubit."
Just as bits are used as the fundamental building blocks of computers, qubits could one day be used as building blocks of a quantum computer, a device that exploits the laws of quantum mechanics to perform certain computations faster than can be done with classical bits alone. "Qudits can be used in quantum computers as well, and there are even cases where qudits could be used to speed up certain operations with a quantum computer," said Neeley. "Most research to date has focused on qubit systems, but we hope our experimental demonstration will motivate more effort on qudits, as an addition to the quantum information processing toolbox."
The senior co-author of the paper is John M. Martinis, professor of physics at UCSB. Other co-authors from UCSB are: Markus Ansmann, Radoslaw C. Bialczak, Max Hofheinz, Erik Lucero, Aaron D. O'Connell, Daniel Sank, Haohua Wang, James Wenner, and Andrew N. Cleland. Another co-author, Michael R. Geller, is from the University of Georgia.. (from Science daily..)

New Plasma Transistor Could Create Sharper Displays

2009-02-21T07:33:00.000-08:00

By integrating a solid-state electron emitter and a microcavity plasma device, researchers at the University of Illinois have created a plasma transistor that could be used to make lighter, less expensive and higher resolution flat-panel displays.
"The new device is capable of controlling both the plasma conduction current and the light emission with an emitter voltage of 5 volts or less," said Gary Eden, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, and director of the Laboratory for Optical Physics and Engineering at the U. of I.
At the heart of the plasma transistor is a microcavity plasma, an electronic-photonic device in which an electrically charged gas (a plasma) is contained within a microscopic cavity. Power is supplied by two electrodes at voltages of up to 200 volts.
Eden and graduate student Kuo-Feng (Kevin) Chen fabricated the plasma transistor from copper-clad laminate into which a microcavity 500 microns in diameter was produced by standard photolithographic techniques. The solid-state electron emitter was made from a silicon wafer, topped with a thin layer of silicon dioxide.
The microcavity is approximately the diameter of a human hair, and is filled with a small amount of gas. When excited by electrons, atoms in the plasma radiate light. The color of light depends on what gas is placed in the microcavity. Neon emits red light, for example, and argon emits blue light.
Around the plasma is a thin boundary layer called the sheath. Within the sheath, electrical current is carried not by negatively charged electrons, but instead by positively charged ions. Much heavier than electrons and therefore harder to accelerate, the ions require a large electric field generated by a large voltage drop across the sheath.
The intense electric field within the plasma sheath also promotes electron transport, said Eden, who also is a researcher at the university's Coordinated Science Laboratory and at the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory. "By injecting electrons from the emitter into the sheath, we can significantly increase the flow of electrons through the plasma, which increases the plasma's conductivity and light emission."
While the microcavity plasma still requires up to 200 volts to emit light and conduct current, the current and light emission can be controlled by an electron emitter operating at 5 volts or less, Eden said. The current that is sent through the sheath to the bulk plasma determines how much current is carried by the two electrodes driving the microplasma.
In previous work, Eden's team created flat-panel plasma lamps out of two sheets of aluminum foil separated by a thin dielectric layer of clear aluminum oxide. More than 250,000 lamps can be packed into a single panel. And, because microcavity plasmas operate at atmospheric pressure, thick pieces of glass are not needed to seal them. The lightweight plasma panels are less than 1 millimeter thick.
"Being able to control each microcavity plasma independently could turn our plasma panel into a less expensive and higher resolution plasma display," Eden said. "The plasma transistor also could be used in applications where you want to use a small voltage to control a great deal of power."
Eden and Chen described the plasma transistor in the journal Applied Physics Letters. The researchers have applied for a patent.
courtesy: scincedaily.com

New Power Line De-icing System Developed

2009-01-12T08:12:00.000-08:00

ScienceDaily (Jan. 9, 2009)
The new proprietary technology is called a variable resistance cable (VRC) de-icing system. With only minor cable modifications plus some off-the-shelf electronics, the system switches the electrical resistance of a standard power line from low to high. The high resistance automatically creates heat to melt ice build-up or keep it from forming in the first place.
"The beauty of the VRC system is that it's fully customizable and is an affordable addition to the current manufacturing and installation process," said Gabriel Martinez, Ice Engineering's Vice President who studied under Professor Petrenko while earning his M.S. in engineering sciences from Dartmouth. "And it works without causing any service interruption whatsoever," he added.
"The technology builds on many years of research in materials science, power electronics, and ice physics with my colleagues at Dartmouth such as Professor Charles Sullivan, an expert in power electronics and a co-inventor of the VRC de-icer," said Petrenko who is founder, Chief Technology Officer and Chairman of the Board of Ice Engineering.
Ice Engineering plans to install and test a full-scale VRC system prototype on a section of power line in Orenburg, Russia, in late January 2009. The company is also currently negotiating full-scale installations of VRC in other regions of Russia and in China.
Martinez says the changes in manufacturing and installation required to implement the VRC system would result in a less than 10 percent increase in overall cost. Since utility companies normally replace 3 percent of their cables every year, the system could be installed as part of the regularly scheduled maintenance process and still achieve a significant portion of the installation by the time the next major storm hits.
Furthermore, the life span of the de-icing system would match or exceed the life-span of the utility cable, approximately 30–50 years. The system would pay for itself during the next storm by practically eliminating the cost of fixing downed cables and power outages due to ice and snow, according to Martinez.
Another benefit to the VRC system is that utility companies using the system would have full control over its functionality, says Martinez. Time, temperature, and location can all be adjusted manually or set and controlled automatically with electronic sensors.
Ice Engineering in Lebanon, N.H. develops and licenses technology and applications that enable products that interact with ice and snow to perform significantly better than ever before. Dartmouth engineering professor Victor Petrenko is the primary inventor of the technology. Ice Engineering was founded by Petrenko as a Delaware LLC in April of 2001 to commercialize the technology in specific industries.

Converting Sunlight Into Electricity: European Project Breaks Efficiency Record

2008-11-24T04:51:00.000-08:00

Scientists of the Commission-financed project FULLSPECTRUM have developed photovoltaic (PV) multi-junction (MJ) solar cells which are able to convert 39.7% of the energy of sun light into electricity. This is the highest percentage ever reached in Europe, according to researchers after their final workshop in El Escorial, Spain.
The main barrier to large-scale deployment of PV systems is the high production cost of electricity, due to the significant capital investment costs. Research is engaged to reduce manufacturing costs and to raise the efficiency of the cells. Today conventional PV cells made of silicon are converting only a fraction of the solar light spectrum around 17%.
FULLSPECTRUM's multi-junction solar cells are able to catch more sun light energy due to their composition of different materials, including gallium, phosphorus, indium and germanium. These multi-junction solar cells are expensive and have only been used for applications in space. However, the cost can be considerably reduced by arranging them in special panels which include lenses that focus a large amount of solar energy onto the cells. These concentrators can reach far above 1000 times the natural solar power flux and have also been the object of the project research.
FULLSPECTRUM is an integrated project involving 19 European public and industrial research centres from seven EU Member States, as well as Russia and Switzerland. It is coordinated by the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Instituto de Energía Solar and started in November 2003 with an overall budget of € 14,7 Million of with the European Commission financed € 8.4 Million.
From: Sciencedaily.com

New Small-scale Generator Produces Alternating Current By Stretching Zinc Oxide Wires

2008-11-15T04:18:00.000-08:00

The new "flexible charge pump" generator is the fourth generation of devices designed to produce electrical current by using the piezoelectric properties of zinc oxide structures to harvest mechanical energy from the environment. Its development was scheduled to be reported November 9, 2008 in the advance online publication of the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

"The flexible charge pump offers yet another option for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy," said Zhong Lin Wang, Regent's professor and director of the Center for Nanostructure Characterization at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "This adds to our family of very small-scale generators able to power devices used in medical sensing, environmental monitoring, defense technology and personal electronics."

The new generator can produce an oscillating output voltage of up to 45 millivolts, converting nearly seven percent of the mechanical energy applied directly to the zinc oxide wires into electricity. The research has been supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Emory-Georgia Tech Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence.

Earlier nanowire nanogenerators and microfiber nanogenerators developed by Wang and his research team depended on intermittent contact between vertically-grown zinc oxide nanowires and an electrode, or the mechanical scrubbing of nanowire-covered fibers. These devices were difficult to construct, and the mechanical contact required caused wear that limited how long they could operate. And because zinc oxide is soluble in water, they had to be protected from moisture.

"Our new flexible charge pump resolves several key issues with our previous generators," Wang said. "The new design would be more robust, eliminating the problem of moisture infiltration and the wearing of the structures. From a practical standpoint, this would be a major advantage."

To boost the current produced, arrays of the flexible charge pumps could be constructed and connected in series. Multiple layers of the generators could also be built up, forming modules that could then be embedded into clothing, flags, building decorations, shoes – or even implanted in the body to power blood pressure or other sensors.

When the modules are mechanically stretched and then released, because of the piezoelectric properties, the zinc oxide material generates a piezoelectric potential that alternately builds up and then is released. A Schottky barrier controls the alternating flow of electrons, and the piezoelectric potential is the driving force of the charge pump.

"The electrons flow in and out, just like AC current," Wang explained. "The alternating flow of electrons is the power output process."

Constructed with zinc oxide piezoelectric fine wires with diameters of three to five microns and lengths of 200 to 300 microns, the new generator no longer depends on nanometer-scale structures. The larger size was chosen for easier fabrication, but Wang said the principles could be scaled down to the nanometer scale.

"Nanoscale materials are not required for this to work," he said. "Larger fibers work better and are easier to work with to fabricate devices. But the same principle would apply at the nanometer scale."

The wires are grown using a physical vapor deposition method at approximately 600 degrees Celsius. Using an optical microscope, the wires are then bonded onto a polyimide film and silver paste applied at both ends to serve as electrodes. The wires and electrodes were then encased in polyimide to protect them from wear and environmental degradation.

To measure the electric energy generated, the researchers subjected the substrate and attached zinc oxide wires to periodic mechanical bending created by a motor-driven mechanical arm. The bending induced tensile strain which created a piezoelectric potential field along the laterally-packaged wires. That, in turn, drove a flow of electrons into an external circuit, creating the alternating charge and discharge cycle – and corresponding current flow.

Increasing the strain rate increased the magnitude of the output electricity, both in voltage and current. Wang believes the frequency of the current is limited only by the mechanical properties of the polyimide substrate.

The researchers conducted a number of tests to verify that the current measured was produced by the generator – and not an external measurement artifact. Using the same experimental setup, they stretched carbon fibers and Kevlar fibers coated with polycrystalline zinc oxide, and did not observe current flow. The research team also developed two criteria and eight tests for ruling out experimental artifacts, Wang noted.

In addition to Wang, the research team included Rusen Yang and Yong Qin from Georgia Tech and Liming Dai of the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Dayton.

For the future, Wang sees the family of small-scale generators enabling development of a new class self-powered wireless sensing systems. The devices could gather information, store it and transmit the data – all without an external power source.

"Self-powered nanotechnology could be the basis for a new industry," he said. "That's really the only way to build independent systems."

Original Article

Squeezing More Synthetic Fuel From Abundant Supplies Of Coal

2008-11-07T09:39:00.000-08:00

Scientists in Italy are reporting that a new process could eliminate key obstacles to expanded use of coal gasification to transform that abundant domestic energy resource into synthetic liquid fuels for cars and trucks.

In the study, Maria Sudiro and colleagues note that coal is the only conventional energy source with the potential for meeting global energy demands in the near future. World coal reserves, they note, are 25 percent greater than crude oil and the United States alone has enough coal to supply its own energy needs for centuries. However, existing processes for converting coal into much-needed liquid fuels are uneconomical and release too much carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, and other air pollutants.

Based on laboratory simulations and comparisons with conventional coal gasification, their system was 70 percent more energy efficient, yielded 40 percent more fuel and released 32 per cent less carbon dioxide. "The new process configuration can represent a valuable alternative route to obtain syngas both for electric power generation and for synthetic fuel production," the report states.

Source: Sciencedaily.com

Electricity from a thin film

2008-10-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

Researchers at The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg, Germany are working towards the industrial mass production of organic solar cells.

These cells can be laid onto thin films, which make them cheap to produce and established printing technologies could be used for future production.

However, to achieve suitable solar cell architecture, coating materials and substrates have to be developed.

”This method permits a high throughput, so the greatest cost is that of materials,” said Michael Niggemann, a researcher at ISE.

Organic solar cells are not efficient enough to compete with classic silicon cells yet but because they are flexible they can open up new fields of application, for example, plastic solar cells could supply the power for small mobile devices such as MP3 players or electronic passes.

Another possibility would be to combine solar cells, sensors and electronic circuits on a small strip of plastic to form a self-sufficient power microsystem.

Until now, the front electrode has usually been made of expensive indium tin oxide because this material is transparent. But the Fraunhofer team has found an alternative by interconnecting a poorly conductive transparent polymer electrode with a highly conductive metal layer on the rear side of the solar cell.

This connection is through numerous tiny holes in the solar cell .This has the advantage that a low-priced material can be used.

Source: www.electroline.com.au

Window collects light and illuminates room !!

2008-10-17T04:15:00.000-07:00

Imagine windows that not only provide a clear view and illuminate rooms, but also efficiently help power the building. MIT engineers report a new approach to harnessing the sun's energy that could allow just that.

The work involves creating a ‘solar concentrator’.

"Light is collected over a large area [like a window] and gathered or concentrated, at the edges," explains Marc A Baldo, leader of the work and the Esther and Harold E Edgerton Career Development Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering.

As a result, rather than covering a roof with solar cells, the cells only need to be around the edges of a flat glass panel. In addition, the focused light increases the electrical power obtained from each solar cell "by a factor of over 40," Baldo says.

Because the system is simple to manufacture, the team believes that it could be implemented within three years — even added onto existing solar-panel systems to increase their efficiency by 50%.

In addition to Baldo, the researchers involved are Michael Currie, Jon Mapel and Timothy Heidel, all graduate students in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Shalom Goffri, a postdoctoral associate in MIT's Research Laboratory of Electronics.

"Professor Baldo's project uses design to achieve superior solar conversion without optical tracking," says Dr Aravinda Kini, program manager in the Office of Basic Energy Sciences in the US Department of Energy's Office of Science, a sponsor of the work.

"This accomplishment demonstrates the importance of innovative basic research in bringing about advances in solar energy use."

Solar concentrators in use today "track the sun to generate high optical intensities, often by using large mobile mirrors that are expensive to deploy and maintain," Baldo says. Solar cells at the focal point of the mirrors must be cooled and the entire assembly wastes space around the perimeter to avoid shadowing neighbouring concentrators.

The concentrator is a mixture of two or more dyes, painted onto a pane of glass or plastic. The dyes work together to absorb light across a range of wavelengths, which is then re-emitted at a different wavelength and transported across the pane to waiting solar cells at the edges.

In the 1970s, similar solar concentrators were developed by impregnating dyes in plastic. But the idea was abandoned because, among other things, not enough of the collected light could reach the edges of the concentrator as much of it was lost en route.

The MIT engineers, experts in optical techniques developed for lasers and organic light-emitting diodes, realised that perhaps those same advances could be applied to solar concentrators. The result? A mixture of dyes in specific ratios, applied only to the surface of the glass, that allows some level of control over light absorption and emission.

"We made it so the light can travel a much longer distance," Mapel said.

"We were able to substantially reduce light transport losses, resulting in a tenfold increase in the amount of power converted by the solar cells."

Source: www.electroline.com

Nanotechnology improves battery life

2008-08-23T04:41:00.000-07:00

Researchers at the Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science in China have been investigating how to improve the kind of rechargeable batteries that are used in mobile phones, MP3 players, personal digital assistants and laptop computers.

They found that after 20 cycles of the semi-cell experiments, the sugar-coated Si-CNT composite material achieved a discharge capacity of 727 mAh per g. In contrast, the charge capacity of the simple sugar-coated particles had dropped to 363 mAh per g.

Hui-Ming Cheng and colleagues have turned to carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to help them use silicon (Si) as the battery anode but avoid the material's usual problem of large volume change during alloying and de-alloying that can lead to faster capacity loss.

Li-Ion batteries suffer from degradation, especially when they get too hot or too cold, and eventually lose the capacity to be fully recharged. The problem of the slow degradation of Li-Ion batteries is usually due to the formation of a solid electrolyte interphase film that increases the batteries' internal resistance and prevents a full recharge.

The researchers grew carbon nanotubes on the surface of tiny particles of silicon using a technique known as chemical vapour deposition, in which a carbon-containing vapour decomposes and then condenses on the surface of the silicon particles forming the nanoscopic tubes.

They then coated these particles with carbon released from sugar at a high temperature in a vacuum. A separate batch of silicon particles produced using sugar but without the CNTs was also prepared.

With the Si-CNT anode material to hand, the team then investigated how well it functioned in a prototype Li-Ion battery and compared the results with the material formed from sugar-coated silicon particles.

The growth of carbon nanotubes on silicon suppresses the structure destruction of the composite during charge cycling, resulting in the improvement of cyclability, according to the researchers.

Source

Fibre replaces substation copper

2008-08-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

GE Digital Energy says its Multilin HardFiber System eliminates the need for thousands of copper wires in a substation and replaces them with a few fibre-optic cables.
By eliminating the need to install and maintain the copper wires, used for signalling and monitoring in electrical substations, utilities can save up to 50% of protection and control installation and maintenance costs, while at the same time increasing worker safety and power system reliability.
The system, based on IEC 61850, is made up of four key elements: the brick, the cross connect panel, the rugged outdoor fibre cables and the universal relay IEC 61850 process card.
The system's single, pre-terminated fibre-optic connections reduce the multitude of copper wires that need to be pulled, spliced and terminated.
It provides an identical interface to all primary system equipment, eliminating custom designs.
Source

Researchers demonstrate ‘avalanche effect’ in solar cells

2008-07-28T09:36:00.000-07:00

Proof that the ‘avalanche effect’ by electrons occurs in specific, very small semi conducting crystals could pave the way for cheap high-output solar cells.

Researchers at TU Delft and the FOM Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter have discovered this phenomenon.

Solar cells provide opportunities for future large-scale electricity generation. However, there are currently significant limitations, such as the relatively low output of most solar cells (typically 15%) and high manufacturing costs.

One possible improvement could develop from a solar cell made of semiconducting nanocrystals which could lead to theoretical maximum output of 44%.

In conventional solar cells, one photon can release precisely one electron. The creation of these free electrons ensures that the solar cell works and can provide power.

The more electrons released, the higher the output of the solar cell.

In some semiconducting nanocrystals, however, one photon can release two or three electrons, hence the term 'avalanche effect'.

The avalanche effect was first measured by researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratories in 2004. Since then, the scientific world has raised doubts about the value of these measurements. Does the avalanche effect really exist or not?

Within the Joint Solar Programme TU Delft’s Prof Laurens Siebbeles has now demonstrated that the avalanche effect does indeed occur in lead selenide (PbSe) nanocrystals.

It has been established, however, that the effect in this material is smaller than previously assumed. Siebbeles claims his results are more reliable than those of other scientists due to more careful and more detailed measurement using ultra-fast laser methods.

Siebbeles believes that this research paves the way for further unravelling the secrets of the avalanche effect.
Source: electroline.com

Intel Celebrates 40 Years of Innovation

2008-07-18T22:45:00.000-07:00

* Intel celebrates its anniversary on July 18, 2008.
* Since its founding, Intel has introduced countless examples of technology innovation, its crowning breakthrough being the introduction of microprocessor. Commonly referred to as the "brain" of a computer, the microprocessor has led to unimagined advances in entertainment, education and business productivity.
* Intel is unveiling the World Mural Project on the day of the anniversary, a Web-based digital art piece that includes visual and written contents from the Intel Computer Clubhouses around the world.
* More than 500 young people in 21 countries participated in the project.
* Around 300 Intel volunteers at 70 Clubhouses around the world worked with the youth on the project.

Click here for the full story ›

AMD Micro Processors, History

2008-07-06T10:54:00.000-07:00

Am2900 series (1975)

* Am2901 4-bit-slice ALU (1975)
* Am2902 Look-Ahead Carry Generator
* Am2903 4-bit-slice ALU, with hardware multiply
* Am2904 Status and Shift Control Unit
* Am2905 Bus Transceiver
* Am2906 Bus Transceiver with Parity
* Am2907 Bus Transceiver with Parity
* Am2908 Bus Transceiver with Parity
* Am2909 4-bit-slice address sequencer
* Am2910 12-bit address sequencer
* Am2911 4-bit-slice address sequencer
* Am2912 Bus Transceiver
* Am2913 Priority Interrupt Expander
* Am2914 Priority Interrupt Controller

29000 (29K) (1987–95)

* AMD 29000 (aka 29K) (1987)
* AMD 29027 FPU
* AMD 29030
* AMD 29050 with on-chip FPU (1990)
* AMD 292xx embedded processor

x86 architecture processors

2nd source (1979–91)

(second-sourced x86 processors produced under contract with Intel)

* 8086
* 8088
* Am286 (2nd-sourced 80286, so not a proper Amx86 member)

Amx86 series (1991–95)

* Am386 (1991)
* Am486 (1993)
* Am5x86 (a 486-class µP) (1995)

K5 series (1995)

* AMD K5 (SSA5/5k86)

K6 series (1997–2001)

* AMD K6 (NX686/Little Foot) (1997)
* AMD K6-2 (Chompers/CXT)
o AMD K6-2-P (Mobile K6-2)
* AMD K6-III (Sharptooth)
o AMD K6-III-P
* AMD K6-2+
* AMD K6-III+

K7 series (1999–2005)

* Athlon (Slot A) (Argon,Pluto/Orion,Thunderbird) (1999)
* Athlon (Socket A) (Thunderbird) (2000)
* Duron (Spitfire,Morgan,Applebred) (2000)
* Athlon MP (Palomino,Thoroughbred,Barton,Thorton) (2001)
* Mobile Athlon 4 (Corvette/Mobile Palomino) (2001)
* Athlon XP (Palomino,Thoroughbred (A/B),Barton,Thorton) (2001)
* Mobile Athlon XP (Mobile Palomino) (2002)
* Mobile Duron (Camaro/Mobile Morgan) (2002)
* Sempron (Thoroughbred,Thorton,Barton) (2004)
* Mobile Sempron

K8 series (2003–)

Families: Opteron, Athlon 64, Sempron, Turion 64, Athlon 64 X2, Turion 64 X2

* Opteron (SledgeHammer) (2003)
* Athlon 64 FX (SledgeHammer) (2003)
* Athlon 64 (ClawHammer/Newcastle) (2003)
* Mobile Athlon 64 (Newcastle) (2004)
* Athlon XP-M (Dublin) (2004) Note: AMD64 disabled
* Sempron (Paris) (2004) Note: AMD64 disabled
* Athlon 64 (Winchester) (2004)
* Turion 64 (Lancaster) (2005)
* Athlon 64 FX (San Diego) (1st half 2005)
* Athlon 64 (San Diego/Venice) (1st half 2005)
* Sempron (Palermo) (1st half 2005)
* Athlon 64 X2 (Manchester) (1st half 2005)
* Athlon 64 X2 (Toledo) (1st half 2005)
* Athlon 64 FX (Toledo) (2nd half 2005)
* Turion 64 X2 (Taylor) (1st half 2006)
* Athlon 64 X2 (Windsor) (1st half 2006)
* Athlon 64 FX (Windsor) (1st half 2006)
* Athlon 64 X2 (Brisbane) (2nd half 2006)
* Athlon 64 (Orleans) (2nd half 2006)
* Sempron (Manila) (1st half 2006)
* Opteron (Santa Rosa)
* Opteron (Santa Ana)
* Mobile Sempron

K9 series

At one time K9 was the internal codename for the dual-core AMD64 processors as the brand Athlon 64 X2,[1][2] however AMD has distanced itself from the old K series naming convention, and now seeks to talk about a portfolio of products, tailored to different markets.[3]

K10 series
This article contains information about scheduled or expected future computer chips.
It may contain preliminary or speculative information, and may not reflect the final specification of the product.

* Opteron (Barcelona) (10 September 2007)
* Phenom FX (Agena FX) (Q1 2008)
* Phenom 9-series (Agena) (Q4 2007)
* Phenom 8-series (Toliman) (H1 2008)
* Athlon 6-series (Kuma) (Q1 2008)
* Athlon 4-series (Kuma) (2008)
* Athlon X2 (Rana) (Q4 2007)
* Sempron (Spica)
* Opteron (Budapest)
* Opteron (Shanghai)
* Opteron (Cadiz)
* Opteron (Zamora)
* Opteron (Montreal)

Building A Lighting Harnessing Power Plant

2008-04-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

How hard would it be to build a power plant that harnesses the electricity generated by lightning? Then, store the electricity and use it on-demand on the electric grid?

This concept is perhaps not as impractical as it once was. The main limiting factor of implementing a lightning capturing scheme such as this was the inability to be able to store large amounts of electricity for later use. However, new Utility Scale Battery technology or other energy storage technologies such as Flywheels or Capacitors could be used to store the electricity captured from lightning in massive quanties, for later grid use.

Obviously, a lightning capturing power plant would only be practical in regions with frequent thunderstorms, such as Florida.

How hard would it be to build an array of lighting rods to capture periodic thunderstorm electricity? The biggest hurdle would really be creating power plant infrastructure that could survive the harsh surges created by lightning strikes, but even that seems possible with current technology and materials. Electrical and building design engineers could come up with an innovative way to make it work. Specially designed buffer/insulation and transformer materials could be used to safely capture and harness the massive amounts of electricity generated during a lighting strike, and transfer it to large storage device for later use.

Voltage Indicators enhance safety

2008-02-13T22:45:00.000-08:00

Near-death experiences among paper mill electricians are all too common. On this particular day, a combination circuit breaker/welding outlet failed to provide power to the welder. The maintenance electrician began to replace the outlet. Casually, his co-worker paused and said, "Better check it with a meter." The meter revealed that one phase of the circuit breaker had failed "live" leaving the outlet energized. For these guys, this near-death experience is permanently imprinted on their minds in vivid 'Technicolor' detail never to be forgotten.

Most often, hazardous voltage violently shows up resulting in loss of limbs, severe burns, or even death. On this day, a much better result: only hearts and minds were changed. At an electrical safety training seminar, a hardened, 26-year veteran electrician stood up and said, "Until today, I never knew just how dangerous electricity really is!"

Real accidents and near-death experiences coupled with the NFPA 70E compel us to find better ways to provide safety. Accurate information and rising standards stimulate innovation. Let's discuss how one paper mill used voltage indicators, otherwise known as VIs, to enhance their electrical safety program.

Simply put, electrical safety boils down to a single question: "voltage or no voltage?" Many times a day electricians ask this question and rely on a voltmeter to provide the right answer. There is no room for error.

However, wiring a VI to the primary power source provides an independent answer to the all-critical voltage question. This pushbutton-sized device is a permanently wired voltmeter that provides electricians with a full-time, visual, independent, thru-door power indication. From a safety viewpoint, voltmeters serve multiple purposes while a VI serves has a single purpose -- to indicate the presence of hazardous voltage.

In the past, this mill used neon pilot lights installed on electrical mains that provided a similar function. On the downside, a neon indicator's intensity provided limited indication of voltage levels, and this simple voltage indicator still needed fuses and replacement bulbs. After seeing the safety benefits of thru-door voltage indicators, this paper mill went a step further and built a neon indicating light assembly with access holes that electricians used to verify zero energy after opening the disconnect. They installed these on 208V lighting panels between the Hot/Neutral.

Over time, the paper mill electricians benefited from the safety value of their home-grown, thru-door voltage indicator. Looking to improve reliability, they found a single 30mm pushbutton-sized VI that overcame the limitations of the neon pilot light assembly. This 3-phase device operates at 40-750VAC/30-1000VDC, requires no fuses, uses long life LEDs, redundant circuitry, and potted construction for high reliability. In addition, it was low cost and very easy to install. The mill maintenance manager nicknamed this device the "24/7 voltmeter" and began installing a few units into those high maintenance areas of the plant. As the days went on, the mill maintenance staff began to see the benefits of this simple reliable device and started installing them throughout the plant. Let's elaborate on some of these safety benefits.

Increasingly stringent safety requirements demanded by OSHA forced this mill to add a voltage verification step to their Mechanical Lock-Out Tag-Out procedure (LOTO). Simply put, mechanics would need to have an electrician verify a zero voltage state on the load side of their circuit breaker disconnects before performing equipment maintenance. This added manpower and downtime would greatly impact the already high costs of the paper mill's scheduled shutdowns. Someone said, "It would take our entire scheduled shutdown just to shut down!" Their solution was to use a thru door VI as a substitute 'electrician' for this zero voltage checking step.

Understanding arc flash provided the foundation for our present electrical safety culture. During an electrical fault, if energy flows too long before the short circuit device opens it will vaporize copper to 5000ºF and cause a molten copper 'shrapnel' explosion. Arc flash sends ten people a day to the hospital. The causes include dropping tools on live conductors, racking out MCC buckets or circuit breakers, and voltage checking, which is a slip of a hand that puts an electrician's face very close to this potential arc flash. Also note that most arc flashes are not anyone's fault, but rather equipment failure precipitated by an electrician just doing his job.

Most 'voltage checking' arc flash incidents center on the reliable operation of the isolator. Therefore, operating the isolator and seeing a real voltage feedback from a VI provides a secondary indication that the electrical energy has been pre-verified as isolated. Moreover, for a critical failure to occur both devices would have to fail at the same time.

Therefore, we conclude that a voltage indicator applied in this application will reduce arc flash risk because a failed isolator would be discovered while the panel door is closed.

A voltage indicator, like any safety product, must have a written procedure that insures its safe and consistent application (even cars equipped with the latest safety gadgets still need traffic laws to be safe!). The first step in applying a VI requires the electrician to verify its proper operation. Are the LEDs flashing correctly for the power system? After opening the isolator, visually inspect the VI to verify that all the LEDs cease to flash. Once the voltage returns, either planned or accidentally, re-verify proper operation of the VI.

In an eight step LOTO procedure, the electrician's voltmeter stays in his tool belt until step 6.5.(2) Think about the safety benefits when voltage information is provided to the electrician before, after, and during their entire LOTO procedure. This discussion is not complete without mentioning the first law of electrical safety: validate your voltage tester before working directly on electrical conductors.(3) In other words, test the tester, test for zero voltage, and then test the tester again (nicknamed the 'live-dead-live' procedure. The 'test the tester' principle applies to any device, whether it is a $6.95 outlet tester or high end Fluke multimeter!

In order to fully validate a VI with the 'live-dead-live' procedure, the 3-phase power must be re-applied to the device. In most cases this is impractical. Therefore, voltmeters and VI's are on the same electrical safety team, yet both provide unique safety functions.

Instantaneous and invisible electrical energy poses a unique threat to maintenance people. When electricity shows up for an accident it kills 5% of its victims. The good ol' time tested voltmeter still remains as the 'guard dog' between maintenance people and voltage. Both the voltmeter and the voltage indicator are on the same team with their own unique safety benefits; however, would our near-death experience have happened if a '24/7 voltmeter' had been installed?

From: automation.com

Some Free e-books..njoy !!

2007-11-17T09:35:00.000-08:00

guide to electrical power distribution systems
http://rapidshare.com/files/70388843/Electrical_Power_Distribution_Systems.pdf

practical electronics handbook
http://rapidshare.com/files/70157079/PRACTICAL_ELECTRONICS.pdf

teach yourself electricity and electronics
http://rapidshare.com/files/3414693/ebook_mcgraw-hill.teach_yourself_electricity_and_electronics.0071377301

Some Definitions..

2007-10-31T07:10:00.000-07:00

ROM - Read Only Memory. This is an unerasable, non-volatile data storage memory chip. It must be programed by the factory.

EEPROM - Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory. This is an erasable, non-volatile data storage memory chip. It is erased and reprogrammed while it is connected to external circuitry and is powered up. It can be programmed many times.

EPROM - Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory. This is an erasable, non-volatile data storage memory chip. It is usually erased by removing the memory chip from its circuit and exposing the window to intense ultra violet light. It can be programmed many times.

RAM - Random Access Memory. This is an erasable, volatile data storage memory chip. RAM is a generic name for all types of RAM.

DRAM - Dynamic Random Access Memory. This is an erasable, volatile data storage memory chip. Also see RAM and SRAM. The term dynamic means this RAM needs intervention from a controller to refresh what has been stored in it so it will not forget and it will forget everything if it looses power.

SRAM - Static Random Access Memory. This is an erasable, volatile data storage memory chip. Also see DRAM and RAM. The term static means this RAM does not need any intervention to remember what has been stored in it, but it will forget everything if it looses power.

Processor lowers the cost and power thresholds for HD video

2007-09-02T08:07:00.000-07:00

The TMS320DM355 processor is the latest addition to Texas Instruments’ DaVinci processor family. Unlike previous DaVinci devices, this processor does not include a software-programmable DSP. Rather, it couples an ARM936EJ-S core with a video-processing subsystem and MPEG-4-JPEG coprocessor that are configurable through software executing on the ARM core. The less-than-$10 processor enables HD (high-definition) video products, such as digital cameras and IP (Internet Protocol) videocameras targeting a $250 end-unit price, as well as digital-photo frames and video baby monitors targeting a $120 end-unit price. Going with a configurable hard coprocessor instead of a software-programmable DSP helps the system deliver a power consumption as low as 400 mW to support HD MPEG-4 encoding and approximately 1 mW in standby; this power consumption level allows for 80 minutes of continuous HD-video capture with two AA batteries.

The processor supports HD MPEG-4 SP encoding or decoding at 720p and 30 frames/sec and JPEG encoding or decoding at 50M pixels/sec. The processor is available in 216- or 270-MHz clock speeds; these devices support only these rates because the video subsystem and coprocessor blocks operate at the same clock rate as the processor. The video-processing subsystem is the same set of engines that all DaVinci devices feature. The processor supports the same intellectual-property and API (application-programming-interface) model as the other DaVinci devices. The processor includes production-qualified, configurable HD MPEG-4 and JPEG codecs without licensing fees or royalties. The integrated peripheral suite includes high-speed USB 2.0 OTG (On-The-Go) device and mini-host with a PHY (physical) layer, a 10-bit DAC, 32 kbytes of program/data memory, 8 kbytes of ROM, 16- and 8-kbyte instruction and data caches, and an external memory interface that supports mobile DDR/DDR2.

The DM355 is available for sampling now in a 13×13-mm, 329-pin, 0.65-mm-pitch BGA package. The 216-MHz device sells for $9.75 (50,000), and the 270-MHz device sells for $11.49 (50,000). The TMDXEVM355 evaluation module is available now for $495. It includes JPEG/MPEG 4 SP/G.711 codecs, ORCAD schematics, and MontaVista Linux with drivers for the peripherals, video-processing subsystems, and Uboot loader.

source

EC Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)

2007-07-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive) aims to minimise the impact of electrical and electronic goods on the environment, by increasing re-use and recycling and reducing the amount of WEEE going to landfill. It seeks to achieve this by making producers responsible for financing the collection, treatment, and recovery of waste electrical equipment, and by obliging distributors to allow consumers to return their waste equipment free of charge.

Electrical standards worldwide

2007-07-21T08:57:00.000-07:00

ANSI - American National Standards Institute
AS - Australian Standards
BS - British Standard
CE - European Conformity Marking
CENELEC - European Committe for Electrotechnical Standardization
CSA - Canandian Standards Association
DIN - German Industrial Standards
IEC - International Electrotechnical Commision
ISO - International Standards Organization
JIS - Japanese Industrial Standards
NEMA - National Electrical Manufacturers Association
UL - Underwriter's Laboratories, Inc.
VDE - Association of German Electrical Engineers

RESIDUAL CURRENT CIRCUIT BREAKERS

2007-07-18T09:03:00.000-07:00

I am new to the term RCCB. I found what it is.. Residual current circuit breakers(RCCB) are used for protection against indirect touching of parts under voltage, for prevention of lasting voltage on earthed parts because of a defect in electrical installation and for protection against direct contact of parts under voltage where the residual current is greater than 30ma. Residual current circuit breakers can be used in all systems where neutral and protective conductor are separated.

Walking robot offers clues to human movement

2007-07-15T09:27:00.000-07:00

A walking robot that adapts to different terrain is helping scientists understand how humans move and could one day lead to improved treatment for spinal cord and other injuries, German researchers said on Friday.
Previously, RunBot the robot's inventors said the 30-centimeter-tall machine could only walk forward on flat surfaces and would topple over when encountering a slope.
But using an infrared eye, the robot can now detect an incline in its path and adjust its gait after four or five attempts to navigate up the slope, researchers said.
The machine, which simply falls over until it learns to walk uphill, takes 3-4 stride lengths per second, a touch faster than the normal human gait of about 1.5 to 2.5 stride lengths per second.
"It is trial and error learning," said Florentin Woergoetter, a researcher at the University of Goettingen who helped design RunBot.
"It needs about four or five falls to learn this."
Woergoetter, who published his findings in the journal Computational Biology, compared the process with the way a child learns to walk. He said just like humans, RunBot leans forward slightly and uses shorter steps to navigate uphill.
A key is the robot's "brain" in this case the infrared eye connected to the control circuits—which directs the machine to change its gait when needed.
read full story>>

Contactors

2007-07-12T09:18:00.000-07:00

When a relay is used to switch a large amount of electrical power through its contacts, it is designated by a special name: contactor. Contactors typically have multiple contacts, and those contacts are usually (but not always) normally-open, so that power to the load is shut off when the coil is de-energized. Perhaps the most common industrial use for contactors is the control of electric motors........>>>>>

Types of Circuit breakers

2007-07-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

There are many different technologies used in circuit breakers and they do not always fall into distinct categories. Types that are common in domestic, commercial and light industrial applications at low voltage (less than 1000 V) include:
MCB (Miniature Circuit Breaker)—rated current not more than 100 A. Trip characteristics normally not adjustable. Thermal or thermal-magnetic operation. Breakers illustrated above are in this category.
MCCB (Moulded Case Circuit Breaker)—rated current up to 1000 A. Thermal or thermal-magnetic operation. Trip current may be adjustable.
Electric power systems require the breaking of higher currents at higher voltages. Examples of high-voltage AC circuit breakers are:
Vacuum circuit breaker—With rated current up to 3000 A, these breakers interrupt the current by creating and extinguishing the arc in a vacuum container. These can only be practically applied for voltages up to about 35,000 V, which corresponds roughly to the medium-voltage range of power systems. Vacuum circuit breakers tend to have longer life expectancies between overhaul than do air circuit breakers.
Air circuit breaker—Rated current up to 10,000 A. Trip characteristics are often fully adjustable including configurable trip thresholds and delays. Usually electronically controlled, though some models are microprocessor controlled via an integral electronic trip unit. Often used for main power distribution in large industrial plant, where the breakers are arranged in draw-out enclosures for ease of maintenance.

Assembling switchgears ans control panel

2007-06-14T22:34:00.000-07:00

I got a job in a company which assembles switch gears and control panel...
What are the chance of growth in this type of job..? Any one can help? pls put a comment here..

Health and Safety for Senior Managers

2007-03-29T10:12:00.000-07:00

Is it really worth the Senior Manager improving H&S knowledge?

a strong lead comes from the top, nobody lower down the management ladder believe that their efforts viz. spending more time, energy, money; will be positively recognised or thanked.
H&S is not a ‘favourite’ subject, it is often considered obvious - but we are not born with the knowledge of workplace risks or controls and how to manage them.
World-wide studies show that no health and safety system will function effectively without support from the top. All efforts is likely to be wasted.

Causes of Incidents

Incidents are direct result of unsafe acts or conditions.

Unsafe Acts

Working without authority.
Failure to warn others of danger
Using dangerous equip.
Using wrong equipment
Failure to issue control measures
Horseplay etc.

Unsafe Conditions

Inadequate or missing machine guards.
Defective tools or equipment
Fire Hazards
Ineffective housekeeping
Excessive noise
Poor ventilation and lighting etc.

Health and Safety Management

Systematic use of techniques to identify and remove hazards, the control of risks which remain, and the use of techniques to influence the behaviour and encourage safe attitudes. This is the primary responsibility of management.

Practical Objectives of Safety Management

Gain support from all concerned for the health and safety effort
Motivate, educate and train – to enable recognition of hazards
Achieve hazard control by design and purchasing
Support inspection system to provide feedback
Ensure hazard control principles form part of supervisory training
Devise and introduce controls based on risk assess.
Comply with regulations and standards

Energy Storage- Shaving load peaks from the substation

2007-03-18T22:24:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the future of bulk electricity storage. American Electric Power (AEP) installed a 1.2-MW sodium sulfur (NaS) battery and accompanying inverter (Figure 1) at the Charleston Substation of its subsidiary, Appalachian Power. The Charleston Substation was chosen to host the installation for several reasons related to economics, service reliability, and local load growth.

The main function of the system is to supply up to 7.2 MWh of electrical energy on demand for peak-shaving purposes. However, it also has a business purpose. According to AEP, the system will enable deferment of equipment upgrades to the Charleston substation for six or seven years, at which time the battery can be relocated to another substation and play similar roles there. The battery's manufacturer—NGK Insulators Ltd. of Japan—expects the battery to last for 15 years, assuming that it will be charged and discharged 4,000 to 5,000 times up to 90% of its full capacity.

In addition to using the battery system to shave demand peaks, AEP envisions employing it to accumulate and store for subsequent dispatch electrical energy generated by intermittent generating units such as wind turbines and solar cells. The name given to the system—the Distributed Energy Storage System (DESS)—implies that it will have many applications on the utility's T&D grids. "Our goal is to deploy plenty of distributed energy storage capacity on our grids over the next decade," said AEP Program Manager Ali Nourai. "We intend to have a very resilient system that can absorb customer-operated distributed generation capacity as it connects to our grid."

AEP and several other U.S. utilities are currently field-testing a variety of distributed energy storage systems. Although the Charleston battery project (which cost about $2,000/kW) was slightly more expensive than upgrading the substation's components to handle higher loads, the system is expected to deliver many intangible benefits, including invaluable and unique operating experience.

The project was partially funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories. Sandia will closely monitor the system's performance during the first year of service and produce detailed reports that will help other potential users of energy storage better understand the costs and benefits of using bulk storage to prop up a grid being stressed by peak demand.

AEP chose the NaS battery system for its very high power density and its operating experience in Japan. Over the past decade, NGK and the battery's co-developer, Tokyo Electric Power Co., have deployed in their home country NaS batteries totaling 150 MW of capacity.

source: powermag.com

Arc flash protection

2007-03-16T22:26:00.000-07:00

Arc flash is arguably the most deadly and least understood hazard faced daily by plant personnel. Research indicates that even the best safety plan, training regimen, and protective equipment may be no match for the heat and blast effects of an arc flash. Consider this article a wakeup call to retrofit every switchgear cubicle in your plant with a properly designed remote racking system. Forewarned is forearmed.
read full story>>

Debate Between SriSri Ravisankar and Dr. Zakir Naik on "Concept of God"-Watch Video

2007-03-14T19:18:00.000-07:00

The debate held at Banglore on the topic "Concept of God"
between Sri Sri Ravisankar, the founder of 'Art of Living' and respected by millions of people as a God and Dr.Zakir Naik, the great Islamic scholar.

Watch video

part1 part2 part3

AMD launches chipset for Intel chips

2007-03-12T19:06:00.000-07:00

AMD announced a chipset for Intel processors. It is an integrated chipset based on RS690 and its Xpress 1250 graphic core can run Vista aero glass just fine.

The chipset supports Intel Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Extreme, Intel Pentium 4, Pentium D, Pentium Extreme Edition, Celeron, and Celeron D processors and Front Side Bus (FSB) speeds 533, 800, and 1066MHz. It can address up to 16GB memory and has 128-bit dual channel memory interface. It supports a bunch of video acceleration stuff, such as Enhanced MPEG-2 hardware decode acceleration, which claims to dramatically reduce CPU use without incurring the cost of a full MPEG-2 decoder and provide the basis for platforms with H.264 support.

The chipset supports DVI/HDMI outs, HDCP 1.1, multiple displays, 10 USB 2.0 ports, ATA Gen 2 PHY support at 3.0GHz, four ports SATA AHCI controller with support for NCQ and slumber modes and many, many other things.

Northeast India to produce electricity from bamboo

2007-02-28T02:14:00.001-08:00

NEW DELHI, INDIA A bamboo-fuelled eco-friendly power station is to come up in Mizoram to help meet the energy needs of India's northeast, according to the Indo-Asian News Service.

The power station will be set up in a village at an estimated cost of 28.5 million Rupees (0.62 million U.S. dollars).

"This cost-effective project has been conceived by the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, along with the Ankur Scientific Energy Technologies, a private enterprise," said Benjamin L. Tlumtea, project coordinator of the Zoram Energy Development Agency (ZEDA).

Bamboo would be first harvested and then dried before it is processed for feedstock to produce gas, which would finally get converted to electricity.

An estimated 9,000 sq km area is under bamboo cultivation in Mizoram. The area produces annually 3.2 million tonnes of bamboo, which has never been tapped to generate electricity.

India, the world's largest producer of bamboo after China, grows about 80 million tonnes each year, more than half of it in the northeast.

Interested in traveling?
visit: http://travellinks.tk

Online face recognition !!

2007-02-27T21:23:00.000-08:00

one of the world's first services to apply advanced
face recognition technology to personal photos and family history, and it's free!

check it out : http://www.myheritage.com/FP/Company/face_recognition.php

Coming Soon Mobile Broadband Internet

2007-02-24T21:27:00.000-08:00

In a move that could well be the beginning of Internet access through mobile Broadband, Hutchison Whampoa has forged a group of global Internet companies, and handset makers - Nokia and Sony Ericsson, to globally launch Broadband mobile Internet access on the same flat fee model as fixed Broadband Internet.

Titled "X-Series from 3," the service will include free Skype calling, unlimited Web browsing, and instant messaging from mobile handsets.

Source

THERMOPHOTOVOLTAIC ELECTRIC POWER GENERATION USING EXHAUST HEAT

2007-02-11T04:09:00.000-08:00

Furnaces in the glass, metalcasting, and steel industries operate at very high
temperatures and lose tremendous amounts of energy in their exhaust streams.
With the emissions-reducing shift to gas-oxy furnaces in these industries,
exhaust temperatures are climbing even higher. Waste heat from furnaces in
the glass, metalcasting, and steel industries is usually vented to the atmosphere.
In some facilities, it must be diluted with cool air to reduce its temperature prior
to venting. Until now, the venting of this waste heat has represented the loss of
a valuable resource.
A new technology adds value to this waste stream by using exhaust heat to
generate hundreds of kilowatts of electricity. This unique innovation uses new
infrared-sensitive photovoltaic cells mounted inside ceramic tubes. These tubes
are heated in the exhaust stream of an industrial process and radiate energy
inward to the photovoltaic cells to generate electricity directly from the waste
heat. The energy density in these systems is over 100 times that of solar energy,
producing over 100 times the energy of conventional photovoltaic or solar cells.

Economics and Commercial Potential
Exhaust heat offers an attractive energy alternative to the glass, metalcasting, and steel
industries. In particular, JX Crystals, Inc., has targeted the glass industry because of
an estimated 67 MW of year-round electrical generation available in this industry alone.
The technology has already attracted the partnership of a major glass-industry player
interested in demonstrating the technology on a glass furnace.
Given additional investment in the business and a market volume well over 10 MW per
year, JX Crystals, Inc., estimates the thermophotovoltaic circuit to cost approximately
$0.20 per watt. Balance of system costs are estimated to be $0.50 per watt. Assuming
a price of $1 per watt, utility rates of $0.05 per kWh, and a duty cycle of 90%, the
payback period should be less than 3 years.
This technology could save 27 billion Btu of electricity per installed unit each year. First
sales for the technology are expected by 2004. Based on 25% market penetration by
2010, annual savings could be 0.5 trillion Btu with 18 units installed, each containing 200
5-kW tubes. Market penetration of 50% by 2020 could save 1.0 trillion Btu from the
operation of 37 units by the glass industry.

Arc quenching in Circuit Breakers- Video

2007-02-07T22:12:00.000-08:00

Prototype DNA computer ( MAYA-II)

2007-02-05T03:51:00.000-08:00

Researchers say that they have developed a DNA-based computer that could lead to faster, more accurate tests for diagnosing West Nile Virus and bird flu. Representing the first “medium-scale integrated molecular circuit,” it is the most powerful computing device of its type to date, they say.

The new technology could be used in the future, perhaps in 5 to 10 years, to develop instruments that can simultaneously diagnose and treat cancer, diabetes or other diseases, according to a team of scientists at Columbia University Medical Center in New York and the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. Their study is scheduled to appear in the November issue of the American Chemical Society’s Nano Letters, a monthly peer-reviewed journal.

“These DNA computers won’t compete with silicon computing in terms of speed, but their advantage is that they can be used in fluids, such as a sample of blood or in the body, and make decisions at the level of a single cell,” says the researcher, whose work is funded by the National Science Foundation.
Composed of more than 100 DNA circuits, MAYA-II is quadruple the size of its predecessor, MAYA-I, a similar DNA-based computer developed by the research team three-years ago. With limited moves, the first MAYA could only play an incomplete game of tic-tac-toe, the researcher says.

The experimental device looks nothing like today’s high-tech gaming consoles. MAYA-II consists of nine cell-culture wells arranged in a pattern that resembles a tic-tac-toe grid. Each well contains a solution of DNA material that is coded with “red” or “green” fluorescent dye.

The computer always makes the first move by activating the center well. Instead of using buttons or joysticks, a human player makes a “move” by adding a DNA sequence corresponding to their move in the eight remaining wells. The well chosen for the move by the human player responds by fluorescing green, indicating a match to the player’s DNA input. The move also triggers the computer to make a strategic counter-move in one of the remaining wells, which fluoresces red. The game play continues until the computer eventually wins, as it is pre-programmed to do, Macdonald says. Each move takes about 30 minutes, she says.

source

Phase-change Random Access Memory (PRAM)

2007-02-01T18:36:00.000-08:00

The Phase-change Random Access Memory (PRAM) is more scalable than any other memory architecture being researched and features the fast processing speed of RAM for its operating functions combined with the non-volatile features of flash memory for storage.

A key advantage in PRAM is its extremely fast performance. Because PRAM can rewrite data without having to first erase data previously accumulated, it is effectively 30-times faster than conventional flash memory. Incredibly durable, PRAM is also expected to have at least 10-times the life span of flash memory.

PRAM will be a highly competitive choice over NOR flash, available beginning sometime in 2008. Samsung designed the cell size of its PRAM to be only half the size of NOR flash. Moreover, it requires 20 percent fewer process steps to produce than those used in the manufacturing of NOR flash memory.

Samsung’s new PRAM was developed by adopting the use of vertical diodes with the three–dimensional transistor structure that it now uses to produce DRAM. The new PRAM has the smallest 0.0467um 2 cell size of any working memory that is free of inter-cell noise, allowing virtually unlimited scalability.

The Korean company announced that it has completed the first working prototype of what is expected to be the main memory device to replace high density NOR flash within the next decade. Adoption of PRAM is expected to be especially popular in the future designs of multi-function handsets and for other mobile applications, where faster speeds translate into immediately noticeable boosts in performance. High-density versions will be produced first, starting with 512 Mb.

Source

Magnetoresistive RAM - MRAM

2007-02-01T04:29:00.000-08:00

Semiconductor giant Freescale has started selling the next generation of memory, called MRAM, becoming the first company to produce the technology with potential useability in many of today's upcoming devices.

MRAM stands for magnetoresistive random access memory and it differs from conventional RAM in that information is stored using magnetic properties, instead of an electronic charge. This means the chips can store information once the power has been switched off.

The RAM is capable of read/write times of only 35-nanoseconds as opposed to 50-70-ns offered by DRAM. Freescale are currently only selling the units in 4Mbit capacities, though now the ice has been broken the technology should flourish and larger capacities will hopefully soon be on the way.

Analyst Will Strauss from the research firm Forward Concepts said: "This is radically new technology. People have been dabbling in this for years, but nobody has been able to make it in volume."

"This is the most significant memory introduction in this decade."

The technology can challenge both conventional RAM as well as flash memory, a market that has only taken-off over the last few years as more and more people buy memory sticks, MP3 players and portable storage cards. Unlike flash memory MRAM doesn't degrade over time, and has faster read/write times.

Experts also predict that MRAM could one day be used to store whole operating systems, boosting the start-up times of tomorrow's PCs. It seems the perfect candidate to replace today's technology as it is smaller, cheaper and faster than anything on the market at present.

The 4Mbit chips will go on sale for $25 each, and Freescale has announced it already has (unnamed) customers.

A PC Smaller Than a Credit Card

2007-01-22T19:16:00.000-08:00

The CM-X270 is a small Computer on-Module board designed to serve as a building block in embedded applications. The CM-X270W has all the components required to run operating systems such as Linux and Windows CE. Ready packages for these operating systems are available from CompuLab.

The small size and low power consumption of the CM-X270 allows its integration into hand-held and mobile applications, while its low price makes it an ideal selection for cost-sensitive applications. Based on Intel's XScale architecture, the CM-X270 delivers a price/performance ratio significantly better than that of any other platform.

The feature set of the CM-X270 module combines a 32-bit CPU, SDRAM, Flash Disk and vital computing peripherals. For embedded applications, the CM-X270 provides a 32-bit PCI bus, 100Mbit Ethernet, serial ports, general purpose I/O lines and many other essential functions. An on-board 2700G Multimedia Accelerator enhances the feature set with support of XGA display resolution and MPEG-2 / MPEG-4 decoders.

An integrated WLAN (WiFi) interface implements 802.11b industry standard wireless connectivity. The CM-X270 is the first and only CoM in the market implementing this essential feature.

The standardized CAMI ("CompuLab's Aggregated Module Interface") connectors of the CM-X270 module allow interchangeability with other Computer-On-Module's available from CompuLab, enabling the flexibility required in a dynamic market where application requirements can change rapidly.

Transformer Oil

2007-01-11T10:03:00.000-08:00

The functions of the transformer oil are

i. to provide dielectric strength.

ii. to protect the insulation system, and

iii. cooling.

Transformer Oil

Transformer oil is a mineral insulating oil derived from crude petroleum. It is a mixture of various hydrocarbons.

Aliphatic compounds

(open chain compounds) with the general formula Cn H2n+2 and Cn H2n.

Many oils also contain certain aromatic compounds (closed chain or ring compounds) related to benzene, naphthalene and derivatives of these with aliphatic chains.

Good transformer oil must

insulate
prevent flash over of the exposed parts within the equipment and
it must effectively transform the heat from the core to the radiating surface.

Transformer Oil – Characteristics

The characteristics of new transformer oil is given in I S 335 / 1983.

Characteristics	Requirement
Appearance	Clear and Transparent, Free from suspended particles
Density at 27 0 C (Max.)	0.89 g / cc
Dielectric Strength (BDV) - New - After Filtration	30 kV (rms) 50 kV (rms)
Dielectric Dissipation Factor (Tan d) At 90 0 C – ( Max.)	0.005
Neutralization Value Total Acidity (Max.) b. Inorganic acidity / alkalinity	0.03 mg. KOH / gm. Nil

Characteristics	Requirement
Kinematic Viscosity at 27 0 C (Max.)	27 cSt.
Interfacial Tension at 27 0 C (Max.)	0.04 N / m
Flash Point	140 0 C
Pour Point	-9 0 C
Corrosive Sulphur	Nil
Oxidation Stability Neutralization Value after oxidation (Max.) Total Sludge after oxidation (Max.)	0.40 mg. KOH / gm. 0.10 percent by weight
Specific resistance (Resistivity) At 90 0 C ( Min.) At 27 0 C (Min.)	30 x 10 12 ohm-cm. 500 x 10 12 ohm-cm.

TRANSFORMER OIL - QUALITY CHECKING

There is no single test to judge the quality of transformer oil. Each test is significant within its limits and is able to give only general information about the overall condition of the oil.

The most popular test is the dielectric strength test. If the dielectric strength is low, the oil is unfit for use regardless of any other condition. Good transformer oil must have 60 kV withstand voltage between two brass electrodes - 12.7 to 13 mm dia, arranged horizontally with their common axis not less than 40 mm above the bottom of the cell, with a gap of 2.5 mm.

TRANSFORMERS IN GENERAL USE

2007-01-10T08:03:00.000-08:00

1. Star - Star YyO or Yy6
2. Delta - Delta DdO or Dd6
3. Star - Delta Yd
Delta - Star Dy
4. Star - Zigzag Yz
5. Delta - Zigzag Dz

Star-Star (Yy0 or Yy6)

Most economical connection in HV power system to interconnect two delta system and to provide neutral for grounding both of them.
Tertiary winding stabilises the neutral conditions.

In star connected transformers, load can be connected between line and neutral, only if

(a) the source side transformers is delta connected or

(b) the source side is star connected with neutral connected back to the source neutral.

Delta - Delta (Dd 0 or Dd 6)

This is an economical connection for large low voltage transformers.

Large unbalance of load can be met without difficulty.

Third harmonics are damped out as the windings are closed mesh.

But the absence of a star point is dis-advantageous in some cases.

Delta - Star (Dy or Yd)

Common for distribution transformers.

Star point facilitates mixed loading of three phase and single phase consumer connections.

The delta winding carry third harmonics and stabilises star point potential.

Delta-Star connections is used for step-up generating stations.

If HV winding is star connected there will be saving in cost of insulation.

But delta connected HV winding is common in distribution network, for feeding motors and lighting loads from LV side.

Star-Zig-zag or Delta-Zig-zag (Yz or Dz)

These connections are employed where delta connections are weak. Interconnection of phases in zigzag winding effects a reduction of third harmonic voltages and at the same time permits unbalanced loading.

This connection may be used with either delta connected or star connected winding either for step-up or step-down transformers. In either case, the zigzag winding produces the same angular displacement as a delta winding, and at the same time provides a neutral for earthing purposes.

The amount of copper required from a zigzag winding in 15% more than a corresponding star or delta winding. This is extensively used for earthing transformer.

Ladder logic

2007-01-08T17:53:00.000-08:00

Ladder logic is the main programming method used for PLCs. As mentioned before, ladder logic has been developed to mimic relay logic. The decision to use the relay logic diagrams was a strategic one. By selecting ladder logic as the main programming method, the amount of retraining needed for engineers and trades people was greatly reduced.

Modern control systems still include relays, but these are rarely used for logic. A relay is a simple device that uses a magnetic field to control a switch, as pictured in Figure 2.1. When a voltage is applied to the input coil, the resulting current creates a magnetic field. The magnetic field pulls a metal switch (or reed) towards it and the contacts touch, closing the switch. The contact that closes when the coil is energized is called normally open. The normally closed contacts touch when the input coil is not energized. Relays are normally drawn in schematic form using a circle to represent the input coil. The output contacts are shown with two parallel lines. Normally open contacts are shown as two lines, and will be open (non-conducting) when the input is not energized. Normally closed contacts are shown with two lines with a diagonal line through them. When the input coil is not energized the normally closed contacts will be closed (conducting).

Relays are used to let one power source close a switch for another (often high current) power source, while keeping them isolated. An example of a relay in a simple control application is shown in Figure 2.2. In this system the first relay on the left is used as normally closed, and will allow current to flow until a voltage is applied to the input A. The second relay is normally open and will not allow current to flow until a voltage is applied to the input B. If current is flowing through the first two relays then current will flow through the coil in the third relay, and close the switch for output C. This circuit would normally be drawn in the ladder logic form. This can be read logically as C will be on if A is off and B is on.

The example in Figure 2.2 does not show the entire control system, but only the logic. When we consider a PLC there are inputs, outputs, and the logic. Figure 2.3 shows a more complete representation of the PLC. Here there are two inputs from push buttons.

We can imagine the inputs as activating 24V DC relay coils in the PLC. This in turn drives an output relay that switches 115V AC, which will turn on a light. Note, in actual PLCs inputs are never relays, but outputs are often relays. The ladder logic in the PLC is actually a computer program that the user can enter and change. Notice that both of the input push buttons are normally open, but the ladder logic inside the PLC has one normally open contact, and one normally closed contact. Do not think that the ladder logic in the PLC needs to match the inputs or outputs. Many beginners will get caught trying to make the ladder logic match the input types.

Many relays also have multiple outputs (throws) and this allows an output relay to also be an input simultaneously. The circuit shown in Figure 2.4 is an example of this, it is called a seal in circuit. In this circuit the current can flow through either branch of the circuit, through the contacts labeled A or B. The input

B will only be on when the output B is on. If B is off, and A is energized, then B will turn on. If B turns on then the input B will turn on and keep output B on even if input A goes off. After B is turned on the output B will not turn off.

See also:
PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CONTROL
PLC Programming
PLC Connections
Ladder Logic Inputs and Outputs

Phase-change Random Access Memory (PRAM)

2007-01-01T20:57:00.000-08:00

PLC Programming

2006-12-17T21:54:00.000-08:00

The first PLCs were programmed with a technique that was based on relay logic wiring schematics. This eliminated the need to teach the electricians, technicians and engineers how to program a computer - but, this method has stuck and it is the most common technique for programming PLCs today. An example of ladder logic can be seen in Figure 2.5. To interpret this diagram, imagine that the power is on the vertical line on the left hand side, we call this the hot rail. On the right hand side is the neutral rail. In the figure there are two rungs, and on each rung there are combinations of inputs (two vertical lines) and outputs (circles). If the inputs are opened or closed in the right combination the power can flow from the hot rail, through the inputs, to power the outputs, and finally to the neutral rail. An input can come from a sensor, switch, or any other type of sensor. An output will be some device outside the PLC that is switched on or off, such as lights or motors. In the top rung the contacts are normally open and normally closed. This means if input A is on and input B is off, then power will flow through the output and activate it. Any other combination of input values will result in the output X being off.

The second rung of Figure 2.5 is more complex, there are actually multiple combinations
of inputs that will result in the output Y turning on. On the left most part of the rung, power could flow through the top if C is off and D is on. Power could also (and simultaneously) flow through the bottom if both E and F are true. This would get power half way across the rung, and then if G or H is true the power will be delivered to output Y.In later chapters we will examine how to interpret and construct these diagrams.
There are other methods for programming PLCs. One of the earliest techniques involved mnemonic instructions. These instructions can be derived directly from the ladder logic diagrams and entered into the PLC through a simple programming terminal. An example of mnemonics is shown in Figure 2.6. In this example the instructions are read one line at a time from top to bottom. The first line 00000 has the instruction LDN (input load and not) for input 00001. This will examine the input to the PLC and if it is off it will remember a 1 (or true), if it is on it will remember a 0 (or false). The next line uses an LD (Input load) statement to look at the input. If the input is off it remembers a 0, if the input is on it remembers a 1 (note: this is the reverse of the LD). The AND statement recalls the last two numbers remembered and if the are both true the result is a 1, otherwise the result is a 0. This result now replaces the two numbers that were recalled, and there is only one number remembered. The process is repeated for lines 00003 and 00004, but when these are done there are now three numbers remembered. The oldest number is from the AND, the newer numbers are from the two LD instructions. The AND in line 00005 combines the results from the last LD instructions and now there are two numbers remembered. The OR instruction takes the two numbers now remaining and if either one is a 1 the result is a 1; otherwise the result is a 0. This result replaces the two numbers, and there is now a single number there. The last instruction is the ST (store output) that will look at the last value stored and if it is 1, the output will be turned on, if it is 0 the output will be turned off.

The ladder logic program in Figure 2.6, is equivalent to the mnemonic program.
Even if you have programmed a PLC with ladder logic, it will be converted to mnemonic form before being used by the PLC. In the past mnemonic programming was the most common, but now it is uncommon for users to even see mnemonic programs. Sequential Function Charts (SFCs) have been developed to accommodate the programming of more advanced systems. These are similar to flowcharts, but much more powerful. The example seen in Figure 2.7 is doing two different things. To read the chart, start at the top where is says start. Below this there is the double horizontal line that says follow both paths. As a result the PLC will start to follow the branch on the left and right hand sides separately and simultaneously. On the left there are two functions the first one is the power up function. This function will run until it decides it is done, and the power down function will come after. On the right hand side is the flash function; this will run until it is done. These functions look unexplained, but each function, such as power up will be a small ladder logic program. This method is much different from flowcharts because it does not have to follow a single path through the flowchart.

Structured Text programming has been developed as a more modern programming language. It is quite similar to languages such as BASIC. A simple example is shown in Figure 2.8. This example uses a PLC memory location N7:0. This memory location is for an integer, as will be explained later in the book. The first line of the program sets the value to 0. The next line begins a loop, and will be where the loop returns to. The next line recalls the value in location N7:0 adds 1 to it and returns it to the same location. The next line checks to see if the loop should quit. If N7:0 is greater than or equal to 10, then the loop will quit, otherwise the computer will go back up to the REPEAT statement continue from there. Each time the program goes through this loop N7:0 will increase by 1 until the value reaches 10.
See also:
PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CONTROL
Ladder Logic
PLC Connections
Ladder logic Inputs and Outputs

PLC Connections

2006-12-12T21:50:00.000-08:00

When a process is controlled by a PLC it uses inputs from sensors to make decisions and update outputs to drive actuators, as shown in Figure 2.9. The process is a real process that will change over time. Actuators will drive the system to new states (or modes of operation). This means that the controller is limited by the sensors available, if an input is not available, the controller will have no way to detect a condition.

The control loop is a continuous cycle of the PLC reading inputs, solving the ladder logic, and then changing the outputs. Like any computer this does not happen instantly. Figure 2.10 shows the basic operation cycle of a PLC. When power is turned on initially the PLC does a quick sanity check to ensure that the hardware is working properly.

If there is a problem the PLC will halt and indicate there is an error. For example, if the PLC backup battery is low and power was lost, the memory will be corrupt and this will result in a fault. If the PLC passes the sanity check it will then scan (read) all the inputs. After the inputs values are stored in memory the ladder logic will be scanned (solved) using the stored values - not the current values. This is done to prevent logic problems when inputs change during the ladder logic scan. When the ladder logic scan is complete the outputs will be scanned (the output values will be changed). After this the system goes back to do a sanity check, and the loop continues indefinitely. Unlike normal computers, the entire program will be run every scan. Typical time for each of the stages is in the order of milliseconds.

See also:
PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CONTROLLERS
Ladder Logic
PLC Programming
Ladder logic Inputs and Outputs

Ladder Logic Inputs and Outputs

2006-12-07T21:41:00.000-08:00

Ladder Logic Inputs
PLC inputs are easily represented in ladder logic. In Figure 2.11 there are three types of inputs shown. The first two are normally open and normally closed inputs, discussed previously. The IIT (Immediate Input) function allows inputs to be read after the input scan, while the ladder logic is being scanned. This allows ladder logic to examine input values more often than once every cycle.

Ladder Logic Outputs
In ladder logic there are multiple types of outputs, but these are not consistently available on all PLCs. Some of the outputs will be externally connected to devices outside the PLC, but it is also possible to use internal memory locations in the PLC. Six types of outputs are shown in Figure 2.12. The first is a normal output, when energized the output will turn on, and energize an output. The circle with a diagonal line through is a normally on output. When energized, the output will turn off. This type of output is not available on all PLC types. When initially energized the OSR (One Shot Relay) instruction will turn on for one scan, but then be off for all scans after, until it is turned off. The L (latch) and U (unlatch) instructions can be used to lock outputs on. When an L output is energized the output will turn on indefinitely, even when the output coil is deenergized. The output can only be turned off using a U output. The last instruction is the IOT (Immediate Output) that will allow outputs to be updated without having to wait for the ladder logic scan to be completed.

See also:
PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CONTROLLERS
Ladder Logic
PLC Programming
PLC Connections

PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CONTROLLERS

2006-12-02T21:35:00.000-08:00

Control engineering has evolved over time. In the past, humans were the main method for controlling a system. More recently electricity has been used for control and early electrical control was based on relays. These relays allow power to be switched on and off without a mechanical switch. It is common to use relays to make simple logical control decisions. The development of low cost computer has brought the most recent revolution, the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). The advent of the PLC began in the 1970s, and has become the most common choice for manufacturing controls.
PLCs have been gaining popularity on the factory floor and will probably remain predominant for some time to come. Most of this is because of the advantages they offer.
• Cost effective for controlling complex systems.
• Flexible and can be reapplied to control other systems quickly and easily.
• Computational abilities allow more sophisticated control.
See also:
Ladder Logic
PLC Programming
PLC Connections
Ladder logic Inputs and Outputs