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Science
Friday, June 22, 2012
International
Bali News
International
3
Friday, June 22, 2012
Secretive, methodical, the so-called ‘One Percent’ Associated Press Writer
IBP/afp
To demonstrate the reliability of the Edison nickel-iron battery, drivers rode a battery-powered Bailey in a 1,000-mile endurance run in 1910. The same battery technology is now getting a modern makeover.
Edison’s Electric Car Battery Gets a Makeover
PHILADELPHIA — Occupy Wall Street went after them and now, too, a mismatched pair of heroes are doing the same. Whereas the so-called One Percent is blamed for having a majority of wealth at the expense of the other 99 percent, in Valiant Comics’ upcoming “Archer & Armstrong,” it’s a secretive and sinister cabal of money managers and financiers willing to sacrifice more than jobs for profit — human lives, too — to steer the fate of the world for their own gain. Archer and Armstrong — an ancient immortal and a home-schooled, combat-trained teenager acting as a fist of God — find themselves at the cabal’s mercy deep under Wall Street in ancient crypt where they find out about a plot to stabilize the euro — and boost profits — by destroying Greece. Writer Fred Van Lente said “The One Percent” makes its first appearance in the final page of the first issue of “Armstrong & Archer,” which is in comic shops Aug. 8, followed by the second issue out Sept. 5. “American comics have a long tradition of ripping social issues from the headlines so the heroes can punch them in the face,” Van Lente said of the title that is illustrated by Clayton Henry. “Superman went after lynch mobs and war profiteers in his first adventure in 1938, so ‘Archer & Armstrong’ is much in the same vein.” The team, who previously worked together on Marvel’s “Incredible Hercules,” said the story line is taut and brisk, but imbued with a subtle sense of humor, sarcasm and a nod to conspiracy theories no matter how outlandish they may seem. “What we’re really trying to do is make fun of the hyper-polarized world we live in, which is reflected in our leads, one of whom is this cloistered martial artist and the other a hedonistic strongman,” said Van Lente. “It’s not your traditional superhero comic, although I’m pretty sure Armstrong could pound the stuffing out of most mainstream superheroes and villains,” said Henry of the odd couple team. Archer is an immortal with a proclivity for inebriation and Archer is “highly-trained, well-intentioned, brainwashed, naive teenager who is on a mission ordained by God,” said Henry. “They team up, but Armstrong also spends a lot of time showing Archer that the world is lot different than what he was raised to believe,” he added.
Bali Post
TABANAN - Harvest activity of brown rice farmers at Jatiluwih, Penebel, was recently disrupted. Due to rain, the harvest season began to run toughly. Similarly, farmers were unable to harvest their rice for fear of rotting whereas it was the right time to harvest.
Thomas Edison didn’t just have telegraphs and light bulbs on his mind — the U.S. innovator marketed an electric car battery in the early 20th century. The same nickel-iron battery technology could soon make its return as a fast-charging power source for the 21st century. The modern makeover of Edison’s battery can fully charge in about 2 minutes and dump its energy load in less than 30 seconds — about 1,000 times faster compared with the original. Existing prototypes can only hold enough power for a flashlight, but Stanford University hope to scale up the fastcharging battery to make Edison’s dream competitive once more in electric cars. “The Edison battery is very durable, but it has a number of drawbacks,” said Hongjie Dai, a professor of chemistry at Stanford
University. “A typical battery can take hours to charge, and the rate of discharge is also very slow.” Edison’s battery got its needed boost in charging speed with the help of nanotechnology. Researchers bonded the battery’s metal particles with carbon nanomaterials — graphene (sheets of carbon just 1-atom thick) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes — that can increase electrical conductivity. “Our battery probably won’t be able to power an electric car by itself because the energy density is not ideal,” said Hailiang Wang,
a graduate student at Stanford University and lead author on the group’s new paper. “But it could assist lithium-ion batteries by giving them a real power boost for faster acceleration and regenerative braking.” Edison first unveiled the nickeliron battery around 1900 as a cheap alternative to lead-acid batteries with long life and reliability. The battery only saw use in early electric cars until 1920, but it became a popular backup power source for the railroad and mining industries until the mid-20th century.
Showered in the rain, red rice harvest runs toughly
AP Photo/Courtesy Valiant Comics
One of the local farmers, Ni Ketut Rati, 56, said that her party could not harvest her rice quickly due to rain. If forced, the quality of rice would deteriorate so the brown rice grains would go down. “If it rains, we will have a break,” she said, Wednesday (Jun 26). This woman said that harvesting red rice was not as easy as harvesting regular rice. Farmers had to use rice cutter to cut the rice grain. If the stem was still wet, it was feared of triggering decay. Aside from inhibiting the process of harvesting, the rain also disturbed farmers to dry out the grain of brown rice. Typically, farmers dried out their grain in paddy field by using a tarp. If it rained, the grain would be covered up. It took them longer time to dry up the grain. If the weather was hot, the grain could be dried up in three to four days. “If it rains, it will take me more than a week,” said Rati. Today, the price of brown rice started rising from IDR
4,000 to IDR 5,000 per kilogram. She said that farmers were not difficult to look for a buyer because many collectors coming during the harvest season. This year, said Rati, her harvest yield was also maximal. She could produce 17 quintals per 100 square meters. The harvested grain was tied and then dried up traditionally. Such a way, she said, had become a tradition through generations. Complaint about the weather was also revealed by another farmer, Semarajaya. He said the harvest could not run smoothly due to constraint of rain. Moreover, it rained erratically, sometimes in early morning or late afternoon. As a result, farmers had to wait for warm weather to harvest. “We must be clever to set the time for harvest so as not to be showered by rain,” he said. He added that harvest yield of farmers was encouraging. He hoped the price of brown rice to keep rising. (kmb30)
A farmer harvested brown rice at Jatiluwih. Harvest activity of brown rice farmers at Jatiluwih, Penebel, was recently disrupted. Due to rain, the harvest season began to run toughly. IBP/Doc
SKBBA launched “All the Fun under the Sun” IBP
KUTA - South Kuta Beach Business Association (SKBBA) in conjunction with sponsors, American Express/Bank Danamon recently conducted the official launch of it’s new “All the Fun Under the Sun Programme”. The sponsor gave 61 bikes and 29 bike stands as part of the revamped programme which runs with the new slogan of “Be Clean, Green and Lean”. This new initiative, replaces the previous shuttle bus service and aims to promote a more ecofriendly and healthy lifestyle to the visitors of South Kuta Beach Area offering them free cycle usage when staying in any of the 20 member hotels. This promotion has been a success in attracting guests to stay in the South Kuta Beach area by offering guests who stay for six nights or more at any member hotel the ‘South
Kuta Beach Passport’ which is a voucher booklet with a value in excess of $500 offering discounts and incentives on a variety of
lifestyle, dining and entertainment options in the area as well as a free branded shopping bag.
IBP/Net
Tourists cycling at Kuta beach while enjoying sunset.