I work for the Automation and Controls department of a very large company and we are exploring this technology. This is a very real problem, but the solution is pretty easy. Instead of using just one large flywheel, use many smaller ones. You can then take these smaller flywheels and pair them together but have them rotate in opposite directions, this way they negate each other.
Other people have asked, "why not just convert it back to electricity?" This is a solution for some rail lines but not all. It depends on the transmission system used by the railway. Most likely it is an AC system. Now its easy to just turn the train motors into generators to stop, but now you have to perform power filtering and conversion twice. You need to convert it to DC and then back to AC in order to get the correct frequency (AC to AC frequency changes are very hard) Next you have to get your phase correct when you send it back out on the line... It is expensive to have all of this equipement on a single train. Thus, flywheels have emerged as a solution for now.
This is why the first thing I do when I get a computer is reformat so I can install my own clean OS with none of the buggy crap that comes preinstalled.
I posted this story yesterday with the correct information, that Altavista is cancelling it's free ISP service and my story was rejected. I understand that the moderators have to sift through tons of stories but if a number of people submit this story it seems like they could post one that is correct.
Please slashdot, don't conform like all the rest of the media and just tell the sensationalized news!
I go to UMASS Amherst right now and I think this is an interesting plan. I don't necessarily think that everyone should have a laptop because there are some people that would have almost no need for one. However I have taken many classes that require computer interaction (no, not just comp-sci.) In class sometimes the lights go out and we have to watch the professor working at a computer on the projector. It is good to see how things are done but it is nothing like having the hands on experience that you can't get until you leave the classroom. We also have computer labs but definitely not enough computers to go around. Being able to work along with the professor would be a great advantage.
A lot of people are complaining about the deals that the university is going to make with software companies, specifically Microsoft but the fact is, the university already buys site licenses for a lot of the software that we use, so the students are already covered. The programs I use are Mathmatica, which we have a site license for; PSpice, which is already free to students; and Matlab, which I have to buy anyways.
I just think that we should keep our minds open on this issue because there are both positive and negative sides.
I work for a company called POS/ware Inc. and we can handle standard credit card transactions and we also provide private label solutions. We have done work with internet credit card transactions and provide the backbone for gomez.com. Check us out if you are interested, we can provide custom solutions to many problems.
It seems as if the Internet is becoming less and less the realm of freedom as I once thought it was. It seems that every day I become more and more disappointed with the court rulings and corporate decisions that take place. This is just another case of how one group can decide for the rest of us what is and isn't "improper". In no way can I see how giving Network Solutions this power is good for anyone.
Slashdot Mirror
I work for the Automation and Controls department of a very large company and we are exploring this technology. This is a very real problem, but the solution is pretty easy. Instead of using just one large flywheel, use many smaller ones. You can then take these smaller flywheels and pair them together but have them rotate in opposite directions, this way they negate each other.
Other people have asked, "why not just convert it back to electricity?" This is a solution for some rail lines but not all. It depends on the transmission system used by the railway. Most likely it is an AC system. Now its easy to just turn the train motors into generators to stop, but now you have to perform power filtering and conversion twice. You need to convert it to DC and then back to AC in order to get the correct frequency (AC to AC frequency changes are very hard) Next you have to get your phase correct when you send it back out on the line... It is expensive to have all of this equipement on a single train. Thus, flywheels have emerged as a solution for now.
The last thing I need is to hear about the sex lives of a bunch of nerds.
This is why the first thing I do when I get a computer is reformat so I can install my own clean OS with none of the buggy crap that comes preinstalled.
I posted this story yesterday with the correct information, that Altavista is cancelling it's free ISP service and my story was rejected. I understand that the moderators have to sift through tons of stories but if a number of people submit this story it seems like they could post one that is correct.
Please slashdot, don't conform like all the rest of the media and just tell the sensationalized news!
I go to UMASS Amherst right now and I think this is an interesting plan. I don't necessarily think that everyone should have a laptop because there are some people that would have almost no need for one. However I have taken many classes that require computer interaction (no, not just comp-sci.) In class sometimes the lights go out and we have to watch the professor working at a computer on the projector. It is good to see how things are done but it is nothing like having the hands on experience that you can't get until you leave the classroom. We also have computer labs but definitely not enough computers to go around. Being able to work along with the professor would be a great advantage.
A lot of people are complaining about the deals that the university is going to make with software companies, specifically Microsoft but the fact is, the university already buys site licenses for a lot of the software that we use, so the students are already covered. The programs I use are Mathmatica, which we have a site license for; PSpice, which is already free to students; and Matlab, which I have to buy anyways.
I just think that we should keep our minds open on this issue because there are both positive and negative sides.
I work for a company called POS/ware Inc. and we can handle standard credit card transactions and we also provide private label solutions. We have done work with internet credit card transactions and provide the backbone for gomez.com. Check us out if you are interested, we can provide custom solutions to many problems.
It seems as if the Internet is becoming less and less the realm of freedom as I once thought it was. It seems that every day I become more and more disappointed with the court rulings and corporate decisions that take place. This is just another case of how one group can decide for the rest of us what is and isn't "improper". In no way can I see how giving Network Solutions this power is good for anyone.