All Internet Resources

Powered by an included USB cable, this desktop Plasma Ball is about stands about 6 inches high and includes an on/off switch. While it emits a very low current, it does so at a relatively high-voltage and so it does produce some EMF. Respect your plasma ball and will respect you. All this made possible by the evil genius of Nikola Tesla and some science.

This is combination of interesting and fun gasses (like Argon) are first trapped inside a plastic sphere at relatively low pressures. An sporadic current, at relatively high voltages are pumped into the sphere via an electrode in the center. This energy causes atoms to be stripped from the gasses,leaving in its wake some positively charged ions and a gorgeous gaseous and electrically conductive environment (aka Plasma). That high voltage served up through the electrode will now arc up through the plasma to the lower voltage edge of the plastic sphere (starting at the top where the temperature is greater). The arcs glow because they are hotter than the surrounding plasma. You can touch the plastic and the arcs will strongly congregate to your touch because you will be creating an even lower voltage jump from the electrode.

As oil prices continue to high, consumers are increasingly looking to high-mileage alternative vehicles as a solution to their transportation woes. ZAP (Zero Air Pollution) Corporation, the country’s most visible importer of tiny, electric commuter cars, offers seductively green options like the three-wheeled Xebra, the Obvio 828, and the ZAP-X: all purported to travel significant distances (from 40 to 350 miles) on a single charge, with price tags as modest as $10,000.

By Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) - Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is testing U.S. reaction to an all-electric car at this week’s New York International Auto Show.

The four-door iMiEV can run for 80 miles on a full charge. Mitsubishi plans to begin selling the car in Japan to fleet customers in mid-2009 and to the general public in 2010, the company’s managing director for product development, Tetsuro Aikawa, said Tuesday. The car will cost between $25,000 and $30,000 in Japan, or up to $7,000 more than its high-mileage, gas-powered counterpart, the i minicar.

Aikawa said Mitsubishi will consider bringing the car to the U.S. or Europe after 2010 if there is enough demand for a small electric car. The iMiEV is smaller than a subcompact, about the size of a four-door Smart car.

“I hope such a market will exist,” Aikawa said.

The iMiEV takes 14 hours to charge completely on a 110-volt home outlet, or seven hours to charge on a 220-volt outlet. Japan is developing quick-charge stations that will allow the car to be charged in 30 minutes, Aikawa said.

Mitsubishi has been developing the iMiEV since 2005. To build it, the company put a five-by-three-foot lithium-ion battery under the front and rear seats of the gas-powered i minicar, which is already on sale in Japan. The car makes no sound, even when it starts, but otherwise drives normally. It has no tailpipe emissions.

Some automakers have expressed concern about the safety of lithium-ion batteries, which have overheated in cell phones and laptops. But Aikawa said Mitsubishi is confident in its battery, which is made by GS Yuasa Corp., the biggest battery maker in Japan. He said GS Yuasa is already providing lithium-ion batteries for Boeing 787 jets, among other customers.

The number of iMiEVs produced in Japan will be limited at first to the number of batteries the company can produce. Aikawa said Mitsubishi plans to build 2,000 iMiEVs in 2009 and 5,000 the next year.

The iMiEV puts Mitsubishi squarely in the race to develop a mass-market electric car. General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. are among the other companies developing cars powered by lithium-ion batteries. GM has said it wants to have its electric Chevrolet Volt on U.S. roads by 2010.

The New York show opens to the public Friday after two days of media previews.

The Germany Volkswagen is to unveil a diesel-electric hybrid Golf capable of returning an astonishing 83.1mpg and emitting just 89g/km of carbon dioxide.

This isn’t Volkswagen’s first hybrid: it experimented with a trial petrol-electric fleet in the early 90s and it has been developing diesel-electric units for some years (one took part in the 2004 Challenge Bibendum eco-car rally in Shanghai).

This is the first near-production example, however, and the first of many.

New technology will be used in a many of Volkswagen Group models, including the Jetta saloon - which sells in greater numbers in the US than the ‘Rabbit’ - and the Audi A3.

The diesel-electric powertrain has been developed specifically with the US market in mind, and California in particular.

As well as the Euro 5 emissions criteria, it will meet the US BIN 5 requirements for sale in all 50 states.

Volkswagen will launch the production-ready Scirocco coupe in Geneva, alongside an E85-compatible Passat Ecofuel and a low-consumption Sharan Bluemotion.

The Passat CC will also be seen in Europe for the first time.