According to MG Motor, the EXE181 can reach a top speed of 257 mph. It accelerates 0-62mph in 1.91 seconds and features a drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.181.
Category: transportation – Page 66
Flying car evolution: Slovakian firm achieves first-ever passenger flight
A Slovakian aviation firm has completed the world’s first passenger flight with a flying car.
Klein Vision achieved this milestone with its AirCar, which carried French electronic musician Jean-Michel Jarre as a passenger. The test was held on an airport runway in Slovakia.
In a video put out by the firm, the winged sportscar is seen zooming down the runway on four wheels before all of a sudden becoming airborne and ascending into the sky. A few minutes in, it lands back safely with Jaree and a pilot aboard.
Why Can’t We Go Faster Than Light?
Imagine you’re in a car, pedal to the metal, racing down the highway, but no matter how hard you push, you can’t surpass the speed of the car next to you, which is effortlessly cruising at the same pace. Now, replace the car with light, and you have a real cosmic conundrum: why can’t anything go faster than light?
Back in 1905, Albert Einstein turned the world of physics upside down with his theory of relativity. This wasn’t just about E=mc² or the bending of space-time; it was about something that touches everything we do: the speed of light, which is roughly 299,792 kilometers per second. According to relativity, no matter how fast you’re moving towards or away from a light source, you will always measure the speed of light at the same constant velocity.
This leads us to a mind-boggling realization. As objects speed up, their mass increases. At the speed of light, their mass would become infinite. So, to move an object at the speed of light would require infinite energy, which, quite frankly, is impossible with our current understanding of physics.
Lithium-Ion “Traffic Jam” Behind Reduced Battery Performance
Real-time in situ x-ray observations of new nickel-rich lithium-ion batteries reveal that reduced performance comes from lithium ions getting trapped in the cathode.
This article is part of a series of pieces on advances in sustainable battery technologies that Physics Magazine is publishing to celebrate Earth Week 2024. See also: Q&A: Electrochemists Wanted for Vocational Degrees; Q&A: The Path to Making Batteries Green; News Feature: Sodium as a Green Substitute for Lithium in Batteries; Research News: A New Cathode for Rechargeable Magnesium Batteries.
Electric vehicles are picking up visibility in the public eye. But their adoption is slowed down by batteries that degrade over time, an issue commercial ventures are especially keen on addressing as they adopt increasingly nickel-rich cathodes—the cathode du jour for high-end electric vehicles. The substitution of nickel for cobalt in earlier versions of these cathodes can improve their performance, but it also accelerates degradation. Earlier this year, Louis Piper, University of Warwick, UK, and his colleagues devised and demonstrated an x-ray technique that can examine industry-grade versions of nickel-rich lithium-ion batteries in real time [1]. Their observations help to narrow down why these batteries degrade and lead to suggestions for how to prolong battery lifespans.
OpenAI Startup Fund quietly raises $15M
The OpenAI Startup Fund, a venture fund related to — but technically separate from — OpenAI that invests in early-stage, typically AI-related companies across education, law and the sciences, has quietly closed a $15 million tranche.
According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, two unnamed investors contributed the $15 million in new cash on or around April 19. The paperwork was submitted on April 25, and mentions Ian Hathaway, the OpenAI Startup Fund’s manager and sole partner.
The capital was transferred to a legal entity called a special purpose vehicle, or SPV, associated with the OpenAI Startup Fund: OpenAI Startup Fund SPV II, L.P.
Groundbreaking ceremony held for high-speed train from Las Vegas to Los Angeles
Federal, transportation and union leaders gathered in Las Vegas Monday to drive spikes into a symbolic rail, marking the beginning of construction for a $12 billion high-speed rail line that will link Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area.
“People have been dreaming of high-speed rail in America for decades,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Monday ahead of the groundbreaking ceremony. “It’s really happening this time.”