Hybrid Cars Essay -- Gasoline Electric Hybrid Automobiles

1 Introduction A healthy and prosperous society is based on a healthy and prosperous economy. And during the last century, following the economic growth, the social networks expansion and the geographic dispersion of economic activities, transport became the spinal column of commercial and industrial interaction. The capacity of individuals as well as firms to exchange goods and services became crucial not only for economic purposes but also for better life quality. Unfortunately, the drawback effects of transport have an important impact on the natural and human environments on one hand, and on the growing fuel consumption accompanying the current oil crisis on another hand. Fossil fuel combustion associated to urban transport conditions lead to serious damage to fragile ecosystems and human health as well as contributing to climatic changes and global warming. This leads to the call of the environmental protection agencies and market competition all over the world for significant improvement of fuel economy of all the different classes of vehicles. Meanwhile, studies have confirmed that in recent years, fuel consumption from heavy duty vehicles has grown at a much faster rate then that of passenger cars due to an increase in the demand for transportation of goods [2]. In addition, heavy trucks and buses are normally equipped with highly efficient diesel engines, which limit the opportunities for improvements in fuel economy through studies on the engines efficiency. Consequently, hybrid propulsion systems can be critical solutions to achieve future fuel economy goals for heavy duty vehicles [3]. 2 What is a Hybrid Car. A hybrid car is a vehicle that uses a combination of at least two different fuel sources for its prop... ...ice for Hybrid Powertrain Applications†, SAE paper 2005-01-0810, 2005 . [2] – Wu, Lin, Filipi, Peng, Assanis, â€Å"Optimization of power management strategies for a Hydraulic Hybrid Medium Truck†, the university of Michigan, Advanced vehicle control conference, Hiroshima, Japan, September 2002. [3] – Buchwald, Christensen, Larsen and Pedersen, â€Å"Improvement of City bus Fuel Economy Using a Hydraulic Hybrid Propulsion System – a Theoretical and Experimental Study†, SAE Paper 790305, Warrendale, 1979. [4] – Filipi, Louca, Daran, Lin, Yildir, Wu, Kokkolaras, Assanis, Szkubiel and Chapp, â€Å"Combined optimization of design and power management of the hydraulic hybrid propulsion system for the 6x6 medium truck† , Automotive research center, University of Michigan, National Automotive Center, US Army RDECOM, 2004. [5] – www.hybridcars.com [6] – www.consumerreports.org

Black Holes: The Power Source for Future Space Travel? :: Space Exploration Essays

Everyone knows that the spaceships in Star Trek that travel faster than the speed of light are mere science fiction. According to Einstein's theory of relativity, if an object reached the speed of light, its mass would be immediately transformed into energy. Currently our spaceships can not even reach mars in less than five years. Now, with modern theories of black holes, trips to other solar systems may be possible at nearly the speed of light. Black holes were only proven to exist within the last twenty-five years and were only really considered to exist for the last seventy-five years. Yet these recently discovered objects could be the energy revolution of the future, much like nuclear power was in the sixties. Black holes generate tremendous amounts of energy in several different ways, and so can be harnessed in several ways to generate usable power. In order to understand how energy can be created from black holes, one must first have an understanding of black holes themselves. Black holes are formed by matter being crushed within a certain radius (call the Shwarzchild radius or event horizon). This radius can be calculated by the equation r = 2GM / c2, were G is Newton's gravitational constant, c is the speed of light, and M is the mass of the black hole. This shows that the density within the event horizon, which is equal to 3M / 4?r2 for a spherical object, will actually decrease as the mass increases. The gravitational field around a black hole will act same as an object of identical mass, so "if the sun were to suddenly †¦ [become] a black hole †¦ would the earth go plummeting into it? No, it would continue on its orbit †¦ things just get interesting close to the black hole" (Jebornak, 1998). There are three types of black holes that scientist currently believe are capable of becoming future power sources: Schwarzschild black holes, Newmann black holes, and primordial black holes. Schwarzschild black holes are the simplest black holes because they do not rotate and have no charge. The Newmann black hole, on the other hand, rotates and has a charge, but like the Schwarzschild black hole can have varying masses from a couple times our sun's mass to several billion times the mass of our sun. Primordial black holes were first theorized about "In the year 1973 [by] Stephen W.

Comparison Between Tod Homer and Miss Lonely Hearts

Tod, Homer, and Miss Lonelyhearts Another Well Thought Out Essay Tod Hackett, Homer Simpson, and Miss Lonelyhearts from Nathanael West’s novels â€Å"The Day of the Locust† and â€Å"Miss Lonelyhearts† all try to satisfy their desires with sexual wants, and violence. However, they are all very different from each other. For example, their histories, and the way they pursue the fulfillment of their desires are all unique to that specific character. The novel, â€Å"The Day of the Locust†, mostly focuses on the story of two main characters. These characters are Tod Hackett, and Homer Simpson.The novel gives the story of their lives while they both pursue the young woman, Faye Greener. In this way they are similar, but they are actually very different. Unlike Homer, Tod understands a lot of his experiences, especially his experiences with Faye. Because of this, Tod is portrayed as an educated man, Homer, on the other hand, has almost no idea what is going on. His actions and desires are almost always unexplainable. It seems as though he doesn’t even know what he himself is even thinking, let alone what he actually wants.Because of this, he appears uneducated, and clumsy. Both men pursue things that are artificial. The most notable of these is Faye Greener. Unlike Homer though, Tod knows that he can't have her, because he knows that pursuing her is a self-destructive route. Miss Lonelyhearts is the main character of the novel, â€Å"Miss Lonelyhearts†. His history is probably the reason for his need for sex and violence. ‘His history’ meaning his childhood, and also the letters that the people send to him for advice.Miss Lonelyhearts has a few encounters with a woman named Fay Doyle. They do have intercourse on one occasion, and she tries to make him have it a second time. However, instead of intercourse, Miss Lonelyhearts decides to beat her violently. His anger and his need for sex are brought about by the le tters that he has to read for his job, and his childhood experiences, like his encounter with the frog. Tod Hackett presents fewer personal experiences that can be used to analyze in a psychological way, but the way he thinks can be.He knows that he can’t have Faye, and he does want to rid Faye of the artificial quality that she possesses, but he can’t help but have a somewhat repulsive sexual attraction to her. Even to the point where he decides that raping her would be a suitable idea. And even attempts it at one point. In this way, Tod and Miss Lonelyhearts are similar, but not completely homogenous. Homer is a bit different from Tod, and Miss Lonelyhearts in this area. Homer is more understandable on a psychological level. At first, Homer seems as though he is uneducated, and also very clumsy.However, his disappointments, and his insecurities soon lead to aggression. His aggressions are expressions of anger that come from his past and his future. He does have a sex ual attraction to Faye, but his actions and feelings towards her are not quite as extreme as Tod’s and Miss Lonelyhearts’ feelings and actions toward women. Faye, however, does not take Homer seriously. He then feels like he has been cheated by Faye. He does a good job for most of the book at suppressing his anger until his final outburst that starts the riot at the end of the book.With Miss Lonelyhearts, Nathanael West presents a brutal and selfish character, which lusts for sex and violence, and gets both. With Tod Hackett, Nathanael West presents a successful and educated character that, despite his intellect, desperately wants a sexual relationship with a young woman, even to the point where he thinks about raping her, but never actually does it. And with Homer Simpson, Nathanael West presents an uneducated and clumsy character, which also lusts after a young woman, just not as explicitly as Tod, and turns out to be very aggressive.All of these characters are very similar in most of their desires, to be specific, their need for a sexual relationship, and their needs for aggression whether it is related to their sexual desires or not. Despite their many similarities, each character has a unique way of showing their desires. It may have been a straight-forward approach like Miss Lonelyhearts, or a somewhat cautious yet extreme approach like Tod, or a deceptively timid and passive-aggressive approach like Homer, which ends up in a catastrophically aggressive outburst.

Gene Kranz Essay

Apollo 13 directed by Ron Howard is the story of the real space mission that took place in 1969. The three astronauts had always dreamed of landing on the moon but not long after the astronauts launched into space did they realize that the task would be near impossible due to an explosion of an oxygen tank. Getting home safe became their next mission. A character in this film from whom I learned something is Gene Kranz played by Ed Harris. I learned that thinking calmly helps you and people around you to think positively in hard situations and that instead of being scared and giving up in tough situations, you should think outside the box and find an solution. The audience learns from this about the importance of the idea(s) of leadership attributes and skills. Gene Kranz is an important character in Apollo 13 because even with a responsibility of the whole mission which is going to through a crisis, he was still calm and determined as ever. For example when the whole staff is tensed and worried, Kranz voice cut through a simple command, â€Å"Let’s work the problem, people but not make worse by guessing. This shows me that Ron Howard knew that every problem has a solution, or at least the damage could be managed, but you have to be methodical and work through the issues. Stop worrying, and start working. Another example of a lesson from Gene Kranz is When the NASA director said that this could be the worst disaster in the history of NASA, Kranz cut him off. â€Å"With all due respect sir, I think this is going to be our finest hour.† This shows that he more focused on the positive goal than think the negative. This positiveness also gives him and people around the confidence needed to complete the mission. This is how the sc ript and director show us the importance of leader’s positive attitude in tough situations and what I learn from him. Another reason Gene Kranz is a character from whom to learn is because he never portrays any fear or sense of panic that he might be feeling and always thinking clearly as to what can be done next. Always in control and remain in the moment. For example when he says â€Å"We’ve never lost an American in space, we’re sure as heck not going to lose one on my watch Failure is not an option! By this example Rom Howard shows us that leaders are supposed to have these attributes of Firmness and Flexibility. Being on a firm to do  something and think of flexibly ideas of how to do it. We could also see this when he says â€Å"I don’t care what anything was designed to do. I care about what it can do. As NASA’s scientists worked the problem, Kranz made them think outside the box. They broke down systems and used the parts to create new tools and systems that helped saved lives. By showing us these things which he does/says/ experiences, director emphasises the idea of never treating failure as a possible option or outcome which is also important in our own lives. Gene Kranz is an important character from Apollo 13 because the director uses him to teach me lessons about being able to think calmly in tough situations like an anchor in a storm and that to never be scared of failure and give up. These ideas are also importa nt to my own life because there may be a lot of tough situations coming up in my life, which may only be solved only if I don’t get scared and think calmly. If I get scared of failure and back off my life would end being a regrettable one.

Planning techniques Essay

According to the BCG matrix, companies’ business units can be categorized into 4 categories. These categories are based on the amalgamations of market share and market growth relative to the biggest competitor. Based on BCG matrix, it is very good for the company when its products have large market share or the product’s market is growing very fast. The Boston Consulting Group Portfolio Matrix Stars indicate that the business or the product has high market share and high growth. †¢Large amount of money are invested and so these businesses/products are expected to generate considerable amount of cash. They are the leaders in that particular business. †¢Usually approximately in balance on net cash flow. Nevertheless, if any effort is needed to be made to keep the share it should been done because if the market share is maintained then the returns will be a cash cow. Cash cows are companies or products which have low market growth and high market share. †¢These are mature and successful businesses with high profit and cash generation †¢There is little need for investment because of the low growth. Dogs represent companies or products which have low growth and low market share. †¢These businesses neither generate nor consume a large amount of money. †¢The number of dogs in a company should be avoided and minimized. Question marks display organizations or products with high growth and low market share. †¢Question marks require huge amount of investment and have low returns because the market share is low. †¢If the market share stays low than question marks will constantly demand large amounts of money and as the growth terminates, they will convert in a dog. †¢However, if the market share increases then the question marks may return into a star and ultimately a cash cow as the market growth slows. The BCG Matrix Method helps to understand a common strategy mistake make by the companies which is: having a one-size-fits-all-approach to strategy. In such circumstances: A.Cash cows Business Units will reach easily their profit target and their managers will be permitted to invest more money in  the businesses which are developed but not growing any more. B.Dogs Business Units will not stop investing in order to ‘turn the business around’ C.Subsequently the investment made in Question Marks and Stars Business Units is mediocre and thus they do not have the opportunity to become cash cows. In this scenario there are only two things that the companies should do. Either these SBU should receive decent amount of cash to allow them to become a cash cow (or star), or companies should not invest anymore and try to take whatever amount of cash out of the question marks. Some of the drawbacks of the BCG Matrix are: 1.Having a high market share does not mean that the company or the product will be successful. 2.The attractiveness of markets is not indicated only by the market growth 3.It may happen that Dogs can achieve higher returns than Cash Cows. Profit impact on market strategy (PIMS) The Profit Impact of Market Strategy (PIMS) is a program which started initially in the USA, to determine how profit impacted on marketing strategy and vice versa. Based on the information collected from participating companies, PIMS estimated businesses’ market position and proposed feasible strategies. According to Lancaster, Massingham and Ashford (Essentials of Marketing, 4th edition, McGraw Hill), PIMS seeks to address three basic questions: †¢What is the typical profit rate for each type of business? †¢Given current strategies in a company, what are the future operating results likely to be? †¢What strategies are likely to help improve future operating results? Dibb, Simkin, Pride and Ferrell (Marketing Concepts and Strategies, 4th European edition, Houghton Mifflin) cite six principal areas of information that PIMS holds on each business: †¢characteristics of the business environment †¢competitive position of the business †¢structure of the production process †¢how the budget is allocated †¢strategic movement †¢Operating results. Businesses which want to use the service have to present detailed information, containing details of their: †¢competitors and market †¢balance sheet †¢assumptions about future sales. In return, PIMS produces four reports, described by Lancaster, Massingham and Ashford as: 1. A ‘PAR’ report – demonstrates the ROI and cash flows that are considered ‘normal’ for that particular kind of business, displaying its market, competition, technology, and cost structure. 2. A ‘Strategy Analysis’ report – shows the likely effects of strategy changes on ROI/cash flow both short and long term. This is achieved by analyzing the information of other companies in an analogue business making similar moves, from an equal starting-point and in similar business environment. 3. A ‘Report on Look-Alikes’ (ROLA) – analyzes strategically equivalent businesses more closely and then predicts the best combination of strategies for that particular company 4. An ‘Optimum Strategy’ report – is almost the same as ROLA because it recommends the best strategy for the company based on the experience of othe r companies in the same position. One of the disadvantages of this model is that the data has been misinterpreted in some cases. In addition, another area which can be argued is connecting the profitability to the market share. Shell Directional Policy Matrix The Shell Directional Policy Matrix is another refinement upon the Boston Matrix. It has two dimensions, vertical and horizontal. Next to the vertical axe are company’s competitive capabilities and next to the horizontal axe are the prospects for sector profitability. Different strategic decisions will be implied depending on the position of a Strategic Business Unit (SBU) in the matrix. Each of the cells is explained below: Disinvest: Disinvesting is the best option when the SBU is running in losses  with ambiguous cash flow because the situation is not going to ameliorate in the future. These liquidate or move the assets. Phased withdrawal: SBU’s with average competitive capability in low growth market has almost no chance to generate cash and as such they should be eliminated sequentially. Double or quit: this is all about gambling. There are two possible options to gamble and these are either to invest more in order to take full advantage of the prospects displayed by the market or to abandon the business. Custodial: SBU’s are just like a cash cow, milk it and do not commit any more resources. In this situation the corporate has to make a decision whether to get help from other SBU’s or exit the scene to concentrate more on other attractive business. Try harder: SBU may be doing fine for the moment but the future does not look promising and thus additional resources to strength their capabilities will be required. By trying harder, the company may take advantage of the business prospects thoroughly. Cash Generator: This is like a cash cow where no further amounts of cash are invested and SBU may carry on with their operations because the generation of cash is strong and satisfactory profit is made. Growth: In order to support product invention and R&D activities the SBU’s need investment. So ensuring that enough resources are available is crucial to grow the market. Market Leadership: Significant resources are concentrated on the SBU and so it must be the first priority. SHELL DPM has its limitations. The first limitation is that it assumes that the similar factors are entirely applicable for appraising the prospects of any product/business.

Transistor level implementation of karaoke machine with 6 band graphic Essay - 1

Transistor level implementation of karaoke machine with 6 band graphic equalizer - Essay Example The project, entitled "Transistor Level Implementation of Karaoke Machine with six-band Graphic Equalizer," aims to develop a transistor-based, Karaoke-type amplifier that is able to run from the mains power supply and consists of the following elements: 1. a 12-V regulated power supply, 2. two inputs: a microphone and a line input, 3. a Common-emitter mixer/preamplifier stage, 4. a six-band graphic equalizer stage, 5. a Common-emitter voltage amplifier stage, 6. a Common-collector power amplifier stage, and, 7. a loudspeaker output; as indicated in the schematic diagram below. Figure 1. Project Schematic Diagram Circuit Design and Operation Power Supply Power supplies, as defined by Howard (1998), are electronic circuits, basically composed of four sections: transformer, rectifier, filter, and regulator, designed such that an input ac signal is converted to dc, at any desired level. Shown below is a block diagram of a basic power supply. Figure 2. Basic Power Supply Block Diagram Th e input line voltage is either stepped up or stepped down by the transformer, depending on the application; in this case, a step-down transformer, T1 rated at 9.5Vac (10.5Vac on actual testing), was used, giving a peak voltage of 14.84V (Vp = 10.5 x ?2), and allowing the device to run from the mains power supply. In addition to that, the power supply is being isolated by this section from the power line. The rectifier section, specifically a full-wave bridge rectifier D1, then converts the resulting signal, still ac, to a pulsating dc, which is made purer by a simple capacitor (C18) filter section, giving a dc hold capacitor peak voltage of 13.44V (Vp – 2(0.7) = 14.84 – 1.4). This leaves enough voltage overhead for the final section, the 12V-regulator IC1 (LM7812) that maintains output at a constant level of 12V and about 1.3A continuous, regardless of changes in load current and/or input line voltages. This configuration has minimum power loss, and negates the need fo r a heat sink on IC1. The capacitor C19 removes any spikes from the regulator for a smoother output. Howard (1998) Mixer/Preamplifier When a combination of two or more audio signals is expected in a single output, simply connecting the inputs will result to the degradation of system efficiency and poor overall performance due to impedance mismatches of different signal sources and the amplifier input. Furthermore, the differing signal amplitudes of the sources, too, presents another problem since direct connection may result to higher-amplitude inputs obliterating the weaker inputs, and even worse, damage the sources. By isolating inputs and providing independently variable gains at each of these inputs, an audio mixer eliminates both dilemmas aforementioned, allowing input signals to be blend in the desired ratio. (Gibilisco, 2002) Shown below is a sample circuit of a simple transistor-based two-channel mixer/preamplifier. Figure 3. Transistor-based Two-channel Mixer/Preamplifier I n this project, two signals, one from a microphone (J1) and another from a line input (J2) are to be mixed. Potentiometers (R1 and R4) were utilized as volume controls for each channel, adjusting the amount of signal passing from the inputs, from a maximum of the entire signal (Rmicin = R1||R3||RQ1in = 10k||10k||2.3k = 1.58kohm, Rlinein = R4||RQ1in = 10k||2.3k

Celebrity Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Celebrity Study - Essay Example Celebrities are characterised by fame, influence and in some cases financial success (Weber, 2014: 100). Inspiration personalities have huge audiences and it is the strategic reason businesses that seek to promote their brands have in the recent past involved them in advertisements. People understandably pay much attention on what celebrities do both fans and haters. As a matter of fact, music, from time immemorial, has been an essential part of human life. Artists who consistently produced high-quality music that attracted a wide audience in the society have gone down in history not only as celebrities but as ‘stars’ and legends. Evidently, Michael Jackson was a music legend whose life was a blessing to many people. This paper seeks to evaluate Michael Jackson as a celebrity and as a case study and comprehensively explore various social elements with regard to his life and contributions while counter-comparing this with theoretical frameworks to come up with an argument supported by practical examples. Michael Jackson is a name that most people can recognise, whether young or old. Similarly, both men and women identify MJ as he is popularly known for his exhaustively lived 50 years. He was born in August 1958 and died 50 years later in June, 2009. He is famous for his influence in the pop music and dancing styles that have since been embraced. Michael Jackson climbed to become an international figure due to his dedicated work in the music industry. He had an enormous contribution in the arena of music and dance that made the world recognise him sincerely. Apparently, Jackson was born in a family that had a thing with music as he had several siblings sing along with him in what was known as Jackson 5. He did his career music in the year 1964 and about four decades late, the name Michael Jackson was known in every cranny of the society. He became an epitome of pop music. Even after his death, he