The power of music has yet to be defined. It motivates and drives us in workouts and life in ways that are still not fully understood. Fears can turn to bravery with the right song. So why has no one combined music with theme parks? The right song being played loud from a roller coaster seat can change the experience from being intimidating and petrifying to that of being inspired to conquer it. A frame of mind that enables you to fully experience the loops and turns you were meant to.
Do N95 masks protect against Covid-19? At first, we were told they offered no protection, then we were told they offer limited protection. With the N95 being the main choice for front line health workers and considering the high number of those health workers that have contracted the virus, indications are they are not that effective.
Could a modified snorkel mask be a better alternative? Fitted with a virus filter where the snorkel attaches, the mask would offer complete protection of eyes, nose, and mouth. Because they are designed to go underwater, they could be worn right into a decontamination shower at the end of each shift. Once removed they could be cleaned further and reused over and over. Further modification by connecting a pressurized air supply to the snorkel would give the mask a positive pressure, keeping the virus from entering the mask the same way negative pressure rooms keep the virus in. At a retail cost as low as $50.00 they are an affordable solution to make up for the N95 backlog and effectiveness.
As electric cars become more popular, one of consumers main concerns is the limitations of a rechargeable battery. Here are a couple of quick thoughts on some solutions.
Between cities, major and secondary highways could be set up with periodic charge lanes. The charge lane would last for around 50km and consist of an overhead electrical cable. A retractable rod is extended by the car, making contact with the wire and charging the car as it drives. A computer on the car would track the amount of power used and would send the information to the power company for billing.
Another possible solution would be to have electric car batteries standardized. They would be located on the bottom of the car on a quick-release system. To refuel, the car would drive into an automized refueling station. The station would be similar to an automatic car wash but with 2 “oil change” type pits. At the first pit, the automatic system would remove the low battery from the car and place it on the stations charging system. At the second pit a different, fully charged battery would be installed. The battery could be changed in under 2 minutes. Because the car would have a different battery every time it was recharged, the batteries would be rentals from large chain refueling stations. The car owner would be charged a flat rate yearly for the rental as well as a recharging fee every time the battery is changed. The rental battery would also be able to be recharged from home and other current recharging methods when available. The yearly cost of the rental battery would be offset with the savings when purchasing the car by making the battery an option.
When launching a rocket, a large percentage of its fuel is used not only to gain altitude and accelerate from 0 to the speed of sound but to also overcome the drag from the denser air of the lower atmosphere. Could a hybrid rocket be used to overcome these challenges? Launched from inside a high mountain with ground-based energy, it could already have achieved significant altitude and velocity before even starting its engines in the higher thinner air of the upper atmosphere. The entire facility needed could even be hollowed out of a mountain so that all that’s visible from the outside is the launch tube door.
LAUNCH TUBE- A near verticle tube used to launch the rocket. (It could be cut in the mountain with a machine currently used to cut subway tunnels.) Before launch, the launch tube vacuum door is closed. With the rocket at the base of the tube, the air in the tube is pumped out, creating a vacuum. At launch, the rocket is pushed through the launch tube using power created from the power tube. As the rocket accelerates through the tube, air is blown in behind it, when it reaches Mach 0.99 near the end of the tube, built-up air pressure from residual air in front of the rocket becomes slightly higher than the outside air pressure at the top of the mountain. Just as the rocket gets to the end of the tube, the launch tube vacuum door is blown open. The rocket exits the tube just under the speed of sound. When clear of the mountain, the main engine ignites and the rocket continues on its trajectory to orbit.
POWER TUBE– A verticle tube cut in the mountain to provide the energy to launch. Energy, both Kinetik and electromagnetic is produced by dropping a massive weighted magnet through the coil lined power tube. Before launch, the weighted magnet (weighing more than the launch vehicle) is slowly raised to the top of the power tube and the air is pumped out creating a vacuum. At launch, the weighted magnet is dropped down the power tube. The Kinetik and electromagnetic energy released is used to power the rocket through the tube. The best means of energy transfer between the power tube and the rocket is still to be designed.
I just picked up my new car and can’t believe how advanced it is. Even with just the standard options, it tells me if I drift out of a lane, keeps my hands warm, has a camera for backing up, I can even download a meatloaf recipe onto my cell phone with voice commands.
The main reason I am writing is my concern over your research and development department for windshield wipers. I’m guessing it’s hidden somewhere in the basement of your highly advanced facility. If you manage to locate it, amongst the dust and spider webs you will find the 50-year-old skeletons of guys who developed the intermittent wiper. Please send my condolences to their surviving grandchildren, I hope the discovery of their bodies brings them closure.
Since no one has worked on improvements for the windshield wiper system for the past 50 years I would like to help out and offer some suggestions for future models.
In winter driving, the wipers build up so much snow and ice it’s like having two glaciers moving around the windshield. I sometimes find it easier to see if I drive in reverse using the backup camera, but I get strange looks from other people when I’m on the highway and for some reason, a police officer told me I couldn’t do it anymore. A simple design that would apply heat to the wiper blades and keep the snow and ice from building up would make driving forward again much easier. Feel free to overcomplicate the design as you see fit. I know this feature is already available on some luxury cars but I think being able to see where you are going shouldn’t be a luxury just for the rich.
If I may, I would also like to suggest a couple of improvements when it comes to windshield wiper fluid. The first is to increase the capacity of the holding tank from the size of a pregnant women’s bladder (no offense to pregnant women’s bladders) to 8 liters or just over the capacity of 2 store-bought 3.78-liter containers. I have looked under the hood and there are still a couple of places an 8-liter container would fit that would not be in the way. Please don’t make it part of your hilarious design antics by putting in the way of conducting normal engine maintenance and with one bolt that requires two carefully placed mirrors to see and an exact mystery combination of a half dozen ratchet extensions and universal joints to remove. If finding a location is too much of a problem you can always use the trunk, just put it where I normally keep the 2 store-bought containers that I will no longer need to carry around.
While I’m on the subject of windshield wiper fluid, there’s one other thing I think you can also improve on. The low wiper fluid warning system. The current one where it just stops working is not very convenient, it often happens when I am traveling at a high rate of speed and something happens around me that makes it kind of important to be able to see. I suggest a yellow light on the dash that comes on when you are down to half the 8-liter tank proposed above. This would indicate you can add a full store-bought container to the reservoir. A red dash light would indicate you are down to the last couple of squirts before the current warning system would finally take over.
I know simple indicators like a red and green light have no place in technology today so you could add a microprocessor and color display showing: Average ml used per squirt, Squirts per kilometer used, and Driving range, based on average ml used per squirt times the number of squirts per kilometer divided by how many ml left in the tank. If that’s still not enough adding a blue tooth connection to your phone so your car can order more wiper fluid from amazon when it gets low should bring it up to today’s standards. Sorry…I’m just assuming everyone’s car has it’s own amazon prime account.
Oh…., and one other thing. The other morning I was taking the snow off my car while it was warming up. I couldn’t figure out why the snow on the ground was melting around the car and there was a strange electrical burning smell in the air. It wasn’t until scraping the final bit of ice off the windshield and the wipers suddenly became free and move did I realize I had left the wiper switch on from the night before. Of all the digital switches that automatically shut down car accessories when the ignition is shut off for some reason the wiper motor switch still remains the old mechanical type.
Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I hope you don’t consider my comments too extravagant and will consider them when designing future models. In the meantime, if I go through a stop sign because I can’t see through the windshield and I’m killed in a collision with a transport truck, I can rest assured knowing I did not depart my lane, my hands and butt were toasty warm, and my family will still be able to enjoy that new meatloaf recipe for dinner.
