Gizmag News - Lamborghini's extraordinary new V12 powertrain

Welcome to the newsletter for gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine. These are the headlines for November the 16th, 2010. Lamborghini's extraordinary new V12 powertrain Lamborghini's high-revving V12 engines have been at the heart of the brand since 1964, powering dreamcars such the Miura, Espada, Countach, Diablo and Murciélago. Its next 6.5 litre V12 powerplant is brutally powerful (700 bhp) but raw numbers alone do not do it justice. The 48 valves are electronically actuated while the sophisticated engine, thermal and oil circulation management systems ensure engine health under extreme conditions. You can bet the farm this masterpiece will win Engine of the Year and the new seven-speed “emotional” ISR (Independent Shifting Rod), robotized, servo-actuated transmission is equally as impressive, further illustrating an all-encompassing innovation process. Read More 'Racetrack memory' could be 100,000 times faster than hard drives Tired of waiting for your computer to boot up? Within five to seven years, you may no longer have to. That’s the estimated amount of time it will take to bring Racetrack Memory to market. Racetrack is a proposed new shock-proof system that is said to be 100,000 times faster than current hard drives, while also being 300 times more energy-efficient. Although it incorporates cutting-edge nanotechnology, it’s based on the same principles as the humble VHS videotape. Read More Nanostructured materials to put an end to icy airplanes and roads Much to the chagrin of those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, winter is once again on its way. For many of us, this means a return to icy roads, sidewalks, power lines and even airplane wings. Traditionally, the main methods of getting rid of this ice – or at least, keeping it under control – involve the use of salt and/or de-icing chemicals. Both of these are labor-intensive, environmentally-unfriendly, plus the salt kills grass and causes cars to rust. Now, however, researchers from Harvard University are developing nanostructured materials that could keep ice from ever forming on surfaces in the first place. Read More Sweet way to make graphene – just add table sugar There’s no doubt that the discovery of graphene is one sweet breakthrough. The remarkable material offers everything from faster, cooler electronics and cheaper lithium-ion batteries to faster DNA sequencing and single-atom transistors. Researchers at Rice University have made graphene even sweeter by developing a way to make pristine sheets of the one-atom-thick form of carbon from plain table sugar and other carbon-based substances. In another plus, the one-step process takes place at temperatures low enough to make the wonder material easy to manufacture. Read More Read your kids a bedtime story without being there The In Your Own Voice Storyteller lets children enjoy a bedtime story with a familiar family voice – even if there's no familiar family member around. A parent, older sibling or grandparent records passages of a book onto a child friendly pen programmed with specifically coded stickers that can be attached to the relevant pages of a story book. All a child needs to do is place the pen over the sticker on the book’s page and the recording will play. Read More The brick-road-laying Tiger Stone Laying down paving bricks is back-breaking, time-consuming work... or at least, it is if you do it the usual way. Henk van Kuijk, director of Dutch industrial company Vanku, evidently decided that squatting/kneeling and shoving the bricks into place on the ground was just a little too slow, so he invented the Tiger Stone paving machine. The road-wide device is fed loose bricks, and lays them out onto the road as it slowly moves along. A quick going-over with a tamper, and you’ve got an instant brick road. Read More Watch doubles as Micro SD card reader At first glance this looks like any other ordinary watch on the market, but on closer inspection you find a clever design that stores data via a MicroSD memory card hidden in the strap. The Card Reader Watch has a stainless steel bezel, back cover, and buckle along with a flat USB adapter so that you can connect it straight to a computer to get at your well traveled data. Read More MXB Shocker motocrossboard – the off-road electric skateboard Skateboards have definitely come a long way since Marty McFly ripped the crate from a kid’s home made scooter and grabbed onto a passing car to escape Biff in 1955. In recent times we’ve seen the humble skateboard evolve through the addition of a motor in such vehicles as the Tami Rhino and Wheelman BUSHPIG. The most recent example to join the ranks is the MXB Shocker Motocrossboard from Performance Concepts – an electric-powered cross between a snowboard and a dirtbike that has an average range of 18 miles, recharges in two hours and – with some tweaking – can hit 35 mph. Read More New approach could mean break-even nuclear fusion reactions within 2-3 years Even with all the developments taking place in the areas of alternative energy such as solar and wind power, nuclear fusion still remains the holy grail of clean electricity generation. However, after decades of worldwide research costing billions of dollars, the goal of achieving “net-gain,” where more energy is produced than is required to trigger the fusion chain reaction, still remains elusive. Now researchers at Sandia Labs are claiming a breakthrough that could see break-even fusion reactions in as little as two to three years. Read More Marshall Major and Minor Headphones: The details The details of Marshall's first foray into the headphones market have finally appeared. Two flavors have been created, the over-the-head cans called the Major and some earphones named Minor. The headband of the Major phones have Jim Marshall's signature scrawled underneath and is covered in the same vinyl used for the company's iconic amplifiers. The Minor earphones have a snug-fit design and come with a Marshall cable clip to leave jealous onlookers in no doubt as to their pedigree. Read More Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet blurs market segments Nissan will show a new car at the Los Angeles Motor Show later this week, which takes unique attributes from at least three different segments to create a vehicle seemingly purpose built for Southern California. Set to go on sale in early 2011, the Murano CrossCabriolet 2011 is an all-wheel drive crossover convertible which Nissan says has plenty of room for four adults, plus enough space for golf bags and luggage, even with the top down. Read More If you would like to refer this newsletter to a friend or colleague, please point them at our free subscription page. Please don't try to forward this email, as the formatting is unlikely to remain intact. And don't worry, we don't share email addresses. Please read our privacy policy if you are concerned. Watch for more of the best new innovations, ideas and practical technologies in your inbox. You are receiving this email because you signed up for our daily newsletter at http://www.gizmag.com. If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter please click here to unsubscribe. COPYRIGHT GIZMAG (C) 2010