The Engineer articles from February 2005

The Engineer archives from February 2005

Future technology, ghosts of the past.
February 11, 2005... It's good to see the rail industry looking forward and not back. This week's meeting of minds in London between the railways and the satellite positioning technology community (see page 8) made a welcome change from the activities more...

Hubble trouble.
February 11, 2005... Cutbacks at NASA could spell the end of life for the once prestigious telescope The Hubble Space Telescope could soon be destroyed by NASA following its 2006 budget outline, announced this week. Despite an increase in the agency's...

Inquiry probes Beagle 2 failure.
February 11, 2005... The ill-fated Beagle 2 space probe should never have been given the go- ahead, according to a report from the joint Commission of Inquiry, set up by Lord Sainsbury and ESA director-general Jean-Jacques Dordain. The report identified a...

Bringing Piero into play in Six Nations.
February 11, 2005... The England v Wales rugby match last weekend may not have made enjoyable viewing for those following the men in white, but the game was significant for the launch of a new visual technology. Created by BBC Research and Development for BBC...

China leads the way in advanced nuclear reactor design.
February 11, 2005... China could develop the world's first commercially operated 'pebble bed' nuclear reactor. A site has been chosen in the province of Shangdong to build a 195MW gas-cooled power plant. According to the consortium led by Huaneng, one of China's...

Chief scientist gives the nod to carbon sequestration.
February 11, 2005... Sir David King, the UK's chief scientist, has called on petroleum firms to use carbon sequestration to help combat global warming. Speaking at a conference in Exeter, King said some North Sea oil wells should use captured CO2 for enhanced...

Braking old habits.
February 11, 2005... Superbrakes able to stop cars within a very short distance could be developed following a molecular level study of friction between solids. The findings, from Bielefeld University and the German Physical Society, suggest that neither locking...

Texts of hazard to the rescue.
February 11, 2005... Berkshire emergency planners have installed text messaging to warn the public of severe weather or terrorist attacks. The City Alert Texting System sends information to areas under threat in two minutes, telecoms firm Easytext claimed. Users...

Positive signals.
February 11, 2005... Railway industry faces up to the challenge of satellite positioning technology The potential opportunities - and serious challenges - of using satellite positioning systems on the railways came under scrutiny this week at a conference...

'Sing from the same timetable'.
February 11, 2005... The notoriously fragmented rail industry was warned it must sharpen up its act if it wants to fully exploit the potential of GNSS. Prof Paul Cross of University College London told the satellite positioning conference that the industry...

Clean air act.
February 11, 2005... US builds plasma filter to fight effects of chemical attack US researchers have built a plasma filter for the military to pump clean air into a building during a chemical or biological attack. The filtration system uses plasma to...

Power cut.
February 11, 2005... Intel-Qinetiq venture builds high-speed low-voltage transistors A new material could improve the performance of microchip transistors by up to a factor of five and allow them to consume 10 times less power, according to research by Intel...

Lighting the way to next generation of electronic displays.
February 11, 2005... A UK specialist in electroluminescent (EL) technology has teamed up with Cambridge University in a bid to produce a new 'hybrid' electronic display that would be visible in all lighting conditions. Pelikon, which develops printed segment...

Terrestrial roll.
February 11, 2005... Robot developed for space exploration is adapted for Earth-based markets While burglars breaking into some factories often have nothing more terrifying to contend with than a dozing security guard, felons of the future may find themselves...

Cracking the steel failure anticipation problem.
February 11, 2005... Sensor technology that can be used to estimate the life of steel-welded structures and give advance warning of failure has been developed at Cambridge-based TWI. It is claimed that the device, called CrackFirst, could help engineers to...

Firing up the engines.
February 11, 2005... Rolls-Royce researches new materials for high-temperature, low-emission engines Rolls-Royce is to develop new materials to allow its aircraft engines to operate at much higher temperatures, significantly reducing carbon dioxide...

Healthy outlook for BioSign technology.
February 11, 2005... A technology for predicting aircraft engine problems before they arise has begun clinical trials in the US for use in patient monitoring. The BioSign system, developed by Oxford University spin-off Oxford BioSignals, of which Rolls-Royce...

Making light.
February 11, 2005... UK researchers claim nanopatterns on solar cell surfaces could cut costs Nanopatterns on solar cell surfaces could double the amount of light trapped and so open the way for thinner and cheaper cells, according to UK researchers. ...

Clearing the air with nanoparticles.
February 11, 2005... According to US researchers nanoparticles could be pumped into a burning building to clear poisonous smoke. A team at Kansas State University is searching for the most effective nanoparticle to clear smoke from fires and to improve...

FOCUS: Scrapyard challenge.
February 11, 2005... Car makers will soon be responsible for recycling their vehicles when they are scrapped, but increasing levels of plastics and composites could cause problems. Julia Pierce reports This week, after some delay, the DTI introduced...

High-flying Italians secure UK defence deal.
February 11, 2005... Finmeccanica in #600m deal with BAE, as AgustaWestland wins US presidential chopper contract Italian aerospace and electronics group Finmeccanica has emerged as a major player in the UK defence technology sector following a #600m deal...

Pursuit chases fire safety market.
February 11, 2005... PURSUIT DYNAMICS, the UK company developing new steam-based fluid processing systems, claimed its technology is well placed to make breakthroughs in a range of industries. The Hertfordshire-based engineer, which has just launched an...

Taking a value-added tack.
February 11, 2005... Once the UK was the sick man of Europe. But today our economy is better placed than any other major nation. Digby Jones explains why Thirty years ago the UK was the sick man of Europe. Today we are the most successful macro-economy in the...

BOOK REVIEW: NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE: TECHNOLOGIES AND POLICIES.
February 11, 2005... NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE: TECHNOLOGIES AND POLICIES FOR THE FUTURE OF NUCLEAR POWER WJ Nuttall Institute of Physics Publishing/#45 For anyone seeking to take an informed position in the debate on the role - if any - of nuclear power...

Letter: Electricity point.(Letter to the Editor)
February 11, 2005... The figure of #3.5bn for the extra electricity that will be consumed by digital TV equipment (Bad Week, 28 January) is interesting. I wonder if the 'consultants' who produced this figure have fallen into the same trap that the...

Letter: What gamble?(Letter to the Editor)
February 11, 2005... Just what is being 'gambled' by the A380 Airbus (Comment, 28 January)? In so far as it uses public money, it is an abuse - just to put more people into the upper atmosphere and burn more kerosene there. Surely every pound of public...

Letter - TALKING POINT: To the skies.
February 11, 2005... Reading your feature about personal planes, my first thought is that if the idea ever takes off (pardon the pun) I would be most reluctant to get into one. The idea of joining hundreds of other small aircraft dodging around the skies sounds...

Letter: Not so shore.(Letter to the Editor)
February 11, 2005... I am reading through the 28 January issue of The Engineer, where your caption below the picture at the top of page 9 of the News section has caught my eye: 'Kent's coastline is the longest in the UK, and much of it is low-lying'. Keith...

NARROW CARS: Slimline tonic.
February 11, 2005... 'Narrow cars' have already attracted the attention of Hollywood celebrities. But some leading engineers believe they have a future in the wider market. Helen Knight reports EARLY next month film star George Clooney will take delivery of a...

INTERVIEW - FRANK RINDERKNECHT: Sens-ational drive.
February 11, 2005... While most companies develop concept cars to test commercial waters, Frank Rinderknecht of Swiss design house Rinspeed prefers to let his imagination run riot. Jon Excell reports Pay a visit to next month's Geneva motor show and the...

DESIGN ENGINEERING: Towering powerhouse.
February 11, 2005... Manchester's highest Grade II listed building is to be saved and reclad in solar panels, making it Europe's tallest solar-powered generator. Christopher Sell reports In a novel blending of listed architecture rescue and modern...

DESIGN ENGINEERING - MATERIALS: Bridging the wood gap.
February 11, 2005... A polymer-wood product said to offer the benefits of wood without the disadvantages of rotting or warping is being used for rail sleepers for the first time in Europe, on Vienna's Zollamt Bridge. Andrew Lee reports Austria has laid the...

DESIGN ENGINEERING - SOFTWARE: Modules of perfection.
February 11, 2005... The introduction of StudioTools 12 has brought the dream of Alias software for all a step closer. Charles Clarke reports Alias has been the de facto standard design software for industrial designers for many years. Once, all aspiring young...

DESIGN ENGINEERING - LINEAR MOTION: Total solution.
February 11, 2005... The traditional time-consuming and costly method of component sourcing is being supplanted by suppliers creating packaged, ready-to-install linear systems. Mark Venables reports If we all had to source constituent components we would have...

DESIGN ENGINEERING - BATTERIES: Cell, cell, cell.
February 11, 2005... With battery technology continuing to improve alongside a realignment of the main players, better marketing techniques must be developed. Paul Gay explains why RECENT Advances in battery technology have led to the commercialisation of...

Picking Britain's brains.
February 25, 2005... There has been plenty of food for thought this week for those trying to predict what the UK's engineering and technology sector will look like in 10 years' time. Consider the news surrounding two companies, MG Rover and Dyson, both...

Big cat takes to the water.
February 25, 2005... UK designs one of the world's fastest catamarans for US military A UK designed military catamaran, said to be the fastest of its kind, has been launched by the US navy. Weighing 1,500 tonnes, the 262-ft long X-Craft, designed by...

Trio of walking robots are lovely movers.
February 25, 2005... Research teams from MIT, Cornell and Delft University in the Netherlands have developed walking robots, which could change the way humanoid robots are designed and controlled. The work was carried out primarily to study the biomechanics and...

Clever chopper.
February 25, 2005... Engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta have won a grant from Darpa to develop their remote-controlled helicopter for combat environments. The GTMax helicopter, which is capable of learning as it flies and performing...

Ray-sing the nuclear detection game with cosmic particles.
February 25, 2005... Researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the US plan to use cosmic ray particles to detect smuggled nuclear material. As cosmic rays hit the upper atmosphere they produce muons, or charged electrical particles similar to...

Miles better.
February 25, 2005... Boeing has unveiled its latest aircraft, the 777-200LR, which will be capable of flying almost 11,000 miles non-stop, linking cities such as London and Sydney. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Peddling a lighter bike.
February 25, 2005... Researchers at Brigham Young University in the US have used patented technology to design and build an ultra-light bike frame that is stronger than carbon-fibre. Made from carbon fibre intertwined with Kevlar string, the frame uses...

Plastic plates win top prize for taking the plod out of crime scenes.
February 25, 2005... An invention to help police collect evidence from a crime scene has won top prize in the British Female Inventors & Innovators' Awards 2005. The polycarbonate plastic Forensic Anti-Contamination Stepping Plates, invented by Deborah Leary,...

Tomorrow's technology for today's targets.
February 25, 2005... Cranfield University project to investigate futuristic engines to meet emissions and noise-reduction aims A UK team is to examine how aircraft engines will look in 50 years' time and investigate the potential of advanced concepts such as...

VITAL progress on aircraft noise and emissions.
February 25, 2005... Top European engine makers join forces for noise and CO2 R&D A #62m project to reduce aircraft noise and CO2 emissions involving all major European aircraft engine manufacturers was launched this week. The VITAL programme involves 52...

Screen test.
February 25, 2005... Advanced optics research brings 3D television a step closer at home A display system developed by a UK engineering team could make 3D television practical as a mass-market entertainment technology. Researchers at De Montfort University...

Tropical juice.
February 25, 2005... US company to tap into energy from the world's warm oceans A contract to build and operate a floating 100MW power plant that uses tropical seawater to generate electricity could be announced within the next two months, its developer has...

Comfort is a bacteria chair.
February 25, 2005... Researchers discover the ultimate in recycling technology US researchers have found a way to make wood-composites from sewage wastewater, creating a recycled material that could be used in building structures or even furniture. ...

On the flat.
February 25, 2005... Accelerometer-based sensors to replace remote controls Sensors developed for Europe's space programme have been used to build a system that allows any flat surface such as a wall, window or tabletop to become interactive. The...

Scanning with robots.
February 25, 2005... Mechatronic MRI 'surgeon' could improve accuracy of prostate cancer biopsies A robot surgeon that can be attached to an MRI scanner to improve the accuracy of prostate cancer biopsies is being developed for the National Health Service....

Operating with virtual reality system.
February 25, 2005... A virtual reality device which allows surgeons to feel they are touching realistic forces when touching surfaces such as bone and cartilage could help them train for intricate operations. The haptics system, being developed at Imperial...

Taking the spark out of ignition.
February 25, 2005... Compression technology could mean more cost-effective hydrogen engines UK researchers are to investigate an auto-ignition combustion engine running on hydrogen, which could challenge the fuel cell, but at a fraction of the cost. ...

Signing up for a flash of brilliance.
February 25, 2005... NINE European countries have signed an understanding to prepare for construction of an X-ray research laser (XFEL), so acute it could film chemical reactions in real time. The UK, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland...

Liquid assets.
February 25, 2005... EU-funded research aims to make the manufacture of nanoproducts easier AN EU-funded project backed by Bayer and Unilever will investigate unpredictable nanoparticle dispersion in liquids leading to easier manufacture of nanoproducts such...

Sun protection factor for glass bottles.
February 25, 2005... Australian researchers have developed a transparent sunscreen coating for glass bottles that will prolong the shelf-life of medicines, beer or cosmetics by protecting them from deterioration by light. Clear glass and some green bottles...

FOCUS: Off the band wagon.
February 25, 2005... Steps have been taken to shame 4x4 users into thinking green and 'SUVs with a conscience' are coming on to the market, but questions over pedestrian safety remain. Julia Pierce reports Despite what their owners think of them, 4x4s have...

Ricardo turns the corner.
February 25, 2005... Better-than-expected end to 2004 for automotive group Automotive consultants Ricardo bounced back with a better-than- expected end to 2004 as its UK operations returned to the black and it made strong progress in Japan. West...

Out of the doldrums for ABB.
February 25, 2005... Engineering giant ABB returned to profitability after several years in the red, thanks to strong growth in its core businesses of power and automation technologies. The Swiss group, which employs about 4,000 people in the UK, made a...

VIEWPOINT: Tactics that pollute the truth.
February 25, 2005... Scaremongering is causing policy errors that undermine our economy and environment. Adrian Wilkes says all costs must be fully examined Since the Industrial Revolution, industry has been polluting for free - because no [legally...

BOOK REVIEW: THE SUBTERRANEAN RAILWAY.
February 25, 2005... The Subterranean Railway How The London Underground Was Built And How It Changed The City Forever Christian Wolmar Atlantic Books/#17.99 Though viewed by many as overcrowded, outdated and desperately underfunded, the London...

Letter: Cutting indictment.(Letter to the Editor)
February 25, 2005... About ten days ago a car crashed on to a railway line in a cutting at Howden Bridge, near Thorpe. This situation appears to have been an accident waiting to happen, and it is hard to accept the low priority allotted to this site. The...

Letter: Rail's way forward.(Letter to the Editor)
February 25, 2005... I read your leader comment 'Future technology, ghosts of the past' on the way the rail industry is looking ahead, but being held up by old technology (Comment, 11 February) with interest. Dare we give the maintenance crews GPS tools to...

LETTERS - TALKING POINT: Trouble in the air.
February 25, 2005... I refer to your article, `Flight of fancy?' on personal air vehicles (Feature, 28 January). But fascinating as they are, it occurs to me that the CO2 emitted by the millions of these vehicles flying through our skies would make the...

Letter: Simple basics.(Letter to the Editor)
February 25, 2005... Surely I can't be alone in thinking that the railway industry has far more on its plate than simply worrying about the uses of satellite positioning (Comment, 11 February)? GPS has its uses for fleet tracking and the like, but the...

Letter: Been there, got that.(Letter to the Editor)
February 25, 2005... I was interested in Helen Knight's piece 'Slimline Tonic' on narrow lightweight cars (Feature, 11 February). But as with most things the idea is not new. I have a Phanomobile made in 1909 near Dresden. It seats two adults side by...

MARITIME SAFETY: Rogue elements.
February 25, 2005... Research suggests that 'freak' waves of up to 30m high are causing disasters at sea. But the maritime industry faces claims that it is avoiding the re-engineering needed to cope. Richard Fisher reports In 1995 off the coast of...

MARITIME SAFETY: WHY DO ROGUE WAVES FORM?
February 25, 2005... Unlike the Asian tsunami, rogue waves are not triggered by earthquakes or landslides, and have nowhere near the same level of devastation. The danger comes for ships or offshore platforms that are unlucky enough to be in the path of a larger...

INTERVIEW - DR GEORGE SCHMIDT: Rocket scientist.
February 25, 2005... George Bush's space exploration ambitions lie in the hands of Dr George Schmidt, who has the complicated task of juggling the budget for NASA's propulsion R&D. Julia Pierce reports Last November Dr George Schmidt was made manager of...

PRODUCTION ENGINEERING: A yen for better chips.
February 25, 2005... Following Japan's success in developing a new concept in chip production, a UK team checked the coping strategy to see how it could be applied here. Jon Excell reports A group of UK engineers recently returned from Japan armed with...

PRODUCTION ENGINEERING - CASTINGS: Casting director.
February 25, 2005... UK foundries increasingly under pressure from Asia, could benefit from a tool that enables the reduction of defects and a fast response to their causes. Christopher Sell reports The UK castings industry may soon enjoy the benefits of...

PRODUCTION ENGINEERING - COATINGS: Liquid gold?
February 25, 2005... Electroplating, the key to reducing corrosion, is hazardous and inefficient. Now there's a coatings technique that is claimed to be environmentally friendly and cost effective. Christopher Sell reports Researchers at the University of...

PRODUCTION ENGINEERING - MANUFACTURING SOFTWARE: Planning ahead.
February 25, 2005... With UK manufacturers facing competitive pressures that demand ultra- keen pricing and precise cost management, the case for investing in ERP has never been stronger. Mark Venables reports Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), a business...

PRODUCTION ENGINEERING - POWER & ENERGY: Beating the levy.
February 25, 2005... As well as minimising environmental impact, the adoption of greener power generation techniques can save money, reports Paul Gay The Climate Change Levy, introduced on 1 April 2001 to encourage energy saving measures in commerce and...