On July 16, 2010 the Zephyr, an unmanned solar aircraft, smashed the world record for continuous flight. The plane had already been airborne 7 days and was expected to double that Tadacip time. Developed by a UK defense technology company, the plane weighs 117 pounds and has a wingspan of 74 feet. The top of the 323 square feet wing area is covered with solar panels thinner than a sheet of paper which power the plane at night. Predicting both military and civilian uses, the developers hope that future testing will live up to the definition of zephyr and be a “breeze”.

In 2010 Gordon Murray unveiled the T25. The gasoline-powered eco car is 7.8 feet long and 4.2 feet wide. It gets 74 mpg and costs approximately $9,000. The car’s modular interior has 6 configurations to accommodate passengers and cargo. Its assembly-line production allows all major components to be fitted on the chassis before the pre-painted body panels are put on. This results in a smaller auto plant, which will reduce the car’s overall carbon footprint. Murray also designed the McLaren F1 supercar, which has a speed of 240 mph. At 80 mph, the T25 has more green power.

In 1997 the present land/speed record of a sound-barrier-breaking 763 mph was set. “Bloodhound” is a supersonic car being designed to break that record. The car is approximately 42 feet long, 9 feet high and 2 feet wide. Fully fueled it will have a mass of more than 14,100 pounds and be powered by both a jet and a rocket engine, generating a thrust of 47,500 pounds. Bloodhound is predicted to reach 800 mph at a 2011 preliminary run and reach 1,050 mph in 42 seconds by 2012 – unless that’s just a lot of “fast-talk”.

Further into the future Italian engineers plan to develop a driverless car. The car will be equipped with 4 laser scanners and 7 video cameras to detect and help avoid obstacles. The driverless car will follow a lead vehicle from which it takes its cues, but it will respond on its own to ordinary obstacles and dangers. The car will travel at 30-37 mph and require an 8-hour charge after every 2-3 hours of driving. Practical uses for this technology include military caravans, nighttime plowing and seeding of fields and – my favorite – being able to allow drivers to read the newspaper while stuck in traffic – legally.

Author Bio: Knight Pierce Hirst takes a second look at what makes life interesting and it takes only second at http://knightwatch.typepad.com

Category: Technology
Keywords: solar, aircraft, green, car, supersonic, driverless