Link Soup: 07.Jan.2023

Articles for Sat 07.Jan.2023 [daily news items]

IEEE Spectrum: Australia Goes All-in on Green Hydrogen

A few months later and some 800 kilometers up Queensland’s coast, Grand Prix corporate cosponsor Ark Energy aims to apply the same basic hydrogen and fuel-cell components—albeit scaled up more than 3,500 times. By 2023’s third quarter, Ark expects five of the world’s largest fuel-cell trucks to be hauling concentrated zinc ore and finished ingots between a zinc refinery and the nearby port of Townsville. The carbon-free rigs will pack 50 kilos of hydrogen zapped from water using electricity from the refinery’s dedicated solar power plant.

Welcome to Australia, where a green-hydrogen boom is in full swing. Both the massive and the toy-size vehicles are about selling Australians on the transformative potential of green hydrogen—hydrogen gas produced from renewable energy—to decarbonize their fossil-fuel-based economy. And while coal plants still supplied over half of Australia’s power in 2021, change is afoot. The government elected last year passed the country’s first climate-action law in more than a decade. And green hydrogen is the centerpiece of its clean-economy growth plan.

Resource-poor Asian neighbors such as Japan and Korea are also counting on Aussie green hydrogen to help get them off fossil fuels in the decades ahead.

IEEE Spectrum: The Tech Is Finally Good Enough for an Airship Revival

LTA’s Pathfinder 1 carries bigger dreams than hovering over a sports stadium, however. The company sees a natural fit for airships in humanitarian and relief missions. Airships can stay aloft for long periods of time, in case ground conditions aren’t ideal, have a long range, and carry significant payloads, according to Carl Taussig, LTA’s chief technical officer.

Pathfinder’s cigar-shaped envelope is just over 120 meters in length and 20 meters in diameter. While that dwarfs Goodyear’s current, 75-meter Wingfoot One, it’s still only half the length of the Hindenburg. LTA expects Pathfinder 1 to carry approximately 4 tonnes of cargo, in addition to its crew, water ballast, and fuel. The airship will have a top speed of 65 knots, or about 120 kilometers per hour—on par with the Hindenburg—with a sustained cruise speed of 35 to 40 knots (65 to 75 km/h).

9to5Mac: MKBHD claims that post-processing is ruining iPhone photos

YouTuber Marques Brownlee, also know as MKBHD, shared the results of his 2022 Smartphone Awards last month. And although the iPhone 14 Pro won in the Best Camera System category, the YouTuber pointed out some flaws regarding the photos taken with Apple’s latest smartphone. Now MKBHD is back with a video in which he details why some iPhone photos are getting worse – and the answer is: post-processing.

Inc.: A Massive Brain Study of 500,000 People Says This Is How Much to Sleep, According to Neuroscience

Writing last May in the journal, Nature Aging, scientists said they examined data from the UK Biobank, which is a government health study involving British volunteers with data going back to 2006, and found that the sweet spot for sleep might be 7 hours.

The authors were associated with the Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence at Fudan University in Shanghai and the the Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute at the University of Cambridge.

Axios: Damar Hamlin injury: Bills’ Safety makes first public comment since cardiac arrest

The NFL announced Friday a series of measures that all 32 clubs can use to honor Hamlin during this weekend’s slate of games.

  • The options include holding a moment of silence, outlining the “3” in each 30-yard line number and wearing pregame shirts from Nike that read “Love for Damar 3.”

  • The Buffalo Bills announced the team will wear a No. 3 uniform patch to celebrate their fallen teammate during their home game Sunday against the New England Patriots.

  • The game will be “a celebration of life and of ongoing life,” Bills General Manager Brandon Beans said at a press conference Friday. “Just a celebration … for the whole country.”

  • “I think it’s going to be a great seat if you’ve got a ticket to come here and just be a part of this atmosphere,” Beans said. “I’ve got hair on the back of my neck standing up right now. It is going to be unique.”

If only they cared that much about concussion!

BC Robotics: Raspberry Pi Pico 1591B Weather Board: $22.95

The Raspberry Pi Pico Weather Board is an all in one breakout board designed to turn your Raspberry Pi Pico or Pico W into a weather station. We have included connections and supporting circuitry for a number of popular additions including our Weather Meters, a DS18B20, and the AM2315. Additionally, we have a SparkFun Qwiic and Adafruit STEMMA QT connector onboard, meaning any compatible sensor or breakout can easily be connected. Perfect for adding a BME280 for Humidity / Pressure, a Light Sensor, UV Sensor, or whatever else you might need!

Because 5V isn’t always available, this board has an onboard DC/DC power converter, allowing the Pico to operate on voltages of 7-16VDC. To make mounting as easy as possible, the Raspberry Pi Pico Irrigation Board is designed to fit in a standard Hammond 1591B enclosure.