The Zero Contact system is Nissan’s proprietary technology, and uses the electromagnetic induction method. Testing performed and reported by Nissan claim about 80-90% efficiency when compared to charging the EV with a standard cable.

When a vehicle with the appropriate integrated charging equipment parks on the Zero Contact Charging System mat, the above-ground supply unit’s coils transmit current using magnetic force. The current is then sent to the receiver’s coils on the EV. Parking doesn’t even need to be that precise – the EV can still charge even if the supply unit isn’t perfectly aligned with the receiver.

No word yet on pricing or availability.

Source | Picture: Response.jp.

Dr. King’s research focuses on a metric called  Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROI). In his work, he strives to define what EROI includes and what it means – with the hope of allowing us to compare the efficiency of the different energy sources that we currently, or might soon, rely upon to power our lives. In Dr. King’s  publication in  Environmental Research Letters , he discusses EROI in terms of another interesting dimension, called the Energy Intensity Ratio (EIR), which brings economics into the mix.

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– Davide Castelvecchi – On the Physics Nobels, The Atlantic Gets Dark Energy All Wrong and `We Hate Math,’ Say 4 in 10 — a Majority of Americans

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Like the prize inside a Crackerjacks or kids’ cereal box, Siri, Apple’s voice-controlled digital assistant, is the raison d’être for buying an iPhone 4S, especially if you already own a 4.

A cult of personality has already arisen around Siri. Numerous bloggers have cited her snappy answers to stupid questions, such as “What are you wearing?” “Where can I hide a body?” “Open the pod bay doors,” “Will you marry me?” “What are you wearing?” etc.

But I hope you aren’t thinking of buying an 4S just to get a really fancy Magic 8 Ball. Siri does a lot more than wittily answer esoteric questions. She could represent the first true user interface paradigm shift since the iPhone and its capacitive touchscreen, and perhaps since the Mac and the Graphical User Interface 27 years ago.

And like any paradigm shift, Siri will change how you behave, and introduce a whole new set of social rules of engagement.

One of the new apps that Apple released with the new iOS 5 software is Find My Friends, which lets you pinpoint the location of your friends who also use the service. And it just claimed the life of its first marriage.

In the terrifying event that an astronaut finds themselves floating away from their space station, there’s not a lot they can do. But some scientists are hoping to develop tractor beams, that old sci-fi mainstay, as a way to make sure they can make it back.

This here is a custom Xbox 360 controller mod that replaces plastic with wood, leather and brass. Oh, and the Xbox button in the middle? It’s now a keyhole.

As in previous competitions, each dwelling was judged on 10 criteria, including comfort, market appeal and energy balance–the energy generated by each house versus how much it consumed. But this year, for the first time, the Solar Decathlon included affordability as one of its judging criteria.

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Doc Brown’s time traveling DeLorean will be gracing roads again in 2013. The DeLorean Motor Company is partnering with Epic EV to build an all-electric car that’ll be updated with necessities like an iPhone dock. Can’t cruise down the freeway in a DeLorean without blasting the Back to the Future theme, now can ya?

Even in this age of pervasive cell phones and GPS systems, it’s possible to get lost. And not lost like “do I take a left or a right to get to Denny’s,” but the kind of lost where if you don’t get found, you’re likely to die of exposure and/or be eaten by a bear. This little piece of fabric could put your mind at ease, enabling rescue anywhere on Earth.

Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters! While walking through the throngs of gamers, cosplayers, and geeks at the New York Comic Con this past weekend, we came across some of the best looking homemade costumes we’ve ever seen. We’re always super impressed by how much time and work fans put into their costumes.

One costume that stood out was this Ghostbuster’s Hello Kitty Proton Pack. The guy wearing it was at the convention with his crew of regular Ghostbusters, but it’s pretty obvious that he won the hearts of everybody upon suiting up.

In August of 1883, an astronomer in Mexico named José Bonilla spotted hundreds of fuzzy objects passing in front of the sun that nobody could explain. A new analysis of these observations suggests that what Bonilla saw was anywhere from a billion to a trillion tons of comet passing as close as a few hundred miles from the surface of the Earth.

Republican lawmakers have been bashing Chu for his 2009 approval of a $535 million guaranteed federal loan to Solyndra , a solar-energy firm that declared bankruptcy last month. Some Congressional Tea Partiers also favor slashing government spending on all non-military research and development. In his talk at Stevens, Chu argued that the federal government can and must help nurture scientific innovation, which historically has been crucial to our economic prosperity.

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