Hydrogen fuelled
What is the future for hydrogen fuelled transport? It will fill the gaps where battery power cannot compete. It looks like these will be for larger vehicles and long distances on tight schedules. Click icon to read about hydrogen powered cars.
Happily, hydrogen and electric power complement each other. Hydrogen is particularly good for high demand uses such as trains or aeroplanes.*
London’s fleet of hydrogen powered busses has been under development for some years. Their first permanent hydrogen bus service was introduced in 2010.
London’s fleet of hydrogen powered busses has been under development for some years. Their first permanent hydrogen bus service was introduced in 2010. They have set out their vision for hydrogen fuel cell technology in the UK capital. It looks like plans may be starting to gather pace.2021 updated
It takes energy to produce hydrogen, though, so more work is needed to produce clean energy.new
How do you like your guitar?
Here are some rock guitar tracks. Imagine a huge outdoor rock concert. Now listen to Arena Rock, by Steve Morse.
Then there is the more thoughtful Turn the Page by Metallica. Going back further, there is Eric Clapton’s classic rock song Layla. This recording features the drummer, Phil Collins from the band Genesis.
A new generation of young ladies has started playing rock guitar. Here is The Trouper by Iron Maiden. It is fast and furious, and it is played for us by a couple of guitarists from the all female tribute band The Iron Maidens.
This one might sound more technical, Morning Star by Vinnie Moore, played for us by a teenage boy. He has even managed to make up a little bit himself. Here is The original, in case you want to compare.
Have you heard of classical/rock crossover? This track is called April Sky. Guitarist, Vinnie Moore has brought a couple of classical pieces up to date. Sky is also the name of a band. They have crossed over a bit further with their version of Toccata.
The bigger picture
If you like to find fresh thinking then these might be worth a look.
- Stumbling and mumbling – thoughts about current affairs. Well considered opinion with links to intelligent analysis.
Science of the soul – about Daniel Dennett. Perhaps he could be described as a curious rationalist with a love of life. Also, click play button for his thoughts on the nature of consciousness.
Synthesizer tracks
The synthesizer was invented by Robert Moog. Click icon for a video history of the Mini Moog.
John Michelle Jarre did a lot to popularise synthesizer music with his first album Oxygene. This is the signature track, that many people will have heard, even if they do not have the album. It has a catchy tune.
Genesis‘ progressive rock featured synthesized keyboard on a big scale. You can hear the keyboards particularly well one of their instrumental tracks.
Giorgio Moroder is probably less well known, but he was producing synthesizer music at that time too. Would you believe that From here to eternity came out in 1977? It sounds very futuristic, even today. He has recently released a new album, called 74 is the new 24. Here is a video clip with fun graphics.
Rick Wakeman has been producing sythesiser music since 1969. Here is Anne Boleyn.
Comet landing
A space probe robot, named Philae, landed on a comet in November 2014. The space craft that carried the probe was the first to orbit a comet as well as the first to land something on a comet’s surface. It has sent back many photos. The aim is to find out more about what comets do in space. The landing did not go to plan, though. The probe bounced and ended up in a dark valley, so it could not get enough energy from the sun to carry on working after the battery ran out. Here is a short video about the landing. The video on this page provides an update from the following day.
A few days later scientists announced that carbon, vital for the creation of life, had been detected on the comet.
The lander re-established contact in June 2015 after the comet moved nearer to the sun and Philae’s batteries recharged sufficiently. In February 2016, however, scientists gave up hope of re-establishing contact. See farewell to Philae.
Asteroids are like comets but you can see a tail trailing behind a comet. Asteroids do not have a tail.
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