According to the National Diabetes Informational Clearinghouse which is a part of the NIH’s NIDDK branch. Type II diabetes is most prevalent in ethic populations with historic diets that were rich in complex starches and vegetable proteins in including Hispanic, African and most Native American populations, with the highest rates being Native Americans form the South and Southwest. The lowest rates are seen in Americans of European decent whose historic diet in some cases was high in animal proteins and fats. Most tellingly the exception to the very high rate of Type II diabetes in Native Americans is Alaskan Natives which had historic diet so rich in animal fat even Northern Europeans could not adapt to it, and a rate of NIDDM that is lower than even Americans of Northern European decent.
After Native Americans, Pacific Islanders have the highest levels of Type II diabetes. Similarly these people ate a diet high was vegetable proteins and complex starches, but they had greater access to fats from palm related oils. They also naturally have high levels of body fat, since their life style and the isolation left them vulnerable to famine caused by crop failure. Like Native Americans they Westernized quickly, and with their already high BMI they saw a rapid spike in Type II diabetes.
Interestingly Northern Europe with the exception of Finland and Russia, still have low-ish rates of NIDDM despite urbanization. The population Finland and Russia are the exception for a variety of reasons, including their differing genetic background from the rest of Northern Europe, a strong reliance on grain for their diet and the economic woes caused by the fall of the USSR.
Asia is too ethnically mixed for one number to summarize the population, but the NIDDK indicates that type II diabetes is on the rise in worldwide, with the biggest spikes seen away from the coasts, and in warm climates. The same is true for India, but without deconvoluting the results to account for the religious dietary restrictions the data cannot be accurately used to draw conclusions. Similarly, by lumping Caucasians into a single group they are missing the ethnic diversity, and suppressing the any patterns that might be hidden in the data. This is a data mining exercise and after reading the relevant reports there are several obvious trends with susceptibility to type II diabetes, but the only three that hold up world wide are certain ethnic backgrounds, increased age and increased body fat. (Plus were you put this weight is as risk factor for many diseases, since well distributed fat doesn’t carry the same risk as belly fat. Fat distribution is a genetic trait, since belly fat is storage and distributed fat is insulation.)
Given this information I believe that my theory about that NIDDM is an environmentally induced control failure of normal metabolic processes. Your body puts up a no vacancy sign for glucose and lipids but you keep eating and not exercising, and eventually the metabolic feed back leads to insulin resistance, or significant reduction in insulin production, since the body doesn’t know what else to do. It also explains why there is no ketoacidosis, since the body isn’t worried about starving, but insulin resistance slows the reaccumulation of intramusclar glycogen.
The strongest evidence I have to support my theory is that NIDDM is clearly an epigenetic disease, and epigenetic diseases with incomplete penetrance and strong environmental component are often caused by feedback loops being ignored long enough that the system breaks.
If I was designing the experiments to look at the epigenetic mechanism I would look at the protein faction, DNA methylation and condensation state of the genes in the insulin receptor pathways and plus their promoters in the muscle and adipose tissues of obese people with and conclusively without NIDDM. Then I would follow up with similar studies of the Beta cells form people whose NIDDM caused a reduction in insulin production, vs. just insulin resistance. The issue is that clearly different ethnic groups have different responses to the feedback stimulus, so you aren’t looking for one gene one disease. NIDDM is many diseases with a common group of causes and a common group of symptoms.
The odd thing about epigenetic diseases is the treatment/cure is often nothing more than resetting the system, or moving the conditions back with in spec so the system resets its self. This can be done slowly with diet and exercise or quickly with gastric surgery. The use of selective cold treatment would not cure NIDDM, but it could reduce the symptoms, by forcing the body to raise the metabolic rate and thus clear glucose faster, without completely depleting the stores of glycogen. Heck being bored at work and fidgeting versus being engaged and completely still could have the same effect. Other simple things can help, use a bathroom that is further away (if possible on another floor and use the stairs), walk 5 minutes of every hour even if it is just to grab a glass of water. In an 8 hour day you’ll walk 40 minutes. It is discontinuous, so it’s not as good as taking one 40 minute walk, but every little bit helps.
NIDDM is a disease that takes years to “get”, and without radical treatment it should take years to go away, but a greater level of control can be achieved relatively quickly by doing things that clear glucose and lipids.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Climate control can make you fat!?!?
This is a bit of interesting info that didn’t quite fit into the last post:
Did you know that as long as there are no children under 4 in the house, being a little cold is good for you? Being cold forces your body to burn calories to stay warm. So turning the thermostat down a bit when it’s cold outside not only reduces your heating bill, it can reduce your waist. The downside of losing weight this way, like all weight loss methods means you will not be comfortable (i.e. you can’t turn it down, then put a coat on to stay warm, and expect to get thinner. If you’re not shivering at least a little, you’re not burning extra calories.)
In the summer keeping it a little hotter than you like will also help you stay thin.
How? Well have you ever noticed that when you are warm you really don’t feel like eating? Appetite suppression is natural byproduct of being too warm, since you don’t need the calories to maintain your body temperature. However, keeping your house the perfect 72 prevents this from occurring, so you eat like normal, but it’s too hot for you to get outside and move around so you don’t burn off the calories. For the sake of the electric bill I would suggest keeping the temperature in the summer at 75 instead of the <65 needed to raise the metabolic rate. You don’t need to be drenched in sweat for this to work, but you should defiantly feel like you need to fan yourself. You’ll know when it’s working because getting a snack will not seem like a good idea. However, a cold drink will sound like a brilliant idea, but if you want to lose weight you can’t be drinking a bunch of sugary stuff. I don’t just mean Coke is out; fruit juice is loaded with sugar too. If you have a sweet tooth, switch to diet soda or Splenda Koolaid, or water….
While what I am saying is known to be true, results will vary. Some people are shivering when it’s 72, while others aren’t uncomfortable till it’s 55. On the flip side I know people who don’t break a sweat when it’s 100+, where as other are sweating profusely at 80.
Did you know that as long as there are no children under 4 in the house, being a little cold is good for you? Being cold forces your body to burn calories to stay warm. So turning the thermostat down a bit when it’s cold outside not only reduces your heating bill, it can reduce your waist. The downside of losing weight this way, like all weight loss methods means you will not be comfortable (i.e. you can’t turn it down, then put a coat on to stay warm, and expect to get thinner. If you’re not shivering at least a little, you’re not burning extra calories.)
In the summer keeping it a little hotter than you like will also help you stay thin.
How? Well have you ever noticed that when you are warm you really don’t feel like eating? Appetite suppression is natural byproduct of being too warm, since you don’t need the calories to maintain your body temperature. However, keeping your house the perfect 72 prevents this from occurring, so you eat like normal, but it’s too hot for you to get outside and move around so you don’t burn off the calories. For the sake of the electric bill I would suggest keeping the temperature in the summer at 75 instead of the <65 needed to raise the metabolic rate. You don’t need to be drenched in sweat for this to work, but you should defiantly feel like you need to fan yourself. You’ll know when it’s working because getting a snack will not seem like a good idea. However, a cold drink will sound like a brilliant idea, but if you want to lose weight you can’t be drinking a bunch of sugary stuff. I don’t just mean Coke is out; fruit juice is loaded with sugar too. If you have a sweet tooth, switch to diet soda or Splenda Koolaid, or water….
While what I am saying is known to be true, results will vary. Some people are shivering when it’s 72, while others aren’t uncomfortable till it’s 55. On the flip side I know people who don’t break a sweat when it’s 100+, where as other are sweating profusely at 80.
A possible cause for NIDDM
The other day I was watching the news and there was a report about how gastric surgery and lap banding were cures for Type II Diabetes (NIDDM), then it hit me that NIDDM might a type of storage disease.
NIDDM is a strange disease because it has a genetic linkage, but it can be controlled through diet and exercise. In certain populations metabolic processes seem to have been optimized to a particular diet. If these people eat a Western diet (high fat, and high refined sugar) they get NIDDM at rates well above normal and at body weight well below what is expected.
The mechanism of insulin resistance could be nothing more then the body’s metabolic regulatory pathways putting up a no vacancy sign for glucose and lipid uptake once the body has gone above its acceptable storage limits. The body is trying to prevent over storage, by leaving the glucose and lipids in the blood it gives the muscle cells increased access “top quality fuel” which in an active person would quickly be burned off. But resistant part of insulin resistant comes into play if the fuel is not used, since it will eventually be stored. Then the next time the body will try harder to prevent storage, and the insulin resistance will increase.
In dieting you see the opposite effect, where the body will resist going below a certain storage level (weight), by increasing storage even as caloric intake is decreased. In both cases your metabolic pathways are just trying to protect you.
Now I haven’t researched NIDDM in a while so my proposed mechanism might be common knowledge or it could have been debunked. I’m just not sure.
An interesting possibility for losing weight and countering some of the insulin resistance could be cooling the blood on the way to the brain. (Please remember while I am a Dr, I am not an MD, and I take no responsibility for the outcome if anyone tries this.) One of the ways your body sets the basal metabolism is by monitoring the temperature of the blood in the brain. If the temp is too low it up basal metabolism, if it is to high it reduces it. Fat is insulation, which prevents the loss of heat, so the body doesn’t have to work as hard to maintain the optimal temperature, so basal metabolism is suppressed. However, the blood for the brain passes close to the surface in your neck where it is cooled. (With the purely aerobic metabolism of the brain, it is very hot in your head.) So by applying a heat sink (cold towel, etc) to the sides of the neck the brain can be fooled into thinking you are not as warm as you really are, so it will increase the basal metabolism to “warm” you up. The increase in metabolism would allow the muscles to clear glucose and lipids from the blood, which would help reduce the symptoms. Plus by artificially raising your basal metabolism, the weight wouldn’t exactly melt of, but if everything stayed the same just by being cooled you would lose weight.
A possibly interesting side effect of this therapy would be a significant increase in blood flow to the extremities. This could be a welcome side effect for many people with NIDDM, since poor circulation is a common problem. A possible mechanism for this effect would be while your brain might think you are cold the rest of the body would be hot, and when you are hot, blood is sent to the parts of your body that lose heat quickly (fingers and toes). People with heart conditions should definitely not try neck cooling!
NIDDM is a strange disease because it has a genetic linkage, but it can be controlled through diet and exercise. In certain populations metabolic processes seem to have been optimized to a particular diet. If these people eat a Western diet (high fat, and high refined sugar) they get NIDDM at rates well above normal and at body weight well below what is expected.
The mechanism of insulin resistance could be nothing more then the body’s metabolic regulatory pathways putting up a no vacancy sign for glucose and lipid uptake once the body has gone above its acceptable storage limits. The body is trying to prevent over storage, by leaving the glucose and lipids in the blood it gives the muscle cells increased access “top quality fuel” which in an active person would quickly be burned off. But resistant part of insulin resistant comes into play if the fuel is not used, since it will eventually be stored. Then the next time the body will try harder to prevent storage, and the insulin resistance will increase.
In dieting you see the opposite effect, where the body will resist going below a certain storage level (weight), by increasing storage even as caloric intake is decreased. In both cases your metabolic pathways are just trying to protect you.
Now I haven’t researched NIDDM in a while so my proposed mechanism might be common knowledge or it could have been debunked. I’m just not sure.
An interesting possibility for losing weight and countering some of the insulin resistance could be cooling the blood on the way to the brain. (Please remember while I am a Dr, I am not an MD, and I take no responsibility for the outcome if anyone tries this.) One of the ways your body sets the basal metabolism is by monitoring the temperature of the blood in the brain. If the temp is too low it up basal metabolism, if it is to high it reduces it. Fat is insulation, which prevents the loss of heat, so the body doesn’t have to work as hard to maintain the optimal temperature, so basal metabolism is suppressed. However, the blood for the brain passes close to the surface in your neck where it is cooled. (With the purely aerobic metabolism of the brain, it is very hot in your head.) So by applying a heat sink (cold towel, etc) to the sides of the neck the brain can be fooled into thinking you are not as warm as you really are, so it will increase the basal metabolism to “warm” you up. The increase in metabolism would allow the muscles to clear glucose and lipids from the blood, which would help reduce the symptoms. Plus by artificially raising your basal metabolism, the weight wouldn’t exactly melt of, but if everything stayed the same just by being cooled you would lose weight.
A possibly interesting side effect of this therapy would be a significant increase in blood flow to the extremities. This could be a welcome side effect for many people with NIDDM, since poor circulation is a common problem. A possible mechanism for this effect would be while your brain might think you are cold the rest of the body would be hot, and when you are hot, blood is sent to the parts of your body that lose heat quickly (fingers and toes). People with heart conditions should definitely not try neck cooling!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
The future of RadioShack
The other day I needed to kill some time, so I went into a RadioShack. The RadioShack of my memory sold transistors, switches and radios; the new RadioShack sells cell phones, iPods and satellite radios.
I often wonder how RadioShack stays in business, with so few customers and such high prices. The only thing I can come up with is they have a set of customers who shopped the RadioShack I remember, and still go there for their tech needs.
This is a market segment that Circuit City and Bestbuy have trouble addressing with their massive and intimidating stores. It could be a highly synergistic move for one of those two giants to partner with RadioShack (or if the price was right buy them out) and create smaller “Essentials” type stores under the RadioShack brand (TV’s, cell phones, etc) in areas where the demographic indicates they would be appropriate. In areas with higher income and/or a younger demographic where the RadioShack brand carries less weight rebrand the locations into BestBuy Expo or the like stores. These stores would compete against Sony Style stores, and would have cutting edge stuff but have minimal inventory on the big ticket items. The small stores would rely on the warehouse type stores for inventory, or use the mail to fulfill orders making them catalog stores. People don’t carry plasma TVs around in the mall, so this could work.
RadioShack has some prime locations for both types’ stores, and some kind of partnership, and rebranding could breathe fresh life in the company. My concern would be that the big box retailer partner could not support the addition of that many new stores all at once. A lot of market research and logistics modeling would need to be done to determine if the model would be workable for both parties.
The flip-side would be Walmart or Target partnering with RadioShack to address the market segment, with instant access to the brand recognition, and locations. Again I see serious issues with such a large scale expansion. The solution to the problem could come through selective partnering with RadioShack. This would allow Walmart or Target to offer their massive purchasing power to RadioShack, in exchange for gaining the ability to sell electronics, and accessories in neighborhoods that would block their traditional entry. Sneaky, but it could work.
I often wonder how RadioShack stays in business, with so few customers and such high prices. The only thing I can come up with is they have a set of customers who shopped the RadioShack I remember, and still go there for their tech needs.
This is a market segment that Circuit City and Bestbuy have trouble addressing with their massive and intimidating stores. It could be a highly synergistic move for one of those two giants to partner with RadioShack (or if the price was right buy them out) and create smaller “Essentials” type stores under the RadioShack brand (TV’s, cell phones, etc) in areas where the demographic indicates they would be appropriate. In areas with higher income and/or a younger demographic where the RadioShack brand carries less weight rebrand the locations into BestBuy Expo or the like stores. These stores would compete against Sony Style stores, and would have cutting edge stuff but have minimal inventory on the big ticket items. The small stores would rely on the warehouse type stores for inventory, or use the mail to fulfill orders making them catalog stores. People don’t carry plasma TVs around in the mall, so this could work.
RadioShack has some prime locations for both types’ stores, and some kind of partnership, and rebranding could breathe fresh life in the company. My concern would be that the big box retailer partner could not support the addition of that many new stores all at once. A lot of market research and logistics modeling would need to be done to determine if the model would be workable for both parties.
The flip-side would be Walmart or Target partnering with RadioShack to address the market segment, with instant access to the brand recognition, and locations. Again I see serious issues with such a large scale expansion. The solution to the problem could come through selective partnering with RadioShack. This would allow Walmart or Target to offer their massive purchasing power to RadioShack, in exchange for gaining the ability to sell electronics, and accessories in neighborhoods that would block their traditional entry. Sneaky, but it could work.
Novel bullet proof materials: Velcro and powder
Two of the biggest problems with “bullet proof” or anti-ballistic armor are weight and inflexibility. Armor that is too heavy to wear or restricts movement too much is not effective armor. However, the trade off for light and flexible, is reduced protection. This means that Kevlar only armor won’t stop most rifle rounds since the sharp nose of the bullet separates the weave, allowing the bullet to pass through the layers.
This could be somewhat countered by microsewing in additional fibers to make kind of a hexagon pattern (like this <=> instead of the normal square =). These extra fibers would hinder the spreading of the fibers reducing the level of penetration, but this would probably not be enough. Instead of weaving the Kevlar, if it was braided to form interlocking cloth, penetration could be significantly reduced.
This next idea might be kind of out there but it might work. Use a industrial strengthVelcro type material between the layers of Kevlar. The “tearing” of the hook and loop fasters would spread the impact and the "give" could rob the projectile of its kinetic energy. I haven’t done the math on this one but by having Velcro type layers that start parallel to track of the projectile but turn to be perpendicular to the bullets track, it is possible that the bullet would follow the path of least resistance (opening the hook and loop surface) and therefore be turned slightly to prevent penetration of the underlying layers or be forced to tumble away from the body. If the hook and loop material was impregnated with an abrasive harder than copper, it would eat away the bullet as it moved through the material exposing the lead core causing the bullet to mushroom. It’s an interesting possibility, that the stuff that children use to fasten their shoes, might one day deflect an armor piercing round.
However, for some projectiles catching the bullet in cloth would still result in enough blunt force trauma that the person being shot would be seriously injured or killed. This is where steel or boron carbide plates come in, since they can stop the projectile and spread the impact to reduce blunt force trauma. Steel plates are heavy and inflexible, and boron carbide plates are just inflexible. It’s the “plate” part that makes the boron carbide inflexible, but it doesn’t need to be to provide protection. Boron carbide or better boron nitride powder, if the particles are shaped correctly, would allow for some flexibility, but when impacted at high speed the powder would act like a solid.
The shape required for this behavior was actually worked out long ago, by people trying to find ways to mill black powder such that it could be solidly packed in muzzle loading weapons. They found that octahedrons and similar shapes allow for the densest packing since they leave few if any gaps in the packing structure. Similarly, by densely filling small chambers in an anti-ballistic insert with octahedron shaped boron carbide powder or pellets, then laying a number of these chambers on top of each other staggering the edges (like bricks are laid in a wall), it would be possible to create a some what flexible anti-ballistic insert. (Imagine paving a driveway with hexagon bricks, but stacked 4 or 5 layers high.) The sacrifice in stopping power should be minimal, and the insert could be as flexible as thin plywood, which would allow it to conform to roundish shapes.
The actually packing density and particle size would need to be worked out via simulations, but this type of modeling is very advanced. The most difficult problem would be in materials engineering, since as the particles rubbed against each other there would be wear, and the dust would reduce the efficacy of the armor. To address this, it might be possible to use boron nitride particles with the cubic structures on the wear surface. Conversely it could be possible dissolve boron nitride in aluminum or titanium alloys, and create particles with a wear surface of nanocrystalline boron nitride. This would also reduce possibly high reject rate of manufacturing boron alloy only particles, since acid etching would allow the particles to be made over sized, then etched and tumbled until the proper mesh is reached.
This could be somewhat countered by microsewing in additional fibers to make kind of a hexagon pattern (like this <=> instead of the normal square =). These extra fibers would hinder the spreading of the fibers reducing the level of penetration, but this would probably not be enough. Instead of weaving the Kevlar, if it was braided to form interlocking cloth, penetration could be significantly reduced.
This next idea might be kind of out there but it might work. Use a industrial strengthVelcro type material between the layers of Kevlar. The “tearing” of the hook and loop fasters would spread the impact and the "give" could rob the projectile of its kinetic energy. I haven’t done the math on this one but by having Velcro type layers that start parallel to track of the projectile but turn to be perpendicular to the bullets track, it is possible that the bullet would follow the path of least resistance (opening the hook and loop surface) and therefore be turned slightly to prevent penetration of the underlying layers or be forced to tumble away from the body. If the hook and loop material was impregnated with an abrasive harder than copper, it would eat away the bullet as it moved through the material exposing the lead core causing the bullet to mushroom. It’s an interesting possibility, that the stuff that children use to fasten their shoes, might one day deflect an armor piercing round.
However, for some projectiles catching the bullet in cloth would still result in enough blunt force trauma that the person being shot would be seriously injured or killed. This is where steel or boron carbide plates come in, since they can stop the projectile and spread the impact to reduce blunt force trauma. Steel plates are heavy and inflexible, and boron carbide plates are just inflexible. It’s the “plate” part that makes the boron carbide inflexible, but it doesn’t need to be to provide protection. Boron carbide or better boron nitride powder, if the particles are shaped correctly, would allow for some flexibility, but when impacted at high speed the powder would act like a solid.
The shape required for this behavior was actually worked out long ago, by people trying to find ways to mill black powder such that it could be solidly packed in muzzle loading weapons. They found that octahedrons and similar shapes allow for the densest packing since they leave few if any gaps in the packing structure. Similarly, by densely filling small chambers in an anti-ballistic insert with octahedron shaped boron carbide powder or pellets, then laying a number of these chambers on top of each other staggering the edges (like bricks are laid in a wall), it would be possible to create a some what flexible anti-ballistic insert. (Imagine paving a driveway with hexagon bricks, but stacked 4 or 5 layers high.) The sacrifice in stopping power should be minimal, and the insert could be as flexible as thin plywood, which would allow it to conform to roundish shapes.
The actually packing density and particle size would need to be worked out via simulations, but this type of modeling is very advanced. The most difficult problem would be in materials engineering, since as the particles rubbed against each other there would be wear, and the dust would reduce the efficacy of the armor. To address this, it might be possible to use boron nitride particles with the cubic structures on the wear surface. Conversely it could be possible dissolve boron nitride in aluminum or titanium alloys, and create particles with a wear surface of nanocrystalline boron nitride. This would also reduce possibly high reject rate of manufacturing boron alloy only particles, since acid etching would allow the particles to be made over sized, then etched and tumbled until the proper mesh is reached.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
A new type of internal combustion engine.
In the last hundred or so years (at least to my knowledge) there has been one immutable truth in internal combustion engines, the pistons are connect to the rods, which in turn are connected to the crank shaft. However, this configuration is extremely inefficient, and mechanically complex, but it is required to convert the up and down motion into the round and round motion necessary to do work. In most large engines (trains, boats, etc) and even in hybrid vehicles, the motion is used to turn a generator or hydraulic pump. Then electric or hydraulic motors are used to propel the vehicle.
It would be most efficient to have combustion directly generate electricity or pressurize hydraulic fluid (think brake fluid). This is evidenced by the high efficiencies of large turbine engines, however they are not practical for most vehicles since they don't scale down well and are not practical for stop and start conditions. However, it should be possible to have the pistons move hydraulic fluid, or serve as burst generators. Given the current state of technology replacing the rod and crank shaft with a series of valves and fluid chambers should not be that difficult. It would require redesigning the piston and rings so that exhaust gases would not heat the oil excessively, nor would the oil leak into the combustion chamber. I envision pistons shaped like top hats (or asymmetric barbells) to allow the relatively small combustion volume to move a larger volume of fluid, and provide separation between the two chambers. To reduce the movement of exhaust gases into the volume created during the down stroke the vacuum should relived and can assist in the non-power producing strokes of the other cylinders, potentially to the point were it would super charge the engine with air, as well as allow lubricant to be misted in. While the vacuum can likely provide most of the energy required for the intake and exhaust strokes, hydraulic pressure will be required for the compression stroke, but the energy lost will be minimal and the lower (fluid) cylinder charged with fluid for the power stroke. During the power stroke fluid would be forced out of the lower cylinder, through a filter/degasser, and into an accumulator or sent for immediate use.
I realize the engine I am suggesting here would be fairly “low RPM” since the movement of the hydraulic fluid will limit the top speed. The drive motor however could have adjustable pitch vanes allowing it to be high torque low speed or low torque high speed, which would remove the need for a transmission, and allow for regenerative braking. Also, each cylinder could be turned on and off to adjust to the load, and the starter for this type of engine would be nothing more than a small hydraulic pump. Since the cylinders would need to be able to operate independently, the intake and exhaust valves would have to be electromechanical, given the slow speed of the engine would not be a problem. The ignition could be controlled by contacts or sensors on the fluid side of the piston, which could make the spark timing infinitely adjustable. By adjusting the rings on the combustion side of the piston to allow air to flow from the void above the fluid side of the piston into the combustion chamber but not the other way the filling of the fluid chamber during the compression stroke would super charge the engine, and by controlling the pressure/vacuum valves above the oil chamber the level of super charging could be controlled.
This system would not be like traditional hydraulic systems with 3000+ PSI oil, this would be a high volume, low pressure system. From rough calculations even with the fluid needed this system should be lighter then traditional drive trains (weight is saved by not needing the crank shaft, and rods which are heavy, as is the already oil filled transmission, plus all the other drive train parts.) Weight could further be saved since the engine could largely be air cooled, though for large engines dry nitrogen or a nitrogen argon blend would need to be circulated through a closed loop. (For anyone paying extra attention, these gases could be changed for something that could be flash boiled to allow for large amounts of heat removal, and recovery of much of that heat as energy, using a small turbine.)
The efficiency of this system will vary based on implementation but conservatively would be 45-65% better than vehicles with traditional mechanical drive trains (the larger the vehicle greater the improvement.) It should still be 15-25% more efficient than standard electric hybrids since a greater percent of energy recovered during braking and hydraulic fluid weights less then batteries per unit volume. The down side and it is a big but not insurmountable one is the high complexity of the engine, since a lot of valves will need to be controlled fairly precisely but at high speed. By making this engine a two stroke, or a modified four stroke, the complexity could be reduced. The immediate applications I see for this technology would be in large stationary placements with the fluid is used to drive other equipment, in large vehicles like garbage trucks or in specialty vehicles used for heavy lifting like house moving or mobile cranes.
It would be most efficient to have combustion directly generate electricity or pressurize hydraulic fluid (think brake fluid). This is evidenced by the high efficiencies of large turbine engines, however they are not practical for most vehicles since they don't scale down well and are not practical for stop and start conditions. However, it should be possible to have the pistons move hydraulic fluid, or serve as burst generators. Given the current state of technology replacing the rod and crank shaft with a series of valves and fluid chambers should not be that difficult. It would require redesigning the piston and rings so that exhaust gases would not heat the oil excessively, nor would the oil leak into the combustion chamber. I envision pistons shaped like top hats (or asymmetric barbells) to allow the relatively small combustion volume to move a larger volume of fluid, and provide separation between the two chambers. To reduce the movement of exhaust gases into the volume created during the down stroke the vacuum should relived and can assist in the non-power producing strokes of the other cylinders, potentially to the point were it would super charge the engine with air, as well as allow lubricant to be misted in. While the vacuum can likely provide most of the energy required for the intake and exhaust strokes, hydraulic pressure will be required for the compression stroke, but the energy lost will be minimal and the lower (fluid) cylinder charged with fluid for the power stroke. During the power stroke fluid would be forced out of the lower cylinder, through a filter/degasser, and into an accumulator or sent for immediate use.
I realize the engine I am suggesting here would be fairly “low RPM” since the movement of the hydraulic fluid will limit the top speed. The drive motor however could have adjustable pitch vanes allowing it to be high torque low speed or low torque high speed, which would remove the need for a transmission, and allow for regenerative braking. Also, each cylinder could be turned on and off to adjust to the load, and the starter for this type of engine would be nothing more than a small hydraulic pump. Since the cylinders would need to be able to operate independently, the intake and exhaust valves would have to be electromechanical, given the slow speed of the engine would not be a problem. The ignition could be controlled by contacts or sensors on the fluid side of the piston, which could make the spark timing infinitely adjustable. By adjusting the rings on the combustion side of the piston to allow air to flow from the void above the fluid side of the piston into the combustion chamber but not the other way the filling of the fluid chamber during the compression stroke would super charge the engine, and by controlling the pressure/vacuum valves above the oil chamber the level of super charging could be controlled.
This system would not be like traditional hydraulic systems with 3000+ PSI oil, this would be a high volume, low pressure system. From rough calculations even with the fluid needed this system should be lighter then traditional drive trains (weight is saved by not needing the crank shaft, and rods which are heavy, as is the already oil filled transmission, plus all the other drive train parts.) Weight could further be saved since the engine could largely be air cooled, though for large engines dry nitrogen or a nitrogen argon blend would need to be circulated through a closed loop. (For anyone paying extra attention, these gases could be changed for something that could be flash boiled to allow for large amounts of heat removal, and recovery of much of that heat as energy, using a small turbine.)
The efficiency of this system will vary based on implementation but conservatively would be 45-65% better than vehicles with traditional mechanical drive trains (the larger the vehicle greater the improvement.) It should still be 15-25% more efficient than standard electric hybrids since a greater percent of energy recovered during braking and hydraulic fluid weights less then batteries per unit volume. The down side and it is a big but not insurmountable one is the high complexity of the engine, since a lot of valves will need to be controlled fairly precisely but at high speed. By making this engine a two stroke, or a modified four stroke, the complexity could be reduced. The immediate applications I see for this technology would be in large stationary placements with the fluid is used to drive other equipment, in large vehicles like garbage trucks or in specialty vehicles used for heavy lifting like house moving or mobile cranes.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Loss of polar ice: A new variable for the model
Before someone flames me for writing this, I am not an Oceanographer. This is nothing but an interesting possibility, and the only experimental evidence I have is based internet research, and on work done on the small pond I live near.
However I hypothesize that part of the reason the earth is losing polar ice is so quickly is as a direct result of ice breakers working to keep shipping lanes open. By having ships continually breaking up the ice mass (which both increases its surface area and allows it to drift), exposing the dark water, and generally reducing stratification of the water column (when the top water is frozen, the denser water underneath is significantly warmer) we are basically encouraging the seasonal ice to melt sooner. The seasonal ice is the buffer for the multi-year or summer ice. So, without the buffer of seasonal ice the summer ice line moves back until a new equilibrium is established.
This loss of summer ice can create the potential for a cycle of ice loss, since now the shipping lanes can move closer to the poles, to take advantage of the smaller circumference of the earth. This means if I am correct the summer ice line will get closer and closer to the pole. (Which is happening anyways.)My theory does not discount the increases in temperature, but it does explain why such moderate temperature changes can cause dramatic losses of ice coverage.
I even have evidence, based on common sense physics and experiments I’ve done in my local pond. Sure the control was iffy but broken ice that is free to move melts much faster than solid sheets of ice. (You can prove this to yourself by using the sun to melt equal weights of ice in water, with one sample being a solid mass and the other being crushed ice.)
I also did a bit of research on shipping patterns, climatological data, etc and the trend is there. My work is very far from publishable but I think that by including shipping information in the normal models, the refinements to the predictiveness would verify that my hypothesis has significant merit. However, I will caution that it will be impossible to determine if increased effectiveness of ice breakers and the increase in shipping activity in near- and polar regions is the cause or the effect of the loss of summer ice.
We might be able to reduce the loss of sea ice by moving the shipping lanes away from the poles from late July to late September, to reduce the loss of summer ice when it is most at risk. It might also be interesting to employ pumps (driven by the ample wind) to spray extremely vulnerable or at least commercially unimportant regions with sea water to thicken the ice, and super cool the water below. It would require a massive amount of modeling, and scale tests but I think by making a small* number of interconnecting areas thick enough to not melt, the bulk of the ice could be protected, while minimizing the disruption to shipping.
*Now when I say small we must consider the size of the problem. The 3 million square miles of summer ice that lasted through the summer of 2007 was the lowest ever recorded.
The upsides of my (and others) idea is it would stabilize the thermosaline currents, possibly reduce sea levels, and reduce the occurrences of extreme weather. The downsides are messing with the weather and the sea is dangerous and it would cost a fortune!
However I hypothesize that part of the reason the earth is losing polar ice is so quickly is as a direct result of ice breakers working to keep shipping lanes open. By having ships continually breaking up the ice mass (which both increases its surface area and allows it to drift), exposing the dark water, and generally reducing stratification of the water column (when the top water is frozen, the denser water underneath is significantly warmer) we are basically encouraging the seasonal ice to melt sooner. The seasonal ice is the buffer for the multi-year or summer ice. So, without the buffer of seasonal ice the summer ice line moves back until a new equilibrium is established.
This loss of summer ice can create the potential for a cycle of ice loss, since now the shipping lanes can move closer to the poles, to take advantage of the smaller circumference of the earth. This means if I am correct the summer ice line will get closer and closer to the pole. (Which is happening anyways.)My theory does not discount the increases in temperature, but it does explain why such moderate temperature changes can cause dramatic losses of ice coverage.
I even have evidence, based on common sense physics and experiments I’ve done in my local pond. Sure the control was iffy but broken ice that is free to move melts much faster than solid sheets of ice. (You can prove this to yourself by using the sun to melt equal weights of ice in water, with one sample being a solid mass and the other being crushed ice.)
I also did a bit of research on shipping patterns, climatological data, etc and the trend is there. My work is very far from publishable but I think that by including shipping information in the normal models, the refinements to the predictiveness would verify that my hypothesis has significant merit. However, I will caution that it will be impossible to determine if increased effectiveness of ice breakers and the increase in shipping activity in near- and polar regions is the cause or the effect of the loss of summer ice.
We might be able to reduce the loss of sea ice by moving the shipping lanes away from the poles from late July to late September, to reduce the loss of summer ice when it is most at risk. It might also be interesting to employ pumps (driven by the ample wind) to spray extremely vulnerable or at least commercially unimportant regions with sea water to thicken the ice, and super cool the water below. It would require a massive amount of modeling, and scale tests but I think by making a small* number of interconnecting areas thick enough to not melt, the bulk of the ice could be protected, while minimizing the disruption to shipping.
*Now when I say small we must consider the size of the problem. The 3 million square miles of summer ice that lasted through the summer of 2007 was the lowest ever recorded.
The upsides of my (and others) idea is it would stabilize the thermosaline currents, possibly reduce sea levels, and reduce the occurrences of extreme weather. The downsides are messing with the weather and the sea is dangerous and it would cost a fortune!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Or there is always recycling
The Studios also have another option, they have plenty of scripts that never got filmed for shows with a strong fan base but not quite good enough to avoid canceling. Why couldn’t they take some of that IP, and make a couple more shows, then show reruns of the show before it got canceled, and close out the season with a few new shows shot from stockpiles scripts. Sure the actors might have moved on, but once the new shows they are on run out of scripts, they’ve got nothing better to do then reprise a few roles. This keeps people working, in a time when the economy really can’t afford to take anymore hits. But hey what do I know? I write about engineering and science, not entertainment, but you only need look as far as Family Guy to see that uncanceling is not without precedent.
A different kind of reality TV
With the news today that the Studios have basically canceled TV for 2008 it is apparent they intend the writers strike to go on for a long time. So, unless we want to live in a world where Survivor gets its own channel we must find a way to get TV back on without writers. (I am on the side of the writers, but not their guild or the studios, and I what I am about to write should not be seen as anything more than an idea to keep shows like Big Brother from being the only option until the dispute is settled.)
To me the internet got us into this mess so the internet should get us out of it. In the sprit of the creative commons the viewer should step up, and become the creators. What we need is a ScriptWiki, actually ScriptForge would be the proper term. It would be a site that would allow people to work together to create scripts, within a set of defined parameters. Lets face it, there are formulas for how TV is written, so a Studio or Google could step up and create a site with a set of defined premises, that people could work to turn the idea into a script. They would get feed back from people who logged in to refine the dialog and story. Then the best ones could be filmed and shown on TV, then people would vote on which one was the best and the contributors rewarded with prize money. (That would have to get prize money because the WGA would ensure they would never ever work as professional writers.) This could also help the writers since this model could show the Studios the value of internet distribution, which is a serious sticking point in the contract negotiation.
To me the internet got us into this mess so the internet should get us out of it. In the sprit of the creative commons the viewer should step up, and become the creators. What we need is a ScriptWiki, actually ScriptForge would be the proper term. It would be a site that would allow people to work together to create scripts, within a set of defined parameters. Lets face it, there are formulas for how TV is written, so a Studio or Google could step up and create a site with a set of defined premises, that people could work to turn the idea into a script. They would get feed back from people who logged in to refine the dialog and story. Then the best ones could be filmed and shown on TV, then people would vote on which one was the best and the contributors rewarded with prize money. (That would have to get prize money because the WGA would ensure they would never ever work as professional writers.) This could also help the writers since this model could show the Studios the value of internet distribution, which is a serious sticking point in the contract negotiation.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Metal insulation
I was going to write about how 4x4 vehicles offered the perfect platform for hybrid conversion since you could replace the transfer case with a generator and attach an electric motor to the differential on the rear wheels, but that is that is an obvious thing to do, so that’s as far as I will go with that idea.
Instead I will write about a way to make ultra-high temperature, but very light weight insulation to replace asbestos, by using foamed metals. You might be saying but aren’t metals wonder conductors of heat? Under normal circumstances yes, but with the proper cellular structure, they could basically stop all three forms of heat transfer. Glass conducts heat very well in sheets but in fiberglass it stops it cold. (Pun intended.)
My idea is an extension of the foamed metal technology produced by a Canadian company called Cymet. Their foam is to absorb the energy of impacts; my idea is to make into insulation. The most easily achieved application would be to foam zinc or zinc alloy with xenon or argon on to structural steel. The zinc would protect the metal from corrosion and the heavy gas foam would slow the movement of heat into the metal. The issue with using zinc would be its low melting point. Aluminum has a higher melting point but it reacts with steel.
The application I think would make the prefect insulation, but would be much harder to bring to practice is using a material that boils at temperature lower then is required to make aluminum rigid. This metallic “blowing agent” would allow the metal to be melted and puffed, then as the metal cooled and gained structural integrity the blowing agent would solidify and create partial vacuums in the cells. Nothing insulates like a vacuum.
Having a metal blowing agent would also allow metallic insulation to be sprayed on. (Assuming you could find an insurance company would underwrite a policy for someone spraying 1,300 F molten metal.) This technology could also allow for foamed silicon dioxide insulation, which would be a lot cheaper then metal-based foams, though SiO2 is very viscous near its melting temperature. With a lower temperature blowing agent and the right metal or alloy it should be easy to spray foamed zinc or tin to create impact absorbing, low temperature rated, but ultra-light weight insulation. This would be prefect to line building panels, or insulate pipes (either for steam or cryogenics applications).
Metal foam insulation might have stopped or slowed the collapse of the World Trade Center, since the foam would have absorbed the impact, and since it would be directly fused the structural elements the insulation would not have been shaken off by the impact. With a ceramic (enamel) coating to stop the oxidation and slow the absorption of heat metal insulation could in theory stand up to fire quite well, since it would have to heat up significantly before noticeable failure.
I can also see applications of this foam to superconductor research, since the super conducting alloy could be foamed with nitrogen or at least encased in material foamed with nitrogen. Then once the material is cyro-cooled, with liquid nitrogen or liquid helium, the cells would fill create a partial vacuum and the gas liquefied or froze, which would give the material extremely poor thermal responsiveness, since it would be a self cooling insulator, but still be very electrically conductive..
Instead I will write about a way to make ultra-high temperature, but very light weight insulation to replace asbestos, by using foamed metals. You might be saying but aren’t metals wonder conductors of heat? Under normal circumstances yes, but with the proper cellular structure, they could basically stop all three forms of heat transfer. Glass conducts heat very well in sheets but in fiberglass it stops it cold. (Pun intended.)
My idea is an extension of the foamed metal technology produced by a Canadian company called Cymet. Their foam is to absorb the energy of impacts; my idea is to make into insulation. The most easily achieved application would be to foam zinc or zinc alloy with xenon or argon on to structural steel. The zinc would protect the metal from corrosion and the heavy gas foam would slow the movement of heat into the metal. The issue with using zinc would be its low melting point. Aluminum has a higher melting point but it reacts with steel.
The application I think would make the prefect insulation, but would be much harder to bring to practice is using a material that boils at temperature lower then is required to make aluminum rigid. This metallic “blowing agent” would allow the metal to be melted and puffed, then as the metal cooled and gained structural integrity the blowing agent would solidify and create partial vacuums in the cells. Nothing insulates like a vacuum.
Having a metal blowing agent would also allow metallic insulation to be sprayed on. (Assuming you could find an insurance company would underwrite a policy for someone spraying 1,300 F molten metal.) This technology could also allow for foamed silicon dioxide insulation, which would be a lot cheaper then metal-based foams, though SiO2 is very viscous near its melting temperature. With a lower temperature blowing agent and the right metal or alloy it should be easy to spray foamed zinc or tin to create impact absorbing, low temperature rated, but ultra-light weight insulation. This would be prefect to line building panels, or insulate pipes (either for steam or cryogenics applications).
Metal foam insulation might have stopped or slowed the collapse of the World Trade Center, since the foam would have absorbed the impact, and since it would be directly fused the structural elements the insulation would not have been shaken off by the impact. With a ceramic (enamel) coating to stop the oxidation and slow the absorption of heat metal insulation could in theory stand up to fire quite well, since it would have to heat up significantly before noticeable failure.
I can also see applications of this foam to superconductor research, since the super conducting alloy could be foamed with nitrogen or at least encased in material foamed with nitrogen. Then once the material is cyro-cooled, with liquid nitrogen or liquid helium, the cells would fill create a partial vacuum and the gas liquefied or froze, which would give the material extremely poor thermal responsiveness, since it would be a self cooling insulator, but still be very electrically conductive..
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Possible solutions to the diesel NOx problem
It has been awhile since I’ve written anything here, but I am still working on new and cool ideas.
This one is abit out there so I don’t know if it will work. In 2010 diesel vehicles in the USA and the EU will have to have particulate filters and urea injection systems to reduce PAH and NOx emissions. Both systems clean the air but they add cost and reduce efficiency, especially the urea injection system since urea has to be bought and stored separately and is used at 1 part for every 10 parts fuel.
The reason urea is used is the same reason nitrates make excellent explosives; N2 is far more stable than any NOx or NHx compound. Thus when heat the nitrogen compound will decompose giving off the O’s or H’s and forming N2. However, when engines burn lean, the high temperatures and oxidizing environment favors the endothemric formation of NOx.
Urea injection reduces NOx emission by the following rxns:
Urea decomposition:
NH2CONH2 + H2O -> NH3 + CO2
Reduction (simplified)
4 NO + 4 NH3 + O2 -> 4 N2 + 6 H2O
However if the temperature is too low the urea just decomposes and goes out the tail pipe, if the temperature is too high the NH3 burns and forms NO and water. When everything works great and the fuel contains very little sulfur the urea injection can reduce NOx to nearly undetectable levels without the need to expensive catalysts.
My suggestion is based on a very old method of turning solid fuel like coal into gaseous fuel. It’s called the water gas method, and it works by reducing steam on a burning carbon bed into H2 and CO. By injecting this gas mixture into the exhaust stream of the engine as close to the exhaust ports as possible the H2 and CO should be able to scavenge most if not all of the NOx compounds, and reduce them to N2 and H20 and CO2. Since diesel vehicles produce steam as part of the combustion and use high carbon fuels (which causes the formation of carbon particulates when they burn rich), all the ingredients for this to work are already present. The carbon bed could be made from either exhaust particulates, or more likely by the anaerobic thermal decomposition of a small amount of fuel. The really isn’t a need for a catalyst but a Ni or Fe matrix/catalyst could be used to ensure a more complete rxn, and give the vehicle manufactures’ a serviceable part to ensure the system is checked regularly.
Some of you might be thinking well that wastes fuel, and I freely admit it does, but so does urea injection. However, unlike urea injection there is nothing special to buy or dead weight to carry around. (The urea is dissolved in water…)
A better solution to the diesel NOx problem is methane or propane injection of diesel engines. This allows them to burn high octane, hydrogen rich fuels, which do not favor the formation of NOx, mixed with a small amount of heavy oil to start combustion. However, this is a very niche market since dual fuel adds complexity, and there is more stuff to buy.
Other possible solutions to the diesel NOx problem:
Water injection, since the water flashing to steam would reduce the combustion temperatures which would make the conditions in the cylinder less favorable for NOx production. (I have written about the wonders of water injection in the past.)
Oxygenated or hydrogenated fuels could also make a significant contribution to reducing NOx emissions from diesel engines. The problem there is that diesel fuel is a heavy petroleum distillate, so additives have a tendency to separate over time and from discussions with people from a leading heavy engine maker any additive that reduces the fuels stability is unacceptable. I am not a chemical engineer but I know this is not an easy problem.
This one is abit out there so I don’t know if it will work. In 2010 diesel vehicles in the USA and the EU will have to have particulate filters and urea injection systems to reduce PAH and NOx emissions. Both systems clean the air but they add cost and reduce efficiency, especially the urea injection system since urea has to be bought and stored separately and is used at 1 part for every 10 parts fuel.
The reason urea is used is the same reason nitrates make excellent explosives; N2 is far more stable than any NOx or NHx compound. Thus when heat the nitrogen compound will decompose giving off the O’s or H’s and forming N2. However, when engines burn lean, the high temperatures and oxidizing environment favors the endothemric formation of NOx.
Urea injection reduces NOx emission by the following rxns:
Urea decomposition:
NH2CONH2 + H2O -> NH3 + CO2
Reduction (simplified)
4 NO + 4 NH3 + O2 -> 4 N2 + 6 H2O
However if the temperature is too low the urea just decomposes and goes out the tail pipe, if the temperature is too high the NH3 burns and forms NO and water. When everything works great and the fuel contains very little sulfur the urea injection can reduce NOx to nearly undetectable levels without the need to expensive catalysts.
My suggestion is based on a very old method of turning solid fuel like coal into gaseous fuel. It’s called the water gas method, and it works by reducing steam on a burning carbon bed into H2 and CO. By injecting this gas mixture into the exhaust stream of the engine as close to the exhaust ports as possible the H2 and CO should be able to scavenge most if not all of the NOx compounds, and reduce them to N2 and H20 and CO2. Since diesel vehicles produce steam as part of the combustion and use high carbon fuels (which causes the formation of carbon particulates when they burn rich), all the ingredients for this to work are already present. The carbon bed could be made from either exhaust particulates, or more likely by the anaerobic thermal decomposition of a small amount of fuel. The really isn’t a need for a catalyst but a Ni or Fe matrix/catalyst could be used to ensure a more complete rxn, and give the vehicle manufactures’ a serviceable part to ensure the system is checked regularly.
Some of you might be thinking well that wastes fuel, and I freely admit it does, but so does urea injection. However, unlike urea injection there is nothing special to buy or dead weight to carry around. (The urea is dissolved in water…)
A better solution to the diesel NOx problem is methane or propane injection of diesel engines. This allows them to burn high octane, hydrogen rich fuels, which do not favor the formation of NOx, mixed with a small amount of heavy oil to start combustion. However, this is a very niche market since dual fuel adds complexity, and there is more stuff to buy.
Other possible solutions to the diesel NOx problem:
Water injection, since the water flashing to steam would reduce the combustion temperatures which would make the conditions in the cylinder less favorable for NOx production. (I have written about the wonders of water injection in the past.)
Oxygenated or hydrogenated fuels could also make a significant contribution to reducing NOx emissions from diesel engines. The problem there is that diesel fuel is a heavy petroleum distillate, so additives have a tendency to separate over time and from discussions with people from a leading heavy engine maker any additive that reduces the fuels stability is unacceptable. I am not a chemical engineer but I know this is not an easy problem.
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