Hello,
Jed Boyer from Bourns gives us the low-down on single pair Ethernet for automotive applications. Not merely carrying 1 Gb/s data over a twisted-pair wire, the pair also carries power for Zonal control modules. Jed provides us with an overview of a full solution that includes transient protection.
Put your lemons and potatoes away - Lee brings us the details on a new sodium batteries consortium. One of the partners, Florida State University, claims that by creating new element and structure combinations to pack as much sodium in the cathode structure as possible, new sodium-ion batteries would be even more powerful than lithium-ion. I'm taking that ambition with a grain of salt -- lithium is not a sitting duck, as I had written about, a few months ago, here.
In that piece, I predicted that we'd start to see fully electric passenger aircraft within 5 years. I wasn't too far off. Sister publication Military & Aerospace Electronics has a brief piece that describes a battery-electric aircraft, going into service in 2033, that's designed for 90 passengers with a range of 800–1,000 km, powered by 360 Wh/kg (a bit lame/pessimistic) batteries and eight 1.4MW motors. Recharge time is about the same as my Chevy Bolt EV. Spiffy!
Speaking of aircraft, Flite Fest is a sort of a Maker Faire for model airplane nerds, including Lee Goldberg, that attracts thousands of DIY aviation enthusiasts to a small airstrip in rural Ohio. Lee brings us a video interview with the organizers and participants, along with a cut to his Blair Witch -style cinematography of dueling swarms of aircraft in the sky. Pass the dramamine (j.k.).
enjoy,
-andyT
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