Google
 

Aardvark Daily

New Zealand's longest-running online daily news and commentary publication, now in its 14th year. The opinion pieces presented here are not purported to be fact but reasonable effort is made to ensure accuracy.

Content copyright © 1995 - 2012 to Bruce Simpson (aka Aardvark), the logo was kindly created for Aardvark Daily by the folks at aardvark.co.uk



Please visit the sponsor!
Please visit the sponsor!

Hmmm.. Raspberry Pi

8 February 2012

There's nothing like a bit of technology to get a geek's mouth watering.

Unfortunately, much of today's modern technology is very much "shrink-wrapped" -- hidden behind shiny plastic cases, super-tough glass screens and seemingly impervious proprietary screw-heads.

Of course a real hacker will see such things as minor distractions as (s)he dives deep under the covers to find out exactly what's inside and how it all works -- before modding it for their own purposes.

However, there's a new bit of kit about to be launched that will offer hardcore hackers and even curious onlookers the chance to get their hands dirty for a very low cost and with some potentially astounding results.

Read more...

 

DH Comet deja vu?

Modern airliners are increasingly being built from hi-tech composite materials such as carbon fibre, rather than the old-fashioned aluminium alloys of the past.

Composites usually consist of a reinforcement, made from carbon, aramid or glass fibers, and a binder in the form of a chemically or heat-activated resin such as epoxy.

The result is a incredibly versatile set of materials that can deliver previously unattainable strength-to-weight ratios, resistance to fatigue and other benefits. By careful selection of the reinforcement and the binder, the individual characteristics can be tailored to suit the precise application involved.

Top News Stories

  • NZ Pilot group calls for laser ban
  • Disappointing start for daily deal website
  • MIT Scientist Offers $100,000 to Anyone Who Can Prove Quantum Computing Is Impossible
  • Raspberry Pi's $35 Linux computer on track to launch later this month
Aardvark's News Links Page

Unfortunately, although these materials have been used for decades in applications such as boats and high-performance cars - their use in airframes is still relatively new and, it would seem, is not without problems.

Recently there have been several reports relating to structural defects occurring in the new generation of composite-based airliners.

Just today, Qantas has grounded an A380 after finding cracks in a wing which is likely attributed to previously reported flaw that causes wing-cracking.

The new Boeing 787 has also encountered cracking problems, reportedly related to its use of hi-tech composite materials.

Experts acknowledge that one of the problems with composites is that they don't always give warning of imminent failure in the way that metal components do.

Although, if regularly stressed beyond its limits, some composites such as aramid (Kevlar) will start to delaminate, others, such as carbon fibre, often fail with no warning at all.

Crack-testing, a method commonly used to spot problems with aluminium components, is simply not a reliable way to pre-empt failures of many composite materials.

On the weekend I was talking with a guy who is involved in the manufacture and maintenance of composite full-sized airframes. He said that most of the time they simply use "the tap test" -- something that involves tapping the structure and listening for a change in the sound.

I guess that doesn't sound too reassuring -- but it's also the way they used to check train wheels a century or so ago.

Given the massive size and passenger-loads of the latest generation of composite airliners, I sure hope that we don't see a major crash due to previously undetected structural failure.

Personally -- I think I'd rather fly in a 747 until these things have a few more hours on them.

After all, they thought the De Haviland Comet was safe -- until they started falling from the skies with a form of metal fatigue nobody had anticipated.

Have your say in the Aardvark Forums.

Forums Are UP!

Woohoo.. better late than never (I hope).

I'm afraid you'll have to re-register and there are bound to be issues but at last we can get the discussions going again. Remember the word "aardvarkrox" when you go sign up.

The Aardvark forums.

And yes... the Sci-Tech headlines links are updated again today with some great stories!

Recoverable Proxy

Would this system help improve the nation's democracy and introduce some much-needed accountability within parliament? Spread the word!


Rank This Aardvark Page

 

Change Font

Sci-Tech headlines

 


Apart from the kind support of the sponsor, Aardvark Daily is largely a labour of love that involves many hours of hard work each month. If you appreciate the content you find here (or even if you don't) then please visit the sponsor and also feel free to gift me a donation using the button above.

Remember, this is purely a gift, you'll get nothing other than a warm fuzzy feeling in return.


Features:

Beware The Alternative Energy Scammers

The Great "Run Your Car On Water" Scam

 

The Missile Man The Missile Man book

Previous Columns

The One-man pay-TV model
I like to think that I have at least some kind of understanding of the net "vibe"...

The now very fragile Internet
We're told that the Internet grew out of DARPA's attempts to build a resilient network that could withstand multiple failures and keep on working...

Have we reached "peak Facebook"?
There is no denying that Facebook is big -- very big...

Loose lips sink trips
Sometimes, when I tell people about just how prevalent the surveillance society has become they dismiss me as simply being paranoid...

Beyond binary
Last week my wife bought another armful of lever-arch ring binders in which to file more of the endless stream of paperwork that surrounds here association with ACC, medical specialists and others involved in the fallout from her accident...

SkyNet just around the corner?
Hands up all those who remember the attempt to create "Sealand", an independent sovereign cybercountry which was to be physically located on a dis-used sea fort in the North Sea, some 10 miles off the coast of England...

Feds to take-down Xtra, imprison Reynolds?
On the face of it, the Kim Dotcom and MegaUpload case is pretty simple: the guy created a service which enabled others to break the law by unlawfully exchanging files which contained material which was protected by copyright...

Stormy (space) weather
According to the BBC: "Our planet is being bombarded by high-energy particles unleashed by the strongest solar storm since 2005"...

Life on Venus - pictures prove it?
I've had enough of stories about piracy, digital rights and the USA's attempts to exert its legal muscle in areas that ought to be outside its jurisdiction...

All online business beware
Last week, NZ police raided the home (the media keep saying "mansion") of Kim Dotcom and arrested several people on a number of charges, including copyright infringement plus aiding and abetting copyright infringement...