Power
In defense of the Tesla Model S
November 19, 2012 9:10 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsWhen Motor Trend announced an electric car was their pick for Car of the Year, something tells me you could have heard a pin drop in the car world. An electric car? They must have rigged the vote.Well, my friends, I hate to break it to you, but Consumer Reports just agreed with Motor Trend,
High-power UPS to see stiff competition from static suppliers
November 16, 2012 12:54 pm | News | CommentsThe latest study from IMS Research forecasts the market for high power uninterruptible power supplies (>500kVA) will surpass $1 billion by 2016. As the fastest growing power segment, high power UPS have not only seen an uptick in sales in recent years, but also in the amount of competition, as more static UPS suppliers enter this fast-growing market once dominated by rotary suppliers.
Stacked MLC capacitor series accommodates a broad range of applications
November 16, 2012 11:45 am | Avx Corporation | Product Releases | CommentsAVX Corporation has expanded its range of surface mount switch mode power supply (SMPS) capacitors to include the new SMM Series (switch mode max capacitance) stacked MLC capacitors, which incorporate the “High K” Super X7R dielectric. Featuring high dielectric constant (K), the capacitors provide
Fundamentals of battery fuel-gauging
November 16, 2012 10:49 am | by Karthik Kadirvel, Texas Instruments, www.ti.com | Articles | CommentsThe battery fuel gauging system is the component responsible for determining the energy remaining in the battery. In this article, a battery fuel gauging system used in single-cell applications is described. This is followed by a discussion of the various algorithms used by the fuel-gauging system to determine battery capacity along with the pros and cons of the algorithms.
Chemistry, application requirements help determine long-life battery selection
November 16, 2012 10:20 am | by Sol Jacobs, Tadiran Batteries, www.tadiranbat.com | Articles | CommentsLithium chemistry is preferred for long-life applications because its intrinsic negative potential exceeds that of all other metals. Lithium is the lightest non-gaseous metal, offering the highest specific energy (energy per unit weight) and energy density (energy per unit volume) of all available battery chemistries.
How to improve the battery fuel gauge
November 16, 2012 10:04 am | by Isidor Buchmann, CEO & founder of Cadex Electronics, www.BatteryUniversity.com | Articles | CommentsMost cottages in the countryside are heated by burning wood in a simple stone hearth. The desired heat is controlled by the feeding of wood. Today computers manage heating systems in large buildings and the boiler has become almost secondary. A similar trend is evolving with batteries.
Titan is also a green powerhouse
November 15, 2012 9:11 am | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsNot only is Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Titan the world's most powerful supercomputer, it is also one of the most energy-efficient. Titan came in at number three on the Green500 list. Organized by Virginia Tech's Wu-chun Feng and Kirk Cameron, the list takes the world's 500 most powerful supercomputers—
Power supply series adds 310-W and 1500-W models with industrial and medical safety approvals
November 13, 2012 12:15 pm | Product Releases | CommentsEmerson Network Power launched two new models in the LCM Series of AC-DC power supplies. With the addition of the LCM300 and LCM1500, rated for 310 W and 1,500 W loads, alongside the existing 600 W LCM600 unit, the series can now provide
Linear voltage regulator features low drop-out voltage
November 13, 2012 11:33 am | Product Releases | CommentsAdvanced Power Electronics Corp. has announced an efficient linear voltage regulator with better than 2 percent initial voltage accuracy. The APU1205-3 family features a very low drop-out voltage and very low ground current and is targeted at handheld battery powered applications.
LED-driver IC family offers fast start-up with no pop-on, no dead travel
November 13, 2012 11:25 am | Power Integrations | Product Releases | CommentsPower Integrations introduced its latest family of LED-driver ICs, aimed at consumer, commercial and industrial lighting applications. The new LYTSwitch IC family offers tight regulation and high efficiency for tube replacements and high-bay lighting, while providing exceptional performance in TRIAC-
Synchronous buck regulator for on-board dc to dc converter applications offers low price
November 13, 2012 11:25 am | Product Releases | CommentsAdvanced Power Electronics Corp. announced the APU3037-3 controller IC designed to be a low cost synchronous buck regulator for on-board dc to dc converter applications. The APU3037-3 features an internal 200kHz oscillator (400kHz for the A version), under-voltage lockout for both Vcc and Vc supplies, and external programmable soft-start
DC-to-DC converters shrinks board space by 75 percent compared to competing solutions
November 13, 2012 10:28 am | Product Releases | CommentsAnalog Devices introduced the industry’s smallest isolated DC-to-DC converters. The ADuM5010, ADuM6010, ADuM521x and ADuM621x use ADI’s proprietary isoPower isolated DC-to-DC converter technology to deliver 150 mW of output power while using less board space than competing module-based solutions.
The energy of stunt kites
November 12, 2012 2:25 pm | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsKite surfing has risen to become a fashionable sporting activity, with the number of enthusiasts participating in this cross between wind surfing and stunt kite flying growing at a tremendous pace. When the wind catches the kite, the surfer is carried meters into the air; and the greater the leap
All-SiC power module features 100-A current handling, 1200-V blocking
November 12, 2012 12:02 pm | Product Releases | CommentsCree, Inc. introduced an all-SiC power module. The new high frequency module, rated at 100-A current handling and 1200-V blocking, allows higher efficiency, compact and lighter weight systems that can, according to the company, result in
Roundtable: What must designers of portable devices do to deal with power and performance demands?
November 12, 2012 11:57 am | Articles | CommentsExperts in the power industry weight in on the question: What must designers of portable devices do to keep pace with increased power and performance demands? In their responses the industry experts talk about the future of portable devices and the design changes necessary to power them.
DC/DC converter meets industrial rail standards
November 12, 2012 9:41 am | Product Releases | CommentsSchaefer announces the PRC-240 Series of DC/DC converters that provide 240W of power in a compact, chassis mount package. The PRP-240 Series has versions that meet industrial (EN60950) or rail (EN50155) standards. Standard nominal input voltages are 24VDC, 48VDC, 72VDC, and 110VDC.
Advanced single-chip digital motion controllers designed for precision equipment
November 12, 2012 9:26 am | Stmicroelectronics | Product Releases | CommentsPrecision movement and positioning systems used in industries such as automated manufacturing and pharmaceutical production can be quieter, smaller, lighter, simpler and more efficient using the advanced single-chip digital motion controllers announced by STMicroelectronics.
Using rust and water to store solar energy as hydrogen
November 12, 2012 9:13 am | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsEPFL scientists are producing hydrogen from sunlight, water and rust - They're paving the way for an economic and ecological solution for storing renewable energy How can solar energy be stored so that it can be available any time, day or night, when the sun shining or not? EPFL scientists are developing a technology that can transform light energy into a clean fuel that has a neutral carbon footprint: hydrogen.
Study provides recipe for 'supercharging' atoms with X-ray laser
November 12, 2012 9:10 am | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsResearchers using the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have found a way to strip most of the electrons from xenon atoms, creating a "supercharged," strongly positive state at energies previously thought too low.
More bang for the biofuel buck
November 9, 2012 9:21 am | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsA fermentation technique once used to make cordite, the explosive propellant that replaced gunpowder in bullets and artillery shells, may find an important new use in the production of advanced biofuels. With the addition of a metal catalyst, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley
New Zealand won't sign 'Kyoto 2' climate treaty
November 9, 2012 9:09 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsNew Zealand's government said Friday that it would not sign on for a second stage of the Kyoto Protocol climate treaty, a stance that angered environmentalists and political opponents. The announcement came the same day that Australia said it would stay the course and commit to "Kyoto 2."
Environmentally sealed connector offers rugged design
November 8, 2012 4:07 pm | Product Releases | CommentsAnderson Power Products (APP) announces the expansion of the SPEC Pak family of environmentally sealed connectors, which now includes Mid-Power SPEC Pak. Mid-Power SPEC Pak, like the other connectors in the SPEC Pak family, is rugged and environmentally sealed (IP68) and leverages APP’s core Powerpole flat wiping contact technology.
Power management IC delivers up to 12A from six DC/DC converters
November 8, 2012 3:55 pm | 3M Electronics Solutions Division | Product Releases | CommentsDialog Semiconductor plc announces the most powerful and most integrated configurable power management IC (PMIC) for ARM quad-core and dual-core application processors. The DA9063 can deliver up to 12A from its six DC/DC converters. It simultaneously powers the processor
Do you have what it takes to be a Roundtable expert?
November 8, 2012 11:11 am | Articles | CommentsIn October, we asked you for your words of wisdom for a brand-new design engineer and boy, did you guys have advice in spades. The responses we received were so good in fact, we’ve decided to open up our December Roundtable to our faithful readers in hopes that you can offer more words of wisdom.
Anti-corrosive passivated nichrome thin film chip resistors target high power, high humidity apps
November 8, 2012 10:14 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe RNCH is a high power version of Stackpole’s RNCS series of anti-corrosive passivated nichrome thin film chip resistors. This series offers the power rating of the RNCS0805 in the 0603 size and similar power upgrades for the 0805 and 1206
