Free Republic

A 'game-changing' new battery for electric vehicles (EVs) that charges in three minutes and lasts for 20 years could soon be coming to new cars. Adden Energy, a start-up based in Waltham, Massachusetts, has been granted a licence and $5.15 million in funding to build the battery design at scale to fit in EVs. The battery, developed by Harvard scientists, is lithium metal, rather than lithium ion found in EVs that are already on the market. Its intricate design, inspired by a BLT sandwich, prevents the growth of troublesome 'dendrites' that grow in lithium-metal batteries and shorten their lifespan. The...

Scientists have developed a large-scale economical method to extract hydrogen (H2) from oil sands (natural bitumen) and oil fields. This can be used to power hydrogen-powered vehicles, which are already marketed in some countries, as well as to generate electricity; hydrogen is regarded as an efficient transport fuel, similar to petrol and diesel, but with no pollution problems. The process can extract hydrogen from existing oil sands reservoirs, with huge existing supplies found in Canada and Venezuela. Interestingly, this process can be applied to mainstream oil fields, causing them to produce hydrogen instead of oil. Hydrogen powered vehicles, including cars,...

"The founders never envisioned a professional political class," said Rooney, in an appearance Saturday on Fox News. The proposal would set members of the House to three terms and senators to two terms. Presidents are limited under the 22nd Amendment to two terms, while Supreme Court justices enjoy lifetime appointments. "This is a much better way than having these entrenched politicians who are too aligned with special interests over a period of years. I would say 18 years is plenty of time to serve your country in," he said, referring to the total time someone could spend in Congress if...

Washington (CNN)Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Republican Rep. Francis Rooney proposed a Constitutional amendment on Thursday that would impose term limits on members of both houses of Congress. The amendment, co-sponsored by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and David Perdue (R-Ga.), would restrict senators to two six-year terms and House members to three two-year terms. A similar amendment was proposed by Cruz in January of 2017. "For too long, members of Congress have abused their power and ignored the will of the American people," Cruz said. "Term limits on members of Congress offer a solution to the brokenness...

Startup Alphabet Energy has its first product: what it says is the world’s largest thermoelectric generator. Power plants waste huge amounts of energy as heat—about 40 to 80 percent of the total in the fuel they burn. A new device could reduce that waste, cutting fuel consumption and carbon emissions by as much as 3 percent and saving companies millions of dollars. (Three percent might not seem like much, but for context, air travel accounts for 2 percent of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions.) The generator makes use of a novel, highly efficient thermoelectric material discovered recently at the University of...

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded US$7 billion of contracts to 22 companies for the right to develop and sell solar energy to the US Army. The winning companies include Gehrlicher US, Siemens and Sunpower. Once projects are developed it is understood winning companies will bid against eachother to supply solar power with the remainder of the ring-fenced US$7 billion available for purchasing. The “multiple-vendor, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price, non-option, non-multi-year contracts” are specifically to be used for solar power. The projects will be developed on land owned or under the jurisdiction of the DoD.

[SNIP] ....Based on my limited interactions and after reading more about [San Antonio Mayor Julian] Castro, it is clear that he is superficially very different from the older Latino leaders but very similar in other ways. The most prominent Hispanic mayor in America is Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Before Castro was born, Villaraigosa was at UCLA leading the openly racist, secessionist, and anti-American group MEChA. After engaging in protests to try to get the ChicanoStudies Department to give money to an openly communist group, he dropped out of UCLA and attended the unaccredited People's School of Law. He took...

AN Arab ambassador has annulled his marriage after discovering his veiled wife-to-be had a BEARD and was cross-eyed. The diplomat had only met the woman a few times, during which she had hidden her face behind a niqab. Local media reported that after the marriage contract was signed, the man tried to give his new wife a smooch only to find she had facial hair.

"Neither Denmark nor Norway has a prohibition on sex with animals, as long as the animals do not suffer. On the Internet Danish animal owners advertise openly that they offer sex with animals, without intervention from police or other authorities, Danish newspaper 24timer reports. In correspondence with the animal owners, the newspaper was told that the animals involved have many years of experience and that the animals themselves wanted sex. The cost to the client varied from DKK 500-1,000 (USD 85-170). ... According to the 24timer report, Germans, Dutchmen, Swedes and Norwegians visit the Danish bordellos, and a web site...