Kawasaki Reveals The Fastest Bullet Train in Japan

Kawasaki Reveals The Fastest Bullet Train in Japan
by Mike Chino

Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. recently announced that it is developing the country’s fastest high speed train! Named the “Environmentally Friendly Super Express Train” (efSET), the modern marvel will propel passengers along at 217 miles per hour, besting the record-holding Shinkansen’s 186mph. The streamlined design also promises to be less noisy, more energy efficient, and will feature a state-of-the-art electrical control system.

The introduction of Kawasaki’s new high-speed train stands to improve upon Japan’s standing rail system, already considered to be one of the most efficient in the world. The efSET will feature an extremely lightweight and aerodynamic profile in addition to a regenerative braking system that will recycle the kinetic energy generated by its movement.

Kawasaki plans to finalize the design by March 2010, and the company has already announced that it plans to prepare the efSET for international release. They estimate that 10,000 km of high-speed railways will be deployed over the next 20 years - lets hope some of those lines fall within the United States!

Mobile phone battery dead? Try dancing

Tue Jun 24, 11:08 AM ET

The Orange 'dance charge' prototype charger is shown in this undated handout image.

LONDON (Reuters) - What do you do if you are stuck in a field at a pop festival but there's trouble ahead because your mobile phone's battery is about to run out?

Thanks to a new gizmo, you now just need to face the music and dance.

Mobile phone operator Orange said on Tuesday it had teamed up with GotWind, a firm specializing in renewable energy, to produce a recharger powered by dance energy alone.

The portable kinetic energy chargers will be given a test run at this year's Glastonbury Festival, the world's biggest greenfield music and arts celebration that begins on a farm in Somerset on Friday.

Orange said the prototype chargers weigh the same as a phone and are about the size of a pack of cards.

Attached to the user's arm, they employ a system of weights and magnets which provide an electric current to top up charge in a storage battery. This can then later be used to recharge the phone.

"We wanted to create a fun, engaging and interactive product which would encourage users to have a laugh while charging their mobile phone and at the same time test out a new energy-efficient prototype," said Hattie Magee, Head of Partnerships at Orange UK.