1,721,104 research outputs found
21 July 1969
Full text linkIn the middle of the Cold War, the space race began on 4 October 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully put Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, into orbit around Earth, shocking the world and, particularly, the Americans, who felt that their U.S. technological supremacy was being menace
Electric Tramways of the 19th Century
Full text linkToday, electric railways have wide diffusion and promise to expand much more in the coming years due to climate change issues and decarbonization policies. Metropolitan areas are serviced by underground, surface, and elevated electric trains that provide fast high-capacity passenger transport with zero emission. Electric motors powered by hydrogen and fuel cells are replacing diesel engines in trains for regional transportation in some European countries. High-speed electric trains are poised to emerge as strong competitors to short- and midrange air connection. In this framework, it is worth considering when and how electric railways emerged
Early Italian Computers: Pier Giorgio Perotto's P101
Full text linkThis historical column follows the article on Mario Tchou’s ELEA 9003 that was published in the previous issue of this magazine and tells events that developed in that same Olivetti company. We known that much of the early progress in personal computers took place in the US, and particularly on the West Coast in the early 1970s. Nevertheless, trailblazers were exploring the field elsewhere even earlier, and an important step forward was taken in the Olivetti company, about ten years before, with the creation of a small desk computer, a device that incorporated a number of features which later had to became common in personal computers
Early Italian Computers: Mario Tchou's ELEA 9003
Full text linkIn the late 1950s, the advent of computers was evolving into a technological revolution, and within it the era of the transistorized computer, the so-called second generation, was beginning. Although much of that progress took place in the United States and United Kingdom, enthusiastic pioneers were also making important contributions in other nations [1], [2]. Recently, I was fortunate enough to come in contact with two of them, Italians who are still in good health, to tell me a story that deserves to be reported in these pages. This story is a tribute to all those scientists, engineers, and technicians who, working in several countries, pioneered the era of computers over a half century ago
A Glance at Circuit Theory Development
Full text linkAlthough circuit theory is fundamental in the study and design of electric systems for both information and power applications, its history has seldom been told in the scientific literature. This article is an attempt to fill that gap, at least partially, by surveying its development up to circa 1924, i.e., mainly in the preclassical period, according to Herbert Carlin's definition [1]. Short biographical notes have been added to delineate the merits of the major authors
Challenging Steam: Early Electric Railways
Full text linkToday, electrical traction constitutes the most successful railway technology, but during the 19th century, the situation was quite different. Steam, produced by burning coal, was the dominant energy vector for transportation. Steam railways experienced a period of sensational development from 1830 to 1875, with frenetic construction in the Western world, and by the last quarter of the century, they had revolutionized the transportation of goods and people, enabling long distances to be covered in much shorter times than with horse-drawn coaches traveling on unpaved roads. Thus, they changed the concepts of distance and travel
Before Lithium-Ion Batteries: The Age of Primary Cells [Historical]
No full textClimate change mitigation and the transition toward decarbonized energy sources, widely discussed during international events such as the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Glasgow [1], will entail a large expansion of energy storage for mobile and stationary applications, i.e., in electric vehicles (road, waterborne, air, and so on) and advanced grids (smart grids, microgrids, and similar types), respectively, in conjunction with renewable sources. Among energy storage systems, batteries are expected to play a major role, and a huge amount of funding is being allocated for their development in several countries, including the construction of gigafactories for their production. The coming years promise to become the golden age of batteries. However, if we look into the past, we realize that another golden age occurred two centuries ago
Reconsidering Leonardo
Full text linkThe story goes that five hundred years ago, on May 2nd, 1519, in manor house Clos Lucé, near the royal castle of Amboise, king Francis I of France was lovingly assisting an old man at his deathbed. The man was not a king, nor an aristocrat, nor a victorious general. He was the out-of-wedlock son of an Italian notary. France was, after Spain, the most powerful state in Europe and at that time aristocrats avoided caring for people not of their peer. There is some chance that this story, portrayed in romantic paintings, is legend, but what is sure is that Francis I devoted many attentions to the old man that he had invited three year before to spend his last years in Amboise, Leonardo da Vinci
Il matrimonio del minore in età: aspetti di interpretazione e applicativi dell'art. 84 del C.C.
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