The devastating earthquake in Haiti, of intensity 7.0 on the Richter scale, have done a serious damage to Haiti. You may use Google Earth to do the survey of the damage done by this earthquake.

To get the idea of destruction in Haiti download this KML file that will open up in Google Earth software. In case you are not having Google earth on your PC, you may get it from here.

After opening the KML file, if you switch the layer on and off for some before-and-after perspective, the extent of damage will become obvious to you.

To donate funds to Haiti earthquake victims or help the Haiti relief workers, you may head over to this page.

Ref: [Mashable]

Haiti Damage Survey With Google Earth
Originally Published at VirginTech

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The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa in the United States under the Immigration & Nationality Act, section 101(a)(15)(H). This H-1B visa, introduced by USA government, offers highly skilled international professionals and/or students around the world an opportunity to live and work in USA.

However, the ban on H-1B visas now debars US companies from hiring people holding H-1B visas if they take help under $ 787-billion economic bail-out package. Many USA high-tech firms including Microsoft are being forced to outsource more jobs overseas because of outdated immigration policies.

Ban on H-1B visas will result in shortage of highly skilled professionals which in turn will disturb the US economy in various ways. So in order to maintain the economy, global competitive advantage and to bring cultural diversity into the workplace, the companies would need to increase the outsourcing of job. But this is not the only solution, one other alternative could be increasing the number of H-1B visas that are available to U.S companies.

Bill gates, founder of the Microsoft says that if we increase the number of H-1B visas that are available to US companies, employment of US nationals would likely grow as well. For instance, Microsoft has found that for every H-1B hire we make, we add on average four additional employees to support them in various capacities.

H-1B Visa Ban Leading To Job Outsourcing
Originally Published at VirginTech

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A new world record has been set for solar cell efficiency by the researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE. The researchers group has achieved an amazing 41.1% efficiency for generating electricity from sunlight and they made it possible by using concentrated sunlight on a specially constructed multi-junction solar cell. Though this new solar cell requires expensive material as compared to silicon but it is more efficient.

This multi-junction solar cell is made up of gallium indium phosphide, gallium indium arsenide on a germanium substrate. After setting this world record, Frank Dimroth, the head of the research group said that “We are elated by this breakthrough,” This new world record has surpassed the previous record of 40.8% efficiency set by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

[Ref: http://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/]

World Record Set For Solar Cell Efficiency At Fraunhofer ISE
Originally Published at VirginTech

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VIVACE stands for Vortex Induced Vibrations Aquatic Clean Energy, VIVACE technology is one of the best way to extract energy from flowing water currents and it is based on phenomenon of Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIV). Actually vortex is a spinning, often turbulent, flow of fluid. Any spiral motion with closed streamlines is vortex flow.

Lets see what VIVACE developer Michael Bernitsas, a professor at the University of Michigan department of naval architecture and marine engineering, said about VIVACE technology.

Though VIV are very destructive in nature and engineers are trying to prevent VIV from damaging offshore equipment and structures, there is a possibility of converting this VIV problem into valuable energy resource by Vivace technology. This Vivace technology works in flowing water moving slower than 2 knots or 2 mile per hour. Some of the great advantages of the VIVACE technology are:

- It uses robust design which are good for long run with a very small maintenance.
- Installations concerned with this VIVACE technology does not have any interference with other activities going on the water surface such as fishing, shipping.
- It is compatible with marine life.
- It has low dependence on ocean or river conditions.

[Ref: vortexhydroenergy.com]

VIVACE: A Technology To Get Clean Renewable Energy From Water Currents
Originally Published at VirginTech

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Biofuel usage for aviation was regarded as impractical in early days because most of them gets freeze at lower temperatures experienced at high altitudes. But there is a plant called Jatropha curcas which yields vegetable oil from it’s seeds and the oil obtained from this plant have its freezing point even lower than the freezing point of jet fuel. It is this property of jatropha oil which allows its usage in airplanes and aircrafts. Recently New Zealand Airlines powered one engine of Boeing 747-400 airplane by a 50-50 blend of jatropha oil and standard A1 jet fuel.

Since the production of jatropha is not on commercial scale therefore  Air New Zealand couldn’t say anything about the cost of jatropha oil as compared to the standard jet fuel. Air New Zealand said that Jatropha biofuel could make airlines more environment friendly by reducing airplane emissions and also it could make airlines inexpensive too by reducing costs.

Jatropha Biofuel Could Make Airlines More Eco-friendly & Inexpensive
Originally Published at VirginTech

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We all know that how devastating a Tsunami could be and we still have the memories of that horrible Tsunami that struck indonesian island and other countries resulting in a huge loss in terms of property and human lives. So in order to reduce the Tsunami impact, a new innovative sensor based warning system has been developed called the German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS).

This German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS) is far more quick and reliable as compared to previous Tsunami detectors. Actually this Tsunami warning system will quickly determine the location of the earthquakes which generally are the major cause of Tsunami. GITEWS uses lot of sensors like  seismometers, GPS instruments, tide gauges and buoys as well as ocean bottom pressure sensors. Computer simulations are also used in this system to get an idea for any emergency situation that may result due to Tsunami.

GITEWS is a project of the German Government at the reconstruction of the tsunami-prone region of the Indian Ocean. It is accomplished by a consortium of nine institutions.

[Ref: gitews]

A New Warning System That Detects Tsunami Well In Time.
Originally Published at VirginTech

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Sensing a forest fire requires a lot of tools and expensive remote automated weather stations thereby making it quite costly and impractical too. But that’s not the only way to get forest fire predictions. Massachusetts Institutes of Technology (MIT) researchers have come up with a brilliant idea to fight forest fire which will overcome most of the shortcomings of the earlier fire sensing technique.

Actually MIT researchers are putting their efforts into a system that will operate the temperature and humidity sensors by utilising the energy from tree. These sensors will tansmit the signals wirelessly to a weather station which inturn will transmit the to fortestry command sytem via satellite.

Voltree Power is in the final stages of prototyping such a system with trials set for the spring on a 10-acre plot of land provided by the Forest Service.

[Ref: gizmag]

Sensing Forest Fires With Ordinary Trees.
Originally Published at VirginTech

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Now the time has come for us to think for some other better energy alternatives that are far more better than our coventional sources of energy. These new energy alternatives belongs to renewable power sources which would provide much cleaner energy as compared to the energy delivered by their counterparts i.e conventional energy sources. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion is one of the method which can be considered for giving shape to our thoughts. Actually in Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, the temperature difference between surface and deep sea water is used to generate electricity.

Architect and engineer Dominic Michaelis, his son Alex along with Trevor Cooper Chadwick of Southampton University are developing the concept with plans of putting the theory to the test on an unprecedented scale by building a floating, hexagonal Energy Island that will harness energy from Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion i.e OTEC, as well as from winds, sea currents, waves, and the sun.

The Energy Island project is bidding for the US$25 million funding offered by Richard Branson’s Virgin Earth Prize, which is awarded for environmentally responsible research.

Floating Energy Source: The Energy Island
Originally Published at VirginTech

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