At last, the 48 show
Upping the volts will make hybrid cars much cheaper
VOLTAGE is to electricity what pressure is to water: the more you have of it the more oomph you get. That is why electrical power lines work at high voltage. In the 1950s carmakers needed extra oomph of this sort to start the powerful high-compression engines then being introduced, so they increased the voltage of their vehicles’ electrical systems from six to 12. Now voltages are going up again—to 48.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “At last, the 48 show”
From the August 13th 2016 edition
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Deforestation is costing Brazilian farmers millions
Without trees to circulate moisture, the land is getting hotter and drier
Robots can learn new actions faster thanks to AI techniques
They could soon show their moves in settings from car factories to care homes
Scientists are learning why ultra-processed foods are bad for you
A mystery is finally being solved
Scientific publishers are producing more papers than ever
Concerns about some of their business models are building
The two types of human laugh
One is caused by tickling; the other by everything else
Scientists are building a catalogue of every type of cell in our bodies
It has thus far shed light on everything from organ formation to the causes of inflammation