Model Airplanes

Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have successfully flown an airplane with no moving parts and no motor.

In an article in the journal Nature published on Nov. 21, the team described a plane powered by “ionic wind,” which produces no pollution.

“This is the first-ever sustained flight of a plane with no moving parts in the propulsion system,” said Steven Barrett, associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT, on MIT’s website.

“This has potentially opened new and unexplored possibilities for aircraft which are quieter, mechanically simpler, and do not emit combustion emissions,” Barrett continues.

The new plane, unlike every plane mass-produced since the Wright brothers’ first successful flight in 1903, does not use any sort of a fossil-fuel power—no piston engine, no jet engine.

Instead of a motor, the experimental plane generates ionic wind—a powerful flow of ions that propel the plane fast enough to take flight.

The concept is flightworthy on a small scale, but is a long way from replacing jet engines in commercial airliners. For now, MIT engineers are looking to build silent, ecologically friendly drones.

The next step, according to Barrett, might be hybrid systems, where ion-wind generators are paired with conventional motors to increase efficiency and limit pollution.   

Inspired by ‘Star Trek’

Barrett said he would watch the science-fiction television series ‘Star Trek” as a child, where craft flew through the sky without moving parts and without exhaust trails.

“This made me think, in the long-term future, planes shouldn’t have propellers and turbines,” Barrett said. “They should be more

Article source: https://www.ntd.com/mit-team-flies-plane-with-no-moving-parts_260773.html

I recently returned from an educational trip to Cuba with Pastors for Peace, an organization leading visits to Cuba for 29 years. While Cuba is going through historic political and economic transitions, the U.S. continues to impose a devastating trade and travel blockade as it has for nearly 60 years since the Cuban revolution.

The consequences of the failed embargo and blockade policy and congressional acts are seriously detrimental to both countries. The reversal of President Barack Obama’s softening of relations by President Donald Trump will only lead Cuba toward other partnerships with Europe, Russia and China.

We should not let past historical differences guide our future actions. We are not pursuing regime change in North Korea — why do we continue it toward Cuba? Where is the threat?

Article source: https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/the-u-s-and-cuba-have-so-much-to-gain-from-mutual-engagement/

AT THE MASSACHUSETTS State House, I stepped outside of a packed hearing on updating the state’s bottle bill to speak with a young reporter for a western Massachusetts weekly. I had been “holding court” with the press all morning – giving them the Sierra Club’s point of view on the proposed legislation. I enjoyed this type of work immensely, as reporters were generally sympathetic to environmental bills and asked interesting questions.

But on this day, I was tired, frustrated, and not in a very good mood.

“How will the vote go?” a young reporter asked me.

“What vote? They’re not voting today,” I replied.

“When will the vote be? Next week?” he asked.

“Probably never,” I shot back.

“But isn’t the majority of the committee in favor of it? Won’t they call for a vote?” he queried

That moment, I broke an unspoken but absolutely firm rule among lobbyists: never criticize the State House political system.  “Let me be clear,” I asserted. “Don’t confuse what goes on in this building with democracy.”

And that’s exactly what he printed.

Massachusetts is often seen as the home of American democracy. It was home to John Adams, who was not only the state constitution’s primary author, he was also one of the authors of the United States Constitution. In fact, the Massachusetts constitution served as a model for the US Constitution. But, over the years, weaknesses in our state constitution became more evident. The most glaring problem was that the House speaker, whose position was originally created to keep

Article source: https://commonwealthmagazine.org/opinion/ex-lobbyist-reveals-how-the-house-really-works/