Page 129 - How It Works - Book Of Amazing Answers To Curious Questions, Volume 05-15

Transport

What are

unmanned ships?

The world’s first full-sized autonomous ship will

only have drones for company
amed after the famous ship that once The ship will gather meteorological,
took pilgrims from England to America, oceanographic and climate data using a team
Nthe Mayflower Autonomous Research of onboard drones, and is due to set sail from

Ship (MARS) will have a much lonelier journey. Plymouth, UK in 2020, the 400th anniversary
Powered by renewable wind, ocean current of its namesake’s voyage. It will take seven to
and solar energy, it will replicate this historic ten days to cross the Atlantic.
journey with no crew, using only GPS and
onboard collision avoidance systems in
order to navigate.
Two sails will enable it to move at 37
kilometres (23 miles) per hour, but on
calmer days these will be stowed
away so that more light can reach the
solar panels. These will then power
an electric motor with a top speed
of 23 kilometres (14 miles) per hour.

Plymouth University,
Shuttleworth Design and © Science Photo Library
MSubs have developed
the vessel

What are sound symposers?

These simple devices
make sports cars sound
even better

s sports car engines have become
cleaner, they have also become
Aquieter, particularly as vehicles
switch to turbocharged engines in order to
keep emissions down. However, some
owners still want to hear the roar of that
hard-working engine during performance
driving, and it’s here where the introduction
of a sound symposer saves the day.
In essence, a sound symposer projects
noise – but not fumes – from the exhaust
straight into the cabin of a car. Inside the
Porsche 911, an acoustic channel picks up
vibrations from the engine, which are
reinforced by a membrane and transmitted
as sound into the cabin. To deactivate this,
drivers can depress the Sport button, which
closes a valve in the channel and reduces the © Xinhua/Rex
roar of the engine.

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