A group of students created a car that runs on solar power. This car will participate in a long-distance race in the Australian outback, covering 3,000km (1,864 miles).
The team from Durham University will participate in a competition with a car that has three wheels. The car was designed by over 50 students who spent a total of 100,000 hours working on it at the engineering society of the university.
It can create enough power to make a vehicle go faster than 75 km/h (47mph).
Professor David Sims-Williams, the faculty advisor, said that the project was a fantastic chance to turn ideas into reality.
“He said that in order to succeed, we need to come up with creative and daring plans that not only look good on paper but also practical in reality. ”
The Bridgestone World Solar Challenge begins in Darwin on October 22nd and ends in Adelaide five days later. The cars are expected to complete the course in 50 hours.
Durham’s car will compete in the Challenger Class, where cars initially have 10% of their energy stored in batteries and the rest is generated from sunlight.
The solar panel is not very big and can only provide about half the power of a hairdryer. Because of this, people have had to create vehicles that use less energy.
The car, which is called DUSC23, is crafted with light and strong materials called carbon fiber and Kevlar. It weighs about 170kg (374 lb).
The university said that an in-wheel motor doesn’t require a gearbox or other mechanical parts, and this makes it more efficient.
Mitch Flegg, who is in charge of sponsors for Serica Energy, said that the company was really impressed with the great teamwork and clever ideas from the engineers and scientists at Durham.
He said they had overcome big challenges to design and build this special vehicle from the beginning, following very precise specifications.
Bridgestone North said it wanted to help with new ideas and making transportation more eco-friendly.
Tag: Durham
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Durham University’s solar vehicle competes in outback race in Australia
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Driver slapped with a £100 fine for delaying in a car park
After an unplanned lunch in Durham, a father of two and a driver was issued a £100 parking ticket.
Earlier this year, Dean Huddleston, his wife Sonia, and their two teenage children went to a shopping centre in Belmont.
The family decided to have something to eat after purchasing the finishing touches for their new kitchen.
But they were unaware that their automobile was remaining too long in the adjoining parking lot as they ate lunch.
It wasn’t until a letter appeared through the family’s front door weeks later that they realised what had happened.
Dean, of High Handenhold in Durham, said: ‘We had been in the car park for three hours and 46 minutes, 16 minutes more than the allowed time. I wrote to Ocean Parking protesting this but all I got back was a letter to say that there is signage.
‘They were not interested in the fact we had spent the whole time shopping and eating in the businesses which the car park services.’
He added: ‘We are not regular users of the retail park and I had no idea there was a limit on how long you could stay there.
‘I suppose I just assumed that as I was spending money in the shops on the site, I would not have to pay for the privilege of doing so.’
Numberplate recognition had noted the family vehicle’s registration and logged it in the Ocean Parking system.
However the company, which managed the site at the time the ticket was issued, said they could not be held responsible.
Ocean Parking pointed out there signs stating that there was a 3½ hour maximum stay at the retail park.
A spokesperson said: ‘Ocean Parking cannot be held responsible for this, nor is this due to the signage not being visible or clear.
‘There were 41 contractual warning signs in place at Durham City Retail Park which stated 3 ½ Hour Maximum Stay, therefore if Mr Huddleston has “assumed” being a customer at this location would exempt him from the parking restrictions in place, Ocean Parking cannot be held responsible for this, nor is this due to the signage not being visible or clear.’
‘Durham City Retail Park is private land, and therefore if the landowner wishes to enforce a time restriction on their land, it is their choice to do so. If Mr Huddleston did not agree with the terms and conditions at this location, he did not have to park there and could have left the site.’
Dean paid the fine but still wants to warn others of what he has deemed a ‘trap’.
He added: ‘I’ve had to pay but feel this is very unfair, it feels like a scam to me. I would never think about checking, I assume the notice is about parking and not using facilities or parking overnight.’
Elsewhere in Durham, another angry driver has vowed to avoid a car park completely after receiving a £100 fine.
Andrew Bradley and wife Amey were shopping at Home Bargains in Stanley as they stocked up on Christmas presents on December 21.
But the pair were caught short by parking wardens after spending around two hours shopping, and were given a £100 fine for out-staying the car park’s 90 minute maximum time limit.
Andrew said: ‘We must have spent about 20 minutes in the queue for the tills.
‘I’m sure we won’t be the only ones this has happened too. It’d be quite easy to go over the hour and a half.
‘I will never go back to Home Bargains after this.’
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County Championship: Nottinghamshire win Division Two title after thumping Durham
Nottinghamshire needed just over two hours to take the seven Durham wickets they needed to be confirmed as Division Two champions on the final day of the County Championship season at Trent Bridge.
England’s Stuart Broad, in his first appearance for his county since May, finished with 3-36, left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White took 3-41 and South African seamer Dane Paterson 2-27.
Durham, for whom David Bedingham was unable to bat because of a dislocated shoulder, were dismissed for 114 to lose by 462 runs.
Nottinghamshire had already won promotion after taking seven bonus points but they had wanted to end on a winning note – and gave spectators free admission to witness their triumph.
Resuming on 14-2 after Nottinghamshire had declared their second innings on 121-2, Durham suffered their first loss in the fourth over of the day when Broad angled one in to have Scott Borthwick leg before.
Skipper Steven Mullaney, one of four first-innings centurions, sprang a surprise when he did not enforce the follow-on after Durham were dismissed 455 behind on first innings, yet his decision seemed to be justified as a rested attack made life difficult for their opponents in conditions freshened up by overnight rain.
Patterson-White claimed the second scalp of the morning in his first over when Liam Trevaskis’s top-edged sweep looped gently to slip.
On-loan Warwickshire wicketkeeper Chris Benjamin took a positive approach, hitting five boundaries in his 33, but came a cropper when Broad returned for his second spell, edging to second slip.
Patterson-White bowled Ben Raine, Paterson had Matty Potts edging to second slip, where Matt Montgomery took his second catch of the innings before Patterson-White enjoyed the decisive moment as Jonathan Bushnell, sweeping off balance, was leg before.
How did Notts do it?
Notts began the season as title favourites not on the basis of their form the last time the Championship was played in two divisions, pre-Covid, in 2019, when they were relegated without a win, but on their performance in 2021, when they were in contention for the title right up to the last round.
They felt slightly miffed that this year’s divisions were configured on the basis of what happened three years ago, but the ECB quite reasonably felt they had to maintain the integrity of their competition.
In any event, they have clearly justified their short odds, winning more matches and more bonus points than any of their rivals.
The only defeats suffered were against Glamorgan in their first home match in April, and at Worcester last week, a shock that left them with something to do in this fixture.
Stand-out performer with the bat has been Haseeb Hameed, who has bounced back from the low point of a chastening Ashes winter to enjoy his most productive season, amassing 1,235 runs at 58.80, including four hundreds and seven other fifties.
Ben Duckett also topped 1,000 runs in the Championship, while skipper Mullaney missed that mark by seven runs, but had his best campaign with the bat since 2016.
Among the bowlers, Luke Fletcher was unable to scale the heights of 2021, when he chalked up 67 first-class wickets, but Paterson improved in his debut-season haul of 51 wickets by adding a further 56. Patterson-White, the 23-year-old who has been tipped for a big future in the game, confirmed the promise of his first two seasons by finishing on 41 wickets as the most successful spinner in the division.
Nottinghamshire skipper Steven Mullaney:
“I’m relieved, emotional and very proud. After the adversity we went through in not winning a red ball game for almost three years and then the disappointment of starting this year in Division Two after finishing third in last year’s format, it feels all worthwhile.
“The way we’ve gone about it this year, we’ve had probably only four or five bad sessions, which cost us two games against Glamorgan, and again at Worcester last week. But, apart from that, we’ve been there or thereabouts. That’s not saying that we’ll win every game.
“It’s just the intensity that we bring and the right attitude. Even when we’ve not won, if you ask any fan or member who comes to watch, they’d be proud of the Nottinghamshire team again.
“It epitomises the club that, when Stuart Broad has got some time off, and had booked some time away with his fiancee, who is heavily pregnant, he wanted to play in this game. It wasn’t a question of asking him – he texted me and said he wanted to play. Obviously we are very thankful to him for that.”
Durham interim head coach Neil Killeen:
“Congratulations to Nottinghamshire on winning the Second Division title. They are certainly the best team we’ve come across this year. They’ve handsomely beaten us twice and deserve to be in Division One.
“We came here in a good vein of form and a good mindset. In the last four weeks we played well against Derby and had two good wins against Sussex and Leicestershire, but we’re very disappointed with our performance.
“It has been a disappointing season. There is a lot of work to be done in the off season, and people need to have a look at what is going to improve them.
“We’ve had a lot of players absent, with injuries and international call-ups. That hits you hard, but we have to be strong enough to accommodate that.”
Source: BBC