Tonga volcano blasted its islands away

The world’s first autonomous ship has finished its first run in Japan, The world's largest EV battery firm just launched battery swap stations Jan 20, 2022 [View in browser]( Good morning! We need to talk about the colossal volcano in Tonga, which destroyed most of the nearby land formations it created only seven years ago, when it last exploded in a massive blast in 2015. It creates, it destroys. Speaking of massive blasts, the world’s first fully autonomous ship navigation system successfully completed a test run in Japan, and a Chinese battery maker for electric vehicles, Contemporary Amperex Technology, launched a battery swap station for electric vehicles. Now those will be handy! This is The Blueprint. Enjoy it. SCIENCE [Tonga Volcano Eruption Was 500 Times More Powerful Than Hiroshima]( [The eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai.]( Last weekend the [Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano]( located more than 18 miles off of the coast of Tonga's Fonuafo'ou Island, erupted. In case you missed it, this is the same volcano that created new land formations when it released its last colossal blast, back in 2015. However, the recent explosion was so unconscionably deafening that it destroyed most of the land formations nearby. - An enormous blast. Regarding the eruption's power estimate, Garvin said that they came up with a number that's equivalent to roughly 10 megatons of TNT. That might not sound big, but 10 megatons of TNT is 500 times more powerful than the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, at the end of World War II. Yikes! The resulting blast was so big that many nations across the world were sent scrambling to respond to imminent tsunami warnings. A NASA team had studied the volcano for years before the recent explosion. In [an interview with NPR]( James Garvin, the chief scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said that the islands that formed Tonga lie along a subduction zone where one part of the Earth's crust dips under another. Four days without contact. Four entire days have passed since the eruption, but the island nation of Tonga still remains cut off from the rest of the world, with undersea communication cables cut and its airport covered in ash. [Read More]( TRANSPORTATION [The World’s First Autonomous Ship Has Finished Its First Run in Japan]( [The ferry Soleil.]( The world’s first [fully autonomous ship navigation system]( successfully completed its first demonstration in Japan on January 17. - 22 weeks of data. A human crew piloted the Soleil and made the seven-hour trip as its Super Bridge-X autonomous navigation system compiled data en route. And this had been going on since it entered service on July 1, 2021. Incredible. The demonstration was part of the Nippon Foundation’s MEGURI 2040 fully autonomous vessel navigation system project. The Nippon Foundation launched the MEGURI 2040 project in February 2020. So there’s a bigger move into autonomous navigation on the seas going forward. Shipping without humans. And the reason for this is straightforward: autonomous ships will ease naval transports. But, surprisingly, the race to make ships more self-sufficient without the need for human intervention is not as fierce as the one happening with autonomous cars. However, the luxury carmaker [Rolls-Royce has joined with Intel]( to develop a full fleet of autonomous cargo vessels that require no humans on board by 2025. Far out. [Read More]( INNOVATION [The World's Largest EV Battery Firm Just Launched Battery Swap Stations]( [The EVOGO swap station.]( China's [Contemporary Amperex Technology]( (CATL), the world's largest electric vehicle (EV) battery maker, launched a battery swap service, called EVOGO, on January 18. - Reducing range anxiety. EVOGO and other similar services will allow EV drivers to swap depleted batteries with a fully charged one in just one minute. One minute! And it could reduce the so-called "range anxiety," which is one of the main factors keeping internal combustion vehicle owners from making the critical switch to electric. CATL general manager Chen Weifeng announced during a live-streamed event that the firm will set up swap stations in ten cities in China and that users will be able to use the service via an app. "We consider the battery as a shared product, instead of a consumer product for personal use," said Weifeng, [in a Reuters report](. Cutting costs. Aside from range anxiety, the new service would also help to drive down the costs of purchasing and operating an electric vehicle, according to Weifeng. When it goes live, the service will be compatible with Chinese automaker FAW Group's Bestune NAT EV. And, incredibly, the company will soon add integration for other vehicles. [Read More]( MAIL & MUSINGS Would you swap the battery of your electric vehicle from a swap station? Be sure you check back tomorrow for the results! [Yes! Yes!]( [Depends. Will they be half-charged?]( [No way! How do I know it’s not defective?]( [Battery woes are for losers! Petroleum FTW!]( Yesterday’s Results Yesterday we asked what you think about the advertisements of the safety features of Tesla’s Full Self Driving Beta, and nearly half of the answers think the advertisements exaggerate their claims. Understandable, since this is for some the definition of an entrepreneurial attitude. But one-third of you have high hopes for the future, despite your healthy skepticism of the moment we’re living in. Meanwhile, one-tenth of you might leap off a cliff if the right man said you could fly, and a roughly equal number of you think there is no cliff. Honestly, bold. Eh, he might be stretching the truth a bit there. 47% It might be possible in the future, but not currently. 32% Absolutely! 11% Autonomous driving will never get there. 9% QUOTE OF THE DAY “ O Space and Time and stars at strife,How dreadful your infinity! ” George Sterling - The Testimony of the Suns and Other Poems [Video]VIDEO OF THE DAY [Rockets Can Burn at Extremely Hot Temperatures. So Why Don’t They Melt?]( The combustion chamber of rocket engines can go as hot as 3500K (3226.85°C), and that is enough to melt any material on Earth. So how do they withstand the heat? [Rockets Can Burn at Extremely Hot Temperatures. So Why Don’t They Melt?]( AND ANOTHER THING... - A new study has shown that the sun and Earth sit at the center of an enormous [1,000-light-year-wide bubble]( This is why few other stars exist within 500 light-years, in all directions. - To reduce dependency on hard-to-source cobalt and China-based manufacturing, U.S. makers are finally getting into the cathode business, and [will build batteries at home](. (Wired) - The company Electric Defender combined the right-angles of a Land Rover with the battery and electric motor of a Tesla vehicle of 2020 in a vehicle that can [thrive in extremely cold temperatures](. - A new style of extremely robust arch bridges that are [inspired by nature]( was created by a researcher from the University of Warwick. (TechXplore) - NASA's former chief scientist for the agency's human research program, which helped enhance astronauts’ health, [has lost his life]( at the tender age of 66. - The owner of a GMC Sierra, Al Arcidiacono, noticed a [plant growing in a rusted part of his car](. (The Drive) - A team from the Initiative for Interstellar Studies (I4IS) plans to send a solar sail probe to [catch up with and analyze 'Oumuamua]( before it's lost to us forever. [Share to Win]SHARE TO WIN [All products]( Share The Blueprint! Give your friends deeper insights into engineering and tech, and win exclusive IE swag for free. [Read Details]( Share your link Copy & share your referral link with others. [ [Referral Program Terms and Conditions]( Prepared by Brad Bergan and Can Emir Enjoy reading? Don't forget to forward to a friend! Was this email forwarded to you? 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