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The IntelliStar was the fifth-generation successor to the WeatherStar systems used by the United States cable and satellite television channel The Weather Channel (TWC), that is used to insert local forecasts and current weather information (such as the "Local on the 8s" segments within its program schedule) into TWC's programming. Like the WeatherStar, it is installed at the cable provider's headend. The IntelliStar has many enhanced features over its predecessor, the Weather Star XL. Like all other WeatherStar systems, the IntelliStar receives its data over a satellite connection and over the Internet. However, unlike the rest of the systems, it has the capability to receive more complex information in a more efficient manner. It also has a DualFeed feature, which allows a selection of two different video feeds. In the event of inclement weather, the DualFeed option would switch from the first (network) feed, to a second (localized) feed, providing weather information to a specific STAR or network of STARs. By doing this, the specified network of STARs could be addressed with weather updates, versus the entire national network of STARs (where such information would be irrelevant). It also has an improved graphics display and dynamic radar capabilities. HiRAD (High Resolution Aggregated Data) technology – which was added to the IntelliStar in 2006 – allows The Weather Channel to choose any city, town or landmark as an observation or forecast site and provide data. Occasionally, the HiRAD function will fail, in which case the National Weather Service sites are used (only the current conditions – and previously, the eight-city product and regional/metro products – are affected significantly). In May 2015, it was announced that all IntelliStar units would be replaced with either the IntelliStar 2 or the IntelliStar 2 Jr. by October 1, 2015. The IntelliStar was discontinued on November 16, 2015.

545
16 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Volumetric Video

Volumetric video is a technique that captures a three-dimensional space, such as a location or performance. This type of volumography acquires data that can be viewed on flat screens as well as using 3D displays and VR goggles. Consumer-facing formats are numerous and the required motion capture techniques lean on computer graphics, photogrammetry, and other computation-based methods. The viewer generally experiences the result in a real-time engine and has direct input in exploring the generated volume.

859
16 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Apollo Energy Systems

Apollo Energy Systems is a U.S. multinational alternative energy corporation headquartered in Pompano Beach, Florida, that develops, produces, and markets fuel cell power plants, electric propulsion systems, and alternative energy generation equipment. The company was founded by Robert R. Aronson in 1966 as the Electric Fuel Propulsion Corporation (EFP) in New Orleans, Louisiana. It later became known as the Electric Auto Corporation (EAC), and in 2001 changed to Apollo Energy Systems.

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16 Nov 2022

Topic Review

The Mercury space suit (or Navy Mark IV) was a full-body, high-altitude pressure suit originally developed by the B.F. Goodrich Company and the U.S. Navy for pilots of high-altitude fighter aircraft. It is best known for its role as the spacesuit worn for all manned Project Mercury spaceflights. The MK IV Full Pressure Suit ensemble was also used extensively by the US Navy from about 1959 through the early 1970s in aircraft such as the F-4 Phantom, A-3/A-5/RA-5C Vigilante, and F-8 Crusader.

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16 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Tryall was a British East India Company-owned East Indiaman launched in 1621. She was under the command of John Brooke when she was wrecked on the Tryal Rocks off the north-west coast of Western Australia in 1622. Her crew were the first Englishmen to sight or land on Australia . The wreck is Australia's oldest known shipwreck.

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16 Nov 2022

Topic Review

US Airways Livery

US Airways' aircraft livery has varied both under the US Airways and USAir name. In general the Express and Shuttle divisions have had liveries that closely parallel the company-wide livery at the time. The US Airways livery has been replaced with the new American Airlines livery, in accordance with their merger.

5.9K
16 Nov 2022

Topic Review

AI Mk. VIII Radar

Radar, Airborne Interception, Mark VIII, or AI Mk. VIII for short, was the first operational microwave-frequency air-to-air radar. It was used by Royal Air Force night fighters from late 1941 until the end of World War II. The basic concept, using a moving parabolic antenna to search for targets and track them accurately, remained in use by most airborne radars well into the 1980s. Low-level development began in 1939 but was greatly sped after the introduction of the cavity magnetron in early 1940. This operated at 9.1 cm wavelength (3 GHz), much shorter than the 1.5 m wavelength of the earlier AI Mk. IV. Shorter wavelengths allowed it to use smaller and much more directional antennas. Mk. IV was blinded by the reflections off the ground from its wide broadcast pattern, which made it impossible to see targets flying at low altitudes. Mk. VIII could avoid this by keeping the antenna pointed upward, allowing it to see any aircraft at or above the horizon. The design was just beginning to mature in late 1941 when the Luftwaffe began low-level attacks. A prototype version, the Mk. VII, entered service on the Bristol Beaufighter in November 1941. A small number of these were sent to units across the UK to provide coverage at low altitudes while Mk. IV equipped aircraft operated at higher altitudes. After a small run of the improved Mk. VIIIA, the definitive Mk. VIII arrived in early 1942, offering higher power as well as a host of electronic and packaging upgrades. It arrived just as production rates of the De Havilland Mosquito began to improve, quickly displacing the Beaufighter units in RAF squadrons. Mk. VIII equipped Mosquitoes would be the premier night fighter from 1943 through the rest of the war. The Mk. VIII spawned a number of variants, notably the AI Mk. IX which included a lock-on feature to ease interceptions. A series of events, including a deadly friendly fire incident, so greatly delayed the Mk. IX that it never entered service. During the late-war period, many UK aircraft adopted the US SCR-720 under the name AI Mk. X. This worked on the same general principles as the Mk. VIII, but used a different display system that offered several advantages. Development of the basic system continued, and the Mk. IX would eventually briefly re-appear in greatly advanced form as the AI.17 during the 1950s.

1.2K
16 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Very-High-Temperature Reactor

The very-high-temperature reactor (VHTR), or high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR), is a Generation IV reactor concept that uses a graphite-moderated nuclear reactor with a once-through uranium fuel cycle. The VHTR is a type of high-temperature reactor (HTR) that can conceptually have an outlet temperature of 1000 °C. The reactor core can be either a "prismatic block" (reminiscent of a conventional reactor core) or a "pebble-bed" core. The high temperatures enable applications such as process heat or hydrogen production via the thermochemical sulfur–iodine cycle.

901
16 Nov 2022

Topic Review

ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter

The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO or ExoMars Orbiter) is a collaborative project between the European Space Agency (ESA) and Roscosmos that sent an atmospheric research orbiter and the Schiaparelli demonstration lander to Mars in 2016 as part of the European-led ExoMars programme. The Trace Gas Orbiter delivered the Schiaparelli lander on 16 October 2016, which crashed on the surface. The orbiter began aerobraking in March 2017 to lower its initial orbit of 200 by 98,000 km (120 by 60,890 mi). Aerobraking concluded on 20 February 2018 when a final thruster firing resulted in an orbit of 200 by 1,050 km (120 by 650 mi). Additional thruster firings every few days raised the orbiter to a circular "science" orbit of 400 km (250 mi), which was achieved on 9 April 2018. A key goal is to gain a better understanding of methane (CH4) and other trace gases present in the Martian atmosphere that could be evidence for possible biological activity. The programme will follow with the Surface Science Platform and the ExoMars rover in 2020, which will search for biomolecules and biosignatures; the TGO will operate as the communication link for the 2020 ExoMars rover and the Surface Science Platform and provide communication for other Mars surface probes with Earth.

625
16 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Blancpain SA (French pronunciation: [blɑ̃pɛ̃]) is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer, headquartered in Paudex/Le Brassus, Switzerland . It designs, manufactures, distributes, and sells prestige and luxury mechanical watches. Founded by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain in Villeret, Switzerland in 1735, Blancpain is the oldest surviving watchmaking brand in the world. Blancpain has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Swatch Group since 1992, and is regarded as a top-tier Swatch brand. It is best known for its Fifty Fathoms diving watch introduced in 1953 and its 1735 Grande Complication wristwatch introduced in 1991.

1.7K
16 Nov 2022

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