Research Cell

List of PZEV Cars

genius — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:01:22 +0000

First of all, let me explain what PZEV cars mean. PZEV is a technical term which is abbreviation of Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle. Any car which has 15 years of life warranty with 10,000 Kilometers drive each year, or in other words 150,000 miles warranty and zero evaporative emissions from its fuel handling system can be called a PZEV provided that it meets SULEV tailpipe emission fixed standards.

Furthermore some cars also have a status of AT-PZEV which means Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle. AT-PZEV cars are much more fuel efficient than PZEV cars due to their hybrid technology. Although these cars are expensive but are fuel economical and environment friendly so in the end, we are in profit. PZEV and AT-PZEV cars are also known as green vehicles. That is probably due to the green house friendliness of these cars.

Here is the list of some famous PZEV/Green Cars/Vehicles:

Honda Civic GX – Car has Automatic Transmission and 1.8L engine. The car has CNG tank so it can be driven both on natural ga and Petrol. Honda Civic GX has 24 Miles per gallon fuel average in city areas and 36 miles per gallon fuel average on highways. Honda Civic GX green score is 57. It is categorized as a PZEV car.
Toyota Prius has Automatic transmission with 1.5L engine. Toyota Prius has a fuel average of 48 miles per gallon in city areas and 45 miles per gallon fuel average on highways. Surprisingly the vehicle averages more in city areas than the highways. Toyota Prius is PZEV with a green score of 53.
Honda Civic Hybrid is my favorite car. It has a 1.3L engine and enjoys automatic transmission. Car averages 40 miles per gallon in city areas and 45 miles per gallon on highways. Honda civic hybrid is PZEV with a 51 green score. I wonder why it is not declared as AT-PZEV since it has hybrid mentioned with its name.
Smart Fortwo Convertible is a manual transmission vehicle with a 1.0L engine. Fuel average is 33 miles per gallon in city areas and 41 miles per gallon on highways. Smart Fortwo Green rating is 49 and it is rated as ULEV II.
Toyota Yaris has a manual transmission system with a 1.5L engine. Toyota Yaris has 29 miles per gallon fuel average in city areas and 36 miles per gallon fuel average on high ways. Toyota Yaris has a green rating of 46 and is classified as ULEV II.
Nissan Altima Hybrid is a powerful car with a 2.5L engine. I really like this car due to the engine power. Car is fully automatic and rated as PZEV with a green rating of 46. Car has a fuel average of 35 miles per gallon in city areas and 33 miles per gallon on highways.
Mini Cooper/Clubman is a manual transmission vehicle with a 1.6L engine. Mino Cooper is ULEV II with a green rating of 45. It averages 28 miles per gallon in city areas and 37 miles per gallon on highways.
Chevrolet Cobalt XFE/Pontiac G5 XFE is 2.2L with manual transmission. Fuel average is 25 miles per gallon in city areas and 37 miles per gallon on highways. It is a PZEV vehicle with 45 green rating.
Honda FIT has a 1.5L engine with automatic transmission. Car has a fuel average of 28 miles per gallon in city areas and 35 miles per gallon on highways with a green rating of 45. Car is rated as ULEV II.
Chevrolet AVEO/AVEO5 is 1.6L with manual transmission. Fuel average is 27 miles per gallon in city areas and 34 miles per gallon on highways. Green rating is 44.
Toyota Camry Hybrid is one of my favorite cars. It is a complexion of power and beauty. Toyota Camry Hybrid is fully automatic transmission with a powerful 2.4L engine. With so much power, it can average 33 miles per gallon in city areas and 34 miles per gallon on highways. The car has a green rating of 44 and is rated as PZEV.
Kia Rio is a 1.6L manual transmission car rated as ULEV II. Kia Rio has a fuel average of 27 miles per gallon in city areas and 33 miles per gallon on highways. The car has a green rating of 44.

Voltage Regulator Circuit

genius — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:15:26 +0000

Voltage regulation means to prevent the voltage from dropping down or rising above a specific value. A 12 volt regulator circuit will provide exactly 12V under load as well as without load. On the other hand, an un-regulated 12V power supply output voltage with drop under while the load will increase and will rise when not under load. For example, an un-regulated 12V power supply can output 14V when not under load and can drop the voltage to 11V when under 1A load and 10V when under 2A load. This rise and drop of voltage in un-regulated power supplies can sometimes burn sensitive electronics equipments.
I, once, went to market to buy a voltage regulated supply but was amazed to see the cost. I decided to build my own power supply and researched a bit on the internet. My required load was 12V and 1A so I ended up designing the following voltage regulator circuit which is very low cost but at the same time it is efficient.

Voltage Regulator Circuit Diagram

Here goes the parts list.
1. 240V to 15V 1.2A Transformer
2. 4 pieces of IN4001 (You can use a bridge rectifier as well)
3. 220uF 25V Capacitor
4. .1uF 25V Capacitor
5. 7812 IC (Integrated Circuit)
6. A heat sink plate for 7812 IC
7812 is a very good voltage regulator integrated circuit (IC). It is cheap but efficient, that is why I selected it for this regulator circuit. 7812 Pin2 connections are also explained in my regulator circuit diagram. You can see that Pin 1 is input, Pin 2 is Ground (which is often –V) and Pin 3 is output. It is very simple to understand 7812. The 220uF 25V capacitor is used as a buffer to cover frequency gap. The second capacitor is used as an extra filter. IN4001 rectifiers are used to convert AC current into DC current. Transformer is used to convert 240V AC into 15V AC. If you have 110V mains then you can use a 110V AC to 15 AC transformer.
I have successfully used this voltage regulator circuit to power up my ADSL modem. In fact, the ADSL modem was restarted every one hour or so with its original power supply but after I replaced it with this voltage regulator circuit, the modem is never restarted by itself. Any electronic device which requires 12V 1A power can be powered by this circuit so feel free to use it. You can post your questions and comments in the comments section bellow.

7809 Pin and Circuit Diagram

genius — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:27:43 +0000

7809 is a voltage regulator integrated circuit(IC) which is widely used in electronic circuits. Voltage regulator circuit can be manually built using parts available in the market but it will take a lot of time to assemble those parts on a PCB. Secondly, the cost of those parts is almost equal to the price of 7809 itself so professionals usually prefer to use 7809 IC instead of making a voltage regulator circuit from scratch. Before you start using 7809, you will need to know about the pin structure of IC 7809. Apparently, it looks like a transistor. It has three pins. For a better understanding, I have given an image of 7809 bellow. Please take a look.

You can easily see the V in and V out pins as well as the ground pin. It is really easy to use 7809 for voltage regulation purposes. I have also included a circuit diagram of 7809 so that you may learn how to use it in a circuit diagram.

7809 Pins

It is wise to use two .1uF capacitors on both input and output sides to filter any ripple or distortion in voltage but it is not necessary. In the image, you can see that 12V are being supplied on the input side of 7809 but the out put side of 7809 is outputting Regulated 9V. As long as the input voltage remains above 9V, output voltage of 7809 will remain smooth and regulated.
Please note that input voltage of 7809 can be up to 23V but under my experience, it is wise to avoid input over 15V. 7809 is claimed to output 9V and almost 1.5A Current but again, I have experienced that we should not put a load over 9V and 1A on it. Since we are using it in power supply, the transfer of power will result in heat output. We will need to use a heat sink with 7809 otherwise this heat can damage it. It is advised to use a 1A fuse on the output side of 7809 and a 1.5A fuse on the input side of 7809 to avoid damage in case of short circuit.

7809 Circuit Diagram

How to Quit Biting Nails

genius — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:18:41 +0000

There are a lot of people who are addicted to nail biting. Research indicates that mind stress, depression, muscular stress, lack of confidence and need of rest are some of the possible reasons behind nail biting habit. There are many people who bit their nails because they have become long and they don’t have time to grab nail cutter. If you are addicted to nail biting habit then be aware that this can cause your nail to become ugly looking. You can also trigger dangerous infections caused by your nail biting habit. These infections may include growth of fungus or bacteria under your nails. Nail biting can also cause serious stomach infections. In addition to that, it affects your personality among your axis of friends. A nail biting person is usually considered to be suffering from a lack of self confidence. If you want to quit nail biting addiction then please read the following steps.
1. First of all, you have to admit that you are addicted to nail biting. Once you realized your addiction, promise yourself that you will try to resist your nail biting habit in future.
2. Take some pictures of yourself while you are biting the nails; place these pictures in an album and take a look at them on daily basis. This will make you realize how bad you look while biting on your nails. This will strengthen your decision to quit nail biting.
3. Analyze your eating habits. A lack of Calcium or Magnesium can also result in nail biting habit.
4. Try to replace your nail biting habit with some other good habit.
5. Keep a nail cutter nearby and cut your nails regularly. Don’t let them grow enough to be bitten.
6. Start wearing gloves until you get rid of this habit.
You have to understand that the nail biting habit won’t go away so quickly. You might need to stay calm and wait for a few months before you successfully quit the nail biting habit.

Breaking Addiction Cycle

genius — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:06:40 +0000

Addiction is a mental condition of a living being in which the body of that living being craves to do some act or to have some thing. When you cannot stop yourself from doing any act in particular then it means you are addictive to that act. There are many kinds of addictions. Most common of them are drug addiction, smoking addiction and sexual addictions. Almost all kind of addictions have a cycle like scenario before you act them out.
First your start fantasizing about doing the act you are addictive to, then in second step, you become excited about it, in third step, you become some much excited that you ignore any thoughts being generated by your mind against that act and start to do that act, in the last step which is actually after doing that act, you become guilty on your act and promise yourself that you wont do it again. But once the cycle is started again, you are again pulled to the last step.
Here is the addiction cycle diagram which visually describes all the steps.

Addiction Cycle Diagram

Alright, now when you have seen the addiction cycle diagram and have realized what the problem indeed is, It is much easier to fight with your addiction. Find the weakest part of this addiction cycle and try to break this cycle at that point. Under my experience, the weakest part of addiction cycle is the one between fantasizing and excitement. You might argue that the weakest part is between guilty and fantasizing but the answer is, you cannot stop the first thought but you can control the further thoughts. For example, if you are smoking addictive, whenever you will see some one smocking a picture of smoking will be drawn by your mind, you cannot stop it. However, you can try to stop further thinking about smoking and thus can stop the excitement building process. This can be achieved by engaging yourself in some other activity, like going out for a ride in an area where no cigarette shop is nearby. You can visit those friends who don’t smoke and can spend some time with them.
Similarly, if you are addictive to alcohol, try to read medical facts about alcohol. You will find out that alcohol is very dangerous for your liver and can cause an early death. Alcohol can harm you medically as well as socially. When you will read about the side effects of alcohol, your mind will slowly develop a barrier against the excitement for alcohol consumption. Remember, what you see is what you believe. Whatever you read or see is seamlessly stored in your mind and affects your daily life. Try to gather negative facts about your addiction and read them on daily basis. This will help you in breaking your addiction cycle.

Inverter Circuit Diagram

genius — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:14:57 +0000

Power inverter is a very useful device which can convert Low voltage from a DC source to high voltage AC. The most common power inverter is 12V to 240V inverter. Perhaps that is because 12V batteries are common. This type of power inverter usually draws current from a DC battery. This battery should be able to provide a high flow of electric current. Normally lead acid batteries can server this purpose well. This current is then converted to 240V square wave alternative current so that we may empower those electric appliances which work on 240V instead of 12V. Inverter falls in the category of expensive devices so many people don’t buy them even they need them. What if I tell you how to build an inverter yourself?

I remember when I build my first inverter, I was very happy and I invited a lot of friends to see my homemade inverter. I am sure you will feel the same. Before you start building this inverter circuit diagram, I want to mention that this circuit involves 240V and 500W which can be fatal. You should take all security precautions before building this circuit. Preferably use electricity protective gloves and try not to play with the inverter circuit when it is operational. You will need little to medium knowledge of electronics in order to build this circuit. Alright, let us get to work. There are a lot of inverter circuit diagrams available online; some of them are complex and others are low performance. I have researched on a lot of them but in the end, I designed my own inverter circuit which is comparable to any professionally made inverter but still is simple enough for you to try. Here is the inverter circuit diagram:

Inverter Circuit Diagram

It took me less than $100 to complete this circuit.

You will need the following parts.

2 Resisters 470 Ohm ¼ Watt
3 Resisters 22 Ohm 1 Watt
1 Variable resister 10K
1 Capacitor1uf
1 Capacitor 220uf
1 Zener diode 8.2V
1 IC CD4047
1 IC 7809
1 Transformer 12+12/240 (500W)
2 Transistors D313
12 Power Transistors TIP35C (make two pairs of 6 transistors each connected in parallel)
2 Heat sinks to fit power transistors
Some wiring wire (for connections)
A wiro-board (To build circuit on)
A 12V battery of 12V power supply for testing purposes

There is only one variable resistance in this circuit diagram which is used to adjust frequency of 240V AC output current. You should have a frequency meter to adjust this frequency of 50HZ to 60HZ as per your requirement. Please do not power up any device with your inverter before frequency adjustment because a wrong AC frequency can burn your equipment as well as your inverter.

I have used a two stage regulated power supply to avoid frequency changes with the drop of battery voltage. First stage is 7809 which is a standalone voltage regulator. It converts 12V DC to 9V DC. Then we have used a 22 Ohm resistor and then a zener diode of 8.2V which forces current to stay at 8.2V. The 22 Ohm resistor is there just to aid zener diode. The output frequency of this inverter circuit is square wave so it is not best to power up inductive loads so use it at your own risk. However I do power up fans at home using this inverter and I never had any problems other than a little decrease in fan speed and addition of a little noise. If you have any questions, please use the comment box bellow.

Toyota Hiace Commuter Bus

genius — Thu, 21 May 2009 12:15:55 +0000

Toyota always builds great vehicles.Toyota Hiace Commuter Bus is another great passenger bus developed by Toyota. It is very comfortable and provides a pleasant travel experience. Toyota Hiace Commuter bus can accommodate 15 passengers (It is because of Japanese law) but you can add some more comfortably if allowed by the law in your country. Till now, the hiace commuter bus models I have seen were right hand drive only. This Toyota bus is available in both Diesel as well as Petrol versions. The diesel engine bus is 3000cc and the engine type is 1KD-FTV. The Petrol (Gasoline) engine bus is 2700 cc and the engine type is 2TR-FE. The diesel version is available as 2WD only however the Petrol version is available in both 2WD and 4WD. Toyota hiace commuter bus enjoys a fully automatic transmission (Gear). The vehicle has 4 doors. The price of all three versions of Toyota Hiace Commuter Bus is as under.
2WD Petrol Engine = USD 40,200
HWD Petrol Engine = USD 43,200
Diesel Engine 2WD = USD 45,200
This Toyota bus has a fully functional advanced air conditioning system. Air conditioner contains pollen filter which is essential for those who are allergic to pollen. Toyota bus has airbag safety for driver as well as passenger. It also contains a 4 speaker stereo music system and CD player. Central locking system is available with remote. Sliding doors are available on both sides which make it easy for passengers to enter or leave. Bus has power steering, power mirrors and power windows (Front only). A fire extinguisher is also available for safety reasons. Key ignition barrel is illuminated. Toyota Hiace Commuter Bus has intermittent wipers and front/rear mudflaps. Sunvisors are available just like standard vehicles. Please note that the above features may vary upon time to time.
This Hiace Commuter Bus is 5.380 meter in length, 1.880 meter wide and 2.285 meter high. Gross bus Mass is 3150kg. It is a rare wheel drive and has 5 gears. Commuter bus rims are made of steel. Both front and rear rim sizes are 15×6 and tire sizes are 195 R15 C 8PR. Toyota Hiace Commuter Bus has a ANCAP safety rating of 3 and greenhouse rating of 4.0. Petrol engine consumption is 12.4 (l/100km). Engine is 4 cylinder 4 valves. Maximum torque is achieved at 3800 RPM. Power RPM end is 4800. Engine is in-line four stroke Multipoint injection; rated at 111 KW. This powerful engine makes driving a pleasure. Toyota Hiace Commuter Bus has a 3 years warranty with 100,000km limit. Please note that the above mentioned feature may or may not be present in the vehicle available for your area. Some of the above functions require extra price which can be selected upon the ordering location.

Chocolate Research and High Blood Pressure

genius — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:38:00 +0000

Recently, a research has been conducted on the effects of chocolate on adults. This research was conducted in Holland. According to this research, those people who took one third of a chocolate bar per day had faced less high blood pressure problems and the chances of sudden death were significantly decreased in them. There were about 475 healthy males who participated in this chocolate research. No one of them took medicines to control their blood pressure. Those of them who eaten more chocolate faced less high blood pressure problems and the ratio of their sudden death remained much lower. This probably indicates the good effects of chocolate on human blood pressure. However the researchers think that more researches are needed to conduct on significance of chocolate’s use against high blood pressure to confirm the previous results. On the other hand, some researchers say that consumption of more chocolate can cause high blood pressure, heart problems and fat concentration in body. So the conclusion is it is yet to confirm that chocolate is good for high blood pressure or not. The main ingredient of chocolate is Cocoa. Cocoabeans contains flavonoids which increases production of nitric oxide in the blood and thus increases efficiency of blood vessels. Although the chocolate research conducted in Holland included only adults but chocolate is also beneficial for women, young children and aged people. Some American and German researchers found a compound in some types of chocolate which makes our heart strong. This medical research on chocolate might open news doors for the treatment of heart diseases. Dark chocolate is especially useful for high blood pressure and absorption of glucose by our body. However, not to mention, the chocolates available in market not only contain cocoa but they also contain many other ingredients like sugar, glucose, fats etc. It is good to read ingredients of the chocolate you are going to eat. White chocolates usually don’t have any health benefits. Although it is not necessary but generally, the more dark a chocolate is; the more cocoa it contains so it means that dark chocolates are good to eat. Now when you know that the chocolate is good for a high blood pressure patient, that doesn’t mean you should stop exercises and medication for high blood pressure and only eat chocolate. The above chocolate research is posted for information purposes only, this can never replace a doctors advice regarding your health.

Exercise, Healthy Lifestyle and Aging Research

genius — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:36:16 +0000

Aging is a natural process. It is a time based change in our body in which our face becomes less gloomy, skin becomes sagging, muscles become lose, joints become hard to move and the overall performance of our body starts to decrease. Research indicates that between 45 to 50 years of age, balance of production of new cells and death of old cells changes by 5 percent. Upon reaching 6th decade of our age, every further year deducts 1 percent efficiency from our bones and muscles maintenance system. When 40 years of life are spent, we start to repent upon our carelessness about our health in early ages. Alas! We haven’t taken exercise; we never maintained good food habits; why we have eaten so much fast food? etc… These are the thoughts we came across after 40s. Do you want to avoid this? Yes, we cannot stop aging, but we can significantly delay it. We can avoid this horrific picture of life. You can certainly delay aging and stay young for a much longer time. And even if you become aged, you can avoid the above mentioned problems. How???
Medical experts have researched on aging process and concluded that exercise and physical activity can protect us from the horrifying effects of aging process. Exercise makes our hones and muscles strong. It improves performance of our heart. In short, exercise can prevent us from a lot of aging effects. It is not true that we should stop exercise when we become aged. We should take exercise till our last breathe. Experts say that if we will keep ourselves involved in healthy physical activities then we will remain young. Agedness will only affect us when we will stop our physical activity or exercise. In other words, if we will stop exercise, we won’t be able to stop agedness. So the conclusion is every person should take at least half an hour of exercise daily. Lack of physical activity is injurious to health just like smoking and high blood pressure. If you haven’t adopted healthy lifestyle yet and you are middle aged then it is still not too late. In fact, it is never too late. Start to adopt a healthy lifestyle from today and you will still enjoy the good results. A research indicates that if a person starts to take exercise in the middle age, it will decrease the chances of sudden death by 50 percent. Isn’t that significant? Even if you are old aged you can still take benefits from exercise. Swimming is good to take control of your breathe. It also strengthens your muscles. Many example personalities are there who involved in hiking and surfing even in their old ages and they looked young even their old ages. The main reason of their long youth is because they forbade denied to accept their old age. Instead of feeling older, they adopted healthy and young lifestyle which kept them young from every aspect. You can be an addition to them if you adopt healthy lifestyle from today. However if you haven’t taken exercise from a long time then you should consult with your doctor before suddenly changing your lifestyle. Your doctor will guide you in doing so by analyzing your medical history and will even guide you to change your diet as per the type of your exercises. Don’t let the agedness to take over you, take over your age instead.

Snoring Causes

genius — Mon, 18 May 2009 14:01:59 +0000

Snoring is such a problem which affects others more than the person who is suffering from it himself. There are many couples out there who quarrels one another just because of snoring problem. Many people suffer from sleep loss only because of their companions snoring problems. Snoring is a condition in which air is unable to flow freely through veins behind our nose and mouth. This causes the lungs to force air flow through these veins casing a vibration and noise. Some times this noise reaches near 90 DB which is equal to the noise created by traffic. Snoring problem increases with the age due to losing of muscles and veins with the passage of time. Research indicates that after reaching 60 years of age, 40 percent women and 60 percent men starts snoring. If we leave the age factor alone, there are some other factors as well which can cause snoring. For example, some allergies can block breathing through nose which can cause snoring. Some times, snoring is caused by abnormal bend of the bone in your nose. Some people develop an addiction to breath through their mouth which causes snoring. Desperation related drugs are also a reason of snoring. These drugs relax your muscles to release your tension. When the muscles behind and in your mouth become lose, they start to vibrate with the air flow which causes snoring. In Adults, a disease called “Sleep Apnoea Obstructive” is common mostly in those who snore. In this disease, the affected person stops breathing for 10 seconds or even more during sleeping. This condition occurs many times during sleep. This causes lack of oxygen supply to the brain and thus the patient wakes up instantly. This problem can even cause death in those people who are already suffering from heart, lungs or blood pressure problems. Despite of medical remedies and cures of snoring and all the above mentioned problems, you can change your lifestyle to cure them as well. Try to take exercise daily which will make your muscles stronger. When you go to bed, try to position your body in such a way that you can breath easily though your nose. Always sleep on your right side. People often don’t take snoring seriously but this disease can get worse if not taken care of. Secondly, it affects your personality. People often avoid sleeping in the same room with a snoring person. If you are suffering from snoring then it is wise to discuss it with your doctor.