Minnesota professor works on hybrid hydraulic project
MINNESOTA - University of Minnesota researchers are working on an alternative to the electric hybrid vehicle.
Hybrid hydraulic vehicles have recently been built as the new model for large vehicles that start and stop frequently, such as delivery trucks.
But mechanical engineering professor Kim Stelson says he hopes to develop hydraulic technology for small passenger cars.
Hydraulic hybrids store energy in the form of compressed gas, while electric hybrids store electricity in a battery.
Stelson says he'd like to test the technology by building a hybrid hydraulic Metro Transit bus. The funding for the project still has to be worked out, but Stelson says such a bus would get 10 miles per gallon as compared to about three that most buses get now.
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Brazilian electricity workers call for 72-hour strike
BRASILIA - Brazil's national electricity workers' collective (CNE) has called for a 72-hour strike to protest the privatization of state-run electric company Eletrobras and its subsidiaries.
The CNE, which gathers the electricity workers' confederation, federations, unions and associations, said the strike is to begin at Monday midnight (0300 GMT) and last through midnight Wednesday.
Workers are demanding the ouster of Eletrobras President Wilson Ferreira Jr., who they say is the leading promoter of the privatization move.
Some 24,000 workers are expected to take part in the strike. However, the CNE said it will not affect consumers by ensuring essential services.
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