Latest Mechanics Stories

SAN JOSE, Calif., July 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Westpak announces expanded mechanical testing services including testing used to simulate transportation and wind induced vibration. Vibration, environmental, and mechanical impact tests can be utilized to evaluate both products and packaging to established ASTM and ISTA test protocols for distribution testing. Within the last month Westpak brought into service a Horizontal Impact Test System (HITS) which simulates horizontal shock events...

CHATSWORTH, Calif., July 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- US Seismic Systems, Inc., an Acorn Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACFN) company announced today it has built and shipped the world's largest commercial high temperature down-hole fiber-optic seismic array. The 40-level array is designed for monitoring wells that use the latest unconventional oil and gas extraction technique known as hydrofracking. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120504/NY01342LOGO) (Logo:...

SAN DIEGO, April 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Fallbrook Technologies Inc. (Fallbrook) is responding to the challenge for automakers to provide appropriate performance while downsizing engines for improved fuel economy and lower emissions. The Company has targeted and is soliciting select OEMs to adopt a variable speed supercharger drive utilizing its NuVinci® continuously variable planetary (CVP) technology. Fallbrook has been working closely with a tier one automotive equipment...

A new study evaluates the seismic hazards for the entire Central America, including specific assessments for six capital cities, with the greatest hazard expected for Guatemala City and San Salvador, followed by Managua and San José, and notably lower in Tegucigalpa and Panamá City. The study, published in the April issue of the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA), included input from seismic hazard experts from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador,...

HOUSTON, March 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- INOVA Geophysical announced today the release of G3i(TM), a highly flexible and rugged land recording system. The mega channel recording system offers the industry a highly-portable technology that provides support for conducting a wide range of land seismic surveys, including high density wide azimuth acquisition for the world's most challenging environments. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120305/DA63788 ) Based on years of...

All referees feel stress on match days. However, contrary to what you might believe, a joint study by the Catholic University of Brasilia, A Coruña University and James Cook University in Australia state that the level of stress is not linked to the physical condition of these referees, but to their nervous system. The researchers measured the activity of Spanish football referees on a normal day and on a match day. "Our study is the first to state that referees' stress tolerance does not...

Seismic risk at the Fukushima nuclear plant increased after the magnitude 9 earthquake that hit Japan last March, scientists report. The new study, which uses data from over 6,000 earthquakes, shows the 11 March tremor caused a seismic fault close to the nuclear plant to reactivate. The results are now published in Solid Earth, an open-access journal of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The research suggests authorities should strengthen the security of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear...

[ Watch the Video ] A team of U.S., Mexican, and Chinese geologists have used a new tool to help pinpoint the precise locations where earthquakes caused the planet's crust to rupture and alter the landscape, resulting in what they are calling the "most comprehensive before-and-after picture… of an earthquake zone to date." The 3D images, which were published in the February 10 issue of the journal Science, were captured from a 7.2. magnitude earthquake that occurred near Mexicali in...

Change leadership expert, Brett Clay, who attended the National Speakers Association (NSA) Conference during the Super Bowl, says people can achieve their goals and feel like Super Bowl champions if they get into the actuation zone--the mindset of putting change into motion. Only by making changes can people improve their success and attain their goals. Clay discusses how people, such as the NSA Conference attendees, can put change into motion. http://changeleadershipgroup.com Seattle, WA...

Ohio officials said Tuesday that the state has suspended operations at a well used to dispose of waste water from "fracking". The suspension comes after suspicion that disposal of waste water by reinjecting it into the ground may have triggered seismic activity. The latest earthquake measured 4.0 on New Year's Eve and was near the well operated by D&L Energy in Youngstown. The state shut down operations at the Youngstown injection well after a 2.7 magnitude quake on December 24....