For most of us owning a car is not just desirable, but necessary. Due to a general lack of effective public transport, we are forced to rely on private transport. It would be best if this private transport could be as environmentally friendly as possible. So we ask ourselves, is it possible to run a car on solar energy?

There is an incredible amount of energy from the sun falling on the surface of the earth each day. That energy could easily power all human industry and other activity many times over. Much of this energy is reflected from the surface back into space as light. More energy is radiated back into space as heat, which is also called infra-red energy.

The great advantage of solar panels is that they generate electricity from sunlight that is already falling on the surface of the earth. Had that energy not been converted into electricity in the panel, it would have been absorbed by the earth to be later released as heat, been reflected into space, or been used by a plant to make sugars. The electricity from the panel can be transported and used elsewhere. When used, the energy in the electricity is ultimately released as heat. This means that a solar panel is effectively converting sunlight into heat, but allowing that conversion to do some work which results in the heat moving to a different location.

This compares favorably with using fossil fuels as an energy source. Because these fuels come from long buried sources, the heat they add to the atmosphere when burned is additional to what would otherwise be there. This means that there is a net increase in energy in the atmosphere, and it is this that causes concern regarding the issue of climate change.

This makes it clear that being able to use sunlight to power our vehicles is a desirable option. But is this a realistic option? The fact is that this is already being done. Owners of electric cars are using mains supply electricity rather than petroleum to charge the batteries which power their vehicles. All that needs to be added to this scenario is to obtain the electricity from a renewable source such as a domestic solar installation or a solar power plant and one can effectively be driving on sunshine.

Find out more about current models of electric cars at Roger Vanderlely's website www.green-planet-solar-energy.com. The site covers all manner of information on solar power, including how to find cheap solar panels, simple solar science experiments for kids, tips on how to make your home more energy efficient and much more.

Posted under Cars

When looking for used cars in Toronto you shall soon discover that there are a large number of potential cars that you can buy covering a wide range of models and engine sizes. Trying to work your way through those available can be very tricky and there is always the risk of you buying a car for much more than it is actually worth.

So when you are in the market for a used car in Toronto then these are a few things you should consider before handing over any money. They are basic things however and they can play an important part in your decision. There are of course many more things than these however they are a good starting point.

The first thing you should do is some research. You may already have an idea of the type of car you are looking to buy so you should look around and see what the average price if for a used one. While there shall be no set price due to differing mileage and other aspects you should still be able to get a general idea of what you can expect to pay. You shall also be able to know pretty quickly if the seller is simply over charging you for the car.

Prior to actually going to look at used cars you should know exactly what your budget is and ensure you do not go above that figure. You then know which cars you can actually look at and you do need a great deal of will power in not being swayed by that slightly more improved version that is just out of your budget. You should also do some initial work on how much it shall cost you to insure the car or repair it when something goes wrong.

When it comes to looking at the car there are some things you should check no matter if it is a company or an individual. They are straight forward points to look at which you can do yourself with anything else being left to a mechanic. By checking for even these few things you can weed out some of the poorer cars on the market.

One of the first things to check is that the car is actually what it says it is. To do this you have to cross reference the details on the engine plate with those in the documents that come with the car. However do not just have a quick look at the number and see that they are the same but instead check the plate itself to see if it has been altered in any way as people may be trying to deceive.

You should spend some time looking over the bodywork for any potential problems. To do this you should have a very good light source since dull conditions can help to mask some problems. Any signs of corrosion can be an indicator that you could have some expensive bills coming your way soon after purchase. Apart from rust you should also inspect the car for any signs of repairs after a crash. Attention should be on the wings both front and back and check for the paintwork containing slight ripples or blisters which may show repair work underneath.

On dry days you should check the seals around windows or a sunroof for any evidence of it having been leaking. The last thing that you need is to buy your car and discover it has filled with water on the first rainy day.

The final thing is quite simple. Do not buy used or new cars Toronto or anywhere else without trying it first. You should always have a test drive as while the car might look good on the outside you do not feel at home driving it and it is therefore not the correct car for you.

Are you looking for a automobile? Check out your one stop shop for finding great used cars in Toronto.

Posted under Cars

Who would have guessed that the knowledge of how to identify your position based on sighting of the stars could eventually allow us to find our hotel on a business trip? This information journey began with man studying the stars and discovering they were pretty stable in the sky, and that if we account for the movement of the earth, we could reverse the process and find ourselves by looking at them. The auto GPS borrows heavily from the history of navigation.

Navigation has been around since ancient times, but not always in the same format. Early navigation was accomplished mostly by academicians on land, not by sailors who really needed the tool. These brave adventurers relied on the concept of dead reckoning. This is the idea of recording the magnetic direction one is heading and the speed at which one is travelling, factoring in the affect of currents and calculating a position.

With all the movement of the ships, it was not a very accurate method, but good enough that experienced sailors could cross the major oceans successfully. Celestial navigation, using the stars to identify the ship position was actually used mostly to confirm the position derived via dead reckoning. Since modern sextant sightings could only be taken at sunrise and sunset, owing to the need for a steady horizon, it was not very accurate either.

The horizon then is the last difficult portion, and limited early celestial observations to sunrise and sunset. With the advent of airplanes, a better system of navigating was necessary as aircraft are subject to directional influences of wind, just as ships were affected by currents, but aircraft are moving much faster, so small heading errors can result in much greater location displacement over the ocean.

The periscopic sextant made it possible to take celestial observations at any time of day or night. With a floating bubble in the sighting field to establish a horizon, a good system of dead reckoning to determine relative position, and a two power periscope to stick out the top of the aircraft and see the stars or the sun, celestial navigation can be accomplished accurately by an experienced navigator.

Day celestial navigation is actually less accurate, because the computations will only yield a single line of position. At night, the use of three stars selected at nearly 120 degrees of azimuth apart will yield three lines of position which form a triangle. Executed carefully, night celestial positions can plot out in a chart with all three lines crossing in a pinpoint fix.

All the calculations and variable mean the accuracy is limited, and science came up with an improvement known as the inertial navigation system. This device when installed on the aircraft is loaded with the precise location the aircraft is and its gyroscopes are calibrated. Once set up, the instrument measures aircraft movement very accurately in three dimensions. This provides a running location for the pilots reference.

Finally, satellite navigation uses the notion of using several satellites and comparing the relative location of an observer from them to triangulate a position. With the aid of computers, this position is superimposed over maps to provide a moving directional control device. With the exception of their susceptibility to problems either with the satellites or the reception of satellite signals, auto GPS technology is state of the art.

Kim Logan has a best auto GPS reviews blog to post her many auto GPS reviews. She has written many reviews for Garmin nvi auto GPS and TomTom One auto GPS, and she writes about why she likes each model.

Posted under Cars