How Do You Lengthen A Ship? Cut It In Half Of Course

Have you heard of the infinite chocolate theory? See below for details:

Well that’s not quite what these engineers had in mind, but close. It can be expensive to build an entirely new ship – maybe that’s why one cruise line decided to recycle an old one. Italian line MSC Cruises has decided to cut its smallest ship Armonia in half and stick a new part in.

Over several days, the 60,000-ton vessel was cut in two and a new 79ft-long, nine-deck-high section containing 193 extra cabins was slowly slotted into place. The work that took place in the Fincantieri shipyard in Palermo, Sicily, increases the ship’s length to 902ft – longer than the main Canary Wharf tower in London is high – and makes space for a total of 2,679 passengers. The upgrade will take nine weeks and cost £40million – and then be repeated on three other MSC ships, Sinfonia, Opera and Lirica. The new Armonia is due to sail from the yard on November 17 – fully watertight, of course.

If they wanted to save some money, they could have called Shanghai Metal who manufactures carbon steel shipbuilding plate at competitive prices. As an ISO 14001 (International Quality Management System) Company and recipient of the “Star Enterprise Award,” Shanghai Metal Corporation prides itself on exceeding international standards of quality and reliability. We guarantee the best prices, quality support, and fast delivery. To find out more, please visit our Website or send your inquiry here. Our English speaking personnel will be more than pleased to assist you. Follow us on  LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code.

Source: Metro

Siobhan R.// SMC Editor

Read more articles by this author here.

 

#BuildingValueAcrossTheGlobe

广告

Do Bombs Really Tick?

“Actually, baggage handlers don’t worry about ticking ’cause modern bombs don’t tick. But when a suitcase vibrates, then they gotta call the police. Nine times out of ten: it’s an electric razor. But… every once in a while… it’s a dildo.”

— Airport Security Officer, Fight Club

Movies are there to entertain, so its understandable they don’t waste time on specifics and science. However, some movies invest so much time in developing a scifi premise or a character’s vast expertise in bomb making that it’s slightly insulting when they present us with something so amateur. (See our past article ‘are locks as easy to pick as in the movies?’ for more on movie realism.)

This is older than television; if you look at animated cartoons from the early to mid 20th Century, one of the more common mayhem-related props is a bomb—black, bowling-ball-sized, with burning fuse stuck in the top, and possibly the word BOMB on it in big happy white letters.

On TV they always have blinking lights (red is a popular color), audible beepers and/or a timer counting down on them. Some bombs have all three. Older depictions have a loudly ticking alarm clock taped to a bundle of dynamite.

In reality, modern bombs that aren’t sanctioned by government are generally made not to be identified so wont tick, beep or otherwise indicate its true form. Military and construction bombs however are labeled to the extreme. Construction is due to health and safety, and military because as the majority are designed to explode on impact, labeling won’t affect their efficacy.

So to answer the question, no, bombs do not tick.

Shanghai metal manufactures the carbon steel strip for clockwork feeds which do indeed tick. As an ISO 14001 (International Quality Management System) Company and recipient of the “Star Enterprise Award,” Shanghai Metal Corporation prides itself on exceeding international standards of quality and reliability. We guarantee the best prices, quality support, and fast delivery. To find out more, please visit our Website or send your inquiry here. Follow us on  LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code.

Source: TV Tropes

Siobhan R.// SMC Editor

Read more articles by this author here.

#BuildingValueAcrossTheGlobe

How To Live Forever

Doctors have begun human trials of suspended animation to buy more time for critically injured patients. This is reminiscent of Hollywood movies where characters wake up in steel pods during space travel having been frozen for years at a time. For more on movie realism, see our article on what Hollywood finally got right about science.

However, this is not quite the concept Dr Tisherman of the USA has meant it for. Emergency preservation and resuscitation (EPR) uses an innovative rapid-cooling procedure to suspend life, similar to how surgeons induce hypothermia during some surgeries.

Dr Tisherman’s EPR process, developed with the help of $800,000 from the Department of Defense, is mostly about resurrection. The idea at this stage is to use equipment like the catheters and pumps that can be found in any trauma centre to suspend the life of critically injured people in order to buy more time for surgeons to try to save them.

EPR works by lowering the patient’s body temperature and replacing their blood with a cold saline solution. If the human trials are successful, the aim is to take the technique out into the field. For example, a paramedic might be able to use EPR to put a dangerously ill patient into a suspended state until they can be rushed to a specialist hospital. Such a system could also be used on the battlefield to evacuate injured soldiers.

Shanghai Metal produces the carbon steel used in surgical blades. As an ISO 14001 (International Quality Management System) Company and recipient of the “Star Enterprise Award,” Shanghai Metal Corporation prides itself on exceeding international standards of quality and reliability. We guarantee the best prices, quality support, and fast delivery. To find out more, please visit our Website or send your inquiry here. Follow us on  LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code.

Source: The Economist

Siobhan R.// SMC Editor

Read more articles by this author here.

 

#BuildingValueAcrossTheGlobe

Alien Machinery Found In Russia

300 million year old machinery has been found in Russia – experts say the steel gear is not the result of natural forces, and may be extraterrestrial.

According to Yulia Zamanskaya, when a resident of Vladivostok was lighting the fire during a cold winter evening, he found a rail-shaped metal detail which was pressed in one of the pieces of coal that the man used to heat his home.

Mesmerized by his discovery, the responsible citizen decided to seek help from the scientists of Primorye region. After the metal object was studied by the leading experts, the man was shocked to learn about the assumed age of his discovery. The metal detail was supposedly 300 million years old, and yet the scientists suggest that it was not created by nature but was rather manufactured by someone. The question of who might have made an aluminum gear in the dawn of time remains unanswered.

Shanghai Metal produces our current terrestrial supply of value added carbon steel products. As an ISO 14001 (International Quality Management System) Company and recipient of the “Star Enterprise Award,” Shanghai Metal Corporation prides itself on exceeding international standards of quality and reliability. We guarantee the best prices, quality support, and fast delivery. To find out more, please visit our Website or send your inquiry here. Follow us on  LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code.

Sources: Before Its News

Siobhan R.// SMC Editor

Read more articles by this author here.

#BuildingValueAcrossTheGlobe

Virtual Reality Used To Teach

In a fast changing world, people can’t afford to ignore new technology. So, gaming equipment has been matched with an environmental cause to create a learning platform for sugar cane farmers in Australia.

Australian researchers use the online world of Second Life to teach sugar cane farmers about climate change and new technologies they can use to reduce water use and fertilizer run-off.

Second life is game with the tagline, “The largest-ever 3D virtual world created entirely by its users.” It is a 3D world where everyone you see is a real person, and every place you visit is built by people just like you. At its most basic level, Second Life is an online environment created by Linden Lab, a company based in San Francisco. Second Life is an online world in which residents create virtual representations of themselves, called avatars, and interact with other avatars, places or objects.

The pilot phase of the programme was so successful the plan’s being expanded to include 400 Queensland cane growers, so keep an eye out for this new teaching platform. This is not the first time unconventional teaching methods have been used, and may one day extend to children’s classroom. Gaming and education do not have to be separate entities in today’s innovative world.

 Shanghai Metal produces the carbon steel used in gaming equipment. As an ISO 14001 (International Quality Management System) Company and recipient of the “Star Enterprise Award,” Shanghai Metal Corporation prides itself on exceeding international standards of quality and reliability. We guarantee the best prices, quality support, and fast delivery. To find out more, please visit our Website or send your inquiry here. Follow us on  LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code.

Sources: News 24, Second Life, How Stuff Works

Siobhan R.// SMC Editor

Read more articles by this author here.

#BuildingValueAcrossTheGlobe

Sliding Doors Moment – Is Fate Real?

Did you ever see the 1998 Gwenyth Paltrow movie where her character gets fired from her job and we get to watch her parallel lives unfold, based on whether she made it into the tube before the sliding doors closed? Watch here for a reminder:

In an instant, life can change and we can lose everything: our health, our jobs, or the people we love. But, think about how much we can gain in an instant too. There are moments like this one in the movie that you do not control, do not choose and cannot decide. However, there other situations where you clearly make a decision, that you know it is affecting, no matter what, the main course of your life.

 Have you ever had a sliding doors moment? Do you believe in fate? So what makes the difference? It’s all in the sliding door. Shanghai Metal manufactures the carbon steel strip tape used in sliding doors.

As an ISO 14001 (International Quality Management System) Company and recipient of the “Star Enterprise Award,” Shanghai Metal Corporation prides itself on exceeding international standards of quality and reliability. We guarantee the best prices, quality support, and fast delivery. To find out more, please visit our Website or send your inquiry here. Follow us on  LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code.

Sources: afreshchapter, Hypervision, Youtube

Siobhan R.// SMC Editor

Read more articles by this author here.

#BuildingValueAcrossTheGlobe

Bobby Pin DIY – If You Haven’t Already Lost Them

These items are the most lost item next to pens and lighters. So if you are lucky enough to still have a few of these, why not check some cool DIY you can get up to?

Necklace

Bookmark

Pick a Lock (check out are locks as easy to pick as in the movies? for more)

Earrings

Finger Protector

Speaking of, Shanghai Metal manufactures bobby pins using carbon steel strip tape. As an ISO 14001 (International Quality Management System) Company and recipient of the “Star Enterprise Award,” Shanghai Metal Corporation prides itself on exceeding international standards of quality and reliability. We guarantee the best prices, quality support, and fast delivery. To find out more, please visit our Website or send your inquiry here. Follow us on  LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code.

Sources: Buzzfeed

Siobhan R.// SMC Editor

Read more articles by this author here.

#BuildingValueAcrossTheGlobe

Save A Life…With Your Watch

A new clockwork heart pacemaker does away with batteries according to Yahoo News.  Swiss engineers, famous for making the world’s finest watches, are turning their hands to cardiology with a prototype battery-less pacemaker based on a self-winding wristwatch. Current pacemakers need for battery power is a limiting factor, since replacing them requires a surgical intervention.

“This is a feasibility study. We have shown that it is possible to pace the heart using the power of its own motion,” Zurbuchen, the head engineer said.

Automatic watches work because they have an eccentric weight that pivots when the wearer’s arm moves. This rotation progressively winds a spring that then turns the watch mechanism. In the new Swiss pacemaker, the mechanical spring unwinds to spin an electrical micro-generator.

The research is still at an early stage and there is, as yet, no schedule for human testing. However, this could prove a major innovation in both healthcare and the watch-making industries.

Shanghai Metal manufactures the Carbon Steel Strip used in clocks and watches. As an ISO 14001 (International Quality Management System) Company and recipient of the “Star Enterprise Award,” Shanghai Metal Corporation prides itself on exceeding international standards of quality and reliability. We guarantee the best prices, quality support, and fast delivery. To find out more, please visit our Website or send your inquiry here. Follow us on  LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code.

Sources: Yahoo News

Siobhan R.// SMC Editor

Read more articles by this author here.

#BuildingValueAcrossTheGlobe

The New Age Cure For Insomnia

“This is how it is with insomnia. Everything is so far away, a copy of a copy of a copy. The insomnia distance of everything, you can’t touch anything and nothing can touch you”

― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

Insomnia can be very detrimental to your health – it can cause stress, apathy, impaired memory, weight gain and a decrease in your immune system power. A study by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) showed that as high as 70% of us suffer from sleep deprivation, and most of these go undiagnosed and untreated.

Among other conventional methods such as changes to your diet or exercise, one way to get control of your sleeping habits is a sleep monitor. These can vary in their features, but the best of which automatically detects running, biking or walking as well as sleep. For example, Basis’ Body IQ™ 2014 Carbon Steel Edition features all of this in addition to personalized sleep reports for each phase of the sleep cycle.

The Daily Mail reports that sleep monitors can actually disrupt your sleep because it gives the user an extra thing to worry about. Alternatively the BBC reports that carefully monitored sleep and exercise patterns can give athletes a competitive edge.

The sleep monitor industry is worth up to $3bn (£1.8bn) also according to the BBC. So, if you would like to see improved mood, weight, and lifestyle why not consider this new age option? I bet Chuck/ Tyler wished he had.

Shanghai Metal Corporation manufactures value added carbon steel products like this sleep monitors. As an ISO 14001 (International Quality Management System) Company and recipient of the “Star Enterprise Award,” Shanghai Metal Corporation prides itself on exceeding international standards of quality and reliability. We guarantee the best prices, quality support, and fast delivery. To find out more, please visit our Website or send your inquiry here. Follow us on  LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code.

Sources: BBC, Daily Mail, Fight Club, APA, Basis, Good Reads Quotes

Siobhan R.// SMC Editor

Read more articles by this author here.

#BuildingValueAcrossTheGlobe

Eco Update: China

A not so widely known fact is that China almost consumes as much coal as the rest of the world combined, where it accounts for 80% of the countries source for energy. This is an alarming trend considering that the burning of this fossil fuel is one of the most polluting ways to generate electricity. In an economy where manufacturing and industry is on the rise this further adds to our concern.

However, this may soon be about to change! Given the high levels of pollution in the country, particularly in industrial cities and around Beijing (where often daily particulate matter in the air can cause respiratory problems for even the healthy) people are sick of this issue and the government is listening.  A number of measures have been announced that should help to curb this trend; firstly the country has introduced bans on the building of new coal fired power plants and place limits on total energy consumption. These legislative measures will be complemented with an emissions trading scheme, due to be implemented by 2016, bringing the country up to speed with the developed economies of Europe and New Zealand.

There are signs that this move is working too, with coal imports at their lowest since 2012 despite prices being at their lowest since the peak of early 2011. This is complemented by banning of extremely low quality coal imports, particularly varieties containing high levels of sulfur and ash whose burning produces the highest levels of pollutants.

As a responsible and socially aware Metal supplying and manufacturing company based in China (with global offices) with heavy involvement in the metals and mining industries,Shanghai Metal Corporation (SMC) is proud to report on this news and welcomes developments in this area as it will undoubtedly lead to an increase in the quality of life of many everyday Chinese.

To find out more about our range of metal products or to discuss customization and individual requirements please visit our website Here. For more updates on this and other exciting developments follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin. Or by using your smart device, scan the QR code below!

Dominick F.//SMC Editor

Adapted from: Frik Els. Images: National Geographic; Green Media;