Category: Technica Aquarius

Enlarge / The multi-layer sun shield is in the process of unfolding this week. Right now the portion extending forward from the telescope body is extended; the sides will come later this week. (credit: NASA)

When fully operational, the James Webb Space Telescope will be enormous, with a sun shield measuring 12 x 22 meters. Obviously, however, it can’t be sent to space in that configuration. As a result, the tension of the launch will be followed by weeks of equally nerve-wracking days as different parts of the observatory are gradually unfolded.

The good news is that the process has already started, and everything has gone off without a hitch so far. Meanwhile, NASA has analyzed the results of the initial firings of the observatory’s on-board rockets, and determined that it will have enough fuel for “significantly more” than a decade of operations.

Good news on fuel

The Webb will orbit a position called the L2 Lagrange point, a site about 1.4 million kilometers from Earth. Getting into that orbit requires moving outside the plane defined by the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, and arriving at shallow angle so that the Webb doesn’t overshoot its target.

Enlarge (credit: LG)

Ever wish display tech had longer acronyms? LG Display’s here to help. Today, it introduced LG OLED EX, a proprietary OLED technology that’s supposed to be brighter than standard OLED.

As you may know already, OLED stands for organic light emitting diode. The EX part of OLED EX, according to the announcement, combines “‘Evolution’ and ‘eXperience.'” No, it doesn’t make much sense, but it does give the brand a way to make you feel like any other OLED is somehow inferior.

LG Display really is trying to give current OLED owners a reason to upgrade.

Enlarge / A Rivian R1T showing off its off-road capability. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)

With supply chain disruptions messing with the auto industry, it’s an especially challenging time for startups like Rivian. After warning of production challenges due to parts shortages early in December, the Illinois-based electric truck maker on Tuesday told some customers they would need to wait another year, until 2023, for their preorders to be delivered.

The delay affects deliveries of Rivian R1T (truck) and R1S (SUV) models with the Max battery packs, which offer a range of 400 miles on a single charge. Those account for about 20 percent of Rivian preorders, according to an email to customers sent by Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe and posted to Reddit. The rest of the preorders are for vehicles with the Large pack, providing range of around 315 miles.

“In order to serve the largest number of preorder holders, we will be prioritizing building the Adventure Package with Large pack battery during the next year,” wrote Scaringe. “Explore Package preorders and vehicles with a Max pack battery configuration will follow in 2023. In setting our delivery timing, we optimized our build sequence around the build combination that would support us ramping as quickly as possible and therefore have the largest possible positive climate impact.”

Enlarge / A remote controlled volume controller. It can also raise and lower the volume to preset levels using the buttons. (credit: Chris Lee)

One of the last times I wrote anything for Ars Technica, I excitedly detailed our new electrical engineering curriculum. We were starting a pilot in February and I promised to write a follow up at the end of the academic year, which was in July. To be honest, I was so exhausted by the semester that I simply could not bring myself to write about it over the summer holiday. 

Now, as we exit the Christmas holiday, I finally feel able to paint a picture. It’s not all bright colors and beautiful landscapes, but the view looks promising.

For those of you who don’t remember the earlier piece, a summary: we switched from a traditional course-based curriculum to a project-based curriculum, where the students had to choose how to show that they could use their electrical engineering knowledge. The philosophy is that being able to apply knowledge and skills in the right context is a good signal that someone understands what they’ve learned. That means we have to set the right context and provide the students the opportunity to acquire the right knowledge and skills.

Enlarge (credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Apple has put a Foxconn manufacturing plant that makes iPhone 12s and is running trial production of the iPhone 13 on probation, Reuters reported today. The move comes after both Apple and Foxconn determined that some worker dorms and dining rooms failed to meet requirements.

Production at the plant in Sriperumbudur, India has already been halted for a week and a half. Apple placed a plant belonging to Wistron Corp., another one of its suppliers, on probation last year due to “unrest,” Reuters noted, and Wistron didn’t receive any new business from Apple during that period.

The Foxconn plant in question has been closed since December 18. Protests had broken out that week after 256 factory workers were treated for food poisoning, including 159 who were hospitalized. At the time, the local government described it as “an outbreak of acute diarrheal disease.”