Soft Power http://www.softpower.org Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:27:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Solar Energy a Reliable and Practical Source http://www.softpower.org/solar-energy-a-reliable-and-practical-source http://www.softpower.org/solar-energy-a-reliable-and-practical-source#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:27:18 +0000 admin http://www.softpower.org/?p=135 These days we are experiencing a growing awareness to the fact that our energy resources, as they have been used in the last few years, are probably not going to last for long and that the energy markets are exposed to more and more rapid changes, some due to political reasons and others because of the changing climate of the planet.
Solar energy is a renewable free source of energy which is sustainable as it is not inexhaustible, unlike fossil fuels which are finite. It is also a non-polluting source of energy and it does not emit any greenhouse gases when producing electricity. The solar electricity that is produced can supplement your entire or partial energy consumption. Using solar energy means reducing your energy bills and saving money. Also having solar PV panels adds value to your home, they are low maintenance and unobtrusive. Germany is the global leader for solar-generated electricity.
Why choose solar energy?
Australia is the luckiest country in the world. Our geography gives us the opportunity to use the most natural, sustainable and clean energy in our homes – the energy from the sun.

Solar thermal applications are the most widely used category of solar energy technology. These technologies use heat from the sun for water and space heating, ventilation, and many other applications.
Solar energy is not a new concept, it has been properly introduced to the global public many years ago and successfully implemented in different parts of the world in different ways, so we can say that solar energy is known to most people, but it is still not as popular as it should be, as a cheap replacement for other sources of energy. The energy of the sun, from its direct sun rays that are projected directly at the earth or by giant wind turbines are free fro us to use, to manipulate for our needs, and this can be done by almost anyone in any place, it just needs to technology and the know-how.

]]> http://www.softpower.org/solar-energy-a-reliable-and-practical-source/feed 0 Improve Your Golf Swing and Better Your Golf Score http://www.softpower.org/improve-your-golf-swing-and-better-your-golf-score http://www.softpower.org/improve-your-golf-swing-and-better-your-golf-score#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:38:57 +0000 admin http://www.softpower.org/improve-your-golf-swing-and-better-your-golf-score

There are steps you can take to achieve your best golf swing. First, your goal is to find your natural swing, what I mean by that is, don’t put forth any effort when hitting the ball. When your mind and body are in sync your swing will be as simple as closing your eyes.

To find your natural power start by trying to keep your hands “soft” throughout the swing, leave the club at the top of your backswing for as long as you possibly can. “Soft hands” is keeping your muscles supple from your elbows through your fingers, trying this will promote a quicker and snappier release through impact of the clubface and the ball.

By leaving the club at the top, it will feel much more natural. When you get your body set at the top of your back-swing and make sure you keep the club at the top, this will allow you to begin the downswing with your thigh and leg muscles, which are much larger and more powerful than your hands. By driving the downswing with the body instead of with just your hands, you can create some serious lag. It will release when your club head comes in contact with the ball.

These two methods will help you see that effortless swings are the secret to more distance. People generally make the mistake of seeing the target and feeling that they have to use more strength to achieve the distance, which in turn makes you feel like you have to use more muscle, this is a misconception.

Trying too hard can cause a lot of discouragement. Golf could then easily become more of a chore than a game that is played for enjoyment. They may start to wonder at this point, why they even started the game to begin with. Golf is meant to be relaxing, and when it is played right, it is great for you, physically and mentally. If a person could just close their eyes and just swing they could understand why golf is such an enjoyment.

By: Josh Spaulding

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Gas prices have stabilized somewhat over the last few weeks and even dipped a bit. That’s great news for folks who have long commutes, or who operate vehicle fleets. Most of us seem to relax when gas prices go down ten cents or so, if only because that means that they are at least not rising. In doing so we lose sight of the fact that gas is still really expensive.

The current national average price of gas is $3.94 a gallon and while that is somewhat better than the $4.07 a gallon a month ago, we quickly forget that a year ago gasoline was $2.89 at the pump. That’s a 27% increase in price. Can you imagine if other things in your life were to go up 27%? Most people exist with less than a 10% margin between their income and their bills. An increase of that size in too many things would drive most people irreparably into the red.

 So what are we going to do about it?

Well, to start with, we know that it’s energy in general that is becoming more expensive. While there are certainly people standing to profit from this increase the main cause is that more nations are becoming industrialized and starting to drive cars. China and India represent 1/3 of the world’s population and their booming auto industry is creating unheard of demand for gasoline. On top of that most of the easily accessible hydrocarbon fuel deposits are gone and it costs more money to get at coal and other power and heating fuels. Since many power plants run on oil, this brings the price of all fuels up.

It’s the unfortunate downside to the global economy.

One of the fuels that is being heralded as a potential savior is hydrogen. It is the most common element in the universe and is available in abundant supply on earth. It’s one of the core components of water, H20. Through a process known as electrolysis, the hydrogen can be extracted from water and made available as a fuel. The byproduct of this process is oxygen, not a bad thing to have a refinery spit out at all.

Many car manufacturers have recognized Hydrogen as a promising fuel source and vehicles such as the BMW Hydrogen 7 and the Honda FCX Clarity have been produced. While they are currently only available in limited numbers and markets where there are hydrogen fuel stations, they are out there and it is a positive step for the economy and the world in general as their only exhaust is water vapor.

BMW’s Hydrogen 7 Car uses a fairly regular car engine.

The engines that our car’s use are called Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) and essentially they simply burn something inside of themselves. An example of an External Combustion Engine would be a steam engine where the fire is outside of the engine itself. While these engines have been refined to burn petroleum based fuels, they are capable of running on many other fuels, the only concern being that some fuels are more corrosive, or may be a solvent to some of the elements of the car’s engines.

Luckily hydrogen is not corrosive and none of a car’s components will dissolve in it. In fact with not a lot of alteration, most car engines could run 100% on hydrogen.

How would you store enough hydrogen to run your car on it entirely? Well, quite simply you wouldn’t. It’s not that you couldn’t, but the cost of getting a fuel tank for your car that could safely store that amount of hydrogen is somewhat prohibitive.

So is there an alternative that can help out?

Interestingly enough, there is. The engine in your car would be perfectly happy to get a mixture of Hydrogen and gasoline. In fact, the hydrogen and the extra oxygen that you get from electrolysis actually help the gasoline to burn better. Some people get as much as a 42% increase in their mileage by simply adding a moderate amount of hydrogen to their car’s engine.

That’s the same as paying $2.20 a gallon for gasoline.

So how is this done, you ask? The process is achieved by using a device that you can install under the hood of your car and using electric power from your car’s alternator to power an electrolyzer that produces hydrogen on the fly as it is needed. This means that there is no storage of hydrogen and no issues with having to find a gas station that sells hydrogen as there are less than 200 worldwide. The only thing you have to add to the device is water!

By: Michael D Cooper

]]> http://www.softpower.org/hydrogen-from-water-hydrogen-power-your-car/feed 0 Develop Strength, Endurance, and Power for Your Golf Swing http://www.softpower.org/develop-strength-endurance-and-power-for-your-golf-swing http://www.softpower.org/develop-strength-endurance-and-power-for-your-golf-swing#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:27:25 +0000 admin http://www.softpower.org/develop-strength-endurance-and-power-for-your-golf-swing

In part one of this article we discussed the core and its relation to the golf swing. A quick review of the information in article one will indicate a definitive connection between the “athletic movements” of a golf swing and the core section of the body. Prior to beginning this article let us take a brief moment to review information provided in the first article on this topic.

A quick review will indicate that the core is an anatomical region of the body. This region of the body consists of all the muscles, ligaments, tendons, and neural structures, located from the hips to the lower chest. This comprises all of the structures of: the hips, abdominals, low back, and obliques (side abdominals). In addition to describing the anatomical region of the core, part one of this article described the following: the relationship between the core and golf swing in the specific areas of range of motion, coordination, speed of motion, and balance. Part two of this article will discuss core flexibility, strength, endurance, and power. We will relate these three additional topics to the golf swing as we did in part one.

Recalling from the first article, range of motion is directly related to distance. Distance that a body moves in a specific amount of time when discussing biomechanics. Relating range of motion to the golf swing indicates that the greater range of motion that the core mechanism of the body can move through, the greater amount of force can be created to deliver into the club head.

The second topic discussed in article one was speed of motion. Remember, speed of motion is directly related to range of motion. Speed of motion is essentially adding a component of time to range of motion. The faster that an object or the body can move through a specific range of motion, the greater amount of force can be created through this range of motion.

Thirdly, we introduced coordination. Coordination is the ability to time the movements of the body in the correct sequence to perform the activity desired. This requires the body to move through the required ranges of motion with the correct speed of motion.

The final topic discussed in section one of this article was balance. Balance is the ability of the body to maintain a center of gravity during a movement. Increased balance allows for greater accuracy with athletic activities. Moving forward into section two of this article, we build upon the information discussed in article one. Relevancy to the core and the golf swing is easily seen when connecting these topics (range of motion, speed of motion, coordination, and balance) to the athletic movement associated with the golf swing.

Flexibility

Flexibility is the range of motion around a joint and is influenced by skeletal structures, ligaments, muscles tissues, and joint capsule type. Range of motion is a result of the deformation of soft tissues (i.e. muscle tissue, ligaments, and tendons) surrounding a joint. Flexibility is essentially the ability of the neuromuscular to create a desired range of motion by the body. The golf swing requires the core, and the entire body, to move through a specified range of motion to create contact with the golf ball. Limitations in flexibility can create the inability of the body to move through the required ranges of motion at the correct speed to perform a golf swing. This will result in numerous problems as a result of poor mechanics in the swing. A direct connection exists between range of motion, speed of motion, and flexibility. If flexibility is limited the result will be limitations in ranges of motion and speeds of motion.

Strength

Strength can be defined as the ability of the neuromuscular system (neural system, muscular system) to create and exert force. A lack of strength limits the ability of the body to create force for a given athletic movement. In relationship to the golf swing, strength is a required component of the core. A large proportion of the force created in the golf swing is a result of the lower body and core musculature system. As a result, creating the force needed to develop club head speed is directly related to strength levels within these structures of the body. A lack of strength lessens to a degree the amount of force that can be created in the golf swing, thus reducing the amount of club head speed available to the golfer.

Endurance

Endurance is the ability of the neuromuscular structures (muscular system, neural system, ligaments, and tendons) to perform the same athletic movement repeatedly over a specific amount of time. The golf swing is a repetitive athletic movement requiring the neuromuscular system to perform the same neuromuscular activity over and over again for a given number of swings, time, etc. This requires the body to move through a specific range of motion, with the correct speed of motion, coordinating the movements in the correct sequence, with the required force outputs (i.e. strength), and correct levels of endurance. A lack of endurance in the neuromuscular system will limit the ability of the individual to perform the components required of the golf swing listed above.

Power

Power is the ability to create the greatest amount of force in a specified amount of time. Power is contingent upon the combination of strength and speed of motion. These two components working in conjunction create power. A decrease in strength or speed of motion limits the ability of power production by the neuromuscular system. The golf swing requires the body to produce power to deliver into the club head. The amount of time to perform this is limited and contained within the ranges of motion through which the body moves during the golf swing. The point to be made is that a direct connection exists for power production between range of motion, speed of motion, and strength. These three components working together determine the power outputs created by the body during the golf swing.

Summary

This article discussed an additional four components that are relevant to the core structure of the body and the golf swing. The key point to make between the topics discussed in this article and article number one is the connection between all of these components. Range of motion, speed of motion, balance, and coordination are contingent upon the points discussed in this article. The ability of the body to swing a golf club requires the ability of the body to have the required ranges of motion, speeds of motion, balance, and coordination to perform the swing. The development of flexibility, strength, endurance, and power within the body allows for these activities to occur. Thus all eight of these components (range of motion, speed of motion, balance, coordination, flexibility, strength, endurance, and power) are interconnected to perform a golf swing. The relationship to the core and these activities is a follows: the core region of the body is a main component of the golf swing. It is utilized greatly in all aspects of the golf swing from maintaining balance to creating power. The core can be considered to be the “engine” of the golf swing.

By: Sean Cochran

]]> http://www.softpower.org/develop-strength-endurance-and-power-for-your-golf-swing/feed 0 Get Sporty With Dish Tv Channels http://www.softpower.org/get-sporty-with-dish-tv-channels http://www.softpower.org/get-sporty-with-dish-tv-channels#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:22:17 +0000 admin http://www.softpower.org/?p=133

Dish TV sports channels offers a variety of non- mainstream sports. Before the advent of satellite TV people watched mainstream sports like football, hockey, basket ball and base ball. The satellite TV sports channels give you action packed entertainment which you can never experience through cable TV. Gain a lot and learn a lot with dish TV sports channels.

The Dolby digital effect of the satellite TV sports channels keeps you captivated as long as a particular match is being aired. Thanks to the dish TV sports channels that showcase the day to day routine of your favorite sports stars. Sounds interesting?

NBA League Pass: Witness around 40 dish TV season games of basketball per week in HD mode.

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