compressed air

Rockets are the tried and true workhorses for launching payloads into space. But that could change, if a physicist realizes his vision for a 1.1-kilometer-long (0.7 mi) gun that could fire cargo into low Earth orbit.

The new supergun concept could fire payloads of 450 kilograms (990 lbs) at more than 13,000 mph, according to John Hunter, a physicist who formerly worked at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.

The idea of using compressed air to propel a passenger car has been kicking around tech circles for years. Now, Luxembourg's Motor Development International SA (MDI) may have the first viable angle to launching a first wave of air cars: airport transportation. Behold the AirPod, a four-wheel, multipassenger minicar set to be built in Nice, France. It's one of the brainchildren of Guy Nègre, a former aeronautics and Formula One engineer who's been messing around with compressed-air technology in passenger cars for nearly two decades.

If you thought the rise of petroleum caused global economic upheavals, just wait until we start producing electric-car batteries in mass quantities. That's the warning from Glenn Bell, CEO of Air Fuel Auto. Bell told reporters at this weekend's Alt Car Expo in Santa Monica the need for precious metals and other raw materials for next-generation batteries could have a ripple effect on the global economy. Of course, Bell isn't a passive observer; he's got his own answer to the alternative-fuel question. You're breathing it.