• Science

    The Natural Artificial Foot

    By Posted on 5.13.2008 12 Comments

    K3 Promoter Cost to Develop: $100,000 Time: 8 years Prototype | | | | | Product Gordon Link, a diabetic and foot amputee, is not looking to climb Mount Everest, run a marathon, or snowboard off a cliff. I just want to walk without stumbling like Im a drunk, he says. It may not sound like a tall order, but until he was fitted with a prototype prosthetic foot that simulates the bodys natural movements, walking on uneven ground was like navigating an obstacle course. Hitting a low spot of even one inch with my old foot was like a non-amputee stepping into a four-inch hole, he adds. Not good.

    9.19.2009 at 08:46am - Comment by saxonhawthorn

    Will the video editor please THINK. When an inventor is describing his invention, we want to see the thing he's talking about. We're NOT interested in shots of his talking head!

  • Cars

    World's Fastest Kettle Breaks Oldest Land Speed Record

    By Jeremy Hsu Posted on 8.25.2009 3 Comments

    This morning, at California's Edwards Air Force Base, a British steam car put the kettle to the metal and broke the oldest-standing land speed record. Driver Charles Burnett III piloted the car to speeds of 136 mph and 151 mph during two separate runs. British engineers celebrated a triumph that comes after days of setbacks and 10 years of development. Attempts to break the record last week had faltered when the steam car's turbine became stuck, although the car had unofficially broken the record during test runs.

    9.19.2009 at 08:17am - Comment by saxonhawthorn

    Those who have to ask "What's the point?" wouldn't understand the answer if you told them. And I'd rather see the government fund this (if indeed they did) than fund our politicians' self-gratifying life-styles. I had a lecturer when I was an undergrad who enthused about steam as a means of propulsion. His thesis was that it was much more efficient than the IC engine, and it's only drawback for general use was the time taken to pre-heat the water. Today, I should think we could overcome that. Well done to this team. Keep it up!

  • Cars

    The Race to 1,000 MPH

    By Mike Spinelli Posted on 9.24.2009 26 Comments

    The sun doesn’t rise over the Black Rock Desert in Nevada; it ignites. One minute the blaze-orange glow of dawn is cascading down the sulfur-rich Jackson and Kamma mountain ranges, tinting the prehistoric lakebed a million shades of pink. The next, it’s full celestial throttle. By 6:30, the sun is blinding and the heat is ratcheting up.

    9.19.2009 at 07:13am - Comment by saxonhawthorn

    (Reply to Ellenbetty from a geriatric British engineer:-) I'll bet the wife of the first caveman to make fire by rubbing two sticks together said the same thing. This isn't (completely) about male ego; it's also about pushing the boundaries of the unknown. When you go into the unknown you sometimes find good things there. And maybe sometimes those good things can improve human life (yea, even for housewives, and for five minutes stop them nagging you!) It's why men have sheds. The very best of luck to both teams. It's a great thing to do.

  • Technology

    How It Works: The Flying Laser Cannon

    By Posted on 3.18.2008 31 Comments

    digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gadgets/How_It_Works_The_Airborne_Laser_Cannon'; Creating a laser that can melt a soda can in a lab is a finicky enough task. Later this year, scientists will put a 40,000-pound chemical laser in the belly of a gunship flying at 300 mph and take aim at targets as far away as five miles. And were not talking aluminum cans. Boeings new Advanced Tactical Laser will cook trucks, tanks, radio stations—the kinds of things hit with missiles and rockets today. Whereas conventional projectiles can lose sight of their target and be shot down or deflected, the ATL moves at the speed of light and can strike several targets in rapid succession.

    3.18.2008 at 11:33am - Comment by saxonhawthorn

    If I were a tank commander, I'd be checking my kit right now to make sure I had packed my shaving mirror!



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