• Entertainment & Gaming

    The Science of Star Trek

    By Adam Weiner Posted on 12.17.2008 19 Comments

    As a long-time aficionado of the original Star Trek series, it's always exciting for me when I hear that Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock are going to make a reappearance on the big screen. Although it'll be a bit strange without William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy running the show, what recourse is there? We've got the next generation playing the previous one. Anyway, in the trailer we get a glimpse of the juvenile origins of the future Captain Kirk's daredevil thrill-seeking persona, not to mention his incredible physical prowess. In the scene in question we see young James T. leap out of his classic convertible sports coupe moments before it projects itself off of a several-thousand-foot precipice. James saves himself by gripping the sandy ground and pulling himself to a stop just as he reaches the edge of the cliff.

    12.18.2008 at 01:24am - Comment by sleidia

    One other thing that was not taken into account in the calculation : how heavy were Kirk's balls.

  • Gadgets

    Will Cellphones Save the World?

    By Posted on 9.22.2008 6 Comments

    If you live in the United States it can be difficult to understand the role mobile phone technology plays across the globe. Here, you may use your phone for calls and messaging, perhaps for some computing lite, but likely little more. In Senegal, however, farmers are using phones to track crop prices, in Japan, writers are SMSing whole novels, and in Sweden, they're texting to apply for instant loans. An app that lets you kill time on the subway, this is not. Within a year and a half, half the world will use cellphones, predict analysts, and with the bulk of new users emerging from developing nations, the question of what phones can do for their owners has never before had such potentially world-changing answers. Enter Nokia and Dean Kamen.

    9.20.2008 at 02:07pm - Comment by sleidia

    I think that one of the best application would be the creation of instant referendums that would help our leaders to understand exactly what we want ... in case they really care.

  • DIY

    Making Music with Lasers

    By Posted on 5.7.2009 9 Comments

    Playing the harp isn’t the most high-tech pastime—unless, like Stephen Hobley, you use lasers in place of the strings. Though not the first home-built laser harp, Hobley’s creation is unquestionably the coolest. Played by disrupting the laser beams with his hands, it can produce just about any sound. Better yet, it’s also a fully functioning controller for a version of Guitar Hero.

    7.16.2008 at 02:51pm - Comment by sleidia

    I'm surprised this became news because the laser harp was already invented in 1980. Jean Michel Jarre used it in almost every of his concerts : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_harp

  • Technology

    Rebuilding the Troops

    By Posted on 6.24.2008 14 Comments

    Skin guns. Organ printers. Pig dust. Biochemist Alan Russell believes tools like these could one day be standard-issue for the battlefield medic. The skin gun would heal burns. The organ printer would replace badly wounded livers, kidneys, even hearts. And the pig dust?

    6.25.2008 at 07:47am - Comment by sleidia

    Podboq, They care more about creating multi-billion dollars weapons than creating ways to regrow limbs or stop cancer and aging.

  • Gadgets

    Border Security to Become Copyright Police?

    By Posted on 5.30.2008 19 Comments

    As if the security in airports and controls at border crossings weren't slow and intrusive enough, governments around the world are quietly passing laws to allow them to search the contents of your laptop and other electronic devices, like iPods and cellphones. A United States court last month gave border agents carte blanche to hold a laptop for days and even copy its entire contents. The UK government has given its agents authority to search computers at its borders for pornography. But in what may be the most baffling and cumbersome move of all, the US, Canada, UK, and other EU nations are working behind closed doors on a new trade agreement which could turn border agents into the copyright police.

    6.2.2008 at 08:55am - Comment by sleidia

    Before departure, simply put all your "sensitive" files in a single compressed/encrypted file and then store it somewhere on the internet. Upon arrival, download the whole thing. End of the story.

  • Science

    The Physics of Beer Pong

    By Posted on 5.7.2008 8 Comments

    These guys are pretty amazing. And the nonchalance with which they accomplish each trick shot adds a certain understated humor to this entertaining video. But though the guys seem to be developing a seemingly useless (if highly impressive) skill in their spare time, there's quite a bit of complex science at play. In addition to being a highlight at any party, these are excellent demonstrations of two- and three-dimensional projectile motion, and with just a little bit of quantitative analysis the entire video would make a formidable project for an introductory level college physics class. For example lets look at the segment where the guy tosses the ball in the cup off of a moving skateboard.

    5.8.2008 at 01:31pm - Comment by sleidia

    Here is how the whole thing started : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWyfQV0oq1Y



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