• Science

    Water Rolls Uphill On Metal Blasted By Powerful Femtosecond Laser

    By Dan Smith Posted on 6.2.2009 12 Comments

    Using an unbelievably powerful laser over an unbelievably short period of time, scientists have been able to alter the surface of metals to control the flow of water across their surfaces down to the individual molecule. And when we say an unbelievable amount of energy, we’re talking about the power of the entire grid of the United States at once. When we say an unbelievably short period of time, we’re talking about a femtosecond, which is to a second what a second is to 32 million years. Think about both of those for a femtosecond.

    6.4.2009 at 05:14am - Comment by Rick R.

    Yes. Please clarify.

  • Gadgets

    Heads-Up Display Embedded In Glasses

    By Posted on 6.3.2009 21 Comments

    If your mother yelled at you about ruining your eyes by sitting too close to the TV, she is going to go nuts if you come home wearing a pair of these. The German research society Fraunhofer has developed a pair of glasses with lenses that project a heads up display right onto the user's retina.

    6.4.2009 at 01:37am - Comment by Rick R.

    IT'S OVER NIIINE THOUSAAAAAAND!

  • Bahrain World Trade Center

    By Posted on 10.28.2008 Comments

    The first skyscraper to integrate large-scale wind turbines suspends three 1,200-megawatt units between its matching 787-foot office towers. The turbines, which were completed in April, supply 15 percent of the electricity for the two buildings—roughly the same amount used by 300 homes. To maximize energy output, the tapered towers funnel wind between them, creating a negative pressure zone behind the buildings that draws more air through the gap.

    11.20.2008 at 06:55am - Comment by Rick R.

    Thank you very much, I'll definitely check out your site.

  • Bahrain World Trade Center

    By Posted on 10.28.2008 Comments

    The first skyscraper to integrate large-scale wind turbines suspends three 1,200-megawatt units between its matching 787-foot office towers. The turbines, which were completed in April, supply 15 percent of the electricity for the two buildings—roughly the same amount used by 300 homes. To maximize energy output, the tapered towers funnel wind between them, creating a negative pressure zone behind the buildings that draws more air through the gap.

    11.18.2008 at 02:00pm - Comment by Rick R.

    So what are the real power outputs of the windmills? Three 1200 meg power supplies can power three medium-sized cities. I work at a 600 megawatt power station that supplies roughly half the power for Pittsburgh, so 300 homes seems to me it might be a pretty low estimate for something that size.

  • Science

    Video: Why Artificial Intelligence Threatens Actual Intelligence

    By Abby Seiff Posted on 10.24.2008 20 Comments

    Way back in 1919 Sigmund Freud postulated his concept of the uncanny. In the (cleverly named) The Uncanny, Freud explored a problem of aesthetics—when something is both familiar and unknown the experience of viewing it can be strongly unsettling. Fifty years later, roboticist Masahiro Mori presented his own work on the uncanny. Drawing heavily on his predecessor's work, Mori developed his "uncanny valley" hypothesis.

    9.30.2008 at 05:37am - Comment by Rick R.

    Maybe artificial likenesses of us are creepy not because they are man-like, but because they seem to be humans that are not man-like. I don't know if that comes off quite how I mean it. I struggled with the best way to say it for a bit.

  • Science

    The Cold Catches a Cold

    By Posted on 8.7.2008 3 Comments

    Have you lied in bed, aching from fever and coughing, wishing that awful flu virus could get a taste of its own medicine? Well, according to a new study, it turns out that some of those bugs get as sick as we do, and additionally those infections may contribute to the rapid evolution of viruses.

    8.7.2008 at 11:59am - Comment by Rick R.

    Would you call a damaged and therefore less efficient engine "sick?"

  • Entertainment & Gaming

    Summer Fun With Rotary-Wing Projectiles

    By Posted on 7.18.2008 5 Comments

    From horseshoes to cornhole to bocce ball, every red-blooded American enjoys some form of lawn game during a summer barbecue. Each generation, innovators and entrepreneurs attempt to capitalize on a family's desire to relax outside, with a cold beverage in one hand, while competing in a game that doesn't require breaking a sweat. There is perhaps no more notorious failure in fulfilling these requirements than lawn darts. While the foot-long spears satisfied our need to compete, they ignored the fact that flying sharp objects, running kids, and that aforementioned beverage don't mix well.

    7.16.2008 at 05:29am - Comment by Rick R.

    Nothing will ever be able to fill the hole left in my heart by true lawn darts...

  • Technology

    Could the Hubble Space Telescope Photograph Lunar Footprints?

    By Posted on 7.11.2008 17 Comments

    Snug in Earth’s orbit, Hubble is free from the background glare that earthly telescopes must fight to see the stars. This allows its supersensitive camera to take better photos of galaxies farther away—and thus much dimmer—than any optical telescope on the ground can. But despite being closer to the moon than any other telescope, there’s no way the scope could snap a photo of that one small step man took 40 years ago.

    7.11.2008 at 12:24pm - Comment by Rick R.

    The moonlanding was a PR stunt to send a message to the Soviets and the American public during the Cold War. Pretty much the only use we have for the moon is as a launch pad to the rest of the solar system. A launch from the moon would require much less fuel than one from here on Earth due to it's much weaker gravitational field, roughly 1/6 the strength of our. There's no real incentive to go back until we're ready to establish a Moonbase.

  • Cars

    An American Autobahn

    By Posted on 6.24.2008 25 Comments

    As the host of one of the oldest and most famous racing events in the world, Indiana has always been known for fast cars. For now, those cars are still stuck on the racetrack, but a new study in the journal Transportation Research Record claims the roads are no more dangerous when motorists drive at Andretti-like speeds, providing further data in support of an American autobahn.

    6.25.2008 at 06:04am - Comment by Rick R.

    I am 100% sure that I live 16 miles from work no matter how fast I drive there.



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