Comments

Swilverback

Technology

The Flying Car Gets Real

By Gregory Mone Posted on 10.8.2008 45 Comments
The Transition is not a flying car. The vehicle, set to go on sale next year, will cruise smoothly on the road and through the sky. It will have four wheels, Formula One–style suspension, and a pair of 10-foot-wide wings that fold up when it switches from air to asphalt. And when the engineers at Terrafugia in Woburn, Massachusetts, let me sit inside their just-finished proof-of-concept vehicle and grab the steering wheel, it’s easy to imagine piloting this thing up and out of traffic, into the open skies.

10.15.2008 at 01:53am - Comment by Swilverback

Ya it's cool, but, really, can you see these driving down the highways next to a 'PINTO'?First of all, even if you have an authorized/certified pilots licence, you can't just spread your wings and launch off the free/high/road and/or carriageway at your own free will!It requires strict government authorization and locations to take to the skies.As a child, this was an amazing concept, but even if you have all the skills and vehicle, it is still grossly regulated!EVEN IF, you could take off at any desired location, it would take an extremely complex network of áir traffic controllers'to safely navigate these craft...and who would pay for this?Just like, with SEGWAY and electric bikes, the municipal regulations are applied as seen necessary to each community.For example, in some cities the SEGWAY is not a motor vehcle or a non motorized vehicle, so they have to create an entirely new catagory of it's own!Now, the municipality sets terms and conditions on the craft as it deams necessary.I can only predict that FLYING VEHICLES are subject to the maximized regulatoy procedures as possible!
Technology

XCOR Unveils Suborbital Space Vehicle

By Posted on 4.23.2008 5 Comments
Today in Los Angeles, a private space company unveiled the latest entrant in the race to send paying passengers into suborbital space. The Lynx, in development by XCOR Aerospace, is envisioned as a two-seat vehicle that will allow a paying passenger to ride up front with the pilot to experience weightlessness and see the Earth from space.

9.25.2008 at 03:20am - Comment by Swilverback

I would love to see this happen, but other than well done animatics there have been no test flights(that I'm aware of)!At least the Virgin's Space Ship One has a proven flight record,even though I support the liquid fuel propulsion system over the solid fuel alternative!We have seen too many disasters from such technology, that it would be a delight to see the Lynx's system function at an optimal rate.I wish both of them the best, but I believe commercial space travel has to have the clients best interests(safety)in mind.After all, there's no point in going somewhere if you cant enjoy it!
The Environment

Greenland's Big Problem Is a Little One

By Rachel Durfee Posted on 9.16.2008 18 Comments
Though its cause may still be contentious for some (ahem, Sarah Palin), it is undeniable that Greenland is disappearing at a startling rate as large chunks of ice break off from the mainland and float away as icebergs. Until now, it was commonly thought that the melting and break up of mammoth glaciers was the most dramatic example of Greenland's changing landscape; however, new research shows that the real culprits are dozens of much smaller outflow glaciers dotting Greenland's coast.

9.25.2008 at 02:54am - Comment by Swilverback

laurenra7 contact me if you get this message
The Environment

Gaseous State

By Molika Ashford Posted on 9.18.2008 39 Comments
In a lush pasture near Buenos Aires, this cow and its compatriots are digesting important information: how much methane—a greenhouse gas 20 times as potent as carbon dioxide—is released by the country’s 55 million bovines. Researchers from Argentina's National Institute of Agricultural Technology connected inflatable tanks to the cows’ first stomach, where methane is made, through a small hole between their ribs.

9.25.2008 at 02:50am - Comment by Swilverback

Laurenra7 Please contact me if you get this.You're a brilliant person.
Cars

It's Electric: Chrysler Reveals Alternative-Energy Prototypes

By Mike Spinelli Posted on 9.24.2008 13 Comments
Not to be outdone by GM's Chevy Volt hoopla last week, Chrysler today revealed three prototypes from its own electric-car program earlier today on CNBC. Who knew Chrysler had an electric-car program? Practically no one. But the company calls it ENVI, pronounced "envy," and the first consumer product from the program could appear as early as 2010.

9.25.2008 at 01:43am - Comment by Swilverback

Once again, we have the technology and refuse to market it!Am I the only one who thinks we are wasting time!!!!!!!!I'm not just speaking about the new line of cars, but the fact that the technology has been around for years!!I am not a conspiracy theorist, but I cant help to think that the auto companies are sleeping with the enemy(oil co.).It makes no sense for the north american companies to produce vehicles that are non fuel efficient when the rest of the world is manufacturing them and(as we have recently been shown)the techno is available.And why doesnt the new chevy volt have solar roof panels so it can trickle charge while its parked??????????????????Or any electric vehicle for that matter!
DIY

Liquid Nitrogen Live

By PopSci Staff Posted on 8.21.2008 3 Comments
If you're going to be in New York City next Tuesday, there are still a few tickets left to the Kitchen Alchemy duo's class, "Chilling Out With Liquid Nitrogen." Did PopSci's recent article on cooking with liquid nitrogen pique your interest? Learn first-hand from H. Alexander Talbot and Aki Kamozawa how to flash-freeze foods and shatter them; turn any cream into ice cream; grind olives into powder; and other kitchen-tech wonders. The class is at Manhattan's Astor Center, August 26 at 6:30 pm. Use the secret discount code POPSCI when ordering your ticket and get 10 percent off. Hope to see you there!

9.25.2008 at 01:02am - Comment by Swilverback

I think this is a brilliant new twist in food innovation!The simple fact that someone has taken it from the lab to the kitchen is revoltionary!People have not only started to think outside of the box but cook in it.With liquid N you achieve new tempuratures and this changes the world of traditional and new cooking concepts.I look forward to sampling these delectable frozen delights!
DIY

Make A Walking Beast

By Posted on 9.2.2008 8 Comments
Martin Montesano had been captivated since childhood by enormous walking machines like the ones in The Empire Strikes Back. A few real-life versions have been built before, but they never lived up to his vision. He wanted his to be huge.

9.25.2008 at 12:54am - Comment by Swilverback

I think this 'BEAST has a lot of potential', but i have to agree with the first commentator that it has been a huge expenditor of resourses.That doesnt mean that it is frivilous, only that, it needs improvement!For example, the solar panel is being upgraded on a daily basis!We all have dreams and sometimes they turn into obsessions but if that wasnt the case we would still not have electricity!I think the overall potential of this project has major overtones of micro and macro development.
DIY

Metal's Hidden Treasure

By Theodore Gray Posted on 9.22.2008 8 Comments
The phrase “passing the acid test” gained popularity in the gold-rush years of the 1850s when miners used strong acids to determine whether the metal they had found was real gold or not. If it bubbled and frothed on contact with acid, it wasn’t gold. But even these failures produced something interesting and beautiful. When pure metals cool, they solidify into intricately interlocked crystals. You can’t see the crystals because they fit together perfectly to form what appears to be a uniform mass with a smooth, solid surface. But acid can reveal the structure inside.

9.25.2008 at 12:43am - Comment by Swilverback

I think this is a beautiful way to experiment with art at the molecular level!!!Unfortunately, we are just starting to be able to access the quantum level at an exponential rate, only in the last decade or two!This is an extremely simple experiment that hasn't been properly explored in all it's regions, so it should be shared with people that can appreciate simply beauty(like kids)!
DIY

A Six-Pack of "Light" Beer

By Dave Prochnow Posted on 9.15.2008 23 Comments
Al Gore and company have helped us to see that our planet is in peril. Lend a hand, make a toast, and help illuminate ways for saving Earth -- all at the same time! It's easy to do your part: recycle, refill, and recharge.

9.25.2008 at 12:33am - Comment by Swilverback

Im sorry, I can appreciate the recycling aspect of this project, but why would I spend twice as much money and 10 times the effort of just going and buying the damned thing already packaged at the home depot?...No offense, it's still cool!
Cars

London Motor Show 2008

By Posted on 7.30.2008 7 Comments
The weeklong 2008 British International Auto Show started yesterday and through the Lightnings, Citroens and, yes, Ford Fiestas one common thread has stretched; and it is green. Most of the low and mid-range manufacturers addressed the public's clarion call for less reliance on pricey fuel.

9.25.2008 at 12:13am - Comment by Swilverback

Obviously, you have no concept of basic physics!I have no doubt that it is possible to create a propulsion system that can produce the acceleration needed for your vehicle but you have thrown out the baby with the bath water.You hav'nt considered the human, steering, guidance, heat and material stress factors!!!You have nothing more than a logistical nightmare! Maybe you have a 'THEORY'on how this system works, but other than that, you have no 'PRACTICAL'application for this vehicle!EVEN if it works out on paper, you have don't have the experience to execute it.However, I agree with the above commentary that you should not be discouraged and if you can prove me wrong in my diagnosis then I welcome it!GOOD LUCK AND GOD SPEED!