shadowsurfur
- Technology
How Much Power Does The Human Brain Require To Operate?
According to Kwabena Boahen, a computer scientist at Stanford University, a robot with a processor as smart as the human brain would require at least 10 megawatts to operate. That's the amount of energy produced by a small hydroelectric plant. But a small group of computer scientists may have hit on a new neural supercomputer that could someday emulate the human brain's low energy requirements of just 20 watts--barely enough to run a dim light bulb.
11.7.2009 at 09:10am - Comment by shadowsurfurSo it takes that much power to run the human brain?? I know some people whose brains aren't getting nearly enough power, it seems.
- Entertainment & Gaming
Create Videogames Without Crunching Code
From Second Life to The Sims to Spore, games have long encouraged users to develop content, such as fashions or creatures, and share it online. But Microsoft has taken creativity to the next stage with Kodu, a program that allows players on an Xbox 360 or a PC to craft entire games using just the controller to select icons.
6.11.2009 at 02:58pm - Comment by shadowsurfurSecond Life isn't exactly a game. There's no scoring system, missions, quests, or anything like that. It's a virtual social networking simulator. Literally a "second life."
- Science
Army Mechanic's Garage Tinkering Yields 18-Foot Mecha Exoskeleton
Carlos Owens had handled all kinds of machines as an army mechanic, but he always dreamed of using those skills for one project: his own "mecha,” a giant metal robot that could mirror the movements of its human pilot.
6.11.2009 at 02:52pm - Comment by shadowsurfur*sings* Transformers, more than meets the eye....
- Science
Ghost Heart
In late 2005, cardiac researcher Doris Taylor revived the dead. She rinsed rat hearts with detergent until the cells washed away and all that remained was a skeleton of tissue translucent as wax paper—a ghost heart, as Taylor calls it. She injected the scaffold with fresh heart cells from newborn rats. Then she waited.
10.4.2008 at 11:55am - Comment by shadowsurfurThis is really, really awesome. And to think, this is only the first step! In the next few years, this will become commonplace medical practice.
- Entertainment & Gaming
Playing Games With Science: N3wton
Newton's Third Law is often quoted as "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." As N3wton's title suggests, the Third Law is at the heart of this little physics-oriented computer game. Click to play. (Warning: there's music.)
9.28.2008 at 08:57pm - Comment by shadowsurfurVery amusing game.
- Entertainment & Gaming
Playing Games With Science: N3wton
Newton's Third Law is often quoted as "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." As N3wton's title suggests, the Third Law is at the heart of this little physics-oriented computer game. Click to play. (Warning: there's music.)
9.28.2008 at 08:57pm - Comment by shadowsurfurVery amusing game.
- Technology
Call the Space Plumber: ISS's Toilet is on the Fritz
Of all of the sophisticated technology powering the International Space Station, nothing brings the frustration of modern living back home to those of us on Earth more than a report of a broken toilet. Only the astronauts can't make an after-work run to the home repair store; they have to devise creative solutions while they wait for Saturday's launch of the space shuttle Discovery to bring them repair parts.
9.28.2008 at 08:07pm - Comment by shadowsurfurThe toilet has handlebars on the sides. That's actually pretty amusing. Shame that their "Mr. Thirsty" broke...
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December 2009: Best of What's New
In our December issue, Popular Science names the 100 best innovations of the year: bombproof wallpaper, self-parking cars, the fastest helicopter, and 97 more. Plus inventor profiles and videos.
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