• DIY

    Carve Steel with Saltwater, Electricity and a Tin Earring

    By Theodore Gray Posted on 8.6.2009 3 Comments

    I remember seeing a demonstration of a seemingly magic process at an engineering open house decades ago, in which a soft metal bit carved detailed shapes into far harder metals. It's called electrochemical machining (ECM), and it's so simple in principle that you can do it at home with a drill press, a battery charger and a pump for a garden fountain.

    8.6.2009 at 10:59pm - Comment by macrumpton

    This is an interesting demo, but without a mechanism to better control the movement of the "cutter" it is pretty useless, except for making blurry blobby indentations. I am sure there is an increase in electrical current before it actually starts arcing, so using that increase to control a servo driving a screw drive would seem to be fairly simple compared to making your own cnc milling machine.

  • Technology

    The Green Side of the Moon

    By Posted on 1.28.2008 5 Comments

    For a look inside the luxe lunar base equipped with everything from gardens to studio apartments, launch our interactive animation here.

    6.21.2009 at 09:50am - Comment by macrumpton

    This looks great. Now if we can just do this on earth first, we might have a sustainable lifestyle.

  • 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.

    12.20.2008 at 04:41pm - Comment by macrumpton

    You can't quite make out the large nautical themed belt buckle on Kirk's belt that has a huge anchor on it. I am sure that explains his stopping ability, as well as the 50mph headwind he was driving into.



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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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