• The Environment

    Synthetic Tree Soaks Up Carbon 1000x Faster Than the Real Thing

    By John Brandon Posted on 6.24.2009 17 Comments

    Trees are great absorbers of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and inhibitors of climate change -- that's why treehuggers hug them so much. But leave it to humanity to engineer a better tree. A synthetic tree, currently being tested as a prototype, ensnares carbon about 1,000 times faster than a real tree.

    6.24.2009 at 08:42am - Comment by roadchuck

    "Lackner says the captured CO2 could be used to create the used for jet engines and cars, the two most common carbon emitters. In other cases, the CO2 could be used to enhance current produce production." What does this even mean? Bad editing is my guess.

  • Science

    New Robot Opens Doors, Plugs Self In

    By Posted on 6.9.2009 9 Comments

    For those worried about a dystopian future where humans serve robot overlords, there has always been one brake on full robot autonomy: power. Whether it’s the batteries in a Roomba or the fuel in a Predator drone, robots always relied on humans for their energy. Now, thanks to a company started by one of the founders of Google, robots are heading for more self-sufficiency than ever before.

    6.9.2009 at 01:04pm - Comment by roadchuck

    Round door knobs are our last salvation!

  • DIY

    Movie Reels Carried in Case Made of Stovepipe

    By PopSci Staff Posted on 4.1.2009 1 Comments

    Here's a handy carrying case for your movie reels. Made from 6" self-locking stovepipe, it stands 17 ½" high and accommodates 24 ordinary 200-foot reels. After compressing the pipe until it just suited the 5 ¼" diameter of the reels, I cut it lengthwise into halves. Then I hinged the parts together, drilling the metal and using rivets to attach the hinges. On the other joint, I installed two suitcase catches, locating these to take care of the overlap.

    4.1.2009 at 10:51am - Comment by roadchuck

    Finally! someone comes up with an elegant solution to a nagging problem we all have! Bravo to you sir !

  • Entertainment & Gaming

    Tape Records Mass-Produced

    By PopSci Staff Posted on 4.2.2009 6 Comments

    This multiple tape recorder removes the last obstacle to commercial recordings on magnetic tape -- the mass production of duplicate tapes. It makes eight duplicates at once at three times normal speed. It can also record two sound tracks on the same tape at the same time. Thus the machine can turn out eight hour-long recordings in 10 minutes, or 48 an hour.

    4.1.2009 at 09:11am - Comment by roadchuck

    I think this is going to be BIG! someday we may even be able to listen to magnetic tapes in our automobiles :)

  • Technology

    Seastead, Ahoy!

    By Posted on 2.18.2009 17 Comments

    Economy got you down? Not sure if this whole “American capitalism” thing is working out for you? Looking for cheap housing? Well, you can always start from ideological scratch and build a new society on a free floating platform in the high seas.

    2.18.2009 at 02:48pm - Comment by roadchuck

    I have absolutley no idea what the previous poster was trying to say!

  • The Environment

    Making the Most of **it

    By Posted on 1.19.2009 19 Comments

    In José Saramago’s novel Blindness, when an epidemic of sightlessness sweeps the city, among the foulest signs of civic breakdown is its inability to handle its own excrement. Human waste piles where it lands, left to the elements and not modern plumbing. To newly minted industrial designer Virginia Gardiner, we might as well be blind to our own waste. Her plumbing-free toilet project, the Gardiner CH4, makes us personally responsible for our intimate product—and makes it useful.

    1.19.2009 at 01:40pm - Comment by roadchuck

    I keep picturing an entire subway car packed with people and their poo luggage !

  • Entertainment & Gaming

    A Longer Gondola

    By Brett Zarda Posted on 4.2.2009 6 Comments

    There's gondolas, and then there's the new Whistler Blackcomb resort's Peak 2 Peak gondola. The modern marvel opened December 12, creating the world's longest unsupported span, which stretches 1.88 miles across Fitzsimmons Creek at a measly 1,427 feet above sea level. The full 2.73-mile gondola trip joins two mountains, providing more than 8,000 acres of ski-able terrain to the most enthusiastic bums.

    1.13.2009 at 02:46pm - Comment by roadchuck

    In the picture of the gondola,what is the thing that appears to be a tree growing out of the support tower ???



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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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