• DIY

    The Smallest OS in the West

    By Dave Prochnow Posted on 4.22.2009 3 Comments

    Are you torn between two lovers, thinking back lovingly to those simple days of disk-based operating systems that could fit on a 1.44MB disk but remaining steadfastly enamored of a graphical user interface (GUI)? Hold on, Romeo: you can rekindle those passions, and it's only 10MB away.

  • The Environment

    Happy Earth Day! Videos, a Gallery, and Our Biggest Giveaway Yet

    By taylorhengen Posted on 4.22.2009 55 Comments

    Earth Day is a big deal here at PopSci. It's a time for admiring our incredible planet, and for giving back-- to the Earth, and to our readers (that means you). We've teamed up with the BBC to bring you a gallery of stunning images from the popular Planet Earth series, video clips (so you can appreciate the full affect), and our most extravagant giveaway yet.

  • Technology

    Fly Me to Mars, Shuttle-Style

    By Paul Adams Posted on 1.9.2009 10 Comments

    NASA plans to donate or lend three of its space shuttles to museums in 2010 -- but the co-founder of a rocket launch firm thinks the shuttles could help send humans to Mars.

  • Technology

    A Silent Electric Plane

    By Abby Seiff Posted on 12.4.2008 26 Comments

    In August, at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Randall Fishman’s ElectraFlyer-C made a virtually silent pass over the audience at a mere 200 feet. What they were seeing (but not hearing) might be the world’s first fully electric-powered airplane—representing, said one EAA official, “a groundbreaking technology that would be aviation’s first true alternative to a fossil-fuel engine.”

  • Science

    Ice, Ice, No Baby

    By Paul Adams Posted on 11.7.2008 4 Comments

    And which would you rather carry with you -- a live, rabid fox, or a little projector? Both are options. Plus, hating holograms, and more; just follow the links.

  • Science

    Creating Diamonds from Tequila

    By Abby Seiff Posted on 11.10.2008 9 Comments

    Tequila may be just another drink to those out in the town, but to a team of scientists in Mexico their country's native alcohol turned out to be a gem; a diamond, to be precise. Javier Morales, Luis Apátiga and Victor Castaño at the National Autonomous University of Mexico made the alchemist-worthy discovery while experimenting turning various organic solutions, such as acetone and ethanol, into diamonds. The scientists noted that 80-proof tequila (40 percent alcohol) had the ideal proportion of ethanol to water to create diamond films.

  • Science

    How I Met Your Bacterium

    By Paul Adams Posted on 11.10.2008 5 Comments

    It seemed like an ordinary day in the primordial ooze, but romance was in the methane-ammonia air. An amoeba, pseudopoding along as usual, met and was enchanted by a particularly lovely photosynthetic bacterium. He took her inside his cell membrane, but instead of digesting her as he first planned, the two fused into a single organism. The bacterium gave the amoeba the new ability to absorb energy from sunlight, and their descendants became every plant in the world.

  • Gadgets

    A House That Walks

    By Paul Adams Posted on 11.6.2008 19 Comments

    Houses are normally fairly stationary objects, and that's not considered a bad thing. But innovation never stands still, and a new prototype house that can walk on six legs has been built . The house is ten feet high, powered by solar panels, and is outfitted with a kitchen, toilet, bed, and wood stove. Last week, the house, a collaboration between MIT and the Danish design collective N55, took a journey through Cambridgeshire in England as part of an art project at the Wysing Art Center. Designed to move at the muscle speed of a human, the house walked at about five kilometers an hour around the 11-acre campus. (See video)

  • Science

    Links of the Day

    By Paul Adams Posted on 11.3.2008 1 Comments

    A scientist illuminates sneezes, and a bored octopus baffles staff, after the jump. Plus, can't make up your mind if you'll vote on the economy or national security? Try adding tech voting records into the equation.

  • The Environment

    Innovative Computing Power Solutions

    By Matt Ransford Posted on 4.9.2008 2 Comments

    While computing power consumption is not at the top of the list of the most egregious energy drains, it is a large enough source on the grid that it warrants creative thinking, especially in the context of server farms. Not only are server clusters a more concentrated power draw than individual computers, but the energy needed to house and cool them is a significant source in and of itself. Two new ideas—one in theory and one in practice—aim to address these questions with novel solutions.



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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.

Check out the best of what's new here.

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