• Entertainment & Gaming

    The Physics of Surfing (Part Two: Tubes and Barrels)

    By Paul Adams Posted on 11.5.2008 3 Comments

    Probably the most sought-after surfing experience is the tube ride (a.k.a. "getting barreled"). A tube ride occurs when the top of the wave pitches over the surfer so that he or she is completely enclosed in an oval space behind the curtain of falling water. Inside the "green room," you are hurtling through a tunnel of water and the only way out (without wiping out) is straight through the opening in front of you. Hollow waves are foot-for-foot the most powerful variety of breaking wave, and good tube riding is really difficult. It requires timing, experience, and skill. The video shows us some world-class surfers making it look easy!

  • Entertainment & Gaming

    Michael Crichton, Dead at 66

    By Abby Seiff Posted on 11.5.2008 3 Comments

    Michael Crichton, best known as the author of such books like Jurassic Park and movies like Westworld, died last night from cancer at his home in Los Angeles, California at the age of 66. He is survived by his wife Sherri and his daughter Taylor. A medical doctor with a degree from Harvard, Crichton’s works and movies brought science to a mainstream audience, introducing readers to concepts like cloning and chaos theory.

  • DIY

    Polish the AppleTV

    By Abby Seiff Posted on 10.30.2008 7 Comments

    Like its more popular cousin the iPhone, the AppleTV is a beacon of simplicity in a category—set-top boxes that download and stream video from a computer or other device to your TV—crowded with wonky and complex options. Also like the iPhone, the AppleTV has its needless limitations: It plays video only in iTunes formats or from YouTube. No home movies or video (legally) downloaded from other sites are playable unless they’ve been specially converted.

  • Science

    Tech's Top 10 Election Lows

    By Paul Adams Posted on 10.30.2008 12 Comments

    Just as the 1960 election was the first to be truly shaped by the television medium, this year's presidential throwdown will go down as the first that was undeniably shaped, and perhaps even decided, by technology. From the very beginning, the news media, the pundits, the public, and the candidates themselves have engaged tech in ways and to levels that simply weren't possible before now. As a technology enthusiast, it's been thrilling to see things like blogs, widgets, Twitter feeds, Facebook, and text messaging enter the mainstream political lexicon.

  • Cars

    The Gas Bug

    By Paul Adams Posted on 10.30.2008 10 Comments

    E. coli has earned a nasty reputation for upsetting stomachs and killing people. But now scientists at LS9, a start-up in South San Francisco, are putting the bad bug to good use, genetically engineering it to excrete biodiesel. The fuel "burns just like diesel," says Greg Pal, the senior director at LS9 [see Breeding the Oil Bug, about the rise of microbial biofuels].

  • Science

    The Physics of Surfing (Part One: Dropping In)

    By Paul Adams Posted on 10.29.2008 3 Comments

    There are few things more impressive than watching a big-wave surfer dropping into a monstrous "bomb" 60 or 70 feet high. Actually doing it must be quite an adrenaline rush. (I've been out in waves maybe a fifth that size and even then the energy of the wave can be, well... terrifying!) In the video we can see that the surfer gets towed into the wave with the aid of a jet ski. If you're familiar with surfing you might be aware that once waves get big enough (wave faces larger than 40 or 50 feet) it's impossible to paddle into them in the "traditional" way: you have to be towed in. Why is this? Not surprisingly, it all has to do with some basic principles of physics.

  • Science

    First, Let's Synchronize Our Watches

    By Paul Adams Posted on 10.24.2008 6 Comments

    Leonard Monroe wonders: "What would happen if everyone in the world were to jump and land at the same time?" Post your answer in the comments. Submit your science and technology questions to fyi@popsci.com.

  • Cars

    Less Time Stuck in Traffic, Thanks to New MIT Program

    By Abby Seiff Posted on 10.23.2008 1 Comments

    Traffic delays are the bane of any commuter—even those who use a GPS, which warns you about traffic jams on your route to work. The reason: getting real-time data is difficult as the traffic information is routed from the scene to a massive database that only feeds GPS units on regular intervals.

  • Science

    There's Spies In Them There Keyboards

    By Abby Seiff Posted on 10.23.2008 4 Comments

    Hackers may be one step ahead of you once again. Sure, you can follow all the steps to protect your private data, like creating a password that's hard to guess or clearing your memory cache after browsing, but that may not be enough. It's very possible that hackers can sniff out your data with every keystroke—at least that's what Swiss researchers proved in a video demonstration, which showed four different ways to pick up sensitive information from people's keyboards as they typed.

  • Science

    The Hands-Free Future

    By Abby Seiff Posted on 10.22.2008 5 Comments

    Using motion sensors, brain signals and a heap of creativity, several new technologies promise to do away with cramped typing fingers, videogame-fried eyes and hoarse phone voices. This past summer in Tokyo, for instance, a paralyzed man with electrodes attached to his head took his Second Life avatar on a virtual walk just by envisioning his character strolling.

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February 2012: The Future of Fun

Science is reinventing play, from extreme sports to gamification to ridiculous roller coasters to the playgrounds of tomorrow, and this issue is chock full of fun. Also, on a less fun note: Did global warming destroy my hometown?


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