NASA’s Mars rover Opportunity discovered a mineral vein telling of a warmer, wetter and potentially more conducive to life past for the seemingly cold, dry and desolate Red Planet. The mineral vein, found in the crater Endeavor, is composed of a calcium sulfate called gypsum. Unlike some other forms of calcium sulfates, gypsum … Read More → "Mars Rover finds new evidence of water"
The integration of electronics with materials opens up a world of possibilities, the surface of which is just being scratched. Professor Arokia Nathan has joined the University to take up a new Chair in Engineering, where he will be exploring the application of research that allows us to glimpse a world rivaling our wildest dreams of the future.
The potential applications for nanophotonics and nanoelectronics are truly startling, suggesting the brink of a revolution in human–machine interfaces that could turn science fiction into a reality. From interactive paper to clothing that generates energy and … Read More → "Future robots could have complex electronic circuits embedded into their casings"
We have this time-lapse video of the Walt Disney Concert Hall being set up for a rehearsal of Mahler’s Symphony no. 8, which will be performed by the LA Phil, the Simon Bolivar Orchestra, and 16 choirs at the Shrine next month. It’s a mesmerizing video and quite the production, and thought you might be interested in sharing with your readers. LA magazine via Boing Boing
… Read More → "Time lapse of LA’s Walt Disney Concert Hall getting prepped for “Mahler Project”"
The recent Muppets movie no doubt brought Jim Henson back into the minds of many, and a just-unearthed commercial film he did for The Bell System nearly 50 years ago gives a hilarious glimpse of his earlier days–and of the youthful years of computing.
via cnet
Read More → "Unearthed robot film for The Bell System shows genius of Muppets’ Henson"
In 1927, Professor Thomas Parnell of the University of Queensland in Australia set out to teach his students a lesson, and that lesson is still going on today and has at least another 100 years to go.
The physics professor wanted to demonstrate to his pupils that solid material could have viscous properties, so he used tar pitch, a derivative of coal once used to waterproof boats, … Read More → "World’s longest lab experiment still going 85 years later (and now it has its own webcam)"
Imagine a car that could go 300 miles – that’s Chicago to St. Louis – on battery power. That’s not possible today without either an assist from a gasoline-fueled engine functioning as a charger (the Chevy Volt solution) or an alternate drive provider (the Toyota Prius solution). The fact that such cars need, in effect, two engines, means that battery-powered options remain much more expensive than their purely gasoline-fueled peers, which … Read More → "What do we need from the battery of the future?"
We’ve been following the terrifying sounding but mostly harmless solar flare as summoned up by the Sun’s most recent solar storm as it hits the Earth in a dazzling display across the Northern half of the hemisphere. What NASA has posted in regards to the situation is not one, but two views of not the Earth, but the Sun as it flares up early this week. Photos of the aurora collection going on … Read More → "NASA releases videos of Sun’s massive M8.7 solar flare"
Last October Toyota announced its participation in the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship with a hybrid prototype race car. Today the company revealed some of the details of the TS030 HYBRID with surprises galore. The car uses a normally-aspirated 3400cc V8 petrol engine and a supercapacitor energy storage system developed by Nisshinbo.
via gizmag</ … Read More → "Toyota unveils its hybrid 2012 Le Mans challenger"
In an attempt to look at the damage inside one of its failed Fukushima reactors, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) inserted an 8.5mm remote-controlled endoscope and thermometer into the containment vessel of a failed reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. via PBS
… Read More → "Japanese officials peek inside damaged Fukushima reactor"
In the days before Intel, Apple and Google, computing was a much more traditional affair. We’re talking levers, gears, and other mechanisms that could all automate counting in some way or other. Russian scientist Vladimir Lukyanov, however, built one that ran on water.
Pruned has unearthed some lovely pictures and text about Lukyanov’s computer, and it really is quite a sight to behold. Built in 1936, it was the world’s first computer for … Read More → "The Russian computer that ran on water"
