… Read More → "How the Mythbusters accidentally punched a six-inch cannonball hole in a minivan"The cannonball was supposed to blast through an array of water barrels and a cinderblock wall. Supposed to. Instead it hit the wall, a hill, a house, and Jasbir Gill’s Toyota Sienna. Now do you see why they tell you not to try this at home? via Gizmodo
I’d like to see it running.
… Read More → "I’d like to see it running."Aside from Nissan,BMW AG and Toyota Motor Corp — two of the largest car makers on the planet — have announced a collaborative venture. The two automobile leaders will join hands to produce brand new environmentally-friendly automotive technology. The announcement was made in a Tokyo press conference on Dec. 1. These technologies could entirely change the car industry. http://www.cardealexpert.com/make/BMW/
… Read More → "Aside from Nissan,BMW AG and Toy"To create this astounding rendition of The Animals’ 1964 hit “The House of the Rising Sun,” bd594 repurposed obsolete electronics into surprisingly workable musical instruments. The flatbed scanner vocals are particularly impressive. via Laughing Squid
… Read More → "The House of the Rising Sun played by obsolete electronic devices"
A recent study shows that teens are much more interested in engineering when they’re simply exposed to it.
Engineers do cool stuff. They build cities, save lives, create music and design computer systems. Plus, they make a ton of money, relatively speaking.
All these things are the stuff teen dreams are made of, and just hearing about them can help turn young students — including teenage girls — on to engineering as a college major and career option.
In an Intel-commissioned study of 1,000 teenagers, researchers found that around 63 … Read More → "How to turn a teen into an engineer"
This Variable Temperature Soldering Station from the Maker Shed preforms much better than its price implies. It’s absolutely the best iron we have found for less than $20, plus it’s high quality so it won’t burn your house down! The iron features interchangeable tips (available separately) and a comfortable rubber grip. The station features a stand with Bakelite ring, cleaning sponge, heat adjustment, … Read More → "New in the Maker Shed: variable temperature soldering station"
Swedish design firm People People created this very clever glass-enclosed speaker that allows it to blend with virtually any decor. The speaker is Wi-Fi enabled and in the interests of sustainability it is designed to be easily repaired. People People is developing the speaker as a kit (to ease the cost and environmental impact of shipping, the glass will be sourced locally). No release date has been … Read More → "Glass speaker by People People"
A material that surpasses certain physical limits of silicon has been used to fabricate a prototype microchip in Switzerland.
École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne’s (EPFL’s) Laboratory of Nanoscale Electronics and Structures (LANES) made the chip with molybdenite, which is claimed to improve upon silicon in terms of miniaturisation, electricity consumption and mechanical flexibility.
‘We have built an initial prototype, putting from two to six serial transistors in place, and shown that basic binary logic operations are possible, which proves that we … Read More → "Laboratory creates prototype microchip from molybdenum"
Cutting the cables isn’t just a nice way to tidy up your home electronics. Why are we plugging our electric cars into a socket, when we’re living in a wireless world? Nissan’s going to bring wireless charging to the Nissan Leaf — as early as 2013. Woot woot!
A Nissan demonstration reveals that future Nissan Leaf EVs will be cheaper, more efficient and will not require any annoying power cords. … Read More → "Next-gen Nissan Leaf electric cars will be charged wirelessly"
Astronomers have confirmed the existence of an Earth-like planet in the “habitable zone” around a star not unlike our own.
The planet, Kepler 22-b, lies about 600 light-years away and is about 2.4 times the size of Earth, and has a temperature of about 22C.
It is the closest confirmed planet yet to one like ours – an “Earth 2.0”. via Read More → "Kepler 22-b: Earth-like planet confirmed"
