What the Heck

Labels: science, seemslikemagic

Posted by Steve at 8:30 PM | Permalink | Comments

"Humans could marry robots within the century. And consummate those vows. "My forecast is that around 2050, the state of Massachusetts will be the first jurisdiction to legalize marriages with robots," artificial intelligence researcher David Levy at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands told LiveScience." More

Labels: life, robots, scary, science, sex

Posted by Steve at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments

Illuminate an LED with a LEMON! What's even more amazing is that there is an instructional video on YouTube

Labels: food, science, seemslikemagic, technology

Posted by Steve at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments

microwave plasma from jparryhill and Vimeo.

Labels: mistakes, science

Posted by Steve at 4:35 PM | Permalink | Comments

If you hold a balloon full of water over a flame, will it pop? Find out.

Labels: science, seemslikemagic

Posted by Steve at 12:07 AM | Permalink | Comments

"An Italian doctor has reconstructed vaginas for two women born with a rare congenital deformation, using their own cells to build vaginal tissue in the lab for the first time." More

Labels: science, sex, women

Posted by Steve at 10:49 PM | Permalink | Comments

"China has created artificial snow for the first time in Tibet, Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday, months after experts warned of melting glaciers and drought in the Himalayan region. The Tibet meteorological station had performed a "successful artificial snowfall operation" last week in northern Tibet, about 4,500 meters above sea level, the agency said." More

Labels: isitreal, science, seemslikemagic

Posted by Steve at 10:21 PM | Permalink | Comments

"As a collector of vintage and modern atomic clocks, I discovered it was possible, using gear found at home, to convert our family minivan into a mobile high-precision time laboratory, complete with batteries, power converters, time interval counters, three children, and three cesium clocks (see photograph). We drove as high as we could up Mount Rainier, the volcano near Seattle, Washington, and parked there for two days. The trip was continuously logged with the global positioning system; the net altitude gain was +1340 meters. Given the terrestrial blueshift of 1.1 × 10-16 per meter mentioned by Kleppner and integrating our altitude profile, we predicted the round-trip time dilation to be +22 nanoseconds. This is remarkably close to what we experimentally observed when, after we returned, the ensemble of portable cesium clocks was again compared with atomic clocks left at home." More

Labels: science, technology, toomuchtimeonhands

Posted by Steve at 11:27 PM | Permalink | Comments

Quite amazing interpolation. Is it real? More

Labels: isitreal, science, seemslikemagic, technology

Posted by Steve at 10:34 PM | Permalink | Comments

"New Zealand fishermen have caught what is expected to be a world-record-breaking colossal squid. Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton said the squid, weighing an estimated 450kg (990lb),took two hours to land in Antarctic waters." Link

Labels: animals, science

Posted by Steve at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments

"Japanese researchers said on Sunday they had grown normal-looking teeth from single cells in lab dishes, and transplanted them into mice. They used primitive cells, not quite as early as stem cells, and injected them into a framework of collagen, the material that holds the body together. After growing them, they found their structures had matured into the components that make teeth, including dentin, enamel, dental pulp, blood vessels, and periodontal ligaments." Link

Labels: life, nature, science

Posted by Steve at 1:04 PM | Permalink | Comments

"RFID keeps getting smaller. On February 13, Hitachi unveiled a tiny, new “powder” type RFID chip measuring 0.05 x 0.05 mm — the smallest yet — which they aim to begin marketing in 2 to 3 years." Link

Labels: bigbrother, science, scifi, seemslikemagic, technology

Posted by Steve at 11:36 PM | Permalink | Comments

Sailing directly downwind faster than the wind - No it is NOT impossible! Description of the vehicle at http://www.ayrs.org/DWFTTW_from_Catalyst_N23_Jan_2006.pdf

Labels: science, seemslikemagic, technology

Posted by Steve at 10:31 PM | Permalink | Comments

"The tiny woman dubbed the Hobbit who lived 18,000 years ago on a remote Indonesian island deserves to be deemed a new human species and not a deformed modern human as skeptics assert, researchers said on Monday." Link

Labels: nature, science

Posted by Steve at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments

"Ford Motor Co. is joining the list of automakers working on a plug-in hybrid -- with a twist. It combines the convenience of plugging in your car with a zero-emissions hydrogen fuel cell. Ford on Tuesday is to display what it calls the world's first drivable fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle with plug-in capability. Called the Flexible Series Hybrid Edge, it represents the latest offering from automakers hoping to stake a claim to the next generation of highly efficient, alternative automobiles." Link

Labels: science, technology

Posted by Steve at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: science

Posted by Steve at 1:49 PM | Permalink | Comments

"This experiment shows the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by potassium iodide. The reaction is done in a tall graduated cylinder so that the foamy product shoots out very quickly in a tall cylindrical shape; hence, the name elephant toothpaste." Thanks to MAKE

Labels: science

Posted by Steve at 1:46 PM | Permalink | Comments