admin – Page 706 – Impact Lab

Breakthrough Thinking, Health & Fitness, Science & Technology News

UK Company ReVend Revamps Fluorescent Light Bulb Recycling

February 5, 2012

Lighting up new options for fluorescent recycling.

Lots of people know that they shouldn’t be throwing away batteries, fluorescent light bulbs, and other pieces of household hazardous waste (HHW). But what should you be doing instead? Today, many large businesses collect such waste for recycling; our pals over at Earth911 have a searchable list of American HHW recyclers. The UK company reVend has recently teamed up with IKEA to make it even easier—at two flagship stores in the UK, they’ve rolled out “reverse vending machines” for spent bulbs and batteries.

It’s stupid simple: you put your light bulb in a hole in the machine, a video camera identifies the bulb so the machine can sort it, and you receive a reward voucher for a free cup of coffee…

Continue reading… “UK Company ReVend Revamps Fluorescent Light Bulb Recycling”

Analysis, Current Events, Historical Perspectives, New Viewpoints

America’s most miserable cities

February 5, 2012

Feeling miserable today? Maybe you live in Miami, Florida. The city – famous for mega-million mansions and South Beach clubs – has just gotten the unenviable title of America’s Most Miserable City.

Forbes Magazine took a look at 10 factors (including violent crimes, unemployment rates, and foreclosures) for the 200 largest metro areas in the United States to find the 10 most miserable cities in America. See if yours make the list..

Continue reading… “America’s most miserable cities”

Great New Product, Nanotechnology, New Inventions, Science & Technology News

Researchers develop ‘smart paint’ that monitors structural damage

February 5, 2012

Dr Mohamed Saafi and David McGahon have developed a smart paint that can detect microscopic faults in large structures.

Researchers have developed a ‘smart paint’ able to detect tiny faults before damage can occur, and at a fraction of the cost of current methods.

Continue reading… “Researchers develop ‘smart paint’ that monitors structural damage”

Food, Great Videos, Photo Perspectives, Plant Life, Science & Technology News

Urban Cultivator compact garden

February 5, 2012

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoPr9byMxgw[/youtube]

Fresh herbs taste better than their dried counterparts, and there is no denying that garden-fresh veggies are preferable to ones that have spent the past several days in a truck or on a supermarket shelf. People who are lucky enough to live in warmer climates can keep the fresh greens coming year-round, if they plant a garden. For those of us in colder regions, however, things get a bit more challenging come winter. We can rig up indoor herb gardens on windowsills or using full-spectrum fluorescent lights, but that can sometimes get a little complicated. If you can justify its price, however, there is an alternative – the Urban Cultivator. (Pics)

Continue reading… “Urban Cultivator compact garden”

Award Winner, Photo Perspectives

Amazing photos taken by kids

February 5, 2012

Makayla Hayes, 14, won the international grand prize in the 2011 National Geographic Kids photo contest for this photo.

When you hand a kid a camera you can get a glimpse into their world. They have an interesting perspective on just about everything. This year’s winners in the Fifth Annual National Geographic Kids International Photo Contest captured humorous quips, quirky sights, and poignant moments that may be impossible to see without a view finder. (Pics)

Continue reading… “Amazing photos taken by kids”

Great Videos, Nanotechnology, Robots, Science & Technology News

Swarm of nano quadrotors fly in formation: Video

February 5, 2012

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQIMGV5vtd4&hd=1[/youtube]

Researchers at GRASP Lab at the University of Pennsylvania have been working with nano quadrotors since at least 2010, managing to get them to fly aggressively, build a tower structure and now — fly in perfect formation.

Continue reading… “Swarm of nano quadrotors fly in formation: Video”

Animals, Art

Top 10 Photos of the Week

February 5, 2012

As pigeons evolve, their wings will become useless, much like the human brain

Quote of the Day: Truthiness is tearing apart our country, and I don’t mean the argument over who came up with the word. I don’t know whether it’s a new thing, but it’s certainly a current thing, in that it doesn’t seem to matter what facts are. It used to be, everyone was entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts. But that’s not the case anymore. Facts matter not at all. Perception is everything.” – – Stephen Colbert

Continue reading… “Top 10 Photos of the Week”

Analysis, Science & Technology News, top 10

Top 10 techiest cities in America

February 4, 2012

Seattle tops the list of top techiest cities in the U.S.

As part of the annual America’s Favorite Cities survey, Trave l + Leisure readers ranked 35 major cities on qualities such as microbrews, live music and street food. Readers also judged how tech-savvy the locals seem, and the reliability of wireless coverage; we combined the two sets of results to come up with our list of the techiest cities.

Continue reading… “Top 10 techiest cities in America”

Animals, Art, Breakthrough Thinking, Crazy Stuff, Education, Entertainment, New Discoveries, New Viewpoints

Ferrofluid Sculpture

February 4, 2012

I just learned about Ferrofluid today. It can do some amazing things, like this video shows. After the jump is a second video explaining HOW ferrofluid works.

From the YouTube descriptioin:

A steel sculpture with changing magnetisation is coated with ferrofluid.
The fluid is pulled in the direction of increasing flux density and forms peaks, which become smaller in higher flux density. At an accumulation of fluid at ridges, the flux density at the surface decreases. The flow and the distribution of the fluid can be observed at several characteristic locations…

Continue reading… “Ferrofluid Sculpture”

Art, Breakthrough Thinking, Crazy Stuff, Entertainment, Great Videos, New Viewpoints

Unplayable piece used to test player pianos

February 4, 2012

It’s called “Circus Galop” or “Death Waltz”, and it’s used to test the performance of player pianos. No single person has ever played it…so far. But if we can put a man on the moon, surely we can genetically engineer a superhuman species that can perform it…

Continue reading… “Unplayable piece used to test player pianos”

Architecture, Crazy Stuff, Photo Perspectives, Science & Technology News

8 amazing elevator rides you need to see to believe

February 4, 2012

The elevator at the AquaDom in Berlin travels up the middle of the 82-foot tall aquarium.

To ride an elevator it usually just involves pushing a button and zoning out until the ding for your floor. Pay attention on these elevators or risk missing out on one of the most thrilling rides of your life (even if it only lasts 30 seconds). From climbing to a scenic overlook in rural China to an ascent up an American icon, these vertical feats of engineering are about way more than getting from point A to point B. (Pics)

Continue reading… “8 amazing elevator rides you need to see to believe”

Analysis, facebook, Internet, Science & Technology News

No sign of ‘Facebook fatigue’ for longtime users

February 4, 2012

Longtime users show no sign that they have tired of posting on Facebook.

No ” Facebook fatigue.” A survey released shows that people who have used the social networking site over a long period – since its founding in 2004, say – show no sign that they have tired of posting pictures, updating weekend plans or just relaying random thoughts.

Continue reading… “No sign of ‘Facebook fatigue’ for longtime users”