Tiny parcels of light, or photons, are produced out of empty space.
Scientists prove space is not empty after they claim they have produced particles of light out of a vacuum.
Congress makes pizza a vegetable on school lunch menus
Pizza a vegetable in schools.
The fight against childhood obesity has been dealt a blow. The U.S. House of Representatuves passed a bill that abandons proposals that threatened to end the reign of pizza and French fries on federally funded school lunch menus.
Continue reading… “Congress makes pizza a vegetable on school lunch menus”
Rear-view mirror with built-in GPS, hands-free phone, camera, and video screen
A whole new way to look at things.
Chinavision’s “Complete Car Bluetooth Rearview Mirror Kit” is a replacement rear-view mirror that can play videos (including a video-feed from a rear-mounted parking camera), display status-messages from your phone, provide turn-by-turn GPS, and otherwise distract and delight drivers in ways ranging from useful to suicidal…
Continue reading… “Rear-view mirror with built-in GPS, hands-free phone, camera, and video screen”
Sergey Brin donates half a million dollars to Wikipedia
Wikipedia just got a big financial shot in the arm.
We’re all used to hearing of über-rich gazillionaires donating to charitable causes like finding cures for diseases and feeding hungry children in Africa. But what about websites? Now you can say that you’ve heard that too, as Google co-founder Sergey Brin has forked over $500,000 to Wikipedia.
The donation is actually from Brin’s charity, the Brin Wojcicki Foundation, which he founded with his wife, Anne Wojcicki. Before these big bucks were sent to the Wikimedia Foundation (the nonprofit that runs Wikipedia), the couple had donated to Michael J. Fox’s fund for finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease…
Continue reading… “Sergey Brin donates half a million dollars to Wikipedia”
The world’s largest 3D street art opens up an amazing gateway to hell
If I stumbled across the world’s largest 3D street art in London, my knees would buckle, pee would tinkle down my leg and I’d probably even cry. That’s because the 3D art transforms a regular street into a frighteningly deep gaping pit straight into the middle of the Earth. Just look at it…
Continue reading… “The world’s largest 3D street art opens up an amazing gateway to hell”
Digital movies to replace film worldwide by 2015
The majority of cinema screens in the U.S. are expected to go digital in 2012.
We are used to seeing the standard 35 mm film in movie theaters but that will be replaced worldwide by digital technology in the next few years, and the hit blockbuster film “Avatar” is to blame for the shift, according to a new report.
Continue reading… “Digital movies to replace film worldwide by 2015”
Could Warren Buffet Buy Italy?
Futurist Thomas Frey: Warren Buffet owns many things, but so far owning his own country is not one of them.
Canada’s new high-tech plastic currency
Canada’s plastic currency.
Many of us rely on plastic credit and debit cards to make the majority of our daily purchases but still the idea of saying goodbye to paper money seems ludicrous. The Bank of Canada is planning to do just that, and the first in an all-new line of plastic money will begin rolling out to consumers this month. The bills — made of a single piece of polymer — boast a longer life than paper notes, as well as some advanced security features to keep counterfeiters scratching their heads.
U.S. military unveils hypersonic weapon that travels 5 times the speed of sound
U.S. military unveils a hypersonic flying missile that can strike a target anywhere in the world in just 30 minutes.
Continue reading… “U.S. military unveils hypersonic weapon that travels 5 times the speed of sound”
Amazon may launch smartphone in 2012
An Amazon Smartphone may be launched in 4Q12.
Amazon, the Seattle-based online retail giant may be planning to launch a smartphone next year, Citigroup said in a research note published on Thursday
Geothermal power plants could be a massive source of Lithium for batteries
The Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Plant in Þingvellir, Iceland.
In absolute terms, lithium is not particularly rare on Earth. It’s the 25th most abundant element, close to nickel and lead. Bolivia alone is estimated to have enough lithium to make batteries for 4.8 billion electric cars, and since lithium is not destroyed in use – unlike fossil fuels – old batteries can be recycled into new ones, or used to smooth out the output of wind farms.
So the question isn’t: Will we have enough lithium? Rather, it’s more like: As demand for it explodes, can we ramp up production rapidly enough, at a low enough cost, and while keeping it as environmentally-friendly as possible. It’s still probably going to be much better to make a battery once and then use it for years with progressively cleaner electricity (as the grid incorporates more and more renewable energy) rather than fill up a gas tank with non-renewable fossil fuels from halfway around the world every week, but even in that scenario, it’s going to be better if we can get the lithium cleanly and close to where we’ll use it. That’s where geothermal power plants enter the picture…
Continue reading… “Geothermal power plants could be a massive source of Lithium for batteries”
This metal is almost as light as air
A breakthrough with amazing potential.
Ultra-lightweight materials are an incredibly cool area of materials science, bringing us crazy substances like aerogel. And now, for the first time, scientists have produced a metal that’s so light it can balance on the fluff of a dandelion. Here’s why this material is revolutionary — and how it’s made…