Fifty years ago, in December 1964, Popular Science featured a machine that would probe the deepest secrets of matter. Just west of Stanford University, the U.S. Department of…
That Time The Feds Built A Deluxe Atom Cannon In Palo Alto
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Google Cardboard Is Virtual Reality On A Budget
Instead of building a headset from scratch, Google created Cardboard, a complete virtual reality (VR) experience made from $25 worth of parts (a corrugated box, plastic…
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In A Face-To-Face GMO Debate, The "For" Side Wins
Last night, more than 400 people packed into New York City's Kaufman Center to hear researchers and Monsanto's chief technology officer debate GMOs.
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"The S.S. United States: America's New Superliner"
This month the waters of the Atlantic Ocean will feel for the first time the smooth rush of something very special in the way of superliners. The S.S. United States will be…
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Can Our National Flagship Be Saved?
She's the most famous ship that never sank, and a technological triumph of her era. At her launch, she boasted the most extensive use of lightweight aluminum in any…
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Eye-Tracking Menus Let You Order Pizza Without Thinking About It
Sure, you couldorder a pizza instantly through your Xbox, or by using hand gestures on an interactive tabletop at the restaurant. But what if you don’t know what you want?
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Conquer Cold With DIY Hand Warmers
Cold weather makes for cold hands—unless, of course, you have a hand warmer. Don’t waste money on those cheap disposable ones. Instead, use kitchen chemistry to make your own reusable versions.
When vinegar and baking soda react, they form a compound called sodium acetate. This chemical has a high freezing point, so in liquid form at room temperature, it is supercooled. In such a state, a single sodium acetate crystal will trigger all the liquid to freeze solid, which releases enough energy to heat a bag of sodium acetate to about 136°F. Once it cools down, users can drop the bag into…
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Semantics
Presented without comment. Except for that one.
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Five Ways To Make Gadgets Human-Proof
We incorporate electronic gadgets of all kinds into our lives, with the idea that they will make our lives easier. The thing is, we don’t always treat those gadgets well. Hence, the latest trend in technology: creating devices that protect themselves from, well, us.
Earlier this week, Apple received approval for a patent designed to protect electronic devices, like the iPhone, during a fall. One of the most talked about features of the patented technology is its ability to rotate the phone as it falls, preventing the dreaded cracked screen by forcing the iPhone to land on its back.
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Robotic Exoskeletons Are Here, And They’re Changing Lives
When you think of bionic exoskeleton suits, images of futuristic high-tech super soldiers often come to mind. Think Tom Cruise in this summer’s sci-fi flick Edge Of Tomorrow, or Ripley taking on the queen xenomorph in Aliens. While militaries across the world are certainly interested in designing weaponized exo-suits for their armies of the future, powered exoskeletons are actually finding a much more benevolent niche right now: patient rehabilitation.
That’s the idea behind the full-body Ekso suits manufactured by Ekso Bionics. Originally developed for DARPA to help soldiers carry heavy…
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Semantics
Presented without comment. Except for that one.
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Watch An Owl Perform An Elegant Butterfly Stroke
Photographer Steve Spitzer was walking through Loyola Beach in Chicago when he came across an odd sight: A Great Horned Owl... swimming in Lake Michigan.
Apparently the…
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Digging Massive Tunnels Deep Under London
London's Crossrail is a railway system -- currently the largest construction project in Europe -- that will run partially underground, and is designed to create a faster link…
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Can Birds Be Trained To Bring Down Drones?
As costs go down and ease of use goes up, more and more drones are going to enter American skies. Last month, the Federal Aviation Authority reported an increase in drones spotted near other aircraft, raising fears that an errant drone may imperil a manned airplane. But drones don’t just pose a risk to human-made aircraft. They can also threaten birds.
In May, the National Park Service banned drones from Yosemite National Park, specifically noting that “drones can have negative impacts on wildlife nearby the area of use, especially sensitive nesting peregrine falcons on cliff walls.” In…
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How To Grow Weird Lifeforms From The Bottom Of the Sea
Reysenbach seeks to understand some of Earth's most otherworldly microbes. Her lab has been the first to grow dozens of species of extremophiles.
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Video: Making Music On A Tiny Tesla Coil
Tesla coils are popular for demonstrating wireless electrical transmission, nifty experiments...and ability to shoot bolts of lightning. Plus, you can modulate the coil's…
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NASA Uses Drone To Find Orion Capsule In The Pacific
The Predator drone is an iconic symbol of America’s current wars, and it’s younger -- but bigger -- Predator-B sibling often goes by the ominous name Reaper. In NASA’s…
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Old Laptop Batteries Get New Life Providing Energy To Poor
A group of scientists in India have developed a way to recycle discarded lithium-ion laptop batteries into easily charged sources of light and power. Researchers in…
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Could An Asteroid Impact Knock The Moon Into Earth? [Video]
Admit it: You've looked up at the sky and pondered the immense power of stuff in space. Those tiny twinkling stars are actually burning masses of nuclear fusion. Those…
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Floating Orbs Of Molten Metal, And Other Amazing Images Of The Week
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