The Science and Technology Thread

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  • Idris
    Idris Posts: 2,317
    Yes these are legal,

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vxTh2eeOMs

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlnzcZj_rqU

    and very cool,
  • Godfather.
    Godfather. Posts: 12,504
    off topic just a bit but still great.

    Godfather.


    A pocket of water some 2.6 billion years old the most ancient pocket of water known by far, older even than the dawn of multicellular life has now been discovered in a mine 2 miles below the Earth's surface.

    The finding, announced in the May 16 issue of the journal Nature, raises the tantalizing possibility that ancient life might be found deep underground not only within Earth, but in similar oases that may exist on Mars, the scientists who studied the water said.



    Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/05/ ... z2TTXrVAFJ
  • Last-12-Exit
    Last-12-Exit Charleston, SC Posts: 8,661
    polaris_x wrote:
    http://www.treehugger.com/slideshows/renewable-energy/important-graph-cost-solar-headed-parity-coal-and-gas/

    solar is only getting cheaper and cheaper and will soon surpass coal and natural gas in price ...
    300,000 panels for 377MW? That's a lot of panels for not a lot of power. That's the problem with solar power.
  • Idris
    Idris Posts: 2,317
    Lasers

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlnzcZj_rqU

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vxTh2eeOMs

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1IAvoPQPYY

    Star Wars creator Lucasfilm tells the manufacturer of controversial Pro Arctic Laser that it will not proceed with legal action against the company.

    When it comes to the wicked Spyder III Pro Arctic laser, described by the manufacturer as the "most dangerous laser ever created" and by others as something of a lightsaber, Lucasfilm, creator of "Star Wars," seems to have experienced a script change.

    Enthusiasts of bellicosity might recall that Lucasfilm recently sent a cease and desist letter to Wicked Lasers, suggesting that its product was not only dangerous but also a little too similar to Luke Skywalker's weapon.

    http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20012533-71.html

    (They cost under 600 USD)
  • STAYSEA
    STAYSEA Posts: 3,814
    polaris_x wrote:
    http://ca.news.yahoo.com/solar-powered-plane-wraps-first-leg-flight-across-184817059.html

    they just flew a plane from san francisco to phoenix on SOLAR power ... ya - it took 18 hrs but this is clearly an indication that any notion that we are totally reliant on oil continues to look more and more archaic ... don't let the oil companies brainwash you anymore than they have ... we haven't needed the shit in a long time ... :mrgreen:

    It's proven a car can be powered with fuel made from corn.

    This fuel, is consumable to humans. The Government can't sell it fully because so many peeps will be trashed on $3.29 for a gallon. Humans will always need fossil fuels. In the same way we keep buying diamonds.
    It's a clear rock?! Some alternate fuels are too combustible, and the electric things still suck power. Solar power won't charge in the dark. Reliable, Dependable or Reasonable... Oil is all of these.

    We need more dinosaur goo...
    It's a no winner type of situation.

    The Inventor of the Segway died 2 years ago... he drove his Segway off a cliff.

    It's EVOLUTION. Survival of the fittest. Or Darwin was an idiot.
    image
  • polaris_x
    polaris_x Posts: 13,559
    Hyperloop?

    4,000 miles per hour!?? ... NY to LA in 45 minutes? ...
  • JonnyPistachio
    JonnyPistachio Florida Posts: 10,219
    polaris_x wrote:
    Hyperloop?

    4,000 miles per hour!?? ... NY to LA in 45 minutes? ...

    I saw that...So badass. :mrgreen:
    Pick up my debut novel here on amazon: Jonny Bails Floatin (in paperback) (also available on Kindle for $2.99)
  • polaris_x
    polaris_x Posts: 13,559
    JonnyPistachio wrote:
    polaris_x wrote:
    Hyperloop?

    4,000 miles per hour!?? ... NY to LA in 45 minutes? ...

    I saw that...So badass. :mrgreen:

    official presser is at 4:30 pm EST today ...
  • Jason P
    Jason P Posts: 19,327
    human-cannonball.jpg
    Be Excellent To Each Other
    Party On, Dudes!
  • dignin
    dignin Posts: 9,478
    http://www.spacex.com/hyperloop
  • polaris_x
    polaris_x Posts: 13,559
    dignin wrote:
    http://www.spacex.com/hyperloop

    ya ... not quite 4,000 mph ...

    http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/world/ ... 45841.html

    Elon Musk unveils 'Hyperloop' intercity transport concept; prospects uncertain despite backer

    By: Justin Pritchard, The Associated Press

    LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Imagine strapping into a car-sized capsule and hurtling through a tube at more than 700 mph (1,126 kph) — not for the thrill of it, but to get where you need to go.

    On Monday, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk unveiled a transportation concept that he said could whisk passengers the nearly 400 miles (643 kilometres) between Los Angeles and San Francisco in 30 minutes — half the time it takes an airplane.

    If it's ever built.

    His "Hyperloop" system for travel between major cities is akin to the pneumatic tubes that transport capsules stuffed with paperwork in older buildings.

    In this case, the cargo would be people, reclining for a ride that would start with a force of acceleration like an airplane but then be turbulence free.

    Capsules would catapult through a large, nearly air-free tube. Inside, they would be pulled down the line by magnetic attraction.

    Each capsule would float on a cushion of air it creates — like an air hockey table in which the puck produces the air instead of the surface. To minimize friction, a powerful fan at the front would suck what air is in the tube to the rear.

    "Short of figuring out real teleportation, which would of course be awesome (someone please do this), the only option for super fast travel is to build a tube over or under the ground that contains a special environment," Musk wrote in his proposal, posted online.

    Capsules could depart every 30 seconds, carrying 28 people, with a projected cost of about $20 each way, according to Musk's plan, which was posted online at http://www.spacex.com/hyperloop. The proposed route would follow Interstate 5 — a well-travelled path linking California's north and south through the agriculture-rich Central Valley.

    On a conference call Monday, Musk said that if all goes right, it could take seven to 10 years for the first passengers to make the journey between California's two biggest metro areas. He put the price tag at around $6 billion — pointedly mentioning that's about one-tenth the projected cost of a high-speed rail system that California has been planning to build.

    Indeed, the Hyperloop was inspired by that rail system, which has a cost too high and speed too low to justify the project, Musk said.

    In a written statement, California High-Speed Rail Authority Chairman Dan Richard suggested that Musk was oversimplifying the challenges.

    "If and when Mr. Musk pursues his Hyperloop technology, we'll be happy to share our experience about what it really takes to build a project in California, across seismic zones, minimizing impacts on farms, businesses and communities and protecting sensitive environmental areas and species," Richard said.

    Like the bullet train, the Hyperloop didn't take long to attract skepticism.

    Musk had framed his concept as a fifth way — an alternative to cars, planes, trains and boats. Citing barriers such as cost and the mountains that rim the Central Valley, one transportation expert called Musk's idea novel, but not a breakthrough.

    "I don't think it will provide the alternative that he's looking for," said James E. Moore II, director of the transportation engineering program at the University of Southern California.

    Monday's unveiling lived up to the hype part of its name.

    Musk has been dropping hints about his system for more than a year during public events, mentioning that it could never crash and would be immune to weather.

    Coming from almost anyone else, the hyperbole would be hard to take seriously. But Musk has a track record of success. He co-founded online payment service PayPal, electric luxury carmaker Tesla Motors Inc. and the rocket-building company SpaceX.

    By Monday afternoon, the word Hyperloop — which had been mentioned a handful of times in recent weeks on Twitter — was being tweeted about 20 times every minute. Hyperloop was the top "hot search" on Google, with more than 200,000 searches.

    Musk has said he is too focused on other projects to consider actually building the Hyperloop, and instead is publishing an open-source design that anyone can use or modify.

    That's still the case, he said Monday, but added that if no one else steps forward he might build a working prototype. That would take three or four years, he said.

    As with Tesla and SpaceX, Musk mused, there are bound to be unforeseen technical obstacles.
  • polaris_x
    polaris_x Posts: 13,559
    Sooo ... Tesla has been named Consumer Reports Car of the Year for 2014 http://ca.autos.yahoo.com/news/consumer-reports-tesla-model-electric-car-best-overall-175005905.html

    Tesla also announced its building a battery factory to provide batteries for their 3rd generation car ... http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/tesla-reveals-details-about-its-battery-gigafactory.html

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