Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - 9:17pm
Europe and Asia have proven that high speed rail is a great way to move people, especially using magnetically levitating trains like this new Japanese prototype.
Stories by Author
Evan Ackerman
editor
Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - 5:25pm
Some of the new computer graphics technology that will be on display at Siggraph Asia starting next week won't just bend your mind, it'll snap it right in half.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - 8:55pm
It must be nice having a Large Hadron Collider to mess about with. One day you're just minding your own business, running lead-proton collisions for reference in order to subtract out background noise from the lead-lead collisions that you actually care about, and then poof, you accidentally create a new form of matter called a color-glass condensate. Nice.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - 4:23pm
In 1997, the U.S. NOAA's Equatorial Pacific Ocean autonomous hydrophone array detected a "bloop" sound. The "bloop" was consistent with the sounds of an animal, but it was far too loud. It could have been aliens. Or a sea monster. Or aliens. But it's not.
Monday, November 26, 2012 - 8:17pm
Hirobo is a Japanese company that's best known for its line of smallish remote control helicopters. So that's nice. But now, the company is thinking bigger. Not a lot bigger, but just big enough to carry you to work and back every day in a one-seater coaxial personal microhelicopter.
Monday, November 26, 2012 - 3:27pm
In the paranoid future of the genetically discriminatory security state, your life will be defined by your DNA, and access will be controlled by machines that instantly read samples of your genetic code to verify your identiy. When will this all kick in? It won't be long now, thanks to NEC's new DNA analyzer that can brand you as an in-valid in under 25 minutes.
Monday, November 26, 2012 - 2:42pm
The EMP grenade, or electromagnetic pulse grenade, is a sci-fi gaming staple. Toss one of 'em at the nearest evil robot or uncooperative computer system, and it'll generate a power surge that fries all electronics within range. The military has realized that this would be a handy real-life capability, and the Pentagon is asking someone to go out and invent one.
Thursday, November 8, 2012 - 4:16pm
We've known since February that the leading candidate for NASA's next major manned mission is a station located at the L2 Earth-Moon Lagrange Point out beyond the far side of the moon. The latest rumors suggest that this mission was probably approved by the Obama administration, and now that he's been reelected, it has a good chance of actually happening.
Thursday, November 8, 2012 - 3:06pm
We know, the fact that the largest and most powerful laser in the world is now being used for weapons research might not, at first glance, sound like a bad thing. But it is, for two reasons: first, this laser used to be trying to figure out how to make fusion happen, and second, the weapons research does not involve turning it into a laser cannon.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012 - 9:19pm
Earth is running out of animals. Or rather, Earth is suffering from an overabundance of some animals (namely humans and cows) and a serious lack of others. Brazil is taking some initiative by starting a program to clone animals from species at risk of going extinct, including black lion tamarins, maned wolves, and jaguars.
