Between Global Positioning Systems and the lack of privacy on the Internet, you might think someone could track you down anywhere.
But GPS-enabled devices are not perfect. Some areas are GPS dead zones, and if the satellite signal can’t locate you, you’re lost to anyone using the system.
So, Researchers at North Carolina State and Carnegie Mellon Universities have developed an ingenious solution – a shoe with radar embedded in the heel.
This clip from the Science Channel show How It’s Made provides a fascinating look at the complex processes and machinery behind everyone’s favorite coloring tools.
The shortfin mako shark, one of the ocean’s swiftest predators
Biomimicry seems to be popping up all over the news recently, and this week is no exception. While John Dabiri is busy modelling the complex mechanics of jellyfish, another engineer has taken on the study of a different, more dangerous resident of the ocean: sharks.
The shortfin mako shark is known as the “cheetah of the ocean” for its ability to accelerate rapidly and to reach speeds of around 30 miles per hour in the water. One mako shark has even clocked in at over 45 miles per hour (the world’s fastest human sprinters swim at about 5mph)!
In the future, you might be able to skip untangling those holiday lights
It might sound like something from the movie Avatar, but what if trees lit up at night, replacing the need for street lights?
This fantastical vision may become a reality thanks to the discovery that placing gold nanoparticles within the leaves of trees causes them to give off a luminous reddish glow.
The Philadelphia Eagles, currently sitting atop the NFC East, plan to transform their stadium into a “green battlefield” with a $30 million renewable wind and solar energy system.
Plans call for 80 sphere-shaped wind turbines, 2,500 solar panels, and a dual-fuel (biodiesel and natural gas) plant. The system, to be installed by the Florida-based firm Solar Blue, should be ready by September, 2011. When it is, Lincoln Financial Field, the Eagles’ home, will be the only stadium in the world to run on completely self-generated renewable energy.
