We’re tired of hearing vague promises about how our shoes will one day be able to power our gadgets, but this particular vague promise got our attention for two reasons: one, it involves liquid metal, and two, the amount of power that it can harvest fr…
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Category Archives: Future Tech
Science! Turning newspaper into fuel for the car you already own
Posted by admin on August 25, 2011
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According to mad scientist Harshad “Mr. Fusion” Velankar*, we throw out a whopping 323 million tons of cellulosic materials that could be turned into usable car fuel. Well, after digging through some animal dung, he and his fellows think we could turn …
California police using computers to predict crimes
Posted by admin on August 19, 2011
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California’s Santa Cruz police force is performing a little experiment: using computer programs to predict where crimes will occur, and then sending officers to those areas before any incidents are reported, just like in Minority Report.
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Idaho takes another step toward roads paved with solar panels
Posted by admin on August 16, 2011
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Back in ’09, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) gave Idaho-based Solar Roadways $100,000 to do what the company’s name implies: build a prototype smart road that could generate electricity (as well as perform other tricks). Now, Solar Roadways…
Scientist wants to make ‘bulletproof people’ using spider silk
Posted by admin on August 15, 2011
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Here’s a story straight out of science fiction: the Netherlands’ Jalila Essaidi is exploring ways to develop bulletproof skin for humans, and is turning to the milk from genetically modified “spider goats” to do it. Yep!
The project is c…
Funky gravel could turn airport runways into power plants
Posted by admin on August 11, 2011
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Airplanes are loud. Very loud. And all that means is that they’re pumping out massive amounts of acoustic energy that’s being wasted assaulting your eardrums. Airport runways made of custom “designer” gravel could harvest some of this energy and turn i…
Towing an iceberg to Africa could get a million people water
Posted by admin on August 9, 2011
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There’s a lot of fresh water stored up at the poles. In fact, Antarctica by itself contains about 70% of the Earth’s entire fresh water supply. So it’s not too crazy to think about maybe chopping some of that off and shipping it to thirsty people in Af…
The world’s smallest battery is six times thinner than a bacterium
Posted by admin on August 3, 2011
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Your watch battery isn’t small. This battery is small. At six times thinner than a bacterium, Rice University’s new battery is 60,000 times smaller than a AAA battery.
The immediate uses for such a battery would be in medical tech, helpi…
First 3D printed plane could be the future of unmanned drones
Posted by admin on August 2, 2011
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A team of engineers at the University of Southampton in the U.K. have created what’s being called the world’s first 3D printed airplane. While 3D printing has been eyed to make airplane components (among other things), cranking out an entire, working c…
