Science
Korean Scientists Closer To Fusion?
Posted by Matt Hickey at 12:00 PM on July 26, 2008
Korean scientists are one step further in reaching sustainable fusion reactors. In an experiment for the National Fusion Research Institute, scientists were able to achieve a form of supercharged plasma for 249 milliseconds, almost two and a half times longer than they had anticipated. It's a new form of plasma that can be used to generate electricity in a manner similar to conventional nuclear plants but with far less radioactive waste. We think that's cool. So do bears. [Korea Times]

The original hoverboard used by Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future 2 is now on the auction block, starting at US$30,000. If you have that kind of money around, prepare more because this prop--made of wood and metal, including original stickers, textured paint job, and the hole left by the handlebar that Marty McFly pulls at the beginning of the chase sequence-- may reach US$50,000 according to the seller.
Joshua Heineman is obsessed with old stereo cards, those old photographs from the 19th century that contained two different views of the same subject to give the illusion of depth. He converts them into pseudo-3D GIF images that can be seen without glasses, on your monitor. The method is extremely simple, and while the jerking result may seem silly, surprisingly, it works:
If you haven't quite reached your flair quota, or you are hopelessly stuck in the 1980's fashion-wise, you will probably love the Cool Man MP3 from Newman. The device features and OLED display, support for MP3 and WMA, a built-in microphone and most importantly, a high-tech safety pin that puts high-tech holes in your shirts and jackets. No word on pricing, but it had better be super cheap. [
This has to be the coolest implementation of Pong ever: load the iPong application in two or three iPod touch units or iPhones, and start playing between them using your finger, with the ball actually passing from one screen to the other depending on the ball angle.
CERN's scientists, the fine people who brought us the W and Z particles, anti-hydrogen atoms and
I'm not quite sure how you would actually play a game of Tetris with ice cubes, but if you put a little food coloring in there and pop them into a glass—you will have yourself a frosty drink that can only be compared to the lego ice cube tray in terms of sheer geekyness. Unfortunately, that wont happen anytime soon—these are only concepts at the moment. [
Forest Pearson is a 10-year-old who saved US$500 to build a snow-making machine from scratch. Forest Pearson is also our hero, who will probably grow to build