Scientists Discover That Mars is Full of Water. Secrets of the first practical artificial leaf. A detailed description of development of the first practical artificial leaf -- a milestone in the drive for sustainable energy that mimics the process, photosynthesis, that green plants use to convert water and sunlight into energy -- appears in the ACS journal Accounts of Chemical Research.
The article notes that unlike earlier devices, which used costly ingredients, the new device is made from inexpensive materials and employs low-cost engineering and manufacturing processes. Daniel G. Nocera points out that the artificial leaf responds to the vision of a famous Italian chemist who, in 1912, predicted that scientists one day would uncover the "guarded secret of plants. " The most important of those, Nocera says, is the process that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. The artificial leaf has a sunlight collector sandwiched between two films that generate oxygen and hydrogen gas.
The author acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation and the Chesonis Family Foundation. Flying object propels itself by flipping inside out. Constant Velocity Joint. This Amazing Device Just Made Wheelchairs Obsolete for Paraplegics. Here's Printable Engineering Paper I formatted to print out PERFECTLY! (For those with a dire need of engineering paper) Circle/Star Gear. Engineering News, Date. February 3, 2003 Vol.73, no. 3S ME student discovers a unique fact about polar bears Everyone knows that polar bears are furry and cute, but few know that sometimes they can also be invisible.
While still an ME undergrad at Berkeley, Jessica Preciado plumbed the icy depths of a question that already had the whole natural science community buzzing. A few years ago, scientists doing an aerial census of the polar bear population in the arctic encountered a problem. The polar bears being counted were hard to spot because their white fur blended into the snow. “Everyone got really excited about this, particularly the military because it could have ramifications for creating infrared camouflage in cold climates,” says Preciado. How to drink a beer, engineer style. Heads Up, Hoverboarders: Here Comes Quantum Levitation. Few motifs of science fiction cinema have been more appealing to us than the subtle defiance of gravity offered by futuristic hovercraft.
So every once in a while we check in to see how humanity is progressing on that front, and whether the promise of hoverboards will be delivered by 2015 as evidenced in Back to the Future Part 2. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re definitely getting off the ground, so to speak. Get ready to hover your brain around the art of quantum levitation. That’s right, quantum. Normally that word indicates that it’s difficult to explain what’s going on. Because of its chemical properties, a superconductor (when brought to low enough temperatures using, say, liquid nitrogen) exhibits this effect, causing the energy from the magnet below to warp around the superconductive object in a way which “locks” it in space.
NASA has been interested in quantum levitation for quite a while, as it turns out. It is possible to understand Engineers - Where there's a will, there's a way. Understanding Engineers #1 Two engineering students were biking across a university campus when one said, "Where did you get such a great bike?
" World's First Hoverbike Unveiled! Australian inventor Chris Malloy has built a hoverbike from motorcycle parts and claims it can fly up to 173 mph, at an altitude of 10,000 feet.
The designer says the one-person vehicle could replace conventional helicopters for tasks over rugged terrain, such as aerial surveys, search-and-rescue missions and cattle roundups. Along with two Tasmanian Oak propellers, the 240 pounds hoverbike has a 1,170cc 4-stroke engine and carbon-fiber driveshaft. To lift off, the driver increases thrust with the right hand via a throttle grip, exactly like that of a motorcycle. At 21.8 miles per gallon, one full tank of gas will take you 92 miles. In regards to safety, Malloy plans to add a pair of explosive parachutes or require riders to wear one. Once the safety tests on the hoverbike are completed, Malloy plans to sell them at $40,000 a piece. Hoverbike website via [Wired], [Cnet], SEAgel Aerogel lighter than air solid. Not a UFO.
Material Science Madness: Crazy Metal Melts in Your Hand. There is an incredible metal that shatters like glass, melts in a human hand, attacks other metals but is non-toxic to humans, and acts like an alien life form when exposed to sulfuric acid and dichromate solution.
It sounds too amazing to be true, but gallium is an absolutely real chemical element that’s found in some of the gadgets we use every day. But perhaps more interestingly, there are a ton of insane experiments scientists like to do with gallium. Thanks to its odd properties and behavior, gallium can do some pretty strange things in the lab. The above video shows what happens when gallium “attacks” aluminum. The “gallium beating heart” experiment is a popular one that shows how gallium can act like a living thing when submerged in sulfuric acid and a dichromate solution. Cutting steel magnified and slowed down. Motherboard TV: The Cyborg. IAm Kevin Warwick, The World's First Cyborg, AMA. : IAmA.