Google Scholar. The Kids' Guide to Digital ... - Jenni Bidner - Google Books. Gajitz | Awesome Gajitz, Weird Science & Futuristic Technology. Quantum Entanglement Suggests Time Travel is Possible. We may not be able to send scientists gallivanting around in time to right the wrongs of the past (yet), but physicists at the University of Queensland in Australia have discovered that the peculiar quantum phenomenon of entanglement applies not only through space, but through time as well. Entanglement, famously referred to as “spooky” by Einstein, is the quantum property that involves two or more particles so closely linked that any changes to one also occur in the other(s). The Queensland physicists believe that thinking about the universe as consisting of one dimension of space and one dimension of time can begin to demonstrate how entangled atoms can span time as well as space.
Looking at the above graph, the x-axis represents spatial dimension and the y-axis represents time. However, the Queensland research indicates that it is possible to travel from the present to the future without traveling through the time in between the two – possible for a particle, anyway. VW’s Delivery Van Concept is Slick + Semi-Autonomous. Most concept cars seem to be rich in style but somewhat lacking in function. The Volkswagen eT! Concept is brimming with both. The concept delivery/courier van was dreamed up by a group of designers and developers from Volkswagen Group Research, the German Post Office and the University of Art at Braunschweig. The idea was to imagine what light commercial vehicles will look like in the near future. The eT! Is semi-autonomous, featuring the ability to follow or come to the driver with just a voice command. Couriers and other delivery people would benefit from the joystick feature, which allows the driver to sit on the right-hand (passenger) side of the vehicle and drive using a controller.
This concept is a crazily adaptive design that could be modified slightly to be relevant to a wide variety of industries and applications. Cool Electronic Pen Measures Up With Internal Power Plant. The Electronic Pen concept from designer Jang Hyung-Jin is a small gadget that packs a lot of functionality into its pocket-size design. The pen’s internal sensor measures the speed and number of rotations the ball point makes, measuring the exact distance your pen draws and eliminating the need for a ruler. This isn’t the first measuring pen concept to see the light of day, but it does have an intriguing difference: no batteries.
The pen gets a charge out of an internal “power plant” that generates electricity when you shake the pen. A small LCD screen displays just how far you’ve drawn. Quirky Mouse Design Requires You Take Play Breaks at Work. If there’s one thing just about every office could use, it’s more fun, right? Sitting in front of a computer for eight (or ten, or twelve…) hours a day just isn’t natural. For optimum mental and physical health it’s important to take frequent breaks. This mouse concept from Shih-Chan Chiu forces you to stop working once in a while and act like a kid. The Yo-Yo Mouse is just what it says: a wireless mouse that’s also a yo-yo. The fun part of this design (other than the fact that it’s a toy) is that it is actually charged by the yo-yo action. Sayonara, Squeezing: Perfect Toothbrush for Travelers. You probably wouldn’t think of carrying around a pen without ink, so why do we all carry around toothbrushes that we have to load up prior to use?
This invention from Kawamura Ganjavian makes perfect sense: it’s a toothbrush with a toothpaste reservoir right in the handle. When you’re going on a trip, you pre-load the reservoir with the appropriate number of toothpaste servings. Then, simply twist the handle to squeeze some paste onto the bristles and get to brushing. Of course, you could also use the Twist & Brush when you aren’t on the road. The design is so simple and intuitive it’s hard to believe no one has thought of it before. World’s Largest Bus Holds 300 Eco-Minded City Commuters. If you’ve ever ridden on a city bus, you know what an…um, “interesting” assortment of people you’ll find there. And that’s just on a regular city bus – imagine how many more extreme personalities could fit on the Superliner Youngman JNP6250G, the world’s largest public transport bus.
At 82 feet long (39 feet longer than standard buses), the monstrosity can fit 300 passengers. With two accordion ribbed sections, the bus can turn on the same radius as a regular, non-gigantic bus. It was designed to make up the entire Bus Rapid Transit service in both Beijing and Hangzhou, cities with large and ever-growing populations that demand sensible public transportation solutions.
And since the mega-buses will have their very own highway lanes, urban travelers will have another reason to leave their cars at home and let mass transit take them wherever they need to go. One Smurfing Ride: Big Blue SUV Spotted on London Street. You can see some pretty strange things on the streets of London on any given day, but recently city commuters were treated to a whole new kind of weird sight: a 1.5 metric ton blue Chevrolet Orlando MPV made entirely of Play-Doh.
It’s the biggest Play-Doh sculpture in the world, and it’s a meticulously detailed replica of the seven-seat car. The Play-Doh car was a promotional project to celebrate the UK release of the new car, but it was also an acknowledgement of Play-Doh’s title as the world’s most-loved toy from yesteryear. The children’s modeling clay took the title in a recent poll, garnering 19 percent of the vote. The car has been attracting lots of attention from everyone who passes by, even the traffic wardens who seem a bit amused by the sight of the gigantic sculpture. The life-size model took eight model makers more than two weeks to complete. Weird & Wild Ancient Creatures Had No Heads, No Eyes. There was a time in Earth’s history when life exploded into a veritable carnival of bizarre shapes, weird forms and totally unbelievable animals. This one, referred to by one expert as a “walking cactus,” is particularly remarkable. Three examples of this incredible creature were discovered by Jianni Liu in three separate fossils around Chengjiang, China.
They’re approximately 520 million years old, and they’re giving scientists a glimpse into a wild and wonderful part of Earth’s history. Liu believes that the Walking Cactus was part of the group of animals known as lobopodians, often called “worms with legs.” The walking cactus was far from the only lobopodian, and it wasn’t even the weirdest. Although there’s a chance that these strange animals aren’t related at to any of the creatures we know today, they could be the ancient predecessors of modern-day marine animals like lobsters and shrimp, and even land insects. Watch Your Mouth: Toothbrush Keeps an Eye on Cavities. We all know how important brushing is for healthy teeth, but it’s not easy to know if you’re brushing as well as you should.
The Tooth Guardian concept integrates a tiny camera into a toothbrush to let you see exactly what’s going on with your pearly whites. Designed by Yu-Hsin Lin, Chu-Che Chang and Shang-Hsuan Lu, the Tooth Guardian is a conceptual design that would help cut down on dentist visits by giving you a good look at potential problem areas. You can see where plaque is starting to build up and even catch cavities when they’re still small. There’s a small LED on the head of the toothbrush to illuminate your mouth, and the tiny closed-circuit camera projects images from your pie hole right onto your bathroom mirror.
Watch and Learn: Download Skills Directly to Your Brain. Conceptual Taxi System Puts Civility Back in Urban Transport. When summoning a taxi in a busy urban center, waiting for a driver who is available, paying attention and willing to pick you up can get frustrating…not to mention the annoying “upstreamers” just waiting to snag that ride before you. This curbside taxi communication system was created by a group of design students at the Xi’an University of Design and Technology and recently won the Red Dot Award for a public space concept. It uses a system of lights, tactile curbside buttons and driver interaction to make hailing a taxi quick and easy.
When a customer needs a cab, they just step onto the pressure-sensitive plate on the curb. The damage-resistant transparent top layer fits over a polypropylene lower layer that is equipped with a color-changing light. Raise the Roof: Elevated Urban Bus Defeats Traffic Jams. City buses can be both a blessing and a curse as far as urban traffic is concerned. They can take a number of cars off of the road by offering an alternative means of commuting, but they can also hold traffic up with their low speeds and frequent stops.
In an effort to clear up urban Chinese streets, a company called Shenzhen Hashi Future Parking Equipment Co. came up with this strange-looking futuristic bus concept. The 3D Fast Bus is a massive elevated two-lane-wide vehicle that actually straddles the lanes, with the main bulk of the vehicle riding well above the cars on the road. Cars can move freely below the bus, just like passing through a tunnel, and the bus has special sensors that send alarms when vehicles too tall to pass beneath start to get close. The passenger compartment isn’t nearly as dank and gloomy as the typical city bus; the design incorporates skylights and a more positive atmosphere to keep passengers happy.
Robot News. Pointer in Disguise: Weird Mouse Looks Like a Plastic Battery. Although we’ve seen plenty of wacky mouse designs and concepts, this one deviates so much from the familiar form factor that it would be easy to miss the fact that it’s a mouse at all. It looks more like a battery with buttons – but it could in fact be the future of input devices. The wireless MENDO Kandenshi Mouse is a small cylinder that you grasp with your thumb on top and index and middle fingers wrapped around the side. The left and right buttons occupy one side of the cylinder while the top houses a hidden USB plug, which is presumably the dongle that pairs the mouse with the computer.
The Kandenshi Mouse really does look just like a large battery, complete with the little nubbin on top. It looks like some design student’s thesis project (and probably was at some point) but this unusual mouse is actually set to go on sale in Japan very soon. Smile Alarm Clock by Kim Jungwoo, Ju Yongjun, Lee Jongmoo & Kim Taehwan & Yanko Design. Did You Smile Today? If not, then this alarm clock is going to be mighty nasty to you! The Smile Alarm Clock has face recognition sensors that turn off the alarm only if you give it a bright sunny smile; no half-smiles will do!
What a positive way to begin your day….SMILE! Designers: Kim Jungwoo, Ju Yongjun, Lee Jongmoo & Kim Taehwan.
Diarios. Knoword | Expand your vocabulary! Swick » 12 Of The Most Iconic Photographs Ever Taken. Timothy H. O’Sullivan – Battle of Gettysburg This photograph has become synonymous with The Battle of Gettysburg, which was the most bloody battle of the American Civil War. Photographer Timothy H. O’Sullivan documented and recorded the battlefield, and this picture became a sensation. For many, this was their first chance to see, first hand, the true extent of the Civil War. However, it was not until 40 years after the battle that the pictures were mass produced, as photo-engraving had not been established.
Lawrence Beitler – Lynching Lawrence Beitler took this iconic photograph on August 7, 1930, showing the lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith. Joe Rosenthal – Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima is an historic photograph taken on February 23, 1945, by Joe Rosenthal. Alberto Korda – Che Guevara Alberto Korda’s well known photograph of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, titled ‘Guerrillero Heroico’ or ‘Heroic Guerrilla’ has become a symbol of the 20th centry. A Visual, Intuitive Guide to Imaginary Numbers. Imaginary numbers always confused me. Like understanding e, most explanations fell into one of two categories: It’s a mathematical abstraction, and the equations work out. Deal with it.It’s used in advanced physics, trust us. Just wait until college. Gee, what a great way to encourage math in kids! Today we’ll assault this topic with our favorite tools: Focusing on relationships, not mechanical formulas.Seeing complex numbers as an upgrade to our number system, just like zero, decimals and negatives were.Using visual diagrams, not just text, to understand the idea.
And our secret weapon: learning by analogy. It doesn’t make sense yet, but hang in there. Video Walkthrough: Really Understanding Negative Numbers Negative numbers aren’t easy. But what about 3-4? Negatives were considered absurd, something that “darkened the very whole doctrines of the equations” (Francis Maseres, 1759).
What happened? But let’s not be smug about the struggle: negative numbers were a huge mental shift. Uh oh. Or.