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BACK ISSUES | MAY 2010 | CURRENT ISSUE
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MAY 2010
SCI-TECH
Harry Potter ‘invisibility cloak’ created in 3D
RESEARCHERS at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, have created the first device to render an object invisible in 3D. By placing a 'cloak' over a tiny lump of gold measuring 0.00004 inches high by 0.00005 inches across, scientists managed to distort the light hitting the object so that the lump appears invisible at infrared frequencies. This is very near to the spectrum of light visible to humans. Previous devices have only been able to hide objects from light travelling in one direction, but viewed from any other angle the object remained visible. The 'cloak' is made from a photonic metamaterial, which influences the behaviour of light rays by 'grabbing hold' of them and making them flow smoothly around an object. Source: Mail Online
Lego-tastic! These gadgets look like they are built from the world famous building block LEGO. 
A fully functioning 3MP camera with a colour 1.5 LCD screen and can hold 80 photos. 
Plug this iBlock iPod speaker into the bottom of your iPod and press play. Adjust the volume using the two 'bumps' in the middle of the block. No batteries needed. 
A 2GB USB flash stick in red, yellow or blue. |
World's first robotic ping-pong player
MEET TOPIO 3.0, the world's first ping-pong-playing robot. Made by Vietnam's first-ever robotics firm, Tosy, the bipedal humanoid uses two 200-fps cameras to detect the ball as it leaves the opponent's paddle. Its 'brain' (processors and an artificial neural network) analyzes the ball's path to choose the best return. At 6 feet tall, 264 pounds and with 39 independent points capable of movement throughout its body, the chiseled robot appears a formidable adversary, but it hasn't beaten a human yet. Source: Wenn
Soviet Space Dogs as animation superstars 
BELKA and Strelka made history in 1960 when they became the first animals ever to survive a trip into space aboard a Soviet spaceship. They now star in a Russian cartoon Belka and Strelka: Star Dogs that tells the true story of their space mission in 3D. The female dogs are shown being trained for space flight and then blasting off into space. Belka (Squirrel) and Strelka (Arrow) became instant celebrities when they returned to earth. The film ends with archive footage of the dogs being dangled in front of reporters and being chauffeured in the back of a limousine. It's unclear how long they lived after their return; today their stuffed bodies are on display in the Moscow Cosmonautics Museum, their muzzles turned up to the stars. Source: Telegraph
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