The SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY News Thread

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Mr Hat and Clogs

I'm guessing that didn't work out to well for the Somali pirates?

The pirates rested in pieces.

[MrTerrorist]

How our predictions for the Year 2000 changed throughout the 20th Century

[aohige]

Originally Posted by Mr Hat and Clogs

I'm guessing that didn't work out to well for the Somali pirates?

Pretty much what Saint said.
They were shot, bombed, and obliterated mercilessly.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by aohige

Pretty much what Saint said.
They were shot, bombed, and obliterated mercilessly.

More specifically :

The pirates probably wished they were captured by the USN instead.

[Endless Soul]

Time for some old technology. Want to know how to fly your F4U?

You have one, right?

Endless "Manifold pressure" Soul

[AnimeFan188]

"As my newborn son grows to match the size of a mid-tower desktop, a large-
screen TV and eventually a server rack, I can’t help but think about all the
gadgets he won’t even remember using that were so important to his dad. I’m
not talking about long dead-and-buried technologies such as the VHS recorder or
the 35mm camera. Rather, I’m thinking about devices and concepts most of us
use today that will fall out of mainstream use so soon that he either won’t
remember them, or will only have very hazy memories of having lived with them."

See:

http://news.yahoo.com/15-current-tec...142409696.html

[Kyuu]

The year 2245 is just too distant — we should build and commission a real USS Enterprise right now, cracking the champagne across her hull within 20 years, according to an enterprising engineer. The gigantic ship would use ion propulsion, powered by a 1.5-GW nuclear reactor, and could reach Mars in three months and the moon in three days. Its 0.3-mile-diameter, magnetically suspended gravity wheel spinning at 2 RPM would provide 1G of gravity, and the thing looks just like the "Star Trek" ship of lore.

This project is the brainchild of an engineer who calls himself BTE Dan. As in “Build The Enterprise,” which is also the name of his brand-new website.

“We have the technological reach to build the first generation of the spaceship known as the USS Enterprise – so let’s do it,” BTE Dan writes. He even sifts through the federal budget and proposes tax hikes and spending cuts to cover the $1 trillion cost.

http://www.popsci.com/technology/art...-engineer-says


That's too big for interstellar travel. And no, we're not even capable of extra-stellar travel.

Having said. I don't discourage the idea of space vessels. But, for the current technology, it's better to go smaller - for now, just to be able to travel to other parts of our own solar system.

[Ithekro]

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...-space-science

The search for Brumas (another planet to add to the solar system)...or was it Minerva?

It would be silly if they find a large enough world to classify it as a planet, and name it Pluto (the old Pluto getting renamed as some point).

EDIT:

What is the rest of the ship for then? At 1,000 meters long it is far bigger than any Star Trek Federation vessel. The plans show only ideas for the saucer section...what is the rest of the ship for? Storage and Style?

[AnimeFan188]

"Medicine's focus has long been on treating specific diseases. We have radiation
treatments to combat cancer tumors, cholesterol-lowering drugs to stave off
heart attacks, and insulin to control diabetes.

But imagine if there were a drug that would slow down the aging process itself, a
drug that didn't just treat a single disease but instead targeted multiple diseases
of old age at once? It may sound far-fetched, but that's precisely what longevity
scientists are working hard to produce."

"Indeed, top-notch research labs are rolling out studies at a rapid rate, and a
growing chorus of experts believe the advances being made will ultimately lead to
a crop of drugs capable of extending healthy lifespans. Signs of progress are
abundant in medical journals."

See:

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/...ing-pill-is-on

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by AnimeFan188

"As my newborn son grows to match the size of a mid-tower desktop, a large-
screen TV and eventually a server rack, I can’t help but think about all the
gadgets he won’t even remember using that were so important to his dad. I’m
not talking about long dead-and-buried technologies such as the VHS recorder or
the 35mm camera. Rather, I’m thinking about devices and concepts most of us
use today that will fall out of mainstream use so soon that he either won’t
remember them, or will only have very hazy memories of having lived with them."

See:

http://news.yahoo.com/15-current-tec...142409696.html

I don't think the touchscreen is a good replacement for the mouse. It may get replaced by an eye tracker or even a mind reading device, but having to raise your arm all the time would be tiring.

[AnimeFan188]

"That’s right, the rumors appear to be true. Beijing is joining the United States as
the only nations with reusable spaceplane designs that are actually conducting
test flights. Beijing reportedly sent its Divine Dragon — or Shenlong — space
plane aloft for a successful atmospheric test flight in January, 2011."

See:

http://defensetech.org/2012/05/14/cl...as-spaceplane/

[Ithekro]

Looks like the Japanese will need to counter with there own space battleship projects.

[Endless Soul]

Originally Posted by Ithekro

Looks like the Japanese will need to counter with there own space battleship projects.

Hmmm..I can't think of anything they might come up with. Can you?

Endless "" Soul

[MrTerrorist]

Watch this paralyzed woman control a robotic arm using only her mind

Seeing her drink her coffee put a smile on my face.

[Endless Soul]

Ever wonder what the inside of a radial engine for airplanes looks like?

Spoiler for Behold!:

You can practically see how the power from the pistons is transferred to the airscrew shaft. Also, and this is what impresses me the most., this was drawn by hand. A lost art these days.

No if I can just figure out how to turn this into a cute anime girl...

Endless "Airscrew" Soul

[mangamuscle]

Rewiring of nerves after accident, now that is medical history in the making

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by mangamuscle

Rewiring of nerves after accident, now that is medical history in the making

Can my synapses be rewired for faster reaction time?

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Can my synapses be rewired for faster reaction time?

AFAIK the only way to make them faster would be to use pulses of light (as in laser beams) to transmit the data instead of the electrical pulses your nervous system uses. That technology is not happening any time soon. The good news is that your human life span might get a boost so you might live to get your synapse boost.

[Dhomochevsky]

Nerves use electric potential, but it's transmission speed is far from the speed of electric current.
It's an avalanche of electrochemical potential changes, that jump over the outer surface of a synapse. A direct electric wiring could speed things up extremely.

Sign me up for the robot brain.

[Anh_Minh]

Eh. I think the pĥotonic computers will come before cyberbrains.