science

Is the Atmosphere Simpler Than We Thought?

Jamais Cascio — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:30:07 -0500

It's a pretty widely-accepted notion that the atmosphere is a ridiculously complex system, and the best we can do with our models is a rough approximation. The more teraflops we throw at the problem, the more granular the results--but even the best models operate at a scale of a hundred or so kilometers; we're still just seeing a shadow of the atmosphere's true complexity.

But what if that's wrong?

The Next Space Race: Elevator Rides Into Orbit

Kit Eaton — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:08:35 -0500

Remember how the Ansari X-Prize resulted in the nascent commercial space trip business, with Virgin Galactic in the lead? Now there's a similar push to innovate space technology, but of a different sort: Space elevators, making the ride into orbit amazingly cheap and easy.

Soros Invests $1 Billion in Clean Energy as New Study Fuels Global Warming Skepticism

Kit Eaton — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:47:44 -0400

George Soros is going to put a billion dollars of his business fortune into clean energy. But will the cash go to change the political attitude toward global warming or is it offset by recent figures that seem to suggest evidence of Global Cooling?

Obama, the Future-Friendly President, Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Kit Eaton — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:02:35 -0400

This morning the World had a bit of a surprise: The Nobel Prize Committee announced its choice for the Peace Prize as President Barack Obama (the subject of Fast Company's April 2008 cover story, "The Brand Called Obama"). Few people had suspected this would happen, and only a few rumors swirled beforehand.

Tomorrow NASA Bombs the Moon

Kit Eaton — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:04:58 -0400

Update: NASA's 'Moon Bombing' A Smashing Success

NASA's always trying to push the envelope, and tomorrow the space agency's got a really big push: It's going to bomb the Moon. Seriously, and it's all in the name of science, the search for water, and space exploration.

Physics Nobel Prize 2009 Is All About Capturing Light

Kit Eaton — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 06:31:34 -0400

The 2009 Nobel Prize for Physics has just been announced, and instead of rewarding some esoteric, hard-to-fathom theoretical physics work, it's gone to pioneers in two fields close to tech-lovers hearts: Fibre-optics and digital photography.

Augmented Reality Gets New Dimension: Layar Adds 3-D

Kit Eaton — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 10:49:50 -0400

We've covered Augmented Reality app Layar a lot as it's one of the most promising examples of the technology out there--and it's getting even neater: Layar's adding 3-D to its AR world modeling system.

The Empire Strikes Barack: Obama Cancels Europe's Star Wars Defense Shield

Kit Eaton — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:22:00 -0400

President Obama's just canceled a Bush-backed missile defense shield destined to protect Europe from Iranian ICBMs. It's a whole new ball game compared to the original "Star Wars" SDI program. Remember that? Let us remind you.

Soon Your Phone Network Will Be a Vanilla Data Channel

Kit Eaton — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 07:26:01 -0400

Nokia just revealed it won't let phone networks apply any proprietary customization to its hot little MID/smartphone the N900. It's another sign that in the future your cell-phone network will be way less important than it thinks it is.

First Images From Revamped Hubble Space Telescope

Kit Eaton — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:51:31 -0400

The Hubble Space Telescope has always been an amazing machine, but it was recently made even more amazing with some repairs and optical upgrades in daring spacewalks. The first pics are out now, and they're stunning.

WolframAlpha Deal Means Bing Gets Its Geek On

Kit Eaton — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:37:25 -0400

Microsoft's Bing just keeps getting more interesting: The latest news is that Microsoft recently closed a deal with WolframAlpha's management to get some of Wolfram's impressive sciencey "fact calculation" goodness showing in Bing's results.

Your Avatar & You

Donald Schwartz — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 09:55:16 -0400

RTI study finds that an avatar's virtual life image may influence user's real-life image http://bit.ly/hq6Vn - DS: well, duh, avatars have always been aspirational....

Sorting, Scoring, and Avatarism: "Users are already familiar with the avatar as persona, and with the concept of various inventory items with unique attributes." http://tinyurl.com/3pzose

Technology

How to Build Your Own Spaceship

Fast Company Calendar — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 01:00:02 -0400

When Piers Bizony was 10, his father asked him to keep a scrapbook of space travel. Four decades later, the science writer, still hooked, created this DIY manual for rocket jockeys. Though the book's structure is a weak conceit, it does provide a framework for Bizony's fascinating detours into spaceship mechanics and design -- including a frighteningly graphic pit stop to explain onboard lavatories.

Use Your iPhone to Track Your Happiness

Kit Eaton — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 08:33:57 -0400

Just when you thought you'd learned about all the things your iPhone can do for you, along comes a new one: It can help you track your happiness. Taking part also helps someone write a PhD, so it's a double plus.

Update on Microsoft School of the Future

Elizabeth Svoboda — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:12:33 -0400

Three years have passed since the opening of Microsoft's School of the Future in Philadelphia, a high-profile pilot project designed to kick urban education up a few notches with learning strategies from the corporate world. Two years have passed since we wrote about this daring initiative. Now--if education experts at a recent American Enterprise Institute panel discussion are to be believed--the experiment is showing signs of stagnation.

Reading Fast Company as Rewarding as Sex, Study Suggests

Kit Eaton — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:51:45 -0400

Here's something to feed your primal urges: A new study has found that the pursuit of knowledge is as rewarding as eating or drinking--they're all actions that light up the same happy parts of the brain.

Twitter and Facebook Come to FiOS TV, but Verizon's Still Just a Widget Wannabe

Kit Eaton — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:23:31 -0400

Verizon's just added something to FiOS that's either a blessing or a curse for Twitter addicts--a live feed of your Twitter account that'll appear on your TV over the show you're watching, part of a new Widget Bazaar that also includes a Facebook app.

Exploring the Apple Tablet Rumor...Again

Kit Eaton — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:06:55 -0400

The Apple Tablet--long hoped-for magic unicorn of the high-tech gadget world--is back in the news. But this time instead of merely speculating, people are saying they have hard numbers to back up their rumors. So--is it real?

Best Buy Dabbles in Online Crowdsourcing

Kit Eaton — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:25:39 -0400

Best Buy's a big name and, you know, it's pretty successful. But that doesn't mean it's closed-minded, and won't listen to good ideas from the public. To that end, it's just launched an online Suggestions Box.

Schools are breeding laziness

Gregory Ferenstein — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:38:04 -0400

It may shock you how little my students study. Last Spring, out of 90 students, not one admitted to spending more than 10 hours a week on school work -- and, a sizable chunk worked less than 5.

Will NASA Reinvent Its Lunar Rocket Program?

Kit Eaton — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:21:58 -0400

NASA's ambitious design to return humans to the lunar surface has been controversial right from the get-go. It calls for ditching the Space Shuttle entirely and abandoning nearly all of its technology except for the solid rocket boosters and fuel tank. These elements are to be uprated to become core components of the new Ares I crew launch vehicle and massive Ares V cargo rocket.

A new antibiotic alternative

Elizabeth Svoboda — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:05:47 -0400

We've written about Intralytix, NovaBay, and Polymedix—companies developing drugs designed to circumvent the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.

Seven Stories This Week: Weird Science Edition

Chris Dannen — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:54:51 -0400

Yes, the King of Pop has gone to meet the Emperor of Pop, and taken much of his patented weirdness with him. Lest you forget that Earth is strange enough even without the scion of Neverland Ranch, here are a few of this week's viral stories to remind you that will make you question what you thought you knew for sure.

Hulu Ad Time Now More Valuable than Primetime

Travel Search Wars: Google Tests City Guides, Bing Travel Plagiarizes

Kit Eaton — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:09:37 -0400

Seems like travel functionality is a trending topic in search engine design: Google's testing intelligently-created City Tours. Meanwhile Bing Travel, which we wrote about recently, is in trouble over an alleged plagiaristic UI.

New Material Makes White LED Home Lighting Pretty Certain

Kit Eaton — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:21:02 -0400

Korean and Spanish scientists have pulled off a neat trick--they've discovered a new molecule that will make white LEDs pretty much a certainty for replacing compact fluorescent bulbs. The invention replaces two previous molecules with a single one.