Apr 16
What Happens to Peeps in a Vacuum
Posted in: Today's ChiliWe’re all familiar with the classic springtime tradition of sending Peeps to their noble deaths via microwave, but that’s getting a bit old. How about a total vacuum instead?
Jul 15
Jul 14
The microwave is the lazy hungry man’s best friend. Developer Nathan Broadbent went and modified his oven to become even more lazy user-friendly. His Picrowave oven is voice-activated, reads bar codes, can be taught how to cook a particular item and more.
Broadbent used a Raspberry Pi to smarten up his oven. He even rewired its touch panel and made a new interface for it. The thing is, he doesn’t need to use the new panel, because he made the oven understand voice commands.
He also made an online database containing instructions for cooking. The instructions are tied to bar codes, which are read by a scanner that Broadbent connected it to his oven. In short, all he has to do is scan an item and the microwave will find out how to zap it from the database using Wi-Fi. If it’s not there, Nathan can just add an entry. He also made an online interface so that he can control the oven from a website, even from a mobile device. Finally, the oven can also tweet when its done cooking.
If only 3D printers were that easy to use. Head to Broadbent’s website to see how he made the Picrowave.
[via TechCrunch via DVICE]
Jul 06
Generally speaking, it’s not a good idea to put things in the microwave that don’t belong in there. But that doesn’t stop the curious minds of people like us from wanting to see what happens to other stuff when you jostle around its atoms in the microwave. Take, for instance, office supplies – more specifically, a fluorescent highlighter pen. Well, ask, and ye shall receive…
This amazing image of an exploding highlighter was captured by Redditor opticreason, presumably for some optic reason, or maybe just for fun. Either way, he’s going to have a whole lot of fun cleaning out the inside of his microwave after this mess. Never mind the fact that the next time he goes to heat up a Hot Pocket or pop some Reddenbacher’s, his food is going to be hot pink. This makes me wonder what might happen if you microwaved some of those scented markers. Could you make food taste like other flavors? I always had a thing for the grape scent.
Needless to say, I don’t recommend that you try this at home. Your office, on the other hand…
[Reddit via Buzzfeed via Gizmodo]
Apr 10
A woman from Tucson, Arizona, discovered that her microwave oven was definitely no match for a SWAT tactical robot. Just how did such a match up come about in the first place, anyway? Well, she was living in a midtown apartment complex when the police sent a SWAT tactical robot to her place after tenants in the area reported the sound of gunshots from her apartment. In the build up to the situation, the complex manager did make an attempt to evict one man staying there, and post-confrontation, the neighbors heard gunshots.
Sgt. Chris Widmer, spokesman for the Tucson Police Department, shared, “Officers arrived at the complex and saw a woman breaking out window glass from inside apartment with what appeared to be a shotgun, they evacuated the other residents.”
Upon refusal to leave the apartment, a SWAT tactical robot that boasts of a camera was sent in for the SWAT members to have “eyes” on the ground without endangering their lives, but the woman in question decided to toss a microwave at the robot, but to no negative effect as she missed her target. I suppose it would have been better if the robot were to be placed into the microwave itself assuming it is small enough, don’t you think so?
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Robot Steadies Itself Despite Applied Force, Robot That Loves Hugging You From Behind, 
Apr 01
Well, well, what do we have here? It seems that Nokia, the smartphone company from Finland that used to dominate the mobile phone market, is about to take the plunge into the home appliances market with a microwave, of all products. I say, why not? After all, the humble microwave might not be a centerpiece in your newly renovated kitchen, but it sure as heck is one of the most important pieces of the kitchen puzzle. After all, it is the microwave that helps you heat things up in the blink of an eye, making sure that those TV dinners which you bought would taste absolutely delicious in a matter of minutes. This microwave is called the Nokia 5AM-TH1N6 Constellation, which happens to be a touch-screen microwave oven – perhaps it is a sign that expertise from their Windows Phone 8-powered smartphones being handed down?
The Nokia Constellation will set itself apart with a superfast, water-cooled 8-core high-voltage transformer, where it is capable of delivering a combined performance of 5,000 watts to end-users, allowing one to heat up turnkey meal solutions in a matter of seconds. Olavi Huhtikuu, Nokia’s director of household innovation, said, “Nokia has a proven track record and extensive IPR in working with microwave radios, so for us this was a logical next step. We can attack our competition in their core business. That’s why we developed the highly innovative 5AM-TH1N6 Constellation, which will revolutionize everything from single households to canteen kitchens”
Other innovative features in the new Nokia 5AM-TH1N6 include eye-tracking technology that ensures food will stop rotating whenever you look at it, and it will even be able to adjust the temperature automatically, depending on just how hungry you look. Expect the Constellation to ship from Q2 onwards at a suggested retail price of €399 a pop.
Just in case you were wondering whether this sounds way too good to be true, or that it is just a hoot to hear the Finnish smartphone company venturing into the consumer electronics and home appliance segments of the market, do remember that today is April 1st, and what you have just read is, indeed, too good to be true.
Press Release
[ Nokia into the microwave business now copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Jan 19
Metamaterials are proving to be quite useful for toying with the electromagnetic spectrum, whether for technology previously thought to be the stuff of science fiction, or for boring real-world applications. Engineers at Duke University have come up something that falls more into the latter category: a metamaterial imaging sensor that doesn’t require a lens to generate a picture. The sensor is a flexible copper-plated sheet patterned with small squares that capture various light frequencies all at once, functioning like one big aperture. Add a few circuits with a pinch of software and the sensor-only camera can produce up to ten images per second, but the catch is Duke’s only works at microwave frequencies. Microwave imaging is used plenty, however, and due to its flexibility and lack of moving parts, the sensor could be used to build better integrated, cheaper airport scanners and vehicle collision avoidance technology — making you safer however you choose to travel. Unless you take the train. Then you’re on your own.
Filed under: Misc, Transportation, Science, Alt
Via: Phys.org
Source: Science, Duke University
Dec 09
Fagor Spoutnik microwave
Posted in: Today's Chili
Most of us would figure out that a microwave is, well, a microwave. After all, how many kinds of shapes and sizes can a humble microwave come in other than the standard issue rectangle? Apparently, more than that – if the designers want to get creative, that is. When talking about the Fagor Spoutnik microwave, we are looking at a space age design which will certainly send heads turning and tongues wagging whenever they take a peek into your kitchen. Why do we say so? Why, just take a look at the above image and you will know why for yourself!
Firstly, you can say that the most noticeable feature of the freestanding Spoutnik would be its transparent dome design, which paves the way for a 360-degree view of its interior. In this method, a user is able to observe the cooking process fully. Not only that, the dome that comes with it will also boast of a 28-cm (11-inch) turntable complete with grid lines, making it far easier to position the dish.
The Fagor Spoutnik will illuminate itself whenever the cooking process begins, changing from red whenever the dish starts to cook, and it goes all the way to blue when the dish is ready for eating. Just in case colors are not your cup of tea, things get even easier as the Spoutnik will also be able to emit an audible signal once the cooking has finished. Boasting a lever which paves the way for a smooth lifting of the dome that opens up to a 65-degree angle, this is one design that guarantees full access to the interior. Those who spend plenty of time in the kitchen would welcome this, especially since it makes life easier whenever you want to clean up the crusty residue within which is more often than not the result from microwave cooking.
You can pick up the Fagor Spoutnik for £179 a pop.
Product Page
[ Fagor Spoutnik microwave copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Nov 12
Duke University creates ‘perfect’ one-directional microwave cloak, might lead to stealthier vehicles
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Most attempts at cloaking, no matter the slice of spectrum, usually leave clues as to what’s there — even microwave cloaks can spoil the surprise through reflections. At Duke University, researchers have licked some of those past problems with the first instance of a flawless microwave cloaking scheme. By crafting a special diamond-shaped cloak where the light properties stay consistent at the corners, the school’s Nathan Landy and David Smith have successfully shielded a 3-inch wide cylinder from microwave detection without a hint that something was amiss. The gotcha, as hinted by the shape, is a two-dimensional nature that gives away the secret at less than ideal angles. Duke suggests that it still has the groundwork for something that could be vital for communications or radar — we can imagine a stealth aircraft or ship in the far-flung future that could actively mask itself from radar signals. It’s not quite the optical illusion we’re looking for, but a refined version of the Duke project might be enough for a rare practical use of cloaking when fantasies are much more common.
Duke University creates ‘perfect’ one-directional microwave cloak, might lead to stealthier vehicles originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Nov 2012 19:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Oct 24
Wars and battles are being fought using increasingly cutting edge technology. In the future, the world may be so dependent on electronics – our soldiers might even be robots – that should a group’s systems and devices fail it might as well wave a white flag. Which is why Boeing, the US Air Force Research Laboratory and Raytheon Ktech are working on a missile that’s out to kill electronics, not organics.
The missile is called Counter-electronics High-powered Advanced Missile Project or CHAMP. I think we can all agree that the acronym is not forced and that it is not confusing at all that the missile is also a missile project. But on to the good stuff. The missile is unlike conventional missiles not just because of its intended target but also in the fact that it just needs to fly over its targets as opposed to crashing into them. The CHAMP emits high-powered microwave pulses to do its job.
I love how one computer was so knocked out it spat out the disc in its optical drive. For their next test Boeing should make CHAMP fly over thousands of s’mores or popcorns and see if it can cook them.
Who's in charge here?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.