If plain old water doesn’t quench your palate, but you don’t want to spring for a fancy flavor-enhanced pre-bottled alternative, feast your eyes upon the Aqua Zinger DIY H2O infuser. It lets you imbue your water with everything from fresh fruit essences, to spices, to candy corn. More »
Trying to use a touchscreen with wet hands has always been more trouble than its worth, but new technology from Freescale is changing that with new software, Xtrinsic 3.0, that makes capacitive touchscreens work even through a layer of water. More »
Animals have had a rough time of it, when it comes to scientific exploration. Look no further than Laika, the first animal to orbit Earth, soon becoming the first animal to die in orbit, not too long after achieving that earlier distinction. The dwarf hamsters that occupy Hampture seem to be considerably happier in their own scientific explorations than the Soviet mutt, at the moment. Bob Averill brought the project to our attention last week on our visit to Portland, Oregon. According to the official blog, the project is an attempt to “learn firsthand what is involved in designing and constructing a complete underwater habitat capable of sustaining complex organisms.” It also may well be a gateway to sending the hamsternauts into space via Skystation Mk1. Averill is also looking to turn Hampture into a salable product, though Kickstarter, for one, has apparently balked at the idea. In the meantime, you can check out a streaming feed of the habitat after the break and read up on the making of the project in the source links below.
Hampture underwater colony established for science, leads the way for future hamster space exploration originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Aug 2012 19:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Once a tool used exclusively by mountaineers to secure themselves against deadly falls, the carabiner has been adopted for hundreds of more mundane uses—like carrying housekeys, or strapping a water bottle to your gear with this simple but useful replacement carabiner cap. More »
Whether or not you support the investment in military technology, you have to admit that DARPA comes up with some amazing technologies. A recent DARPA project is the Captive Air Amphibious Transporter (CAAT), which works much like a tank, except it floats on water.
Using air-filled pontoons attached to tank-like treads, the CAAT can drive across the surface of water or swamps at a high rate of speed. When out of the water, the amphibious vehicle can drive directly onto shore – even onto uneven surfaces. The vehicle is designed as part of DARPA’s Tactically Expandable Maritime Platform, which is designed to help support disaster relief from offshore ships. So I imagine these would be brought in on larger boats, and then drive into shore. It’s an impressive sight when you see it in action:
At this point, what you’re looking at here is a 1/5th scale prototype of the CAAT, and it’s not clear if it will eventually make it into full-scale production.
Common knowledge suggests that water is the most important molecule required for life to survive. But new research shows that proteins that usually contain it can function perfectly well without it—throwing into question the perceived wisdom that water is so vital. More »
Everyone knows the secret to building sandcastles is a little water. But while too little leaves the sand useless, too much makes it heavy enough to cause disastrous landslides. Fortunately, scientists have unravelled the secrets behind sandcastle building for you. More »
Located at the Lotte Department Store in Busan—the second largest city in South Korea—this mesmerizing fountain actually plummets five stories from the ceiling. And as the water drops tumble towards a small pool on the ground, they create complex designs and even spell out words like “Busan” and “Lotte.” The ten minute show, which runs at the top of every hour, could give the waterworks at the Bellagio in Las Vegas a run for its money. [Busan For 91 Days via Neatorama] More »
Most iPhone users are afraid to get even a drop of water near their phones, lest they one day be rejected by an Apple Store Genius. But when strapped into the iGills waterproof case, you can safely dive with your phone to a depth of 130 feet, and keep track of when you need to surface. More »
Ask most people what a water ionizer does, and not only will they probably not know, they probably won’t care. But ionizers like Tyent’s new 9000T, complete with a slick touchscreen display, can make your water even more healthy than it already is. More »
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