Throughout the 1950s and 60s, aviation engineers struggled to overcome an important issue: That planes became increasingly difficult to control, the closer they got to the sound barrier. It wasn’t until NASA strapped a pair of custom-made wings onto this fighter that supersonic flight became not just feasible, but downright commonplace.
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This is a good song. No one is saying that you should listen to it while in any type of altered mental state whatsoever. It’s just a good song. The Wings recorded it in 1972 and it got pretty popular, though the BBC was turned off by some of its lyrics. Paul apparently had this to say about their concerns: More »
We all know about echolocation, but way more is happening when a bat takes flight, and some bats don’t echolocate at all. So how do they have so much precision in their flying and what’s different about bats and birds? More »
By all logic bats shouldn’t be able to fly. They’re basically rats with wings, yet somehow they manage to soar through the air, and researchers at Brown University have finally figured out how. But since they’re not the easiest animals to work with, Kenneth Breuer and Sharon Swartz created this biologically accurate robotic bat wing that perfectly mimics the creature’s motions. More »
I think people go through a phase in life where all they start wishing for the impossible. Like X-ray vision or an actual cloak that’ll make people invisible. Or maybe even a super power, like being able to read minds or fly.
It is with this premise that I introduce to you… Scwhings!
If you haven’t figured it out by now, Schwings is a mashed-up word for shoe wings. Now they won’t give anyone the ability to fly, nor will they make your shoes levitate or flit around your room once they’re fastened on.
However, they will dress up your kicks in a fancy and silly way. It might appeal to some, it might look ridiculous to others. If you belong to the first group of people, then you can head on over to Perpetual Kid to check them out, where they’re priced at $5.99 (USD) a pair.
[via 7Gadgets]
Formula 1 car technology has come a long way since it first hit the asphalt banks 62 years ago. It’s been hard to convey the sheer amount of change in a succinct way, but Rufus Blacklock may have nailed it in exactly one minute. Abstract versions of the cars show us the progression from the bullet-shaped cars of the 1950’s through to the low-slung, wing-laden beasts we know today. If the clip is a little too F1-fast, there’s also an infographic that details exactly when certain technology changes came into play, starting with the first wings in 1968 through to modern (and at times controversial) introductions like KERS in 2009. Click past the break for the video, and check out the relevant source link for a quite literal big picture.
Continue reading Visualized: the history of the Formula 1 car in 60 seconds (video)
Visualized: the history of the Formula 1 car in 60 seconds (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 21:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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