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Oct 15, 2015
Anti-drone rifle shoots down UAVs with radio waves
Posted by Bryan Gatton in categories: drones, energy, law enforcement, military
https://youtube.com/watch?v=zX4XXLb_Vuw
While the US military continues to develop new and awesome ways of blowing aerial drones to smithereens, not many of these systems can easily be adapted to use in the civilian realm. That’s why Battelle has developed the DroneDefender, a shoulder-mounted rifle that knocks UAVs offline with a barrage of radio waves.
“It can help us in numerous settings, from the White House lawn to bases and embassies overseas; from prisons and schools to historic sites,” Alex Morrow, technical director on the project, said in a statement. “It easily and reliably neutralizes the threat.” The weapon weighs roughly 10 pounds and can target drones up to 400 meters away. When the trigger is pulled, the gun emits a blast of electromagnetic energy tuned to the most common GPS and ISM frequencies, safely disabling the drone and preventing it from accepting any additional commands from its operator. This is especially helpful if the drone is equipped with an improvised explosive device.
Oct 15, 2015
Billions in Change — Official Film
Posted by Odette Bohr Dienel in categories: complex systems, energy, ethics, hacking, health, materials, sustainability, water
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY7f1t9y9a0
“The world is facing some huge problems. There’s a lot of talk about how to solve them. But talk doesn’t reduce pollution, or grow food, or heal the sick. That takes doing. This film is the story about a group of doers, the elegantly simple inventions they have made to change the lives of billions of people, and the unconventional billionaire spearheading the project.”
Tags: Change, engineering, Experts, Tinkering
Oct 15, 2015
Researchers use engineered viruses to provide quantum-based enhancement of energy transport
Posted by Phillipe Bojorquez in categories: bioengineering, genetics, particle physics, quantum physics, solar power, sustainability
Nature has had billions of years to perfect photosynthesis, which directly or indirectly supports virtually all life on Earth. In that time, the process has achieved almost 100 percent efficiency in transporting the energy of sunlight from receptors to reaction centers where it can be harnessed—a performance vastly better than even the best solar cells.
One way plants achieve this efficiency is by making use of the exotic effects of quantum mechanics—effects sometimes known as “quantum weirdness.” These effects, which include the ability of a particle to exist in more than one place at a time, have now been used by engineers at MIT to achieve a significant efficiency boost in a light-harvesting system.
Surprisingly, the MIT researchers achieved this new approach to solar energy not with high-tech materials or microchips—but by using genetically engineered viruses.
Oct 15, 2015
MIT’s Crazy Shapeshifting Display Can Now Build With Blocks
Posted by Sean Brazell in categories: robotics/AI, virtual reality
Oct 15, 2015
Hackers Can Silently Control Siri From 16 Feet Away
Posted by Sean Brazell in category: cybercrime/malcode
A clever attack by French researchers turns your headphone cable into an antenna to send surreptitious voice commands.
Oct 15, 2015
The New Hendo Hoverboard Is a Warm-Up for Elon’s Hyperloop
Posted by Sean Brazell in category: transportation
Oct 15, 2015
Volvo’s first fully electric car will arrive in 2019
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in categories: robotics/AI, transportation
Volvo’s been bullish about self-driving vehicles, but it’s much more coy when it comes to electric cars. The company’s latest XC90 has a hybrid edition, and there’s an existing V60 plug-in, but nothing fully electric. Finally, the Swedish auto-maker is ready to go all in, confirming an all-electric vehicle will go on sale in 2019, plus plans to offer hybrid versions of every car in its range, alongside a new “series 40” range of smaller electrified cars. That’s still quite a wait for the full EV, and the hybrids might not show up until 2017, but as the Wall Street Journal suggests, Volvo might have been spurred on to make the announcement by the recent VW scandal around diesel engines.
Oct 15, 2015
Evacuate Earth Death by a Neutron Star in 1080p
Posted by Sean Brazell in category: existential risks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBrPPnyXc58
This is one of the most fascinating and riveting documentaries I’ve ever seen…
Watch it.
Continue reading “Evacuate Earth Death by a Neutron Star in 1080p” »
Oct 15, 2015
Efficiency Of Solar-Powered Electrolysis Doubled
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in categories: solar power, sustainability
Researchers have reached an all time solar-to-hydrogen efficiency high of 24 percent.
Having reached a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of more than 24 percent, it may soon be feasible to harness the sun to split water.
Asian Scientist Newsroom | October 13, 2015 | In the Lab.