DARPA: Bionic Arm

The U.S. military is building an ambitious bionic arm that is controlled by thought and provides sensory feedback. Here's the latest prototype, showing the movements of the hand.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse

1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge: slender, elegant and graceful, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge stretched like a steel ribbon across Puget Sound in 1940. The third longest suspension span in the world opened on July 1st. Only four months later, the great span's short life ended in disaster. "Galloping Gertie," collapsed in a windstorm on November 7,1940. A dramatic tale of failure and success. The story of the failure of the 1940 Narrows Bridge and the success of the Current Narrows Bridge is a great American saga. When Galloping Gertie splashed into Puget Sound, it created ripple effects across the nation and around the world. The event changed forever how engineers design suspension bridges. Gertie's failure led to the safer suspension spans we use today.

Blind Rubik's Cube

We've seen a lot of neat stuff come from the Speed Cubing crowd. However, solving a Rubik's Cube while blindfolded is a new level of cool from a somewhat geeky hobby.

The future of politics

Gaia - The future of politics

Bullet slow motion

Test Your Awareness: Do The Test

Planets and Stars in scale

This video was made in 2006 before "VY Canis Majoris" was listed as the largest known star. We know of only of a very few of the estimated 200-300 Billion stars that make up our galaxy, which is just one of at least 300-500 billion galaxies in the visible Universe.

For complete list visit: List of largest known stars

Athlete

JPL engineers built a futuristic robot that may one day go to the moon.

US Army Tank Testing

U.S. Soldiers menuvering and firing the new 105mm mobile gun system variant of the Stryker vehicle on the ranges in Kuwait.

The Future of communication

Nice video about the future of communications; Google, Microsoft,Yahoo!, Amazon...

DSEi 40mm AGL air-bursting

This is an advertisement for a weapon taken from the 2001 Catalogue for DSEi - the UK's largest arms fair. This particularly vicious air-bursting shell is designed to project shrapnel into the face of its target. Like a bad trailer for an all-action Hollywood movie, the voice-over tells us that "there is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide!" The computer graphics keep the viewer removed from the reality of the mutilation that the shell is designed to inflict. The DSEi arms fair is packed with thousands of such products on sale to repressive regimes from around the world. Shutting down DSEi is the aim of various campaigns including Disarm DSEi and the Campaign Against the Arms Trade.

Harland & Wolff Crane Accident

Workers at Harland & Wolff in Belfast could only look on in horror as a crane fell.

How A Jet Engine Works

A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet of fluid to generate thrust in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets and pump-jets. All jet engines work on the same principle. The engine sucks air in at the front with a fan. A compressor raises the pressure of the air. The compressor is made up of fans with many blades and attached to a shaft. The blades compress the air. The compressed air is then sprayed with fuel and an electric spark lights the mixture. The burning gases expand and blast out through the nozzle, at the back of the engine. As the jets of gas shoot backward, the engine and the aircraft are thrust forward.
In the basic turbojet engine, air enters the front intake and is compressed, then forced into combustion chambers where fuel is sprayed into it and the mixture is ignited. Gases which form expand rapidly and are exhausted through the rear of the combustion chambers. As the gases leave the engine, they pass through a fan-like set of blades (turbine) which rotates the turbine shaft. This shaft, in turn, rotates the compressor, thereby bringing in a fresh supply of air through the intake. Engine thrust may be increased by the addition of an afterburner section in which extra fuel is sprayed into the exhausting gases which burn to give the added thrust.

Fifth Gear: How to drive under a lorry

Crash Test: Volvo FH12

Dodge Tomahawk: World's Fastest Bike

At the 2003 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, Dodge unveiled a vehicle with an unusual design, featuring the 500 hp (373 kW) @ 5600 rpm, 8.3 L V10 engine from the Dodge Viper. 10-cylinder 90-degree V-type, liquid-cooled, 505 in³ (8275 cc). The vehicle has two front wheels and two rear wheels, making it a kind of motorized quadricycle rather than a typical motorcycle. Though it has four wheels, to associate the Tomahawk with a quad-type vehicle is not entirely accurate; quad-type vehicles have more in common with the automobile. They turn like an automobile, while the Tomahawk turns by leaning. According to the official specs 0-60 mph times have been estimated at 2.5 seconds, with an estimated top speed of 350 mph. But there are also reports that the top speed is 676 km/h (about 420 mph). While the Tomahawk is not street-legal, it could, theoretically, be ridden.

For more inforamtion read: Dodge Tomahawk review

Bollard crash test

Large Giant Rabbit

Large Hadron Collider (LHC) Machine - How It Works

What is the LHC?

The LHC is physically located in a circular 27km (16.5m) long tunnel under the Swiss/French border outside Geneva, but as an international project the LHC crosses continents and many international borders. It's exactly what its name suggests - a large collider of hadrons. Strictly, LHC refers to the collider; a machine that deserves to be labelled ‘large’, it not only weighs more than 38,000 tonnes, but runs for 27km (16.5m) in a circular tunnel 100 metres beneath the Swiss/French border at Geneva. However, the collider is only one of three essential parts of the LHC project. The other two are:

- the detectors, which sit in 4 huge chambers at points around the LHC tunnel.
- the GRID, which is a global network of computers and software essential to processing the data recorded by LHC’s detectors.

The LHC’s 27km loop in a sense encircles the globe, because the LHC project is supported by an enormous international community of scientists and engineers. Working in multinational teams, at CERN and around the world, they are building and testing LHC equipment and software, participating in experiments and analysing data. The UK has a major role in leading the project and has scientists and engineers working on all the main experiments.

What will the LHC do?

The LHC will allow scientists to probe deeper into the heart of matter and further back in time than has been possible using previous colliders. Researchers think that the Universe originated in the Big Bang (an unimaginably violent explosion) and since then the Universe has been cooling down and becoming less energetic. Very early in the cooling process the matter and forces that make up our world ‘condensed’ out of this ball of energy. The LHC will produce tiny patches of very high energy by colliding together atomic particles that are travelling at very high speed. The more energy produced in the collisions the further back we can look towards the very high energies that existed early in the evolution of the Universe. Collisions in the LHC will have up to 7x the energy of those produced in previous machines; recreating energies and conditions that existed billionths of a second after the start of the Big Bang. The results from the LHC are not completely predictable as the experiments are testing ideas that are at the frontiers of our knowledge and understanding. Researchers expect to confirm predictions made on the basis of what we know from previous experiments and theories. However, part of the excitement of the LHC project is that it may uncover new facts about matter and the origins of the Universe. One of the most interesting theories the LHC will test was put forward by the UK physicist Professor Peter Higgs and others. The different types of fundamental particle that make up matter have very different masses, while the particles that make up light (photons) have no mass at all. Peter’s theory is one explanation of why this is so and the LHC will allow us to test the theory.

How does the LHC work?

The LHC accelerates two beams of atomic particles in opposite directions around the 27km collider. When the particle beams reach their maximum speed the LHC allows them to ‘collide’ at 4 points on their circular journey. Thousands of new particles are produced when particles collide and detectors, placed around the collision points, allow scientists to identify these new particles by tracking their behaviour. The detectors are able to follow the millions of collisions and new particles produced every second and identify the distinctive behaviour of interesting new particles from among the many thousands that are of little interest. As the energy produced in the collisions increases researchers are able to peer deeper into the fundamental structure of the Universe and further back in its history. In these extreme conditions unknown atomic particles may appear.

Who benefits?

There are two types of benefit that the LHC project produces for the UK. The less easily measured benefits are:

- new understanding of the physical world,
- training of world class scientists and engineers,
- maintenance of a vibrant, world class UK research base and,
- a leading role in a major international project.

More easily appreciated are the knowledge, expertise and technology that is spun off from the LHC and can be directly applied to development of new medical, industrial and consumer technologies (more...)
The science of the LHC is far removed from everyday life, but the fact that the science is so extreme constantly pushes the boundaries of existing technical and engineering solutions. Simply building the LHC has generated new technology.
The LHC is not primarily about building a better world. Rather, it allows us to test theories and ideas about how the Universe works, its origins and evolution. The questions asked, and answers found, are so fundamental that the information from LHC experiments will only be applied many years in the future, if at all. However, this is an experiment and one of the surprises from the experiment may be new science that can be applied almost immediately.

Some interesting links:

- LHC uk
- Cern homepage
- Lhc Machine Outreach

The most frightening roller coaster in the world

Kingda Ka is a roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey, USA. At its opening on May 21, 2005, it became the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world. The train is launched by a hydraulic launch mechanism to 128 miles per hour (206 km/h) in 3.5 seconds. At the end of the launch track, the train climbs the main top hat tower reaching a height of 456 feet (139.5 m). Due to aviation safety concerns, the tower is equipped with three dual strobes: 2 mid-way up, and one on the top.

For more information: www.sixflags.com

The Draganflyer personal helicopter

An agile, video-equipped helicopter.

Rinspeed sQuba Concept

Rinspeed’s Zero-Emission World Debut at the Geneva Motor Show - a Green “Fish” with Q-Factor

Thirty years after the movie thriller ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ hit the silver screen “sQuba” is the first car that can actually ‘fly’ under water. It also had to be a sports car that was converted into a diving dream in the facilities of Swiss engineering specialist Esoro. In a first step the combustion engine was removed and replaced by several electric motors. Three motors are located in the rear. One provides propulsion on land, the other two drive the screws for underwater motoring. They are supported by two powerful Seabob jet drives in the front, which ‘breathe’ through special rotating louvers from HS Genion (for opening and closing the water intake). The rotating outlet jets were designed to be extremely light yet twist resistant by using high-tech nano materials, so-called Carbon Nano Tubes.

For more information visit: Rinspeed.ch

Train crash test against end rails barrier

Russian train crash test

Icebreaker Launch

Collision of ships - Kaiko Japan and Maru New Zealand

Mega truck run

The Schwerer Gustav and Dora

The Schwerer Gustav and Dora weighed nearly 1,350 tonnes, were World-War-II German 80-cm (800-mm) field cannons, developed in the 1930s. They were able to fire a 7-tonne high-explosive artillery shell at a huge target 37 kilometers away.

Tallest vertical drop, fun ride!

The Giant Drop at Dreamworld, Queensland, Australia, drops from a height of 119 m (390 ft), giving riders five seconds of free fall time before being brought to a halt by electromagnetic brakes.

T-28 super-heavy tank

The T28 (later called 105 mm Gun Motor Carriage T95) was a prototype heavily armoured tank destroyer, designed for the US Military during World War II. It was originally designed to be used to break through German defenses at the Siegfried Line, and was later considered as a possible participant in an invasion of the Japanese mainland. It had no conventional turret, giving it a comparatively low profile. Its total weight when fully equipped would have reached 95 short tons. The armor was very thick compared to tanks of the time, in some places up to 12 inches thick (305 millimeters). This was considered heavy enough to provide protection from the 8.8cm/L71 cannon used by German heavy tanks. The engine was an underpowered gasoline Ford GAF V-8, delivering 410 hp, which gave it a top speed of about 8 mph (13 km/h).

Crash Test: Unsafe chinese cars

Comparing chinese death cars with others, it's impressive how chinese cars are unsafe. Nobody could survive in a crash with a chisese car at 64km/h.

1º Car: Lexus - Expensive japanese car.
2° Car: Fiat Siena - Cheap South American car.
3° Car: Chinese car Chery Amulet
4º Car: Chinese car Brilliance BS6

Typhoon: biggest nuclear-powered submarine

The Typhoon class submarine is a type of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine deployed by the Soviet Navy in the 1980s. With a maximum displacement of 26,000 tonnes, Typhoons are the largest class of submarine ever built. A Typhoon class submarine can stay submerged for periods up to 180 days in normal conditions, and potentially more if necessity arises.

Steel Dragon 2000 Nagashima Spaland Japan

Lockheed-Martin P 791

The P-791 is an experimental aerostatic/aerodynamic hybrid airship developed by Lockheed-Martin corporation. The first flight of the P-791 was made on 31 January 2006 at the company's flight test facility on the Palmdale Air Force Plant 42. In such designs, part of the weight of the craft and its payload are supported by aerostatic (buoyant) lift. Critics of the hybrid approach are: difficult to control and protect on the ground, and have relatively poor aerodynamic performance.

For more information visit: AviationWeek

Chicken Head Tracking

Pennywhistle Productions

Chickens have a great ability to keep their heads stable. Our bodies use a gyro-like mechanism in our ears which has 3 mutually orthogonal inertial measurement devices. Modern motion processors use something called an Inertial Measurment Unit (IMU). These devices provide movement data which can be used to compensate for the movement. Chickens apparently have the same type mechanism only with a higher update rate.

Bugatti Veyron VS JET Fighter

In 2000 Volkswagen AG founded Bugatti Automobiles SAS and introduced the EB 16/4 Veyron concept, a 16-cylinder quadruple turbo charged car with 1001 hp DIN (736 kW), 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 2.5 sec, and a top speed of 407 km/h (253 mph), at the Paris, Geneva and Detroit auto shows. Development continued throughout 2004 and the EB 16/4 Veyron was promoted to "advanced concept" status. In July 2005 Bugatti Automobiles SAS announced that the car would officially be called the Bugatti Veyron 16.4. According to Car and Driver, the Veyron's fuel consumption at 253 mph was 3.0 mpg (78 L/100 km). At full throttle, its 100 L (26 US gal/22 imp gal) fuel tank would empty in just 12 minutes 46 seconds. After 15 straight minutes at 253 mph the tires would melt. The latest limited edition version of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4. It costs $2.3 million (not including tax).

Official site: Bugatti.com

T131: The Atomic Cannon

T131 Atomic Cannon at Rock Island Arsenal

Shot Grable, May 25, 1953 (15 Kton), the gun is a 280mm Cannon (AKA "Atomic Annie).

Worlds fastest Train: 574.8 km/h

The french TGV (train à grande vitesse, High speed train) sets a new conventional rail record, with a speed of 574.8 kmh. The record was established on April 3,2007, surpassing the previous record of 1990 (515.3kmh). The train is a special tgv, named "V150" (for 150 met/sec, ca. 540kmh)with a souded-up engine (25,000hp, like two F1 starting grids), and larger wheels.

Man shoots his pants off with a shotgun

This guys 12gauge shotgun kicks so hard. It knocks his pants down around . A very funny real video.

Thrust SSC :The Fastest Land Vehicle (1149 km/h)

October 1997, UK managed to break the sound barrier on earth, using the fantastic Thrust SSC vehicule.

More information here: Thrust SSC web site

Train against car: Top Gear crash test

Top Gear crash test