The top motor-only speed of an electric bike can
be limited by law to 20 mph (32 km/h), but those taking their rides
off-road or to the streets of more lenient jurisdictions may push their
vehicles that little bit further. Looking to allow even more scope for
performance are Milwaukee-based inventors Dustin Herte and Ryan Bass,
whose Odyssey electric trike, fitted with a 4 kW motor, can reach speeds
of up to 50 mph (80 km/h). Read More
Smartphone manufacturers have yet to begin
including wireless charging functionality in their handsets as a matter
of course. There are, however, a number of devices available that can
add wireless charging functionality. The Fonesalesman iQi Mobile is one
such device – let's take a look at how it performs. Read More
While most of Canada seems content to let the
rest of the world worry about designing exotic vehicles, some in Quebec
see things slightly differently. Recently the francophone province has
brought us such automotive morsels as the Felino cb7 and the MK5 track racer,
and now Dubuc SLC’s Tomahawk, a multi-talented 2-seater kit-car,
capable of supporting an electric drive train, or one pilfered from a
gas-powered car or motorcycle, can be added to the list of boutique
Quebecois offerings. Read More
Graphene, the two-dimensional lattice of carbon
atoms, may be the wonder material du jour, but ultrathin layers of other
elements are also proving to be an exciting area of research.
One-atom-thick sheets of germanium and tin have shown potential as semiconductors and a topological insulators
respectively, and now ultrathin layers of tungsten and selenium have
been used to create a diode that could be used in ultrathin, flexible,
semi-transparent solar cells. Read More
You can never be too careful, and if you have a
upwards of £200,000 (US$330,000) laying around, you could sleep a little
easier as the new owner of a nuclear bunker. Built by the British
government during the Cold War to ride out a Soviet attack, the
decommissioned Cultybraggan Camp bunker is being put on the block as
part of a plan to preserve and redevelop the former British Army camp.
Read More
As you might expect, acquiring a signal from a
satellite traveling at speeds of over 17,400 mph can be a tricky
business. A new system called SARAS, which is a Spanish acronym for
"Fast Acquisition of Satellites and Launchers," more than doubles the
effective area of the receiving dish antenna, allowing the signal to be
acquired much faster. Read More
X-ray observations shed new light on dark matter
By Brian Dodson
March 10, 2014
New analyses of the x-ray and gamma-ray emissions
from the center of the Milky Way galaxy, the Andromeda galaxy, and the
Perseus galaxy cluster have detected significant signs of two possible
dark matter particles. One is likely a 7.1 keV sterile neutrino, and the
other appears to be a 35 GeV WIMP (Weakly Interacting Massive
Particle). Read More
When people have nerve problems such as those
caused by spinal injuries, they can lose the ability to feel when their
bladder is full. This means that they don't know when it needs to be
emptied, resulting in a build-up of pressure that can damage both the
bladder and their kidneys. Now, a tiny sensor may offer a better way of
assessing their condition, to see if surgery is required or if
medication will suffice. Read More
Bringing together form and functionality in
harmony is the holy grail for design of any type. The newly opened
Emerson College Los Angeles (ELA) achieves just that. The building
needed to be sustainable and provide spaces for education, accommodation
and administration whilst at the same time fostering social activity
and creativity. Read More
If you've ever felt your daily
routine was like being stuck on a hamster wheel, then spare a thought
for architectural artists Ward Shelley and Alex Schweder. The pair
actually did live in a "home" shaped like an oversized hamster wheel for some 10 days as part of their art exhibit, dubbed In Orbit. Read More
It’s easy for a car that’s all sharp lines and
flaring wings to catch the eye, but sometimes it’s the ones with the
deceptively conservative styling that catch you by surprise. A case in
point is Italdesign Giugiaro’s
Clipper MPV concept car, which was unveiled last week at the Geneva
Motor Show. The four-wheel drive, six-seater with fully independent
all-electric drive sports a design that's based on a study of future
cities, and is billed by the maker as a “veritable automotive research
design lab.” Read More
Chances are that you already carry a smartphone
with you wherever you go, and if you're a wildlife-watcher, hiker, or
sporting-event spectator, then you likely also have a pair of
binoculars. Well, the Snapzoom
is a new product that brings those two devices together – it lets you
get telephoto snapshots of distant subjects, by holding your phone's
camera lens in alignment with one lens of your binoculars. I recently
got a chance to try the thing out for myself, and liked what it had to
offer. Read More
A study of data captured by NASA's Wide-Field
Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) satellite has disproved the existence of
the hypothesized large celestial body, dubbed "Planet X." The planet or
companion star was, some believed, responsible for the periodic mass
extinctions that have taken place in Earth's past. Read More
The Kindle Fire HDX doesn't allow AirPlay-like
wireless streaming of music, photos, and video like an iPad. Of course,
you can always display videos by connecting the micro-HDMI cable to your
HDTV, but that can be a hassle depending on your home theater set up.
Luckily a little app called Avia allows users to stream content from
Amazon's tablet to devices that include the Digital Living Network
Alliance (DLNA) standard. Read More
It would be more than charitable to describe
either of the machines here as truly portable, with both exhibiting
thick and heavy builds that are far more at home on a desk than your
lap. However, what they lack in true portability, they more than make up
for in raw power. Read on as we take a detailed look at two 17-inch
gaming laptops – the Dell Alienware 17 and MSI GT70 2OD. Read More
The Amperage Pedal MIDI controller eyes life on stage
By Paul Ridden
March 10, 2014
There are a number of ways to take digital amp and effects modeling to the gig or studio, including the new AMPLIFi models from Line 6, or routing your signal through a laptop or tablet running something like AmpliTube.
Accessing and controlling settings on a device screen can be somewhat
fiddly, though, and many guitarists feel more comfortable with physical
knobs and switches. This is where the Amperage MIDI controller pedal
could help to bridge the gap between analog stomp familiarity and the
brave new world of digital tone tweaking. Read More
It's de rigueur for upmarket brands to have an
e-bike in the stable these days, so it was no surprise that aspiring
international brand Qoros
should show its eBIQE in Geneva last week. The big surprise was the
cloud connectivity and a five inch touchscreen dashboard with an
astonishing array of information services. Cheap? NO! Cool? YES! Read More
“It’s like removing the handbrake – suddenly
everything gets smoother and faster in pure silence.” This
gravity-defying US$40k catamaran rises completely out of the water at
speed on a pair of hook-shaped hydrofoils. It looks like the work of
David Copperfield, but it’s real, and it’s set to start a revolution in
the sailing world. Read More
US medical researchers have developed a blood
test which predicts with 90 percent accuracy if an individual will
develop Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment within three
years. The test, which looks for a set of ten lipid markers, will allow
treatments to be sought that may be effective during this early,
asymptomatic stage of the disease. Read More
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