BLDGBLOG: The Atomized Library

For a recent studio at the California College of the Arts (CCA) in San Francisco, taught by Douglas Burnham of envelope A+D, students Duncan Young and Brett Walters produced what they call “The Atomized Library.” It was produced as part of an overall studio exploring the space of the public library in an age of [...]

Panasonic Toughbook H1 Field is the anti-iPad | Crave – CNET

Whether or not tablets take over as a new mobile computing form factor of choice for much of the world depends on whether they can be easily used for key functions in ways that smartphones and laptops can’t. Clearly, different users will be seeking different “key functions,” and thus Panasonic has announced the Toughbook H1 [...]

Orion in a new light

Vista telescope exposed high-speed antics of young stars. The Orion Nebula reveals many of its hidden secrets in a dramatic image taken by the new United Kingdom-designed Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA). The survey telescope’s huge field of view can show the full splendor of the whole nebula, and VISTA’s infrared vision [...]

India announces long-range nuclear-capable missile test

India will test a nuclear-capable missile with a range of over 5,000 kilometres (3,000 miles) within a year, its top military scientist said Wednesday, risking a rise in regional tensions. “The next series of missiles is Agni-V, which has left the drawing board and is moving toward the first flight trial within the year,” the [...]

Cool Tools: Carvin’ Jack

My favorite avocation is carving, and I’ve built up a modest collection of tools to turn wood blocks into sculpture. The first tools I used when I started carving were standard ¾- and ½-inch Stanley bench chisels. I then added a set of seven carving tools from Power Grip: ⅛-inch #10 gouge, ¼-inch #8 gouge, [...]

Destroying Chemical Weapons: US Army Reviews Technology

To destroy chemical weapons, the US Army can’t just throw them in an incinerator. They have to be destroyed carefully so that no harmful chemicals are released into the air or water supplies. In 2009, the US Army, working with the National Research Council (NRC), tested 4 technologies – 3 private-vendor systems and 1 Army-developed [...]

Compostable Sun Chips Biotech Bag

Watching the Superbowl football game Sunday night was actually an educational biotech experience for me, because I was introduced to the Sun Chips compostable chip bag during a commercial break. After a quick investigation, I’ve discovered that the bags are a biotech innovation. The chip bags are made from polylactic acid, or polylactide (PLA), a [...]

New Evidence for Water on Enceladus

Image: Is there liquid water beneath this surface? Portions of the tiger stripe fractures, or sulci, are visible along the terminator at lower right, surrounded by a circumpolar belt of mountains. The icy moon’s famed jets emanate from at least eight distinct source regions, which lie on or near the tiger stripes. However, in this [...]

Kitchen Fire Extinguisher

You need a fire extinguisher in your kitchen. One that really works well rather than one that looks really good. Most fire extinguishers that easily put out a kitchen-type fire use a mix of chemicals that are not food safe. Cleaning up the sticky powder left after a short blast for even a small grease [...]

“…the Northern Lights a-Runnin’ Wild in the Land of the Midnight Sun…”

Do you recognize that song quote? It’s from North to Alaska, by Johnny Horton, in 1960. For most people raised in the Southeastern or Southwestern United States, that’s about as far to the aurorae as you ever came. Of course, we know the aurorae are over the north and south polar regions, but for some [...]