Using little more than a webcam and a laser, a young engineer has built a cheap 3D scanner that dovetails perfectly with the Makerbot and other desktop fabricators. It could be used as part of a copying system that would allow hobbyists to duplicate solid objects at home. “The technology exists to do this kind [...]
There’s a foul stench at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter. A college spokesman says “Perry” the corpse flower began to open — and smell — around 11 p.m. Thursday. They expect Perry will be fully open sometime Friday. The rare flower, with the scientific name of titan arum, emits a pungent odor that’s been [...]
This real-time ultraviolet image of the Sun measures a mid-temperature region of the Sun in a transition zone between the surface and the roughly 1-million-degree corona (the Sun’s atmosphere), Gurman says. Brighter and darker features are all manifestations of the Sun’s magnetic field. The brightest areas indicating strong magnetic fields. Dark stringy areas cooler than [...]
Pyearne, Switzerland, A solar powered aircraft emerged from a night flight high over Switzerland on Thursday, on course to making history as the first plane to fly around the clock on solar energy. More than 24 hours after it took off, Solar Impulse was still flying in spectacular early morning clear skies in northwestwern Switzerland [...]
Breaking news update about the BP oil spill. BP has just placed the cap over the cut that they made in the gushing oil well. So far, the effectiveness is not known. However, the procedure has been completed just minutes ago. Unfortunately, the cut is ragged, so the cap will not fit as snuggly as [...]
Japanese space rockets are launched by JAXA from its launch site on small Tanegashima Island off Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu, part of the Kagoshima Space Center. JAXA is the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency formed by the merger of the former National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), Institute of Space and Astronautical Science [...]
The Northern Lights are one of the great sights of the natural world, with their breathtaking display of seemingly magical illumination. While they can be viewed across the polar regions at certain times of the year, few have the chance to travel and enjoy them in person. Even those who do may be disappointed by [...]
If there’s ever a webcam that will make you want to get scuba-certified in a hurry, this is surely it. This live feed, which can be refreshed up to every two seconds on a speedy connection, provides an underwater view of the Bonaire National Marine Park in the Antilles islands. The cam is located 15 [...]