Gizmodo: electrical

This Is Why They Make Travel Adapters

Danny Allen — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:40:00 EDT

Future Darwin Award nominee or desperate genius? Maybe both. But shoving things into what looks like a UK 220V outlet is probably not going to end well. Just ask the guy in this retro UK electrical hazards PSA:

[There I Fixed It]

Formula 1 Cars Getting Electric Hyperspeed Jumps

Jesus Diaz — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:59:59 EST

Apart from being one of the most amazing 3D animations I've seen in a while, this Formula 1 2009 video shows how the new KERS works, a kinetic-to-electric-energy system that allows for speed jumps.

KERS is short for Kinetic Energy Recovery System, an ingenious mechanical device that recovers wasted kinetic energy generated while braking. It converts that energy into electric power, which gets stored in a battery in the car's front. And then the really cool part comes: Once every lap, the battery reaches its full capacity and the F1 car driver can click a button to obtain a 6.5 seconds turbo boost, adding an extra 82 horsepower to the nominal capacity of the engine. Turbo boost, KITT, turbo boost!

Next, Mario Kart-style power boosters floating on the road. [Thanks Sergio]

Innovations in Visualizer Technology: Electroshock Your Face

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 12:45:00 EDT

Sure, iTunes' new visualizer is pretty, but you can't compete with the visceral, hypnotizing weirdness of Daito Manabe's facial electric stimulus. He tapes electric stimulators, looking like the same type used for electroshock therapy, to his face, and syncs them with his music so his involuntary facial contortions match up with the tune. Shots of the machine he used after the jump.

[MAKE]

Japanese Hair Growth Gadget Looks Like Electrical Torture

Jason Chen — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 16:00:56 EDT

These may look like regular headphones, but the spikes on the top are designed to shock your hair into behaving. And by behaving, we mean grow again. The KeUpper, made in Japan, is supposed to make you slightly less bald in just tens of weeks. Sounds just as good as that Hairmax Laser we tested. [Kilian Nakamura]

Voice-Activated Dimmer Does What It's Told

Charlie White — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 17:51:10 EST

Hey look, it's the new Clapper for 2006. This $14.99 Intela Voice Dimmer works by voice control instead of clapping, obeying your commands with whatever word or phrase you teach it. Perfect for that outlet way back behind the Christmas tree.

If our experience with cheap voice-control devices in the past is any indication, you might be doing a lot of futile shouting at the wall with this thing. But it might even be too sensitive. In that case, to keep the lights from turning off every two seconds here at Gizmodo HQ, we'll be sure not to pre-program the words STFU. – Charlie White

Product Page [Solutions, via ubergizmo]

Safe Cable Avoids Shocking Experiences

Charlie White — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 13:11:15 EDT

The idea of using a sharp cutting device such as a lawnmower or hedge clipper powered by electricity never appealed to us, especially since there is that power cable nearby that could be quickly and easily cut. Now three inventors from Indiana have come to the rescue, patenting a special type of electrical cable that can't shock you if you sever it.

How does it work? The cable contains the customary two normally-insulated live wires plus an uninsulated ground wire. Surrounding all three wires is a carbon-laced polymer that conducts the electricity if the wire is cut, sending that current to the ground wire instead of through you. That's the kind of shocking experience we would very much like to avoid. Hey, this should be a standard type of electrical cable for all applications. – Charlie White

No Mow Shocks [New Scientist, via [OhGizmo]

Just Two More: AC Adapter Splitter

Charlie White — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 08:47:26 EDT

If you have a tangle of cables that looks like a spaghetti bowl under your desk and you've used up all of the outlets on your power strip—we know the feeling—this $16 AC adapter splitter will give you two more receptacles. That might be just enough to keep you from needing another power strip. And we heard you were already using two. We'll keep that our little secret. – Charlie White

Product page [Brando.com]