Gizmodo: montreal

Montreal's New LED Wall Reacts to Passerby

Adam Frucci — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:20:00 EDT

This new LED installation in Montreal reacts to the movements of passerby in a really cool way. It features 35,000 LEDs and is permanently installed on Rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest. Check it out from 7-11pm every night. [Urban Prankster]

Scientists Discover New State of Matter, Could Be Used To Upgrade Microchips

Elaine Chow — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 03:00:00 EDT

McGill University researchers have discovered a new state of matter to go along with good ol' solid, liquid, gas, plasma and a handful of quantum states—it's called a quasi-three-dimensional electron crystal. While the name sounds like something that would sap Superman's powers, this new state of matter could be used to fabricate modern transistors and continue Moore's Law... possibly indefinitely.

The quasi-three-dimensional electron crystals were discovered in a device scientists cooled at ultra-low temperatures – roughly 100 times colder than intergalactic space. They then exposed it to the most powerful magnetic fields possible on Earth, which made it “pop” from a 2D electron system to a semi-3D one. It could also help improve transistors, allowing for greater density on a single microchip. Looks like Gordon Moore can rest assure that his law won't be broken for another long while. [Science Blog]

(Note: That's not a picture of the new state of matter, by the way.)

Concept Dishwasher Looks Nice, May Turn Your Kitchen into a Rainforest

AddyDugdale — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:40:00 EDT

Spring segueing into summer means degree shows, when students show off their, frankly, outtahere-lunatic creations. So, without further ado, let's go to the Centre de Design at the University of Quebec in Montreal, where we have an innovative wall-hung dishwasher, or dishwasheur, as it's probably called.

Designed by Marie-Christine Lacasse and Marie Claude Savard, I almost like it. Almost. Big thumbs-up to the elongated rack—but I'm just not sure about that "autonomous" dishwasher unit that moves across the rack, rather like the printer head on an old dot matrix printer. And ladies, where was the spirit level in the making of your dishwasheur? Attention to detail, that's Giz all over, innit? [MoCo Loco]