<![CDATA[Gizmodo: popsci]]> http://tags.gizmodo.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gizmodo.com.png <![CDATA[Gizmodo: popsci]]> http://gizmodo.com/tag/popsci http://gizmodo.com/tag/popsci <![CDATA[The Future of Snow Sports Tech]]> Bright ideas and products in skiing and snowboarding, from a Norwegian hotel built into a mountainside to an inflatable pack that can save you from an avalanche

Skiing and snowboarding have always been cutting-edge sports, thanks to renegade personalities and high-tech gear. But this ski season, designers are stepping it up to a whole new level. Here, take a look at some of the finest in snowsports tech-and enter to win some gear of your own.

Want to score your own high-tech snowsports equipment? It's easy: Visit our sister site Skiingmag.com (we share owners, and a love of playing in the snow with the latest gadgets). Every day for the next week, they're giving away free gear, lift tickets and resort packages. All you have to do is answer a trivia question and enter to win.

Popular Science is your wormhole to the future. Reporting on what's new and what's next in science and technology, we deliver the future now.

]]> http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5409541&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Confessions of an Electronics Junk Collector]]> Some of it I really do plan to use. Some of it I can't even identify. Hi. My name is Vin and I'm an addict. I can't stop buying electronic junk.

I know it's only filling up bins in my shop and taking money I could be pouring into more productive hobbies, like drinking and shooting guns. But what if the completion of some future project, some really crucial bit of hijinks, hinges entirely on my having a switch designed to discharge massive capacitors? Then what what, huh?

Am I supposed to just assume my local Radio Shack will have my back? Not likely.

I was doing better, I really was, and then I visited the DeAnza flea market in Cupertino last year, and it all fell apart again. I don't know, maybe I'm beyond help. Check the photo gallery for some electronics-nerd eye candy, the detritus of my demon.

Popular Science is your wormhole to the future. Reporting on what's new and what's next in science and technology, we deliver the future now.

]]> http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5407763&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Absurd Liquid-Cooled Desk Computer Is a Tribute to Mod Excess]]> One year ago, some Popular Mechanics editors set out with the broad goal of building the most ridiculously extravagant PC mod they could. This is what they came up with.

PopMech's quad-core beast is loaded with just the kind of pricey hardware you'd expect from such a flamboyant mod—4 GB of Kingston HyperX DDR3 RAM, a GeForce GTX 280 graphics card, two 300GB, 10,000RPM VelociRaptor HDDs, and an Antex kilowatt power supply—all centered around an 3.0-GHz Intel Core 2 Quad processor. It's the case, though, that's the star of the show.

The main structure of the desk is made up of two massive panels of acrylic, bolted to a custom-built aluminum frame. A glycol liquid cooling system snakes through the whole of the machine, stopping off to suck heat away from both the main processor and the graphics card. Built into the top is a custom-built Synaptics touchpad—a mostly useless but nonetheless cool design flourish.

PopMech has included a short how-to with their story, but it's less of an instructional guide than a point-by-point summary of why you can't build one of these yourself. [PopMech]

]]> http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5262385&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[How To Keep Plants Alive Using LED Light Spikes]]> Pop Sci has a tutorial on how to build supplementary LED grow lights for plants. I'd assume you should use LEDs with fuller spectrums, and they're supplemental, but look neat. [PopSci via Lifehacker]

]]> http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5154493&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[According to Popular Science Magazine, We Should All Drive Humongous Wheels By Now]]> Scouring the recently-posted PopSci archives on Google Books, reader Wesley Treat has put together a collection documenting the magazine's odd, decades-long obsession with the idea of a personal monowheel.

Just as vague questions of cosmology and consciousness make up just about every other cover of New Scientist today, fantastical futurist gadgets were at one point the safe default for the covers of Popular Science and Popular Mechanics. Like lots of the other cover staples, the monowheel has to some degree come to pass, but hardly to the extent that you might have been led to believe it might in 1917. Or 1923. Or 1938. You get the idea. [RoadsideResort]

]]> http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5114005&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[DIY Smart Coaster Lets You Know When Coffee Is 'Just Right']]> As a cream and sugar kind of guy—that's a "regular" to we Yanks in Boston—getting a cup of coffee that's consistently at the "right" temperature is a crapshoot at best. If there's not enough cream, I'll scald myself with a fresh cup. Other times there's not enough; I'll get sidetracked, and then go back to my cup for a disgusting gulp of cold nastiness. The cream throws me off. It ruins my calm, and plays havoc with my coffee temperature. I need something that knows when my cafe is a the right temperature. Popsci, thankfully, has delivered this evening with a DIY "Smart Coaster" they've made using an old shoe polish tin. The work week starts tomorrow; this couldn't have come a moment too soon.

TIME: 3 hours
DIFFICULTY: easy

PARTS

* LM324N (Mouser #512-LM324N)
* Thermistor (I used an obsolete thermistor from Electronic Goldmine #G1929 for my circuit.) Try this one from SparkFun Electronics #SEN-00250
* 1K resistor (Mouser #660-CFS1/4C102J)
* Red LED (I used a salvaged LED for my circuit.) Try this one from Mouser #696-SSLLX5093HD-5V
* 10K resistor (Mouser #660-CFS1/4CT52R103G)
* 10K potentiometer [I used a salvaged pot for my circuit.] Try this one from SparkFun Electronics #COM-00104
* 3.7V battery (SparkFun Electronics #PRT-08818)
* Scrap wire
* Round flat-top metal container (I used a salvaged Kiwi Brands shoe polish container — just to prove to some of you that I do know shinola.)

STEPS

1. Clip off the unnecessary legs from the LM324N IC: keep pins 1, 2, 3, 4, and 11.

2. Attach the thermistor to the inside of the metal container's lid with some tape. Be sure to insulate both of the thermistor leads.

3. Drill a hole in the side of your metal container for holding the red LED. Insulate the bottom of the metal container with some scrap paper or 2mm hobby foam.

4. Follow our schematic for building the Smart Coaster circuit.

5. Fit the components inside the metal container, connect the 3.7V battery, and close the metal lid. You can easily test your completed project by turning the potentiometer until the LED just turns off (this is roughly equal to room temperature). Now hold one of your hot little fingers on the lid of the Smart Coaster. Within about 5-10 seconds, the LED should turn on. If not, then open up your metal container and carefully reexamine your wiring. If this test result is OK, you are now ready to calibrate your Smart Coaster.

Place your cup of fresh brew on the Smart Coaster and use the 10K potentiometer to adjust the sensitivity of the thermistor. Turn the potentiometer until the red LED glows and closely monitor the temperature of your beverage. When the cup's temps have fallen to your desired drinking level, turn the potentiometer until the LED goes out. Your Smart Coaster is now calibrated for monitoring your future drink temps. Remember, if you change cups or mugs you will have to recalibrate the Smart Coaster. Bottoms up.

See? Easy. And now the mornings will go by *slightly* faster than normal. [Popsci]

]]> http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5097191&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Popular Science Names 100 "Best of What's New" Technologies]]> Just last week, Time announced what they considered the 50 most important technological breakthroughs of 2008. Not to be outdone, today Popular Science has named their 100 "Best of What's New." Unlike Time, PopSci has categorized their awards into achievements in Automotive, Aviation & Space, Computing, Engineering, Gadgets (of course!), Green Tech, Home Entertainment, Home Tech, Health, Recreation and Security. But you've had enough of a tease; you just want to see the winners:

Automotive


Aviation & Space


Computing


Engineering


Gadgets


Green Technology


Home Entertainment


Home Technology

  • Honeywell Specialty Materials Storm-a-Rest
  • Craftsman VibraFree Sander
  • Home Comfort Zones MyTemp
  • Festool Lapex Miter Saw
  • Remington PowerMower
  • Gorilla Super Glue
  • FreshAire Paint
  • PF WaterWorks PermaFLOW


Personal Health

  • Recellularized Heart
  • CellScope
  • SensAble
  • Toshiba Aquilion One CT
  • Fraunhofer Institute’s Magnet-Controlled Gut Camera
  • BioXcell INVOcell Fertility Assist Device
  • Pro-Neck-Tor
  • Nintendo Wii Fit
  • Electronic Taste Chip
  • Hewlett Packard Smart Drug Delivery


Recreation



Security

  • Thruvision T5000 Camera
  • Noblepeak Vision Triwave
  • Rotundus GroundBot
  • Ingenia Technology Laser Surface Authentication System
  • Lumidigm Venus Series Sensors
  • Raytheon Controlled Impact Rescue Tool (CIRT)
  • Landshark IED Robot
  • RedX Spray-On Bomb Detector
  • ARA Safety FIT-5
  • The Streetlab Mobile


So what do you think? Was PopSci dead on or dead wrong? Lay it out in the comments. We were personally affronted that disemvowling didn't make this particular list. [PopSci]

]]> http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5077252&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[PopSci Culinary Gadgets Put the "Chen" Back In "Kitchen"]]> We never knew that the gear in pro kitchens had enough tech to be so—dare I say?—pantsworthy. Take for instance the Heidolph VV Micro Evaporator, that $3,000 kitchen distiller above. Recognizable food goes in one end, and a powerfully flavored goo comes out the other. (How very... soylent?) Below in the gallery, there are four more unbelievable food processors, and sh'loads more at PopSci's kitchen gadget round-up. If you want to know what kind of mind it takes to dream up and use all of this stuff, read the accompanying feature about kitchen crazyman Dave Arnold. [PopSci]

]]> http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=309307&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Best of the Best of Pop Sci and Time's Year in Tech]]> PopSci and Time just dropped their best of tech lists. We'll spare you the read and show you the best from both.

PopSci's gadget list is droll. But most notable in the Gizmodo-ish types of gear is Samsung's LED-backlit thin DLP set for its wide color gamut, and this far out LED TV that uses 1,380 individually controlled LEDs to give an LCD 100 times the contrast, and 10 times the brightness, of other LCDs. Yowzers, at $50k, it better. More on this later.

PopSci's home category is really great for pointing out the stuff you might pass over at Home Depot. In this section, their Grand Winner is a new twist on an old favorite tech: The nail. Really. Click on to read why its worthy.
popscinail.png

I'd make a joke about how strange it is to put a splinter of metal in a best of tech category— I mean, ribs, twists, and a bigger top? Come on! But in the end, who can argue with a fastener that is hurricane and earthquake resistant? Then there's the Skystream DIY home Windmill kit, the world's most powerful mini drill, and the toughest tape ever made. (Small photos above.)

Not to mention some very cool engineering projects like the Grand Canyon skywalk, a translucent U-shaped glass walkway that sits 3/4 of a mile off the canyon floor.

Time's picks are less exciting, and more mainstream, but undeniably, they see the big picture: Their grand winner was YouTube. Yawn, but yes, we can't live without it.

Most of the award winners here seemed like they were either very random, but cool, like the wovel, a combination wheel barrow and shovel for you poor bastards in the north east. Drive the shovel forward on the wheel and then flip the snow sky high as you use the tire as a fulcrum.
snowplow.jpg
And the excellent, but offseason Excalibur Lounger, which we love. Maybe because of Time's photos. Call me!
home6.jpg

And the Skystream gets another mention. The windmill itself sits on a 35 foot pole and can provide a house with about 80% of its total electricity usage. Cool, except they predict it'll save you $600 a year, and the setup costs you $10,000 including install. It still ain't cheap being green.
home5.jpg

Maybe the best of all is the hug shirt from cute circuit. It pairs with a cellphone by bluetooth, and when a loved one sends you a txt message the shirt replicates the warmth, embrace, and heartbeat of your sex slave. It's very romantic. And not yet for sale, probably because it doesn't work very well. Virtual hugs are light years behind the real thing.
longsleeve.jpg
This post was too long. –Brian Lam

Best of What's New [PopSci]
Best Inventions [Time.com]

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