gadgets
A team of scientists and researchers at Purdue have developed a fully functional Mr. Fusion. (For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, go rent
Back to the Future II asap.) This tactical biorefinery can munch up food, paper and plastic garbage and turn it into energy. This machine was commissioned for the U.S. military (so don't expect it on top of your DeLorean anytime soon) for use in the field to create energy. It is roughly the size of a small moving van, so there is still some work that needs to be done to make it a little more functional. This biorefinery can supposedly produce 90-percent more energy than it consumes, which is a damn impressive feat. Next step: flying cars, hoverboards and self-drying clothing.
–Travis Hudson
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Gizmodo
We've brought you Rube Goldberg-style clocks and toys, but none of them are a match for the 156-step device that's just won the annual Rube Goldberg Machine Contest. This year's challenge was to assemble a burger with vegetables, condiments and two bun halves. The meat was pre-cooked... a sensible idea to avoid fires and explosions: you'll understand when you look at the great pics of the machines that MAKE took. Beneath the gallery you'll find a demo video of some of them in action. Sadly we don't have one of the complete 156-step run yet, so you'll just have to imagine its fantasticness.
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