A camera that allows you to snap the shot anytime and worry about focusing it later, and that automatically records true 3D-compatible images? It sounds like twenty-first century technology to me. 🙂 In fact, it sounds very much like the 3D imaging technology described in Asimov’s The Caves of Steel, that allowed detective Elijah Bailey …
Continue reading ‘Light-Fields, Megaray Sensors — Camera 3.0?’ »
More of science emulating science fiction: the “miracle pill” is similar in effect to one described in Harry Harrison’s Stainless Steel Rat series (as well as at least three other SF books I’ve read, though I don’t presently recall the names of the others). Harrison’s version is a little more poetic though: his pill “leaves …
Continue reading ‘“Boffins invent miracle pill that counteracts effects of booze”’ »
Did you ever hear the story about the first man to run a sub-four-minute mile? As I heard it, after he did so, it suddenly seemed that everyone could do it. I’ve also heard that the first man to lift 400 pounds was tricked into it by his trainer, who told him it was only …
Continue reading ‘“A Little Deception Helps Push Athletes to the Limit”’ »
I’ve previously seen some scientists suggesting that Einstein was wrong about the speed of light in a vacuum being a universal limit. This seems to prove it, at least for particles without mass. As noted in the article, science fiction often relies on as-yet imaginary — though often scientifically plausible — technologies that side-step that …
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Another early step toward a working Harry Potter-style invisibility cloak, or the chameleon suits described in Peter F. Hamilton’s The Reality Dysfunction. I love technology. 🙂
I’ve mentioned before the problem of man-made junk in low-earth orbit, and the three plans (American laser, Japanese fishing-net, and Italian robo-satellite) so far suggested to combat it. Apparently the problem is even worse than I’d realized, and has reached a critical stage. If I read the American laser proposal correctly (which isn’t guaranteed), it …
Continue reading ‘“Space junk at ‘tipping point’, now getting worse on its own”’ »
What is this, a geek version of one-upsmanship? Now the Italians are offering their own plan for cleaning up low-Earth orbit: a robotic satellite that will slap a thruster onto larger pieces of debris and light it. This rivals the Japanese fishing-net idea and the American ground-based laser plan.
Electric shocks help people learn. Well, duh! If I were a neuron getting shocked all the time, I’d certainly be looking for the fastest way to turn it off too! 😉 Seriously, it’s an interesting read for science geeks. And one of several bits of science suggesting that a real “thinking cap” might not be …
Continue reading ‘“Mild brain shocks may improve learning and cognition”’ »
In a science fiction story I once read — I can’t for the life of me recall which one — a spaceship’s electronics were overloaded and massively damaged by some kind of energy weapon. The ship got away, but it was crippled. Fortunately, the crew managed to repair enough of systems to limp to an …
Continue reading ‘“Reprogrammable Chips Could Enable Instant Gadget Upgrades”’ »
Interesting research, which suggests that parents don’t (and can’t) do much to influence the kind of adult their children will become, and should concentrate more on “just enjoying life together.” It wouldn’t surprise me to see more research in this direction in the future.