The idea of a magical item that bestows invisibility on the user is older than characters famous for using such cool toys, such as Harry Potter or Bilbo Baggins. The notion of invisibility still captures the imagination, though, to be honest, I suspect invisibility would be put to less than benevolent uses by most people.
While the object in question is neither a cloak, nor does it provide actual invisibility, researchers at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering still refer to their creation by the pop culture reference. The object in question is actually a circle with holes of seemingly random shapes and sizes punched in it, surrounding a larger circular hole in the center. Continue reading
When I’ve covered biomimicry in robotics in the past, it’s usually been in the context of how the drone or robot flies or walks. In a slightly different spin on technology modeled on nature, researchers at Stanford and the University of Maryland have come up with a small flying drone (the AVL Microquad) that can cling to walls and ceilings using a dry adhesive. Continue reading
More evidence that playing with graphene makes everything a little bit more awesome: Researchers looking into how diamond and graphene would interact at high temperatures wound up etching the diamond by trapping water heated to its supercritical phase next to the diamond’s surface.
Making its debut at the Geneva Motor Show, the car can reach speeds of 220 miles per hour, sports a 12-cylinder, 6.5-litre engine, and a 7-speed ISR transmission. It can go from 0 to 60 in less than 3 seconds. Continue reading