Posts

Media Platforms Design TeamOnce humans invented tanks and cars, it didn’t take long before somebody thought, “you know what would be really cool…?” And thus the spectacle of crushing cars for pure sport was born.This video was unearthed by graphic designer and photographer Benjamin Moogk, who was inspired by this amazing photograph taken by William James:Media Platforms Design TeamHis interest in that photo led him to find this rare footage seen below....

Media Platforms Design TeamI’ve noticed a lot of curved displays appearing on phones and televisions. Why are big-name manufacturers investing in this feature, and why should I even want it? Curved-screen technology started in movie theaters, and the rationale is simple. When you throw an image onto a flat screen from a projector, the light has to travel farther to reach the edges of the screen than it does to reach its center....

The race to develop reliable self-driving cars is heating up as more tech companies and automakers enter the space, but that doesn’t mean such cars will be available to regular drivers anytime soon. We’re finally getting to the point where self-driving cars can drive on their own, and the next big step is sharing the road with humans. The trouble is that while the robots can navigate roads, they don’t think like humans....

Upgrade Air Traffic Control (ATC)Under the current ATC system, which relies on ground-based radar, controllers leave a 5-mile buffer between planes in the air and about 3 miles between aircraft on landing and takeoff. The FAA is testing a GPS-based satellite navigation system called NextGen, which by 2025 should allow for closer spacing because of faster, more precise location information. Currently, pilots fly almost blind to other traffic–and controllers can only see planes in their assigned airspace....

Media Platforms Design TeamMORE BRAND-NEW VOLKSWAGEN TEST DRIVES FROM PM• PLUS: 2009 VW Scirocco, 30 MPG Hottie is Slickest VW in a Decade NASHVILLE — Volkswagen boasts that its new CC is more aerodynamic than “a speeding bullet.” Their words, not mine. It may look sleek, but its downmarket half-brother, the Passat, is actually more slippery cutting through the air. The pedestrian Passat is narrower and shorter so it posts better aerodynamics....

Media Platforms Design TeamOn-Sale Date: AprilPrice: $27,535 to $36,580Competitors: Toyota Avalon, Ford Taurus, Nissan Maxima, Hyundai Azera, Buick LaCrossePowertrains: 2.4-liter I-4 eAssist, 182 hp, 172 lb-ft; 2.5-liter I-4, 196 hp, 186 lb-ft; 3.6-liter V-6, 305 hp, 264 lb-ft; 6-speed automatic, FWDEPA Fuel Economy (city/hwy): 25/35 (eAssist); 21/31 (I-4); 19/29 (V-6)What’s new: Think of the new Impala as a Cadillac XTS Light. The two giant GM sedans, along with the Buick LaCrosse, all share the company’s long-wheelbase (111....

The Ford F-150 Raptor looks tough enough to run straight down the Baja Peninsula, race across the Mexican mainland and then continue roaring down through South America until it plows across Antarctica. It is the most extreme high-speed 4x4 pickup ever produced. It looks simply ferocious with its swollen flanks, aggressive stance, visibly rugged suspension pieces1 and thumping 35-inch-tall BF Goodrich off-road tires. BEST OFF-ROAD ABILITYFord F-150 RaptorBase Price: $38,995The powertrain is still pure F-150, with a 320-hp 5....

Whenever I turn on my microwave, my AirPlay speakers cut out. Coincidence? Probably not—your microwave is the likely culprit. Because AirPlay speakers receive signals over a wireless network, they’re susceptible to interruptions from other electronics. And most microwaves and wireless signals operate in the same part of the radio spectrum, 2.4 GHz for routers and 2.45 GHz for microwaves. Though the majority of a microwave’s energy is kept bouncing inside the box’s metal walls, a tiny bit can get out....

Media Platforms Design TeamMedia Platforms Design TeamWhenever Apple releases a new product, you can almost feel the wave of amnesia spread over the tech universe. Like the new Apple TV, which hooks directly up to the new iTunes video rental service. This isn’t the first, or even the second, product to allow you to “rent” self-destructing downloadable movies—Movielink and Vudu tried before with dedicated set-top boxes—but now that Apple’s done it, those services might as well cease to exist....

Fuel Cells Media Platforms Design TeamA direct-methanol fuel cell. (Photo from NASA)How it works: In 1838, English scientist Robert Grove showed how electrolysis could be worked in reverse, and how hydrogen and oxygen react together in the presence of a catalyst to produce electricity. Ever since, fuel cells burning hydrogen or other fuels such as methanol have been touted as clean, quiet and green power sources. The technology is finally becoming practical, from tiny fuel cells to replace batteries in portable devices to large ones that can power buildings....

The United States Navy is a powerhouse. The fleet consists of roughly 430 ships in active service or reserve. The vessels run the gamut from the massive Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, which stretches more than 1,000 feet, to the Los Angeles-class submarine that slithers 900 feet below the ocean surface.This map from @Naval_Graphics on Twitter shows all the commissioned and noncommissioned ships of every size as of April 2015. The ships are organized by size, from the humongous aircraft carriers at the top to the smaller ships at the bottom....

Media Platforms Design TeamIn hundreds of hours spent training underwater and 19 hours working outside the space shuttle and International Space Station, I grew to think of NASA’s current Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) as a second skin. The suit is stiff, bulky, and sometimes rubbed me the wrong way in the wrong places, but I knew it would keep me alive in the hard vacuum. During my space walks, it disappeared from my consciousness, blending with my body to create a versatile, reliable “mini-spaceship” that got the job done....

Media Platforms Design TeamSearching for the air hose in the grimiest corner of a neighborhood service station may soon become a thing of the past. With the help of a $1.5 million Department of Energy grant, Goodyear is developing a tire that regulates its own air pressure. Though the company refused to leak details of how the system works, a 2009 patent application shows that the tire employs a pressurized internal tube with inlet and outlet valves....

Underneath Yellowstone National park is a super-volcano with an absolutely mind-numbing explosive potential. A blast would be 1,000 times stronger than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens—like 1,000 atomic bombs exploding every second. So it’s a bit unnerving to know that, based on the geologic record, scientists say we’re almost due for another periodic flare-up. (The last three happened 2 million, 1.2 million and 640,000 years ago). Right now volcanologists give the rough yearly odds of 1 in 700,000 that Yellowstone could go off—but exactly when or why it would erupt is still largely a mystery....

Media Platforms Design TeamEarthquake-prone California is a far from ideal place to string metal over water and hope it stays put. But engineers of the new eastern span of the San Francisco–­Oakland Bay Bridge say the structure should last at least 150 years. This fall, when the new portion opens, the Bay Bridge will stretch 2047 feet, becoming the world’s longest self-anchored suspension bridge.Unlike a conventional suspension bridge, in which cables anchor on shore, the Bay Bridge can’t rely on the surrounding muddy ground—which amplifies seismic movement—for support....

Q: Our house has no overhang or protection from the weather at the front door. We want to add a covered entry area. Can you offer some advice?A: It’s surprising how many houses have either no covered entrance at all, or else one that’s merely decorative and offers no real protection from the weather while you fumble with your keys. I think it stems from builders trying to save a few dollars on construction....

The Tiburon should help dispel notions that Hyundai is only about conservative-looking, sensible cars. Oh, the Tiburon isn’t flighty. It’s a well-made, economical coupe that just happens to be a real hoot to haul around. We’re partial to the SE with its sport-tuned suspension, big wheels and tires, and massive 12-in. cross-drilled brake rotors. After flogging the little V6 coupe over some harrowing canyon roads in the Santa Monica Mountains, we know it makes short work of the snakiest switchbacks....

Media Platforms Design TeamA few weeks ago, in a workshop the size of an airplane hangar, I stood next to Andy Green on the platform beside the Bloodhound SSC 1,000-mph car. Green—an RAF wing commander and the current land-speed record holder (763 mph)—invited me here to Bristol, England, to be the first journalist ever to enter the cockpit, and one of just a handful of civilians who would ever sit behind the wheel of the Bloodhound....

Media Platforms Design TeamMedia Platforms Design TeamKearsarge" />Kearsarge Specs /// Commissioned: October 1993 /// Length: 844 ft. /// Total shaft hp: 70,000 /// Ship’s Company: 104 officers, 1004 enlisted /// Landing Force: 1893 officers and enlisted NEW YORK —Getting to the fight is more than half the battle. For the Navy Assault Ship Kearsarge, delivering air power, cargo and ground forces to where they’re needed is an art form, backed by some serious hardware....

Media Platforms Design TeamVincent LaBombardi, the director of microbiology at New York’s Mount Sinai Medical Center, tells PM, “you shouldn’t be ripping out the pipes over this.” LaBombardi says that exposure to Mycobacterium avium–the scapegoat microorganism in the toxic shower head scare prompted by a recent University of Colorado study–is quite common. “You’ve all been `infected,’ so to speak,” with the organism LaBombardi refers to by the nickname “mac.” A normal individual inhales mac all the time, LaBombardi says....