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Could a metallic cylinder survive a major explosion unscathed?Crane accidents at New York City construction sites are all too commonplace these days, but when a crane collapsed and killed three people at the start of “The Arrival” in Williamsburg in Brooklyn, its cause wasn’t a strap failure or faulty weld, but an explosion. The fiery eruption happened when a mysterious cylinder blasted through an unused subway tunnel and into a gas main....

Google has had the earliest prototypes of its self-driving cars on the road for a while now, with mostly positive if not flawless results. But those were just regular cars, tricked out with self-driving superpowers. This summer, Google’s newest prototypes—designed from the ground up to be driverless—will be hitting public roads in Mountain View. According to an official announcement post, the new prototype cars still run the same software as the modified Lexus fleet, but up the driverless ante by having a removable steering wheels in addition to the standard gas and brake pedals....

Media Platforms Design TeamMany applications, usually involving either mounting parts or routing wiring and other materials, require holes to be drilled or punched into sheet metal. As with any other typical fabrication task, there isn’t always a right or wrong way to do the job. But, sometimes there is a better way. We’re going to discuss several methods to drill and punch holes in sheet metal. Some of these methods can be used interchangeably, but this depends on the application the hole needs to be created for, the size of the hole and the requisite tooling costs....

View full post on TwitterA little flattery will get you everywhere.“Open letter to Elon Musk, automotive visionary,” is the opening line of an ad that appeared this weekend in the Palo Alto Weekly, penned by “two VERY highly satisfied Tesla owners from Southold, New York.” In their write-up, a husband and wife, both of whom own a Model S, outline a handful of suggestions for improving the EV.It worked. Apparently Musk (or somebody at his team at Tesla Motors) likes to read Silicon Valley small newspapers....

Media Platforms Design TeamThis morning at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., new Apple CEO Tim Cook, along with VP of software Scott Forstall and product chief Phillip Schiller, announced the new iPhone 4S—which looked remarkably like the iPhone 4. That’s because the industrial design of the new smartphone hasn’t changed substantially. But Apple touted all-new guts (dual-core A5 chip, new 8-megapixel camera, new HSDPA/CDMA dual antenna), as well as some never-before-seen features from the new iOS 5 operating system....

BURBANK, Calif. – The staff here is always looking for ways to be more efficient, even if they’re relatively small. So Jay Leno invited the folks from A.O. Smith Water Heaters recently to bring their new, high-efficiency Vertex water heater to the Green Garage. Actor and environmentalist Ed Begley Jr. came along to check out the installation, as well as to his garage. Ed was certainly impressed with the work so far, and he’ss exited about this water heater, too....

WATERTOWN, Mass. – As if the threat of $200 a barrel oil with today’s unlimited resources weren’t enough, battery researchers are readying themselves for the final sprint to the finish line as plug-in hybrids finally approach their first real shot at your garage. With the plug-in Toyota Prius, Mercedes Hybrid S-Class and Saturn Vue Plug-In suddenly not far off the production line, the competition couldn’t be hotter–especially watching A123 Systems, based here, and Compact Power, Inc....

Texting while driving is bad, and you shouldn’t do it. That much you’ve known for years (we hope). But the smartphone boom has provided so many more options for dumb things people can do behind the wheel. Like go on Facebook. Or Snapchat. Or Twitter.A new AT&T survey says that 27 percent of drivers 16 to 65 went on Facebook while behind the wheel, and 30 percent said they were on Twitter “all the time....

Mark Stull, the 59-year-old airplane designer and builder who featured prominently in the October Popular Mechanics cover story about do-it-yourself aviation, has died in a crash near his home in Texas. Stull had just taken off on his first test flight of a new design shortly after 3 pm on Wednesday when the accident occurred. According to a witness, he had climbed to about 50 feet when the aircraft stalled, flipped, and fell to the ground....

Media Platforms Design TeamTo get to the top of the World Trade Center 1 building, currently under construction in New York adjacent to the 9/11 Memorial, you must first ride in an elevator scaffolded to the outside of the building up to the 39th floor. Then you walk inside and wait with a gang of construction workers for one of the two internal elevators to take you the rest of the way....

Media Platforms Design TeamSpaceX won’t have the opportunity to try its third barge landing in earnest. A launch vehicle failure has caused the Falcon 9 rocket to break up on ascent just about two minutes after launch.For the time being, it’s unclear exactly what the problem was. According to preliminary statements by SpaceX, it appears the Falcon 9’s initial takeoff went fine, with all engines firing appropriately, but the cause of the failure and disintegration are still unknown....

Hurtling through space in the farthest reaches of our solar system, icy comets are one of the last extraterrestrial bodies that scientists expected to contain matter formed at the sun. But new findings based on samples from NASA’s Stardust mission—winner of a 2006 Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award for bringing back the oldest material ever collected upon its fiery return to Earth—indicate that comets are made up of more diverse materials than previously understood....

STAY TUNED TO PM’S ROBOT CENTRAL FOR MORE FROM SINGAPORE* UPDATE: TechX Offers Gut Check for Worldwide War Bots (With Videos!)SINGAPORE – Uni-Seeker is stalling beneath an elevator panel at Nanyang Technological University here, scanning a hallway with its laser eye, frustrated as all hell. The waist-high robot, an unarmed research mod of iRobot’s ATRV Junior, hovers its arm over the panel, recording footage with a camera and analyzing its buttons....

Media Platforms Design TeamLocation: Malibu, Calif.Why It Rocks: Don’t mistake this road with its more famous cousin, Mulholland Drive, which begins in Hollywood. Much of that road, as beautiful as it is (and the views are astounding) is too heavily trafficked to have fun on these days.Mulholland Highway is a better place to spend a day driving a good car or riding a motorcycle. And contrary to the name, it really isn’t a highway at all....

Elon Musk gave us the Hyperloop, and then sent his creation off into the ether, saying he was too busy with Space X and Tesla to build the actual sonic train system. Now a group of Silicon Valley familiars are crowdfunding efforts to make that magic train a reality. The group includes Jim Messina, the 2012 re-election campaign manager for Barack Obama; Brogan BamBrogan, a former Space X engineer; VC impresario Shervin Pishevar; and X-Prize founder Peter Diamandis....

Media Platforms Design TeamGoogle just debuted a brand new service for Gmail called Inbox, a service that runs on top of Gmail in what looks like a total rethinking of how you should handle your email. The Verge has more background on the underlying technology, and explains that instead of using the standard list of emails, with the most recent at the top, it intelligently integrates everything from your messages and Google Now notifications to travel updates and the latest information about your purchases....

Media Platforms Design TeamSweet ReleaseNotice something missing on this pair of 10-in. Fast Release locking pliers? The release lever on the lower handle is gone. To open the locking mechanism on this and other Vise-Grip Fast Release pliers and clamps ($14 to $25), just nudge the handles apart. The innovative hinge pops open with minimal effort, allowing for easier one-handed releases. And the leverfree design leaves more room to maneuver. irwin....

Media Platforms Design Team(Photograph by Harry Sawyers)Like most project managers rushing to complete their homes at the inception of Solar Decathlon 2009, Eric Harmann hasn’t had much sleep. But he and his groggy student volunteers from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee made time to show off their Decathlon entry to PM last week, starting with its wavy, sinuous rain screen siding. At first glance, the crooked boards look like lumber pile rejects....

Last week I flew to the U.S. Environment and Engineering headquarters of Volkswagen in Auburn Hills, Mich. My mission? To drive diesel cars that are confirmed for the U.S. market (the Jetta, in 2008) and, perhaps with more intrigue, those that are sold only in Europe—for now.PM has previously reported on the 2008 clean-diesel Jetta (click here for video), so I won’t linger on it except to say that it’s a wonderful car—quick and quiet and really fun, even as it gets Prius-baiting fuel mileage in the 45-mpg range....

Update, 9:10 PM ET: Watch the Soyuz capsule dock with the ISS live now. You can watch his launch at the stream below:View full post on IframeUpdate, 3:55 PM ET: The Soyuz spacecraft’s solar arrays have deployed and the craft is in orbit. It sure doesn’t take long.View full post on TwitterView full post on TwitterUpdate: Liftoff! The Soyuz is on its way to orbit, with no issues.Media Platforms Design TeamView full post on TwitterMedia Platforms Design TeamScott Kelly is heading toward the International Space Station today to spend (just 21 days short of) a year in space....