Earthquake Ignites Fire at Nuclear Power Plant An earthquake in northwestern Japan rattled the world’s largest nuclear power plant today, causing a fire at one of the plant’s transformers. The reactors automatically shut down for safety, but officials said they did not detect any radiation leaks.MEGA ENGINEERING: Building a Quake-Proof BridgePLUS: The Future of Nuclear EnergyUnmanned Bomber Aircraft Headed for Iraqi Skies The U.S. Air Force will soon ramp up its robotic presence in Iraq with the addition of unmanned Reaper aircraft to its forces there. Unlike the unmanned Predator surveillance aircraft already in use, the Reaper is a hunter-killer aircraft that can be outfitted with 500-pound bombs and air-to-ground missiles.TECH WATCH: The Air Force’s Better BombsPLUS: Inside the Predator B and the New UAV RevolutionEngineers to Construct House with Water Walls A team of architects and MIT engineers plan to build a house unlike any other by 2008: Its walls will be made of falling water. Thanks to a digital control system, water will continually drop from the perimeter of a pavilion to form a curtain of water. Using sensors to temporarily shut down flow, the waterfall will actually open up to form a door when someone approaches.TECH WATCH: LED Walls Could Make Your House a Flat-Panel DisplayGREEN LIVING: 18 Top Solar HomesSpain Starts One of World’s Largest Reflecting Telescopes Planted atop the island of La Palma in Spain’s Canary Islands, one of the world’s largest telescopes opened its doors this weekend. Astronomers hope to use the Great Canary Telescope’s massive 34-ft.-wide reflecting mirror to learn more about the birth of stars, black holes and the Big Bang.TECH WATCH: Inside NASA’s Planet-Hunting Kepler TelescopeHOW IT WORKS: The World’s Most Powerful Telescope
