Is your milk fresh?
March 30, 2010
Cravendale, a UK-based dairy, has created a new milk jug that keeps you informed of whether or not your milk is still fresh. The technology used in the jug was discovered by the company’s R&D team while researching the bacteria that actually turns milk sour, and is essentially a unique PH sensor that’s built into its base. When sour milk is detected, a small LCD display on the outside of the jug changes from ‘Fresh’ to ‘Sour’ and if that doesn’t get the message across, it also incorporates an “innovative alarm system” so there’s no question you probably shouldn’t drink it.
There’s no word on whether or not Cravendale plans to actually put the jug into production, but it’s hoped that the technology could one day drastically reduce the amount of milk that is thrown away because people just aren’t sure if it’s safe to drink or not.
Buying a Smart Car? Might as well get a Twike.
January 30, 2008
A company in a small town in Germany developed this little guy and it’s starting to become a buzz in the Netherlands and other environmentally mindful countries. They - http://evworld.com/article.cfm?storyid=104 - run you - http://www.electricbike.com/NewsEvents/Mighty%20Pedaling/mightypedal.htm oh excuse me - around 26,000 dollars, - http://www.electricbike.com/NewsEvents/Pedal%20Power/pedal-power.htm woah sorry - and max out at about 85 km/hr. Takes about - http://www.twikeworld.com/ kugh - 200 minutes to charge or - http://www.addr.com/http_404_filenot_found.htm that was the dog - one minute for each kilometer of its range without peddling. Of course, peddling charges the battery in which case you can go forever.
Please see link below:
A Clock to Measure Space-Time Fluctuations?
December 12, 2007
Well, okay not quite yet, but read on…
Scientists and engineers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colorado are making some progress towards it. They use atomic clocks to achieve unfathomable accurate accounting of time on a regular basis, and these clocks are being constantly updated.
(picture from NIST website)
Historically, NIST was charged with maintaining the world’s most accurate time-interval standards, and for officially keeping America’s time. Now they are striving for even more accuracy which, in theory, probes the relativistic effects of Einstein’s Relativity Theory. The current heavyweight in use is called the NIST-F1 (see picture), which is a full order of magnitude more accurate than the relatively ancient model it replaced in 1999. In 2000 the uncertainty of the F1 was 1×10^-15 but improvements made to it have increased this to 5×10^-16. Practically speaking, this means that the F1 will neither lose nor gain a second in 60 million years!Traditionally, these clocks observe a version of “Moore’s Law”, which means their accuracy increases by a factor of 10 every decade. The new NIST-F2 is scheduled to go online next year, and should make great improvements yet again.
How it works:
As an aside, the F1 is called a “fountain clock” because atoms move in the shape of a fountain to measure frequency and time. Six lasers basically shoot at each other to create a ball of Cesium-133 atoms at near absolute zero. Then, two vertical lasers gently push the ball of atoms upwards to a height of one meter through a microwave filled cavity, and all the lasers are switched off. Going through the microwaves changes the state of some of the atoms, to create fluorescence. The light that is emitted is measured by a detector. By changing the frequency of the microwave field, more or less fluorescence is observed in the atoms. At the Cesium atoms’ natural resonant frequency (9,192,631,770 Hz) fluorescence is maximized, and this is used to define a second.
Space-Time??
Even the F1 is precise enough to be measurably affected by general relativity. For example, when moving the F1 from the 3rd floor to the 2nd floor of their building, the clock has to be tuned to account for the drop in altitude closer to the earth. But more incredible are the research clocks already being used, which need to account for the fluctuations created by the NIST physical building increasing in size on a hot summer day.
By creating even more and more precise clocks using Calcium or Ytterbium, for example, scientists will be able to actually measure the changes caused to the clocks by relativistic effects. At a basic level, general relativity predicts that the rate of time changes depending on the observer’s surroundings. In this case, even the minute changes in gravity caused by variations in the density of the earth beaneath and the surrounding landscapes will upset such futuristic clocks. By measuring the amount that the rate of time has been upset, scientists will soon be able to directly measure things like magnetic fields and gravity offsets.
Sound too Star Trek-ish?
Even Professor Frink would be impressed!
Got too much money?
December 9, 2007
Do you have so much money that you have no idea what to do with it? Well, we have a solution for you. It’s a pill that will keep your bowel movements beautifully glittery! Made by the master of extravagance Tobias Wong, the maker of the $2500 matte black ccPhone. Which is in reality a slightly modified iPhone.
These pills are filled with 24-karat gold leaf which is then dipped in gold. The pills are supposed “to increase your self-worth.” Not only that but they will leave your poop sparkling!
Lincoln’s disappearing-door concept
July 19, 2007
Interesting…
I don’t know about that though? Actually, I guess it makes sense for Lincoln to design a car with this type of functionality. After all their customers are over the age of 60 and may have a hard time entering a car. But any kind of structural damage to the car and your doors won’t work. Emergency situations anyone? Meh emergencies are overrated, it’s neat.
ipod recording with the Xtrememac!
June 20, 2007
XtremeMac Ipod Recorder
Finally, a portable recording solution that integrates into your everyday life without any extra gadgets or power supplies and cables! For the commuter, the public transit user, or the “quick…record it before I forget it” like me, the XtremeMac Ipod recorder is a welcomed innovation! Can you tell I love it? even before I’ve used it? Not at all obvious!
The recorder plugs into the bottom of the ipod (with video, and nano 2G)and seamlessly integrates with it. It has a built in speaker, as well as a standard 1/8” mini (3.5mm) stereo jack. Included is a flexible mini goose neck type microphone that can be detached from the unit. You may choose to use a line in signal from your computer sound card, or from any other low level input source. There is a line and mic input selector switch to handle the impedance and input levels. You may also purchase a lapel microphone, or use a different condenser microphone. I find it especially useful for recording a band, my lyrics or memo’s. The included mic can be easily propped up and ready to record anything.
The included microphone records in mono with two quality settings. The specs are here
Sony increases holographic storage read/write speeds
May 28, 2007
After increasing the storage capacity of their holographic storage system, Sony’s only direction to go was to increase read and write speeds. Sony has managed to increase the holographic storage systems speed from crappy 3mpbs to 92mbps(read) and 107mbps(write). The hard to believe advancement in read and write speeds has been attributed to a new image stabilization technique, with an improved CMOS sensor. Sony isn’t finished yet, promising to increase rates to 1gbps.
