Matt OS

The Kangaroo!

The innovative concept where a weary traveler lugging around their carry on luggage can unfold a hammock from their luggage and take a nap anywhere!

• Wooden box is the size of average carryon luggage
• Hammock is made out of a bedsheet and some rope
• Poles are electrical conduit which has wire tensioners to counter-act the weight of the person resting on the hammock

Created as part of Lehigh University’s Masters of Engineering in Technical Entrepreneurship program! Check it out at http://www.lehigh.edu/~innovate/index.html

Stay tuned for new products and ideas!

fuckyeahfluiddynamics:

Here astronaut Andre Kuipers demonstrates fluid dynamics in microgravity. A roughly spherical droplet of water acts as a lens, refracting the image of his face so that it appears upside down. The air bubble inside the droplet refracts the image back to our normal perspective again. (Photo credit: Andre Kuipers, ESA; via Bad Astronomy)

wired:

stoweboyd:

The Tata AirPod is a city car running on compressed air (as well as a battery-powered electric motor). The ease of converting air into an energy source using simple compressors means charging stations can be placed anywhere, and they require no provisioning — no trucks delivering gas, ethanol, or hydrogen — and they produce no emissions, just discharge of the air.

The AirPod can run 125mi (200k) at a top speed between 28 to 43mph (45 to 70kph). The car is intended for a single rider, and has a small cargo area in the back.

This is breakthrough design: it undercuts most of the negatives of the system it is designed to replace. And unlike other alternatives to traditional cars, it does not require an entire supply chain to exist before becoming practical in a single location. A city like New York could roll out a citywide fleet of AirPods Just like it is rolling out a bike sharing program (although the city’s bike share program has been delayed). It doesn’t need to build nuclear reactors, or deal with some hard-to-transport alternative fuel. In fact, New York City could simply repurpose existing gas stations or parking lots with compressors, and card readers. 

Totally awesome. Here’s the future. There Just need to make them stackable, like this:

Related articles

• Tata commercializing an air-powered car (reviews.cnet.com)
• Tata Brings Air Powered Car to India, Calls it AirPod (Video) (onlygizmos.com)
• Flat Tire! Mayor Bloomberg Says Citi Bike Share Program Will Not Launch Until Spring, Blames Software (observer.com)
• Are Air Cars Really An Option, Or The Next Alt-Fuel Joke? (greencarreports.com)

The vehicle of the future?

wired:

“This is a composite of 23 images, 22 for the meteors/stars and 1 taken at sunrise for the foreground which was lightly blended in. I also corrected the orientation of the meteors to account for the rotation of the earth (this took forever!)”

[via PetaPixel]

Check out my VHS Cassette clutch upcycle instructable!!!

wired:

expose-the-light:

Science and Photography

The Wellcome Trust — a London-based medical research charity — has just announced the winners of its 2012 image competition, and they are positively stunning.

1. Moth fly (Psychodidae)

This false-coloured scanning electron micrograph shows a moth fly (Psychodidae), also known as a drain fly. As its name suggests, the fly’s larvae commonly live and grow in domestic drains; the adult fly emerges near sinks, baths and lavatories. The moth flies’ bodies and wings are covered in hairs, which gives them a ‘fuzzy’, moth-like appearance. The fly is 4-5 mm long, and each eye is approximately 100 microns wide.

2. Lavender leaf

This false-coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) shows a lavender leaf (Lavandula) imaged at 200 microns. Lavender, which is native to the Mediterranean region, is an evergreen shrub that grows to about three feet high and has small blue or purple flowers and narrow grey leaves. Lavender yields an essential oil with sweet overtones, which can be used in balms, salves, perfumes, cosmetics and topical applications. It is also used to aid sleep, to relax and to alleviate anxiety.

3. Xenopus laevis oocytes

This confocal micrograph shows stage V-VI oocytes (800-1000 micron diameter) of an African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), a model organism used in cell and developmental biology research. Each oocyte is surrounded by thousands of follicle cells, shown in the image by staining DNA blue. Blood vessels, which provide oxygen to the oocyte and follicle cells, are shown in red. The ovary of each adult female Xenopus laevis contains up to 20 000 oocytes. Mature oocytes are approximately 1.2 mm in diameter, much larger than the eggs of many other species.

4. Caffeine crystals

This false-coloured scanning electron micrograph shows caffeine crystals. Caffeine is a bitter, crystalline xanthine alkaloid that acts as a stimulant drug. In plants, caffeine functions as a defence mechanism. Found in varying quantities in the seeds, leaves and fruit of some plants, caffeine acts as a natural pesticide that paralyses and kills certain insects feeding on the plant. The main crystals of caffeine were 400-500 microns long; however, this crystal group formed on the end of the larger crystal and measures around 40 microns in length.

Purty. Creepy.