Someone was thinking outside of the box on this one. The 36 foot catamaran, Revelation II, is powered by 3 20-foot long carbon fiber propellers on a 30 foot rotating mast. The windmill transmits power to a 6 blade propeller underwater, with the net result that the boat can make way even directly into the wind. Right now, you are either astonished, thinking "Why didn't we think of that before?", or your head is spinning with reasons why these boats are not currently plying the seas in great numbers. For instance, how well could such a thing possibly go into the wind if wind and water drag are offset by the forward propulsion generated? Or "who photo-shopped that windmill onto that catamaran?", for the real cynics. But it seems like there is evidence that the wind turbine concept really functions, and even some rather grainy video proof. If you want to evaluate some examples of the math for the proposition yourself (or just learn how a great forum can break down when we don't treat each other with respect), see the comments at Sailing against the wind. If you are leaning towards the photo-fixing theory, check out the Revelation II from another viewpoint at the Multihull Centre. From Tree Hugger
Check out this sturdy paper airplane, "the DC-3 of paper airplanes", and let us know how it flies.
We love when lofty claims actually get put to the test, and while we know that an iPod can't hold its own in a blender and an unshielded PSP is no match for a katana, neither of those actually touted any form of defense to begin with. Not so with Pretec's iDisk flash drive, which actually goes so far as to claim that it's "bulletproof," spurning a few shooters at a gun club to grab a few pistols, a camcorder, and give it a go. Initially, the battle-tested drive brushed off a 9mm round, .357 shot, and even a .44 slug without too much damage to the enclosure, but the little fellow didn't fare so well against the mighty .500 Magnum, which practically obliterated it in one fell swoop. Of course, a data thief desperate for your information isn't likely to destroy the very bytes he or she is after, but if you're frightened that Pretec's offering isn't quite macho enough for your needs, we're sure the "nuclear proof" Iron Drive could fit the bill -- until it meets the GP-219 or an eight-Megajoule railgun, of course. Click on through for the (admittedly lengthy) destruction process. By Darren Murph of Engadget
Check out the Video
Find out what Uncle Sam could be doing with the cell phone in your pocket! Check out this thread from MetaFilter. Maybe she carries her cell phone in her hair??????
