In the grand tradition of Malthus, Limits to Growth, Chicken Little and the Boy who cried wolf we have another spreadsheet and book that says we and the Earth are doomed. Oxford Computer Science Professor Steven Emmott published a book Ten Billion and an article about it in The Guardian. First are Steven’s claims of …
A year has gone by since the over 200 story Sky City factory mass produced skyscraper plan was announced and there is no sign of the skyscraper. The site, which was to supposed to have been home to the 220-storey [new plans are for a 202 story] tower on the Daze Lake by now, is …
Located in Chengdu (population 14 million), capital of Sichuan province in southwestern China, the New Century Global Center is the “largest freestanding building in the world,” Chinese officials say. Though the words “world’s largest” usually bring to mind an image of a towering skyscraper, this project actually isn’t all that tall. But it’s certainly big. …
George Lucas and Steven Spielberg say the film industry is on track to have a “massive implosion” because there just isn’t enough time in the day for consumers to support all the films released in theaters. Films are competing with all the content and options that the Internet provides. Studios in Hollywood are the equivalent …
Wandering albatrosses exploit the vertical gradient of wind velocity (wind shear) above the ocean to gain energy for long distance dynamic soaring with a typical airspeed of 36 mph. In principle, albatrosses could soar much faster than this in sufficient wind, but the limited strength of their wings prevents a much faster airspeed. Recently, pilots …
From an altitude of 17,500 feet a drone with a 1.8 gigapixel video camera can monitor half of Manhattan. The interface shows the wide field of view all at once but 65 windows can be opened up showing zoom in views of different spots. They can see things as small as 6 inches like birds. …
Traditionally, Direct Energy (DE), especially High Energy Laser (HEL), has mainly been considered for beaming energy or power, however, it can be exploited for beaming momentum as well. Dr. Y. K . Bae presents an innovative spacecraft maneuvering architecture, DE Momentum Beaming (DEMB), in which momentum is beamed between two spacecraft platforms via the pressure …