Todd's blog

NASA's Hybrid Wing Drone Soars on First Flight Tests

A 500-pound unmanned aircraft with the appearance of a flying manta ray could herald the future of jetliners. NASA and Boeing's flying lab has wrapped up the first series of flight tests that should help pave the way for less noisy, more fuel-efficient airplanes that also emit less pollution.Read More

IBM's solar-powered desalination plant to hydrate the Saudi desert for a city with 100,000 people

A new, energy-efficient desalination plant with an expected production capacity of 30,000 cubic meters per day will be built in the city of Al Khafji, Saudi Arabia, to serve its 100,000 people. Known more for its computers, IBM has joined forces with KACST (King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology) to build the plant that will be powered by ultra-high concentrator photovoltaic (UHCPV) technology - a system with a concentration greater than 1,500 suns.Read More

Motionlite retractable wheel lighting kit puts the spotlight on your fancy rims

Motionlite retractable lighting provides another way for you to accessorize your wheels. The wheel illumination kit features LED lighting mounted on a power telescoping six-inch arm in the wheel well that lights up in seven different colors on your rims. The system is remote-controlled and universal. $499 for the set.Read More

A massive floating laboratory is attempting to drill through four miles of seabed to take samples of the Earth’s core

The world’s deepest drill is about to get longer - long enough to dig into Earth's semi-molten interior. Already, the Chikyu research vessel is capable of fetching samples at depths of 2,890 feet below the seabed, two to four times that of any other drill. In 2007, off the coast of Japan, it became the first mission to study subduction zones, the area between tectonic plates that is the birthplace of many earthquakes.Read More

International Space Station gets 'Man Cave' Complete with Robot Butler

There might be a new favorite hang-out for astronauts aboard the International Space Station later this year. The Multi Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) known as Leonardo – which will be going to the ISS on the upcoming STS-131 mission carrying cargo and supplies — will be transformed after the mission into a Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM), and brought up to stay on the station on STS-133 as a storeroom for supplies. But it might also become a haven to get away from it all.Read More

Self-healing materials could lead to safer nuclear reactors after suffering radiation-induced damage

One of the key challenges when designing nuclear reactors is finding materials that can withstand the massive temperatures, radiation, physical stress and corrosive conditions of these extreme environments. Exposure to high radiation alone produces significant damage at the nanoscale, so scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, have been working on a mechanism that allows nanocrystalline materials to heal themselves after suffering radiation-induced damage. This gives hope for materials that will improve the reliability, safety and lifespan of nuclear energy systems.Read More

Hyperwall-2 is spread across 128 monitors and is used for displaying images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope

You may think you've got a pretty good widescreen set-up at home, but nothing comes close to NASA's hyperwall-2.Read More

Lasers make the carbon fiber fabrication process much quicker, easier, and more affordable

Scientists at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology have developed a carbon fiber fabrication process that they say is considerably faster, easier, and less expensive than the conventional method.Read More

Higher rotation speeds without friction make air bearings ideal for a wide variety of mechanical applications

New Way Air Bearings use a porous carbon media that allow air to flow through it at a controlled rate so that a cushion of air is formed on the face of the media. Parts are suspended on 5 millionths of an inch of air. There is no contact with metal, so there is no wear, particulates, or lubricants.Read More

Amazing photos of the Hoover Dam bypass bridge project

The $240 million, 2,000-foot bridge is part of a larger project, a 3.5-mile corridor that begins in Clark County, Nevada and ends in Mohave County, Arizona.Read More