You don't have to be a science buff to understand that atoms in gases move around a heck of a lot more than those in solids. For instance, text on a paper page isn't apt to just reshuffle itself when no one is looking, but printing the latest Harry Potter novel on thin air could prove just a touch more difficult. Said challenge isn't too much for physicists from varying institutions in Israel, as they have recently demonstrated how to ever-so-briefly store images in a warm atomic vapor. Reportedly, the gurus have figured out how to "store complex images for up to 30 microseconds in rubidium vapor," and if mastered, the process could help unlock secrets of "quantum information processing and even quantum communication." If your interest meter just shot through the roof (you geek, you), head on down to the read link to slurp up more on how it's being done.

Like the beginning of every great science fiction movie, experts claim that they've discovered a cure for our fuel-dependency woes that only requires an army of genetically modified bacteria... that eat wheat straw and excrete crude oil. You read that right: scientists have created bugs which are able to snack on woodchips or sugar cane and produce waste in the form of easily malleable oil. Not only are the buggers capable of creating a byproduct which can quickly be refined into fuel for vehicles, but scientists say the process is carbon-negative -- it outputs less carbon than is required to produce it. Director of the project -- dubbed LS9 -- Greg Pal says that barrel prices could run as low as $50, and that the company plans to have a commercial facility producing the crude in 2011. And as for the potential threat of world-destroying attack from the mutant feeders? Says Pal, "We're putting these bacteria in a very isolated container: their entire universe is in that tank. When we're done with them, they're destroyed." Sure buddy -- but we're going to re-watch Them! just in case.

We've been hearing about these highway use tax trials for years now, but apparently, a new $16.5 million Road User Charge Study will be looking for 2,700 mettlesome individuals that won't mind driving around with a tracking unit riding shotgun. The absurdly expensive initiative is purportedly seeking to figure out whether Americans "would accept the idea of paying by the mile, instead of by the gallon." North Carolina-based Innovation Management -- which will "oversee the study" in the Triangle region of NC -- proclaimed that folks who volunteer to take part in it would have their vehicle fitted with "GPS and computer hardware to track the miles they travel through each state and local government jurisdiction." Best of all, however, is the tidbit noting that these very guinea pigs will also receive "make-believe bills" each month displaying what taxes they would owe if they were indeed being taxed per mile. Anyone want to guess how much revenue they could rake in from accidental payments?

[Via The Wolf Web, image courtesy of WRAL]

Soon, you will never have to admit that you're lost and suffer the humiliation of asking for directions. Google is expected to announce a partnership today with Gilbarco Veeder-Root, to include Google's mapping service on 3,500 Internet enabled gasoline pumps across the US. The maps will be available on the pump's small screen giving motorists the ability to scroll through local landmarks, hotels, restaurants, and hospitals to the bemusement of the guy waiting behind you. The pump will even print directions. The service is said to be ad-free but will offer coupons -- that sounds a lot like advertising to us. Look for the gPumps to arrive courtesy of that Encore S rig pictured above.

Researchers from the University of Iowa Public Policy Center have developed a system for charging drivers federal taxes by the distance traveled rather than on gallons of gas purchased. The study is being conducted with 2,700 drivers from states like Maryland, Texas, Iowa and California to gauge public reactions and experiences with the system. The basis for the study is the declining tax dollars being paid for car use in the States; as fuel prices rise, cars get more efficient, and alternatives like ethanol and hybrids gain ground, our 18.4-cents-a-gallon tax on gas (which was set in 1993) remains static, thereby making it harder for The Man to get paid. Eventually, the government will have to find another way to generate tax dollars from drivers -- and researchers think this might be it. Instead of paying a constant fee on the fuel we purchase, drivers cars are equipped with a taxi-like meter, and users will be given a monthly bill for the miles that they've driven. We can only hope this is avoidable, perhaps due to the spontaneous existence of a free, plentiful, environment-friendly fuel source... or another revolution.

[Via Autoblog]

For those of you Prius owners who felt the novelty of a hybrid vehicle was finally wearing off, a whole host of new hacks are starting to emerge, which should go quite a ways in expanding the utility of your gas-sipping whip. When you're not cruising around at the tune of 116 mpg, you can purportedly flip the power in reverse and actually juice up your house with your ride. A prototype system being demonstrated by California's Pacific Gas and Electric Company utilizes Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology to actually send power in reverse to energize a few in-home lights, appliances, and of course, Wii exercise sessions. Potentially more interesting is the possibility to actually "sell back energy to the utility during hot afternoons when demand is highest and most costly to avoid blackouts." No word just yet on when this stuff will be rolled out en masse, but if you needed just one more reason to plunk down for a Prius, it doesn't get much better than this.

[Via The Raw Feed]

In a presumed attempt to prove questionable reports about the Prius' true fuel efficiency dead wrong, a Japanese group of mileage maniacs (or nenpimania) have assembled to push their hybrids to the brink and utilize a sly combination of hackery and zen-ish ways to elicit extreme miles per gallon figures. One such enthusiast burns his gas money on special tires, cardboard surround for the engine bay (saywha?), and blocks of foam rubber that occupy the grill, and somehow manages about 100 mpg by "hacking into the Toyota's computer" and carefully manipulating the accelerator with just his large toe. One upping even him, however, is a fellow mpg freak dubbed Teddy-Girl, who has reportedly become such a master of the "pulse and glide" method of driving that she can crank out 116 miles on a single gallon of fuel. Of course, sustaining such numbers on even mild inclines is entirely unlikely, and we're fairly sure you're hearing best case scenarios with all these gaudy numbers, but until we're all cruising in purely electric whips, this doesn't sound like a half bad approach to keep those trips to the pump at a minimum.

[Via The Raw Feed]

No doubt, we've seen more than a few sensational sounding gizmos aiming to provide (nearly) limitless power and create energy out of thin air, but a simple software patch could enable the vast majority of the world that's still stuck in gasoline-powered vehicles to get better gas mileage. John Kessels at the University of Eindhoven has partnered with Ford to develop software to improve engine performance and save "up to 2.6-percent" in terms of miles per gallon. Quite simply, the patch dynamically switches the dynamo, (which charges the car battery) on and off when it is "particularly inefficient for the engine to power it, thus improving the overall efficiency of the engine." Mr. Kessels even stated that "a simple cable and a software upgrade" was all that would be necessary to boost MPG, and thankfully it's not exclusive to Ford motors. Notably, a fuel savings closer to six-percent could likely be achieved if a "powerful starter motor" was installed to allow your engine to cut off entirely and restart quickly in between long traffic jams, but both methods have a good bit of testing to go through before being deemed non-abrasive to batteries and engine components. But hey, there's nothing a firmware upgrade can't fix, right?

We can all agree that having a navigation system at all helps the environment out, since you'll be headed right where you need to go (well, most of the time, anyway) rather than spinning your wheels trying to figure out what's what, but a group of Swedish researchers have envisioned a plan that could actually help drivers cut down on emissions without even requiring them to hop in a hybrid. Instead of sorting your routes by criteria like "shortest distance" or "near food," Eva Ericsson at the Lund Institute of Technology in Sweden would rather you follow the path of least resistance, which would channel through the most efficient pathway depending on traffic, time of day, and speed limit. The team has trialed various routes and estimates that its thrifty approach to navigating provides fuel savings of "near four percent," but commercializing the idea has some tall hurdles ahead. A spokesperson for NAVTEQ insinuated that re-mapping the current roadways based on these scenarios is practically infeasible, and the idea only becomes marginally plausible if drivers were to volunteer en masse to use their vehicle as a "probe" device that could track and record data as they drove, slowly covering larger areas. Of course, folks aren't apt to cruise around for hundreds of miles (and burn through multiple tanks of fuel) on a whim, but with the right marketing approach, it's possible to turn an entire fleet of vehicles into one giant guinea pig.

Anyone with enough coin to not concern themselves with fuel prices anyway can throw down $100,000 (or more) for an uber-green Tesla Roadster, or you can tack a few extra grand onto the price of your next vehicle to ensure it has some sort of hybrid engine underneath the hood, but MIT researchers are developing yet another alternative to our oh-so-troublesome fuel dilemma without looking to fuel cells. The gasoline / ethanol prototype is about "half the size" of a conventional gas engine, and would only add "about $1,000" to the price of a vehicle -- much less than current battery / gasoline options. The gasoline and ethanol are housed in separate tanks, with the ethanol "suppressing the spontaneous combustion inside the cylinder," allowing for a "higher compression ratio" and a "30 percent increase" in overall gas mileage. Ford is currently testing the system with Ethanol Boosting Systems, and while we're unsure how these engineering minds will solve the problem of double-pumping each time you need a fill up, they're reportedly working hard to "minimize any inconvenience to the driver."

Nothing, we mean nothing, says success like rollin' in a big fat Hummer eh sparky? Only thing is, you can't stand the thought of those accusatory stares from your fellow highwaymen as you lumber along sucking-up fuel. Well, we guess you never heard of the Mileage Maximizer then? Don't sweat it, 'cause two friendly Detroit, rock city Hummer dealerships have, and they'll happily sell you the $190 wonder mod while touting its 30% increase in fuel efficiency. The promotion has been so successful at selling new Hummers in fact, that these boys are now considering expanding the modification to more stores and vehicles. Sure, GM and Hummer officials don't endorse the application of the "Vortex Valve" to the vehicle's intake manifold and may not even honor warranties. And just you never mind that no one will stand by those unofficial claims of increased efficiency or that tampering with the emission controls on EPA certified vehicles is, ehem, illegal. You go right on feeling better about yourself... after all, you tried, right?