glow-in-the-dark
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Nissan has a glow-in-the-dark Leaf EV, but you can't buy one
Oh, Nissan, you tease. The company has just coated a Leaf EV with some custom-made glow-in-dark paint, which can apparently last for up to 25 years -- but it has no plans (not yet, anyway) to make it available for purchase. Nissan partnered with glow-in-dark pavement creator Hamish Scott to concoct a special paint as a symbolic representation of how Leaf inspires its owners to convert to solar energy. It's easy to find glow-in-the-dark paints these days, of course, and you can even do Tron-like designs on your car if you want, but the company claims the one it mixed up isn't like any other.
Glow-in-the-dark roads hit the streets in the Netherlands
One stretch of road in the Netherlands may make you feel like you're cruising through a video game. A new glow-in-the-dark pavement has replaced power-sucking streetlights for a 500m (.3mi) piece of the highway. The result is a Tron-like street that shines courtesy of solar-powered photo-luminescent powder incorporated into the road paint. This is just a proof of concept, but its creator, Studio Roosegaarde, hopes to use parks as a testing ground for new versions of the product.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: magnetic highways, MoMA tech exhibit and lasers in the sky
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Renewable energy supercharged our transit system this week as Inhabitat showcased Vycon's plans to tap speeding subway trains for immense amounts of kinetic energy, and we took a look at an innovative magnetic highway system that harvests energy from passing cars. Biofuels also got a boost from several unlikely sources as researchers discovered that bacteria in panda poop is incredibly efficient at breaking down plant matter, and scientists developed a way to recycle newspaper into biofuel. We also showcased a real-time energy monitoring device for kids, we learned that some radioactive areas around Fukushima are more dangerous than Chernobyl, and we took a look inside a subterranean atomic shelter that has been transformed into a cavernous underground office. How do machines communicate with people? If you're pondering that idea, you'll be interested in this exclusive video interview with Museum of Modern Art curator Paola Antonelli on MoMA's new 'Talk to Me' technology exhibit which recently opened in New York City. We were also amazed by several artistic innovations this week as Wacom unveiled a pen that instantly digitizes anything you can draw and Sarah Garzoni created a beautiful series of printed paper butterflies. In other news, we shined the spotlight on several brilliant advances in lighting technology as scientists successfully created rain by shooting laser beams into the sky and a designer unveiled a solar OLED tile system that can transform skyscrapers into zero-energy displays. We also brought you several bright ideas in wearable tech as Halston unveiled a glow-in-the-dark sequin gown, a ghostly troop of illuminated radiation suits wandered through the German countryside, and a Cornell student developed a type of clothing that traps toxic gases. Meanwhile the Hudson River lit up with a luminous field of 200 LEDs and Laser Power Systems unveiled plans for a nuclear powered car. Speaking of green transportation, we also spotted a high-tech E-Max motorcycle that converts pressure into power, and we watched Toyota's all-electric P001 racer become the first EV to break the Nurburgring's 8-minute speed record.
Genetically modified mongrel takes drugs, glows in the dark
Labradoodles, Cockapoos and Puggles better make way, there's a new designer breed lighting up the pound -- blacklight-style. Using the same somatic cell transfer technique that birthed the first puppy clone, Korean researchers at Seoul National University created Tegon, a glow-in-the-dark female beagle. The four years in the making, 3.2 billion won ($3 million) genetically modified pup fluoresces when exposed to UV light after ingesting a doxycycline antibiotic. No doubt this Frankenweenie should have Uptown girls and Party kids scrambling for a bank loan, but a high-end canine accessory end is not what the team had in mind. Citing the 268 diseases mutt and man share, lead scientist Lee Byeong-chun believes future lab-made pooches could include "genes that trigger fatal human diseases," paving the way for life-saving treatments. If any of this is ringing your PETA alarm, we don't blame you. We'd much rather see this lambent hooch take the starring role in Tim Burton's next, great reboot. [Image credit via Reuters]
Crapgadget: Animal House redux edition
College: four (or five, or six) years of crackin' brews, listening to tunes, trippin' out to light shows, and snugglin' up to coeds at bonfires on the beach. Just in time for homecoming, we have an assemblage of crapgadets that should put you in good stead, including: iBottleopener (turns your iPhone into, well, a bottle opener, for a mere $20), the BONE iPhone portable amplifier (a large, ugly horn that essentially turns your handset into a Victor Talking Machine for $25), Glow In The Dark USB memory sticks (capacities up to 16GB for $90), and an honest-to-goodness lighter that does double duty as an 8GB flash drive ($37). Which one of these "party favors" isn't doing anybody any favors? Cast your vote below. Read - iBottleOpener Read - BONE iPhone Case Series Read - Zip Zip Glow Read - USB Flash Drive Lighter (8GB Edition) %Poll-54367%
Inhabitat's Week in Green: fuel efficiency flies high, turbines touch the sky, and salt that stores sunlight
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. This week Inhabitat brought you a surge of renewable energy news as groundbreaking projects supercharged every corner of the world. London officially crowned the first skyscraper with built-in wind turbines while Sicily generated solar power in the dead of night with the world's first solar plant that stores energy using molten salt. And speaking of solar power, China is heating things up with the largest building-integrated photovoltaic plant on the planet. In transportation news, we scored an exclusive interview with auto manufacturer Edison2, who is currently coming up aces with three ultra-efficient vehicles in the final stages of the Progressive Auto X Prize -- and we watched high-tech aviation soar to new heights as Airbus unveiled its vision for a fuel-efficient aircraft of the future. Finally, we were wowed by the world's first biomass consuming robot, which actually eats, excretes, and can run for a whole week unsupervised. If you're thinking "I can do that" then we encourage you to try - why not start training with this exercise-inducing treadmill desk? Don't forget to wear your spiffy glow-in-the-dark performance wear; your co-workers will love it.
The DS Life: Phosphorescence
Even as a kid (or perhaps especially as a kid), artist David Gibbons had a fascination for all things glow-in-the-dark. Really, though, what's there to not like about glow-in-the-dark junk? David covered his bedroom walls with every glow-in-the-dark decoration he could find -- posters, stickers, and stars. He even wore glow-in-the-dark pajamas and braces! While we never went that far, we happen to have a glow-in-the-dark rosary hanging off our car's rearview mirror (It's a Filipino thing! Also, it makes it easier for us to pick out our car in the mall parking lot at night.).Anyway, David used his childhood glow-in-the-dark obsession as inspiration to create the art piece we've featured a today, an illustration depicting all of the Christmas toys he wished for as a kid while laying awake at night, gazing at all their glow-in-the-dark incarnations blue-tacked to his walls and ceiling.
Glow in the dark Xbox 360 enclosure takes you back to 1992
Truth be told, we still can't believe this is the first commercially available glow in the dark Xbox 360 chassis, but then again, glow in the dark hasn't been remotely fashionable since Bill Clinton left office. Still, if history is beginning to repeat itself, you know you want to be first on the bandwagon, and there's no better way to throw it back than with the XCM Glow Pearl case. As it stands, the shell isn't quite ready to be ordered, but we're sure it'll be worth every penny when your BFF sees just how gnarly this thing is in the dark.[Via technabob]
New glow-in-the-dark materials shine a full spectrum
We love all things glow-in-the-dark, and for good reason: they help us find the bathroom at night, they freak out our cats, and raves wouldn't be the same without a ton of kids who don't care how ridiculous they look spinning glowsticks. Lucky for us, Japanese researchers have developed new materials that glow in a full range of colors with the potential to provide a real-world solution. The research team from Ryukoku University in Kyoto suggests using the materials to create clear, attractive emergency signage that doesn't depend on electricity to operate. Until now, phosphorescent colors were limited to bluish and greenish tones, which lack visibility through smoke or dust, and supposedly invoke anxiety. The new materials' rainbow of colors (including white light) should offer a more natural illumination, and may strike the fancy of the International Commission on Illumination (CIE), "the international authority on lighting" that's already suggested finding an electricity-free emergency lighting / signage system for buildings. Using this new technology for constructive purposes is all well and good, but we were most relieved to hear that the team isn't snoozing on "less serious" applications for these materials -- i.e. a lampshade nightlight that stays on all night. C'mon, you didn't think they'd leave the out the good stuff (view image), did ya?[Thanks, Matthew]
