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How we built a less-explodey lithium battery and kickstarted the EV revolution
For the final installment of Hitting the Books for 2023, we're bringing you an excerpt from the fantastic Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization by Ed Conway.
A supernova once blasted the moon with radioactive iron
Stars are gigantic hydrogen bombs that normally produce helium with little fuss. When the hydrogen is all gone, however, they implode, causing exotic new elements to be formed by the massive gravitational pressure. If a star is just the right size (eight to 15 times our sun's mass), it will go supernova, ejecting heavy, often unique isotopes into space. Researchers have found some of those isotopes on the moon, meaning that our solar system was once hit by dust from a supernova just a few hundred light years away.
After seven years, you can finally own The Keyboard Waffle Iron
Seven years ago, we brought you the story of a waffle iron that shaped the tasty treats into a keyboard. Plenty of you saw it and wished that you could have one of your very own, and it turns out that good things do come to those who wait. Designer Chris Dimino has taken to Kickstarter to raise money for the production run of The Keyboard Waffle Iron. He's asking for $50,000 to get things moving, with a $60 contribution all you need to get one delivered to your door. Unfortunately, the units won't ship until April, but that should give you four months to get your batter mixing skills up to scratch. I mean, I dunno what more you need - it's a waffle iron in the shape of a keyboard, just go order one already.
The Queue: Run Boy Run
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today. Go to iTunes and buy Woodkid's new track, Run Boy Run. There is not a man alive who manages to get my adrenaline pumping via music better than he does. You will not regret your purchase. If you don't have Iron, get that one, too. naterybird317 asked: When do you think Mists of Pandaria will be released? What was being tested in the Cata beta at the time of the official announcement? I ask because I wonder if at the time of the announcement were beta testers testing 85 content or were they still level capped between 80-85? I feel like we're getting really close to the official announcement.
New metal mix could lead to cheap, plentiful sodium-ion batteries in gadgets
Lithium batteries very frequently power our gadgets, but the material itself isn't common and, by extension, isn't cheap. Researchers at the Tokyo University of Science aim to solve that through sodium-ion batteries using a new electrode material. By mixing together oxides of iron, manganese and sodium, Shinichi Komaba and team have managed to get a sodium battery's electrode holding a charge closer to that of a lithium-ion battery while using a much more abundant material. Having just 30 total charges means this simplest form of sodium-ion battery technology could be years away from finding a home in your next smartphone or EV, although it's not the only option. Argonne National Laboratory's Chris Johnson has co-developed a more exotic vanadium pentoxide electrode that could produce 200 charges while keeping the battery itself made out of an ingredient you more often find in your table salt than your mobile gear. [Image credit: Hi-Res Images of Chemical Elements]
Magnetic soap could make your next oil spill less oily
Instead of spending millions upon millions to clean up the next oil spill, why don't we just all pitch in and buy some soap? That's basically what researchers at the University of Bristol are proposing, with a new kind of soap that's apparently like no other. This soap, you see, is magnetic, which means it could be easily removed from water without leaving behind any hazardous chemicals -- a potentially major selling point for cleanup crews and environmentalists alike. To create it, the team collected water with chlorine and bromine ions, and used it to dissolve iron particles, creating a metallic core. They proceeded to test their creation by placing the soapy particles within a test tube, underneath layers of water and oil. Much to their delight, they were able to remove the particles with only a magnet, ostensibly providing a template upon which disaster response crews may build.
Blood Sport: Iron sharpens iron
Want to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women? C. Christian Moore, multiple rank 1 Gladiator, examines the latest arena strategy, trends, compositions and more in Blood Sport. It's no secret that other people influence our lives. This is a widely understood precept of life, but one that is not often directly tackled. Parents look after their children to make sure they aren't "hanging out with a bad crowd." Nearly everyone has heard or spoken the expression, "It's not what you know, but who you know." Sciences have been created to study how people affect one another. Sociology and psychology are studies of human interaction. Advertising, marketing, and economics have a firm foundation in understanding influences that we exert on one another -- and this isn't a recent phenomenon. Ancient proverbs speak of men sharpening each other as iron sharpens iron. Skills are honed by the acceptance of constructive criticism. Arena is no exception. Doing arena with players who are better than yourself will make you a better arena player, and that's what we're going to be talking about today.
Original iPad retrofitted to play nice with Smart Cover, magnets largely to thank (video)
Although we don't exactly know how they work, magnets are one of Earth's many fascinations and are used in many gadgets today -- perhaps most notably in Apple's new Smart Covers. As you might have already known, the iPad 2's first party screen concealer uses a bunch of magnets to make the magic happen; it snaps on and fits almost too well. By taking a few rare earth magnets and gluing them to the original slate's hip, blogger Dan Provost is able to use a Smart Cover with the iPad uno. He positioned them according to how they stuck to the hinge of the cover, which explains the lack of spacing between the four magnets. As you'll see in the video, Apple's screen protector works well with the tablet, but it lacks the auto-unlock mechanism found in the iPad 2. Care to give your original iPad a taste of modernity? Hit the more coverage link to find the main ingredient for this DIY project.
Auto-Lift iron won't char your threads unless you tell it to
Watch out, Earthlings -- Ariete's 2,400 watt Auto-Lift iron is just a Stateside-release away from being Anthony Sullivan's next big hit. The concept here is pretty simple (and pretty genius): users have to physically press down on the iron to make it touch whatever piece of wrinkled clothing is beneath, and as soon as they release pressure, the iron pops up to prevent accidental charring. It'll set you back €65 ($92), but considering that one toasted dress shirt is probably far more expensive than that to replace, the forgetful among us should probably make the investment.
PTR quests show hard-mode progression, Ulduar storyline, Val'anyr
We've been wondering for a while how exactly the Ulduar storyline plays out in 3.1; this may seem a bit silly or lorelol, given how much time is going to be spent running the instance itself or its myriad of raid bosses and hard modes, but I like to know what's driving me to complete an instance beyond phatty purpz.You can obviously infer a lot from the instance itself and the names of each respective room, but for those seeking a little more information, Wowhead's PTR page has you covered. There were a few quests added in this most recent PTR build that give us tantalizing bits of Ulduar storyline and show Blizzard's intention to create clear progressions -- not only in the 10- and 25-man versions of Ulduar, but a reward and progression path for those blazing a trail in the hard mode versions of each instance. A fine notion indeed. Oh, and if you wanted to know just how to forge that new legendary mace... This writeup will be spoiler-heavy! If you don't wish to know anything about the secrets that lie within Ulduar, don't click the link below. You've been warned.
Ulduar on the 3.1 PTR: The Iron Council
Last night was round 2 of the Ulduar encounter testing on the 3.1 PTR, and after last night's attempts at Hodir, my guildies and waste-of-a-raid-spot coworker were excited to get back into the beautiful Titan dinner party and sink our teeth into another new encounter. And if we wanted a snack, we got ourselves a three-course meal: The Iron Council, a veritable Three's Company of dudes made of metal. Except Three's Company really had one dude in it regularly, and the other two were women. And none of the Iron Councilmen are Councilwomen. Clearly Iron society is not as progressive as ours. As expected, the server couldn't be convinced to just let us get in and do what we needed to do, so we spent an inordinately long time logging in, stalling at the loading screen, getting in, crashing out, getting stuck in queue, swearing loudly in Ventrilo, and getting alcohol to ease the pain.But we did manage to try the fight a few times. This writeup is spoiler-heavy! If you don't wish to know anything about the strategy for this or any Ulduar boss, don't click below. You've been warned.
Who's the boss (in Ulduar)?
All this talk of 3.1 we've been seeing lately is fantastic! Class and talent changes everywhere, dual-spec announcements (see? I told you!), it's all great stuff. For me, though, the big draw of 3.1 is -- read my lips -- one new dungeon! I know, I know, raids is raids, but I'm getting pretty tired of Naxx, and I want a nice long raid to sink my teeth into. New strats to learn! Setting a course through uncharted territory! Wiping because we don't know the fight yet! I'm just so excited. Of course, the one thing we haven't found out about Ulduar yet is who the heck we're killing for their purples! Being a reasonable man who reads his quest text, though, I've been able to divine the identities of a few personalities we're likely to encounter. The Ulduar screenshots from beta, with their diverse wings and amazing architecture, also hint to these same folks. They'll be involved, and I'll put good gold on it. Who's ready to rumble?
Insider Trader: To prospect, smelt, or let alone?
Recently, a reader wrote in with a question that everyone ponders from time to time. When trying to make money from a profession, it can be difficult to determine what to sell, what to convert, and what to avoid doing all together. Here's what she asked:Hello, When making gold from Mining, is it better to Prospect the Ore? Or is it better to just sell the Ores and Bars?Thank you!Regards, Kristy. Taking a break from the faction recipe series to shake things up a bit, let's take a look at how this breaks down.
World of WarCrafts: WoW coasters
Every Thursday, Shelbi Roach of The Bronze Kettle guides you in creating WoW-inspired crafts using real world mats with World of WarCrafts.Need a place to park your frosty beverage? What these coasters lack in functionality, they make up for in style. In my step-by-step instructions, I've included a guide to help you create the coasters that will surely be the talk of the table at your next dinner party.Here is what you will need: Perler Beads Peg Board Ironing Paper Iron Click on the images below to view a gallery of step-by-step instructions. %Gallery-20639% DISCLAIMER: If you are under 18, please make sure that you are supervised by your parents or an adult.
Toshiba readying steam iron with built-in pump
It's been quite awhile since a steam iron caught our eye, but Toshiba is reportedly readying such a device that makes the entire process a bit easier. Hailed as "the world's first steam iron with a built-in pump," the forthcoming device can spray "up to 2.1 times as much steam as earlier models, has 30-percent more strength at permeating cloth," and touts a surface that's coated in enamel for easier gliding. Apparently, the automatic nature of the steaming allows for more even ironing results, and while we aren't exactly sure if all these niceties are worth the ¥16,000 ($138) pricetag, those who do can snap one up in around three weeks. [Warning: Read link requires subscription]
T-Press automatically irons your trousers
There's a plethora of washing machines out there to take care of the average cotton tee and junker jeans, but when dressing to impress, you need something a notch above dry and wrinkled. Enter the T-Press, an automated robot that desires nothing more than to press your trousers to perfection, and can flatten even the most minuscule, unwanted creases right out of your designer pants. Churning up 1,600 watts, this brushed aluminum machine perfects your pants by using a movable press and offers varying temperature settings to boot, and unlike a typical bout with the steam iron, this process takes just 2.5 minutes to complete and isn't likely to torch your hand in the process. Still, there's no information whatsoever regarding price or future availability, nor any indication of an emergency stop button being included for when it inevitably decides to eat your Van Heusen's for lunch, but feel free to click on over to see the live action mockups if nothing else.[Via SciFiTech]
