metallurgy
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TUG updates metallurgy and multiplayer capabilities
TUG is about to get a lot more metal. It's about to be so metal that you won't be able to handle all of the metal. At least, you'll need to be skilled with forging to handle all of the metal, as the game's initial implementation for metallurgy is coming to a test client near your desktop. The game has posted an update for backers explaining that the first pass is nearly complete, and the next game update will allow players to build a forge, make simple bronze age tools, and mine for important minerals. But what's it all worth if you can't show off to your friends? Multiplayer support is currently high on the priority list, with no specific ETA provided beyond a promise of another update in the near future. For more details on the developing features, check out the full update on Kickstarter.
Detroit DIYer cooks up stronger, lighter steel, shames scientists
You'd be forgiven for dismissing an amateur metallurgist if he claimed to have improved upon the presumably perfected technology of steel making. But Flash Bainite, the creation of Detroit entrepreneur Gary Cola, wowed a team of Ohio State University engineers by turning centuries of alloy processing on its head. Instead of heating the metal for hours or days, this well-equipped DIYer boosted the temperature -- quickly baking, then cooling sheets of steel that are 7-percent stronger than other forms and tougher than some titanium alloys. Flash Bainite is also more ductile than other steels, allowing it to crumple more before breaking -- perfect for absorbing impacts. Obviously this means stronger and lighter cars, laptops, and armored vehicles but, since the process takes all of about 10 seconds, it's also more energy efficient and cheaper than traditional steel making. Now, who has the number for the Nobel Prize committee?
