ceramic
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L'Artisan Electronique ushers in the era of the virtual pottery wheel (video)
Want to reenact Ghost but don't care for all the messy bits? Let lasers do the work for you. L'Artisan Electronique uses a laser scanner to detect your hand-sculpting gestures, transfers their gently urging instructions over to a computerized 3D model, and -- should your production exhibit sufficient creativity or je ne sais quoi -- prints it out using a 3D ceramic printer. This is part of a Design by Performance exhibition taking place over in Belgium and is seriously one of the cooler things you're going to come across today -- or any other day, for that matter. See it on video after the break.
Inventors develop transistor to change color of any surface, your face notwithstanding
Color shifting has been a pipe dream for about as long as alchemists have claimed their studies to be legitimate, but now a brilliant team from the New University of Lisbon can finally say a breakthrough has been found. Essentially, these inventors have conjured up a transistor that changes the color of practically any surface (paper, glass, plastics, ceramics and metals, just to name a few). For what it's worth, this same team already has quite a bit of display cred, as it has developed technology currently used within Samsung panels. With the help of a few good men and woman at the University of Texas at Austin, the team was able to register for a patent right here in the US, and with any luck, they'll be giving OLEDs and e-paper a run for their money before we can snap our fingers twice and run around the block. Check a video (narrated in Portuguese) after the break.[Thanks, Nelson]
New Lich King stein for getting your drink on
When the weekend comes, there's nothing better than kicking back, gathering up some friends (online or in meatspace) and getting your game on. Well, if you're the World of Warcraft player who already has just about everything there is to have, there's a new item on the market. Blizzard and 3 Point Entertainment are offering a brand new Wrath of the Lich King themed stein for your frosty weekend beverage enjoyment - or for just sitting on a shelf. Your choice. The previous two steins for the Alliance and the Horde, with artwork designed by Glenn Rane and Samwise Didier, sold like wildfire at BlizzCon last year. Considering that, it's likely the base $90 model will do well among the devoted Blizz fans who absolutely love to collect game memorabilia. Of course, If that's not cool (read: expensive) enough for you, there's also a $175 limited-edition model which is signed by Alex Horley, the artist who designed this new bit of functional collector's kipple. If you're into decorative steins and can afford it, be sure to get your order in soon; they ship them in late April/early May. This mere mortal will stick with her beloved (read: cheap) coffee cup.
Scientists take first step in ceramic-based quantum computers
One of the many challenges facing quantum computing is finding a practical material from which to process the quantum information -- the material must not be so exotic such that it becomes too prohibitive and expensive to use for mass calculations. That's why a recently discovered hidden magnetic "quantum order" in ceramic has scientists in such a tizzy. By heating or doping the material with a variety of impurities, scientists from the London Center for Nanotechnology have found a way to propagate magnetic excitations over long chains of atoms in the otherwise magnetically disordered material. Armed then, with the ability to break the chains into independent sub-chains, each with it's own hidden order, scientists have taken the first step towards engineering spin-based quantum states from ceramics. Right, the quantum analogy to those good ol' 1 and 0 state changes used by today's not-so-super computers.[Thanks, Scott S.]
EEStor unveils ultracapacitor-based battery system, Li-ion shudders in fear
If relying on sunlight and downhill routes in Venturi's uber-green Eclectic doesn't exactly sound feasible for your everyday (and night) errands, and your ultraportable's five hours of battery life just isn't where you think it should be, EEStor is hoping to remedy those issues -- along with basically every other battery-related quandary -- in one fell swoop. In another case of "this just can't be for realz," an elusive Texas company is coming clean about what's been happening in its labs of late, and the proclamations are nothing short of sensational. The firm boldly states that its one of a kind system, a "battery-ultracapacitor hybrid based on barium-titanate powders, will dramatically outperform the best lithium-ion batteries on the market in terms of energy density, price, charge time, and safety." Moreover, this miracle-working solution is said to produce "ten times" the power of lead-acid batteries at half the cost, sans the need for "toxic materials or chemicals." Additionally, EEStor is hoping to have its Electrical Energy Storage Unit (EESU) powering the wheels of Toronto-based ZENN Motor vehicles, and if "estimates" are to be believed, it will only take about $9 worth of electricity for an EESU-propelled car to travel 500 miles, compared to nearly $60 in gasoline. Of course, such a "breakthrough" product is bound to have its fair share of naysayers, and Jim Miller, vice president of advanced transportation technologies at Maxwell Technologies, is indeed skeptical that EEStor's technology will be able to withstand the unique pressures that a vehicle would place on the "brittle" structure. But we've got to give credit to the company's vow to veer clear of hype, as it notes that this is just the first time it has come forward to intro the technology, and maintains that it will "meet all of its claims" -- guess we'll see about that, eh?[Via The Raw Feed]
Glide toaster gives breakfast bread a new flair
Sure, toasters have gotten bigger, more colorful, and more likely to burn down your house since its conception, but unlike refrigerators, dishwashers, and microwaves, this cooking utensil just hasn't gotten much attention over the years. Enter George Watson, a clever design guru with an engineering heart, who has crafted the best thing since sliced toasted bread, the Glide. This primarily white ceramic toast cooker boasts a simplified design, a single-feed toaster, and a V-shaped rack to hold the toast for use on the kitchen table. Twin hot plates heat the bread as the motorized unit pulls it through, and a handy button on the front increases or decreases the speed in which it passes -- you know, to satisfy those who like it warm, and those who like it black. Mr. Watson's invention looks to be part of a design competition, thus we're not exactly sure if GE or Kitchen-Aid has contacted him regarding a deal, but hopefully we'll soon see these things replacing those antiquated versions we're all forced to deal with now.[Via BoingBoing]
DS expected to outship PSP by almost 30% percent this year
It's no mystery that the DS has been continually kicking the crap out of the PSP when it comes to units sold. We've been paying attention to the numbers and when we saw this story where market research firm In-Stat is projecting that the DS will out-ship the PSP by almost 30% this year, we figured that was about right. Number of units shipped does not have as much weight as number of units sold, obviously, but it's another feather we'll gladly place in our cap.Considering the rampant obsession the DS enjoys in Japan, its cost-effective price tag, and large library of incredible games, Sony is in dire straits to find a viable way to present their handheld to consumers in such a way as to generate as much appeal as the DS. They've already cut the price once and even given another cut, we can't see them breaking through the impenetrable force field of popularity the DS has erected over Japan. Game over man, game over!
CSIRO unveils fire-proof plastic
In an age where plastic (and aluminum) gadgets are bursting into flames left and right, we'd say it's about time some manufacturers looked into what CSIRO is cooking up. Scientists at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization have devised a plastic that morphs into a flame-denouncing "ceramic" structure when exposed to fire, and although the newly formed substance doesn't cool down the situation per se, it does provide a useful barrier to slow the spread of flames. The polymer transforms into a heat-restricting blockade when facing "temperatures as high as 700 degrees," but we're left to ponder what (presumably not-so-good) condition the hardened plastic would be in should things get any more heated. Considering that fires can ignite and get way out of hand relatively quickly, designers said this plastic reacts substantially quicker than humans can, and it could provide the extra time necessary to reach folks stranded in a high-rise blaze, for example. Potential applications for the two-timing plastic include oil rigs, cargo ships, aircrafts, offices, and other highly populated public buildings, but we're envisioning this going even further; it could presumably show up in flame-breathing robot protective gear or in the construction of electronics that run a bit toasty -- but who knows, maybe we're just blowing smoke.
