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ICYMI: Birds the magical flying machines
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: There are three main theories of flight and it turns out, Stanford has poked holes in them by simply training a mini parrot to wear tiny safety goggles, then fly through a laser sheet. The video is more adorable than you could probably imagine so feel free to get your fix here. Meanwhile, NASA's new jet engine could make waves in both increased fuel efficiency and plane design since it relies on slower-moving air currents. The Arctic Sea Ice video is here, but the must-watch in this scenario is the Weather Channel take-down of Breitbart News. The video of the lawn picture maker is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
NASA starts testing more fuel efficient jet engine tech
A group of engineers have developed a new jet engine tech that can improve planes' fuel efficiency by four to eight percent, and NASA has begun testing it out. They created a new type of engine propulsor -- composed of the fan and a part called the inlet, which directs air into the engine -- designed to be embedded into a jet plane's body. Jet engines are typically placed away from the aircraft's surface, because of a highly distorted film of air called the boundary layer that envelopes the plane as it zooms through the sky. This new type of jet engine propulsor takes advantage of the boundary layer instead.
GE partners with Livermore Labs to explore efficient aircraft fuel injectors (video)
What would you do with six months of dedicated access to 261.3 teraflops of computational power? As you ponder that question, consider the case of GE Global Research, which has just announced its participation with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in an effort to design more powerful and efficient aircraft engines by way of computer simulation. Specifically, GE will partner with researchers from Arizona State University and Cornell University to study the unsteady spray phenomena that's thought to be ideal for fuel injectors. Through Large Eddy Simulation, GE hopes to discover an ideal spray pattern and fuel injector design, and reduce its number of lengthy, real-world optimization trials. While the research is initially aimed at aircraft engines, the knowledge gained from these experiments may work its way into GE's other products, such as locomotive engines and land-based gas turbines. For a glimpse into GE's current research, be sure to hop the break.
Boeing's SUGAR Freeze is a cool way to power a plane
No, not the sensation you get when you have gulped your ice cream too fast. SUGAR Freeze is the a new propulsion concept developed by Boeing that aims to revolutionize air travel. Standing for Subsonic Ultra Green Aircraft Research, the NASA-commissioned project (codenamed "N+4") looks at immature technologies in the hope of kickstarting research for the future. It's reportedly 60 percent more efficient than the equivalent Boeing 737-800, thanks to a very experimental propulsion system. Cryogenically stored liquified natural gas (hence "Freeze") is burned in a pair of unducted fan engines while also powering a solid-oxide fuel cell as an aft-thruster. With LNG projected to remain abundant, more environmentally friendly and cheap well into the century, it makes an ideal substitute to current aviation fuel, which is none of those things. Currently it's far too unsafe a design to contemplate building, and there are concerns about the natural gas production process, but hopes remain that the kinks will be ironed out well before the 2045 deadline.
World's only turbine-powered Batmobile up for sale on eBay, recession hits Bruce Wayne, too
Remember that Boeing-powered Batmobile we ran across last month? Well friends, it could be yours via eBay auction in about a week. Currently, the highest bid is you can buy it now for $620,000 -- which would be enough to cover the cost of several cars not fit for the Caped Crusader. However, none of those come equipped with a helicopter turbine, now do they? Putsch Racing reminds interested parties that the mean machine is street registered in the US, so you can roll like the Dark Knight without fear of the police pursuing you. An iPad loaded with digital avionics helps you monitor the jet engine, and you can use your choice of three fuel sources to power the thing: Jet A, kerosene, or diesel. Hey now, we never said it was environmentally friendly. If you, like Jay-Z, are "planking on a million," check out the detailed auction shots below and bid on Batman's ride yourself. %Gallery-131955%
Jaguar will actually build million-dollar C-X75 hybrid supercar in 2013
You know how we said that 780bhp electric pipe dream Jaguar had last year wasn't going to be anything more than a concept? Well, we were wrong. Sort of. You see, the British automaker has just announced its intention to produce a limited run of 250 C-X75 supercars in partnership with Formula 1 team Williams, however the retail model will eschew the craziest aspect of the original design -- the twin turbine engines at the back. Those will be replaced with a four-cylinder, turbocharged petrol engine, which will aid the four electric motors (one attached to each wheel). Don't worry, though, this tweak has actually made the C-X75 accelerate even faster, as it's now rated to go from 0 to 60mph in under three seconds. 2013 is when the earliest production of this road-faring beast is expected to commence, with prices starting at £700,000 ($1.15 million), and there's even a glimmer of hope that a version with the gas turbines will also be built at some point down the line. Crazy, just crazy. Check the C-X75 out on video after the break, where Jay Leno gives you a tour around its dramatic design.
China builds a jet-propelled water cannon, just because it can (video)
Just what does $456,000 buy you these days? Well, if you happen to run the fire department of China's Luoyang City, the answer is a jet-propelled water cannon capable of spraying four tons of water per minute. That pretty much qualifies it for a "terminal velocity" badge, as the water is said to move at such speed as to choke fires from the oxygen surrounding them. Maximum range for this blaze blaster is 120 meters (nearly 400 feet), though you'll need to only move a fraction of that distance to click past the break and watch the awesome video of it in action.
Bloodhound SuperSonic Car begins construction: 1,000mph on Intel Atom processors (video)
We saw the mockup back in July and, soon, we'll be seeing the real thing. Construction of the Bloodhound SSC is underway, with a planned top speed of over 1,000mph courtesy of a jet engine borrowed from a Typhoon jet fighter sitting in the back -- and a trio of Intel Atom processors in the cockpit that will run a number of onboard diagnostics and telemetry systems. Sure, they won't be adding to the overall thrust of the thing but neither will they be putting much of a drain on the electrical system. If all goes according to plan the car will be completed by the end of this year and will start speed runs by the beginning of 2012. Maybe by then Intel will have something a little quicker to slap in there.
Pulsejet-powered bicycle, for those leisurely commutes
There's just something about people strapping jet engines to things they have no business being strapped to that brings a twinkle to our eyes, and Robert Maddox's pulsejet-powered bicycle is no exception. Maddox actually sells pulsejets on eBay ranging from fourteen to over a thousand pounds of thrust, and the fifty-pounder in this video is capable of moving his bicycle at a whopping 75MPH. Sure, it's loud, but at least it's more practical than that jet-powered Port-a-Potty. Video after the break.[Via AutoBlogGreen]
Man sticks jet engine in kayak, somehow survives
While it's not quite as high on the insanity meter as a jet-powered shopping cart, wheelchair, or port-a-potty, we still wouldn't want to go anywhere near Shaun Baker's self-made jet kayak, which he apparently decided to build after deeming the sport not dangerous enough. Costing about $10,000, the kayak packs a 45-horsepower engine and is steered simply using a regular kayak paddle. As you can see in the video after the break (from an episode of Top Gear), the kayak is also far from simply being a proof of concept, with it already having been pushed to the limit in a race -- against a Land Rover Tomcat 4x4, naturally.
Jet engine-powered go-kart roars onto eBay
Here's one that's sure to make Toad weep, even if he's toting a golden mushroom or two. In a bid to make every Mario Kart (or speed demon) freak's dream come true, a bloke in Inverness has concocted a jet engine-equipped go-kart that actually sports a functioning afterburner. Similar to a number of other jet-powered vehicles we've seen, this one is fitted with a military spec JFS-100 jet engine and a push button afterburner that emits "extra thrust, noise, and spectacular fire / smoke effects." Moreover, you'll find an EGT gauge, MOMO steering wheel, and digital RPM meter crammed inside the wee vehicle, and if you just so happen to reside in the UK, you can get the bidding starting for a mere £5,000 ($9,864). More drool-worthy snapshots after the break.[Via El Reg]
