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  • Levitating superconductor floats within a magnetic field so you don't have to (video)

    by 
    Amar Toor
    Amar Toor
    10.18.2011

    What happens when you douse a superconducting urinal cake with liquid nitrogen? We haven't given it too much thought, to be honest, though we're guessing it would look a lot like the "levitating" disc pictured above. Developed by researchers at Tel-Aviv University, this device is actually a superconductor hovering over a "supercooled" magnet. While locked within the magnetic field, it can rotate around a vertical axis, turn upside down or do laps around a track -- all thanks to a phenomenon that Tel-Aviv's physicists call "quantum trapping." We're not really sure what that entails, but we do know that the results are pretty incredible. Check them out for yourself, after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

  • Upcoming Darkfall relaunch is 'a new game'

    by 
    Jef Reahard
    Jef Reahard
    07.01.2011

    How does a fresh start in the world of Agon grab you? The devs at Aventurine have been making noises about relaunching Darkfall for a while now, but in a new dev blog released earlier today, producer Tasos Flambouras gives us a hint at just how significant the changes are going to be. "This relaunch is not an expansion. It's a new game we've been developing in parallel with the current version of Darkfall. The scope is massive, and it has been difficult to stay on schedule after several unexpected issues," Flambouras writes. So, yeah. Whoa. In our best Keanu Reeves voice. The blog features some further discussion about a new siege system and a political map for the current version of Darkfall, but frankly we're still recovering from the previous paragraph and unsure as to how it all fits together. Is this Darkfall II? Is the current version going away when the relaunch hits? Inquiring minds want to know, and we'll bring you the latest on this story as we learn more.