Collaborate Disseminate
What do scanning electron microscopes and satellites have in common? On the face of things, not much, but after seeing [Zachary Tong]’s latest video on liquid metal ion thrusters, we …read more Continue reading Liquid Metal Ion Thrusters Aren’t Easy
When electronics release the Magic Smoke, more often than not it’s a fairly sedate event. Something overheats, the packaging gets hot enough to emit that characteristic and unmistakable odor, and …read more Continue reading Quick and Very Dirty Repair Gets Smoked PLC Back in the Game
Seeking to improve the tokamak fusion reactor known as ITER, researchers have found a way to stop rogue tungsten atoms from shearing off the walls and messing with the plasma. The finding is another important milestone on fusion’s road to success.Conti… Continue reading A sprinkle of boron makes for a better fusion reactor recipe
The most abundant metal known to man is iron. It’s everywhere. Not just on Earth, but in space as well. Astro engineers have just figured out how to use iron – or nearly any metal for that matter – as plasma rocket fuel.Continue ReadingCategory: Space,… Continue reading Super Magdrive rocket thrusters run on heavy metal
Researchers at the University of British Columbia leveraged an unusual discovery into ultra-black material made from wood. The deep, dark black is not the result of any sort of dye …read more Continue reading Ultra-Black Material, Sustainably Made from Wood
Vantablack, which is the world’s darkest material, could be in for some competition. Canadian scientists have created a super-black substance that has the potential to be cheaper, hardier and easier to manufacture … and it’s made out of wood.Continue R… Continue reading Valuable “super-black” material derived from plasma-treated wood
Supermassive black holes have been known to belch gigantic beams of plasma into space – and now scientists have managed to recreate these fireballs in a lab at CERN.Continue ReadingCategory: Physics, ScienceTags: Black hole, Supermassive black hole, As… Continue reading Plasma fireballs from black holes are now being made here on Earth
A round trip to Mars – with our current technology – would take about two years: nine months to get there, three months of hangin’ out, waiting for the relative positions of Mars and Earth to line up closely again, then another nine months back. Howe I… Continue reading Pulsed plasma rocket promises a wild acceleration in space travel
We’ve all seen a million videos online with singing Tesla coils doing their thang. [Zach Armstrong] wasn’t content to just watch, though. He went out and built one himself! Even …read more Continue reading Build Your Own Class-E Musical Tesla Coil
Workholding is generally not a problem on a big CNC plasma cutter.; gravity does a pretty good job of keeping heavy sheet steel in place on the bed. But what …read more Continue reading Electromagnets Make Vertical CNC Cutter a Little Stickier