Over at the Torvalds family blog, Linus has just written a really interesting post about helping his wife with a new computerised embroidery machine she got for Christmas. He talks about the problems with the proprietary/undocumented firmware and file formats. There’s progress being made in these series of posts (When you have an itch to [...]
Read Full Post...February 2, 2010
Here’s a very interesting article from physorg.com on spray-on liquid glass: Spray-on liquid glass is transparent, non-toxic, and can protect virtually any surface against almost any damage from hazards such as water, UV radiation, dirt, heat, and bacterial infections. The coating is also flexible and breathable, which makes it suitable for use on an enormous array [...]
Read Full Post...February 1, 2010
I just found an interesting ‘Technical Note’ authored by Western Research Laboratory (WRL), a research group that was founded by Digital Equipment Corporation in 1982. ‘Characterization of Organic Illumination Systems’, inspired by the work of Bill Bidermann, investigates claims that by inserting electrodes into a dill pickle, and energizing with modest alternating currents, caused the pickle [...]
Read Full Post...January 29, 2010
Just announced on the RepRap blog: The Foresight Institute has announced its Kartik M. Gada Humanitarian Innovation Prize to design and build a better RepRap. There is an interim prize of $20,000, and a grand prize of $80,000. I am particularly excited about these specific aims of the contest: :: Print at least three different materials, including [...]
Read Full Post...January 21, 2010
I just had a delivery of some Electroactive Polymer (EAP) to experiment with. EAP changes shape when voltage is applied, making it a great material for actuators or sensors. I found a great reference which lists fabrication recipes for making your own EAP. Some of the contributions include - Carbon Nanotube - EAP Ion-exchange Polymer Metal [...]
Read Full Post...January 7, 2010
This happened back in 2008, but Daniel Burd, a 16-year-old school student, developed a way to make plastic bags degrade faster, achieving 43 per cent degradation within six weeks. Using ordinary household chemicals, yeast and tap water he added plastic powder and dirt, creating a solution that encourages microbes which break down plastic to grow. [...]
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February 5, 2010
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