Odds and Ends 

Covering Yourself in Aerogel and Jumping Into a Pool Looks So Surreal

Aerogel has extraordinary properties but it can be tough to work with. This video by Veritasium looks at modifying aerogels to take advantage of their unique characteristics. Aerogel’s extraordinary properties are due in large part to its structure. Aerogel is a solid but on the nanoscale it has a mesh or sponge-like structure. The struts of this structure are nanoscale, as are the pores at around 20nm across. This makes silica aerogel incredibly light (it was once the lightest solid but has now been superseded by graphene aerogel), transparent and…

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Guy Hacks Google Maps With 99 Phones and a Little Red Wagon

Artist Simon Weckert transported 99 smartphones in a little red wagon to generate a virtual traffic jam in Google Maps. He was able to turn a virtual ‘green’ street ‘red’, which impacted the physical world by navigating cars using Google Maps on another route to avoid being ‘stuck’ in traffic. Check out the video below and scroll down to learn more about this project. The advent of Google’s Geo Tools began in 2005 with Maps and Earth, followed by Street View in 2007. They have since become enormously more technologically…

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Headlines 

A jetpack company just reached a major milestone in our quest to fly like Iron Man

(CNN)We may be closer to seeing a real-life Iron Man suit than you think. While traveling at an average speed of nearly 150 mph, Reffett was able to reach 1,000 meters of altitude in 30 seconds. Reffett was even able to perform a roll and loop with the wingsuit. His flight lasted approximately three minutes, and he opened his parachute at 1,500 meters before landing safely to the ground. “We are so happy we achieved this incredible flight,” Reffett said in a statement. “It’s the result of extremely thorough teamwork,…

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Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, built to carry astronauts, faces new safety concerns

New York (CNN Business)Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which is designed to carry NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, encountered a second, previously undisclosed, software issue during a botched test flight in December. Paul Hill, a member of NASA’s safety adviser panel, disclosed a separate software problem during a public meeting on Thursday, saying it could have caused a “catastrophic failure,” according to Space News. Hill said Boeing (BA) was able to identify and correct the error before it impacted Starliner’s behavior. The error could have caused another misfire during the…

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UK will allow Huawei to help build its 5G network despite US pressure

London (CNN Business)The British government said Tuesday that it will allow China’s Huawei to help build the country’s next generation of super-fast wireless networks, a decision that could undermine trade and intelligence ties with the United States. Under Chinese law, Chinese companies can be ordered to act under the direction of Beijing.Huawei has consistently denied that it would help the Chinese government to spy. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has come under intense pressure, including from within his party, to agree to the US demands on Huawei. He discussed the issue…

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The Schienenzeppelin in Berlin, 1931 (Colorized)

Original Photograph by George Pahl | Colorized by Jecini In this colorized photo by Jecini, we see the Schienenzeppelin in Berlin in June of 1931. A train on the way to Hamburg passes the newly arrived ‘rail zeppelin’ at Spandau main station. The Schienenzeppelin or rail zeppelin was an experimental railcar which resembled a Zeppelin airship in appearance. It was designed and developed by the German aircraft engineer Franz Kruckenberg in 1929. Propulsion was by means of a pusher propeller located at the rear: it accelerated the railcar to 230.2…

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Commercial spaceflight is no longer a pipe dream. Here’s what’s next

New York (CNN Business)The commercial spaceflight industry is growing up. But just like any maturing industry, some companies will go bankrupt, others will join forces to survive and some could be snapped up by bigger competitors. IPOs Last year, Virgin Galactic (SPCE), the venture founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, became the first space tourism company ever to make a stock market debut. Many heralded the move as a sign of the space industry’s maturity. But the listing took place through a reverse merger. That meant the company bypassed the…

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Federal judge disqualifies Huawei’s lawyer

New York (CNN Business)A federal judge has disqualified a Huawei lawyer representing the Chinese tech company in its defense against charges of alleged bank fraud and American sanctions violations. In the case that Cole was defending, the US government has alleged that Huawei violated US sanctions on Iran and obstructed justice in the investigation that followed. Also charged in the case is Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in Vancouver in December at the request of the United States and now faces a court battle in Canada…

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