http://www.gizmag.com/the-birth-certificate-of-the-automobile-was-issued-125-years-ago-today/17725/On January 29, 1886, Karl Benz filed a Patent No. 37435 at the Reich Patent Office in Berlin – it is generally regarded as the birth certificate of the automobile and became the first of over 80,000 patents to the Mercedes Benz marque.
http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humberto_Duarte_Fonseca"Humberto Nasceu no Mindelo, São Vicente, em 20 de Novembro de 1916. Era um dos sete filhos de Torquato Gomes Fonseca e Leopoldina Duarte Fonseca. Tendo terminado os estudos liceais foi convidado para docente do Liceu Gil Eanes em São Vicente durante uns anos, tendo então ingressado na Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, onde obteve três graus de licenciatura simultâneos, todos com nota máxima e distinção: Matemáticas, Geofísica e Engenharia Geográfica. Apesar destas excelentes qualificações, a tentativa de encetar uma carreira académica depois de se formar em 1946 foi frustrada, devido ao facto de o seu nome ter sido vetado por questões políticas, resultado das suas actividades como líder da organização estudantil "Casa dos Estudantes do Império"."
Best of the Blog 2010 – Tutorials and Making Help
In addition to the ten fantastic guides that are featured in the Ponoko Blog sidebar, today we’ve gathered for you a collection of ten more helpful guides and tutorials from the archives.Read on for some simple advice for beginners (that may be a welcome reminder for more seasoned makers) through to a complete analysis of turning making into a business, with a few surprises in between.#10 Learn To Draw
I have a personal bee in my bonnet about this one. Drawing is something everyone can learn. And regardless of how zippy you might be with your technology, confidence in your manual drawing skills will have a positive influence on all other aspects of the design process. It’s also a whole lot of fun.
#9 Avoid scale FAIL with free prototyping
The old carpenter’s adage measure twice, cut once holds true for laser cutting and 3d printing too. Avoid trouble by printing your first prototype for free on your desktop printer.
#8 Starting simple – Make almost anything for under $5
Being sure you’re on the right track is important, particularly give the time and cost involved in laser cutting with some materials.
The secret is to make a test cut in good old cardboard before moving on to the serious stuff. And if you’re serious about cardboard, then you’re already off to a great start!
#7 Simple Steps to Make And Sell Your Custom Product
The world is full of great ideas, and never before has it been easier to turn those ideas into real, physical products. The thrill of holding something in your hands which you created is something quite special.
Here are ten steps to help you on your way to a successful custom product.
#6 Easy Photoshop Tricks to Improve Your Product Photography
Everyone likes beautiful product photography. Designers like it; your customers like it; and bloggers LOVE IT.
Here we share 3 super simple quick & easy Photoshop tricks you can use to make even some of the worst product photos look way better.
#5 A How-To for Toothy Wheels
Coming to us from the MAKE blog is this great article by brainy bad-ass Dustyn Roberts on making your own gears. The article includes step-by-step instructions for using Inkscape to design your own gears and have them made on Ponoko.
#4 A Marvellous Process
As a long-time heavyweight in the Ponoko Showroom, WoodMarvels continues to surprise and delight with an increasingly diverse collection of lasercut 3d models.
Come along for the ride as Jon, the man-marvel behind WoodMarvels, takes us through the process of creating an animation for one of his latest constructions.
#3 Rubber Coat Your Laser Cut Plastic Parts
In search of extra traction for the footsies of a walker robot, one blogger from 4Volt turned to a rubber coating called Plasti-Dip. Follow the simple guide to this disturbingly toxic solution; the results are brilliant but do proceed with caution.
#2 Step-by-Step Guide To Building A Makerbot
We keep hearing about the Makerbot 3d printer, but what’s actually involved in putting one together? Find out in this 13-part article that spans almost a year; from the excited opening of the first box on the kitchen floor all the way to printing a classic whistle in ABS plastic.
#1 Ten Rules For Maker Businesses
Okay. So this one does appear in the Ponoko sideabar, but it is serious enough to deserve a second mention here. In a fantastic ten-part feature, Wired Magazine’s Chris Anderson lays it all out for the maker who wants to get serious with their making. Click through for the full list, and get your notepad ready. There are some real gems in this one.
Contudo, a maneira mais fácil de saber o local de fabrico é através do Código de Barras, um conjunto de riscas pretas verticais que se refere a um código numérico único para cada produto, o equivalente ao antigo Bilhete de Identidade, agora Cartão de Cidadão Português.
Neste código, o código de país é composto pelos 3 primeiros algarismos, sendo o "indicativo" de Portugal o "560".
http://www.readmetro.com/show/en/Lisbon/20110124/16/1/#Revolução dos livros em ÓbidosEmpresa faz sucesso com ‘self publishing’ Projecto começou há um ano e enfrenta a crise com sucesso
Há um ano a Várzea da Rainha Impressores (VRI) adquiriu um equipamento que lhe permite fazer impressõesn àmedida do que o cliente pretende, que a tornou um sucesso.O Metro falou com a editora responsável da VRI, Zita Seabra, que explicou comotudo funciona.Com sede em Óbidos, “a Várzea da Rainha Impressores é uma empresa de impressão digital que adquiriu um equipamento de ‘print on demand’ da Xerox, que é o Nuvera, no qual, por um lado, entra um ficheiro em PDF e depois sai o livro”, num processo de ‘self publishing’ ou edição de autor, explicou a editora.
TASER announces wildlife management stungun
By Noel McKeegan
We've seen TASER electroshock weapons designed for law enforcement, personal protection and even riot control, but in all of the above cases, it's a human on the receiving end. Now the company has a different target in sight for its "less lethal" technology ... and it's one that could create as much controversy as its predecessors – the TASER Wildlife Electronic Control Device (ECD).
http://www.gizmag.com/taser-wildlife-contol-stungun/17641/
Axolotl eggs could provide a potent weapon in fight against cancer
By Darren Quick
A common cause of cancer is when cells are altered or mutated and the body’s tumor suppressor genes are switched off. Scientists at the University of Nottingham have managed to bring cancer cells back under control by reactivating the cells’ cancer suppressor genes using an extract from axolotl oocytes. The scientists say the discovery could form a powerful new technology platform for the treatment of a variety of cancers.
The process of cell division is controlled by specific genes and these are turned “on” or “off” depending on their function. Among the most important of these genes are tumor suppressor genes. These genes repress the development of cancers and normally act as a control point in the cell division cycle. Therefore, the switching off of tumor suppressor genes is a common cause of cancers.
http://www.gizmag.com/axolotl-eggs-could-provide-a-potent-weapon-in-fight-against-cancer/17645/
Conventional entanglement links particles across space. Now physicists say a similar effect links particles through time.
Entanglement is the strange quantum phenomenon in which two or more particles become so deeply linked that they share the same existence.
That leads to some counterintuitive effects, in particular, when two entangled particles become widely separated. When that happens, a measurement on one immediately influences the other, regardless of the distance between them. This "spooky-action-at-a-distance" has profound implications about the nature of reality but a clear understanding of it still eludes physicists.
Today, they have something else to puzzle over. Jay Olson and Timothy Ralph at the University of Queensland in Australia say they've discovered a new type of entanglement that extends, not through space, but through time.
A Private Space Shuttle Replacement
The Dream Chaser will go into orbit on the nose of a rocket, then land gently on airport runways.
By Katherine Bourzac
Once the space-shuttle program ends this year, the only way to get people into orbit and to the International Space Station will be to buy seats on Russia's three-person Soyuz capsules. So NASA, through its Commercial Crew Development program, has given $50 million in grants to companies developing new spacecraft capable of carrying people and supplies into orbit and to the space station.
The recipient of the biggest chunk of this money was the Sierra Nevada Corporation, which received $20 million to develop the Dream Chaser. This spacecraft, the size of a business jet, will take cargo and up to eight people into low Earth orbit, where the space station is located, and then return and land on commercial airport runways.
PixelOptics to launch 'world's first electronic focusing eyewear'
By Darren Quick
We have previously reported on the development of prototype adaptive focus glasses at the University of Arizona (UA) that were able to switch focus electronically. Unlike manually adjustable focus glasses, such as TruFocals, that place a flexible liquid lens between two rigid lenses, the lenses of the prototype glasses consisted of a layer of liquid crystals sandwiched between two pieces of glass. By applying an electric charge, the orientation of the liquid crystals – and therefore the optical path length through the lens – was able to be changed, resulting in glasses that changed focus electronically. This technology is now on its way to consumers with PixelOptics showing its emPower! glasses at CES 2011.
Scientist developing self-healing biorenewable polymers
By Ben Coxworth
Materials that can repair themselves are generally a good thing, as they increase the lifespan of products created from them, and reduce the need for maintenance. Biorenewable polymers are also pretty likable, as they reduce or even eliminate the need for petroleum products in plastic production, replacing them with plant-derived substances. Michael Kessler, an Iowa State University associate professor of materials science and engineering, and an associate of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory, is now attempting to combine the two.
Self-healing materials generally incorporate microcapsules containing a liquid healing agent, and catalyst elements, which are embedded within the material’s matrix. As cracks form within the matrix, the microcapsules rupture, releasing the healing agent. As soon as that agent encounters the catalyst, it hardens into three-dimensional polymer chains, thus filling and securing the cracks. Such technology has been used not only to create self-healing plastics, but also self-healing concrete.
http://www.gizmag.com/scientist-developing-self-healing-biorenewable-polymers/17551/
Superstrong metallic glass developed
By Jude Garvey
It seems hard to believe that glass could be stronger than steel, but a team of researchers has developed a super-strong metallic glass that has incredible plasticity when placed under stress, making it as strong and tough as metal. Typically, the structure of glass is strong but brittle which can cause cracks to develop and spread. The new metallic glass features palladium which has a high “bulk-to-shear” stiffness ratio. This allows the metallic glass to bend rather than crack – giving it a fracture toughness that goes beyond the limits of some of the strongest and toughest materials known.
'Liquid pistons' – the next phone camera revolution?
By Darren Quick
Researchers at Rensselear Polytechnic Institute have developed "liquid pistons" that could be suited to a variety of applications. Using electromagnets the liquid pistons, which are highly tunable, scalable and have no solid moving parts, can function as pumps for lab-on-a-chip systems or could be used for adaptive lenses in future mobile phone cameras and implantable lenses.
The device consists of two drops of ferrofluid liquid, which are saturated with metal nanoparticles, situated in two holes in a substrate about the size of a piece of chewing gum. The entire device is situated in a chamber filled with water and pulses from an electromagnet are used to make one of the droplets – the driver – vibrate back and forth.
http://www.gizmag.com/liquid-pistons-for-mobile-phone-cameras/17559/
Recycled plastic housing resists earthquakes, hurricanes, rot, insects and mould
By Karen Sprey
Each year natural disasters and civil unrest leave hundreds of thousands of people homeless throughout the world. Many of these crises occur in developing nations where traditional building materials are either unavailable or prohibitively expensive, and where the focus is often on staying alive, not maintenance of a home. The ECO:Shield system from Innovative Composites International Inc. (ICI) may present a welcome solution. The earthquake and hurricane resistant houses use recyclable materials and according to ICI, are cheaper than both conventional and other modular constructions.
Honda Flies A Fuel-Efficient Jet Prototype
A unique shape made possible by composites helps cut fuel consumption while allowing faster speeds.
Honda has moved closer to bringing its first jet to market—one that uses 20 percent less fuel than similar-sized planes while also flying faster. A prototype of Honda's light jet, which will seat five to six passengers and is scheduled to go on sale next year, made its first flight last month.The airplane makes extensive use of composite materials—a combination of carbon fiber and resins that reduces a plane's weight. So far the materials are rare in business jets, though they've become common in small, home-built kit planes. They are also beginning to see more use by big jet makers such as Airbus and Boeing, which are seeking ways to reduce fuel consumption.
A Battery-Ultracapacitor HybridA device for power tools may also help regenerative braking.
By Prachi Patel
By combining the chemistries of ultracapacitors and lithium-ion batteries, a company called Ioxus has created a hybrid energy-storage device that could recharge power tools in minutes and might never need to be replaced. The company says future incarnations could perhaps be used to capture energy from braking vehicles.
Ultracapacitors capture and release energy in seconds and can do so millions of times, but they store only about 5 percent as much energy as lithium-ion batteries. The hybrid can store more than twice the energy by volume of standard ultracapacitors. That's still much less than a lithium-ion battery, but the hybrid can be recharged quickly over 20,000 times as against a few hundred cycles for a typical battery.
As every middle-school child knows, in the process of photosynthesis, plants take the sun's energy and convert it to electrical energy. Now, a Tel Aviv University team has demonstrated how a member of the animal kingdom, the Oriental hornet, takes the sun's energy and converts it into electric power in the brown and yellow parts of its body.
http://www.scientificcomputing.com/news-DS-Weird-Life-Hornet-Exoskeleton-Harvests-Solar-Power-010611.aspx?et_cid=954234&et_rid=41430142&linkid=http%3a%2f%2fwww.scientificcomputing.com%2fnews-DS-Weird-
