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Burning fossil fuels is by far the leading cause of climate change, and investigations have shown that most fossil fuel companies were aware of and deliberately misled the public on the dangers of fossil fuels. And according to a study from U.K. think tank CDP, virtually none of the world’s major oil companies are dedicating any of their profits toward solving the problem. Overall, the study found that the world’s large oil companies spent only about 1....

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine is visiting Russia and Kazakhstan this week in advance of an ISS crew launch on Thursday. But beyond strolling the Red Square and taking in a Baikonur rocket show, the new NASA boss could have a difficult trip, one that includes a difficult conversation with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Rogozin.For starters, Bridenstine must meet Rogozin in Moscow (as opposed to, say, the sidelines of the International Space Congress last week) because U....

Ostentatiously whizzing on your lawn, refreshing as it might be, may or may not be good for the grass depending on your approach, but we can tell you one thing for sure: It’s unlikely to help your reputation with neighbors, postmen, or wandering Girl Scouts.Urine, as it happens, contains a number of beneficial nutrients commonly found in commercial fertilizer. “It has a fair amount of nitrogen, a little bit of phosphorus and potassium, which are all needed for a healthy lawn,” says Owen Duckworth, associate professor of biogeochemistry at North Carolina State University....

Media Platforms Design TeamUpdate, Fri., Dec. 20: PopMech is here in Florida as the DAPRA Robotics Challenge heats up this weekend. For updates from the competition, follow PopMech on Twitter and check out the PopMech Wire blog.During the DARPA Robotics Challenge, happening outside Miami this coming weekend, human-shaped robots will navigate rough terrain, climb ladders, and even drive cars and use human tools to prove they can enter disaster areas and conduct rescue operations....

George Lucas headed into Star Wars as a fan of old movie serials, Akira Kurosawa movies, mythology, classic sci-fi, and comic books. The movie that came out reflected that. While Star Wars had a tremendous cultural impact, it wasn’t an all-together original story, and even the set and alien designs likely came from elsewhere. Star Wars Minus Star Wars is an attempt to re-create Star Wars without a single bit of Star Wars footage in it....

A lot of people wax poetic about the functionality of Apple’s AirPods, and it’s not hard to see why. They’re ultra portable, pump out high-quality sound, and they’re “smart. As far as smart functionality goes, they’re pretty lacking.Enter: the Culture Audio V1 ANC Bluetooth Headphones. These feature-packed headphones combine the functionality of AirPods and the sleek aesthetic of Bose models, sans the hefty sticker price. You can snag them right now at the Popular Mechanics Shop for only $135....

In order to combat the rise of online credit card theft, several French banks are partnering with security company Oberthur Technologies to create a credit card with a security code that is constantly changing so that within an hour, a stolen number will be useless.Online credit card fraud is a rapidly growing problem. Thieves can steal your credit card info in a number of ways, such as hacking various consumer websites, or phishing, where they trick you into handing over your information yourself....

Researchers at the University of Rochester have created what they deem an “unsinkable” metal, which uses tiny patterns etched onto it via laser to trap air bubbles inside.The material is superhydrophobic, meaning it was designed to repel water exceedingly well.Shipbuilding could be completely upended by the material if it’s accepted as commercially viable. It could mean the end of capsizing boats.“Unsinkable” probably isn’t the best word to use when talking about ships, but despite what we know about the Titanic, researchers at the University of Rochester have designed a new type of metal that actually does float no matter how much you try to prod it underwater....

Imagine an aircraft that could take off and land like a helicopter but fly as fast as an airplane. You’re thinking of Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, the first tiltrotor aircraft to enter production and one of the most innovative (and controversial) machines of the modern era. After a long and troubled development process, which included several notorious crashes that soured many people on the program, the Osprey eventually escaped its bad headlines and proved itself to the Pentagon....

The first tanks were developed during the latter half of World War I, and right along with them came the the first anti-tank rifles. Specifically, the German Mauser company designed a massive scaled-up bolt action rifle using a 13.2mm armor-piercing cartridge which could shoot clean through the new Allied tanks. However, despite more than 15,000 of these rifles being produced by the end of the war, they were not enough to turn the tide of advancing Allied armies reinforced with many divisions of fresh American troops....

Nobody is quite sure what happened, but a paper published on NASA’s website claims that a Google quantum computer achieved what’s known as “quantum supremacy.” While the paper was quickly taken down, if verified, it would mean that Google has developed a quantum computer capable of solving problems that would be, in practical terms, impossible for classical computers to solve.Neither Google nor NASA has officially commented, but competitors like IBM say that such a benchmark lacks practical applications....

Russia’s Vostok (“East”) 2018 exercises are currently under way across the nation. Russian air, land, sea, and even nuclear forces are participating. Although the number of personnel Russia claims to be participating (297,000) is surely exaggerated, the troops involved and doing some pretty fascinating things. Russia’s Ministry of Defence has uploaded several videos from the exercises to briefly highlight what Russian—and Chinese—soldiers are doing. The videos, which should be considered propaganda and consumed with a healthy dose of skepticism, are a window into rarely seen aspects of the Russian military, from the radar screens of surface-to-air missile systems to fighters and bombers preparing to fly towards Alaskan airspace....

Q: Would a 1960s-era designated “Fallout Shelter” help me in a nuclear attack today?A: We’ve all seen those yellow and black signs, emblazoned with three triangles, announcing the presence nearby of a fallout shelter. These are, at this point, antiques, vestiges of a more innocent time; a time when we liked to cling to the notion that a nuclear attack was readily survivable, sort of like a tornado, but with more gamma rays and fewer flying cows....

Media Platforms Design TeamSurfing the web has just become even easier. On Tuesday, Google released the Google Voice Search Hotword extension allowing users (with a fully updated Chrome browser) to enjoy the hands-free benefits of “OK Google” voice search on their desktops. This convenient interface was recently integrated into the latest version of the Android OS, KitKat, and now appears to be spreading its influence.Once you’ve downloaded the free extension and enabled a microphone, an icon will appear in your Google search bar....

This year, at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), a whole host of computer companies are announcing their new lines of thick, brawny, gaming laptops. Last year both Nvidia and AMD announced a fancy new graphics card and CPU tech (respectively) and it only makes sense for both to show up in a fleet of new laptops at CES. The surprise? Some of these machines are weird. In a good way!...

The Chinese Army—officially known as the People’s Liberation Army Ground Forces—is experimenting with controlling tanks remotely. Beijing’s state television service showed off the tanks during a news segment, stating the next step is to control them on the battlefield using artificial intelligence.According to the state-run television network, the PLAGF is experimenting with turning older Type 59 tanks into remote-controlled drones. As shown in a short video that was uploaded to Twitter, tank is controlled by a soldier manning a console....

Whenaccomplished prop-maker and Mythbuster Adam Savage steps into his workshop, he’s no doubt getting down to serious business. And luckily for all of us who enjoy his work , he’s meticulously designed his workshop so that it wastes none of his precious time. We could all stand to learn a thing or two from his clever approach. First off, you won’t find drawers in Savage’s space unless they’re absolutely necessary. To hold screws and bolts?...

I love riding my motorcycle, but I don’t love dumping money into my hobby. That’s why I ride a 1986 Honda Shadow 700 VT with a dent the size of a Nalgene bottle (courtesy of the previous owner), and why my motorcycling outfit leaves something to be desired: a used leather jacket bought on craigslist, repurposed Wolverine work boots, and the cheapest Snell-approved helmet I could find.I realize these Gap chinos aren’t going to prevent me from cheese-grating my ass if things go sideways, but frankly most of the gear I run across costs more than I’m willing to pay and looks like something out of RoboCop—or my father’s closet....

Q: While shopping for a new digital camera, I saw that some models are touting a new “face detection” technology. Does this stuff really work? Can it recognize the faces of pets?A: It does work. Face detection technology, available from manufacturers such as Canon, Pentax and Fuji­Film, uses special algorithms to parse the scene while you aim the camera. What’s it looking for? The shape of a human face, of course....

Media Platforms Design Team GENEVA — Ford needs a “B” segment car to slot underneath the Focus in the United States—the better to compete with the Nissan Versa, Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris and others occupying the lowest rung on the vehicular ladder. Well, we now know that ride will be called the Fiesta. It’s a name that Ford has used around the world on some 12 million small cars sold in Europe over a 30-year period—and for several years during the late 1970s here in the States, too....