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Comics might say that the real purpose of traffic cameras is to let cops spend more time in doughnut shops. Cynics might contend that the devices are mostly intended to boost traffic-fine revenue. But cameras that photograph the license plates of cars running red lights or speeding–resulting in a citation in the car owner’s mailbox–are stirring up controversy as they become more common.First rolled out in the 1960s, stoplight cameras went digital in the 1990s....

The M3 Carl Gustav recoilless rifle was introduced in 1946. It’s been around long enough that many armies who’ve used the firearm have now discarded it. They may regret that decision, though, as the venerable “CG” has entered the precision future with a laser-guided round that can nail targets more than a mile away. The round could be adopted by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps, who purchased the infantry gun in the 2010s....

The upcoming Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is very aptly named. When it’s completed in 2024, it will be the largest optical telescope in the world, with a mirror more than 120 feet across. That gigantic mirror will be made of 798 separate mirror segments, and the first of those segments have just been cast.View full post on YoutubeThe mirrors for the ELT are being made by German company Schott, which also built the mirrors for other large telescopes, such as the Keck Observatory....

The effects of the government shutdown are wide-reaching, to the extent that they’re messing with the concept of North. Scientific attempts to correct for the changing location of the North Magnetic Pole have been put on halt due to the U.S. government’s partial furlough. The North Magnetic Pole itself is not a permanent place, and actually shifts with regularity, generally moving in a northwestern path across the Arctic. Scientists have kept track of the Pole’s movements, as well as its South Pole sibling’s, through what’s known as the World Magnetic Model (WMM)....

There are a number of methods for our planet killing us off that “paranoia television” latches onto. Just ask your uncle about the Yellowstone super-volcano. But MIT researchers have disproven at least one Discovery Channel doomsday scenario: the magnetic fields aren’t about to flip and send the world into chaos. It’s been a popular scenario of the “our planet is trying to murder us” set, with a worry that the flip could weaken the magnetic field and bombard us with solar flares and cosmic rays while we’re unprotected....

Times Have Changed Q: A question from your August 2007 issue got me thinking. A guy with a Kia Sportage asked where the spark plugs and spark plug wires on this car were, and was told that this car did not have a distributor. Is this true? I thought all cars must have a distributor, or at least something that works like a distributor. Can you please explain how a car could run without a distributor?...

When I heard that Therm-a-Rest’s new Hyperion 20 sleeping bag was rated for 20 degrees Fahrenheit—even at an impossibly light weight of 1lb. 4oz.—I needed to know if it could actually handle all that cold. Therm-a-Rest Hyperion 20 Down Sleeping BagTherm-a-Rest Hyperion 20 Down Sleeping Bag$530 at REI The bag uses a number of tech advances to achieve the warmth at such a low weight. The bag incorporates what Therm-a-Rest calls “Box Bafffled Construction....

Deer are a major problem for Japan. Last year, 613 animals were hit by trains, according to Japan’s transport ministry as reported in The Asahi Shimbu, causing 30-minute of delay on average. Deer in particular are a problem as they are drawn to the iron filings around railroad tracks because they need iron in their diets. The filings, created by the trains’ friction with the tracks, are a convenient supplement. But a new, somewhat strange idea may help put an end to this problem, for deer and commuters alike....

The USS McCain, damaged last August in a collision with a civilian merchant vessel, was loaded onto a heavy lift transport bound for Japan. A time lapsed video of the loading process, which took several hours, was shared by the U.S. Naval Institute News. The U.S. Navy will repair the vessel in Japan rather than send it back to a U.S. shipyard.View full post on YoutubeThe USS McCain was damaged in an August 21, 2017 collision with the merchant vessel Alnic MC struck the McCain’s port side, causing damage to the hull and flooding....

A Russian Navy ship with a fishy past is currently sailing around the eastern Mediterranean. Described as an oceanographic research ship, outside observers believe the Yantar is actually a spy ship using mini-submersibles to conduct cloak and dagger work on the bottom of the sea.The Yantar is a Russian Navy ship that joined the fleet in 2015. Officially described as a “special purpose ship” or “oceanographic vessel,” the ship is operated by the Russian Navy’s Main Directorate of Underwater Research, which is thought to control Russia’s undersea espionage efforts....

From the murky depths of Spanish caves comes a surprising insight: Neanderthals created art.That’s been proposed before, but experts say two new studies finally give convincing evidence that our evolutionary cousins had the brainpower to make artistic works and use symbols.The key finding: New age estimates that show paintings on cave walls and decorated seashells in Spain were created long before our species entered Europe. So there’s no way Homo sapiens could have made them or influenced Neanderthals to merely copy their artwork....

The folks at Suzuki called recently and offered popularmechanics.com an opportunity to evaluate their new KingQuad 700 ATV. Not ones to turn down a road test offer–always in the interest of active journalism, of course–we took ’em up on it. As we worked out the details, though, we got the sense that they were a little concerned: “You have ridden a big-bore ATV before, right?” they kept asking. Well, no, we hadn’t, only smaller ones with around 300cc of displacement....

New technology developed by a team from the University of Texas at Austin has the potential to detect deadly heart diseases before they strike.The “e-tattoo” adheres to skin and wirelessly reads biometrics to report on your heart health.New tech from the University of Texas at Austin has the potential to save thousands of lives claimed by heart disease every year. Engineers—led by Nanshu Lu, Ph.D., an associate professor of aerospace, mechanical, and biomedical engineering—designed a wearable electronic tattoo, more commonly known as an “e-tattoo....

Media Platforms Design TeamIf you’re a serious car enthusiast, you may have heard of the Bristol, but unless you live in the U.K., you’ve probably never seen one. The Bristol is a legendary sports car built in small numbers by a British aircraft company. I’d only seen pictures of these cars, but I’d read about them and decided I wanted one. Last year I ­spotted a late-model Bristol at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the south of England, but I had never actually seen the most coveted model—a 1955 Bristol 403—until the one I bought rolled off the transporter and into my garage....

For more than a hundred years, innocent radio operators have occasionally stumbled upon a seemingly sinister secret: Radio stations set up by spy agencies. These stations, known as “numbers stations,” are meant to send coded messages to undercover agents. Since they broadcast in the clear, anyone can listen to them—but very few understand what the messages actually mean.Numbers stations started in World War I and have likely been in continuous operation ever since, operating in more or less the same way....

The Boeing 747 set upon its first commercial flight 50 years ago on Saturday, lifting off from a drizzly Tarmac outside Seattle. In the decades since, it spent a half-century traversing the skies, becoming the standard-bearer of long-haul travel and a symbol of U.S. engineering prowess and industrial might.The hype was big, much like the plane itself: The 747 was a behemoth, capable of ferrying over 400 people in its cabin....

Media Platforms Design TeamAnyone can sketch a fantasy bike on a napkin, but the nuts and bolts of actually building the thing are an entirely different deal. Surprisingly complex construction (at least partially) explains the dizzying price tags of the outlandish creations hailing from Birmingham, Alabama-based Confederate Cycles. With past examples surpassing the six-figure mark, Confederate is no stranger to labor-intensive underpinnings and challenging builds. But their new X132 Hellcat turns that paradigm on its ear, thanks to a more streamlined structural platform that’s been three years in the making....

After a brief spell of cold and snow (otherwise known as winter, otherwise known as normal for this time of year), we’re back to above-average temps and plenty of sun. The sun, I’ll take. The above-average temps; well, you already know how I feel about that. Never mind that a good part of my income is garnered by writing about skiing, and that this ski season stinks (so far, it’s even worse that last season, which is quite an accomplishment)....

The height of the Android-iOS fanboy wars are years in the past. The two dueling operating systems have more or less converged into bland, uniform competence, and the age of the hip-and-exclusive iOS-only app are all but over. One tiny but crucial difference that still remains is haptic vibration on the virtual keyboard: Android has it and iOS does not. But a recent update to Google’s Gboard keyboard is closing that gap too....

Make/Model: Honda Talon X | Engine: 999cc liquid-cooled parallel-twin | Transmission: 6-speed automatic dual-clutch [DCT] | Bed Capacity: 299 pounds | Length: 123.9 inches | Width: 64.0 inches | Wheelbase: 87.6 inches | Curb Weight: 1,490 pounds | Clearance: 12.7 inches | Fuel Capacity: 7.3 gallons | Price: $20,000Most side-by-sides, even outrageous turbocharged Baja-​slayers from Can-Am and Polaris, use continuously variable automatic transmissions that deliver power via drive belt. The problem: those belts....