The Martian moon Phobos has just a short time left in this solar system. In 30 to 50 million years, it will be gone for good. Terry Hurford of NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center presented the results at the American Astronomical Society’s 2015 meeting. The problem lies in the moon’s distance from Mars, just 3,700 miles above its surface. This causes Phobos to move closer to Mars by 6.6 feet every year....
Last year, Nerf released its Rival Nemesis MXVII-10K, a 100-round, full-auto ball-blaster that took Nerf’s high-speed Rival line to its most freakishly fun extremes. This year, just ahead of Toy Fair 2018, Nerf showed Popular Mechanics its new contender for top dog when it comes to positively dumping the foam on your friends and frenemies. Here’s your first look at the beautifully bonkers Nerf Rival Prometheus MXVIII-20K. Related StoriesNerf’s New Rival Blaster Just Doesn’t Stop FiringThe Design Behind Nerf’s 70 MPH Rival BlastersLike the Nemesis before it, Prometheus fires Nerf’s spherical yellow Rival rounds at speeds of up to 70 mph or 102 feet per second out of the barrel....
The new iPhone 11 Pro features three camera sensors that allow you to take better images while zoomed in, at night, and with a wider angle.New chip technology powers better machine learning applications in the phone, resulting in crazy new video capabilities and more crisp and dramatic photos.Despite the amazing specs, Twitter has done its thing and started pumping out memes that poke fun at the strange camera array on the new iPhone....
Media Platforms Design TeamNintendo unveiled the 3DS system today, which is the successor to the famous portable Nintendo DS. It still sports the double screen layout, but one of the screens has a magic new capability—3D…without glasses! How does Nintendo do that? By all accounts, the company is using Sharp’s parallax barrier screen technology, which filters the pixels of the screen through precisely oriented slits to ensure that the left and right eyes only see the pixels they are supposed to see....
Media Platforms Design TeamThe United States undertook the Apollo program to demonstrate its technological superiority over the world; learning about the moon and setting off “a revolution in planetary science” was just a side effect, David Strangway of Quest University said at this weekend’s American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Boston. The U.S. built magnetometers in World War II so the Navy could scout the sea for places to hide....
Media Platforms Design TeamThe news this morning that a Yale University student died in a machine-shop mishap has prompted some soul-searching here at Popular Mechanics—and a review of our own shop and machine practices. According to ABC News, Michele Dufault, an astronomy and physics major, in the school’s chemistry lab. Apparently her hair became entangled in the chuck or the workpiece. She died of asphyxiation.was killed while operating a metal latheThere isn’t an editor here who hasn’t had a close call of one kind or another on a construction job site, or in a shop while working on cars, wood or metal....
Podcasting has redefined how broadcasters, entertainers, interviewers, and storytellers connect with the world. Now, with a minimal amount of hardware and investment, virtually anyone can captivate millions of listeners from across the globe.But to be truly successful, you need to learn how to engage new audiences, build a following, and find your unique voice. The Podcasting 101 Bundle will teach you how to do all that and much more, and right now it’s available for over 95 percent off at just $29....
Our favorite mad German scientist Joerg Sprave has experimented with all kinds of unconventional guns that shoot sharp things. He’s built a catapult for axes, a Nerf gun that shoots scalpels, and a pump-action gun that fires throwing knives. His latest build takes that last project to its absurd extreme; this slingshot rifle shoots spinning knives. Why not? At its core, the gun is a pretty regular slingshot that uses rubber bands to catapult the knife down a launching track....
Laser weapons, which are still largely under development, are too large to fit in tanks and kill other tanks. But lasers could be used to fry or destabilize flying objects, which is why the U.S. Army is pushing to introduce laser weapons into the field of air defense. Air defense has fallen by the wayside as a priority for the Army. That’s because the real air defense provided to ground troops comes via the U....
Around the globe, U.S. intelligence agencies are playing an elaborte cat-and-mouse game against a network of smugglers and agents of the North Korean regime. The fight happens in the shadows but the stakes couldn’t be higher. Just last week, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on six North Korean ships, 16 individuals, and nine companies that it said had facilitated Pyongyang’s weapons programs.Last week CIA Director Mike Pompeo cited the “remarkable creativity” by U....
A recent missile test by the U.S. Navy validated an innovative concept that will make upgrading the electronics and computer systems on older warships much, much easier. The late March test saw the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner controlling its Aegis Combat System, including the launch of a missile, through a handful of computers in boxes small enough to “fit under a dining room table”. The heart of the U.S. Navy’s shipboard defenses is the Aegis Combat System....
When family finances crumble, a marriage breaks, or disability strikes, one of the first places those problems show up is in the lawn. As much as we love them, the lawn ranks low in terms of priorities compared to buying food or medicine. When something has to give, what gives is a family’s lawn. It gets knee high and contributes to a sense of hopelessness.That’s where Rodney Smith, Jr. steps in....
Vishwa Robotics out of Cambridge, Massachusetts has designed a new robotic hand that could replace submersible “lobster claws” and astronaut gloves. The Vishwa Extensor is a remotely-operated mechanical hand that allows the operator to feel what the distant robot hand feels. The new invention is an extension of a previous Vishwa Extensor that was worn like a glove and provided force feedback to allow the operator to grasp objects firmly or gently....
Media Platforms Design Team8:30am PT: Four minutes ago WhiteKnightTwo taxied into hangar, ending a spectacular morning. The test flight was a rousing success. The crowd on the runway, Branson being the only one identifiable from a distance, was cheering and clapping and whistling as each craft touched down. 8:30am PT: WhiteKnightTwo touchdown!8:18am PT: SpaceShipTwo now getting ready to taxi back to hangar 75.8:17am PT: Now doing another flyby. Slight headwind coming out of the west....
Over the past few months, China’s Tiangong-1 space station has been finishing up its two year long process of falling back to Earth after China’s space agency lost control of the decommissioned station before it could be properly deorbited. But the tricky part for those of us on the ground is that we have no idea exactly when or where Tiangong-1 will come down. All we know for certain is that it’ll come down somewhere between 43°N and 43°S, which is also commonly referred to as “most of the planet....
The beauty of this DIY waterfall side table is that it incorporates three building techniques, with spectacular results. Brad Rodriquez of Fix This Build That is an accomplished woodworker who has wowed us with projects like his flip top tool stand and patio cooler. But Rodriquez is also adept at welding, and shows us how epoxy can be used to create a waterfall effect.It all starts with a live edge slab, which he cut to shape with a circular saw and milled down with a planer....
Media Platforms Design TeamMedia Platforms Design TeamWillie G. Davidson, the man behind Harley-Davidson design since 1963, was also the driving force on the company’s museum advisory board. MILWAUKEE — One hundred and five years after creating a legendary motorcycle brand, Harley-Davidson has finally—finally—opened the doors to its much anticipated museum. And after spending the day at the grand opening this weekend, we can say it’s been worth the very long wait....
Media Platforms Design TeamOn-Sale Date: November in the U.K.; 2012 for Asian markets Price: $80,000 to $135,000 Competitors: Audi A6 Avant, BMW M5 wagonPowertrains: CLS 350 CDI: 3-liter V-6 turbodiesel, 204 hp, 457 lb-ft; CLS 500: 4.6-liter V-8, 408 hp, 443 lb-ft; CLS 63 AMG: 5.4-liter, 557 hp, 531 lb-ft; seven-speed automatic; 4Matic AWD available on CLS 500EPA Fuel Economy (city/hwy): N/AWhat’s New: Shooting brakes derive their name from the carriages used to break in difficult horses back in the 19th century....
It’s become impossible to ignore the surge of ridesharing options in our nation’s cities. Now flocks of little black Bird scooters (along with scooters by other companies) are zipping around some of the U.S.’s biggest cities.Sharable electric scooters are the latest entrants to an ever-growing ridesharing community that’s seeking to revolutionize the way we get around cities. But these scooters, like the Ubers and Lyfts that came before them, are meeting their own share of controversy....
Media Platforms Design TeamAfter Air France flight 447 disappeared off the Brazilian coast shortly after takeoff on the night of May 31, 2009, French aviation authorities were keen to find out what had gone wrong. To do that, they needed to find the wreckage, especially the plane’s flight data recorders (black boxes). The only problem: The impact site was unknown.To narrow the search, the Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses pour la Sécurité de l’Aviation Civile (BEA) called upon oceanographic experts from 11 institutes around the world to assess where the wreckage most likely lay, based on ocean currents and on the final position that the plane’s navigation computer had automatically broadcast....
