The UK is betting on lasers for drone defense, investing $100 million in the technology.
Facebook Is About to Start Testing Its Internet Drone
Aquila, Facebook’s internet-beaming drone, is complete and ready for testing. Jay Parikh, VP of Global Engineering and Infrastructure, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg just pulled the cover off the device, which is carbon-fiber framed and solar-powered. Aquila has the wingspan of…
Real Genius? Adam Sandler, NBC to Reboot 80s Flick as TV Comedy
It won’t star Val Kilmer and it may not focus on lasers, but NBC is reportedly set to reboot the 1985 cult hit Real Genius for the modern age. Deadline reports that Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions, 3 Arts Entertainment,…
Pointing Lasers at Aircraft Is a Pretty Bad Way to Cure Boredom
You’ve probably seen those posters, plastered across middle schools everywhere, advertising fun things to do instead of doing drugs. You know, fly a kite; read a book; bake a cake! All of these things also stand in for things to…
People Pointing Lasers at Airplanes Is Such a Problem That the FBI Is Offering a $10,000 Reward for Info
Who knew that so many people were pointing lasers at airplanes? Since 2012, pointing lasers at airplanes (or as the Federal Bureau of Investigation calls it “lasing aircraft”) is a federal offense punishable by up to five years in prison.…
Cellulite Treatments: What Works And What Doesn’t
Cellulite, a term for lumpy and dimpled skin around the thighs, hips, buttocks, and abdomen, can be a cause of distress when it appears. Although cellulite isn’t a serious medical condition and is just caused by normal fat pushing against…
This Robot Has Its Very Own Death Laser
After years of appearing in science fiction, lasers that can actually cause harm to humans are finally small enough to be held. Now one laser aficionado has combined two sci-fi nightmares into one by giving a robot a laser. In…
DARPA Just Spent $26M… On Anti-Missile Laser Beam
According to an article in Military & Aerospace Electronics, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has given a total of $26 million in contracts to two U.S. defense companies to research a more efficient anti-missile defense system. Northrop Grumman’s…
LADEE’s Laser Sets Space Download Record
NASA has revealed that its Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) set a record for transmitting data from the moon to Earth. The record was set on October 18, when the device transmitted data to Earth at 622 Mbps – six…
This “Homemade Lightsaber” Is As Close As You’re Gonna Get To The Real Thing
Even if you don’t like Star Wars, you have to admit that lightsabers are awesome. The expanded universe sought to explain lightsabers as pseudo-magic crystals that emit light beams, but it really is just a powerful laser. That powerful laser…
Space Laser Could Detect Counterfeit Foods, Past Life on Mars
The European Space Agency (ESA) today revealed that a laser developed to measure carbon on Mars could soon be used to detect counterfeit food. The device, called a laser isotope ratio-meter, was developed from bulkier laser techniques that needed samples…
US Army Trying To Harness Weapons Grade Lightning
Zeus may have had it right after all. The god of thunder uses lightning to strike his opponents down and now the United States Army is trying to harness the power of lightning for its own purposes. They are experimenting…
Laser Sash Helps Visibly Define Your Personal Space
Some people are touchier about their personal space than others. Take me, for example. I like to think that I’m a fairly nice guy — no snarky comments from the peanut gallery, please — and I’m pretty personable once you…
Sharks With Frickin’ Laser Beams Attached to Their Frickin’ Heads
Marine Bioligist Luke Tipple has finally done what Number 2 never could, provide us with sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads. The project was sponsored by Wicked Lasers, a consumer laser manufacturer in Hong Kong, that keeps…
Lasers Remove Ink From Paper
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have successfully used lasers to remove toner from paper, without causing any significant damage to the sheet. Julian Allwood, leader of the Low Carbon Materials Processing Group at Cambridge, and doctoral student David Leal-Ayala…