This engineering
marvel was the first
mounting-climbing cog
railway developed when
coal-fired dreams and steel
rails mapped the course of
civilization. The attraction
is open year-round. For
more information, go to
thecog.com.
Paper airplane
The Japan Origami Airplane
Assoc. and University of Tokyo researchers are developing
a paper aircraft that can survive a flight from the International
Space Station to Earth.
Strength and heat-resistance testing recently began on
a 31-in.-long prototype in an ultrahigh-speed wind tunnel
at the University of Tokyo’s Okashiwa campus. The
Space-Shuttle-shaped origami glider has been treated to
withstand intense heat and will be subjected to Mach 7
wind speeds (5,300 mph).
When reentering the Earth’s atmosphere, the Space
Shuttle reaches speeds to Mach 20 (over 15,200 mph) and
friction with the air heats the outer surface to extreme
temperatures. Researchers say the much-lighter origami
aircraft will come down more slowly, and is not expected
to burn up on reentry.
No launch date has been set, but Shinji Suzuki, an aerospace-
engineering professor at the University of Tokyo
says, “We hope the space-station crew will write a message
of peace on the plane before they launch it. We don’t know
where in the world the plane will land, but it would be nice
to send a message to whoever finds it.”
Blog bytes
Go to community.machinedesign.com
and check out:
Vicki Burt - Career Talk
* Women Who Tech: A TeleSummit for Women in
Technology aims to create a supportive network
for women in technology professions by giving
them an open platform to share talents, experiences,
and insights through virtual workshops and
panel discussions. Any woman with a telephone
who works in technology at a nonprofit, a political
campaign or is interested in technology is invited
to participate in this free, live event on March 31,
2008 from 11 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. EST.
* Worst employees of 2007: MSN Careers posted
a list of bad employees who crossed the line this
year and got caught. Examples include the postal
carrier who kept greeting cards for the cash, the
day-care center worker who locked a 14-month
old in the building alone, and an employee who
pushed his manager out of the way to get back
pay out of the register. These people aren’t just bad employees, they’re bad humans!
From Leland Teschler
* Stealing data from laptops with
a can of air: Turns out you can read
the contents of DRAM from a laptop
for anywhere from a few seconds to a
few minutes after the machine is off. Blasting the chips with compressed
air can slows the rate at which data
decays. Of course, you need access
to the machine either while it is on
or shortly after it has been turned off
for this scheme to work.
* The gravity-powered LED lamp: Here’s an interesting idea — The
slow fall of a mass spins a rotor
that powers 10 high-output LEDs.
A Virginia Tech student made a
lamp using this concept..