Eye of the sky

And if you want to know even more about the eye of the sky, here the world's biggest one:


Image source: eso.org

»»» http://www.eso.org/public/videos/elttrailer/

Robot telescope TRAPPIST

Observe comets and stars per remote control

A cooperative project of the Liège university and the Swiss Observatoire de Genève putthe TRAPPIST telescope into operation in June 2010. The new robot-driven telescope controlled from Liège has started its observation operation at the La Silla observatory of the ESO in Chile. The “TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope”, TRAPPIST for short, is devoted to the study of planetary systems: On the one hand side it will analyse comets on their orbits around the sun and on the other hand it will prove the existence of planets outside our solar system (exoplanets) and determine their characteristics.


Image source: eso.org

Goal of the project

“The two objectives of our project are part of a growing interdisciplinary field of research: astrobiology which examines the origin and distribution of life in space", explains Michaël Gillon who is responsible for examining exoplanets at TRAPPIST.

The telescope is a light construction that is operated by a robot. The diameter of the mirror is 60 cm.

Here some more information about Trappist:

»»» http://arachnos.astro.ulg.ac.be/

Airbus A380

Arrival ILA 2010 in Berlin

The latest model that can fly

The ILA 2010, at 101 years the oldest aircraft show in the world, was a complete success:

Dietmar Schrick, President of the BDLI, believes that the world’s oldest aviation and space show is in a stronger position than ever in 2010: “On the basis of the business conducted during this year’s show the ILA has again established itself as a top-ranking international aerospace event. In 2010 we have been able to record the single biggest order ever achieved at any aerospace anywhere in the world. The enormous growth in almost all sections of this event confirms the strength of the underlying concept, and the ILA 2010 has set new standards.”

(Source: http://www.ila-berlin.de/ila2010/presse/presse_volltext_e.cfm?id_nr=178)

OK, someone or another took it a bit easier:


Here some more photos: »»» http://www.ila-berlin.de/ila2010/presse/fotos2010_e.cfm

And here: »»» http://www.flickr.com/photos/astirn/sets/72157624203450151/

No run-off-the-mill family car

Have you ever wanted to make a family trip in an environmentally-friendly and comfortable way? Here is the suitable and even quite nice-looking car:



Even if “Tesla Motors is the drama queen of the auto industry”, technology and design are the best advocates: “But if you can look beyond the company’s histrionics—lawsuits, financial struggles, exaggerated promises, repeated delays, and inflated egos—the brilliance of its vehicle design shines through. So far, the best example of its ingenuity is the Tesla Model S—a bright vision of what a practical and desirable all-electric sedan should and might be.”

Interested in more details?
»»» http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Model_S

OK, there's a catch to the nice hot rod, however (sales will not start before 2011), but otherwise there is a lot of anticipation:
“The Model S is shaping up to be a proper cracker. First off, just look at it. Not bad for an upstart company, eh?”
(Source: http://www.topgear.com/au/car-news/tesla-model-s-2009-03-31)
“So there you have it … the future starts now.”
(Source: http://www.automoblog.net/2009/03/27/tesla-model-s-revealed/)
“The Model S is a bright vision of what a practical and desirable all-electric sedan could be. Tesla set a big goal for itself to deliver on all that it has promised.” (Source: http://www.plugincars.com/tesla-model-s)

Charles Babbage developed the first plans for the difference engine in 1821:

Babbage developed two mechanical calculators, the difference engine and the analytical engine. During his lifetime he could, however, not build a functional engine but the latter served as the predecessor of the modern computer. His interests and activities reach far beyond pioneering work in this field.

(Source: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Babbage#Wissenschaftliches_Werk)

More details on Charles Babbage

Who...

... invented the predecessor of the computer?

And what did he call them?

I am

Nikola Tesla.

This formula results in the physical entity of the magnetic flux density named after the Croatian Nikola Tesla since 1960.

Further information:

»»» http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_(unit)

Veeeery interesting:

»»» http://www.pbs.org/tesla/index.html

Suitable for hobby inventors, tinkerers and "Did you know that..." questions.

What is it?

World surveillance map

A student delivers criticism.... and in a very imaginative way for that:

Raul Mandru originates from Romania and came to study at the FH in Dortmund. There he graduated in design and he presented the world surveillance map 2008 as his diploma thesis. He did not only win the reddot design award but also his first job as an Art Director at Ogilvy in Düsseldorf.

"The world surveillance map is a great example of transforming social criticism into a piece of art. Raul Mandru links the essential subjects we are dealing with in our social structural change: culture, technology, education and also democracy." Prof. Dieter Gorny, Art Director "Creative Industries" of RUHR.2010 GmbH.



"This thesis has picked up a very interesting topic relevant for society and implemented it on a high design level." Prof. Kurt Mehnert, President of Folkwang Hochschule Essen.

Raul Mandru deals with the issues of 'souss-veillance', an important topic of our forum about the new industrial world. Vincent Puig, Centre Pompidou Paris.

See for yourself:

»»» http://www.mandru.de/map/

»»» http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=210781959040