How heavy is a plastic bag? Not very heavy at all, but in order to use a plastic bag to help me karate chop a thin wooden stick, I don't need weight—I need air pressure. Below, the "Quick Clip" demonstrates the power of air pressure via the vacuum created between a plastic bag and the countertop.
Mixing water and electricity is extremely risky and potentially lethal, yet that's exactly what I did with the Scariac. In its simplest form, the Scariac is just a glorified version of two wires in a bucket of water, but it's actually one of the cheapest power controllers you can make.
Thought I would cross-post a piece I did a while ago.
What Is Ferrofluid? Ferrofluid is a black, solvent-based liquid, that, in the presence of a magnetic field, becomes strongly magnetized. The fluid is made up of nanomagnetic particles coated with an "anti-stick" or surfactant compound, suspended in a "carrier", commonly an organic solvent. For mechanical applications, it is used in hard drives and speakers as a lubricant. However, it also has been implemented in artwork, as seen in the video below.
Sodium (chemical symbol Na) is an interesting element. It reacts in contact with both oxygen and water, and several sodium salts are used to produce a yellow color in fireworks.
In most macOS hacks, a non-root terminal is used to create a backdoor into the device. A lot of damage can be done as a low-privileged user, but it has its limitations. Think twice before granting a file permission to execute — an attacker might be able to convert your harmless scripts into persistent root backdoors.
When it comes to your security, you want the best of the best. Why settle for mediocre service with something as valuable as your protection? Malware continues to make its way onto the Play Store, leaving millions of devices vulnerable. You need an app that will shield your devices from both the latest malware threats and threats nearby. And when it comes to antivirus apps, there is only one choice.
During the millions of years they've been on earth horseshoe crabs have developed a trick that can save our lives even now — and may be especially useful in the fight against healthcare-associated infections.
Like humans, cats can suffer infections caused by ticks, and too often, the disease is fatal. Learn about tickborne diseases that affect cats and what you can do to protect Fluffy from an untimely demise.
Think of the coolest, most unique way to create art that you can. Got it? Now think about creating that art out of living things.
Bacteriotherapy sounds a lot more amenable of a term than "fecal transplant," yet they're both treatments that use bacteria itself to cure or treat infections. Fecal transplants, specifically, are an up-and-coming treatment option for a potentially deadly and difficult-to-treat diarrheal infection called Clostridium difficile.
To much of the United States, Zika seems like a tropical disease that causes horrible problems in other countries but is nothing to be worried about stateside. It may make you rethink your beach vacation abroad, but not much more than that. However, if you live in Florida or Texas, the possibility of getting a Zika infection where you live is real — and local outbreaks are more and more a possibility.
I'm starting to wonder if the people at Boston Dynamics have ever watched a Terminator movie. Not just because the robotics company with the oxymoronic name develops machines that are able to move around environments with animal- and human-like agility, but because the people testing them seem to take such joy in openly antagonizing their creations. It's one thing to tempt fate by creating superhuman robots that could potentially end mankind. You've reached a whole new level of hubris when yo...
Last time, I showed how to start putting together an AC arc welder from scavenged microwave parts, focusing on the transformer modifications. Now, I'll show you how to finish up your DIY stick welding machine by fixing up the electrical system and performing the finishing touches.
This is a refreshing spring update on your classic hamburger slider. Instead of using a ground beef patty, I am using shrimp tempura. This recipe calls for fresh truffles, but fresh truffles are hard to come by so feel free to use truffle oil (it is much more affordable and what I usually like to use). The flavor will be just as good.
Your social security number, credit card information, and medical history can fall into the wrong hands if you're not careful about how and where you share your data online. If you really care about your data, there are tools and techniques you can utilize to protect yourself from cyberstalkers, advertisers, and hackers in a time when digital lives are a high commodity.
If you've gone anywhere near a television in the US in the last 48 hours, you've probably seen some of the reports of Hurricane Florence and its devastating wind and rain making its way toward the Carolina coast.
On Thursday, Osterhout Design Group (ODG) revealed a new, specially-crafted oxygen mask that uses the same augmented reality technology from its smartglasses to assist FedEx Express pilots navigating dangerous conditions.
As smartphone users, we live in dangerous times. The value of phones continues to rise, making them prime targets for thieves. In 2015, the FCC estimated that one million phones are stolen each year, and with several devices starting to hit the $1,000 mark now, these numbers are sure to rise. But what do you do if you fall victim to phone theft?
Apple announced upcoming changes today to prevent third-party tracking of users and prevent autoplay, on Safari. Safari will prevent the recording (by anyone other than Apple) of users' browsing behavior, and by doing so prevent advertisers from targeting ads based on individuals' history.
A proof of concept for an overhead crane training simulator is in the works. Using Microsoft HoloLens and an industrial-style controller, trainees can pick up holographic loads and transport them throughout a warehouse setting.
Lightning is scary and powerful, yet when harnessed correctly, it can become a beautiful pattern for hand-crafted wooden furniture. Muchd like Zeus in ancient mythology, Canadian Woodworks is harnessing the power and beauty of lightning, but they're doing it for aesthetic purposes.
As first reported by Korean media outlet Yonhap News Agency, Samsung has issued a global recall for all of its Galaxy Note7 models (except China, it seems). This unprecedented move will surely do serious damage to the Note brand, and even Samsung itself.
We've seen plenty of good, bad, and weird things that have come out of the worldwide augmented reality game Pokémon GO, including murder and location-based bans, but nothing on a large scale. That was, of course, until Iran decided to ban the game country-wide.
Do I really need to tell you that it's a bad idea to play Pokémon GO while you're driving? I really hope it's not necessary, but just in case it is, here you go: It's a bad idea to play Pokémon GO while you're driving.
While flying isn't easy, once an airplane gets into the clouds there isn't a whole lot to worry about—most of the work happens during takeoff and landing. Helicopter pilots, on the other hand, have a lot of dangerous obstacles (like power lines and buildings) to contend with. But, once again, augmented reality can save the day.
If you're a fan of the Metal Gear video game series, an obvious Halloween costume choice would be Solid Snake, the protagonist of nearly all of the games. However, an even better option would be Big Boss, aka John, Ishmael, Vic Boss, The Man Who Sold the World, and Naked Snake, among many other aliases. He's was once a good man, but better known as the nemesis to Solid Snake. The below costume by YouTube user Erick Zeros showcases Naked Snake in his good era, in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eate...
Windows 10 makes it a cinch to change the lock screen background: simply go to Setting -> Personalization -> Lock screen, then change the background to whatever you'd like. But, trying to change the login screen background—the screen where you enter your password—was a long, complicated, and possibly dangerous process. Luckily, developer Krutonium has published a tool that automates the entire process, and it's very easy to use.
Do not point this gun to other! Kids SHOULD NOT use the darts in this tutorial as the ammunition, you should only use soft things like the cotton head of the ear-cleaner stick!
Android's deeply customizable platform has long been the attraction for those of us looking to make our smartphones more unique, but that doesn't mean that it's always easy. Flashing mods and installing custom ROMs can be difficult at times, as well as dangerous.
Just about everyone I know has broken a phone at least once in their life. It's almost inevitable considering we carry them everywhere we go, but that doesn't make it any less irritating. A cracked screen is difficult to read and can actually be a little dangerous if there are loose pieces of glass. Simon, a designer and producer over at Sugru, came up with a quick fix that'll help hold your screen together in the meantime until you can get it fixed properly. He figured out that a paper-thin ...
A lot of my hacks use salvaged parts from an old microwave, with the microwave oven transformer (MOT) being the most useful component.
Instagram's controversial terms of service update this past month has spurred an onslaught of dismay and anger from users of the popular photo-sharing social network. The specific set of the new terms that set off this firestorm basically said that businesses could use your uploaded photos for advertisement, without you receiving any of the profit.
Will the predicted apocalyptic date—December 21st, 2012—really be the end of the world? In this ongoing five-part series, we examine what would happen if zombies, nuclear weapons, cyber wars, earthquakes, or aliens actually destroyed our planet—and how you might survive.
The iPhone is probably one of the best looking phones ever made, but that beauty comes with a price. If you have a 4S or previous version, all it takes is one drop and the back glass is shattered (unless you're incredibly lucky). Replacing it yourself is pretty simple and cheap, but if you're not into DIY repairs, here's an easy alternative solution, as long as you have a white device. Redditor skrillexisokay used highlighters to transform a broken back glass into a work of art. And the best ...
For this project, I decided to rip apart a microwave I found in my neighbor's garbage can to see what was inside. With permission, of course! True story!
With gas prices constantly digging into your wallet, biking will always be a cheap and easy alternative for getting around—and it's a perfect way to get in a little exercise. But with the fall season about a week away, it is going to start getting dark a lot earlier and that ride home might be a little more dangerous. So to save yourself an unexpected trip to the ER, take a little time to make your bicycle impossible to overlook.
Old newspapers come in handy for many different uses around the house, from birdcage liners to shipping cushioning and even a little fish cooking. But for backyard rocket scientists like Markus Bindhammer, they're more suitable as an ingredient for rocket propellant.
André Broessel of rawlemon has developed a solar energy generator that can use both sun and moonlight to create usable power. Oh... and it's gorgeous. The device is essentially a huge glass sphere filled with water that uses a ball lens to refract light in a way that increases energy efficiency by 35 percent. It's completely weatherproof and has an optical tracking device, meaning that it can be incorporated into architecture. Here's a concept design of how it could be used to power buildings...
Believe it or not, it's possible to make your very own lava—if you have a furnace capable of heating up to 1,200 degrees Celsius, that is. Bob Wysocki and Jeff Karson started the Syracuse University Lava Project to study basaltic lava and give students a hands-on way (hypothetically, of course) to learn about it. Oh, and they also want to use it for art projects. Sign me up for that class! It all starts with 1.1 billion-year-old basalt gravel, which apparently anyone can buy. They put the gra...
