Ralph Roberts

Huge camera sensor can photograph the sun and stars in daylight … Dvice – "Spectral Instruments' 95 x 95mm image sensor is usually reserved for space telescopes and not for regularly grumpy photographers to fool around with. Mechanical engineer Zeke is making an ambitious bid for your dollar. In the video below, Zeke shows off the 112-megapixel 1100-series camera that shoots only in black and white. The beauty to the camera is that it can expose images for hours. …" more: http://dvice.com/archives/2012/05/huge-camera-sen.php

19-year-old invents spacecraft propulsion device … Dvice.com – "A woman named Aisha Mustafa has invented a propulsion device that could result in cheaper means of energy consumption for spacecrafts. Oh yeah, and she's a 19-year-old college student. The Egyptian university student at Sohag University invented a propulsion device that eschews the radioactive-based jet and rocket engine set-up for quantum physics and chemical reactions. You know, like most teenagers.The device generates energy from electric energy by using the Casimir-polder force, the energy that occurs between separate surfaces and objects in a vacuum. This could be a huge improvement over rocket-fuel based models …" http://dvice.com/archives/2012/05/19-year-old-inv.php

19-year-old invents spacecraft propulsion device … Dvice.com – "A woman named Aisha Mustafa has invented a propulsion device that could result in cheaper means of energy consumption for spacecrafts. Oh yeah, and she's a 19-year-old college student. The Egyptian university student at Sohag University invented a propulsion device that eschews the radioactive-based jet and rocket engine set-up for quantum physics and chemical reactions. You know, like most teenagers.The device generates energy from electric energy by using the Casimir-polder force, the energy that occurs between separate surfaces and objects in a vacuum. This could be a huge improvement over rocket-fuel based models …" http://dvice.com/archives/2012/05/19-year-old-inv.php

Eastern Front World War I, 1914-17 … English Russia below: German bakers on the Eastern Front in 1914 carrying bread … lots of photos of both German and Russian sides*: http://englishrussia.com/2012/05/17/at-the-eastern-front-of-wwi-1914-17/

20 Incredible Photos of Lighthouses Illuminating the Night … Environmental Graffiti – 10. – "This mysterious and rather spooky image shows Moose Peak Lighthouse on the (rather amusingly named) Mistake Island in Maine. Though the light station here was established in 1826, the 57-foot (17.5 m) tall tower didn’t get built until 1851. While the picturesque lighthouse is sadly not open to the public, boat trips to the surrounding area can still give you a great view of the 160-year-old building. …" see all 20: http://bit.ly/JFW2FV

Lawless Rocket electric drag bike does quarter mile in 6.94 seconds, breaks 200 mph … GizMag – "Top motorcycle drag racer Larry "Spiderman" McBride has entered the record books once again by piloting the Lawless Electric Rocket to a National Electric Drag Racing Association record run of 6.94 seconds at 201.37 mph (324 km/h) over a quarter mile (402 meters) from a standing start. While the electric drag bike looks monstrous when posing for the cameras, it's simply jaw-dropping when on the move – as you can see from the video after the jump. …" more incl. video: http://www.gizmag.com/lawless-rocket-occ-electric-drag-bike-speed-record/22584/

Wavegarden takes surfing inland … GizMag – "Imagine you're hundreds of miles from the sea – you climb over a grassy hill and come upon a lake with perfect surf just waiting for you and your board. Spanish engineering firm Instant Sport is setting about making this scenario a reality with its custom-built Wavegarden. While artificial waves are far from new, engineer Josema Odriozola and sports economist Karin Frisch claim that their brainchild can bring an ocean-like break to land-locked surfers, body boarders and kayakers alike using less energy than any other existing wave generator to date. …" more: http://www.gizmag.com/wavegarden-surfing-inland/22582/

The Nazi BV 141: The Most Asymmetrical Aircraft Ever Made … Environmental Graffiti – "The German air force, or Luftwaffe, was known for many innovative aircraft designs. They fielded the first rocket-powered and the first jet-engined planes, not to mention the first cruise missile. … one design stood out from all the rest as probably the most asymmetrical airplane ever made.It was designed by Blohm & Voss … In response to a requirement for a tactical reconnaissance aircraft, the company … decided to place the engine and tailplane on one centerline, while positioning the pilot and crew in a pod off to the side. Although this gave the aircraft an ungainly looking appearance, the plane fulfilled the tactical recon role very nicely. …" more: http://bit.ly/JrPpCu

Architects transform submarine into a bar … GizMag – "Two hundred and fifty years ago, brewer Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease for his St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin, Ireland. To commemorate this event, the Guinness company could have rolled out a stretch limousine, but it decided to go one better by launching a “deep-sea bar” in the chilly waters of the Baltic off Stockholm, Sweden. Designed by London-based Jump Studios, the modified tourist submarine was commissioned as part of the Guinness Sea Experience competition, that included an underwater trip inside the Guinness sub as a prize. …" more: http://www.gizmag.com/guiness-submarine-bar/22552/

*RP FLIP, the Strangest Ship in the World … Amusing Planet – "he U.S. Office of Naval Research owns a very strange piece of oceanographic equipment. It’s called the FLoating Instrument Platform (FLIP) … FLIP is 355 feet (108 meters) long with small quarters at the front and a long hollow ballast at the end. When the tanks are filled with air, FLIP floats in its horizontal position. But when they are filled with seawater the lower 300 feet of FLIP sinks under the water and the lighter end rises. … Most rooms on FLIP have two doors; one to use when horizontal, the other when FLIP is vertical. Some of FLIP's furnishings are built so they can rotate to a new position as FLIP flips. Other equipment must be unbolted and moved. …" more: http://bit.ly/M4x5Tt