Science!

Well, with my parents in town this weekend, I haven't spent a lot of time blogging. I'll probably post a catch-up of all the exciting things I've done tomorrow. Today, I wanted to share with you the wonders of the scientific world.

I'm a total gadget nerd. I honestly read three separate gadget blogs on a daily basis (checking each multiple times). For the record, they are: Engadget, Gizmodo, and TUAW (the Unofficial Apple Weblog). I can't get enough of them. I want to know exactly what the cutting edge is so I can plan for my future wealth. Do I need to read 70 posts about various things happening to the iPhone? No. But do I want to? You better believe it. Sometimes, these blogs step away from the latest handheld media players and high-def TVs and talk about some real science. Two such posts caught my eye this week:

Today, on Engadget, I read about a guy who has using a radio-wave generator to desalinate water using radio frequencies. Sounds pretty boring, right? Well, he noticed some little flashes in the water and within a few days he was burning tubes of saltwater like candles. Burning water hot enough to melt the test tubes. As with all science that no one has thought of before, everyone else in the scientific community thought he was making it up. But, another separate scientist just held a demonstration proving that it is indeed...Science! What's this mean? Possibly a new form of fuel...using salt water. Sounds a bit better than oil, no? Follow the link above to see a news report on the demonstration. I don't know why this is exciting me so much, but it is.

Yesterday, I saw a report about a company called Ambient that has developed a wheelchair that is controlled by your mind. You read that correctly, it's a telepathic wheelchair. Basically, the person wears a sensor on their neck, and when they think about certain words, the sensor can read the words from the larynx through the skin. So, think about saying "left," and the chair goes left. I can't help but think of Professor Xavier from the X-Men when I hear this. That guy made being in a wheelchair seem almost cool and this just brings that closer to reality. Read about the demonstration and peep a video here. This isn't as potentially world-changing as burning the most abundant element on earth as fuel (by the way, the water apparently doesn't burn, so it doesn't even really waste water), but it's still pretty damn cool. Already I'm imagining myself sitting in a robotic cyborg chair, arching my brow menacingly and thinking, "Smite my enemies!" You'll all say I'm mad, but I'll show you! Mwuahahahahah!