A group of UC Berkeley scientists, led by Xiang Zhang, and funded by the military, recently published an experiment in the scientific journals, Nature and Science, whereby the metamaterials they created proved capable of bending light in three dimensions, thereby rendering an object invisible. The experiments were carried out on a nanoscale but the scientists said there’s no reason why larger items such as people, cars, tanks and tankers, couldn’t be made invisible as well. The fact that this research was funded by the military means there’s little chance such materials will trickle down to civilian applications. However, if you’re a communist dictator and want to buy nuclear know-how, get in touch with this man.
Sources: AFP via DiscoveryNews, Nature, Science, Howstuffworks, beconfused, BBC
Image: tvcrazy.net
Watch the video and decide for yourself. The witnesses got the cars wrong, and the SUV/trailer appears to have lost control before the Gumballers passed. My gut tells me that the 2008 Gumball 3000 cars nearby probably weren’t the cause of the jack-knifed SUV/trailer accident seen in the right lane above.
According to TheNewspaper, Arizona will soon have the largest speed- and red-light camera network of any state in the US, and in preparation for the increase in rear-end collisions caused by drivers panic-braking before red lights to avoid tickets, the state has set aside $500K to fit police cars with fire-suppression kits. The Peoria, AZ police department thinks that rear-end collisions are a lesser evil compared to the 90-degree collisions caused by red-light running. If Pinto-esque exploding gas tanks aren’t much to worry about, then why the fire-suppresion kits? And why doesn’t Ford fix the problem?
If you’re caught speeding in Holly Springs, Georgia, expect to pay an extra $12 surcharge to cover the cost of the police department’s gas bills. The city’s police chief, Ken Ball, said he got the idea after hearing about airlines, florists and pizza shops tacking on surcharges to cover the spike in fuel prices. Ball said he’s been inundated with calls from other police departments and city managers, so this surcharge cancer might be spreading. Atlanta just approved a similar bill that’s awaiting the mayor’s signature.
Talk about target marketing, you’ve gotta give this dealership in Butler, Missouri, some credit for knowing their customers. They’re offering a free gun to anyone who buys a new car. So, in exchange for signing your life away for 4 or 5 years of car payments, you get a gun worth a couple hundred dollars. Makes sense (in a logically-incompatible, parallel universe). We hear the gas station down the street is offering free bullets, instead of free car washes, for customers who buy more than 10 gallons of gas. Coincidentally, or not, the city of Butler saw a rapid increase of STOP signs perforated by small arms fire shortly after the dealership announced the offer. No word yet on who’s offering bullet-proof vests.
