Less than 24 hours after its creation, the Double Fine Adventure Kickstarter drive has broken the $1 million mark. More »

from Kotaku

“You bought this massive Lego Star Destroyer with your very own hard earned money and you have the GALL to tell me you are starting without me??”

I promptly invade his home and insisted that I be a part of this massive undertaking.

Let me tell you. This is not a task for the easily distracted. Or Poor. The commitment to build the Lego Super Star Destroyer is a commitment not easily broken. Once you open that telephone book of instructions to this incredibly detailed 50 inch (1.27 meters) Lego masterpiece, you better have a lot of time on your hands.

Tran, Ken and I set out to build this set while our better halves decreased Tran’s wine reserves.

The Display Title with statistics.

Thanks again to Tran, who let me share in this amazing day of Lego building.

Lego Death Star is next on the list!

 
from Geeks are Sexy Technology News

Scientists at Stanford are hard at work trying to improve the efficiency and durability of solar panels– two key factors that have kept the Sun from becoming a more popular source of energy. Their latest effort involves nanocrystalline-silicon, a material that has proven resilient and highly conductive, but not very good at absorbing light. Their solution, nanoshells — hollowed out spheres of silicon that trap and recirculate light much like a whispering gallery does sound. Balls of the crystalline material are dipped in silicon, then hydrofluoric acid is used to eat way the center of the sphere, leaving a path for light to enter. The shells trap the light, allowing more of it to be absorbed, and also reduces the effect of non-optimal angles on energy production. Hit up the source for a few more details.

from Engadget

The Lightning GT all-electric supercar has been inching its way towards production for years now. The last time we talked about itwas November 2010, but it’s back thanks to Translogic.

The video series from our colleagues at AOL Autos took a trip to Europe and managed to score the very first drive of the Lightning GT before anyone else. Not even Top Gear has sat in this thing and it’s being developed in their backyard.

The specs for the car as they stand today are 400 horsepower from its electric motor powering the rear wheels for a 0-60 time of around 4.5 seconds and a maximum range of 150 miles. The folks behind the Lightning GT even claim that their lithium-titanate batteries (sourced from the U.S.) can be recharged in just 10 minutes when paired with a big daddy ultra powerful off-board charger.

Bold claims for sure, and we’d likely describe the Lightning GT as vaporware if Translogic didn’t just drive it. Drive it they did, though, so follow the jumpto watch Translogic host Bradley Hasemeyer be the first to put foot to floor in the Lightning GT.

Continue reading Translogic visits Europe, first to drive the Lightning GT

from Autoblog

from New Scientist – Online News