In many parts of the world – particularly developing nations, where air conditioning isn’t practical or affordable – people paint buildings’ roofs white in order to reflect sunlight and thus keep those buildings cooler. It’s an approach known as passive daytime radiative cooling, and a new paint-like polymer could make it more effective than ever. The problem with conventional white […]
Polymer Coating To Reflect Sunlight
A New Life For Rubber Tires
Arielle Assouline-Lichten had her eureka moment when she was sitting at her desk, staring at a piece of recycled rubber. The material was intended to line the floor of a gym her architecture firm was designing, but Assouline-Lichten thought it could be something else. A coaster. Or maybe even a table. She began sketching out prototypes and pretty soon, Slash […]
Fitbit For Alcohol
Did you recently find yourself in front of your computer at some ungodly hour, maxing out your credit card buying multiples of every new Apple device. There are two possible options: Either you’re a massive fan with a whole lot of disposable income or you were very drunk. If it’s the latter, you might want the join the line for […]
Cargo Camp
The modern camper market has a dizzying array of complex, ornately-finished motorhomes and caravans that try to recreate the comfort of home … bringing much of the price of that home along with them. But what if you want to get away from all that and just enjoy the outdoors, without remortgaging your house? A tent is still an obvious […]
Norway The First To Ban Deforestation
Norway just became the first country in the world to ban deforestation, a groundbreaking move that could have a major global impact. By committing to zero deforestation, this means Norwegian lawmakers will not award any government contracts to companies that take part in clear-cutting of trees. The pledge was made in the Recommendation of the Norwegian parliament’s Standing Committee on […]
Can Salt Be A Potential Replacement
For some time now, scientists have eyed cheap and widely abundant salt as a potential replacement for lithium in batteries that power everything from laptops to cars. While these experimental sodium-ion batteries continue to show promise, there are a few kinks to be ironed out before we see them become commonplace. Researchers at Purdue University are claiming to have overcome […]
Siren On Cyclists’ Bars
Cars are equipped with loud electric horns, not little bells, as are motorcycles. So, why isn’t this the case with bicycles that get ridden in traffic? That’s the thinking behind Sonic Grip, which packs a 100-decibel siren into a bike’s handlebar grips. Created by Australian cyclist Steve Brkic, the Sonic Grip package consists of two 130 mm-long rubber-encased grips which […]
Turntable Combines Analog Heart With Digital Brains
] The owners of the Vinylicious record store in Singapore have been listening to customers complain about the shortcomings of turntables for a number of years and recently decided it was time these niggles were addressed. Their answer is the Zephyr Apollo, a belt-drive turntable with a linear tracking tonearm, touchscreen control, the ability to skip tracks and the chance […]
Stackable Speakers
Wireless speakers are not exactly uncommon nowadays, so manufacturers have to offer something a little different to stand out from the crowd. On its own, the Ai-2 from Soundots looks to be similar to rectangular audio throwers from the likes of Bose and Harman. But this system is modular in nature, meaning that you can put two or more together […]
Brush Your Teeth Faster With This
Looking after your teeth used to be hella time-consuming. That’s all changing here in 2018, thanks to new technology. Recently we wrote about an app that lets you get your regularly scheduled dental checkup simply by snapping a quick selfie. Now the creators of a new toothbrush, the EZ Teethbrush (sic), want to vastly reduce the amount of time it […]