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3D Animations In Mid-Air Using Plasma Balls
An anonymous reader clues us to research at Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology that has produced the ability to make animations by creating small plasma balls in mid-air. The technology doesn't use vapor or strange gases, just lasers to heat up oxygen and nitrogen molecules above the device: up to 1,000 brilliant dots per second, which makes smooth motion possible. When the tech improves it could be used for street signs or advertising.
Hah, who sees an amazing technology like this and immediately begins thinking about its potential use for advertising? To me, its use in advertising seems like the only downside to this technology..
"Guys!! I just heard that they came up with a way to project images directly in to your brain! Awesome, think of the *commercials*!! "
"'Yrch!' said Legolas, falling into his own tongue."
Forget it, that's not the early adopters.
It'll be used for video games and pr0n. We all know who gets tech first. The problem I see is that it heats up they air to the point that when you get too excited and attempt to touch... You loose a hand or other appendage.
Do not meddle in the affairs of sysadmins, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
Make me a portable version of this and I can finally have my friken LIGHTSABER!
Do Or Do Not, There Is No Spoon, There Is Only Zuul. Everything in the above post is probably opinion.
As much as I like the idea of being assailed with even more ads everywhere I look, this seems to be a very environmentally harmful idea. Along with harmful gases being produced by plasma discharges, it would be noisy as well, not to mention that displays like this would give off UV light as well, just like an electric arc. Bad idea.
When you heat up an oxygen-nitrogen gas mix to those temperatures, you will get nitrous oxide and ozone. This is not just a problem with cool little sparky devices. Hydrogen-oxygen fuel systems (think: Saturn V) may produce only water vapor, but at such a high temperature from the exhaust, the oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere does its thing and... nothing you'd want to breathe.
And ozone, while very nice for blocking UV rays, is a carcinogen when inhaled.
THE WORLD WILL KILL YOU! film at eleven, Jim Cummings narration.
That being said, I'd certainly love to see a demo. If they can somehow deal with the ozone/NO2 hazard, this could be a blast. "Help me, Obi-Wan, you're my only hope"
Everybody gets what the majority deserves.
Informative? You people are sick. And I mean that in a good way.
...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.
Simple psychology: by showing that they are crap in photoshopping, you are more inclined to believe the other other pics that don't look photoshopped will probably be real. Do we need to explain everything out here! ;)
molmod.com - computing tips from a molecular modeling
Balls/spheres aren't stable enough. You have to go to higher geometries, like toroids.
not going to happen... they'd rather use the tech to pound you with advertising than actually doing something useful.
The propane tank is used to generate CO2 (queue global warming rants here). Mosquitos are attracted to CO2 because that is how they locate their prey. When they fly close enough, then the vacuum cleaner comes into play. Zapping them is no good because they don't like ozone (so the plasma ball suggested elsewhere would not attract mosquitos - it would kill lots of moths, however). To be effective in protecting your event, the CO2 generator needs to be upwind. Mosquitos follow CO2 plumes upwind toward their victims using biotech similar to lobsters (compare the concentration detected between two antenna and turn toward the stronger, the greater the difference, the greater the adjustment - simple and effective). Those downwind of the BBQ will likely head toward that instead, so put the BBQ off to one side relative to the breeze.
And space is one of the things needed for a space elevator!
Send email from the afterlife! Write your e-will at Dead Man's Switch.
Hell, you'd probably fool non-"primitives" too.
I always wanted to make one of these! Passive sonar to locate the bug, and then a laser tracking system to set the little bugger on fire. :) Never got past the safety aspect though - I mean, we're talking about using a laser strong enough to punch a hole in a mozzie, being aimed around the room and fired by a system that could well just decide based on a strange echo to pop you in the eye. I'll take itchy over permanent blindness, tyvm. :/
;)
Other ideas were the same tracking system attached to a nerf gun, an automated micro-water-jet system (think an archer fish), or even something funky with focussed sound waves and constructive interference.
Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
hmm... Another thing that might work could be to have multiple sources for the energy.. (i'm no laser expert :)
:)
But my idea, have a system with maybe 20-30 lasers that all focus their low-power beams on a single point. 10x20mW lasers should(?) have a total effect of 200mW, but ofcourse if you hit different parts of the bug it will probably not have any effect on the bug itself... Maybe put 10 lasers in a row instead of all around the room could make it a bit easier to hit the same spot, but then again, if the system thought your eye where a mosquito...