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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.
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!
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