Popular Science USA 2014 01

The Dyson Hard vacuum combines powerful
suction and a wet wiping action to clean hard

floors thoroughly and efficiently. Its dual suction
channels suck up dirt from the front and
rear of the cleaner head, while its wet wipe
removes grime. All in one action.
See it work at dyson.com/dc56
Vacuums dirt.
Wipes grime.
In one action.

Contents

A
U
S
T
R
I
A
N

A
C
A
D
E
M
Y

O
F

S
C
I
E
N
C
E
S
/
E
S
A
J ANUARY 2014 D E PA R T ME N T S V O L U ME 2 8 4 N O . 1
04
From the Editor
07
Peer Review
08
Megapixels
74
FYI: Are fat people warmer
than thin people?
84
From the Archives
WHATS NEW
11
Robot building, simplified
12
The Goods: a smart smoke
alarm, and more
16
Volkswagens 261mpg car
18
Ski boots you can walk in
20
The first waterproof
interchangeable-lens camera
22
Windows that lighten or
darken on cue
HEADLINES
25
How police use social
networks to catch criminals
29
Inside an isolation
chamber for satellites
30
An at-home chocolate factory
32
In love with a robot? Youre
not alone: Spike Jonzes Her
34
Why cleaning up dust in
space is a nightmare
36
Repurposed old war bunkers
HOW 2.0
65
The worlds fastest
headfirst bicycle
68
Find fossils with a
simple sifter
70
The wrong way to use
a belt sander
72
Hack an E-ZPass to know
everywhere its scanned
54
THE TRIALS AND
TORMENTS OF
SPACE SCHOOL
What does it take to become
a citizen astronaut? POPSCI
sends its editor into a
centrifuge to find out.
By Jacob Ward
JANUARY 2014 / POPUL AR SCI ENCE / 03
Access videos, animations, and more with
the POPSCI Interactive app. Just hover your
smartphone over pages with this icon.
60
HOME IN A DAY
Alastair Parvin and the open-
source construction system
that could upend architecture.
By Rupert Goodwins
ON THE COVER
Robobee shot by Travis Rathbone
44
YEAR
IN
SCIENCE
The 20 ideas,
trends, and
breakthroughs that
will shape 2014
38
RISE OF THE INSECT
DRONES
Engineers are building tiny,
agile insect-inspired aircraft.
They may soon swarm in a
city near you.
By Adam Piore
F E AT U R E S
The Optical
Ground Station
in the Canary
Islands is at the
forefront of laser
communications
(page 44).

04 / POPUL AR SCI ENCE / JANUARY 2014
M
A
R
I
U
S

B
U
G
G
E
J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 4 / P O P U L A R S C I E N C E
From the Editor
Thank You
TOOK A JOB at
Popular Science in
2006, fresh from a
yearlong stint as a health and fitness
editor. On my first day, in a story
meeting, I confidently and casually
praised the life-extending virtues
of resveratrol, a compound found
in red wine Id been reading about
that morning, and suggested we run
a story about it. At that point, Id
mostly worked in publishing environ-
ments where the staff simply nodded
at the ideas of the highest-paid person
in the room. But no one was nodding.
Instead, they were silent.
Resveratrol is unproven, Martha
Harbison, our senior editor, told
me flatly. I opened my mouth to
speak, but she was already laying
out, in a rising voice, the rickety case
I was about to make, and then she
dismantled it point by point. Shed
seen enough hype, and damned if she
was going to foist it on our readers.
The staff of Popular Science, it
turned out, held its work to a higher
standard: yours.
Ive spent the past seven years
trying to meet that standard. Your
demand for reliable reporting means
nothing goes to print without an
exhaustive internal and external vet-
ting process. Your appetite for under-
standing how things work means we
query the inventors we profile until
they can plainly describe the guts of
their creations. And your impatience
with hype means we fight to avoid
oversimplification and dramatization
while making sure the stories we run
are universally understandable.
In pursuit of those standards, Ive
experienced amazing things first-
hand. Companies have handed me
dozens of primitive, often brilliant
prototypesphones, projectors, a
dronemonths and sometimes years
before the public saw them. Ive
I
JACOB WARD
@_jacobward_
wandered up to and into rockets,
million-dollar cars, robotic fighter
jets. This month, I discovered my
limitations via a high-G spaceflight
simulation (see page 54).
And so its difficult to say good-
bye. Im leaving Popular Science
to become the science and technol-
ogy correspondent for Al Jazeera
America, a new cable-news channel.
The central satisfaction of working
in media is the opportunity to
continually learn new things, and a
job in television offers me a world of
new things to learn. But the central
satisfaction of working at Popular
Science has been the people I
worked withand you, the people I
worked for. My consolation is that
Ill carry your standards with me
into this new role and all I do from
now on. Thank you for an incredible
seven years. And thank you, as ever,
for reading Popular Science.
The staf of POPULAR
SCIENCE, it turns out,
holds its work to a
higher standard: yours.
A new app
from Popular Science.
What did you look
like as a Neanderthal?
See for yourself the
evolutionary steps that led
from the early hominids
through to modern Homo
sapiens by mapping your
own face onto ancient
skulls discovered around
the world.
Find it in the
iTunes App Store
PROMOTION

FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SUBSCRIPTION QUESTIONS,
please use our website: www.popsci.com/cs. or you can write to POPULAR SCIENCE,
P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235
Retail Single Copy Sales: ProCirc Retail Solutions Group, Tony DiBisceglie
Editor-in-Chief Jacob Ward
Design Director Todd Detwiler
Executive Editor Cliff Ransom
Managing Editor Jill C. Shomer
E D I T O R I A L
Articles Editor Jennifer Bogo
Editorial Production Manager Felicia Pardo
Senior Editor Martha Harbison
Information Editor Katie Peek, Ph.D.
Projects Editor Dave Mosher
Senior Associate Editors Corinne Iozzio, Susannah F. Locke
Assistant Editor Amber Williams
Editorial Assistant Lindsey Kratochwill
Copy Editors Joe Mejia, Leah Zibulsky
Researchers Kaitlin Bell Barnett, Erika Villani, Lily Vosoughi
Contributing Editors Lauren Aaronson, Eric Adams, Brooke Borel,
Tom Clynes, Daniel Engber, Theodore Gray, Mike Haney, Joseph Hooper,
Preston Lerner, Gregory Mone, Rena Marie Pacella, Catherine Price,
Dave Prochnow, Jessica Snyder Sachs, Rebecca Skloot, Dawn Stover,
Elizabeth Svoboda, Kalee Thompson, Phillip Torrone, James Vlahos
Editorial Interns Kate Baggaley, Mac Irvine
A R T A N D P H O T O G R A P H Y
Photo Editor Thomas Payne
Digital Associate Art Director Michael Moreno
Junior Designer Michelle Mruk
P O P U L A R S C I E N C E . C O M
Senior Editor Paul Adams
Assistant Editors Colin Lecher, Rose Pastore
Video Producer Dan Bracaglia
Contributing Writers Kelsey D. Atherton, Francie Diep, Shaunacy Ferro
Executive Vice President Eric Zinczenko
Group Editorial Director Anthony Licata
B O N N I E R T E C H N O L O G Y G R O U P
Publisher Gregory D. Gatto
Chief Marketing Officer Elizabeth Burnham Murphy
Associate Publisher, Marketing Mike Gallic
Financial Director Tara Bisciello
Eastern Sales Director Jeff Timm
Northeast Advertising Office Margaret Kalaher, Matthew Levy
Photo Manager Sara Schiano
Ad Assistant Amanda Smyth
Midwest Managers Doug Leipprandt, Carl Benson
Ad Assistants Kelsie Phillippo, Mojdeh Zarrinnal
West Coast Account Managers Stacey Lakind, Sara Laird OShaughnessy
Ad Assistant Sam Miller-Christiansen
Detroit Managers Ed Bartley, Jeff Roberge
Ad Assistant Diane Pahl
Classified Advertising Sales Shawn Lindeman, Frank McCarey, Chip Parham
Advertising Coordinator Irene Reyes Coles
GM Digital business Development Shannon Rudd
Digital Operations Manager Rochelle Rodriguez
Digital Campaign Managers Wilber Perez, Ed Liriano
Digital Manager Elizabeth Besada
Group Sales Development Director Alex Garcia
Senior Sales Development Manager Amanda Gastelum
Sales Development Managers Charlotte Grima, Kate Gregory, Kelly Martin
Marketing Design Directors Jonathan Berger, Ingrid Reslmaier
Marketing Designer Sarah Hughes, Gabe Ramirez
Online Producer Steve Gianaca
Group Events & Promotion Director Beth Hetrick
Director of Events Michelle Cast
Events & Promotions Director Laura Nealon
Promotions Managers Eshonda Caraway-Evans, Lynsey White
Consumer Marketing Director Bob Cohn
Publicity Manager Caroline Andoscia Caroline@andoscia.com
Human Resources Director Kim Putman
Production Manager Erika Hernandez
Group Production Director Laurel Kurnides
Chairman Jonas Bonnier
Chief Executive Ocer Dave Freygang
Executive Vice President Eric Zinczenko
Chief Content Ocer David Ritchie
Chief Financial Ocer Nancy Coalter
Chief Operating Ocer Lisa Earlywine
Chief Brand Development Ocer Sean Holzman
Vice President, Consumer Marketing Bruce Miller
Vice President, Corporate Communications Dean Turcol
General Counsel Jeremy Thompson
For reprints email: reprints@bonniercorp.com
Peer Review
We apologize . . . On page 36 of the August issue, we mislabeled the
values along the horizontal scale of the worldwide-helium-production graphic.
The range should have been 2 to 6 billion cubic feet, not 0 to 4 billion cubic
feet. On page 13 of the November issue, we got a little too futuristic: 1968
was 45 years ago, not 60 years ago.
Readers in the Loop
Elon Musks idea for high-speed travel in low-pressure tubes should
be seriously considered [What Would a Hyperloop Nation Look
Like? November 2013]. Passengers may balk at the idea of being
sucked through a tube, but for freight, it could be more energy-
efficient than Maglev trains and other high-speed systems.
Lance Hillsinger San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Amusing Highlight When Taken Out of Context
Forget the cake!Looks like a theoretical physicist will show us how
to have our cow and eat it too [The Meat Lab, November 2013].
Joe Wanores Elmira, Ore.
Request of the Month
Please refrain from overuse of the word robot. With such
ubiquity, its meaning becomes arcane.
Raymond Connor Phoenixville, Penn.
MAIN OFFICE
2 Park Ave., 9th Floor
New York, NY 10016
popsci.com
NEW
SUBSCRIPTIONS
popsci.com/subscribe
SUBSCRIPTION
INQUIRIES
Change of address or
subscription problems:
Popular Science
P.O. Box 420235
Palm Coast, FL 32142
386-597-4279
popsci.com/cs
INTERNATIONAL
EDITIONS
Inquiries regarding
international licensing
or syndication:
syndication@popsci.com
LETTERS
To the editor:
letters@popsci.com
FYI questions:
fyi@popsci.com
Ask a Geek:
h20@popsci.com
Story queries:
queries@popsci.com
Comments may be
edited for length and
clarity. We regret that
we cannot answer
unpublished letters.
FROM POPULARSCI ENCE. COM
POPSCI . TUMBLR. COM
FACEBOOK. COM/POPSCI
TWI TTER @POPSCI
PI NTEREST. COM/POPULARSCI ENCE
I have nothing against setting aside part of the lunar surface,
but why make it all inaccessible to development [Why the
Moon Should Be an International Park, November 2013]?
Traveling and living in space is my fondest dream. I worked
supporting the space program and astronomy for over 30
years and take it personally when someone suggests a plan
that could slow expansion into space.
Bruce Bon Santa Rosa, Calif.
O V E R T H E MO O N
This fall, we launched the POPULAR SCIENCE
Blog Network. For regular posts about
creepy critters, robot overlords, and more,
check out PopSci.com/blog-network.
Bg
This product is from
sustainably managed
forests and controlled
sources.

Megapixels
P O P U L A R S C I E N C E / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 4
STORY BY KATE BAGGALEY
everal of the worlds largest desalination
plants sit along the coast of the United Arab
Emirates. Every year, they deliver 115 billion
gallons of potable water to more than 550,000 people in
Dubai alone. But the plants have had to slow or shut down
production more frequently over the past decade because
of an unexpected disturbance: massive algal blooms in the
Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. The algae, known as red
tide, clog pipes and filters at the plants. For warning of an
approaching bloom, local authorities now consult data from a
European Space Agency project, which began in 2012. When
a passing satellite captures an image of an algal bloom (and
software scans for the algaes chlorophyll, represented by the
intensity of redness), officials alert plant managers, who then
have a few days to decide how to adjust water production.
R E D A L E R T
S

C
-
W
A
M
S

P
R
O
J
E
C
T
,

P
L
A
N
E
T
E
K

H
E
L
L
A
S
/
E
S
A

Some discounts, coverages, payment plans and features are not available in all states or all GEICO companies. GEICO is a registered service mark of Government
Employees Insurance Company, Washington, D.C. 20076; a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary. GEICO Gecko image 1999-2013. 2013 GEICO
geico.com
|
1-800-947-AUTO (2886)
|
Local Ofce
Doesnt matter. You could save money
wherever you are with the GEICO app.
Download it now.
Why did the
Gecko cross
the road?

PLUS:
The rst waterproof
camera with
interchangeable
lenses PAGE 20
P O P S C I . C O M / @P O P S C I
STORY BY SCOTT ALEXANDER
PHOTOGRAPH BY BRI AN KLUTCH
A modular robotics kit
for the rest of us
he robot of the
popular imagination,
whether its R2D2 or
Rosie, just works. But
in reality, making a robot just work
takes a lot of hard work. Many would-
be roboticists give up when faced with
a soldering iron, an Arduino board,
and lines of code. The EZ-Robot kits
make constructing and coding modu-
lar, so anyone can build a custom bot
in 30 minutes or less.
Builders assemble their EZ-Robots
physically and digitally. They attach
motors and appendages to a control-
ler board that contains a processor
and a Wi-Fi radio. Alongside their
creation, users configure their robot
with the EZ-Builder PC software,
selecting from more than 200 behav-
iors (dancing, chatting), which sync
to the bot over Wi-Fi. Advanced users
can code their own robotic quirks and
even download plans to 3-Dprint
custom appendages for specific tasks.
After all, who wouldnt like a personal
snow shoveler in January?
EZ-Robot
Revolution
JD
Motors 6
Total parts 43
Price $470
T
JANUARY 2014 / POPULAR SCI ENCE / 11

the goods
WH AT S N E W
2
5
1
3
4
6
1 2 3 4 5 6
A dozen great ideas in gear
High-speed video
cameras typically cost
$25,000 or more.
The Edgertronic costs
one-fifth that price and
is capable of shooting
nearly 18,000
frames per second.
To reduce costs,
engineers stripped the
components down to
the essentials: image
sensor, chip set,
memory, and processor.
Edgertronic $5,495
The Protect is a
smart smoke alarm.
Instead of immediately
squealing when smoke
levels increase, it first
gives a vocal warning.
If the source isnt
dangeroussay, a
boisterous stir-frya
user can wave a hand
under the device to
hush the alarm.
Nest Protect $129
The Zeus combination
snow shovel and
brush reduces trunk
clutter. The two-foot-
long brush serves as
the polycarbonate
shovels handle. It can
also be detached and
used on its own.
Quirky Zeus $30
The Breath is the
first humidifier to
automatically
maintain optimal
humidity in a room.
Sensors detect ambient
moisture levels, and
the three-liter device
changes its vapor
output accordingly,
keeping humidity at
40 to 55 percent.
Roolen Breath $129
The Chromebook 11
charges via micro-
USB, so users can
carry one charger
for multiple devices.
Because the laptop
uses so little power
its fanless and has
an ARM processor
a 5.25V micro-USB
charger is enough to
do the job.
HP Chromebook 11
$280
C
L
O
C
K
W
I
S
E

F
R
O
M

T
O
P

L
E
F
T
:

B
R
I
A
N

K
L
U
T
C
H
;

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

N
E
S
T
;

B
R
I
A
N

K
L
U
T
C
H
;
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

T
H
O
M
A
S

L
A
R
S
O
N
;

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
M
G

L
I
F
E
;

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

M
O
N
S
I
E
U
R
;
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

R
U
N
T
A
S
T
I
C
;

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

P
A
R
R
O
T
;

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

D
Y
N
A
M
I
C

K
E
Y
B
O
A
R
D
;
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

G
O
O
G
L
E
;

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

W
I
R
E
L
E
S
S

S
P
O
R
T
S
;

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

E
D
G
E
R
T
R
O
N
I
C
;

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

R
O
O
L
E
N
With the Hoop Tracker
watch, a basketball
player can tally stats
during training
sessions. The watch
receives data wirelessly
from a paddle on
the rim that registers
successful shots
and an accelerometer
that senses the
vibrations of misses.
Wireless Sports Hoop
Tracker $199

7
8
9
12
10
11
7 8 9 10 11 12
The Libra scale doesnt
stop at displaying
weight: It also
calculates body fat,
muscle mass, water
content, and bone
mass. Four areas
on the scales glass
plate generate electric
currentthe resistance
it encounters from
the body informs the
results.
Runtastic Libra $130
With Flower Power,
a user can monitor a
plants health from
afar. The battery-
powered sensor
records light, moisture,
temperature, and other
stats. It sends the data
to a smartphone, where
an app compares the
info with the optimal
conditions for that
species and suggests
how to provide care.
Parrot Flower Power
$60
As a user types on
the Android Dynamic
Keyboard, the letters
change size to make
composing texts easier.
After hitting a particular
letter, the letters that
most frequently follow
grow larger. The size
difference reduces
the chance of hitting
a wrong letter, which
helps increase typing
speed.
Dynamic Keyboard
Free
The Monsieur artificially
intelligent robotic
bartender makes a
Manhattan perfectly
every time: It mixes
drinks to within a
milliliter of accuracy.
The mini-fridge-size
device has eight
30-ounce bottles
controlled by pumps
and a microprocessor.
Monsieur also makes
recommendations
based on drink habits.
Monsieur $2,699
The Autographer
wearable camera
records daily life
automatically. It
takes cues from
sensors that measure
temperature, motion,
light, orientation, and
location to register
when surroundings
change and then
triggers the shutter
button to capture key
moments.
OMG Life
Autographer $399
The six-millimeter
Micro Phone Lens can
magnify an object
up to 60 times on
a smartphone. Its
made from a silicone
variation that is
optically identical to
glass and naturally
sticky, so it self-
adheres to a phones
camera lens.
Micro Phone Lens
$15
EDI TED BY
AMBER WI LLI AMS
ADDI TI ONAL REPORTI NG BY
KATE BAGGALEY AND MAC I RVI NE

ADVERTISEMENT
FOR MORE INFO ON THE OLYMPUS OM-D E-M1
VISIT GETOLYMPUS.COM/E-M1
The new agship Olympus OM-D E-M1
incorporates an astonishing array of
technological advances that for the rst time
deliver the total high-end DSLR shooting
experience and unsurpassed image quality
in a remarkably compact, lightweight,
seamlessly ergonomic package. Based on the
enhanced optical efciency of the Micro Four
Thirds system and its superb line of exquisitely
compact Zuiko and M.Zuiko lenses, the OM-D
E-M1s brilliant integration of cutting-edge
viewing, image capture, and image processing
technology provide an unsurpassed level of
real world performance. Its impressive array
of groundbreaking features, and its incredible
responsiveness ensure youll capture images
and Full HD video with breathtaking sharpness
and clarity.
CUTTING-EDGE ELECTRONIC VIEWFINDER (EVF)
Fully integrated and interactive, this brilliant new EVF displays an ultra-hi-res,
2,360k-dot image at an impressive 1.48X magnicationhigher than many pro
DSLRsand the image is automatically transferred from the hi-res 3.0-inch
1.037k-dot Tilting Touchscreen LCD to the wide-view EVF the instant you bring the
camera up to your eye. Since it takes a live feed directly off the new high-performance
16.3MP Live MOS sensor, it shows a real-time view, including exposure and color
balance corrections, and its unbelievably fast refresh rate of 0.029 seconds assures
youll get a crisp, continuous view of what the camera captures.
EXCLUSIVE IN-BODY 5-AXIS IMAGE STABILIZATION (IS)
An exclusive Olympus feature, the 5-axis sensor-shift Image Stabilization system built
into the RM-1s robust, weather-sealed magnesium alloy body minimizes the effects
of handheld camera shake across 5 axes, sensing and correcting for oblique-angle
and rolling camera movements as well as vertical and horizontal shake movements, to
deliver sharper handheld images in any light. The IS provides up to a 4-stop advantage
that lets you shoot handheld at slower shutter speeds or when using long telephoto
and zoom lenses. And since its built into the body, it works with any Zuiko, M.Zuiko,
or Micro Four Thirds-mount lens.
ADVANCED HIGH-SPEED, SUPER PRECISE AUTOFOCUS (AF)
The Olympus OM-D E-M1s new state-of-the-art, dual mode, on-sensor autofocus
(AF) system combines the unsurpassed precision of contrast detection, employing
an array of 81 AF zones, plus the superior speed, decisiveness, and responsiveness
of phase-detection AF, using a 37-zone array. Since both AF arrays are integrated
into the Live MOS Micro Four Thirds sensor itself, the camera can be less complex
and more compact. For maximum shooting exibility, four different AF area sizes are
available, including Super Spot AF for pinpoint accuracy. The Dual FAST AF system
integrates seamlessly with all Olympus Zuiko and M.Zuiko lenses to capture even
extreme-action subjects perfectly.
The Audacious New Olympus OM-D E-M1
A Masterpiece
Of Engineering Innovation
Here are just a few of the Olympus OM-D E-M1s
amazing high-tech innovations:

With the E-M1s new Dual AF System,
I get the stopping power and agility
I need for rock solid performance.
-John S. Ruth, Olympus Visionary
Shot with the E-M1, Zuiko ED 35-100mm f2.0 lens with MMF-3
I NT RODUCI NG
A CA ME RA A S
FA S T
A S Y OU A RE .
The blazing fast revolutionary
Olympus OM-D E-M1. The heart
of our OM-D E-M1 is our new
TruePic VII image processor
designed for maximum performance
and speed. The E-M1s new 16MP
Image Sensor, with a Dual FAST
Autofocus System, automatically
switches between Contrast
Detection and Phase Detection so
you can focus at an astonishing
speedno matter which Olympus
Zuiko lens you use. This, paired
with a 1/8000-second mechanical
shutter and 10fps sequential
shooting ensures youll have
all the speed you need to take
incredible images anywhere you
go. Move into a new world.
www.getolympus.com/em1
One of the smallest and lightest
bodies in its class at 17.5 ounces*
Built-in Wi-Fi
Full system of premium,
interchangeable lenses
*E-M1 body only
Move into a New World

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

V
O
L
K
S
W
A
G
E
N

(
3
)
ULTRALIGHT
F
STORY BY DANI EL DUMAS
WH AT S N E W / C O MI N G S O O N
The Most
E cient Car Ever
Drive more than 500 miles on two gallons of fuel
Designers built
much of the car,
including the cabin
frame, out of
carbon ber.
or years, automakers have worked to push fuel economy
beyond 100 miles per gallon. Reaching that mark typically
meant three things: cutting weight, maximizing aerodynam-
ics, and improving powertrain e ciency. In 1999, Volkswa-
gen engineers got close with the Lupo 3L, a three-cylinder
coupe that could go 78.4 miles on one gallon of diesel.
Not satised, VW tasked star engineer Ulrich Hackenberg,
whose rsum includes work at Bentley and Bugatti, with
breaking the 100mpg barrier. Hackenbergs team crushed
that goaland then some. In tests, their new XL1 got a
mind-bending 261 mpg.
The team designed nearly every part of the XL1 from
Volkswagen
XL1
Fuel economy
261 mpg
Weight
1,753 pounds
Horsepower
47 diesel, 27 electric
Top s peed
99 mph
scratch. To trim weight and add strength, they replaced
some steel components, such as the chassis, with
carbon-ber ones. To reduce drag, they removed side-view
mirrors and sculpted the body into a smooth, low-riding
shape. With the car lighter and slipperier, the 830cc,
two-cylinder diesel engine and the 20kW electric motor
can propel the XL1 well over 500 miles on a single
2.6-gallon tank of fuel.
VW is producing a limited run of 250 XL1s for sale in
Europe. U.S. safety regulations make importing the car
tricky, but Hackenberg says that Americans may see the
XL1s e cient engine in future VWs.

PROMOTION
What do you think should be improved?
Provide input on marketing/ advertising surveys
Give us your opinion on products and services
Make Your Opinions Popular!
Here is your chance to tell
us what you really think.
To become a Tech Spotter go to popsci.com/techspotters
Win a $50
AMEX Gift Card!

BLACK DIAMOND
FACTOR MX
The Factor MXs have a greater range
of motion than any other alpine boots:
40 degrees in walk mode. The cu
rotates on ball joints, so the boot
moves more naturally with the ankle.
A whale-tail cutout in the calf of the
shell leaves room for the leg to ex so
skiers can take longer strides. $769
SCARPA FREEDOM SL
People say one pound of weight on
the feet adds ve pounds of pressure
on the back. At 3.9 pounds each, the
Scarpa Freedom SLs are the lightest
alpine boots available. Designers
thinned the shell in areas where a ski-
er doesnt need much support, such
as the top of the upper, shaving about
half a pound o each boot. $769
K2 PINNACLE 130
With the ip of a lever, the Pinnacle
130 boots toggle easily between walk-
ing and skiing modes. When a skier
locks the cu in place, a carbon-ber
insert slides into the upper to provide
extra stiness. When the boots are
in walk mode, the insert lifts into the
cu, which allows the skier to move
freely. $850
DEGREES OF
FREEDOM
Unlocking the cu
lets a skiers ankle
ex more naturally
when walking.
I
L
L
U
S
T
R
A
T
I
O
N

B
Y

G
R
E
G

M
A
X
S
O
N
E
STORY BY BERNE BROUDY PHOTOGRAPH BY BRI AN KLUTCH
WH AT S N E W / T E C H T R E N D
Boots
Made for
Walking
Alpine ski boots that
are comfortable both
uphill and down
ven though skiers are
spending more time
hiking into the back-
country, their boots are still geared to
traditional lift-access runs. Most
alpine boots have cus and uppers
that are single, rigid pieces, which
makes walking in them awkward and
painful. And boots made specically
for trudging through snow are so
exible that theyre harder to control
when skiing downhill. With stronger
materials and adjustable cus,
manufacturers are creating a new,
adaptable breed of bootone that
oers comfort on the way up without
sacricing support on the run down.

*Cargo and load capacity limited by weight and distribution. 2012 Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
Options shown.
toyota.com/priusfamily
one prius
prius
snug prius
prius c
big prius
*
prius v
plug prius
prius plug-in
prius family

P
STORY BY LI NDSEY KRATOCHWI LL PHOTOGRAPH BY BRI AN KLUTCH
WH AT S N E W / D R E A M MA C H I N E
A Camera for
All Conditions
The worlds frst waterproof
interchangeable-lens camera
hotographers typi-
cally have two options
when shooting un-
derwater: double the size of their
D-SLR with an expensive submers-
ible housing or opt for a waterproof
point-and-shoot with the image
quality of, well, a point-and-shoot.
Mirrorless interchangeable-lens
cameras, such as the Nikon 1
AW1, produce D-SLRquality
images minus the delicate moving
parts of D-SLRs themselves. The
compact internals allow engineers
to ruggedize and seal the camera
without adding much bulk.
Nikon 1 AW1
Water resistance
49 feet
Drop resistance
6.5 feet
Lowest operable
temperature 14F
Price From $800
(including one lens)
When a lens zooms, small
crevices between the stacked
components open. The entire
AW1 lens is enclosed in a
sealed barrel. As the camera
zoomsup to 27.5 millimeters
all the parts remain protected.
INTERNAL ZOOM
The lens mount on the AW1
is raised about six millimeters
above the camera body. Lenses
slip over it and into a groove in
the housing. A greased rubber
O-ring lls in any gap between
the two pieces.
WATERTIGHT MOUNT
The AW1s pop-up ash can
illuminate up to 16 feet of
seawater ahead of the diver.
The bulb is attached to a
sealed two-joint hinge. Power
travels from the camera body
through insulated wires.
UNDERWATER FLASH
To ensure that the doors
to the SD card and battery
compartments wont open
underwater, designers added
two-button locking mechanisms
and lined each door with
rubber gaskets.
The housing is a composite
of stainless steel and
polycarbonate, which
protects the cameraand
its three-inch LCDif it
drops. Every seam is
backed with rubber, too.
SECURE DOORS PROTECTIVE CASE

Market volatility, volume and system availability may delay account access and trade executions. Offer valid through 4/30/14. Minimum funding
(within 60 days) of $2,000 required for up to 500 commission-free Internet-equity, ETF or options trades. Contract, exercise and assignment
fees still apply. See Web site for details and other restrictions/conditions. TD Ameritrade reserves the right to restrict or revoke this offer
at any time. This is not an offer or solicitation in any jurisdiction where we are not authorized to do business. TD Ameritrade, Inc., member
FINRA/SIPC/NFA. TD Ameritrade is a trademark jointly owned by TD Ameritrade IP Company, Inc. and The Toronto-Dominion Bank. 2013
TD Ameritrade IP Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission. 36 USC 220506
FREEZING UP IS FOR
BUNGEE JUMPING AND
PUBLIC SPEAKING.
Trade commission-free for 60 days. | tdameritrade.com/trade
TRADE ON A PLATFORM THAT PREVENTS ANALYSIS PARALYSIS.
Theres a lot of information out there. Which means its easy to get overwhelmed.
With tools like integrated research on Trade Architect, you can get a consensus
of what analysts are saying about a stock, all in one simplified view. So youre
not overwhelmed. Youre not underwhelmed. Youre justwhelmed.

PLUG
The
system
runs o
standard
power
outlets.
UV protection
99 percent
Power 4 5 watts/
hour/meter
2
Price $290/meter
2
(est.)
SONTE
Film
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

N
O
V
A
E
R
U
S
Windows that lighten and darken on cue
C
STORY BY
BRI AN CLARK HOWARD
WH AT S N E W / L O N G A WA I T E D
all it the curse of the
picture window. Big
panes may light up a
home, but they also let in enough heat
to drive up the temperature by several
degrees, raising cooling costs. Self-
tinting windows solve the problem,
darkening or turning opaque on com-
mand, but they are expensive and
require custom installation. California
start-up SONTE has developed an
alternate approach: an aordable
after-market tinting treatment.
SONTE lm works like an ultrathin
LCD TV. It consists of a layer of con-
ductive liquid-crystal polymer sand-
wiched between layers of PET plastic.
Users trim the lm to the size of the
window and smooth it onto the glass.
Smart Glass
A semipermanent adhesive holds the
lm in place. Each kit comes with a
quarter-size clip, which attaches to
a corner of the lm and plugs into a
Wi-Fienabled electrical transformer.
Once connected, users can control
the panel with either an app or a
traditional switch. When on, a current
ows through the liquid-crystal layer,
adjusting its polarity and turning the
panel transparent.
SONTE plans to upgrade the sys-
tems transformer with additional wire-
less radios so it can sync with devices
that use popular home-automation
standards, such as ZigBee. Connected
to a smart home, the windows could
be programmed to tint or detint auto-
matically based on the temperature.
T H E
C L E A N E S T
A I R F I L T E R
LAB-TESTED
THE PROMI SE
The Novaerus air-ltration
system uses a cold
plasma eld to destroy
virtually 100 percent
of airborne pathogens.
Removing them from the
air decreases surface
contaminants as well.
THE RESEARCH
Scientists at Microsearch
Laboratories in the U.K.
fed a variety of pathogens
through the intake vent
of the system. They then
analyzed the samples after
they passed through the
output vent.
THE RESULTS
The Novaerus killed all
but 0.001 percent of
bacteria cells, bacterial
spores, mold, and yeasts.
It also destroyed all but
one-billionth of a percent
of viruses. The system
draws air into the unit
and through a plasma
eld, which, among other
stressors, bombards the
targets with UV radiation.
L I L L I AN ST EENBL I K HWANG
APPLY
A reusable,
semipermanent
adhesive holds the
liquid-crystal-based
lm in place.
I LLUSTRATI ON BY
GREG MAXSON

Dont worry about payroll.
Worry about the new guy using
your favorite coffee mug.
Intuit
Payroll. Guaranteed accurate, so you can avoid penalties.

You have enough on your mind, let us worry about your small business payroll. With
Intuit Payroll, you can pay employees with just a few clicks. Or let Intuit take care of
everything from setup to payroll taxes with our full-service solution. And, no matter
which option you go with, if you have any questions, theres free live expert support.
Payroll
30-Day FREE Trial | Online Demo | Live Support | IntuitPayroll.com
From the maker of

Designed to meet the demand for lifelong learning,
The Great Courses is a highly popular series of
audio and video lectures led by top professors
and experts. Each of our nearly 500 courses is
an intellectually engaging experience that will
change how you think about the world. Since
1990, over 14 million courses have been sold.
Please note: This course is not intended to provide financial or investment
advice. All investments involve risk: Past performance does not guarantee
future success. You acknowledge that any reliance on any information from
the materials contained in this course shall be at your own risk.
+$10 Shipping, Processing, and Lifetime Satisfaction Guarantee
Priority Code: 91065
Understanding
Investments
Taught by Professor Connel Fullenkamp
DUKE UNIVERSITY
LECTURE TITLES
1. How to Stop Worrying and Start Investing
2. How Investors Make Money
3. Starting with Stocks
4. The Basics of Bonds
5. Introduction to Mutual Funds
6. What Are Exchange-Traded Funds?
7. Financial Statement Analysis
8. P/E Ratios and the Method of Comparables
9. Fundamentals-Based Analysis of Stocks
10. Startup Companies and IPOs
11. Why Should You Care about Dividends?
12. Using Leverage
13. Choosing Bonds
14. Bond School
15. Picking Mutual Funds
16. Investing in Foreign Assets
17. Options Are for Everyone
18. Real Estate and Commodities
19. Cycles and Market Timing
20. Deciding When to Sell
21. Risk, Return, and Diversication
22. Time Value of Money
23. Financial Planning
24. Taking Charge of Your Investments
Understanding Investments
Course no. 5724 | 24 lectures (30 minutes/lecture)
Take the Guesswork
Out of Investing
What are your most important financial goals? Sending your kids to
college? Buying a new home? Retiring early?
Its your financial resources that are the determining factor in how
youre able to answer these and a host of other questions. And few
things are as important in determining just what those financial
resources are as your understanding of where and how to invest.
Now, in Understanding Investments, taught by Duke University
Professor Connel Fullenkamp, you can get a clear explanation of the
various kinds of financial markets, the different kinds of investments
available to you, and the pros and cons of eachand in the process,
become a more confident investor.
Ofer expires 02/14/14
1-800-832-2412
WWW.THEGREATCOURSES.COM/3PS
How to ght dangerous dust in space PAGE 34
E D I T E D B Y S U S A N N A H F. L O C K E J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 4 H E A D L I N E S @P O P S C I . C O M P O P S C I . C O M / @P O P S C I
N CHICAGOS gang-
embattled South Side,
a shooting can incite
swif retaliation, which spawns
even further violence. Thats what
may have happened in September
in Cornell Square Park when gun-
men opened fre on a basketball
court just hours afer one of them
had been wounded in a separate
incident. When of cers cant con-
nect the dots between people fast
enough, its nearly impossible to
get ahead of crime. In Cornell
Square Park, the fallout wounded
13, including a three-year-old boy.
Gang violence is generally not
random. Its usually related to ter-
ritorial disputes or personal rifs
that is, to geographic, cultural,
and social connections. Some
police departments have had mar-
ginal success monitoring social
networks like Facebook for clues
about where bloodshed might
erupt next. But a new kind of sof-
ware being used in Chicago can
turn an entire database of arrest
records into visual portrayals of
real-life social networks, which
O
PLUS:
Can humans
fall in
love with
software?
PAGE 32
I
L
L
U
S
T
R
A
T
I
O
N

B
Y

J
E
S
S
E

L
E
N
Z
Can software distill
mayhem down to a
social network?
Organized
Crime
C
h
o
c
o
la
te

fa
c
to
ry
p. 30
PHOTO- I LLUSTRATI ON BY
MI CHELLE MRUK
STORY BY CLAY DI LLOW

H E A D L I N E S
may someday allow cops to quickly identify a persons
friends and enemies, and hopefully where violence is
likely to go down.
Major Paulo Shakarian, an assistant professor at
the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, had been
developing sofware to better understand networks of
insurgents abroad. It had been tested in Afghanistan
but not widely deployed. In 2012, Chicago police
ofcer John Bertetto came across one of Shakarians
papers and called up West Point with a question: Could
social-network analysis help Chicago? Shakarian,
working with other professors and a team of cadets,
decided to fnd out.
They created the Organizational, Relationship, and
Contact Analyzer (ORCA), which in seconds gener-
ates networks that take people with whiteboards and
unstructured databases hours or days to produce.
Last summer, West Point cadets headed to Chicago to
put ORCA to the test. The sofware combed through
three years of anonymized arrests (5,418 total) from
one district, turning them into social-connection visu-
alizations and reports on individuals.
ORCA started by linking people who had been
arrested togetherthe most objective way a record
shows that people have, at the very least, been at
the same place at the same time. From there, it cat-
egorized those who had admitted a gang afliation.
And then, based on social links, it gave the others a
numerical probability of a particular afliation. ORCA
further analyzed clustered nodes within the network
to identify groups and subgroupsa crew occupying
a street corner, for example. By zeroing in on people
connected across many groups and subgroups, ORCA
singled out the most infuential ones.
For the most part, ORCA verifed what the Chicago
Police Department already knew. Early indications
are that its accurately showing networks that were
aware of, says Chief Debra Kirby, who heads the
departments Bureau of Organizational Develop ment.
And ofcers have used it to generate some useful
leads. The West Point team continues to develop the
program and will return to Chicago this year. Future
iterations may integrate geolocation data or intelli-
gence from informants. An Italian research group has
expressed interest in using ORCA to fght organized
crime in Italy. And the U.S. Department of Defense is
still very much involved. If the sofware can map the
activities of mafosi and South Side gangs, it could
someday be a push-button means to decode bad inten-
tions all around the world.
THE FALLOUT
Police ocers
investigate Cornell
Square Park in
Chicago, where
gunmen wounded
13 people in
September.
OUTPUT
ORCA software turns a database
of arrest records into useful
social networks. Heres an
analysis of one particular gang.
Each circle represents a person.
The more arrests, the larger the
circle. Lines connect two people
who have been arrested together.
ORCA created likely subgroups
within the gang, represented by
dierent colors.
T H E S O C I A L N E T WO R K
S
C
O
T
T

O
L
S
O
N
/
G
E
T
T
Y

I
M
A
G
E
S

Outer Space, Indoors
ore than 1,000 working satellites
orbit Earth. As space becomes in-
creasingly crowded, theres a great-
er chance that the satellites radio signals could
overlap. To avoid that problem, which disrupts
communications, satellite antennas must transmit
only within a narrow frequency band. The radio-
frequency anechoic chamber at the Technical Uni-
versity of Denmark (DTU) is one of the best plac-
es in the world to accurately calibrate antennas.
A steel Faraday cage surrounding the chamber
M
NE R D BOX
The European Space Agency
calibrated several research
satellites at DTU:
SMOS maps soil moisture and
ocean salinity. Launch: 2009
SENTINEL-1 will monitor sea ice
and polar weather. Launch: 2014
BIOMASS will measure carbon
stored in forests. Launch: 2020
blocks interference from external sources, such
as Wi-Fi and broadband networks. Inside, foam
pyramids stop a satellites own radio waves from
bouncing around, to ensure that a receiver in the
chamber measures only the signals coming di-
rectly from the antenna and not reections. (The
pyramids dissipate the signals as they travel from
tip to base.) Engineers then use the recorded
transmission patterns to adjust, and sometimes
rebuild, the antenna. After all, if a satellite fails in
space, theres little anyone can do.
An isolation room for satellites
STORY BY AMBER WI LLI AMS
H E A D L I N E S / WO R K S PA C E
LOCAL COLOR Built in 1967, DTUs anechoic
chamber was orginally black, but it was like
working in a grave, says Olav Breinbjerg,
an antenna engineer. So in the nineties, new
absorbers were painted a cheerful blue.
A
L
A
S
T
A
I
R

P
H
I
L
I
P

W
I
P
E
R
;

I
N
S
E
T

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

E
S
A

Candy ingredients
Thermoelectric plate
Electronics
Carousel
Pressure tube
Heat sink
Servomotor
Valve
THE SCALE
Maximum pathogen survival
times on a dry, inanimate surface.
(Not pictured: salmonella, which
can survive essentially indenitely.)
PAV I T HR A MOHAN AND
L I L L I AN ST EENBL I K HWANG
SARS
coronavirus
28 days
Rhinovirus (common cold)
3 hours
MRSA
(Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus)
7 months
Hepatitis C
4 days
Herpes simplex
1 week
Sour ces: Publ i c Heal t h Agency of Canada; Cent er s f or Di sease Cont r ol ;
Al ex Kr amer, I nst i t ut f r Hygi ene und Umwel t medi zi n; New Yor k Ci t y Depar t ment of Heal t h
Chocolate Factory
I made the Digital Chocolatier, a
machine that builds chocolates
layer by layer, from the bottom
up. Four tubes hold nuts or
chocolate. The chocolate tubes are heated
for melting. For each layer, a servomotor
positions the correct tube, and a valve
releases the contents. Chocolates hard to
work withit clogsand we had to fabricate
the parts because existing chocolate valves
are too big for home use. Printing takes about
a minute, and a thermoelectric plate and

H E A D L I N E S / A N N O T AT E D MA C H I N E
AS TOLD TO FLORA LI CHTMAN
heat sink cool the printed treat. This machine
is the rst step toward a 3-D food printer. Im
convinced its possible to create things you
couldnt do by handfor example, a cake
thats chocolate and gradually swirls into a
lemon pie. Thats something we can do on a
computer with a digital image in 10 seconds.
Wouldnt it be cool to do it physically?
Marcelo Coelho is a designer and research
a liate at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology Media Lab.
WH AT I S I T ?
A H O ME
P R I N T E R
T H AT
F A B R I C AT E S
C H O C O L AT E S

Enjoy all your favorite music instantly and wirelessly.
Now you can listen to your CDs, MP3s, AM/FM radio, Pandora
and other
Internet radio all from one system. And with six programmable presets,
you can hear your favorite playlists, albums or stations wherever
they are at the touch of a button. Small enough to fit in any room in
your house and powerful enough to fill it with lifelike sound, the Wave

SoundTouch
TM
connects to your existing home Wi-Fi
network, so no
extra equipment is necessary to stream your music. Try it risk-free for
90 days with free shipping and, if youre not fully satisfied, free return
shipping. And when you call, ask how you can make easy payments with
no interest charges from Bose. Listening to your music has never been
simpler or better. To order, call or visit us online today.
I love CDs.
He loves Internet radio.
Whats not to love?
Order now directly from Bose. 1.800.411.8072, ext. TZ980 | Bose.com/WaveWifi
2013 Bose Corporation. The distinctive designs of the Wave
music system and wireless note are trademarks of Bose Corporation. Pandora is a registered trademark of
Pandora Media, Inc. Wi-Fi is a registered mark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. A home Wi-Fi network and Internet access are required. Financing and audition offers not to be combined
with other offers or applied to previous purchases, and subject to change without notice. Offer valid 12/3/13-1/31/14. Risk-free refers to 90-day trial only and requires product
purchase. Delivery is subject to product availability. CC013617
Special 90-day,
risk-free audition.

he lm Her, which opens across the country
this month, tells a love story between a man
and some software. It may seem far-fetched,
but researchers say its plausible. If so inclined, they could
stitch together existing systems into one irresistible romance
algorithm. Heres how a lovebot could seduce you.
T
Director Spike Jonze
on the set of Her
A program that asks lots of questions
stays more in control of the conver-
sation and is more likely to produce
convincing, relevant replies. Software
that attempts to answer a persons
questions risks revealing just how
little it knows about the world (and
human emotions)ruining the eect.
Thats why inquisitiveness is one of the
most common and successful cheats
for chatbots, dating back to Eliza, a
program built at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in the 60s. Its
persistent queries were modeled on
those of a therapist.
C U R I OS I T Y
Studies show that people will divulge
more about sensitive, personal topics
(such as drug use or sexual activity)
to a computer than to a researcher.
Machines can also coax humans into
being polite with them. In one study,
people were interviewed by a computer
and then asked to rate its performance.
They rated it better when they input
their scores on that same computer
rather than on a separate terminal
or on paperas if the computer had
feelings. A program that elicits both
unconscious behaviorsconfessing and
being kindwould be formidable.
In order to be able to hold a real
conversation, computers have to be
intelligent enough to both ask and
answer questions. IBMs Watson,
which defeated humans on Jeopardy!
in 2011, is one of the smartest
programs around. It can understand
conversational language, draw from
external and internal knowledge bases,
and process 500 gigabytes a second.
(Watson currently works in health
care, nance, and retail.) But for
romance to truly blossom for most
people, computers will need to get
even smarter than that.
S P I K E J O N Z E
O N C H AT B O T S
P O V
A SINGLE lm can come from
many sources of inspiration,
but part of the idea for the
movie Her came 10 years
ago, when writer and director
Spike Jonze was interacting
with an online chatbot. More
specically, it came midway
through the conversation, when
things got weird. Youre not very
interesting, the bot told him.
The lmmaker wasnt charmed,
but he was intrigued. Instead of
seeming blandly, vaguely human,
Jonze says, it was sassy and
had an attitude and a point of
view of the world.
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

W
A
R
N
E
R

B
R
O
S
.
You can still talk
to 1960s chatbot
Eliza today. Its
hosted on many
websites.

Four microprocessors.
One smart-ass ceiling fan.
Hidden behind a seamless fit and finish, Haiku is
the worlds smartest ceiling fan.
Feel up to 40% cooler with Haikus Whoosh mode,
a proprietary algorithm that mimics natural breezes.
Haiku airfoils are precision balanced and deliver
smooth, silent airflow at all seven speeds.
Even Haikus light is advanced. With 16 unique
brightness settings and a digital dimmer, Haikus
patent-pending LED delivers 80% greater efficiency
than traditional bulbs and has a lifespan of 50,000
hours. Together, Haikus features result in the
worlds most efficient ceiling fanverified by
ENERGY STAR.
Visit haikufan.com/OFFER and use promo code PS114
to receive a free Haiku info kit.
2013 Delta T Corporation dba the Big Ass Fan Company. All rights reserved.
HAI KUFAN.COM/OFFER 888-958- 0205
Hai ku i s good l ooki ng wi thout
bei ng i mposi ng, especi al l y i n a
minimalist space, and its the most
energy-efficient fan on the market.
M. Milligan
Salt Lake City, Utah

The Dutch police are
training rats to sni out drugs
and gunpowder.
A global commission o cially
changed the atomic weights of
19 chemical elements, including
molybdenum, cadmium,
selenium, and thorium.
A Duke University team
showed that monkeys with
electrodes implanted in their
brains could control two
virtual arms at once, using
just their thoughts.
Archaeologists recovered
ve cannons o the North
Carolina coast from a 1718
shipwreck captained by the
infamous pirate Blackbeard.
A Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention report found
that each year two million
Americans get infections that
are antibiotic-resistant.
DARPA awarded Boston
Dynamics $10 million to make
its robotic pack mule LS3 quieter
and more bulletproof.
Korean researchers
genetically engineered E. coli to
produce gasoline.
THE PROBLEM THE SOLUTION
I N C A S E
Y O U MI S S E D
I T . . .
Moon dust is dangerous. Each mote
is like a tiny shard of glasstheres
no wind or rain to soften the edges of
lunar soil. During the Apollo missions,
it jammed equipment and got stuck
in the seals of space suits, causing a
serious loss of pressure. Martian dust
poses its own hazards. On the Red
Planet, swirling dust storms have cov-
ered rovers solar panels, signicantly
reducing their power while they waited
for a favorable gust of wind. And if
these kinds of space dust get into an
airlock, forget it: It can be toxic or irri-
tating to the lungs and could endanger
astronauts health on long missions.
STORY BY JEREMY HSU
H E A D L I N E S / T H E B I G F I X
L
E
F
T

T
O

R
I
G
H
T
:

P
H
O
T
O
G
R
A
P
H

B
Y

B
R
I
A
N

K
L
U
T
C
H
;

B
R
A
D

W
I
L
S
O
N
/
G
E
T
T
Y

I
M
A
G
E
S
An electric charge can zap the stu right o. NASA sci-
entists proposed the idea in a 1967 paper, but the space
agency didnt return to it until 2003, when Carlos Calle and
colleagues at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida con-
sidered building the technology into Mars rovers. Running
mere milliwatts of power through thin wires creates electric
elds that cleared away 99 percent of dust in simulated
lunar and Martian conditions. The team tested wires of dif-
ferent materials embedded in various surfaces. Transparent
indium-tin-oxide wires protected solar panels; aluminum or
silver wires worked for reective lms that shield rovers and
landers from excess heat and sunlight; copper wires were ef-
fective beneath white, heat-reecting thermal paint. Theyve
also tested conductive carbon-nanotube inks on cotton and
will try them on space-suit fabrics. In 2016, NASA will nally
begin testing the dust shields in space.
NASAs Dust Buster

Great ideas in gear
B
E
S
T

O
F
the
goods
shop
1 the button
to view products full screen
2
to rotate products
3
to purchase products
BUY IT NOW
BUY IT NOW
download now for your iPad
VI SUAL DATA
To investigate how insects detect and react to motion so quickly, neuroscientists at Howard
Hughes Medical Institute examined the fruit y. Turns out its brain, despite being several
times smaller than a poppy seed, is astonishingly complex. After slicing just a small portion
of the image-processing center into 2,000 pieces, the scientists constructed a connectome
[right] out of the areas 379 neurons. They discovered it had 8,637 synaptic connections.
STORY BY SARAH JACOBY
H O W A B U G B R A I N WO R K S
SPACI OUS
STRUCTURALLY
SOUND
SECLUDED
WHY
BUNKERS?
2011 2013
H E A D L I N E S / N E W T R I C K S
STORY BY KATHERI NE HARMON COURAGE
Wartime Bunkers:
The Perfect Place for
Research and Innovation
The Energiebunker
in Hamburg
held as many as
10,000 residents
during Allied
attacks.
2 Wildlife Sanctuary
Six years ago, Tel Aviv University re-
searchers found 10 species of endan-
gered bats in abandoned bunkers on
Israels Jordanian border. Its a quiet
homemuch of the area is an o-
limits mineeld. The scientists added
wire mesh and roughed-up cement
for better bat grip and insulation.
3 Data Storage
Internet provider Bahnhof turned a
Cold Warera, nuclear-bomb-proof
bunker 98 feet below the streets of
Stockholm into its exceptionally secure
headquarters and data center. The
newly renovated space, which once
housed WikiLeaks data, opened in
2008 and safeguards 8,000 servers.
1 Power Plants
One of Europes newest solar- and
biofuel-power stations is a former
Hamburg air-raid shelter called the
Energiebunker. The 138-foot-tall struc-
ture was inaugurated last year and
is scheduled for completion in 2015.
It holds equipment that will generate
electricity for 1,000 households and
heat for 3,000, creating 95 percent
less carbon-dioxide emissions from
heating than oil and gas boilers.
C
L
O
C
K
W
I
S
E

F
R
O
M

T
O
P
:

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

I
B
A
_
H
A
M
B
U
R
G

(
2
)
;

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

H
O
W
A
R
D

H
U
G
H
E
S

M
E
D
I
C
A
L

I
N
S
T
I
T
U
T
E

RI S E o f t h e
i n s e c t DRONES
Nature spent millions of years perfecting apping-wing ight. Now engineers can reproduce it with machines.
Photograph by Travis Rathbone By Adam Piore


Richard Guiler and Tom Vaneck were sitting at a bar a
few blocks from their office, trying to take their minds
off work. For nearly a year, the two engineers had been
struggling to develop a durable drone that could dodge
objects, navigate inside buildings, and fly in stormy
weather. Theyd tried fixed-wing models, but adding
enough sensors to effectively detect obstacles made
them too heavy to fly. Theyd tried helicopters, but the
rotors kept getting tangled in branches and electrical
wires. Theyd even built a motorized balloon; all it took
was a gentle gust of wind to blow it off course.
As they sat nursing their beers, Guiler and Vaneck
watched as a fly appeared to slam into a window.
Instead of breaking apart on contact as their drones
did, the insect bounced off the glass and recovered.
Then it did it again.
It was an epiphany, says Vaneck, who works for
the Massachusetts research and development company
Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI). We realized if we could
make a manmade system that could hit things, recover,
and continue on, thats a revolution.
The idea of borrowing designs from nature is far from
new, particularly when it comes to flight. The ancient
Greeks dreamed up Daedalus, who fashioned wings for
his son (which unfortunately worked a little too well).
Leonardo da Vinci sketched a human-
powered ornithopter. But until recently,
inventors lacked the aerodynamics
expertise to turn diagrams into mechani-
cal versions of something as quotidian
as a fly or a bee. As technology has
advanced, scientists have decoded many O
P
E
N
I
N
G

P
A
G
E
:

P
R
O
P

S
T
Y
L
I
N
G

B
Y

W
E
N
D
Y

S
C
H
E
L
A
H

F
O
R

H
A
L
L
E
Y

R
E
S
O
U
R
C
E
S
of natures secrets. And engineers have developed the
first flying, insect-inspired vehicles, opening the door to
an entirely new class of machine: the microdrone.
Nature has a several-hundred-million-year lead time
on us when it comes to great design, says Peter Singer,
a fellow at the Washington, D.C.based Brookings
Institution. The robots you know tomorrow are going
to look like nothing you know today. More likely, they
will look like the animals around you.
UNRAVELING THE MYSTERY OF FLIGHT
ALTHOUGH INSECTS AND their relatives represent
roughly 80 percent of the worlds animal speciessome
900,000 known typesthe mechanics of their flight had
long been an enigma. Traditional fixed-wing aircraft rely
on a steady flow of air over the wings. The same is true
of helicopters and rotors. But as the wings of insects flap
back and forth, the air around them is constantly chang-
ing. And the stubby wings of bees and other insects lift
far more weight than can be explained using conven-
tional steady-state aerodynamics principles.
Before scientists could understand flapping flight, they
first had to see it in the minutest of detail. In the 1970s,
Torkel Weis-Fogh, a Danish zoologist at the University
of Cambridge, used high-speed photography to analyze
the exact wing motions of hovering insects and compare
them to the insects morphological features. From this,
he formulated a general theory of insect flight, which
included what he called the clap-and-fling effect.
When insect wings clap together and then peel apart
between the up and down strokes, the motion flings
air away and creates a low-pressure pocket. Air then
rushes back into the pocket, forming a swirling vortex.
This vortex creates the force necessary to lift the insect
between wing flaps. Similar vortices might be generated
by the angle and rotation of the wings, Weis-Fogh pos-
ited, providing additional lift.
Two decades later, computational techniques caught
up with theory, and scientists began to apply these
principles to manmade systems. Charles Ellington, a
Cambridge zoologist and former Weis-Fogh student,
built a robotic wing that could precisely mimic the
movements of a hawk moth. He placed it in a wind tun-
nel filled with smoke so that as it flapped, he could ana-
lyze the fluid dynamics. At the University of California
at Berkeley, neurobiologist Michael Dickinson built
a robotic fruit-fly wing that likewise mimicked a flys
natural motion, and he submerged it in a two-ton tank
of mineral oil. Working independently, the researchers
Five
years
ago,
Engineers have developed the first
insect-inspired vehicles, opening
the door to an entirely new class of
machine: the microdrone.
R I S E O F T H E I NS E C T D R O NE S
A
HOUGH INSE
ughly 80 perce
900,000 known t
ong been an enigma.
on a steady flow of air o
of helico ters and ro
back an rth, the air aro
ing. And the stubby win
far more weight than can be e
tional steady-state aerodynamics p
B f tists could un
first had to see it in the min

T
O
P

D
O
W
N
:

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

P
H
Y
S
I
C
A
L

S
C
I
E
N
C
E
S

I
N
C
.
;

I
L
L
U
S
T
R
A
T
I
O
N

B
Y

T
R
E
V
O
R

J
O
H
N
S
T
O
N
characterized the aerodynamics of flight with unprec-
edented specificity [see Insect Aerodynamics, below].
Dickinson and electrical engineer Ron Fearing won
a $2.5-million DARPA grant in 1998 to apply these
principles to a fly-size robot. They assigned a gradu-
ate student named Rob Wood, among others, to help
develop techniques to fabricate the tiny parts and
painstakingly assemble them with a pair of tweezers.
Dickinson and Fearing also communicated which aero-
dynamics insights the students should try to reproduce.
Flies have really complex wing trajectories. There are
a whole bunch of subtle things that happen, Wood
says. Michael told us the most important features to
generate vortices and other aerodynamic effects.
By the time Wood graduated in 2004 and opened his
own lab at Harvard University, he had helped pioneer
a way to use extremely energy-efficient, exotic materials
to replicate the motion of a flys wing; he had built a
gyroscope that could mimic the sensors insects use to
detect body rotation; and he had invented methods to
manufacture complicated systems on a miniature scale.
What remained was to put it all together into a working
insect-size flying machine.
TURNING INSIGHTS INTO ROBOTS
ON A FREEZING DAY IN 2006, Wood arrived at his
Oxford Street laboratory at Harvard. On the workbench
sat a 60-milligram robot with a three-centimeter wing-
span and a thorax roughly the size of a housefly. It was
tethered to a six-foot-tall computer rack crammed full of
high-voltage amplifiers and data-acquisition equipment.
Wood carefully checked the connections and signals.
Then he flipped on the power and watched as the
The InstantEye,
built by Physical
Sciences Inc., has
shock absorbers
that mimic those
on a ys body.
wings of his tiny creation began to vibrate, lifting the
robot into the air for several seconds. Wood jumped in
jubilation. It had taken him seven years to get to this
point, and it would take another five to reach his next
breakthrough: sustained flight along a preprogrammed
path. An e-mail with proof of that milestone arrived in
his inbox at 3 a.m. in the summer of 2012. An ecstatic
graduate student had sent a video update on the labs
latest prototype, now named RoboBee. It showed the
delicate machine rising into the air and demonstrating,
for the first time, stable hovering and controlled flight
maneuvers in an insect-scale vehicle.
I didnt end up sleeping the rest of that night,
Wood says. The next morning, we had champagne
and all that, but it was more of a relief. If we couldnt do
this, we would have realized we were doing something
wrong the whole time.
Wood has pioneered microscale robotic flight; other
researchers have used flapping-wing dynamics to reduce
the size of aerial vehicles capable of carrying payloads.
In 2011, California-based AeroVironment demoed its
Nano Hummingbird. The aircraft has a 16.5-centimeter
I N S E C T
A E R O D Y N A MI C S
Using high-speed videography, scientists observed the
precise motion of an insects wings and identified the
aerodynamic forces at playinsight that now informs the
design of microdrones.
1.
As a wing flaps, a tornado-like spiral of
air forms along its leading edge. This
vortex causes air pressure to drop
briefly above the wing; higher pressure
pushes the wing from below.
2.
The wing rotates in preparation to flap
in the opposite direction. This rotation
creates forces similar to backspin on a
tennis ball, pulling a faster stream of air
over the top surface.
3.
As the wing moves in the opposite direction, it collides with
the swirling vortex of air created by the previous stroke, a
principle called wake capture. Depending on the angle of the
wing as it hits the wake, it can generate additional upward or
downward force.
3 1 2
LEADI NG- EDGE VORTEX
VORTEX FROM PREVI OUS STROKE
LI FT

R I S E O F T H E I NS E C T D R O NE S
wingspan; it can fly vertically and horizontally and hover
in place against gusting wind. It weighs 19 grams
lighter than some AA batteriesbut it carries a camera,
communications systems, and an energy source.
TechJect, a company that spun off from work done at
the Georgia Institute of Technology, recently unveiled
a robotic dragonfly with a six-inch wingspan. It weighs
in at 5.5 grams (lighter than a quarter) and can be
outfitted with modular electronics packages enabling
high-definition video and wireless communication. The
TechJect Dragonfly takes advantage of an aerodynam-
T
O
P

D
O
W
N
:

K
E
V
I
N

M
A

A
N
D

P
A
K
P
O
N
G

C
H
I
R
A
R
A
T
T
A
N
A
N
O
N
,

H
A
R
V
A
R
D

M
I
C
R
O
R
O
B
O
T
I
C
S

L
A
B
;

P
R
A
T
H
E
E
V

S
R
E
E
T
H
A
R
A
N
,

H
A
R
V
A
R
D

M
I
C
R
O
R
O
B
O
T
I
C
S

L
A
B

Ratti and his team made the product commercially
available to hobbyists and early adopters last year, and
they plan to release another version by the end of 2014
for other markets. The acceptance has been phenom-
enal, Ratti says. It is not yet a mature technology, but
its getting there. We are still getting feedback and mak-
ing improvements.
BUILDING A TOUGHER DRONE
SMALL, FRAGILE DRONES dont solve the problem of
damage caused by unexpected impacts, and so Guiler
and Vaneck have focused on durability. After observ-
ing the fly at the bar, the two engineers searched for
someone with experience replicating insect flight. They
teamed up with Wood, whose lab had since joined
Harvards Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired
Engineering, and together they applied for an Air Force
grant. Woods group then used an image-capture system
to record and analyze fly behavior before, during, and
after collisions with glass. By closely observing the posi-
tions of the flies body parts, they could measure the
exact flip and twist of wings and legs.
When Guiler and Vaneck slowed down the film, they
were amazed at what they saw. I thought the fly would
tumble a bit and lose a lot of altitude, Vaneck says.
But the fly recovery was elegant. It happened so rap-
idly; it was breathtaking.
Guiler and Vaneck homed in on the idiosyncratic
geometry of the flys body. Its exoskeleton had accordion-
like parts that acted as shock absorbers. It also seemed
to sense impending collisions. Just before the moment
of impact, the fly flew at an angle that ensured its legs
touched the glass first. At that instant, the wings froze.
Every time the fly slammed into the window, it reflex-
ively surrendered to the crash momentum and fell. But
within milliseconds, the flys center of gravity appeared
to pull the fly back into a stable position. Then its wings
flapped again, propelling the insect into a controlled
hover. It can hit and recover in two or three wing
beats, which is phenomenal, Vaneck says. There is no
manmade system that can do that.
The two engineers used those insights to guide the
development of a resilient flying machine. The body
needed to be shockproof, and the wings needed to be
controlled independently. So they designed a shell for
a quadrotor that incorporated shock absorbersrubber
dampers in between sections made from carbon fiber
and plastic. They gave each of the four rotors its own
motor in order to mimic the alternating wing speed that
provides four-winged insects with exceptional control.
When the vehicle is blown out of position or clips an
obstacle, its computer detects the discrepancy between
its current position and its programmed flight path, and
an autopilot reflexively kicks in to recover stability.
Last February, the engineers sent their drone,
called the InstantEye, to Fort Benning near Columbus,
RoboBees, built in a Harvard robot-
ics laboratory, are actually modeled
after ies. Piezoelectric actuators
that expand and contract with elec-
tricity ap the wings at 120 times
per second. The wings can also be
controlled independently. Right: an
early prototype of the RoboBee.
Within milliseconds, the flys center
of gravity appeared to pull the fly
back into a stable position. Then its
wings flapped again, propelling the
insect into a controlled hover.
ics principle called resonance. When wings flap at their
most efficient frequencywhich happens when air den-
sity, wing speed, and an organisms weight are perfectly
balanced they create waves of vortices that merge and
build. The audible result is the hum of a hummingbird
or buzz of a bee, says Jayant Ratti, TechJects president.
A flapping-wing drone utilizing resonance generates
significant improvements in energy efficiency, creating
optimal lift with minimal effort.
ir

Georgia, for its annual Army Expeditionary Warrior
experiments, where an infantry platoon used it to help
complete a set of assigned missions. The soldiers gave it
a green rating, one of the highest available.

OVERCOMING FUTURE HURDLES
AS THE FIRST generation of microdrones reaches the
market, significant engineering challenges still remain.
For Wood, the big hurdle is power. Unlike the much
larger InstantEye, Nano Hummingbird, and Dragonfly
drones, RoboBees must be connected to an external
power source. Wood is using microfabrication to try to
shrink onboard batteries, and hes collaborating with
researchers at Harvard, the University of Washington,
and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to pur-
sue novel batteries, micro fuel cells, and wireless power
transfer. He estimates he is only one or two years away
from his first autonomous-power demonstration.
Guiler and Vaneck aim to replace the propellers on
their quadrotor with flapping wings. The InstantEye
is far better at recovering from wind gusts and minor
collisions than other drones are, but its propellers
can still get tangled in branches or power lines. We
wanted to bring something to the field fast, Guiler
says. But what we discovered was flapping-wing birds
and insects are perfectly suited for environments where
you have dynamic obstructionsthe trees are moving,
the branches are moving. If they do get stuck, by their
very motion they get unstuck. They kind of beat their
way through. We realized a flapping wing was the only
thing that would work.
And then theres Dickinson, who initiated the
project to build the robotic fly. Today he runs a lab
at the University of Washington and works with
advanced imaging systems to study insect flight. Early
high-speed cameras captured about 3,000 frames per
second. Fifteen years ago, the flies looked like little
fuzzy UFOs, he says. Now cameras can run at 7,500 C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

K
M
E
L

R
O
B
O
T
I
C
S
/
Y
O
U
T
U
B
E
frames per second and in infrared light.
Dickinson has also gone beyond analyz-
ing flight; hes using electrodes to record
the activity of neurons in insects brains.
He links them to a flight-simulation sys-
tem and presents them with visual stim-
ulia picture of a predator, for instance
that cause them to react. We can begin
to learn how neurons in the brain are
processing information in flight and
how sensory information is transformed
into action, Dickinson says. The stuff
that made Rob [Wood]s work possible
was just the basic mechanisms by which animals keep
themselves in the air. Now we are going beyond that to
understand how flies steer and maneuver.
Learning how nature creates superior sensors could
lead to lighter, smarter drones. And as that happens,
their range of applications will grow. Guiler and Vaneck
plan to sell the InstantEye to the military and law
enforcement. The British Forces have recently begun
using a microdrone, a hand-launched helicopter called
the Black Hornet, to scout for insurgents in Afghanistan.
Microdrones may also have uses closer to home. They
could allow police and SWAT teams to gather footage
inside office buildings or banks and between skyscrap-
ers, where winds typically gust.
Wood visualizes an even more diverse array of uses
for RoboBees. A box of about 1,000, he notes, would
weigh one pound. They could easily be shipped to a
disaster site and deployed to search for survivors. They
could also monitor traffic or the environment and help
pollinate crops. Research scientists could use them to
gather data in the field.
Whatever their application, microdrones are no lon-
ger a da Vincilike dream of engineers. Theyre taking
offagile, resilient, and under their own power.
Adam Piores last feature for Popular Science, about
savants, appeared in the March 2013 issue.
T H E C O MI N G S WA R M
Quadrotors
built by KMel
Robotics,
which was
started by
University of
Pennsylvania
graduates, y
as a swarm.
Single bio-inspired drones are useful, but dozens
can work together to accomplish a complex task. Vijay
Kumar, an engineer at the University of Pennsylvania,
teamed up with Arizona State University biologist
Stephen Pratt to apply three lessons learned from ant
swarms to fleets of quadrotors.
1) In nature, ants act autonomously.
Engineers traditionally use a centralized sys-
tem to choreograph movement in swarms,
Kumar says. As a swarm grows larger, the
control algorithms become increasingly
complex. Instead, Kumar tries to program
his aerial vehicles with a common set of
instructions; the quadrotors divide up tasks
and assume complementary roles.
2) Individual ants are interchangeable.
If I want to scale up my swarm, maintain
the predictability of its behavior, and make
it robust, the gang has to be able to perform
the task if an individual is knocked out,
Kumar says. So he makes his aerial vehicles
identical to one another.
3) Ants sense their neighbors and act
on local information. Kumar outfitted
his vehicles with motion-capture systems,
cameras, and lasers that enable them to
avoid obstacles and maintain a set distance
from each other. As a result, they can fly in
tight formations, work together to pick up
heavy objects, and collaboratively create a
map of their environment.
RoboBees
could search
disaster sites
for survivors,
monitor
traffic, or
pollinate crops.

I
Q
O
Q
I

V
I
E
N
N
A
,

A
U
S
T
R
I
A
N

A
C
A
D
E
M
Y

O
F

S
C
I
E
N
C
E
S
/

E
S
A
The 20 ideas, trends, and
breakthroughs that will shape
our world in 2014
The European Space Agencys
Optical Ground Station on
Tenerife in the Canary Islands
can communicate via laser with
NASAs newest lunar orbiter.
Here, it receives a laser trans-
mission from a telescope on
neighboring La Palma island.
SCIENCE
IN
ADDI TI ONAL REPORTI NG BY
KATE BAGGALEY AND MAC I RVI NE
YEAR

L A S E R S U N L E A S H A
F L O O D O F S P A C E D AT A
I
N JANUARY 2013, the Lunar
Reconnaissance Orbiter received a
historic transmission: an image of
the Mona Lisa. It was the first time
scientists used a laser to send data
to the moon, a feat that promises
to exponentially increase the flow of
information to and from space.
For the past 50 years, spacecraft
have relied on radio waves to com-
municate with Earth. But radio has
limitations. Airwaves are crowded.
Signals degrade with distance, so
transmissions require power-hungry
generators and large antennas.
Focused laser light operates in
wavelengths 10,000 times shorter
than radio, pumping out more
wavesand more informationeach
second. Lasers maintain signal
strength across large distances, so
transmitters require less power. And
spacecraft carrying smaller receiv-
ers would be cheaper to launch.
In October, the Lunar Atmosphere
and Dust Environment Explorer
01
(Ladee) performed another success-
ful test in which it beamed laser
pulses containing high-definition
video between three different Earth
receivers. The European Space
Agencys Alphasat, launched in July,
will use lasers to relay data from
other satellites observing Earth. And
NASA engineers have begun to con-
struct the next-generation system,
the Laser Communications Relay
Demonstration, to launch in 2017.
If space-based laser communica-
tion worksand theres little reason
to believe it wontit could change
how humans explore the solar sys-
tem. Rovers could pack extra tools
and beam back more sophisticated
data. High-def video streaming could
enable scientists to track storms
on Saturn as they do on Earth. And
astronauts could Skype home. Dave
Israel, lead investigator for the laser
relay team at Goddard Space Flight
Center, puts it this way: This jump
is an equivalent order of magnitude
from dial-up Internet to high-speed
into your house. REBECCA BOYL E
Clouds and rain can interfere with laser beams, but software flags any data gaps so that they can be patched
later. This deluge of data will require new computers to archive it, along with software that can analyze it.
The Ladee spacecraft carries
an infrared laser capable of
beaming 622 megabits per
second from space to Earth.
It takes about 20 minutes to
stream 93 gigabytes of data.
622
JANUARY
20, 2014
On this date, the Rosetta
spacecraft will wake
up from more than 42
months of deep-space
hibernation to begin the
most detailed study of a
comet. In August, it will
arrive at Comet 67P, and
in November, it will deploy
a probe to land on the
comets nucleus.
02
Y
S
I

C O MP U T E R S
D E C O D E O U R B R A I N S
N OCTOBER 7, 2013, at the Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology in
Lausanne, one of the most ambitious
brain-research projects in history
officially kicked off. The Human Brain
Projectbacked by 1.2 billion euros
and more than 250 researchersaims
to create the first complete computer
simulation of the human brain. Over
the course of a decade, everything we
know about the organs biology will be
modeled. Eventually, virtual neurons
will even be subjected to virtual drugs.
The Human Brain Project is one
element in a larger, interdisciplinary
surge in brain research that has
pulled engineers, data theorists, and
other non-neuroscientists into various
03
tational and statistical tools that we
need to make sense out of billions of
individual neurons, each becoming
active and inactive on complex time
scales, she says. So while 2014
wont be the year that the brain is
fully mapped, simulated, or hijacked,
it will be the year that the quest to do
all of thatand much moretruly gets
under way. ERI K SOFGE
O
Y
S
I
efforts. In the U.S., the government-
led Brain Initiative plans to deliver its
own first: a detailed map of all brain
activity. The future potential ranges
from the borderline poeticwatching a
memory form as activity flows across
multiple circuits of neuronsto the
clinically useful, such as a device that
could directly alter those circuits to
possibly diagnose and treat disorders.
Other projects starting in 2014
include a five-year, eight-institution
plan led by Penn State University to
simulate the visual cortex in silicon.
Cori Bargmann, a neuroscientist at
Rockefeller University, explains why
such projects are suddenly gaining
traction. We now have the compu- B
A
R
T
H
O
L
O
M
E
W

C
O
O
K
E
/
T
R
U
N
K

A
R
C
H
I
V
E
Roughly 100
billion neurons
make up the
adult human
brain, each with
about 1,000
connections.

04
PAINKILLER
CRACKDOWN
Tighter controls on
narcotic painkillers,
such as Vicodin and
Lortab, should go
into eect this year.
The regulations are
designed to reduce
abuse and overdose-
related deaths, which
have quadrupled in
the U.S. since 1999.
YEAR I N SCI ENCE 2014
Robot: RoboSimian
Team: NASA Jet
Propulsion Laboratory
Strength: Passive
stability
FIRST-RESPONDER
BOTS FACE OFF
05
In December 2014, autonomous
robots from about a dozen teams will
compete in the nal DARPA Robotics
Challenge event, performing rescue
operations in a simulated disaster.
T
O
P

D
O
W
N
:

I
M
A
G
E

S
O
U
R
C
E
/
G
E
T
T
Y

I
M
A
G
E
S
;

G
R
A
H
A
M

M
U
R
D
O
C
H

(
2
)
;

T
R
E
V
O
R

J
O
H
N
S
T
O
N
100
BI LLI ON
Robot: Valkyrie
Team: NASA Johnson
Space Center
Strength: Agility
This year, the U.S. Army will build mobile decontamination labs called
Field Deployable Hydrolysis Systems (FDHS) that can rapidly neutralize
bulk chemical-warfare agents such as sarin. The technology could be
particularly useful in a country like Syria, which does not have the proper
facilities to destroy its chemical-weapons supplies.
STEP ONE:
Dilute a given
amount of
chemical-weapon
agent with water in
the labs titanium
tank, then add
bleach (sodium
hypochlorite) and
lye (sodium
hydroxide).
STEP TWO:
Heat titanium tank
with mixture to
just about boiling
for three hours.
In that time, the
bleach, water, and
lye will hydrolyze
99.9 percent of the
chemical agent.
STEP THREE:
Transfer the
byproducts into
a tanker for ship-
ment to a regular
hazardous-waste
facility, where they
will be further
processed.
06
FDHS neutralizes 5
to 25 metric tons of
chemicals per day.
H O W T O
DISMANTLE
A CHEMICAL
WEAPON

08
Today we should embrace cutting carbon
emissions as a way to grow jobs and strengthen
the economy. Lets approach it as an opportunity
of a lifetime. Because there are too many
lifetimes at stake not to embrace it this way.
Gina McCarthy, Environmental Protection Agency administrator (appointed July 2013)
CLIMATE TAKES PRIORITY
D R O N E S G E T T H E
G R E E N L I G H T
T
HE DOMESTIC-DRONE
age will officially begin
by years end. Thats
when the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) will issue a draft
rule regulating the use of drones
under 55 pounds in U.S. airspace,
a category that includes most com-
mercial models. But the devices will
be in the air before then. Flight tests
planned for 2014 will shape the
future of unmanned aircraft for years
and perhaps decades to come.
At press time, groups from 24
states were competing to house six
sanctioned test sites, where drone
models and flight protocols will be
evaluated. And although the FAA is
expected to be restrictive in its initial
guidelineslikely requiring constant
line of sight between pilots and
unmanned aerial systems (UAS),
as well as an altitude ceiling of 400
feetthe testing at those sites will
explore more ambitious capabilities,
including autonomous sense-and-
avoid systems that would allow
drones to operate at higher altitudes,
sharing the air with manned aircraft.
In the meantime, the FAA has
07
already cleared hundreds of police
departments, public universities, and
other applicants to fly in a not-for-
profit capacity. Kyle Snyder, director
of the NextGen Air Transportation
Center at North Carolina State
University, says drone activity will
reach unprecedented levels in 2014,
as centers like his continue to gather
test data for UAS researchers and the
FAA. This is great news for farmers,
real estate agents, and anyone else
hoping for cheap aerial footage. For
those still dreading robotic overflights,
the invasion is already happening.
ERI K SOFGE
The FAA predicts as many as 7,500
commercial drones could fly within
the next five years, but general-
aviation craft will still outnumber
them by more than 30 to 1.
Y
S
I
09
CELEBRITIES
GO TO SPACE
Virgin Galactic plans to begin
commercial operations
in 2014, taking paying
passengersincluding pop
star Katy Perryto the edge
of space. T
O
P

D
O
W
N
:

P
I
E
R
R
E

A
N
D
R
I
E
U
/
A
F
P
/
G
E
T
T
Y
I
M
A
G
E
S
;
M
I
K
E

M
A
R
S
L
A
N
D
/
W
I
R
E
I
M
A
G
E
/
G
E
T
T
Y

I
M
A
G
E
S

$11.4
BI LLI ON
Curi osi t y el evat i on dat a cour t esy Jet Pr opul si on Labor at or yCal i f or ni a I nst i t ut e of Technol og y
Were one of very few industries that is actu-
ally begging for government regulations, says
Ben Gielow, government relations manager at
the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems
International. FAA rules could potentially lead to
a drone registry to help punish reckless piloting.
STEP ONE: Install pipes three
to ve feet apart into the earth
around the power plant.
STEP TWO: Pump chilled coolant
(calcium-chloride brine) into the
pipes, and circulate it continuously
through a refrigeration station.
STEP THREE: Frozen ground
around each pipe joins to form a
wall of ice, blocking water ow.
Last August, the Tokyo Electric
Power Company (Tepco) admitted
that a tank at the earthquake-
crippled Fukushima nuclear power
plant had leaked more than 300
tons of contaminated water into the
ground. To prevent groundwater
from carrying it to the ocean,
Tepco announced plans to build an
underground ice wall in 2014.
CURIOSITY ROVES TO MT. SHARP
GALE CRATER, MARS
July 4, 2013
Curiosity sets o for Mt. Sharp.
Elevation: 4520 m
Waypoint No. 1
Conglomerate rock.
Elevation: 4505 m
Waypoint No. 2
Layered outcrop.
Elevation: 4495 m
Waypoint No. 3
Images from orbit indicate an
interesting outcrop here.
Elevation: 4484 m
Waypoint
No. 4
Elevation:
4466 m
Mid-2014, base of Mt. Sharp
Researchers expect clay deposits
here to give Curiosity a view
of an earlier, wetter Mars.
Elevation: 4434 m
8 km 0 km 2 km 4 km 6 km
10
11
H O W T O
BUILD AN ICE WALL
FUKUSHIMA, JAPAN
T
R
E
V
O
R

J
O
H
N
S
T
O
N
The commercial-
drone industry
could reach
$11.4 billion
globally by
2022, according
to aerospace
research firm
Teal Group.

ANCER PRESENTS
many bedeviling issues,
starting with diagnosis.
Tissue biopsies, the
only surefire test for most cancers,
are invasive and painful and can
cause infection. They also tend to
be performed after symptoms have
developed, and thats often too late. A
new diagnostic tool may make identi-
fying some diseases much easier.
Within the body, tiny sacs called
exosomes travel through fluids, such
as blood, urine, and saliva. They
shuttle genetic material and proteins
between cells, playing an important
role in cellular communication.
We like to think of it as the bodys
Federal Express system, says
James McCullough, CEO of Exosome
Diagnostics.
McCulloughs company developed
a test to capture those messengers
and analyze the RNA they contain,
flagging mutations that point to the
presence of malignant cells. Another
company, Caris Life Sciences,
searches for proteins on the surface
of exosomes that are correlated with
certain tumors. Both groups are
racing to release the first commercial
exosome test in 2014Exosome
Diagnostics for prostate cancer, which
it identifies by isolating exosomes
in urine, and Caris Life Sciences for
prostate and breast cancers, which it
detects with a blood test.
Significant clinical studies are also
under way. Exosome Diagnostics
technique has already shown promise
detecting mutations indicative of
brain cancer in the blood. This year,
18 medical centers are evaluating
the method further. Researchers
with Exosome Sciences will begin
early-stage clinical studies to detect
HIV and hepatitis B and C using
exosomes isolated from urine.
The technologys potential is
broad. Lymphoma, tuberculosis, and
Parkinsons are all potential diagnos-
tic targets. Exosome tests could also
be used to track a diseases progress
and monitor the efficacy of treat-
ments. CA S SANDR A WI L LYARD
C
Y
S
I
Researchers are also studying
whether exosomes can be used to
treat diseases, such as Huntingtons
and multiple sclerosis, by delivering
therapeutic RNA to cells.

SCIENCE BUDGETS
STAY SMALL
UNITED STATES
14
Federal funding for basic research and development in 2013 was down 8 percent from
the previous year and 16 percent from its peak in 2010. Congressional 2014 budgets
dont restore much, and sequestration caps could make money tight for the next
decade. With research grants harder to come by, science in the U.S.and the innovation
and growth that result from itwill probably slow, according to Matt Hourihan, director of
the budget program at the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
*Sci ence- budget dat a cour t esy Amer i can Associ at i on f or t he Advancement of Sci ence. Al l amount s ar e adj ust ed
f or i nf l at i on. Fi gur es f or 2013 ar e est i mat es, and t hose f or 2014 ar e pr oposed budget s. Not i ncl uded i s t he House
2014 al l ocat i on f or t he Nat i onal I nst i t ut es of Heal t h, whi ch hadn t been r el eased when t hi s i ssue went t o pr ess.
Nondefense Defense
2004
2010
2011
2012
2013*
2014
President
House
Senate
FEDERAL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT SPENDING, 20042014
National
Institutes
of Health
NASA Department
of Energy,
nondefense
National
Science
Foundation
Other
nondefense
Other
defense
Department
of Defense,
science and
technology
Department
of Energy,
atomic
defense
There are 10
billion exosomes
in each milliliter
of blood plasma.
Just two to four
milliliters of blood
are needed for an
exosome-based
cancer test.
15
16
FOUR NEW STUDIES
EXPLORE THE
MEDICAL BENEFITS
AND PRACTICAL
DILEMMAS THAT ARISE
FROM SEQUENCING
NEWBORNS GENOMES
WIND GOES OFFSHORE
These grants will allow us to collect
information about the ethical, legal,
and social implications of this testing
prior to its widespread application. Its
not clear how patients or providers will
deal with this information.
Armand Antommaria, director of the
Ethics Center at Cincinnati Childrens
Hospital Medical Center
Multiple projects, including Cape Wind
(in Massachusetts Nantucket Sound)
and Deepwater Wind (near Block
Island, Rhode Island), are vying to
become the rstoshorewindfarm
in the U.S. They plan to begin
construction in 2014.
L
E
F
T

T
O

R
I
G
H
T
:

L
A
G
U
N
A

D
E
S
I
G
N
/
G
E
T
T
Y

I
M
A
G
E
S
;

E
V
I
R
G
E
N
/
G
E
T
T
Y

I
M
A
G
E
S
10
BI LLI ON
17 SEVERAL NEW FUNDS
CREATED EXCLUSIVELY
FOR BITCOINS ENABLE
INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS TO
BUY AND TRADE SHARES OF
THE DIGITAL CURRENCY.
Were approaching an inection point. The catalyst for bitcoin to
succeed could be regulatory clarity, major venture-capital investment,
support from a large country like China, or improved accessibility
for investors.
Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of SecondMarket, which runs the
Bitcoin Investment Trust

P H Y S I C I S T S
C R E AT E
S P Y P R O O F
C O D E
T HASNT EXACTLY been
a banner year for privacy.
Revelations of the National Security
Agencys mass-surveillance efforts
underscored the obvious need for
better data security. Recent break-
throughs in quantum cryptography
could provide just that: spyproof
encryption thats no longer lodged
in laboratories or stuck at industrial-
grade price points.
Quantum key distribution (QKD)
is an essentially unbreakable encryp-
tion protocol that exploits one of
quantum physics more head-spinning
principlesthat simply observing
information changes it. In a QKD-
based system, a randomly generated
key is encoded on light particles and
shared through fiber-optic cables
before being used to encrypt sensitive
data. Any attempt to detect the key en
route will alter its photons, indicating
that the transmission has been inter-
cepted and a new key is necessary.
So far, QKD has remained tethered
to fiber-optic networks. It also requires
large emitters and detectors, but now
researchers are working to miniaturize
them: Nokia and the University of
Bristol in England are collaborating on
18
a quantum source small enough to
fit in a phone, while physicists at the
Institute of Quantum Computing in
Waterloo, Ontario, are developing
microsatellites that could beam
encoded photons across the globe.
The best evidence of QKDs
momentum might be GridCOM
Technologies, which plans to launch
the first commercial quantum-
encrypted data network in San
Diego by September. Although
the companys initial focus is on
To demonstrate the first QKD
system that works with wireless
devices, GridCOM plans to send
an uncrackable, NSA-proof text
between phones by the end of 2013.
Quantum cryptography differs
from quantum computers, which
rely on spookier principles, such
as manipulating bits of data that
register as both ones and zeroes.
Y
S
I
Although dis-
tance is a limiting
factor, research-
ers continue to
set quantum-
communication
records. One
group recently
beamed photons
encoded with
quantum bits
through 186
miles of fiber-
optic cable.
186
I
securing infrastructurethe network
will protect a portion of the citys
electrical grid against cyberattack
GridCOM co-founder Duncan Earl,
a physicist formerly at Oak Ridge
National Laboratory, wants to scale
up to larger bandwidths suitable
for mobile phones and PCs. In
five years, this technology will be
everywhere, Earl says. Were about
to enter the age of cryptography.
We have to have it, to support the
world weve created. ERI K SOFGE D
O
N

F
A
R
R
A
L
L
/
G
E
T
T
Y

I
M
A
G
E
S
MI LES

FEBRUARY 11
Mars Rover Curiosity
Has Become the First
Robot to Drill Another
Planet
FEBRUARY 15
Videos: Space Rock
Explodes Over Russia
MARCH 4
5 Things You Should
Know About the Baby
Cured of HIV
MARCH 13
ALMA, Earths Largest
Telescope, Is O cially
Open for Business
MARCH 14
New Results Conrm:
The Particle Believed to
Be the Higgs Boson
Really Is the Higgs Boson
APRI L 22
Apply Now for a One-
Way Trip to Mars
LOOKING BACK
BIG THINGS HAPPENED IN 2013 TOO.
TWELVE HEADLINES FROM POPSCI.COM:
MAY 14
X-47B Takes O from
an Aircraft Carrier
JUNE 13
U.S. Supreme Court
Rules on Gene Patents
AUGUST 5
The First Lab-Grown
Hamburger Is Served
SEPTEMBER 6
NSA Has Secretly Been
Hacking, Cracking, and
Circumventing
Encryption for Years
SEPTEMBER 12
Voyager 1 Has Entered
Interstellar Space
OCTOBER 2
The Government
Shutdown Has Halted
Obamas $100M Brain
Initiative
SIXTEEN STUDIES
ORGANIZED BY THE
ENVIRONMENTAL
DEFENSE FUND WILL
DETERMINE CLIMATE
IMPACT FROM NATURAL-
GAS PRODUCTION
AND DISTRIBUTION.
If we want to reduce greenhouse-gas
emissions, we need to understand
the sources, including methane from
the natural-gas supply chain, and the
options to minimize that leakage. You
cant accomplish those two goals if
you dont have the data.
Steven Hamburg, chief scientist,
Environmental Defense Fund
20
R
I
V
E
R
N
O
R
T
H
P
H
O
T
O
G
R
A
P
H
Y
/
G
E
T
T
Y

I
M
A
G
E
S
19 INFECTIOUS DISEASES REEMERGE
In 1900, the U.S. death
rate from infectious disease
was 40 times higher than
it is today. But despite the
progress made last century,
some illnesses have begun
to reappear. We are facing a
perfect storm of vulnerability,
says Tom Frieden, director of
the Centers for Disease Con-
trol, citing increasing travel
and food trade, failure to
vaccinate against preventable
diseases, and poor antibiotic
management as causes.
Cases of pertussis, or whooping cough,
have climbed in the U.S. for several
reasons. For one, the vaccine adopted
in the 1990s wears o faster than the
previous vaccine did. Better diagnostic
tests in the U.S. may also contribute to
the higher prevalance.
Measles was eliminated in the U.S.
in 2000, but cases still pop up when
unvaccinated people pick up the highly
contagious disease abroad. Outbreaks
have been worst where infected travel-
ers return to areas with relatively high
numbers of other unvaccinated people.
WHOOPING COUGH MEASLES
1,125* cases
since 2001
Directly
imported
cases 39%
Cases
linked to
imports
51%
Unknown 10%
50
Pertussis
cases
per
100,000
people
0
World
U.S.
1980 1990 2000 2010
*Measl es case number s f or 2012 t hr ough August 2013 ar e pr el i mi nar y. Dat a f or U. S. per t ussi s, measl es,
and gonor r hea cour t esy Cent er s f or Di sease Cont r ol , wi t h gonor r hea f i gur es f r om t he Gonococcal
I sol at e Sur vei l l ance Pr oj ect . Gl obal per t ussi s f i gur es cour t esy Wor l d Heal t h Or gani zat i on.
Fewer drugs are available to combat
gonorrhea as it develops resistance to
more antibioticsthough no U.S. case
has yet failed treatment. Of particular
concern is the bugs long memory:
It retains its resistance even after a
particular drug is no longer prescribed.
GONORRHEA SUPERBUG
20%
10%
0%
Samples showing antibiotic resistance
1987 2011
Tetracycline Penicillin Ciprooxacin

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME A
CITIZEN ASTRONAUT?
ENDING PEOPLE to space has always
involved a frank assessment of their
defects, and in the early days, it was a
matter of fnding people without any.
First it was fghter pilotscalm in a crisis,
physically perfect, unquestioning in their execution of
mission controls instructions. Then, as it became clear
that space was more than a military objective, space
agencies began to train scientists for fight, placing
otherwise reasonable researchers into fghter jets and
swimming pools and screening them relentlessly for
defects of vision, circulation, or character.
Now a new category of space traveler is headed
beyond the stratosphere. Not the combat pilots and
astrophysicists who train for at least two years just
to get a shot at a trip, but the rest of us, with our
carry-on bags, our iPads, our motion sickness. Folks.
Citizens. Regular people.
At press time, Virgin Galactics SpaceShipTwo had
already survived its frst Mach-1 test fight, and its
backer, Richard Branson, plans to be on board when
it launches to space in the second half of the year.
Meanwhile, the XCOR Lynx prototype is slated for
tests early this year; the company says it will make a
suborbital fight with passengers shortly thereafer.
And SpaceX recently initiated the development of its
own passenger spacecraf.
Until this point, space, the fnal frontier, existed al-
most as an abstraction for most of us, a curiously ap-
pealing void just beyond our grasp. Now it is within
reach. The democratization of space has arrived.
There are, of course, caveats. Tickets are not cheap.
A seat with Virgin Galactic or XCOR costs $95,000
to $250,000, which limits access to the very rich or
the very dedicated. And then there is the issue of the
fight. According to a spokesperson, Based on the
companys initial evaluations and training, Virgin
Galactic expects that most people should be able to
fy. But traveling to space takes a remarkable amount
of physical stamina. I found that out the hard way.
ON A SWELTERING summer day in southeastern
Pennsylvania, I turn into the entrance of the National
AeroSpace Training and Research (Nastar) Center,
the only privately run spacefight-training facility in
the country. It looks rather humdrum, a warehouse
surrounded by strip malls and of ce buildings, but
its one of the few places where aspiring astronauts
can endure the twin trials of lifof and reentry with-
out leaving Earth.
Nastar Center trains military, civilian, and private
pilots and acts as a showroom for Environmental
Tectonics Corporation (ETC), its parent company
and one of the countrys largest manufacturer of
simulators. When an allied air force wants to buy a
fight simulator, ETC brings representatives here to
whip them around. And in the private-space industry,
the company found a new market for its services.
S
STORY BY JACOB WARD
PHOTOGRAPH BY CODY PI CKENS
SPACE
SCHOOL
T H E
T R I A L S
A ND
T O R ME NT S
O F

Private space
travel involves
more than an
expensive ticket.
Passengers will
need to endure
up to 6 Gs of
force to reach
328,000 feet.

Upon entering the building, I see a gallery of
notable visitors lining one wall, Buzz Aldrin and
Richard Branson among them. Down the hall is an
ejection-seat simulator and hypobaric chamber. And
then theres the enormous centrifuge into which Im
going to try not to barf today.
In the lobby, I shake hands with four giddy hope-
fuls clad in custom-made blue-and-red fight suits
they brought with them. These are the frst fight
candidates from the United States Rocket Academy
(USRA), a nonproft thats seeking to create a new
category of astronaut-qualifed average Joes, so-called
citizen astronauts who can skip the rigorous two-year
training that NASA astronauts must endure. These
four, who hold tickets for the XCOR Lynx fight in
2014, will be among the frst citizen astronauts to
leave the planet. By being here at Nastar Center, they
hope to help establish a training protocol for this new
class of astronaut, defning the battery of tests that
will someday go along with a ticket to ride.
Its a beta/alpha test of a citizen-astronaut
training program, says Ed Wright, who founded
the USRA afer a career at Microsof and is leading
his group today. We plan to bring people up who
want to be space operators, not just space tour-
ists. Wright, a man in his early 50s with a head so
perfectly round, it seems built for a fight helmet,
has been planning this test for months. He believes
in the private space movement. And he thinks that it
can be a platform for a new kind of citizen science.
During their precious few minutes in space, the four
members of the USRA plan to conduct a handful of
experiments chosen from dozens of projects submit-
ted online. Its a lower strata of scientifc research,
one that might not qualify for a NASA berth but
could beneft from even the shortest time in orbit.
But to do this, theyll frst have to reach space in
sound body and mind.
Our class at the facility includes a few additional
space tourists, including a commercial pilot for
whom this is a dream vacation, a college science
teacher who never quite explains why hes here, and
a European customer-relations person for a fedgling
private-space-travel agency who wants to experience
what her clients will.
In a classroom of the lobby, we receive a couple
of hours instruction. Swee Weng Fan, a former fight
surgeon for the Singapore air force, sofly talks us
through the basics of Newtonian physics and human
physiology, explaining that our bodies are mostly P
H
O
T
O
G
R
A
P
H

B
Y

J
J

S
U
L
I
N

The Phoenix
Centrifuge at Nastar
Center can model
any phase of flight.
us at half strength frstIm guessing so we have a
chance to back out.
I watch the frst student strap in. Richard, the
commercial pilot, looks to be in his late 50s and has
wanted to be an astronaut for as long as he can re-
member. He is utterly unfazed by his tests. At the end
of his heavier Gx run, he cheerfully pushes against
the force with his arms, miming push-ups, and reen-
ters the observation room to applause and high-fves.
I feel heartened by Richards performance. Afer
all, Im younger than he. But then Phil, the college
science instructor, who looks closer to my age, takes
his turn in the centrifuge. As the test ramps up, I
hear him complaining of nausea over the monitors.
Im next, and I rise from my seat with worry in my
stomach. As I approach the centrifuge, Phil wobbles
down the steps and stands unsteadily for a moment.
I can see that his hairline is ringed with perspiration.
Im okay, he says weakly, speaking past me into the
air. I pat him on the shoulder and mount the steps.
SPACE SCHOOL
The maximum gravitational force exerted on a
citizen astronauts body during a suborbital launch.
6Gs
JANUARY 2014 / POPULAR SCI ENCE / 57
water, run through by a circulatory system that keeps
it functioning. Then we segue to how Newtons
discoveriesrest and velocity, acceleration, equal
and opposite forcecan quickly conspire to disrupt
that system in terrible ways. When G-forces pull the
blood from a pilots head and pool it at the feet, for
instance, they upset the fow of oxygen to the brain.
The result is G-forceinduced loss of consciousness,
or G-LOC. The eyes roll back, the body spasms, the
pilot passes outtheres even a bit of dreaming, Swee
tells us. The warning signs include tunnel vision and
temporary blindness. It will be our job this afernoon
to resist G-LOC with an antiG-strain maneuver.
By tensing the legs, butt, and other major muscles
below the heart, and by taking quick, deep breaths,
Swee says, its possible to push blood back up into
the head and not pass out, even as the centrifuge
whirls us in circles at a steady 6 Gs.
By noon, I know this is all going to go very badly
for me. I havent shared with the instructors or my
classmates that I come from a long, queasy line. My
grandfather heaved of the sides of the USS United
States on his way to India. My father likes to tell the
story of puking into an airsickness bag as I laid in his
lap as an infant. I have been ill aboard boats, cars,
and airplanes, and today, I am certain, I will add a
centrifuge to my list.
We gather in an observation room overlooking
the massive, whirling machine, whose arc is at least
50 feet in diameter. It moves impossibly fast, like a
giants hammer in full swing; yet in this room not 30
feet away, we dont feel any vibration. Monitors that
broadcast views from within the centrifuge capsule
line the walls. With the leather couches and the mul-
tiple screens, the place looks like a sports bar, albeit
one in which every patron is wearing a fight suit.
There are two G-forces well experience today.
The frst is along the z-axis, the one that goes up and
down. Its referred to as Gz. The Gz forces are what
cause G-LOC, because they drive blood from the
brain. The second force is Gx, which extends from
the chest through the back. Gx causes the face to
peel up and back and exerts a crushing sensation on
the lungs. But while Gx is a nuisance to be tolerated
(up to 10 Gx, whereupon it begins to infict injury),
Gz is what fghter pilots worry about and train to
resist. Well endure four tests of roughly 10 seconds
each2.2 and 3.5 Gz, and 3 and 6 Gx. The lesser
number is about half of what it takes to get to space.
The greater number is the maximum a spacegoer will
encounter during a suborbital launch. Swee will test
I have been ill aboard boats, cars, and
airplanes. Today I will add a centrifuge.

Gy Its extremely rare to experience prolonged
sideways G-force in an air- or spacecraft. Only a
at spin or a T-bone collision tends to produce it.
Gy can move or even dislodge organs.
F O R C E S O F F L I G H T
Gx This is the classic lips-peeled-back G-force. It
looks gruesome, but its the most tolerable: In the
1950s, U.S. Air Force Colonel John Stapp showed
a human can survive more than 45 Gx.
Gz The vertical G-force arises when the craft
performs loops. It induces tunnel vision and
unconsciousness when too much G-force drains
blood from the head .
ODAY, the nature and trajectory of a pri-
vate spacefight is well understood. Take,
for example, Virgin Galactic: A carrier
aircraf called WhiteKnightTwo will bring
SpaceShipTwo, carrying six passengers, to
50,000 feet. Once SpaceShipTwo detaches, a hybrid
rocket motor will ignite, and the craf will acceler-
ate to supersonic speed in eight seconds, gradually
pulling into a vertical climb and reaching a maximum
velocity of Mach 3.5 during a roughly 70-second
burn. At 328,000 feet, the border of space, Space-
ShipTwo will foat for several minutes before rotating
its tail upward and falling back into Earths gravita-
tional pull, treating passengers to beautiful views of
Earth (and briefy subjecting them to roughly 6 Gs).
At 70,000 feet, the tail returns to its normal position,
and the craf glides to Earth for another 25 minutes.
Total fight time: approximately two hours from
boarding to disembarkation.
But while Virgin and XCOR have spent billions
developing a reliable means to get passengers to space,
many equally complicated issues remain, the frst of
which is determining who should be allowed to fy. For
this, NASA has very strict guidelines: vision correct-
able to 20/20, seated blood pressure below 140/90,
a height of 5'2" to 6'3"and thats before the water-
survival tests and scuba certifcation. According to
Federal Aviation Administration regulations on space-
fight, private space companies cannot sell tickets to
anyone younger than 18. But thats the only guideline.
For now, the question of whether to attempt the
trip falls by and large to the passengers. The Nastar
Center simulator can help that decision alongif you
cant make it through 10 minutes in a simulator, you
may want to reconsider the second mortgage on your
home. Virgin already recommends that prospective
passengers take a spin in a centrifuge, and the new
breed of space outftters popping up to serve private
space tourists are deciding if they should mandate
this sort of training session for all customers.
The next issue companies will have to address is
what to do with passengers once they reach 328,000
feet. Can they get up and foat around? What hap-
pens if someone has a medical emergency? Or needs
the bathroom? Nastar Center, as one of the few facili-
ties in the world with the equip-
ment to simulate a trip to space,
ofers a rare chance to probe
these questions. The companies
that use us for training are asking
us what were fnding out, says
Brienna Henwood, the director
of space training and research at
Nastar Center. Theyre trying to
sort out what to do.
Beyond those very broad
brushstrokes, the details of
private spacefight are still a long
way from resolved. Consider that
it took the airline industry years
to establish protocolsseat backs,
tray tables, etc.that work for
everyone. And that was in the
Earths atmosphere. In a weight-
less environment, vomiting means
the threat of bits of regurgitated
food foating into your nasal
passages. Sixty-two miles above
Earth, what laminated safety-
information card can help you
with that?
I can see
his hairline
is ringed
with sweat.
g
Im okay,
he says
weakly,
yy
speaking
y, y,
past me
into the air. he air
pp
SPACE SCHOOL
From the
centrifuge control
room, a flight
surgeon can
administer as
many as 12 Gs
of force.
F O R C E S O F F L I G H T
I
L
L
U
S
T
R
A
T
I
O
N
S

B
Y

N
I
C
K

J
A
C
Q
U
E
S

T
K
T
T
K
K
T
K
T
K
T
K
K
T
K
K
T
K
T
K
T
K
T
The spatial-
disorientation
trainer is designed
to emulate
spins, dives, and
other vestibular
nightmares.
W
ITHIN THE CENTRIFUGE, I strap
into a pilot seat in front of a blank,
curved wall onto which a false hori-
zon and gauges are projected. The
rotation of the centrifuge is designed
to fool the inner ear into believing the horizon is
where the simulation shows it to be, but my inner ear
is more skeptical than most, unwilling to accept what
it cannot see for itself, and before the door closes, I
know Im dead.
I spot an airsickness bag on one side of the seat,
and I take it out to determine exactly where the busi-
ness end is. Then I try to jab it back into its sleeve,
fail, and let it fall to the foor. Ive got more important
things to worry about.
Are you ready? asks Swee over the cockpit
speakers. Hes overseeing the simulation from a con-
trol room. Yes, I say, trying to sound jaunty. The
centrifuge begins its idle rotationa mere 1.4 Gs,
intended to simulate fat, straight fight. The screen in
front of me shows a level horizon, mountains passing
beneath me. My inner ear knows something is not
right. It can sense that Im actually moving in a circle
and keeps sending my eyes to the lef in an efort to
fnd what it knows is the real horizon, somewhere
outside this capsule. I have to fght to keep focused
on the false, fat one projected in front of me. Im a
little dizzy, I say faintly. Okay, just rest until youre
ready, Swee replies.
Eventually I realize I could spin all day. Its not
going to get better, I say. Lets go.
The frst maneuver is a hard right turn, perhaps 45
degrees. As I crank over, my inner ear begins to send
multiple signals. Youre falling forward, it says. And
to the right, it adds. Also, go ahead and scream, it
suggests. My eyes dont know where to look, and just
as I begin to panic, the horizon rotates level again,
adding a new clash of vestibular signals to the mix.
One of four tests is over, and I already feel awful. P
H
O
T
O
G
R
A
P
H
S

B
Y

J
J

S
U
L
I
N
CONTI NUED ON PAGE 77

WikiHouse provides an
open library of home
designs to any user.
Pick one, print it from
plywood on a CNC mill,
and snap it together.

Architect Alastair Parvin
co-founded WikiHouse,
which uses crowdsourcing
to improve home design
and construction.
An open-source construction system could upend architecture as we know it
HOME I N
A DAY
ON A COLD, GRAY DAY in central London, Alastair
Parvin is staring at a coffeepot, or what used to be
one before he took it apart to clean it. The appliance
lies strewn across an office table, a wreck of wet steel
and springs. Parvin co-founded WikiHouse, an open-
source construction system that could transform how
people design and construct buildings. But rebuilding
a percolator seems to have him stumped.
After a few failed attempts, Parvin reconstructs
the machine, produces coffee, and shows me around
the maker space he shares on one floor of a mid-20th-
century skyscraper. Its a sprawling landscape of
desks, sofas, and bulletin boards with a plywood house
frame rising from within the common area. Its also
an apt manifestation of WikiHouse itself: occupants
STORY BY
RUPERT GOODWI NS

taking back architecture on their own terms.
The 30-year-old Parvin, a member of the design
collective 00 (pronounced zero zero), started
WikiHouse with fellow architect Nick Ierodiaconou
in 2011. In effect, the two set out to subvert their
profession just as they were entering the workforce.
Architecture, Parvin argued at an attention-grabbing
TED talk in 2013, has become a rarefied service
for only the very rich. WikiHouse aims to put home
design and construction in the hands of all people,
regardless of training or economic status. It has
established a free library of building plans that
anyone can download, adapt, print, and construct.
WikiHouse is an open production system, Parvin
says. Using a 3-Dmodeling program like Google
SketchUp, you can build your plans from scratch,
import some from the WikiHouse site, or mix the
two approaches. Then, send the plans to a CNC
machine, which cuts the pieces from plywood. Its
like printing an Ikea flat-pack house.
As with ready-to-assemble furniture, the plans
clearly match the cut pieces, so construction is
straightforward. Moreover, many of the pieces fit
together with wedges and pegs that are also cut from
plywood, simplifying the tools and reducing, if not
eliminating, the number of metal fasteners required.
Cover the finished frame with cladding, pack it with
insulation, and you have a structure you can live in.
So far, there are a handful of prototype
WikiHouses and one completed constructiona
walkers shelter in Fridaythorpe, England, a moor-
land village of 300 people previously noted for
hosting the World Championship Flat Cap Throwing
Competition. Theres no inhabited WikiHouse yet,
Parvin says. But weve got several on the board.
Meanwhile, the number of WikiHouse users
is growing. What began as a small project has
developed into a global community of individuals
and teams who experiment with designs, share their
HOME I N A DAY
experiences, and collectively troubleshoot.
But even if thousands of forward-thinking
landowners choose to erect their houses themselves,
WikiHouse doesnt yet replace an essential role of
architects and contractors: navigating the maze of
laws, approvals, and materials needed to keep an
abode safe, legal, warm, and plumbed-in. Parvin
acknowledges that limitation, and to address it, he
says he plans to expand the site to provide designs
suited to a users location and needs.
Our dream is to make WikiHouse simple to use,
with parametric software that lets you say how big

At WikiHouses London office space, visitors
inspect the frame of a prototype shelter.
The joints have wedge and peg connections
inspired by classical Korean architecture.
Install Google SketchUp, a free
3-Dmodeling program, and
download the plug-in for WikiHouse
(wikihouse.cc/guide/download).
Use a CNC mill (or hire a machine
shop) to cut the beams, panels, and
other pieces from a sheet material
such as plywood.
Choose a home design from the
WikiHouse library, and click make
this house in SketchUp to generate
cutting les for its components.
Match the pieces to form a frame,
and connect them with pegs. Raise
the frame, and screw on the walls,
roof, and oor panels.
Plumb and wire the structure, and
add insulation, windows, and cladding
to weatherproof it. Now your new
WikiHouse is ready for occupants.
you want things, what material youre using, and
then generates everything, Parvin says. It will
know about all sorts of things, like the way plywood
behaves in different humidities, your climate, your
electricity, even your zoning laws.
Parvin grew up as Wikipedia began to mortally
gore the Encyclopaedia Britannicahe was 17 when
the crowdsourced reference site launchedand he
wants the Internet to likewise force the evolution of
his field. An open system makes it possible to scale
and test ideas quickly, so WikiHouse could become a
launching pad for new building technology. It could
also destabilize the established role of architects
and construction firms: Why pay them to design and
build something thats already been perfected and
put together thousands of times? Parvin has not only
spotted the technological shift that makes his training
as an architect redundant; hes actively trying to
bring that shift about.
At the end of the interview, we pick up our
respective digital tablets. Parvin takes the opportunity
to talk about the Claude glass, a tablet-size 18th-
century black mirror used by landscape painters to
view a scene with heightened contrast and color. Its
credited with reviving the popular art of the land-
scape. Technology isnt about higher, faster, bigger,
he says, staring into the black mirror of his iPad mini.
Its about reducing thresholds, enabling ordinary
people. Thats when it changes cultures.
Rupert Goodwins writes about technology in the U.K.
1
3
2
4
5

(719) 676-2700 www.pIasmacam.com
PO Box 19818 CoIorado City, CO 81019
The PlasmaCAM machine makes it
easy for you to cut intricate
metal shapes that really
enhance your projects.
Call today for your
FREE demo video to see
what you can do with this
amazing machine!
Ask about our
exclusive Art Discs with
ready-to-cut artwork!
We used to cut everything by hand and
had a lot of trouble. Now our PlasmaCAM
does it all, attaining levels of production
not thought possible before. Its run 40-50 hours a
week for the past three years. It attains incredible
detail, is very easy and cost efcient to operate,
and requires little maintenance. The bottom line is:
this machine makes me money!
-Jon, Restaurant Lighting & Fixtures

HOW 2.0
TIME 2 years
COST $5,000
RAEME OBREE
doesnt own a car. And
why would he? The
Scottish racing cyclist built a bike in
his kitchen that can travel at highway
speeds. Last year, it even broke a
world record.
Obree is no cycling novice. In
1993, he broke the world record for
distance biked in an hour: He cycled
32 miles in 60 minutes on a closed
Build a sifter to hunt for shark fossils PAGE 68
E D I T E D B Y D A V E MO S H E R J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 4 H 2 0 @P O P S C I . C O M
P O P S C I . C O M @P O P S C I
WARNI NG
We review all our projects
before publishing them, but
ultimately your safety is your
responsibility. Always wear
protective gear, take proper
safety precautions, and follow
all laws and regulations.
PLUS
:

Good and bad
ideas for using a
belt sander
PAGE 70
JANUARY 2014 / POPUL AR SCI ENCE /65
STORY BY ROSE CONRY
PHOTOS BY RI CK ROBSON
track. Another cyclist broke the
record later that year, but in 1994
Obree reclaimed the title. Winning is
almost like a drug you keep needing
more of, he says.
So Obree kept competing. And
after winning two races in 2007, at
age 42, he gained the confidence
to try something few people had
ever attempted: to build the planets
fastest human-powered vehicle. It
YOU BUI LT WHAT?!
The fastest face-down,
headfrst, human-
powered vehicle
The Beastie Bike
PRONE POWER
Unlike typical
bikes, the Beastie
positions the rider
like a bullet to
reduce drag.

H2 H2
would have to exceed 82.819 mph, a
record set in 2009 on a recumbent
(feet-first, face-up) bike.
Using roller skates, a saucepan,
and other household items, Obree
spent two years designing and
building prototypes with few
preconceptions. The first thing I
asked myself was, What would an
alien do? he says.
Obree realized one of the speedi-
est and most alien situations for a
human is skydiving. When skydivers
plummet headfirst, with their arms
tucked to the sides and their legs
squeezed to a point, they can
approach speeds of 200 mph.
The posture led Obree to design a
headfirst bike that would allow him
to pump his legs horizontally, like
steam-engine pistons, instead of
up and down. Itd be an uncomfort-
able setup, but Obree thought it
could reduce drag and energy
lost to friction.
In September 2013, Obree joined
other record-breaking hopefuls
on a desolate stretch of two-lane
highway in Battle Mountain, Nevada.
He enclosed himself inside the
Beasties aerodynamic shell and
pedaled furiously. The bike fell over
and skidded during the first two
runs. On the third run, the pedaling
motion and a headwind caused him
to weave like a snake, slowing him
down. Obree didnt graze his goal,
but he hit 56.62 mphenough to
bust prone cyclings previous speed
record of 54.9 mph. (A Dutch-built
recumbent bicycle called VeloX3,
meanwhile, reached 83.13 mph,
breaking the overall human-powered
speed record.)
Obree now plans to quit racing
and sell the Beastiehe jokes that it
would make a good coffee tablebut
thinks someone could improve upon
his idea. I was hoping to go much
quicker, he says. Its ma ybe even
more important to learn what I got
wrong than what I got right.
66 / POPUL AR SCI ENCE
Vantage Connect
New from Davis Instruments, Vantage Connect

provides weather data from remote locations.
Pair with Davis Integrated Sensor Suites
and Special Purpose Stations or
integrate with an existing setup.
Vantage Connect is a great option
for monitoring remote areas where
you need to manage your environment
and mitigate risk.
NEW
Repcrts weather ccnditicns tc
the web via cellular connection
Sends real-time weather alerts
to your smartphone, tablet or PC
Runs on solar power and
doesnt require any additional
power sources
Delivers remcte data tc ycur
home or ofceanywhere you
have an internet connection
Includes WeatherLink
software
and a WeatherLink.com account
for easy data sharing
vANTA0E 00NNE0T SH0WN PARED WTH
vANTA0E PR02 NTE0RATED SENS0R SUTE WTH
24-H0UR FAN-ASPRATED RADAT0N SHELD
a?injWom V o-o-9
P
O
S
1
4
0
1

HOW I T WORKS
JANUARY 2014 / POPUL AR SCI ENCE /67
H O W 2 . 0 / Y O U B U I LT WH AT ? !
POWER
Boomerang-shaped bars allow horizontal
pedaling at the back of the bike.
POSTURE
Obree cut up a saucepan
and crafted the pieces into
a shoulder brace.
STRUCTURE
Steel-and-manganese poles make for
a strong yet lightweight frame. Obree
joined the pieces with silver because
he could easily melt the metal at
home with a plumbers torch.
SPEED & SAFETY
A shell made of
lightweight Kevlar and
fiberglass reduces drag
while protecting Obree
from wipeouts. A small
window helps him see
the road as he breathes
through a snorkel.
BREAKI NG
DOWN
THE
BI KE
2013 K&N Engineering, Inc.
WHICH WOULD YOU
RATHER HAVE UNDER
THE HOOD OF YOUR CAR?
REPLACE YOUR FACTORY AIR BOX SYSTEM
WITH A K&N
INTAKE SYSTEM FOR A

GUARANTEED INCREASE
IN HORSEPOWER
KNFILTERS.COM/PS
800-437-1304 Ext. 2051
Look up the Estimated
Horsepower Gains Available
for Your Car at:
Washable and Never Needs Replacing
Easy to Install in 90 Minutes or Less
100,000 Miles Between Cleanings*
* Under normal highway driving conditions

Y
H2
L I V I N G L E G E N D S
Goblin shark teeth sometimes turn up
in fossil sifters. The deepwater species has
changed very little in 70 million years.
Fossil Finder
ou dont need to be a paleontologist or travel
through remote canyons to find exquisite
fossils. The teeth, shells, and bones of ancient
animals could lurk in a creek, quarry, or on a beach near
you. Once you find a good locationthe map below shows
a bunch of spotsyoull need to separate fossils from
surrounding soil. A mesh-lined letter tray works in a pinch,
but the best option is to build your own sifter. We like this rig
made from -inch chicken wire and 1-inch-by-2-inch planks.
Wood floats, so your sieve wont sink, and the wire can
catch shark or ray teeth, small bones, and even ammonite
casts. It works best in water, where erosion has done most
of the hard work; unwanted sand, dirt, and pebbles will
wash out of the bottom without spreading dust.
Sift through paleontological
history with this simple tool
MATERI ALS ( PER SI FTER) :
1. Six feet of 1-inch-by-2-inch wood
2. Eight 1-inch-long wood screws
3. 1 sq. foot of chicken wire (galvanized, with
-inch holes)
MEASURE: Use the measuring tape
and felt-tip marker to divide the plank of
wood into two 16-inch pieces and two
7-inch ones.
CUT: Clamp down the wood, and saw
across the markings. The four pieces will
comprise the sifters frame. (Save the
scrap for any additional sifters.)
SCREW: Place the short pieces between
the ends of the long ones, forming a
rectangle, and clamp them down. Drive
two screws through each corner.
SNIP: Measure an 8-inch-by-16-inch
rectangle of chicken wire. Snip it out,
being careful to avoid leaving any
sharp prongs.
I NSTRUCTIONS:
A
B
C
D
STORY BY DAVE MOSHER
H O W 2 . 0 / B U I L D I T
Watch a video
demo of the sift,
see what we found
with ours, and view
a bigger map of
fossil-sifting sites
at popsci.com/
fossilsifter.
ATTACH: Staple the wire to one side of
the frame. Five staples across each short
piece and 10 across each longer piece
will do. Hammer in any exposed prongs.
SIFT: Load the sifter with a few scoops
of fossil-rich earth. Shake to remove
sand, mud, and pebbles. Examine the
catch to see if you got lucky.
E
F
TIME 1 hour
COST About $10
DIFFICULTY
TOOLS:
1. Measuring tape
2. Felt-tip marker
3. Four bar clamps
4. Saw
WARNING: Protect yourself from sharp edges and flying debris with safety gloves and
eyewear. When hunting fossils, dont break the law! Always get permission and permits.
5. Cordless drill
6. Metal snips
7. Staple gun
8. Hammer
27
I LLUSTRATI ONS BY KEVI N HAND
GREAT
FOSSIL- SIFTING SITES

Everything comes together in each Reverie
Dream Sleep System
to provide you
with an ideal environment for rest, relaxation and rejuvenation.
The Bed Designed for You
Every aspect of each Reverie
Dream Sleep System

is designed to provide you with the perfect place for
sleeping, reading, watching TV, talking with your
partner or even working on your laptop or iPad.
Support You Can Customize
Reverie
uses patented support technology so you can

customize the rmness level to your exact preference
on both sides of the bed. Plus you can change your
rmness level in just minutes if your preferences or
needs change.
Adjustable Foundation for Sleeping and Relaxation
Te adjustable foundation allows you to raise or
lower each side of the bed independently so you can
relax and sleep in comfort. Teres an Anti-Snore
setting for those who snore or have acid reux and
the Zero-Gravity setting is particularly soothing
for those with back pain. Youll never want to go
back to a at bed.
Natural Materials for a Healthy Sleep Environment
Reverie

uses natural breathable materials for healthy,
comfortable sleep. Our sustainable plant-based
materials are naturally anti-bacterial, anti-microbial
and dust mite resistant. And they look great and will
last for years and years.
Built-in Full Body Massage
Each Reverie
Dream Sleep System
includes a gentle,
full body massage for total relaxation and comfort,
helping you fall asleep faster. Youll look forward to
going to bed each night.
2013 Reverie. All rights reserved. 30200 Telegraph Road, Bingham Farms, Michigan 48025
A Better Bed = Better Sleep
DreamCells come in four rmness levels and are custom
congured to meet you and your partners support preferences.
Free Brochure and DVD Info Kit
To learn more about how this revolutionary
new bed can improve your life,
please request your free information kit.
Call 1-800-685-3445
www.reverie.com
Dept. 1033
101 Night No-Risk Trial
Each Reverie Dream Sleep System includes a 101 Night
No-Risk Trial so you can try your new bed in your own home.
No return fees. No restocking fees. No fne print. No hassles. 100% refund.

H2
Use a Belt
Sander to . . .
G O O D I D E A / B A D I D E A / H O W 2 . 0
SHARPEN KNI VES
(good i dea)
STORY BY MAC I RVI NE
Belt sanders may smooth oors and strip
paint, but YouTube user wyldediver demon-
strates how they can also breathe new life into
dull blades. To sharpen yours, start with a
150-grit belt. Slowly run one side of the blade
across the belt a few times using light pres-
sure (the sharp edge should point down at an
acute angle to the belt). Next, sand the other
side. Turn o the sander, swap in a 240-grit
belt, and sharpen again. Repeat the cycle
for 400-grit, 20-micron, and nally 9-micron
belts. Bu away any ecks with a leather
sanding belt treated with polishing compound.
Long nails? Callused feet? Youll need help,
just not from this power tool. Sanding belts
move upwards of 1,000 rpm, so contact could
leave you abraded at best, amputated at worst.
PERFORM A MANI -PEDI
(bad i dea)
I LLUSTRATI ON BY CHRI S PHI LPOT
WARNING: Wear gloves and eyewear that will protect you from sharp
blades and flying bits of metal. And dont do the bad idea. (Its a bad idea.)

Do you get discouraged when you
hear your telephone ring? Do you
avoid using your phone because
hearing difficulties make it
hard to understand the person
on the other end of the line?
For many Americans the
telephone conversation
once an important part of
everyday life has become a
thing of the past. Because they
cant understand what is said
to them on the phone, theyre
often cut off from friends, family,
doctors and caregivers. Now,
thanks to innovative technology there
is finally a better way.
A simple idea made possible
with sophisticated technology. If
you have trouble understanding a
call, the Captioning Telephone can change your life.
During a phone call the words spoken to you appear
on the phones screen similar to closed captioning
on TV. So when you make or receive a call, the words
spoken to you are not only amplified by the phone,
but scroll across the phone so you can listen while
reading everything thats said to you. Each call is routed
through a call center, where computer technology
aided by a live representative generates immediate
voice-to-text translations. The captioning is real-time,
accurate and readable. Your conversation is private
and the captioning service doesnt cost you a penny.
Captioned Telephone Service (CTS) is regulated and
funded by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) and is designed exclusively for individuals with
hearing loss. In order to use CTS in your home, you
must have standard telephone service and high-speed
Internet connectivity where the phone will be used.
Federal law prohibits anyone but registered users with
hearing loss from using IP Captioned Telephones with
the captions turned on. Callers do not need special
equipment or a captioning phone in order to speak
with you.
Finally a phone you can
use again. The Captioning Telephone is also packed
with features to help make phone calls easier. The
keypad has large, easy to use buttons. You get
adjustable volume amplification along with the
ability to save captions for review later. It even has an
answering machine that provides you with the captions
of each message.
See for yourself with our exclusive home trial. Try the
Captioning Telephone in your own home and if
you are not completely amazed, simply return it within
60-days for a refund of the product purchase price. It
even comes with a 5-year warranty.
Hello mrs fleming this is
dr martin how are you
today? I just wanted to
give you an update on
your new prescription
For years I avoided phone calls because
I couldnt understand the caller
now I dont miss a thing!
SEE what youve
been missing!
Captioning Telephone
Call now for our special introductory price!
Call now Toll-Free
1-877-753-9239
Please mention promotion code 50956.
The Captioning Telephone is intended for use by people with hearing loss. In purchasing a
Captioning Telephone, you acknowledge that it will be used by someone who cannot hear
well over a traditional phone.
Breakthrough technology converts phone calls to captions.
New amplified phone lets
you hear AND see
the conversation.
The Captioning Telephone
converts phone conversations
to easy-to-read captions for
individuals with hearing loss.
8
1
1
0
1

T
I NSTRUCTIONS
ollbooth plazas arent the only locations
that scan car tags like the E-ZPass. One wary
driver in New York City modied his tag to
sound o during activation. I drove around [Manhattan] and
realized, Wow, this is being read everywhere! he says. Car
tags listen for a wireless signal from an electronic reader.
When that signal is strong enough, a tag draws power from
an onboard battery to broadcast its serial number. Heres
how to keep tabs on your tags activity.
1. Cut open a car
tag, and snip the
batterys negative
lead. (The circuit
added after this
step will detect any
drain on the battery
during a scan.)
2. Build the
circuit shown at
popsci.com/ezhack
and connect it to
the severed battery
lead to begin
monitoring scans.
3. Drive through
a tollbooth that
accepts both cash
and car tags. If the
tag doesnt work,
pay with cashand
troubleshoot your
circuit job.
4. Works a little too
well everywhere?
Prevent stealthy
scans by stowing
your tag in its
original foil bag and
pulling it out only at
tollbooth plazas.
V O I D Y O U R WA R R A N T Y / H O W 2 . 0
For full instructions and an in-depth story, visit popsci.com/ezhack.
AJ AI RAJ
To gain a new appreciation of remote
control, try steering a strangers
robot from halfway around the world.
Livebots.cc lets visitors both guide
dozens of machines connected to
the site and link up their own bots.
POPULAR SCIENCE drove one called
Puppet Bob toward a dog, but the
canine was unfazedeven by the bots
dance and urinate commands.
The sites creators eventually hope
to oer robot racing, wrestling, and
other telepresence games.
Livebots.cc
WEBSI TE OF THE MONTH
Modify a tollbooth car tag
to hear when its scanned
E-ZHack
L
E
F
T

T
O

R
I
G
H
T
:

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

L
I
V
E
B
O
T
S
;

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

@
P
U
K
I
N
G
M
O
N
K
E
Y

O
N

T
W
I
T
T
E
R
TIME 2 hours
COST About $55
DIFFICULTY
STORY BY KATE BAGGALEY

WARNING: This project could ruin your transponder, violate its terms of
service, and possibly break the law. Dont say we didnt warn you!
2013 Rosetta Stone Ltd. All rights reserved. Free shipping for products shipped within the contiguous United States only. Offer limited to
TOTALe CD-ROM set purchases made from Rosetta Stone and cannot be combined with any other offer. Offer valid through April 30, 2014.
TOTALe CD-ROM purchases include 3 months subscription access to online interactive services for one user. Subscription services require
online access and must be activated within 6 months of purchase or are subject to forfeiture.
SPEAK UP.
Our language-learning
method actually listens.
If expressing yourself in a new language is your
goal, our state-of-the-art speech-recognition
technology makes sure youre doing it right.
Its highly advanced. Responsive. Always ready
to give you the feedback you need to know your
pronunciation measures up.
$QG RXU WHFKQRORJ\ LV SURSULHWDU\VR \RX ZRQW
QG LW LQ DQ\ RWKHU ODQJXDJHOHDUQLQJ SURJUDP
$
399
LEVELS 1, 2 & 3
$
499
LEVELS 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5
(866) 357-3148 | RosettaStone.com/voice
PROMO CODE: pss014
FREE SHIPPING

FYI
L ONG ANS WE R
S HOR T ANS WE R Yes, but its complicated.
A N S WE R S B Y
D A N I E L E N G B E R
J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 4
P O P S C I . C O M
At the yearly Rottnest Channel Swim in
Western Australia, participants often smear
their bodies with animal fat for insulation
against the 70-degree water. But their own
body fat also helps to keep them warm, like
an extra layer of clothing beneath the skin.
When scientists studied aspects of the event
in 2006, they found that swimmers with a
greater body mass index (BMI) appear to be
at much lower risk of getting hypothermia.
The same eect has been demonstrated
in hospitals where patients whove suered
cardiac arrest are treated with therapeutic
hypothermia to stave o brain injury and
inammation. Studies have shown that it
takes longer to induce hypothermia in obese
patients than in their leaner counterparts. The
extra fat seems to insulate the bodys core.
Under certain conditions, though, over-
weight people might feel colder than people
of average weight. Thats because the brain
combines two signalsthe temperature
inside the body and the temperature on the
surface of the skinto determine when its
time to constrict blood vessels (which limits
heat loss through the skin) and trigger shiver-
ing (which generates heat). And since sub-
cutaneous fat traps heat, an obese persons
core will tend to remain warm while his or
her skin cools down. According to Catherine
OBrien, a research physiologist with the U.S.
Army Research Institute of Environmental
Medicine, its possible that the lower skin
temperature would give fatter people the
sense of being colder overall.
But OBrien points out that many other
factors beyond subcutaneous fat help deter-
mine the rate at which we chill. Smaller peo-
ple, who have more surface area compared
to the total volume of their bodies, lose heat
more quickly. (Its often said that women feel
colder than men; average body size may play
a part.) A more muscular physique may also
oer some protection against hypothermia,
partly because muscle tissue generates lots
of heat. We have a joke around here that
the person whos best-suited for cold is t
and fat, says OBrien.
A R E F A T P E O P L E WA R ME R
T H A N T H I N P E O P L E ?
HAVE A BURNING
SCIENCE QUESTION?
E-mail it to
f yi@popsci.com, or
tweet @popsci hashtag
#PopSciFYI.
K
I
R
B
Y

H
A
M
I
L
T
O
N
/
G
E
T
T
Y

I
M
A
G
E
S
74 / JANUARY 2014 / POPUL AR SCI ENCE
Three grand prize winners
will have the chance to
win a STANLEY
gift
pack featuring FatMax
Auto-Locking Tape Rule,
the TwinTec Ratcheting
Wrench and other new
products with an average
retail value of over $250.
Enter the
Holiday
Sweepstakes
brought to you by
Advertisement
To enter, and for
complete rules, visit
Products included in prize package
may vary from items shown.
The Holiday Sweepstakes, sponsored by
STANLEY
, is open to residents of the 50 United

States and the District of Columbia, ages 18 and
up. No purchase necessary; void where prohibited
by law. To enter and for complete Ofcial Rules,
please visit www.popsci.com/stanleysweeps
between November 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013.
www.popsci.com/
stanleysweeps

Whats in the water
youre drinking?
Or, more important,
whats missing from
the water you should
be drinking?
Is your throat still living
in the 20th century?
Too bad. The water you should be drinking
is being distilled in the 21st century.
Today people drink water that has a hydrogen
bond angle of 104 degrees. They need to be
drinking water with a bond angle of 114 degrees.
Call us for a FREE sample of our water at 570-296-0214
www.water0uresknything.com 0rder a machine 845-754-8696

L ONG ANS WE R
S HOR T ANS WE R Its not impossible.
P O P S C I . C O M
Its very hard to gure out when the
inuenza virus rst started making animals
sick. Studies of the history of major human
epidemics suggest the u has been around
for at least a thousand years. The certainty
diminishes as we go further back into the
past, says David Morens, of the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
We can say for certain that inuenza has
been around since 1918 because we have
the 1918 virus. Before that time, we have to
speculate or make an educated guess.
By looking for clues in contemporary
accounts of disease outbreaks, Morens has
concluded, with 95 percent certainty, that
humans were getting the u as far back as
1510 A.D. His condence drops to about 80
percent for epidemics dating to the 800s.
Maybe the 590 A.D. epidemic was inuen-
za, he says, but when we go back further
than that, its just Who knows?
D I D D I N O S A U R S
G E T T H E F L U ?
F Y I
Meanwhile, virologists have tried to nd
the genetic origins of inuenza. Michael
Worobey of the University of Arizona com-
pares the genomes of inuenza viruses
with those of similar viruses that have been
sequenced, in an eort to draw up a kind of
evolutionary tree for pathogens. According
to this method, the u shares an ancestor
with something called the infectious salmon
anemia virus.
How long ago did the inuenza and
the salmon virus separate? Thats tricky.
Viral genomes change more rapidly than
an animals, in part because they dont
waste time xing replication errors. Its like
writing an e-mail really fast with your eyes
closed and then sending it, says Worobey.
Flu viruses accumulate a lot of mutations.
At the same time, some key parts of
a virus genome are very stable. Worobey
helped identify relatives of HIV, for example,
that had evolved in isolation o the coast
of Africa over the course of 10,000 years.
Even after all that time, their genomes still
look very much the same. Scientists have
also found evidence of an HIV-related virus
that became embedded in the genome of
the ferret eight million years ago.
No one has found similar evidence of
ancient inuenza. But could its ancestor
the one it shares with the salmon virus
have gone back to the dinosaurs? For that,
I dont have even a gut feeling, Worobey
says. Its just kind of wide open.
Available for purchase with coupon
in fne stores everywhere or online at:
www.appliednutrition.com
Enter Coupon Code: 011377
For Men
Who Want to
Stay Active!
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. This product
is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
All-in-One Formula for Men:
Stamina
Endurance
Performance
Consumer: Redeemable at retail locations only. Not valid for online or mail-order purchases. Retailer:
Irwin Naturals will reimburse you for the face value plus 8 (cents) handling provided it is redeemed by a
consumer at the time of purchase on the brand specifed. Coupons not properly redeemed will be void
and held. Reproduction by any party by any means is expressly prohibited. Any other use constitutes
fraud. Irwin Naturals reserves the right to deny reimbursement (due to misredemption activity) and/or
request proof of purchase for coupon(s) submitted. Mail to: CMS Dept. 10363, Irwin Naturals, 1 Fawcett
Drive, Del Rio, TX 78840. Cash value: .001 (cents). Void where taxed or restricted. ONE COUPON PER
PURCHASE. Not valid for mail order/websites. Retail only.
EXPIRES 04/30/14 MANUFACTURERS COUPON
SAVE $3
T - S T R O N G
L
E
F
T

T
O

R
I
G
H
T
:

C
H
R
I
S
T
I
A
N

M
A
R
T
N
E
Z

K
E
M
P
I
N
/
G
E
T
T
Y

I
M
A
G
E
S
;

S
Y
L
D
A
V
I
A
/
G
E
T
T
Y

I
M
A
G
E
S
;

C
H
R
I
S
T
I
A
N

M
A
R
T
N
E
Z

K
E
M
P
I
N
/
G
E
T
T
Y

I
M
A
G
E
S
76 / JANUARY 2014 / POPUL AR SCI ENCE
To date the common
flu, virologists are
building an evolutionary
tree for pathogens.

CONTI NUED FROM PAGE 59
SPACE SCHOOL
Now well do the same thing, but at 3.5 Gz, Swee says.
Remember to clench your muscles and to take those intermit-
tent breaths, he adds. Three . . . two . . . one . . .
And now its worse. The turn is much steeper, and every-
thing is wrong. Again my eyes dont know where to look, but it
doesnt matter, because theyre starting to lose their ability to
see. Red, veiny patterns intrude around the edges of my sight.
I try to clench my muscles to force blood above my heart, and
Im hufng like a child throwing a tantrum, but the center of
my vision is shrinking. Wow, it really is like a tunnel, I think. In
a moment, Im not going to be able to see at all.
Then the capsule cranks sideways to level out, and theres
another set of conficting, sickening signals. Gz is over.
Im nauseated and dizzy, but at this point my brain is so
occupied by thoughts of panic and death that it has chosen to
accept this false horizon projected in front of me as the actual
one, and I focus with relief on its stillness.
Ready for Gx? asks Swee. Oh, God, I say. He lets me
breathe for a bit, and then its time.
Three . . . two . . . one . . . boom, Im simultaneously moving
down and up, somehowand then Im very clearly rushing
straight up. The feeling is accompanied by an amazing crushing
sensation, one that sends the skin around my mouth up toward
my eyes and holds it there. Ten seconds pass, and the leveling
out feels like falling face-frst of a house.
And now the last test of the morning: a full 6 Gx. This time,
if you were to give me a choice between, say, enduring this
test and shooting myself in the head, Id choose the latterif
only I could lif my arm. I can feel my Adams apple falling
back across my airway and touching the other side. Im having
trouble breathing. Im literally being crushed, and I want it to
stop. Even as I level out, my inner ear is in full-on rebellion,
and my eyes are all over the capsule. I can almost smell the
sour tang of the pastrami I had for lunch. And then the door
opens, and Im helped out gently.
I didnt throw up. That much I can say. But I have to unzip
my fight suit to the waist and collapse onto the sofa in my
damp T-shirt to hold it together. Somebody fetches me a Coke.
And I, who came to this program to quietly participate and
observe, fnd myself the center of attention. I receive a half
hour of sympathetic pats on the back from a roomful of people
who not only have more time and money and courage than I do
but who also have a miraculous resistance to what I can only
describe as intense motion sickness.
From my position on the couch, I watch the rest of the pros-
pects take their turns. One woman, Maureen, who is a member
of USRA, practically runs into the centrifuge, shes so excited.
She weathers the test unperturbed, except for one thing: Hey,
an airsickness bag hit me in the face as I was going around!
she says, exiting the centrifuge. I raise my pale and sweating
2013 by MacNeil IP LLC
Proudly Designed,
Engineered,
and Manufactured
in the USA
800.441.6287
WeatherTech.com
Automotive Accessories
FloorLiner
"Absolute Interior Protection
"
Custom-Fit for over 900 Cars,
Trucks, SUVs, and Minivans
Available in Black Tan, and Grey
Cargo Liner
All-Weather Floor Mats
Side Window Deflectors
CONTI NUED ON PAGE 78

CONTI NUED FROM PAGE 77
SPACE SCHOOL
hand in halfhearted apology and close
my eyes.
IF THE Gz and Gx tests were the
warm-up, the days main event is
a full simulation of the trip aboard
SpaceShipTwo. Swee says hell give
me a trial run under only half the
expected G-forces and then a fnal
test at full Gs.
He ofers some advice as I strap
in. Dont turn your head, he says. I
press backward against the headrest
and try to remain still. This makes
an enormous diference, in that the
movement of the centrifuge and my
head dont produce mismatched
signals in my inner ear.
The capsule tips and bobs as it
frees itself from the simulated carrier
craf. I feel as if Im tipping back in
my chair. Im not nauseous, but Im
terrifed: The simulated view shows
me just how far and fast the Earth is
falling away, which only deepens the
panic Im working hard to control.
At the apogee, where weightless-
ness takes hold, everything goes
silent, and Im treated to a slowly ro-
tating view of the curve of the planet.
Whats that Im looking at? I ask.
Thats Los Angeles, says Swee. And
I realize, as the ship turns, that I
can see the San Francisco Bay Area at
the top of my view. As a robotic voice
counts down to the reentry sequence,
I imagine my wife in Oakland, chas-
ing my daughter around our back-
yard. Astronauts on spacewalks have
ofen reported a sense of euphoric
kinship with the stars, the universe,
everything, leading to a dangerous
reluctance to reenter the spacecraf. I
have the opposite urge: a sensation of
being impossibly far from home and
an overwhelming desire to be instan-
taneously transported to it.
The centrifuge begins to simulate a
roaring, shuddering reentry sequence,
less severe than the launch but just
as terrifying, and fnally we level out
at 50,000 feet, where the simulation
ends. Are you ready for the full simu-
lation? Swee asks. I have to think
for a second. Im dizzy and frightened
and thoroughly exhausted. I want
to will my way through it, but I also
dont want to puke in the centrifuge
that my classmates paid good money
to use. No, I say to Swee. And with
that, I wash out as a citizen astronaut.
AS MY FLIGHT HOME roars down
a runway at the Philadelphia airport,
I fnd myself calculating my Gx (no
more than two, I decide), and as we
bank upward and then to the right, I
can sense Gz creeping into the mix.
I feel my blood being gently nudged
toward my feet, although I know
its not enough to take it away from
my brain.
Most important, Im suddenly aware
of the cocoon of technology thats
compensating for my bodys vulner-
ability to it all. Cabin pressurization is
top of mind for me at the moment. Ten
thousand feet, it turns out, isnt just
the altitude past which its okay to use
portable electronic devices. Its also
the altitude at which passengers begin
to require oxygen assistance. At our
cruising altitude of 32,000 feet, no one
on board could function for more than
15 seconds without the oxygen mix
in our cabin. Afer that, wed start to
pass out and die.
And yet Im leaning back and
turning on a movie, content that the
systems around me will keep me
alive. Afer all, millions of people
have fown before me.
Is that what it will take to establish
confdence in private space travel?
Millions of people going frst?
Hundreds of thousands? Thousands?
It seems impossible, somehow, that
the requisite number of volunteers
are willing to risk nauseaor
worseto see the stars 62 miles closer
than we can from the ground.
Certainly, Wright and his group are
undaunted, powered by a lifelong
desire to experience space frsthand
and aided by physical capabilities that
I simply dont have. I wish them the
best. If successful, theyll redefne
what it means to have the right
stufand hopefully pioneer a new
citizen-space science in the process.
But while their place may be in the
stars, my place, I learned, is right
here on Earth.
Jacob Ward is the editor-in-chief of
POPULAR SCIENCE.
Piston-lift
mechanism kit
includes
step-by-step
construction
plans and
instructional
DVD
Create-A-Bed
Toll Free 1-877-966-3852

www.wallbed.com
Need more space?
Build your own
murphy bed.

p
s
s
h
o
w
c
a
s
e
Chemistry Casanova
Reinvents the Emerald
San Fransisco CAIt is 1937. You never saw a
genius more in love. She loved him back, but
how could he surprise her and stun her without
breaking the bank? He knew she loved that
glittering green necklace in the jewelry store
window. But he also knew that he could never
afford a natural emerald on a chemist's salary. So
he made his own.
A few years later, he brought 100 carats along
on his honeymoon in New York City. But
when the couple visited a Fifth Avenue jeweler
for a professional opinion, the manager
called the cops. He assumed the gems
were stolen because they looked too
good to be true. His beautiful wife
just smiled knowingly.
Own a piece of emerald history.
We have spent the last few years
refining this complex process
and the results are stunning.
The spectacular lab-created stone
at the heart of our Scienza
Marquesa Pendant is a vivid
carat marquise-cut green beauty
cradled in gleaming .925 sterling
silver and surrounded by the fire of
our exclusive DiamondAura rounds.
Perfect from the start. Mined emer-
alds are born in chaos. As a result, they
are littered with flaws, inclusions and
cracks. Scienza emeralds are absolutely free
of natural imperfections.
The process begins with the seed of a natural
emerald. In strictly controlled conditions, using
intense heat of over 1800 degrees celsius, that
seed takes over seven months to grow into a
larger rough emerald. Chemically, the scientific
stones grown in a lab are identical to mined
emerald. They are just as hard and an incredibly
rich, intense green.
Our expert appraiser has valued this pendant at
$345 but since our chemist appreciates hard
gems as well as hard earned cash, we are pricing
this emerald pendant for the astoundingly low
price of $39. That's 89% LESS!
Your satisfaction is guaranteed. Bring it home
and see for yourself. If the brilliance of our
Scienza Emerald fails to impress, simply send it
back within 30 days for a full refund of your
purchase price. But after wearing the worlds
smartest gem, you will see first-hand how beauty
and brains come together.
89%
LESS THAN
INDEPENDENTLY
APPRAISED
VALUE*
Pendant enlarged to
show luxurious detail.
Chain not included.
* For more information concerning the appraisal, visit
http://www.stauer.com/appraisedvalues.asp.
Rating of A+
14101 Southcross Drive W.,
Dept. MEP147-01,
Burnsville, Minnesota 55337
www.stauer.com
Stauer
Scienza Marquesa Pendant

valued at $345*
Promotional Code Price
Only $39+ S&P Save $306!
Order now to take advantage of this
fantastic low price.
1-888-870-9144
Your Promotional Code:
MEP147-01
Please use this code when you order to
receive your discount.
89% LESS*
INSTANTLY!
When you use your
PROMOTIONAL CODE
Toll Free 1-888-756-0737
Fa x : 9 4 0 - 4 8 4 - 6 7 4 6
e ma i l : info@rhinobldg.com
We bs i t e : www. RHI NOBLDG. COM
Prices F.O.B. Mfg. Plants; Seal Stamped Blue Prints;
25 YEAR COLOR WARRANTY
STEEL BUILDING SPECIALS
PRICES INCLUDE COLOR SIDES &
GALVALUME ROOF
Local codes may affect prices
FREE
BROCHURE
VISIT
OUR
WEBSITE
30 x 50 x 10.......................$8,681
40 x 60 x 12.......................$11,999
50 x 75 x 14........................$17,888
60 x 100 x 12.....................$23,995
100 x 150 x 14...................$56,999

Y
our watch shouldnt cost more than
your car. It should look and feel
like a power tool and not a piece
of bling. Wearing it shouldnt
make you think twice about
swinging a hammer or
changing a tire. A real
mans timepiece needs
to be ready for any-
thing. But thats just
my opinion. If you
agree, maybe youre
ready for the Stauer
Centurion Hybrid.
Use your Exclusive
Promotional Code
below and Ill send
it to you today for
ONLY $59.
This is a LOT of machine
for not a lot of money. The
Stauer Centurion Hybrid
sports a heavy-duty alloy body,
chromed and detailed with a
rotating bezel that allows you to
track direction. The luminous
hour and minute hands mean you
can keep working into the night. And
the dual digital displays give this watch
a hybrid ability. The LCD windows dis-
plays the time, day and date, includes a stop-
watch function, and features a bright green
electro-luminescent backlight. We previously
offered the Centurion for $199, but with the
exclusive promotional code its yours for
ONLY $59!
No matter what, this watch can keep
up. Thanks to the Stauer 30-day Money Back
Guarantee, youve got time to prove it. If
youre not totally satisfied, return it for a full
refund of the purchase price. You also get a
2-year replacement guarantee on both move-
ments. But I have a feeling the only problem
youll have is deciding whether to keep the
Stauer Centurion on your dresser or tucked
inside your toolbox.
I work in the surveying and construction

industry... This is my work horse watch
and I am proud to wear it.
C.S. from Fort Worth, TX
Our digital-analog hybrid has two sides... tough and
tougher. Get it now for an unbelievable $59!
Smar t Luxur i esSur pr i si ng Pr i ces

This extraordinary piece of pure silver bullion has a surface area that exceeds 15 square
inches...and it contains one Troy ounce of pure silver bullion!
And now, for a limited time during the strike period, the very first Year 2014 $100 Silver Proof
is available at a special discount priceonly $99!
EXQUISITE DETAIL
The historic 2014 $100 Silver Proof is an exquisite adaptation of the United States Treasurys
newly-designed $100 Federal Reserve Noteonly the third new $100 bill design in 100 years.
It is a true artistic masterpiece that will always be treasured.
.999 SILVER
Best of all, this stunning Silver Proof is even more beautiful than the original, because its struck
in precious silver bullion!
It is a landmark in proof minting, combining unprecedented weight with extraordinary
dimension. The specifications for this colossal medallic proof are unparalleled. Each one:
Is Individually Struck from Pure .999 Silver Bullion. Weighs one Troy ounce. Has a
Surface Area That Exceeds 15 Square Inches. Contains 31.10 Grams (480 Grains) of Pure
Silver. Is Individually Registered and Comes With a Numbered Certificate of Authenticity.
Is Fully Encapsulated to Protect Its Mirror-Finish. Includes a Deluxe Presentation Case.
ADVANCE STRIKE DISCOUNT
The price for the 2014 $100 Silver Proof will be set at $129 per proof.
However, if you place your order now, you can acquire this giant silver proof at the
special advance strike discount priceonly $99.
NOTE TO COLLECTORS: When you place your order for the $100 silver proof, it will be processed
immediately, and the earliest orders will receive the coveted lowest registration numbers.
ADDITIONAL DISCOUNTS
Substantial additional discounts are available for serious collectors who wish to acquire more
than one of these exquisite silver proofs. You can order:
ONE Year 2014 $100 Silver Proofs for just $99 each + s/h
FIVE Year 2014 $100 Silver Proofs for just $95 each + s/h
TEN Year 2014 $100 Silver Proofs for just $89 each + s/h
There is a limit of twenty $100 Silver Proofs per order,
and all orders are subject to acceptance by GovMint.com.
ONLY 9999 AVAILABLE
GovMint.com will limit striking to only 9999 One Troy Ounce Silver Proofs for the year 2014.
Once the edition is sold out, no more 2014 silver proofs can ever be struck.
Orders only will be accepted on a strict first-come, first-served basis according to the time and
date of the order. Call today for fastest order processing.
Call Today to Order Your $100 Silver Proof!
1-888-835-8806
Offer Code: SFP131-01
Please mention this code when you call.
A major credit card is necessary to secure your reservation, and GovMint.com guarantees
satisfaction with a money-back policy for a full 30 days.
Prices and availability subject to change without notice. Past performance is not a predictor of future performance. NOTE: Gov-
Mint.com
is a private distributor of worldwide government coin and currency issues and privately issued licensed collectibles
and is not affiliated with the United States government. Facts and figures deemed accurate as of October 2013.
2013 GovMint.com.
Visit our web site at www.GovMint.com

he astronaut on
POPULAR SCIENCEs Febru-
ary 1982 cover intro-
duced a new kind of space traveler:
the mission specialist. Until then,
NASA had required astronauts to be
certied jet pilots. Mission specialists
focused on tasks other than ight,
such as conducting scientic research
or repairing equipment, and some
worked as physicians or engineers on
Earth. More than 120 civilians have
since traveled to space on NASA
missions. Todays private industry will
open low Earth orbit to even more
people. But like the early explorers,
they will have to train rigorously. To
see if youre up to it, turn to page 54.
From the Archives
POPULAR SCIENCE / JANUARY 2014
New Faces
in Space
POPULAR SCIENCE magazine, Vol. 284, No. 1 (ISSN 161-7370, USPS 577-250), is published monthly by Bonnier Corp., 2 Park Ave., New York, NY 10016. Copyright 2013 by Bonnier Corp. All rights reserved. Reprinting in whole or part is
forbidden except by permission of Bonnier Corp. Mailing Lists: We make a portion of our mailing list available to reputable frms. If you would prefer that we not include your name, please write to POPULAR SCIENCE, P.O. Box 420235, Palm
Coast, FL 32142-0235. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to POPULAR SCIENCE, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing of ces. Subscription Rates: $19.95 for 1
year. Please add $10 per year for Canadian addresses and $20 per year for all other international addresses. Canada Post Publications agreement #40612608. Canada Return Mail: IMEX Global Solutions, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2.
Printed in the USA. Subscriptions processed electronically. Subscribers: If the post of ce alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within two years. Photocopy Permission:
Permission is granted by POPULAR SCIENCE for libraries and others registered with the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) to photocopy articles in this issue for the fat fee of $1 per copy of each article or any part of an article. Send correspondence
and payment to CCC (21 Congress St., Salem, MA 01970); specify CCC code 0161-7370/85/$1.000.00. Copying done for other than personal or reference use without the written permission of POPULAR SCIENCE is prohibited. Address
requests for permission on bulk orders to POPULAR SCIENCE, 2 Park Ave., New York, NY 10016 for foreign requests. Editorial Of ces: Address contributions to POPULAR SCIENCE, Editorial Dept., 2 Park Ave., New York, NY 10016. We are
not responsible for loss of unsolicited materials; they will not be returned unless accompanied by return postage. Microflm editions are available from Xerox University Microflms Serial Bid Coordinator, 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106.
STORY BY MAC I RVI NE
T
POPUL AR SCI ENCE FEBRUARY 1982
SPACE-TRAVELER FI RSTS
Man
In April 1961, the Soviet cosmonaut
Yury Gagarin orbited Earth aboard Vostok 1,
spending 89 minutes in space.
Woman
Valentina Tereshkova, chosen because of
her parachuting expertise, orbited Earth in
Vostok 6 in June 1963.
Physician
Boris Yegorov rode on Voskhod 1 for the rst
multi-passenger mission in October 1964.
African-American
NASA mission specialist Guion Bluford was a
member of the STS-8 mission in August 1983.
Space Tourist
Japanese journalist Toyohiro Akiyama was
the rst fare-paying passenger in December
1990. He visited the space station Mir.

XV Crosstrek
Hybrid. Learn more at subaru.com.

Introducing the all-new 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek
Hybrid. As the most fuel-efficient

all-wheel drive hybrid crossover in America,* its equipped to get you to all the places
you love. Responsibly built in a zero-landfill plant to help ensure those places are here for
years to come. Love where it takes you. Love. Its what makes a Subaru, a Subaru.
Subaru is a registered trademark. *Based on EPA-estimated hwy fuel economy for 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid model compared to AWD hybrid vehicles within Polks CUV segment.
Built to get dirty,
not be dirty.

Popular Science USA 2014 01

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Popular Science USA 2014 01

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

The Dyson Hard vacuum combines powerful

suction and a wet wiping action to clean hard

Payroll. Guaranteed accurate, so you can avoid penalties.

30 / POPUL AR SCI ENCE / JANUARY 2014

New from Davis Instruments, Vantage Connect

INTAKE SYSTEM FOR A

Dream Sleep System

Dream Sleep System

uses patented support technology so you can

Dream Sleep System

STORY BY KATE BAGGALEY

, is open to residents of the 50 United

Toll Free 1-877-966-3852

Scienza Marquesa Pendant

I work in the surveying and construction

Hybrid. Learn more at subaru.com.

Hybrid. As the most fuel-efficient

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen