DRIVERLESS CARS ON AUSSIE ROADS

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?

BUY THE
PERFECT
DRONE
(and then enter it in a race)

M a rk a nd Scott
Ke lly, tw i ns, are
pa r t of a unique
experiment to
see how space
a f fects the
hu m an bo dy

AL REP
O

I
C
E

THE YEAR AHEAD IN SCIENCE & TECH

Marijuana as Medicine Artificial Intelligence
Genetically Engineered Astronauts
New Antibiotics Military Robots

 


heos.com.au

A HEOS SPEAKER
FOR EVERY ROOM

ADD-ON HEOS
Turn any speakers or
sound system into a
wireless zone.

In black or white
indoors or outdoors

AMAZING SOUND
FOR YOUR TV
Wireless Soundbar
& Subwoofer

Award-Winning Performance

HEOS 5 & HEOS 7

MULTIROOM
PORTABLE PLAYER
OF THE YEAR

MULTIROOM
SOUNDBAR
OF THE YEAR

HEOS 1

HEOS HomeCinema

MULTI-ROOM

EASY SETUP

EVERY ROOM DESERVES ITS OWN HEOS.

SETUP IN MINUTES. LISTEN FOREVER.

WIRELESS MULTIROOM
PLAYER OF THE YEAR

HEOS 5
HEOS AMP

APPS & STREAMING

SERVICES
TAP THE APP AND START ROCKIN.

PLUG IT IN

TAP THE APP

CONNECT TO
WI-FI

ENJOY YOUR
MUSIC

Feed
Editors Letter
Issue #86, January 2016
EDITORIAL
Editor Anthony Fordham afordham@nextmedia.com.au
Contributors Lindsay Handmer, Pat Pilcher, Andrew P Street
DESIGN
Group Art Director Kristian Hagen
ADVERTISING
Divisional Manager
Jim Preece jpreece@nextmedia.com.au
ph: 02 9901 6150
National Advertising Sales Manager
Lewis Preece lpreece@nextmedia.com.au
ph: 02 9901 6175
Production Manager Peter Ryman
Circulation Director Carole Jones
US EDITION
Editor-in-Chief Cliff Ransom
Executive Editor Jennifer Bogo
Managing Editor Jill C. Shomer
EDITORIAL
Editorial Production Manager Felicia Pardo
Articles Editor Kevin Gray
Information Editor Katie Peek, PhD.
Technology Editor Michael Nunez
Projects Editor Sophie Bushwick
Associate Editors Breanna Draxler, Lois Parshley
Assistant Editor Lindsey Kratochwill
ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY
Design Director Todd Detwiler
Photo Director Thomas Payne
POPSCI.COM
Online Director Carl Franzen
Senior Editor Paul Adams
Assistant Editors Sarah Fecht, Loren Grush
BONNIERS TECHNOLOGY GROUP
Group Editorial Director Anthony Licata
Group Publisher Gregory D Gatto
BONNIER
Chairman Tomas Franzen
Chief Executive Officer Eric Zinczenko
Chief Content Officer David Ritchie
Chief Operating Officer Lisa Earlywine
Senior Vice President, Digital Bruno Sousa
Vice President, Consumer Marketing John Reese

End of an Era
A month or so ago, we here at Australian Popular
Science
e were surprised by an announcement from
the US mothership that the offices at 2 Park Ave,
New York would now only be producing six issues of
Popular Science
e a year.
Thats right - after 143 years of
monthly publication* and over

Popular Science is published 12 times a year by

nextmedia Pty Ltd ACN: 128 805 970
Building A, 207 Pacific Highway
St Leonards, NSW 2065
Under license from Bonnier International Magazines. 2014 Bonnier
Corporation and nextmedia Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in
whole or part without written permission is prohibited. Popular Science is
a trademark of Bonnier Corporation and is used under limited license.
The Australian edition contains material originally published in the US
edition reprinted with permission of Bonnier Corporation. Articles express
the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Publisher, Editor or nextmedia Pty Ltd. ISSN 1835-9876.
Privacy Notice
We value the integrity of your personal information. If you provide personal
information through your participation in any competitions, surveys or
offers featured in this issue of Popular Science, this will be used to provide
the products or services that you have requested and to improve the
content of our magazines. Your details may be provided to third parties
who assist us in this purpose. In the event of organisations providing prizes
or offers to our readers, we may pass your details on to them. From time
to time, we may use the information you provide us to inform you of other
products, services and events our company has to offer. We may also give
your information to other organisations which may use it to inform you
about their products, services and events, unless you tell us not to do so.
You are welcome to access the information that we hold about you by getting in touch with our privacy officer, who can be contacted at nextmedia,
Locked Bag 5555, St Leonards, NSW 1590

www.popsci.com.au
To subscribe, call 1300 361 146
or visit www.mymagazines.com.au

THE POPSCI PROMISE We share with our

readers the belief that the future will be
better, and science and technology are
leading the way.

As our massive feature (p.44)

bookmark www.popsci.com.au
now. Wait... is bookmarking
still a thing?
Anyway, the motherships
new bimonthly format
means the features in the
magazine will benefit from

1700 issues, Popular Science

e is

shows, 2016 is shaping up to be

even more in-depth research,

going bimonthly.

a big year for science and tech.

interviewing and the amazing

That we now have more room

photography for which

is. Im pleased to conrm that

in the magazine for uniquely

Australian Popular Science

will continue on as a monthly
magazine. Twelve issues a year
of science and tech goodness.
And with less US material,
that means we can boost the
amount of Aussie content.
In a rare moment of
serendipity, this coincides
almost to the day with our
new(ish) PMs announcement
that he wants to see Australia
become an innovation
powerhouse. But what Ive
learned in my rst ve years on
this magazine is that Australia
is already an innovation
powerhouse. We do amazing
things with technology, and we
make amazing discoveries in
science. Its just that, for the last
six or so years, all that positive,
constructive news has been

Australian discoveries and

Popular Science is so famous.

You might think theres an
irony in the way we write about
next-next-gen technology and
then publish that writing in
a paper magazine. But I think
the paper magazine still has an
important place in our lives. Its
a break from the omnipresent
screen, respite from the scroll.
Bandwidth-independent,
incredibly high resolution,
and visible in a huge range of
lighting conditions. Oh yeah,
and it never goes at.
So heres to the year ahead.
Its a new age for Australian
Popular Science, and a new
age for Australian science and
technology. Lets get into it!

Or at least, the mothership

Chief Executive Officer David Gardiner

Commercial Director Bruce Duncan

buried under negativity politics.

science and tech updates, so

developments is really exciting.

So I want to take this space
to really encourage you to
write in with suggestions or
tips on what we should be
writing about. Met someone at
a conference who is building
some amazing new thing?
Know someone who has worldclass factory automation? Saw
something at a trade show you
think would fascinate readers
like you? Have an actual
robot as a best friend? Drop
me an email on afordham@
nextmedia.com.au - Im really
keen to hear from you.
As for the US mothership,
they still have big plans for
Popular Science. A new focus
on online reporting means
well get even more day-to-day

ANTHONY FORDHAM
afordham@nextmedia.com.au
@popsciau

*More or less. There were some wars and stuff that make figuring out the exact number complicated.

P OP U L A R S C I EN C E

03

Contents

#86

44
THE YEAR IN IDEAS

2016 is shaping up to be a banner year for

science and technology. Medicine, robots, AI,
genetic engineering, space exploration and
more, its all here. (Also Imogen Heap and
the disruption of the music industry.)

PO P U L A R S CI E N CE

JAN UA RY 20 1 6
For daily updates: www.popsci.com.au

40 56 6
DRIVERLESS DOWN UNDER

THE FUTURE OF MONEY

THE MAN IN THE

The first tests of autonomous cars are now

underway in Australia. What special challenges does our wide brown land pose?

Cash used to be king, but now its almost obsolete. How will traditional banking systems
work in a post-Bitcoin world?

Moonwalker Buzz Aldrin has been obsessed

with Mars for decades. We chat one-on-one
and get his unique insight.

NOW

NeXt

MANUAL

The future today

On the horizon

Hack your world

08 High tech hi-fi

14 Digital Licenses: Dumb Idea?
16 The Hit List: Cool Stuff, Listed
18 A Rubber Suit to Save Y
Your Life
20 Hybrid Tablet Showdown
22 A Hackers Guide to Youtube
Y
24 Logitechs Super Remote
26 Australias Answer to Soylent
28 Massive Drone Roundup!
30 Alternative Speaker Technologies

32 Have We Spotted Aliens?

34 Could MDMA Cure Mental Illness?
5 Will I Be Replaced by an Algorithm?
35
36 The VR Boom is Here at Last!
37 Telstras 1Gbps Mobile Network
38 Tackling Brain Trauma Head On
39 The Aircon Wars

70 Build an RC Snowplough!
72 Troubleshoot Your Home WiFi
74 Teen Builds Tiny House
75 Three Jet-Powered Projects
76 Drone Racing!

THE OTHeR BitS

03 Editors Letter | 06 Launchpad | 77 From the Archives | 78 Ask Anything | 80 Retro Invention | 82 Lab Rats

Seasoned to perfection

P O PUL A R S C I EN C E

Launchpad

JANUA RY 201 6

Dispatch from the Future

In a profoundly
urbanised vision of
the future, sciencefiction artist John
Harris imagines a city
navigated by foot, with
skyscrapers connected
by viaduct. Harris says
he was inspired by
Canadian cities that
planned to enclose
walkways between
their buildings to avoid
the winter weather.
The dense cityscape
is an enduring vision,
he thinks, because
theres a presumption
that well become such
an overcrowded planet
that there wont be any
room for greenery.
A committed ruralist
who lives in the English
countryside, Harris
also explores the idea
of adapting organic
structures for human
habitation in his work
such as his mushroom
city, which we featured in
our August 2015 issue.

Dispatch from the Future

is a series that imagines
through images and words
how humanity will live in
the decades and centuries
to come.

P O P U L A R S CI E NCE

I L LUSTR AT IO N J O H N H A RR I S, W W W. AL I SO N E L DR ED. C O M

by
KAT I E
P EEK

ED I T E D BY M I C H AE L NU EZ + XAV IER HARDING

JANUARY 201 6

W AY S T O H A C K
YOUR NEXT
H O U S E PA R T Y

iNsTAlL
YOUR OWN
THeATRE
lG TV EG960T
$5,999

P OP U L A R S CIE NCE

If youve ever watched an organic lightemitting diode television, the benefits are
obvious: Theyre thinner, brighter, and have
sharper contrast than any other TVs on the
market. LGs newest versionthe EG960T
is the pinnacle of this display technology:
It offers a near-perfect 4K picture quality
because OLED pixels dont leak light,
meaning blacks are blacker and colours dont
wash out. The picture can be viewed from the
sharpest angle, so even latecomers to the
party will have a view of the on-screen action.

by
DAVE
GERS H GO RN

P HOTOGR A P HY BY

Sam Kaplan

NEW GENERATION NOW IN STORE

www.parrot.com/au
App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Google Play is a trademark of Google Inc. The Parrot Trademarks appearing on this document are the sole and
exclusive property of Parrot S.A. All the other Trademarks are the property of their respective owners. PARROT SA - RCS PARIS 394 149 496.

Now

JANUA RY 201 6

First Look

lisTeN
liKE A PRO

MARANtZ AV8802A
AND MM8077
$6,999 PReAMP
$3,999 AMPlifieR

B&W 803 D3 SPeAKeRS

$24,500

This combination Marantz preamp

and amplifier can drive up to 150
watts to seven speakers at a time.
Its among the first systems to
process
ultra-high-definition
4K
through HDMI. It also supports
Dolby Atmostheatre-quality audio
that places you in the middle of a
three-dimensional soundscape. You
can also stream your favorite Pandora,
Spotify, and SiriusXM satellite radio
channels directly to the units.

Bowers & Wilkins spent eight years

perfecting the 803 D3 Diamond series
design, and it paid off. The 803s birch
casing is specially configured to minimize unwanted vibration. These might
appear bulky at 150 cm tall and almost
60 cm deep, but each 65-kg speaker
packs a mean punch. Each one comes
loaded with two 180-mm subwoofers,
a 120-mm midrange driver, and a
25-mm synthetic diamond tweeter that
makes every sound crystal-clear.

10

P OP UL A R S CIE NCE

























AVAILABLE FROM:
Capitol Computer (NSW)
www.capitolcomputer.com.au

Centre Com Superstore (VIC)

www.centrecom.com.au

Computer Alliance (QLD)

www.computeralliance.com.au

PLE Computers (WA)

www.ple.com.au

Now

JANUA RY 201 6

First Look

GOOGlE ONHUB
US$200

XBOX eliTE WiReleSS

CONTROlleR
$199
2

Serious gamers are known to abuse

their controllers. So Microsoft built
the ultra-durable Xbox Elite Controller.
It uses stainless-steel thumbstick
shafts that never wear out. Plus, it
can be completely customised: The
joysticks and directional pad can be
changed for comfort, and four
removable paddles on the rear can be
programmed for more-efficient in-game
manoeuvring. Your Call of Duty enemies
wont know what hit them.

The best house parties mean a lot of

people posting updates to Twitter and
uploading pictures. That can cause a
traffic jam on your Wi-Fi. With Google
OnHub, you can set one high-speed 5
GHz network for just your devices, and
a 2.4 GHz password-protected network
for your Instagramming friends. Its like
having two digital highways running
through your living room.

Master
YOUR
domain

12

P OP UL A R S CIE NCE

SliNGBOX M2
US$200

TiVO BOlt
fROM US$300

Theres the big TV in the living room,

but what happens when youre making wings in the backyard? The
Slingbox M2 lets you take the game
to the BBQ, on an iPad by the pool,
another TV in the bedroom, or even on
your phone in the bathroom.

The disparate worlds of streaming and

cable services are finally together in one
device. The Bolt lets you search every
channel and video service to find the
exact show youre looking for, and skip
commercials with a press of a button.
Plus, it can record live TV.

WIN THE NEW B&W

ZEPPELIN WIRELESS!
WIN THE BEST SOUNDING ZEPPELIN YET, FOR THE CONNECTED AGE
Bowers & Wilkins, the UK audio brand renowned for its uncompromising pursuit of sound excellence, redefined what
could be expected from an integrated speaker dock with the original Zeppelin. Now, seven years on, they announce
Zeppelin Wirelessthe instantly recognizable silhouettebut with every element of the speaker redesigned to
deliver superlative audio performance, again redefining what is possible from a single speaker system. Bowers &
Wilkins is joining with Popular Science to offer you a chance to win one of these unique systems, valued at $999.95.

TOENTER,VISITWWW.AVHUB.COM.AU/ZEPPELIN
1 .Competition is open to Australian residents only and over 18 year of age. 2. Only entries completed with these terms and conditions will be eligible. 3. Competition starts 00:01 AEST 17/12/15
and closes 23:59 AEST 1/2/16. 4. One lucky winner will receive a B&W Zeppelin Wireless valued at $999.95. Total prize valued at $999.95. The prize is not transferable or exchangeable and cannot
be taken as cash. 5. The winner will be drawn at nextmedia Pty Ltd, 207 Pacific Hwy, St Leonards NSW 2065 on 2/2/16. Permit Numbers NSW LTPM/15/01041, ACT TP 15/07677. Please allow
up to four weeks for delivery of your prize. 6. The promotor is not responsible for misdirected or lost mail. 7. Promoted by nextmedia Pty Ltd ABN: 84 128 805 970. All entries will be included to
receive newsletters and special offers from Popular Science/AVHub and on behalf of its valued partners. You may unsubscribe from this free service at any time.

Now

JANUARY 201 6

Speed Lab

sTEP OUT OF
THE CAR AND
SHOW ME
YOUR PHONE
PleASE, SiR
When everyone has a smartphone in
their pocket that can also work as credit
card, the idea of using that technology as
a digital drivers license makes good sense,
on the face of it. But, when digital licenses
roll out in 2018, will this just make you
even more dependent on your phone?
by
LINDSAY
HANDME R

Dont panic: this form of licensing will be opt-in, so

those without the desire - or the NFC-enabled smartphone - can still use a card licence. The going digital
plan includes a full replacement for a range of current
cards, including photo ID, boat and fishing licences.
While drivers licenses are complex to set up, other
IDs could go digital a lot sooner. Anglers will be the
first to benefit, putting an end to the tradition of soggy

bits of paper smeared with prawn

guts. Other licenses such as RSA and
RCG competency cards could also be
available as early as 2016. It wont just
be a system to display your licence
either - options to apply, update and
renew different IDs will all be available
through an app. No more queuing!
The system has the potential to
save a huge amount of money, not to
mention the work hours needed to
maintain the current system. In NSW
alone, 23 million licences are issued
every year that range across 770 different types. Going digital could save
tens of millions of dollars a year, and
of course reduce waste.
The scheme is not without
drawbacks though, and the exact
details of the implementation are still
being hammered out. What happens if
your phone breaks or has a flat battery
on the day you get pulled over? Right
now its a $160 fine for driving without
your license. Then theres privacy your smartphone has your entire life
on it, so it over a device for licence
verification is a little more serious than
parting with a piece of plastic. Security
is also an issue, but considering that
existing licences can already be faked,
a digital system should actually be
more secure.

If digital licenses came out today, current laws

mean you could get a $160 ne for having a at
battery - and driving without your license.

14

PO P U L A R S CI E N CE

DIGITALWORLDS
Australians are usually
quick to embrace digital
technology, but we still
lag behind several other
countries. According to
the Global Information
Technology Report, the
most digital country is
Singapore, ollowed by
Finland. Europe is generally very digital, while the
USA sits at number 7, and
surprisingly Japan is all
the way back at 10.
One area that Australia
dominates is contactless
payments. 53% of our
population has made a
purchase with a contactless card - a healthy lead
over Singapore with 45%.
Surprisingly the USA is
one of the most NFCshy (only ahead of the
UAE), with just 9% of its
population having made
a contactless purchase.


 
 

































 


 
 

 
   


Now

JANUARY 201 6

Goods

HiT
lisT

10 Great Ideas in Gear

1 TELESIN
UNDERWATER
GOPRO DOME PORT
Underwater photography
is cool. Telesin makes it
cooler. This GoPro case
uses a dome made of
acrylic to create space
between your lens and
the waterallowing for
a more visible waterline
when simultaneously
shooting above and below
surface level. $85
2 AERELIGHT A1
Fluorescent desk lamps
are harsh on the eyes.
This one uses organic
light emitting diodes
(OLED) to provide a
warmer glow. The lamp
can be turned on and
off with a tap anywhere
on its body and offers
three brightness levels.
Qi inductive charging
built into the base lets
you easily charge some
phones. $300
3 RIF6 CUBE
MOBILE PROJECTOR
Cube isnt much bigger
than a smartphone. But
the pocket projector
produces a big picture. Its
battery recharges over
micro-USB, meaning one
fewer cable to trip over
during movie time. $300
4 JAMSTIK+
The Jamstik teaches you
to play guitar, and any
song note by note, with a
40-cm-long guitar and a
trio of apps. GarageBand
pairing lets you record
your creations. One step
closer to rock-star status.
$300

by
XAVIER
HARDING

16

P O P U L A R S CI E NCE

5 EMBER SMART MUG

Control your coffees temperature using the dial
on the mugs base or via
smartphone app. An LED
indicator near the bottom
offers precise temperature readings for a drink
thats not too hot and not
too coldsatisfying your
inner Goldilocks. $129
6 SATECHI USB
TYPE-C 3-IN-1
COMBO HUB
If youre photo or video
editing on the go, you
need this adapter. It turns
one USB Type-C port into
three USB 3.0 ports, an
SD-card slot, and a microSD-card slot. $35

6
7

7 PAKPOD TRIPOD
Outdoor gear needs
to be durable. The
weatherproof Pakpod
gives photographers a
stable yet rugged tripod
for cameras. Stakes at
the bottom make sure it
stays put. $99
8 ONEWHEEL
Want to balance-board
off-road? The all-terrain
go-kart tire on this
self-balancing electric
vehicle lets you. It hits
25 km per hour, making
it faster than most other
electric balancing boards.
$1,499
9 MOPHIE
SPACE PACK
iPhone owners want
more storage and a
better battery. The Space
Pack improves both. It
adds 32GB, 64GB, or
128GB of added space.
Plus it roughly doubles
your battery life.
From $150

10 APPLE iPAD PRO

Apple called on the king of
all planets, Jupiter, when
announcing its latest tablet.
And rightfully so. At 12.9
inches, the iPad Pro is the
biggest iPad yet. Theres
enough room to edit 4K video
and to work in AutoCAD, and
with full support for the companys Pencil stylus, Apple
wants professionals to use
this for their great creations
on the go. From $1279

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT; COURTESY TELESIN; COURTESY AERELIGHT; COURTESY CUBE; COURTESY EMBER; COURTESY JAMSTIK;
COURTESY ONEWHEEL; COURTESY MOPHIE; COURTESY APPLE; COURTESY PAKPOD; COURTESY SATECHI

(Prices are shown in US dollars...

because youll have to import
most of this stuff anyway)

COM.AU

OXFORD
O FO D STREET
S EET LEEDERVILLE
LEEDER
LEEDE
R
E

Now

JANUARY 2 016

Tested
4
sTeARNS i950
THeRMASHielD
24+ iMMeRSiON
SUiT

i PlUNGeD
iNTO
fReeZiNG
WATeR

Ta
ale
And Survived to T ll the T
When a ship sinks at sea and youre
e
thrown into the water, hypothermia
sets in quickly, so every second countts.
An immersion suit is designed to buy
you time. Constructed like a surfers
wetsuit, it keeps you warm for up to
three to six hours, until help (hopefullly)
arrives. Smart sailors and fishermen
carry them and, when on a boat, so
should you: a plunge into chilly
10-degree water will induce
hypothermia within 60 minutes.
So what if help is a long time coming?
The Stearns I950 ThermaShield 24+ bills
itself as the most advanced immersion
suit made, one that can extend that crucial in-the-water survival window up to 24
hours, and keep you alive even in freezing
(0C - salt keeps it liquid, remember) water. How good is this suit? I couldnt test
its outermost limits in the Arctic sea. But
I was able to try it in northern Vermont,
in early November, with snow falling, and
the water in Lake Champlain hovering at
that 10-degree mark. So heres what I did.
I went down to the dock, lifted the
suits neoprene one-piece over my
body, and threw myself in the lake. I
immediately bobbed to the surface and
floated. The suit has enough buoyancy to
support 150 kg. (Lets just say Im about
a third of that.) A large air pillow 1 on
the rear of the suit naturally oriented
me to float on my back. Breathing into a
valve on the right shoulder 2 fills the air
pillow. Breathing into a valve on the left
shoulder circulates warm breath around
the core 3 (to protect vital organs), and
then arms, hands, feet, and legs.
The hood blocks sound, 4 so I couldnt
do much but look at the clouds. More tube
breathing made me warmer and more
buoyant. My fingers got wet because
I didnt cinch the suits wrist straps. 5

18

In addition to staving off hypothermia, the

suit is fire-resistant. Thankfully, our reporter
didnt have to dodge any flaming wreckage.

Those fingers got colld fast. But the suits

his problem: Jam your
designers foresaw th
hands in the hand wa
armer 6 sewn onto
the stomach, then ba
ack into the gloves,
and they stay as warm as need be.
I floated like that for an hour, just
oretically) get hypolong enough to (theo
thermia. But I was fine. I had, however,
floated several metrres from shore,
and swimming backk was awkward: I
managed a flounderring backstroke back
to the dock. While I am sure I could have
floated all night, Im glad I didnt have
e tto.

by
B ER N E
BROUDY

P HOTOG R AP H BY
P O P U L A R S CI E NCE

Sam Kaplan

LEICA. DAS WESENTLICHE.

Now

JANUA RY 201 6

Showdown

Price: from $1699 (inc keyboard cover)

OS
Ships with Windows 10 by
default but reseller orders
can specify a downgrade
to Windows 7 or 8 for
businesses who havent
rolled Windows 10 out.

P i ffrom $1648 (inc

Price:
(i k
keyboard
b d cover))

1 DISPLAY
Only 1920x1080p but
HP says this and many
other components are
user serviceable, making
the Elite a better choice
for businesses who need

machines up and running

100% of the time.
2 TYPE COVER
Similar to the Surface but
includes an aluminium
plate to improve rigidity
and provide additional
protection for the tablet
when out and about.
CONFIGURABILITY
There are half a dozen
off the shelf models,
but enterprise customers

It also has
Bang & Olufsen
aud io w i t h
ambient noise
ca n ce l l at io n
for video
co n fe re n ci n g

can load a customised

BIOS, additional security
features or even tailored
proprietary software.
THE DOWNSIDE
The Elite X2 is aimed
primarily at business and
has milspec reliability.
Good for enterprise,
overkill for normal users.
A consumer version,
the Spectre X2 will be
available soon.

OS
The Surface Pro 4
on
i d
10
10,
but is designed from
the ground up to be
100% compatible with
Microsofts latest OS
1 DISPLAY
Super-accurate
2736x1824 LCD display, with excellent colour reproduction and
brightness suitable for
professionals. Rated by
DisplayMate Labs as

one of the best tablet

displays ever.
2 TYPE COVER
Expensive at $199
but with excellent key
travel and an improved
glass trackpad that
makes it almost
indistinguishable
from a regular
ultrabook keyboard.
CONFIGURABILITY
The range starts with
an Intel Core m3 CPU

and 4GB of RAM and

goes all the way up to
Core i7 with
ith 16GB
aC
for a savage $3399
(without Type Cover).

THE DOWNSIDE
Our review unit was
initially plagued with
tiny irritating bugs
such as the stylus not
working, refusing to
boot up, programs not
installing properly,
until wed run many
Windows updates.

HP eliTE
X2 1012
VS

What do we call this PC form-factor? Notebook-tablethybrid-but-where-the-keyboard-is-the-cover? This design, different from the detachable clamshell that otherwise looks like a normal notebook, was pioneered
by Microsoft. Now the Surface has its first serious rival
in the HP Elite X2 1012 (no, we dont think the iPad Pro
counts at all). But despite their similarities, the two
devices have some fundamental differences.

20

P O P U L A R S CI E N CE

by
Anthony Fordham

The HP Spectre X2 is the consumer

version of the Elite, less configurable
and with a more basic warranty, but
likely to be less expensive.

WWW.AVHUB.COM.AU/SI
AVHUB.COM.AU/AWARDS

Now

JANUA RY 201 6
1

Ask an Expert

TIPS FROM
MARQUES

HOW TO
BE A
YOUTUBE
sTAR
(featuring MKBHD)
A lot of 22-year-olds have opinions about gadgets. Not
many have three million fans who will listen. Marques
Brownleebest known as MKBHDis an Internet celebrity
whos attracted hordes to his YouTube channel since
launching seven years ago. Brilliant and funny smartphone
reviews, unboxings, and meditations on all things tech have
set him apart as one of the most influential tech loggers out
there. Here, we unbox his tools of the trade. (Prices in US$)

22

P O P U L A R S CI E N CE

1 YAMAHA HS8
Engineers trust Yamahas studio monitors to
deliver precise sound
across all frequencies.
Never underestimate
good audio. $499
2 ASUS PA328Q
This newer model of
MKBHDs monitor offers
better ergonomics, 4K
resolution, and precise
colour accuracy to easily
spot errors. $1,299
3 APPLE MAC PRO
YouTube supports up
to 4K video, but Apples
tower PC has the
horsepower for three
5K screens at once.
Hashtag futureproof.
$2,999 ($4,899 in
Australia, ouch)

by
XAVIER HARDING

4 RED WEAPON
DRAGON
Reds cameras arent
cheap. But they offer
user-upgradeable
shooters that record
in 6Kthe highest
resolution available.
$59,500
5 SIGMA 18-35MM
F/1.8 LENS
Sigmas lenses are
sharp. Crystal-clear
capture with great lowlight options. $799
6 SOUND DEVICES
MIXPRE D-P48
This battery-powered
field mixer can be used
as a preamp to add
clarity when filming. Or
afterward to dub over
mistakes. $929
7 SENNHEISER
MKH416
Cutting out ambient
noise is key. This shotgun mic picks up audio
only where its aimed,
so your viral video will
sound just how you
like. $1249
8 LOGITECH MX
MASTER MOUSE
The side wheel on this
mouse lets you scroll
horizontally as easily
as vertically. Pair three
devices at once, switch
connections with a
button press. $99

LEARN FROM
THE BEST
When I see a shot
in a video or movie
I like, Ill Google it
to nd out what it
is and how to do
it. I watch a lot of
YouTube tutorials.
The more often
I do it, the more
steps I rememberand the
easier it gets.
SHOOT FOR
THE EDITOR
At events Ill make
a list of everything
I want to capture,
shoot it, and then
record audio
back at my hotel
since its a more
controlled environment. I lm knowing what type of
effects I want to
add afterward.
SPEAK TO WHAT
YOUVE FILMED
I have talking
points to make
sure I dont forget
anything important. Its more of a
conversation than
a script. If I fully
scripted videos, I
would never finish
anything on time.

P HOTOGR A P H BY

Sam Kaplan

I NS ET : TH O M AS PAY NE

THE PURSUIT OF PERFECTION

EG :8 >H>DC>CCDK6I>DCFJ6A>IN A : < : C96 GN

I AM THE NEW AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR.

I am a lens that captures beauty with unmatched clarity. Even beyond these harsh desert
sands, this NIKKOR 24-70mms unrivalled precision and fast f/2.8 aperture makes light
of any situation, no matter how rough or dark it may be. I am a photographers vision
made perfect.
What will you pursue with your NIKKOR? Visit MyNikonLife.com.au.

I AM DANY EID,
and this is how I see
the beautiful land of
Jordan, through my
NIKKOR.

Now

08

Clever Little Things

Number of internet- connected devices

i n th e average Australian home in 20 14.
Source: Telsyte research

Universal remotes make it easy to control

a bunch of AV gear, but now Logitech
has gone a step further. Using what is
essentially a WiFi-equipped, touchscreen
mini tablet as an interface, connected to
a smart hub system, its now possible to
control much more than just a TV.
Price: $369 www.logitech.com
by Lindsay Handmer

24

HARMONY ELITE

THE HUB

At a casual glance, the Elite looks like

an AV receiver remote - a little daunting, though with a snazzy touchscreen
at the top. It keeps the standard array
of tactile buttons, which are backlit.
Then theres that 2.4 touchscreen
LCD. Its gesture-equipped for multi-finger inputs, and has haptic feedback, so your eyes never have to stray
from the TV. The screen can display
fro
a range of customis
stomiseable options,
such as favourites or programmed
med
commands. The Elite can control up
to 15 devices directly via IR, but also
has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. A replaceable battery charges overnight in the
included cradle.

What makes the Elite unique is how it

can tie into a smart home, thanks to a
central Hub. Both it and the remote link
into your home network, and are accessible remotely via the internet. The
Hub also has two wired IR blasters,
and the idea is you place it near your
IR-dependant AV equipment so the remote doesnt always need line of sight.
This means that the Elite remote can
be used to control devices from different rooms. Thanks to WiFi, the system
can link into smart home setups, such
as Philips Hue lights, digital lo
locks, or
platforms like INSTEON and IFTTT.
Logitech says the Elite can control over
270,000 different devices.

USAGE SCENARIO

THE APP

Like previous Harmony remotes, the Elite is built around

macro programming, which makes it easy to setup custom
m actions. For example, a watch a movie button could re up the
AV receiver, turn on the TV and Blu-ray player, dim the sm
mart
lights and even tell the electric curtains to close. A projector
button could instead lower a screen, turn the lights down
further and route video to the projector. A listen to musicc
button could set the surround sound to stereo and turn on
n
various audio sources, but keep the TV off
ff and the lights on.
o

Dig into more o

options via an app
that turns any smartphone into an
auxiliary remotte. This works online
too, so you can check the status of
connected devices such as digital
locks and house lights no matter
where you are. Or just turn the TV
on and off to co
onvince people your
house is haunte
ed.

PO P U L A R S CI E N CE

ON SALE NOW

Buy online and subscribe to PC & Tech Authority at

MYMAGAZINES.COM.AU

Now

JA N UA RY 20 16

Biohacking
king

WHATS IN
AUSSIELENT?
Available in chocolate or vanilla,
Aussielent is a meal
replacement that
supposedly provides
enough energy and
nutrition to keep a
19-30 year old male
going on just one
satchel a day, mixed
with water. Lets
look at some of the
ingredients.
AUSSIELENT
$84 per 28-meal box
Chocolate or vanilla
www.aussiesoylent.com.au

OAT FLOUR
Low GI, provides a
sustained release of energy
over several hours. Technically gluten free, but getting
certification is too hard says
Carpenter, so Aussielent is
not marketed as safe
for Coeliacs.

PROCESSED
SUGAR
None. Not
a bit.

SOY FLOUR
Some people worry
that processed soy contains
artificial estrogens that will
mess you up. Science says
soy flour is high in protein
and good fats. The amount
in Aussielent conforms to
Australian food
standards.

WHEY PROTEIN
Unlike US and European
versions, Aussielent uses
this byproduct of cheese
manufacturing to give 30g
of protein per 130g serve
and also deliver a full
amino acid profile.
TAPIOCA
MALTODEXTRIN
Favourite hate-target of
whole food advocates, it
makes
k the
h mixture
i
smooth.
h
Traditional corn maltodextrin
can spike blood sugar
levels, but this stuff has
very low GI.

The response to formulated,

powdered whole meal
replacements by some
nutritionists and many, many
whole food advocates has been
one of horror. How can you
consider poisoning yourself with
mass-produced chemicals?
Almost everything in, for example,
Soylent is bad for you! Dont eat it!
But if you try one of these
formulations yourself, youll find
that far from being scary, the
ingredients arent even remarkable.
Until now, Australians have
by Anthony Fordham

26

P O P U L A R S CI E N CE

had to DIY their own mix, which

is surprisingly labour-intensive,
according to Aussielent inventor
Paul Carpenter. He mixed his own
after learning about Soylent via its
Kickstarter campaign.
His recipe, called Aussielent,
differs slightly from the infamous
US mix. Its basically a low GI, high
protein formula, says Carpenter,
similar in concept to well-proven
medical food replacements. But:
We label Aussielent not to be
used as a sole source of nutrition,
because otherwise you would only
be able to buy it from a doctor.
Aussielent is made from

MINERALS
Aussielents mineral
profile is designed with
bioavailability in mind,
to provide a 100% RDI
dose that includes molybdenum, manganese, iron,
iodine and more.

ingredients you can buy in bulk

online or from bodybuilder shops,
and the added vitamins come from
the same companies that make
multivitamin pills. But Carpenter
says Aussielent is actually a better
way to get those vitamins.
We give you 100% of the
recommended amount. So many
of those pills give 2000% or more.
How Aussielent affects
consumers over long periods
remains to be seen. But Carpenter
has been eating variations of his
recipe for a couple of years now.
I havent developed jaundice or
anything, he says.

VITAMINS
Each serve provides
25-35% of the recommended daily intake of vitamins
essential for good health.
They are sourced from
the same manufacturers
as used in multivitamin pills.

IS THIS STUFF BAD FOR ME?

Products like Soylent and
Aussielent are typically designed by non-food-scientists
(Paul Carpenter says he has
no food science background
at all) who research online,
and rely on experiments done
by others. Is drinking nothing
but high-protein shakes for
years worse than a diet of
organic fruit, vegetables and
meat grown in clean soil and
clean air? Probably. But swapping out a breakfast muffin
and lunchtime hamburger
for Aussielent while still
eating a healthy dinner? Probably not. Like everything, just
dont go crazy, okay?

$0- 6<5,);165 .69 ;0,=)5+-4-5; 6. :;96564@

:<7769;15/ -?+-33-5+-

$0- 6<5,);165 .69 ;0- ,=)5+-4-5; 6. :;96564@ -:;)*31:0-, *@ ;0- :;965641+)3 #6+1-;@ 6. <:;9)31) 9-+6/51:-: -?+-33-5+- ;096</0 ;0- #6+1-;@: )+;1=1;1-:

C The Bok Prize .69 6<;:;)5,15/ 9-:-)9+0 *@ )5 656<9: ):;-9: :;<,-5;

C The David Allen Prize .69 -?+-7;165)3 ):;96564@ +644<51+);165

C The Charlene Heisler Prize .69 46:; 6<;:;)5,15/ ):;96564@ !0 ;0-:1:

C The Berenice & Arthur Page Medal .69 -?+-33-5+- 15 )4);-<9 ):;96564@

C The Louise Webster Prize .69 -?+-33-5+- *@ )5 -)93@ +)9--9 9-:-)9+0-9

C The Richard Cole Fund ;6 :<7769; ;9)1515/ .69 76:;/9),<);- :;<,-5;:

C The Ellery Lectureship .69 6<;:;)5,15/ +65;91*<;165: 15 ):;96564@

Donate to the Foundation for the Advancement of Astronomy

  

46<5; 





;0-9(((((((((((((((((((((((((((

!9-.-99-, 791A- )+;1=1;@ ;6 :<7769; 56; +647<3:69@ ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

0-8<-: 7)@)*3- ;6 B6<5,);165 .69 ;0- ,=)5+-4-5; 6. :;96564@D
9-,1; )9, !)@4-5;: 6 ):;-9+)9, 6 %1:)
)9, <4*-9 ((( ((( ((( ((( ((( ((( ((( ((( ((( ((( ((( ((( ((( ((( ((( ((( ?719@ );- ((( (((
)9,063,-9 )4- (((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( );- ((((((((((((
)9,063,-9 :1/5);<9- ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((
65);165: 6.  69 469- )9- ;)?,-,<+;1*3- .69 <:;9)31)5 9-:1,-5;: 6569: +)5 +066:- ;6 :-3-+; >01+0 6<5,);165 )+;1=1;1-: ;0-@ >6<3, 312- ;6 :<7769;$0- 6<5,);165 -?1:;: ;096</0 ;0- :<7769; 6.
<:;9)31)5 ):;96564-9: )5, ;0- /-5-9)3 7<*31+ !3-):- :<*41; @6<9 7)@4-5; ;6 ;0- # $9-):<9-9 9 );915) #-)3-@ +' <:;9)31)5 :;965641+)3 *:-9=);69@ ! 6?  69;0 "@,- 
 #&


$0-

4-


64

9)31) 5+

No
The Roundup

DJi iNSPiRE ONE

A serious drone, for serious
drone work
At the professional level, there are plenty
of large but very expensive drones. The DJI
Inspire 1 crosses back into the high end
consumer level - just. Sure, it costs as much
as a used hatchback, but for serious aerial
video work, its worth it. The Inspire 1 has
a modular camera system that records in
4K and streams 720P video up to 2000m
back to the controller. The camera is on a
gyro-stabilised mount that can be panned
through 360 degrees and controlled
separately to the drone itself. Its also got a
gaggle of smart functionality, such as target
tracking and autonomous flying.

BlADE
NANO QX FPV
Learn to fly in first person
This tiny 22 gram drone has
a built-in miniature wireless

www.riseabove.com.au $4999

camera, that links back to a Fat

Shark video headset. Flight comes
from powerful 6mm motors
that give extremely responsive
handling. Its also got SAFE
technology, which ensures stable
hands off hovering and accurate
controls. The QX is ready to fly,
but can also bind to your existing
2.4GHz controller. Get a massive
discount by picking it up without
the FPV gear for around $150,
which makes it one of the better
mini quadcopters for beginners
and experienced pilots alike.

www.modelflight.com.au
$649.99

flY THE fRieNDlY

(BUT SUDDeNlY
CROWDeD) SKieS
by Lindsay Handmer

Didnt get that drone you wanted for Christmas? Heres the
Popular Science pick of the best models available in Australia
right now, from affordable hobby drones, all the way up to
HUBSAN X4
high end professional, uh, aerial surveillance platforms.
H107L V2
BlADE iNDUctRiX
A drone like no other
Flying a quadcopter indoors can be fun (even one that
seems to be named after a blender), but its all too easy
to bump into walls or furniture and crash, despite prop
guards. The Inductrix solves the issue with electric ducted fans instead of propellers, that are much more protected. This little quad uses 6-axis stabilisation, so is very
easy to fly. Its not quite as zippy as Nano QX, but is quick
enough for more advanced pilots to have plenty of fun.
It comes with a controller, or can be bought as a slightly
cheaper model that binds to an existing transmitter.

A classic minidrone on a shoestring

(not literally)
Buying a cheap drone can be tricky, lest you
crash and burn with a dodgy knock off brand
that flies poorly. The Hubsan X4 is one of the
best budget models available, and has actually
had a few design revisions over time, so make
sure you get the V2. Six-axis gyro stabilisation
means the X4 is super easy to fly, yet zippy
enough for acrobatics. It comes with a basic
controller, or can be linked to a compatible
2.4GHz model. There are a few variants - the
H107C has a camera, the H109 has powerful
brushless motors and there is even a Nano
model. Rreeeee!

$129 www.rchobbies.com.au
www.dx.com $60
28

P O P U L A R S CI E N CE

Now

JA NUA RY 2 0 1 6

The Roundup

SWANN XtR ME
QUADFORC
Aerial footage witho
the expense
Swann worked with Sy
to develop
the QuadForce based the exc lent X5C. A medium-s zed q
at
93 grams, it has enough grunt to fly
outdoors without getting blown about.
The drone has an onboard 720P
camera that records to SD card, and
while the quality is pretty average, its
still aerial photography, right? The
QuadForce has 6-axis gyro stabilisation, a 100m range and an eight
minute flight time. It also has a
stunts mode - hit a button on
the controller to initiate perfect
flips and rolls. The Swann
drone is available from Costco, but can also be found
online for a bit cheaper.

JAYCAR HAWKeYE
Ready to go FPV flying
is drones onboard 2MP camera streams real tim
k to a re te mounted display. Its not quite
footage back
itss
half the price.
as immersive as FPV goggles, butt it
The basic quadcopter has an eight minute flight time
and up to a 100m range. Its stabilised by a 6-axis gyro
and has switchable beginner and advanced flight modes.
It can also do 360 degree flips at the touch of a button.
Colourful LEDs for night flying are a neat touch.

www.jaycar.com.au $299

$129.95
www.swann.com

XiRO
XPlOReR
in the
one market
Competing with the excellent DJI
qu copters,
g
lar
V is a gorgeo lo
chunk of black plastic. It has a
gimballed 1080P or 4K camera,
or can carry a GoPro. Range
is rated at 500m, which is just
a quarter of DJIs capability.
While it comes with a controller,
camera streaming depends on a
smartphone app. It has a full suite
of inbuilt smarts, such as auto
take-off and landing, waypoint
flying, POI tracking and a follow
mode. So its not quite as good as
the Phantom, but the Explorer V
is a lot cheaper. Sometimes, thats
what counts.

$1000 www.xirodrone.com

DRONE LAWS

DJi PHANTOM 3
Much more than a toy
DJI has dominated the drone market, and the Phantom 3 Professional is the latest high tech model. Onboard video can be captured
in 4K, using a 1/2.3 Sony Exmor
sensor that gives video quality on

par with the likes of GoPro. It can

also stream 720P video back to
the controller from 2000m away
and has the usual DJI smarts,
such as auto take-off and landing,
and return-home mode. The drone
can also be set to circle a point of
interest, tracking it with the camera, or follow the controller. The
Phantom 3 is actually available
in a few different versions, with a
$500-cheaper Advanced model
with 2.7K camera, or the Standard
that uses the older DJI controller
with a shorter range.

www.riseabove.com.au
$2199

Governed by CASA, Australian

laws are fairly simple. Fly lower than 120 metres, keep in line
of sight of the operator, remain 30m or more away from
people and dont operate over
large crowds. Importantly, you
need to stay at least 5.5 km
from any airport or helipad,
which actually rules out huge
swathes of most cities (and
its why you dont see drones
everywhere). For commercial
use, a UAV operator licence
is needed. Check out the free
app RPAS Logger, which can
show airport exclusion zones
and help log ights.

POPULAR SCIENCE

29

Now
State of the Art

AN
AWeSOME
WAVE
Loudspeakers, or to use the
fancy name, electroacoustic
transducers, have been around
since the late 1800s. The
concept behind the technology is
fairly simple: an electrical signal
moves a diaphragm, which
vibrates air molecules, creating
a compression wave, which
we hear. The most common
technology is the dynamic
speaker (invented in 1925),
which uses an electromagnetic
coil and a magnet to produce
these waves. There are other
activation methods, some of
which are in the middle of a new
renaissance. Theres demand
in the market for unusual or
atypical loudspeaker designs.
Lets take a listen to their various
highs and lows.

BENQ TREVOLO

by
LINDSAY
HAN D ME R

Sound is produced
by both sides of this
panel, giving this little
speaker a lot more
punch than you
might expect.

Portable speakers - Bluetooth and otherwise - are

great for music anywhere, but they typically suffer
from fairly poor audio quality compared to proper
big speakers. Not so with the treVolo, says BenQ,
which is the first portable Bluetooth system to use
Electrostatic Diaphragm technology.
Unlike a bulky traditional speaker, the treVolo has
two large fold-out panels. This makes the unit small
and easy to move, but gives a large surface area
to create crisp, dynamic playback. The speakers

3D Sound

ROGNT Vibration
Speaker

The odd shape of the

human ear means we are
very good at determining
the direction of a sound
source, which makes
3D sound - instead of
mere stereo - difficult to
simulate. Fortunately
with some signal
processing wizardry,
its possible to fool our
brains into thinking point
source sounds came from
dierent direction.
It works especially well
in headphones.

30

PO P U L A R S CI E N CE

Rather than having its own diaphragm,

this speaker turns an object such as a
table or window into a speaker.
Despite good volume levels, the audio
quality depends on the surface used, and
so often lacks a full frequency response.
Inside is essentially the core of a heavy,
powerful traditional speaker transducer
that creates vibrations.

Now

JA NUA RY 2 0 1 6

State of the Art

Sound
Cannon

push air in both directions, which

gives a richer, fuller sound that is
less affected by listening position.
Electrostatic speakers are best
at mid to high frequencies, so
the treVolo also packs a pair of
63mm diaphragm subwoofers to
give a solid bass kick. Each of the
drivers in the system is driven by a
separate 10W amp.
The result is easily the bestsounding portable speaker system
weve heard, with a clean crisp
highs and warm, rich mids. It does
lack a little bass and the treVolo is
aimed at more relaxed listening, so
doesnt handle the party-blasting
volumes of other portable systems.
Connections include Bluetooth,
USB and 3.5mm in/out. It weighs in
at 1.2KG, and the included battery
runs for 12 hours on a charge.
Nuances of control come via a
BenQ music app. The unit also has
a microphone, so can be used as a
speakerphone. $299

Sonic weapons can

be non-lethal (inducing
nausea) or plenty
lethal indeed,
bursting organs with
air pressure.

SPeAKeR TECH

Not so much
a speaker as a
tool, these units
can be used
for everything
from crowd
control to long
range communications
or chasing
animals off runways. Used as a
sonic weapon,
these speakers can cause
everything
from discomfort through to
burst eardrums
and extreme
pain. A sound
cannon has
even been used
to help repel
Somali pirates.

Its not all about Kevlar cones. Various speaker technologies

exist. Heres how they break down (thats a musical term).

PIEZOELECTRIC

ELECTROSTATIC

MAGNETIC

DIAPHRAGM-FREE

Using the piezoelectric effect

(where an electric current
causes a material to vibrate) to
move the speaker diaphragm,
these speakers can be very
thin, light and cheap. Typically
they dont offer a very wide
frequency range, though are
very resistant to overloads that
could destroy a normal speaker.
Most piezoelectric speakers
are tiny, and used as alerts or
alarms, such as in watches.

A high voltage electric field,

(rather than a magnetic field)
moves a statically-charged
diaphragm membrane. By producing the driving force over the
entire speaker, this tech creates
more linear sound with lower
distortion. The downside is that
they need to be fairly large to
get a full frequency response,
so are more often used as mid
to high range speakers, rather
than subwoofers.

Available in many different

forms, all still use magnetic
fields in one way or another.
Traditional models have a
permanent magnet reacting
against a moving electromagnet, but the positions can also
be reversed. Ribbon speakers
create the magnetic field (and
movement) in flat conductors,
while magnetostriction speakers use the changing shape of
ferromagnetic materials.

There are alternatives to the diaphragm. Plasma arc speakers

manipulate electric fields, but
suffer from reliability problems.
Thermoacoustic speakers heat
the air with carbon nanotubes
to make it expand and create
sound waves, but so far have
only been tested in the lab.
Rotary woofers use variable
pitch fans to create very low frequencies and are often used in
cinemas for deep bass effects.

P OP U L AR S C I EN C E

31

EDITED BY BREANNA DRAXLER + MATT G I LES

Something bizarre is happening to KIC

8462852, a star located 1,480 light-years
from Earth. Its glow dims significantly and
at irregular intervals. The cause could be
asymmetry in the star, or it could be the
shadow of a family of comets, for example, or
a megastructure built by an advanced civilisation. SETIs Allen Telescope Array recently
searched the skies to no avail, so in 2016,
scientists plan to investigate using the Green
Bank Telescope. It is far more sensitive than
the array and is equipped to scan 1.5 billion
radio frequencies simultaneously. If there is
a structure, we might be able to detect radio
signals, like those of
Earthly electronics, from
its makers. Whatever
Green Bank reveals
by
SARA H FECHT
(were hoping aliens), it
will be new to science.

32

P O P U L A R S CI E N CE

The time lapse of the Green

Bank Telescope consists of 400
images captured over a period
of three hours, starting at 9 p.m.

P HOTOG R AP H BY

Mike Zorger

JAN UA RY 201 6

99.9
Diameter, in
metres, of
the Green
Bank
Telescope,
the worlds
l a rges t f u l ly
steerable
radi o
telescope

P OP U L AR S C I EN C E

33

Next

JANUARY 201 6

The Big Idea

MDMA releases
neurotransmitters,
such as serotonin
and dopamine,
in the brain.

CURE
PTSD

During the course of

a given year, approximately 1.4 million adults
in Australia will
experience PTSD.

We just need to
re-imagine the trip

34

PO P U L A R S CI E N CE

Post-traumatic stress disorder has reached

crisis levels. About 6.4 per cent of Australians
experience PTSD; for returned servicemen (and
women), that number is much higher. Treatment
is notoriously difficult, but people could find
relief in an unusual form: psychedelic drugs.
MDMAbest known as molly or ecstasy
earned a bad rap in the 1990s as ravers drug of
choice. But psychotherapists are coming to value
the way it increases empathy while decreasing
fear and defensiveness. MDMA gives people
the ability to revisit an event thats still painful
without being overwhelmed, says psychiatrist
Michael Mithoefer. Following a recent MDMA
trial, 83 per cent of his treatment-resistant participants no longer showed symptoms of PTSD.
In one study, Mithoefer worked with a New
York City firefighter post-9/11. The subject
had tried treatment before. While undergoing
a popular method that uses eye movement to
reprocess a trauma, hed been so overcome that
he ripped a sink off the wall. MDMA, however,
worked. It wasnt easy for him, Mithoefer says.
But our sink is still attached.
MDMA isnt a one-trick pony either; it can
treat end-of-life anxiety and alcoholism, and
its not addictive. Were talking about the rise
of a whole field of medicine, says Rick Doblin,
founder of the nonprofit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, which is running
a handful of MDMA trials, including Mithoefers.
Doblin thinks the FDA will
greenlight the drug for
mainstream use by 2021:
The psychedelic psychoby
therapist of the future will
M AT T G I L ES
have a medicine bag filled
with drugs like MDMA.

S H UT TE RSTO C K

DERING
GS

Next

JA N UA RY 2 0 1 6

Food for Thought

Will I ever be
replaced by an
Algorithm?
by Pat Pi l cher

PHD Worldwide is a company that

specialises in communications planning
and buying. Not the usual target for an
Australian Popular Science interview,
but its latest publication, Sentience:
The Coming AI Revolution and the
Implications for Marketing, caught our
attention and made us ask that vexing
question: Will I, one day, be replaced by
an algorithm? PHDs strategy director,
Simon Bird, tackles the concept head on.

PP: What exactly is an AI?

If you look at the core definition of
Artificial Intelligence (as proposed by
John Mccarthy who coined the term in
1956) its the science and engineering
of making intelligent machines.
This implies a few ideas: the
ability for technology to learn from
experience, to apply that learning to
new problems, to apply logic and to
think abstractly.
Making this a reality requires
highly advanced algorithms, powerful
computer processors and access to
significant amounts of data.
The advanced requirements of
these three areas cant be understated.Many of todays AI applications are
based on simulations of human brain
cells called neural networks.While
these networks certainly dont replicate the form and function of the brain
perfectly, they draw inspiration from it
How do you see AI evolving?
From a marketing perspective, one
of the challenges for consumers is
navigating the relatively disconnected,
disorganised and decentralised world
of information. Try missing a flight
and having to change hotels, cancel
your car, contact work colleagues,
rearrange diaries, call family members
etc.Viewed from a position 10 years

Ca n we p ro gra m e m pat hy ? An
A I m ay o n e d ay eve n know yo u
better than you know yourself.

AIs and robotics have already

displaced some unskilled jobs, Will
they eventually do the same to skilled
roles?
There are two schools of thought
around this.One suggests AI leads
to widespread displacement of jobs,
the other that takes a more balanced
view, emphasising that [historically]
technology has created more jobs
than it has replaced. From a marketing
and media perspective, its natural to
assume that these fields will evolve
dramatically over the next 15 years,
due to the influence of AI.

Historically, technology
has created more jobs than
it has replaced
S IM ON B IRD OF PH D WORLDWID E

from now it will feel as though a

seamless bridge between us and the
world was missing.
The most interesting bridging
device and the one thatll become the
ultimate bridge is a virtual Personal
Assistant.At the moment theyre weak
AI (like Siri or Cortana) but consider
what they might become.

Will machines become

smarter than humans?
One of the most respected sources of knowledge
on this is Ray Kurzweil,
who works as the director
of Engineering at Google
and is guiding the companys efforts
to teach computers to understand
natural language.
Hes developed a theory called
singularity. This refers to the fact that
humanity is fast approaching the point
at which not only are our machines
more intelligent than we are, but we
merge our own consciousness with
them, after which point its impossible
to predict how technology and humanity will develop.He believes we will
reach this point by 2045

P OP U L AR S C I EN C E

35

Next

JANUARY 201 6

Time Machine

Virtual Reality
Gets Real

Put the real world on notice. The long-predicted virtualreality boom has nally arrived. Now anyone with some
cardboard and a few lenses can turn an Android phone
into a passable VR headset. By 2020, an estimated
38 million more-sophisticated devicessuch as the
Oculus Rift, which hits shelves this yearwill be
strapped onto human faces. Over the past ve decades,
VR has advanced from its science-ction roots to a
future that, well, sounds pretty sci- too.

by
ALLIS ON WILLIAMS

1981

1995

2002

2006

2014

2020

2025

2030

2035

PAST

Morton Heilig
a cinematographer and
the father of VRpatents
the Sensorama Simulator.
The refrigerator-size mini
theatre comes equipped with
a vibrating seat and a
wind machine to blast
the viewer.

FU TU R E

The haptics
problemrecreating
touch and pressure in
VRcould be solved by
stimulating nerves with electrodes, building on research
into muscle-propelled force
feedback at the Hasso
Plattner Institute.

Tom Furness
of the US Air Force
builds the first immersive VR system, a
virtual cockpit with a wide
field of view, to improve
cockpit design.

Hollywood
discovers VR. In
The Lawnmower Man, VR
causes a woman to go mad and
a simpleton to become a genius.
In Virtuosity, Denzel Washington
enters VR to catch a killer. A
critic blasts the latter as
numbingly frantic, in the
manner of many videogames.

Facebook
buys Oculus Rift
for $2 billion. Mark
Zuckerberg calls the
device one of the next
most important computing platforms.

Since
9/11, VR-exposure therapy alleviates
post-traumatic stress in
civilians. Another program,
Virtual Iraq, later treats veterans
experiencing PTSD by helping
them revisit the trauma. It
incorporates virtual rocket-propelled grenades
and Black Hawk helicopters.

Streaming data could

allow VR to render
any physical location
in real time. Office
spaces might all
go virtual.

Magic Leap
hopes to master
mixed reality. The VR
startups light-field
displays could eventually
enable viewers to interact
with both the real world
and a virtual object
projected on it.

To distract burn
victims from the excruciating pain of wound care,
an immersive VR experience
called Snow World helps
patients focus instead on
tossing virtual snowballs
at mammoths and
penguins.

36

P O P U L A R S CI E N CE

Artificial
intelligence and VR
will dovetail, so people
could develop bonds with
virtual humans. At least
thats the speculation of Hunter
Hoffman, lead designer of
Snow World: The brain is
pretty open to buying
into that.

C O U RT ESY O C U LU S R I FT

1962

Next

JA NUA RY 2 0 1 6

Quantum Leap

Telstra
Explores
the Land
Beyond 4G

Even though this stock

phone image is running
an obsolete version of
Android, speeds like
this could be possible
within 5 years.

While most of us
wait on (and on) for
the NBN - which will
initially offer a maximum speed of 100
Mbps - Telstra is
testing a much faster
wireless standard.
And by wireless, we
mean mobile. Today,
the 4G connection on a
decent smartphone is
5-10 times faster than
a suburban ADSL2+
link. What couldnt we
do with five HUNDRED
times that bandwidth?
by LINDSAY HANDMER

Towards 5G
In partnership with Ericsson,
Telstra is testing the future of high
speed internet, and the deployment of any new technology is
about five years away. That said,
the tests are conducted on the
existing commercial network not some fancy lab equipment
in tightly controlled conditions.
That testers can hit speeds of a
gigabit per second (or 1000Mbps)
is thanks to an aggregation of
100MHz of 4G spectrum, across
five existing channels.
The problem with this approach is that in normal use, users share spectrum and channels,
and one person pulling those kind
of speeds leaves everyone else
short on bandwidth.

The solution is upgraded

equipment and a larger chunk
of the wireless spectrum to play
with. This is relatively easy to do
as a one-off test, but rather more
complicated to roll out for millions
of users. Still, the future of high
speed wireless internet looks
bright indeed.
Telstra Right Now
Yes, 1Gbps seems crazy fast, but
Telstra customers already have
access to one of the quickest
networks in the world. On a
so-called 4GX smartphone such
as the Samsung Galaxy Note 5,
its already possible to hit speeds
up to 450 Mbps. You wont ever
actually hit that speed on a cell
thats shared with hundreds of
other users at a time, but the
capability is there. Peaks over 100
Mbps are already common. On
the Telstra 4GX network, using
a dedicated mobile data hotspot
(sort of like a smartphone without
the smarts, or screen), speeds of
up to 600 Mbps are possible.

The limit of bandwidth

In theory, optical bre and
wireless connections can have
similar maximum speeds.
The difference is that wireless
signals in the same area can
interfere with each other, which
reduces ACTUAL bandwidth.
Optical fibre doesnt suffer
from interference, but is of
course limited to the specific

routes on which the cable

is run. The technologies are
complementary though - with
fibre suiting fixed locations and
high bandwidth backhaul, while
wireless gives flexibility to the
final data delivery.
The current record for
wireless transmission in a lab is
one terabyte per second - or 1000

times as fast as what Telstra

has just tested. Optical fibre has
that beat though, and a single
strand can handle 26 Tbps. And
using a multicore fibre, speeds
of over a petabit per second
have been demonstrated - a
million times faster than 4GX.
Electrical signals tend to max
out at around 10 Gbps.

P OP U L AR S C I EN C E

37

Next

JANUARY 201 6

Decoded
First found in boxers and called punchdrunk syndrome, CTE now shows up in
the brains of former gridiron players too.

Currently, the disease cant be treated. In

fact, doctors cant even diagnose it when a
person is alive. CTE can be found only during
autopsies. But that might be about to change.
Theres tremendous optimism that we can
develop a way to identify this in living
individuals, says Ann McKee, director of neuropathology at the CTE Centre.
Some scientists are trying to find a CTE
signature in blood, saliva, or spinal fluid.
Others aim to track down a misfolded protein
called tau, which is known to aggregate in the
brains of people with CTE. By developing a
radiotracer that adheres to this abnormal tau
(and only this tau), researchers hope to be able
to spot it in PET scans.
A team of researchers from Boston University and two local hospitals is testing a tracer
called T807 in clinical trials backed, in part, by
the US Department of Defence. Theyre injecting
it into former NFL players and expect results
on its effectiveness within the next few years.
Back in April 2015, a UCLA team developed a
have raised public awareness of CTE in the
technique using a tracer called FDDNP, though
NFL in recent years. And rather than a rarity,
some researchers question whether it attaches
researchers are concerned the disease might be
exclusively to tau.
more widespread than previously believed.
Theres been incredible growth in tau
neuroimaging, just in the past
three years, says Robert Stern,
director of clinical research at
Boston Universitys CTE Center.
Millions and millions of dollars
are being poured into this
gigantic area of research. At
ROB ERT ST ERN, D IRECTOR OF CLINICAL RES EARCH AT
this pace, scientistsincluding
T H E CT E CENT ER AT B OSTON UNIV ERS IT Y
Stern and McKeeanticipate
Boston Universitys CTE Centre has been
they could be diagnosing the condition in living
analysing the brains of deceased athletes and
brains within a decade. Researchers can then
veterans since 2008; the condition has shown
work on treatments to reduce tau or its effects
up in 175 of the 247 brains studied. Among
on the central nervous system, putting the
deceased NFL players, its 88 of 92.
brakes on the disease before its too late.

Tackling Brain
Trauma Head-On
Legendary NFL linebacker
Junior Seau committed suicide
in 2012, less than three years
after his final game. An autopsy
overseen by the National
Institutes of Health revealed
that hed had chronic traumatic
encephalopathy, or CTEa
degenerative brain disease
that can result from hits to
the head and might cause
depression, aggression,
memory loss, and dementia.
High-profile cases like Seaus

Theres something about

repetitive hits to the head that
turns on this disease.

Insane Study

by STE P H Y IN

Faster Food,
Fewer Neurons

Need another reason to avoid fast food? Australian scientists found that people with a diet of
processed foods and sugary drinks tend to have a smaller hippocampusa brain region involved
in learning, memory, and mood. Unhealthy diets can create an environment that is toxic to the
brain, says neuroscientist Nicolas Cherbuin. So you might want to lay off the Big Macs.

38

P O P U L A R S CI E N CE

B RYAN C H RI ST I E DES I G N

by JOE DeLESSIO

Next

JANUA RY 2 01 6

The (Other)
Cold War
by

HFC

While the fight against global

warming focuses mostly on
energy generation, cars and the
occasional flatulent cow, there are
other battles going on behind the
scenes. Such as the war of words
between the Australian Refrigeration Association (ARA) and the
Synthetic Refrigerants Alliance

(Hydrouorocarbons)

Refrigerant used as an alternative to Chlorouorocarbons, the infamous CFCs that most

countries legislated against in the 1980s and
1990s to preserve the ozone layer. Unfortunately,
HFCs still contribute heavily to global warming.

a refrigerant in everything from air

conditioners to, well, refrigerators.
The ARA recently pointed
out that natural refrigerants
such as CO2 and ammonia are
more energy efficient than
HFCs, but also claims the
alliance of synthetic refrigerant
manufacturers is actively lobbying
against expanding their use.
Naturally, the SRA responded in

Paradigm Shift

a strongly-worded letter saying it has plenty of

members who produce and sell natural refrigerants and that the government doesnt need to
stick its nose into the whole business... possibly
due to the risk of frostbite.
Mentioning the government wasnt completely random, because the Commonwealth
has just published a review of the Ozone
Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act that commits to phasing out HFC
refrigerants by 2036. That might seem a long
way off, but most refrigeration experts seem to
think this is a realistic time scale.
The central irony of this ongoing stoush (at
one point in the chain of official correspondence, the ARA essentially challenged the SRA
to a fight in the street) is that hydrofluorocarbons were the good guys of the great ozone
layer crisis of the 1980s and 1990s. Brought
into to replace ozone-eating chlorofluorocarbons (you may remember them as CFCs),
HFCs have since turned out to be significant
contributors to global warming. Not that the
SRA entirely agrees with that assertion.
As usual, this whole argument boils down
to an industry insisting it doesnt need government intervention to stop it from further
damaging the planet, while another interest
group insists only the government can excise
the rotten core of a cabal thats every bit as
political as the government. Or whatever.
So next time you stagger home after an
especially hot and humid day (and there are
plenty more of those to come) and flick on
the AC, spare a thought for all the shouting in
conference centres that makes this amazing
technology possible.

HFO

(Hydrouoroelns)

So-called fourth-generation refrigerants which, despite

still being made of hydrogen, uorine and carbon, nevv
ertheless have a lower global warming potential than
HFCs. As well as HFOs, the ARA advocates the use of
natural refrigerants, including ammonia and CO2.

P OP UL AR S C I EN C E

39

Next
The Conversation

Hands Off
the Wheel
Driverless cars navigate the Autobahns of Germany
and the great freeways of the US with ease, but how will
they handle Australias more... idiosyncratic road network?
Pat Pilcher trusts a robot to find out.

40

P O P U L A R S CI E N CE

JANUARY 201 6

This scenario is unlikely to be legal

soon. Even on auto-drive, a human
will need to be in charge of the car.

Saturday, 7 November 2015 was a landmark day for

Australia. It saw the start of Australias first major tests
of autonomous road vehicle technology. The tests were
held in South Australia and Australian Popular Science
caught up with Gerard Waldron, CEO and managing director of the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) to
talk autocars. Waldron leads the team conducting tests
with Volvo, for transport bodies, and federal, state and
local government organisations across Australia.
Whats the background for this test?
GERARD WALDRON: The Australian Driverless Vehicles Initiative (ADVI) is leading the safe and successful
transition of driverless vehicles onto Australian roads.

P OP U L AR S C I EN C E

41

Next
The Conversation

Saturdays test is part of a series of research

demonstrations coordinated by ARRB to assess
what is required to make driverless vehicle
technology appropriate for Australian roads and
safe for road users.
The demonstrations are a major turning
point for the future of motoring the evolution of
driverless car technology in Australia.
ARRBs ADVI puts Australia amongst only a
handful of countries, including Germany, Sweden, and the UK and USA, pioneering on-road
driverless vehicle research.
How does this particular
driverless car work?
The Volvo XC90 D5 has adaptive cruise control,
active queue assist and lane keeping assist. In
normal operation, these features operate only
if the driver has his/her hands on the steering
wheel. Once it is detected that there is no
human input from the steering, then all three
features are deactivated and the driver is given
warnings compelling the driver has to take back
control of the vehicle.
In the demonstration, Volvo will implement
a software change and the three features will
continue to function without any human steering
input. The vehicle therefore becomes capable of
autonomous movement.
The condition imposed by Volvo is that when
this change is made for the demonstration,
the vehicle is limited to 70 km/h and only an
approved Volvo driver can [be the licensed
operator of] the vehicle.
Theres several different automated safety
features used in the demonstration.
Lane Keeping Assist: This activates to
position the vehicle in the centre of the lane
at all times

One day, every road trip

will be in convoy, as cars
network together to
maintain safe distance
and mitigate congestion.
The ARRBs Gerard
Waldron believes autonomous cars are inevitable,
and could make Aussie
roads even safer.

Adaptive Cruise Control: Does

two things, it will (a) maintain the
vehicle at a present speed for highway driving as well as (b) maintain
a preset distance from the vehicle
in front. Should the vehicle in front
reduce speed, the system will
respond by reducing the vehicles
speed while maintaining the preset
following distance. Should the
vehicle in front increase in speed,
the system will also increase the
vehicles speed, but only up to the
preset maximum speed.
Active Queue Assist: At speeds
below 60 km/h, Active Queue Assist will function as per the Adaptive Cruise Control mode, as well
as bring the vehicle to a complete
stop and follow the lead vehicle
when it starts moving again.
All three modes above normally
require the drivers hands to be
on the steering wheel. If no driver
control of the steering wheel is
detected by the system, all three
modes are deactivated.
Ok, so how reliable are
driverless cars?
Once this technology is publicly

42

PO P U L A R S CI E NCE

available, driverless vehicles will

be safer than the safest driver.
Volvo runs driverless vehicle initiatives in US, UK and now Australia.
Learning from all three countries
will be continuously applied and
will assist us in getting the technology on the road faster.
Other countries like the UK,
US, Sweden and Germany are
making strides with their driverless
vehicle technology. Looking at their
successes, there is an incredible
opportunity for Australia to make
use of the frameworks developed
overseas to implement the technology for Australian road users.
What do you see as the key benefits of an autonomous vehicle?
Ninety per cent of crashes occur as
a result of human error. Driverless
vehicles remove this element of
error and can reduce the impact
of human error on road crashes,
which costs Australia $27 billion
annually, on top of the cost in
human lives.
Driverless vehicles can also
help reduce congestion, which
comes at a current cost to the

JA N UA RY 2016

There is a long road of testing ahead to ensure

driverless vehicles can operate autonomously
in a range of different road environments,
which is why its so important that this
technology is tested in closed, controlled
environments thoroughly in as many different
locations and jurisdictions as possible. This is
why ADVI is integral to getting driverless cars
on the road in Australia and ensuring each
state and territory can feed into the adaptation
of this technology for Australian road users
while its still in its early stages.

economy of $30 billion, a problem for which we

have no other infallible solution.
Accidents in the US involving driverless
cars have almost all been caused by a
human in another car. How can driverless
cars cope with bad human drivers?
Driverless vehicles will be able to detect and
manage hazards faster than humans can and
will therefore be able to cope with cars being
driven by humans theyre designed with the
current driving environment in mind. The pro-

What are some of the barriers to driverless

cars being licensed for public roads?
There are two key barriers as we see it to driverless cars hitting the mainstream the first is
public perception, and the second is regulation
and legislation.
Public perception is easy enough to change
ten years ago, the iPhone seemed like a strange
new invention. Now, its strange to not have a
Smartphone.
Similarly, when cruise control and ABS
brakes were introduced they seemed very futuristic, but people have caught on to their benefits
quickly and theyve become commonplace.
The same will happen with this technology.
New autonomous elements will be introduced
slowly to new vehicles to give people time to
learn how to use them and get accustomed to
them we wont have driverless cars roaming
the roads overnight.

Is the regulatory environment ready for

driverless cars or are changes still needed?
Regulations and legislation need a lot of work
before were ready to put driverless cars on the
road in Australia.
Every new vehicle that hits the road in
Australia has to go through
rigorous standards testing, and
these standards need to be
set up to account for the fact
that these vehicles will also be
constantly evolving as a result
of software upgrades.
G E R AR D WA LDR O N O F T H E AU ST R A L I A N R OA D R ES E A R C H B OA R D
Driverless vehicles will be
on our roads in the next decade,
so the ARRB is working to
ensure road environments safely accommodate
cessing power of a vehicles computer is much
these vehicles. Road authorities need to be
faster than the decision making process of a
able to register these vehicles and license their
human driver, not to mention any impairments
drivers, before we can start experiencing the
than human might be facing like stress, fatigue
benefits they will bring.
or alcohol.
Road policy and legislation needs to prepare
for the introduction of driverless vehicles now,
Are there any differences in their ability to
including planning upgrades to the road network
autonomously drive in different environand testing of new driving laws.
ments (such as built up vs. rural areas?)

When rst introduced, cruise

control and ABS seemed very
futuristic. But people caught on.

Next

Legislation urgently needs to be amended, like it has been in South Australia, and
infrastructure policy and planning needs to be
reassessed to allow for driverless cars.
ADVI is working directly with state and federal Governments to ensure that infrastructure
and legislation is treated with as much urgency
as the trials themselves.
Our infrastructure needs grow and change
as our population grows and the pressure on our
network mounts.
We need to start planning for this transition
now and making driverless cars a key component of all new road infrastructure plans.
European researchers have a roadmap for
the introduction of driverless vehicles by 2020;
Australia needs to keep pace by putting something similar in place.
In the autonomous car future, will I still
need a drivers license to own and operate a
driverless car?
The licensing and registration of automated
vehicles is still a work in progress, but once this
technology reaches a high level of automation,
its unlikely youll need a drivers license to
operate a driverless car.
How about peoples willingness to accept
the technology? Its a bit of a leap of faith?
Australians are well known to be early adopters
and willing to try new things. Given this technology will be slowly introduced, it isnt so much a
leap, but more baby steps of faith.
We recently did a survey to see what would
convince people to travel in a driverless car, and
the majority of peoples concerns were actually
about safety. For us, this is positive, as we know
these vehicles are safer than vehicles driven by
a human.
About 42 per cent said the knowledge that
the car operates safely in all driving areas (city
traffic or rural roads) and driving conditions (like
bad weather) would convince them to use a
driverless car
Nearly 41 per cent said the knowledge that
driverless cars are safer than the safest human
would convince them to use a driverless car
And 35.51 per cent said the knowledge that
the car will be able to spot hazards like pedestrians or animals crossing would convince them to
use a driverless car
The key finding is that 57.39 per cent said the
ability to take back control of the vehicle if they
wanted to would convince them to use a driverless car, showing us that the real challenge to
overcome is entrusting control to the vehicles
operations to the car itself, which will gradually
happen over time.

P OP U L AR S C I EN C E

43

G
I
B EAS
D
I
Y
2016
E
H
T
F
O

If theres one constant in the future, its change.

Because 2016 will change the way we explore, connect,
cure disease, and go to war. Here are the most inuential ideas
and extraordinary individuals poised to shape the year ahead.

Mark Kelly (foreground) and his twin brother, Scott, talk every day, despite their 400-vertical-kilometre separation.

44

P HOTOGR A P H BY
P O P U L A R S CI E N CE

Marco Grob

T R U NK AR CH I V E

S
P OP U L AR S C I EN C E

45

BIG IDEAS

JANUA RY 201 6

MARK
KELLY & LIFE
IN SPACE
POPUL AR

P R O FI L E
SCIENCE

as told to
J EN N I F ER
BOGO

When astronaut Mark Kelly

says, Ive spent a lot of time on
Earth, its relative. Hes been to
the International Space Station
four times for short missions. His
twin brother, Scott, is about to
wrap up a full year in space, the
longest stint of any US astronaut. To understand how life in
space affects humans, scientists
are investigating how the twins
bodies now differinformation
that might inuence the future of
long-term space exploration.

I ALWAYS THOUGHT scientists needed

a large sample size. It turns out when you
dont have that opportunity, a small sample
can still lead to really useful science. In our
case, its just one sample: Scott as subject,
me as control. Ive spent only 50-something
days in space. When Scott gets back in
March, I think he will have spent something
like three per cent of his life there.
I have, on multiple occasions now, given
massive amounts of blood. Ive also given

46

saliva, stool, and urine samplessometimes 24

hours worth. And then, when I go to Houston
every few months, I get MRIs of my brain and
heart, and ultrasounds of my cardiovascular
system and optic nerve. They send
the ultrasound machine right into the
goo on your eye. For some tests they put
me in a contraptiona
lower-body negative-pressure
deviceand have me take
and cancer really goes up.
nitroglycerin. I dont even
I imagine that NASA is hoping to learn that
know what experiment its for.
space isnt a big deal, that it doesnt have that
Scotts also drawing his
big of an impact on astronauts. That would
own blood and sending it
be great. But I think the reality is that it does,
down to the ground for
and so were going to have to learn how to
analysis. And theres an
mitigate those effects. Maybe we shield crew
ultrasound machine aboard
members from radiation. Or maybe we could
the space station. One of the
figure out a way to repair our genes. Think
researchers sent my brother
about the implications for your average
an email that said they
person on Earth.
would have more scientific
I applaud the enthusiasm of people who
and medical information on
would sign up for a one-way trip to Mars,
Scott and me than on any
but they wildly underestimate the issues
other person, ever. The big
involved, not only to their physical but also
question for us is, how much
to their mental health. Imagine if you were
do we want to know? Theyre
plopped down in a Winnebago in Death
looking at not only our
Valley, left there for the rest of your life, and
genetic profile but also which
had to put on a suit to go outside? The novelty
genes have mutated. If a gene
would wear off. But I do think the first person
has turned on, then the risk
to walk on Mars is alive today.
for diseases like Alzheimers

I LLU STRATI ONS BY

PO P U L A R S CI E NCE

Sam Ward

1.
A NEW
WEAPON
TO FIGHT
SUPERBUGS
IN 2015, scientists discovered the
first new antibiotic in three decades.
Called teixobactin, it works against
several of the superbugs, such as
MRSA, that todays drugs seem
powerless to wipe out. Thats a big
win in an age of growing antibiotic
resistance. But perhaps even more
pivotal is the tool that made its discovery possible.
Antibiotics come from bacteria
found in nature. Test more bacteria,
and you can find more antibiotics.
The challenge is this: 99 per cent
of the microbes on Earth cant be
cultured in a dish. To work around
this problem, researchers at Northeastern University invented the iChip,
which can grow microbes in a sample of soil or water from their natural
environments. When the bacteria
release antibiotics, scientists can
isolate them for testing.
The team has used the iChip to
culture thousands of new bacteria,
which have so far yielded 25 antibiotics. According to NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals, a company co-founded
by one of the researchers, the first of
those is roughly two years from clinical trials. Theres still a lot of work
to be done, says Stuart Levy, director
of the Centre for Adaptation Genetics
and Drug Resistance. But because
of this device, the door is open and a
bright light is on.

2.
THE RISE
OF SUPERMATERIALS
ENGINEERS are taking materials
into a whole new dimension: the
second dimension. By transforming
3D clumps of atoms into 2D sheets,
researchers are finding amazing
untapped potential in ordinaryseeming elements.
The 2D revolution began more
than a decade ago with the discovery of graphene, a mesh of carbon
atoms linked together like the wires
in a chain-link fence. Graphene is
transparent, but more than 200
times stronger than steel, nearly
impermeable, and an excellent conductor. Turning graphene into practical devices has been a challenge,
but teams are now closing in on a
few applications: ultra-high-density
computer flash memory, a broadband radiation detector, and a tool
for precision medical imaging.
Other 2D materials might prove
even more impressive. Scientists
have begun creating analogous
meshes of silicon (silicene), phosphorous (phosphorene), germanium
(germanene), and tin (stanene). Silicon and phosphorus are particularly
well-suited to making atomic-scale
transistors that could lead to extremely fast, efficient, and physically
flexible electronics.
The goal for 2016 is to mix and
stack flat materials to combine their
best qualities. A team at Lawrence
Berkeley National Lab has started
building 2D sheets that function as
a laser, with applications that range
from quantum computing tomaybe
ironically3D displays.
C O R E Y S . P OW E L L

3.
LIGHTBULBS
CAN MAKE US
HEALTHY
HERES PERHAPS no more powerful force in nature
than light. It influences everything from our cells to our
mood and metabolism. Blue wavelengths cue the brain
to produce cortisol to make us alert, while red wavelengths
allow the production of melatonin to help us sleepa cycle that
once followed the sun and moon. The invention of the lightbulb
(and smartphones) changed that. Engineers are now using
lightbulbs to change it back.
The science has led us to understand that the light weve
been using for the past 100 years has caused damage to us,
says Fred Maxik, founder of bulb-maker Lighting Science
Group. When our circadian rhythms went rogue, it increased
our risk of developing obesity, depression, and even cancer.
That doesnt have to be the case, Maxik says: We have the
ability to create lights that have purposes other than just
illuminating our world.
Such bulbs have started to reach sockets. Last year, the
Renton School District in Washington became the first to install
tunable LEDs. They can be adjusted from red wavelengths,
to calm students after recess, to blue, to improve test-day
concentration. The Seattle Mariners installed LEDs at Safeco
Field that can make nighttime games seem more like day; the
New York Yankees will follow suit in 2016.
This year, NASA also plans to change the bulbs on the
International Space Station, where the sun sets every 90
minutes, and constant light makes astronauts chronic
insomniacs. The new bulbs will subtly shift from blue
wavelengths during the workday to red when the crew needs
to rest. LEDs like Lighting Sciences new Genesis Light, which
hits shelves in January, will do the same thing for homes.
We have been in this era of efficiency, says Michael
Siminovitch, a University of California at Davis professor of
lighting design. Now what can we do with technology that
actually does something for us? R E BEC CA BOY LE

ALE X A N D R A O SS O L A

P OP U L AR S C I EN C E

47

BIG IDEAS

48

ST Y L I ST : SAB IN A E MR I T ; H MU : B EC KY MCGAH ER N ; OR I GI NA L LY P UB L I SH E D I N THE UNTITLED MAGAZINE

IMOGEN
HEAP &
HACKING
THE MUSIC
INDUSTRY
The Grammy-winning
musician Imogen Heap has long
used technology to interact
with fans. Now she wants to
use it to radically change the
music industry. Heap envisions
a platform, called Mycelia,
that will use blockchains
the system that underpins
Bitcointo create a transparent,
decentralised database of
music. It will cut out middlemen
and enable artists and followers
to connect directly.
AS A MUSICIAN, I like to think the world
revolves around me. For years I wondered
why it took so long for money to filter back
to me, or why I didnt know what the fine
print of my record deals really said. For the
first time in my career, I am on my ownI am
not signed to any record label or represented
by any management. Success has already
opened a lot of doors for me, so I wanted to put
myself in the position of being a brand-new
artist. I imagined, if I could design the

P H OTOG RA PH BY

JA N UA RY 201 6

POPUL

AR

PROFILE
S C IE N C

as told to
music industry from scratch, knowing what I
M AT T G I L ES
know, how would I do it?
I realised that the architecture of the
industry is built on an old paper system
and defunct technology. We spend billions
on accounting systems that no longer
work. It doesnt make any sense in this
data-driven world, where
we can access any type of
instruments, will act like a beacon of
information we want. There
information: Here I am! Come and get me!
are now ways to connect
The system will be fair and transparent.
data to payment instantly.
Because the artists have complete control,
At the moment, Mycelia
we will split the money with exactly who
is just an idea; nothing
should be paid. And because everything is
has technically been built.
connected through blockchains, the transfer
But I think of it as a living
of money will be instantaneous. We can
organisma system that
also decide whether we want to release our
breathes and responds to
music for free, or what the subscription base
plays. The music would come
should be, or whether to agree to a per-play
from a portal, and listeners
model. It is liberating.
would get some kind of
My latest song, Tiny Human, has been a
notification that it has been
test case, and to be honest, money is coming
verified by the artists. Each
in slowly. Ive got an account and various
artist would have a profile,
cryptocurrency wallets, but there arent many
and everything connected to
adopters yet. What is really exciting, though,
that song or album, like lyrics,
is the solidarity of building something with
photos, and who played which
other musicians. The idea hit a nerve, and I
feel a responsibility to capture this energy
and turn it into something.

Laura Hart
P OP U L AR S C I EN C E

49

BIG IDEAS

PO PU L AR

P R O F IL E

BETH
Stevens
& THE
BRAINS
BEST-KEPT
SECRET
SC IE N CE

A neuroscientist at Harvard
Medical School, Beth Stevens
knows how your brain is
wiredquite literally.
Because of her discovery
that certain cells sculpt
brain circuitry, making it
more efcient, the MacArthur Foundation awarded
her a 2015 genius grant.
She suspects those cells,
called microglia, have other
secret abilitiesand she
plans to uncover them too.

IVE BEEN INTERESTED in glial cells

which make up more than half the cells of
the brainsince I was a research assistant
at the National Institutes of Health. Of the
three types of glial cells, microglia are my
favourite. There is so little known about
them, which is crazy because they make up
10 per cent of our brains.
For years, scientists essentially ignored
microglia. One of the things they do is
prune synapses. There are trillions of
synapses in the brain, but initially you start
with way more. Synapses that are ring
a lot get strengthened, and those that are
not ring very much get eliminated. Microglia are like the brains Pac Menregulated

50

as told to
M AT T G I L E S

now have a bit of limelight outside this

eld. Even my mom knows what microglia are now. The award also means the
difference between pursuing conservative
projects and projects that are still just
ideas on a whiteboard.
My lab plans to really
garbage collectors that eat synapses that
dig in and test whether
no longer function.
microglia play a key role
We think certain disorders are the
in neurological diseases.
result of microglia pruning too much, or
I dont believe there is a
not enough. This has huge implications for
magic bullet for anything
diseases like autism, schizophrenia, and
these days, but if you can
Alzheimers. If the microglia dont prune
understand what regulates
properly, it can lead to faulty wiring.
microglia, I think you can
I think pruning is the tip of the iceberg.
slow the onset or progression
We recently learned that microglia enter the
of these diseases. And if
brain during embryonic developmentso
you can figure out how to
early that they have to be doing other things.
manipulate microglia, you
I have a hypothesis that they form synapses,
can develop a drug that could
and could be involved in helping to regulate
potentially treat them
the growth and development of neurons.
which is a big deal.
Because of the MacArthur, these cells

P HOTOGR A P H BY
PO P U L A R S CI E N CE

Marius Bugge

51

BIG IDEAS

4.
KILLER
ROBOTS ARE
COMING
ACK IN AUGUST, STEWART RUSSELL, a computer
scientist at University of California at Berkeley, authored
an open letter calling for the ban of lethal autonomous
weapons. To those outside the military-industrial complex,
this could seem a bit premature, sort of like calling for a ban on
Star Trek phasers or the Death Star. Reality says otherwise.
Humans have a venerable tradition of automating warfare.
Land mines are a kind of robot, though a very dumb one.
Heat-seeking missiles are smarter, albeit not by a lot. Theres
a continuum, Russell says, and were further along it than we
realise. If you wanted to produce something very effective,
pretty reliable, and if it became a military priorityin 18
months you could mass-produce some kind of intelligent
weapon. Indeed autonomous killing machines already exist:
The Super aEgis II, a South Korean-made weapons platform,
can recognise humans and target them. (It will request
permission from a living operator before making a shot with its
.50 calibre gun, but thats more a courtesy than a requirement.)
Russell writes that autonomous weapons will become the
Kalashnikovs of tomorrowcheap and abundant. And that
shifts the rules of war. AI weapons could change the scale in
which small groups of people can affect the rest of the world,
he says. They can do the damage of nuclear weapons with
less money and infrastructure.
Proponents of AI weapons point to some upsides: Robots
going to war would mean fewer human casualties. But to
the 20,000 people (the majority of whom are scientists) who
signed the letter, the costs far outweigh the benefits. Later
this year, Russell and others will push for legislative stopgaps
and a change in international law, similar to those that prohibit
biological weapons. Meetings are set at the United Nations and
the World Economic Forum. Once killer AI is here, theres no
going back. RYA N B R A D L EY

52

P O P U L A R S CI E N CE

5.
CRISPR
REMAKES THE
WORLD
THE GENE-EDITING technique
called CRISPR has the much-hyped
potential to revolutionise medicine,
deliver designer babies, and end
global hunger. Developed from
a mechanism found in bacteria,
CRISPR allows scientists to cutand-paste DNA with unprecedented
precision. The researchers behind
its discovery are favourites to win
Nobel prizes in 2016.
In the three years since
CRISPR was introduced, it has been
adopted by thousands of scientists
worldwide. Already, theyve used
the technique to create hypermuscular beagles and pigs that can
grow human organs for transplant.
Innovations that used to take many
years to realise can now be made
in mere months. The technology is
pretty darn fast, said Dan Voytas,
a genetic engineer who has edited
wheat to reduce gluten sensitivity.
In a year we can generate a plant
from just an idea for one.
As a result, CRISPR-based
startups are busily raising hundreds
of millions of dollars. Patent applications that mention CRISPR have
soared, from 43 in 2013 to 292 last
year. And while the first products
things like hornless dairy cows and
hypoallergenic peanutsare still a
few years from market, this will be
the year gene editing transforms life
as we know it. MEGAN MOLT E N I

6.
MARIJUANA
REACHES
NEW HIGHS
ITS NOW EASIER to buy marijuana
in the US for personal consumption
than it is for scientists to procure it
for research: 23 states and DC have
legalised it (at least as medicine),
and several others may have it on
the ballot in 2016. Researchers hope
the barriers to studying the plant will
likewise crumble so they can finally
probe its full therapeutic potential.
Scientists have long known that
marijuana can treat nausea and pain.
But they only recently figured out
why: Chemicals in marijuana called
cannabinoids can activate receptors
on brain cells, changing the messages they send to one another. While
THC is the best-known cannabinoid,
researchers suspect others might be
useful in treating the symptoms of
diseases such as cancer, fibromyalgia, epilepsy, and autism.
So far, even in states where
medical marijuana is legal, scientists
have had to wait months or years for
approvals from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Food and
Drug Administration, and National
Institute on Drug Abuse. In June, the
White House took one step out of the
complex process: They no longer
need permission from the Public
Health Service too. In November,
Senator Bernie Sanders introduced
a bill that would remove marijuana
from the list of substances regulated
by the DEAa move that would take
it out of the company of heroin and
make it much easier for a lab to buy.
AL E X AN DR A OSSOL A

7.
YEAR OF THE
ZETTABYTE
BY THE END of 2016, Cisco
estimates that Internet traffic will
bypass 1 zettabyte. For those who
think of storage in the relatable
terms of a smartphone, a zettabyte is
1,000 exabytes, which translates into
1 trillion gigabytesor roughly 300
trillion photos of your baby and dog.
The profusion of data from
phones, wearables, and the Internet
of Things affords us new insights.
But it also opens the door to
hacking. We never thought about
the implications of all this additional
data, says Samy Kamkar, an
independent security researcher
and hacker. Weve all become
targets. According to IDC, 90
per cent of IT networks will have
experienced a security breach by
the end of this year.
But as hacking grows, so too
does cybersecurity. The research
firm MarketsandMarkets estimates
the email-encryption market will
increase 23 per cent annually
until 2020. This past year, Gmail
began developing warnings for
messages that come through a
non-encrypted connection, Netflix
decided to encrypt all its data, and
the Electronic Frontier Foundation
launched the Lets Encrypt program,
to transition the Web to the moresecure HTTPS protocol. While the
extra protection wont necessarily
make us impervious to hacks, says
Kamkar, when it does happen,
it wont undermine your life like
before. M AT T G I L ES

8.
POLLUTION
CAN BE
INHERITED
MOST PEOPLE KNOW that an
individuals environment has clear
health effects. Drink water laced
with heavy metals, and youre likely
to get sick. Whats now becoming
apparent is that those impacts could
last for generations.
A persons genome controls
development, function, and
reproduction. In other words, just
about everything. But the genome
doesnt act unchecked. It is subject
to the epigenomechemical
compounds that help determine
how and when genes express. In
2014, a group at the University of
British Columbia reported that just
two hours of exposure to diesel
fumes in a closed space could
affect about 400 genes by altering
the epigenome. And last year,
researchers in North America and
Europe published a number of
papers that indicated such changes
could be inherited.
The field is exploding right now,
says Carrie Breton, who studies
the effects of prenatal air-pollution
exposure at the University of
Southern California. Energised by
new findings and the completion
in February of the first full map of
the human epigenomea 10-year,
$240 million initiativescientists
are racing to understand how
epigenetic changes can alter
the likelihood of cancer, obesity,
diabetes, and other diseases. Can
we sequence the epigenome to look
for environmental effects? Breton
asks. Technologically, this is the
next logical step. C L AY R I SE N

9.
A SECOND ACT
FOR SPACE
EXPLORATION
WHEN NASAS New Horizons probe skimmed past
Pluto this past July50 years to the day after Mariner
4 first snapped photos of Marshumans completed
reconnaissance of the solar system. We had sent probes
past all eight planets (and two of the dwarves - Pluto and
Ceres) and landed on every major type of object in the
solar system: rocky planets, rocky moons, icy moons,
asteroids, and comets. We have left behind the era of first
looks, and entered the age of true understanding.
In that spirit, the next generation of planetary missions
will look past surface appearances. NASAs InSight probe,
launching in March, will establish a seismic station on the
Red Planet; it will sense marsquakes and use them to map
the planets interior.
A complementary European-Russian probe called
ExoMars 2016, lifting off almost simultaneously, will use a
chemical sniffer to ferret out atmospheric methane from
possible Martian microbes. Then in September, OSIRIS-REx
will head to Bennu, the kind of carbon-rich asteroid that
may have seeded ancient life on Earth, to collect samples
and bring them home for analysis.
Equally notable is a move to open the solar system to
all. The InSight probe will bring two miniature satellites,
or CubeSats, that will go into orbit to create a dedicated
Mars communications network. Student-built CubeSats
are already widely deployed around Earth; if InSights
work, expect the DIY movement to spread to other planets.
NASAs Juno probe, which reaches Jupiter in July, has an
even more populist mission. It carries a camera designed
solely for students and citizen scientiststhe first time
an entire planet has been turned over to the public. In the
words of NASAs John Grunsfeld: Five hundred years
from now, we will look back on this as the golden age of
exploration. C OR E Y S. POWE L L

P OP U L AR S C I EN C E

53

54

PO P U L A R S CI E NCE

POP

JA NUA RY 2 0 1 6

ULA

PROFILE
S C IE

NCE

JAMES
CRAWFORD
& a NEW
WAY TO SEE
THE WORLD
After stints running Google Books and heading
up the team tasked with giving Mars rovers
autonomy, James Crawford launched Orbital Insighta startup that applies articial intelligence
and data analysis to satellite imagery.

MOST PEOPLE KNOW that humans cant

see really small things. Thats why we
invented the microscope. On the ip side,
humans also struggle to see really big things.
If you want to view the whole Earth, for
example, you have to look from space and
you lose a lot of detail. Every pixel your
eye sees is 25,000 square kilometres. Using
articial intelligence and cloud computing,
we can simultaneously see the whole Earth
and see the detail. We can look at trillions of
features within millions of satellite images
all at once. We call this a macroscope.
Our machine-vision algorithms allow a
computer to identify an object as a car or a
truck, a house or a building, and so on. Once
we have that data, we try to pull meaning
from it, whether thats a prediction of crop
yields or how much oil will soon enter the
marketplace. The question then becomes,
what does this enable us to do that was
previously impossible?

P H OTOG RA PH BY

as told to
TO M FOST ER

One cool example is a project were

doing with the World Resources Institute.
WRI already uses satellite imagery to spot
deforestation. But what you want to know is
which forest will be cut down next, because
then you can do something about it. We will
be able to detect the road building, the initial
thinning, and the other preparations that go
on in advance of major deforestation events.
Governments could also benet from our
technology. Theres evidence, for instance,
that the Arab Spring was partially triggered
by a doubling in the price of wheat in the
Middle East, due to droughts in Ukraine
and other countries that werent being
well-tracked. Imagine if we could track food
security in real time.
I just think back to the microscope. It
led to a revolution in biology and changed
our understanding of the world. The
macroscope, we believe, could lead to a
revolution of its own.

10.
INTERNET FOR
EVERYONE
BY THE END of 2016, Facebook
plans to launch its own satellite.
The AMOS-6built and deployed
with French firm Eutelsatwill
provide Internet access to
millions in sub-Saharan Africa,
where in several countries
fewer than two per cent of the
population is online. Also this
year, Google will begin testing
balloon-powered Internet service
in Indonesia, whose more than
17,000 islands stand in the way
of nationwide infrastructure.
The easy-to-reach populations
have already been reached, says
Joshua Meltzer, a senior fellow at
the Brookings Institution who has
studied the Internets impact on
poor countries. Smartphones and
Internet cafes have proliferated in
places with mobile phone towers
and stable grids. But there are
still four billion people who dont
have Internet access, Meltzer
says. And they are increasingly
in the developing world.
The benefits of access
go beyond posting cat pics.
Individuals can transfer funds
without a bank account, and
local businesses can plug into
the global economy. For that
reason, the State Departments
Global Connect initiative, which
kicks off this year, hopes to exert
diplomatic pressure to bring
the Internet to 1.5 billion people
by 2020. As Mark Zuckerberg
told the United Nations this fall,
Internet access needs to be
treated as an important enabler of
human rights. ERIK SOFGE

Cody Pickens
P OP U L AR S C I EN C E

55

56

PO P U L A R S CI E N CE

JANUARY 2 0 16

THE
FUTURE
OF
MONEY
CUR R EN CY HAS G ONE FR OM COWS
TO CO I N S TO PAPER TO PL ASTIC. THE
N EXT BI G DIS R U PTION? WE COU LD ALL
BE SP ENDING DIG ITAL DOU G H.

by K ASHM IR HILL

P OP U L A R S CI E N C E

57

F U T U RE O F M O NE Y

START
HERE
THE NEXT TIME you pull a crinkly $5 note out of your
pocket to pay for a coffee, consider the fact that youre
handling one of societys oldest and most important
inventions: money. (Also you might need an extra 50c if
youre buying the coffee in the inner city.)
Relatively soon after humans decided that we liked
living in groups, instead of in leopard-like isolation, we
came up with ways to value what we hadand make
people pay for it. We bartered cattle and grain until the
Lydiansthe Bronze Age inhabitants of what is modernday Turkeyrealised those were hard to stuff into a
wallet, and introduced government-minted coins. It turned
out coins were still a pain to carry around, so eventually
they evolved into the paper money we all use today.
But paper was still just a stand-in for metal: Sure, coins
mostly disappeared, but we were symbolically carrying
gold around in our pockets until after World War I, when
Australia began to abandon the gold standard. Divorced
from the physical, money became a kind of belief system.
It went from representing something precious and
valuable to representing value in and of itself. Everyone
agrees that if you walk into a coffee shop with a $5 note,
you can walk out with a latte (for now).
Of course, rarely do any of us walk into a coffee
shop with a $5 note anymore. We walk in with a credit
card, or a gift card, or with an Apple Pay app on our
iPhone. And thats another way money has changed. Its
become more and more abstracted. Its numbers sitting
in our bank accounts or on our credit-card statements.
Its a series of digital ledgers kept by banks, payment
processors, and financial startups. The USA Networks
show Mr. Robot imagines the fragility of that system.
The plot follows hackers who planned to break into the
servers of the countrys biggest lender and erase all the
dataobliterating debt and ushering in a new anarchic
(in the function sense) society without money.
Money grows more complex by the day, now that
Silicon Valley has taken it up as one of its causes clbres.
Startups offer dozens of schemes to disrupt it. Yet, Silicon
Valley hasnt actually changed money that much; its just
evolved how we spend it. Paypal, Square, Stripe, Venmo
theyre all apps built on top of the old technology that is
money. Just as paper once required metal, most payment
apps require a bank account or a credit card.
The only true disruption to money that weve seen in
the Internet age came not from a Palo Alto garage but
a list-serv for tech-savvy libertarians. Bitcoin, which
spun out of the mind of the pseudonymous engineer
Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 (revealed in December 2015
as Australian IT manager Craig Steven Wright), is a
cryptographically maintained currency with value imbued
by the computers of its users, not a government mint.
Theoretically, it is far more secure than credit cards. If you
used Bitcoin to buy something at Target, say, and Target
later got hacked, youd suffer no consequences.
But thats not a concept most people can get their heads
around, which has been Bitcoins great limitation. It might
overcome that hurdle, or it might not. The only certainty is
that money will keep evolving. If money represents value,
and value is a reflection of our needs and desires, then
money is simply a reflection of us. And it will continue to
change as long as we do.

58

P O P U L A R S CI E NCE

PAY M E N TS
TH E N A N D N OW

1760 BC
Hammurabis Code:
Ledgers for tracking
peoples debt
become a thing.

1861
Confederate Dollar: If youre going to
secede, you need your own currency.

1950
Diners Club Card: A card that
lets you spend money at
different places and pay back
a single entity.

1981
Frequent-Flier Miles: They
start small, but eventually
become a virtual currency of
great worth.

2008
Bitcoin: The birth of the
first cryptocurrency. At
time of writing, evidence
points to the inventors
being Australian.

2009
Q Coin Collapse: China
bans a virtual currency
issued by an Internet provider when it starts taking
on real-world value as
citizens try to escape the
tightly controlled yuan.

1797
The first
Australian
coins - cartwheel
pennies, technically still British
currency.

600 BC
Coins: Hello,
standardised
money system.

1996/1998
E-gold and Liberty Dollar: Private money
systems developed in the US by anti-government types. The FBI and Secret Service
crack down on both in 2007, saying they are
being used to launder money and support
child-porn and drug networks.

2003
Linden Dollars:
They power the
marketplace of
the virtual world
Second Life. They
cost actual money
yet are worthless
outside the game.

2009
Venmo: A social network for spending, it allows people to send money
via text message. It also features a
news feed of who is sending money
to whom and why.

2015
Facebook Money: The
social network announces
credit-card integration,
offering yet another way to
send money digitally.

9000 BC
Cattle and
Grain: Got sheep
or vegetables?

1998
Paypal: Ushers in an
era of digital-payment
systems where one can
send and receive money
through the Internet.
Makes Elon Musk a
billionaire.

2011
Google Wallet: An app to
credit-card numbers in
phones to pay for things
using the phones NFC
technology. In 2013, Google
starts allowing money to
be sent via email.

2014
Apple Pay: Apple debuts its own
version of...well, Google Wallet.
Makes a splash at Starbucks.

JA N UARY 201 6

What is it?
In 2008, a programmer issued
a white paper in which he
argued that we need an Internet
currency not subject to the fees
and permissions of third-party
intermediaries. So he came up with
the digital equivalent of cash online,
a system that lets participants
send value to anyone else with a
Bitcoin address the same way they
might send an email. Like the
Internet attened global speech,
Bitcoin can atten global money,
says computer scientist Nick
Szabo, once suspected as Bitcoins
pseudonymous creator,
Satoshi Nakamoto.

How do you
make it?

How do
you use it?

How does it
hold value?

Thats the weird thing about

Bitcoinits still being created.
Every 10 minutes, new Bitcoin (its
a currency, so the plural is the
same word as the singular) enter
the system. Miners donate spare
or dedicated processing power to
help validate transactions around
the globe. Bitcoin come as rewards
for that work. In the early days,
you could just do this with a PC.
Now the process is complex and
requires powerful hardware.

If you want to own a Bitcoin, you

have to rst get a Bitcoin address
(like opening an email account so
people can send you email). Blockchain.info is the best place for
that, and then you have to either
get someone who owns Bitcoin to
give you some or buy it from an
exchange like coinbase.com. When
you own Bitcoin, youre assigned
a value and a cryptographic key.
With the key, youre the only
person able to transfer that value
to someone else.

When Nakamoto (ngers crossed

he really is Aussie IT manager
Craig Steven Wright) designed the
Bitcoin software, he programmed
it so it would create only 21
million Bitcoin, doled out slowly
to the computers that joined the
network. In limited supply, Bitcoin
became not just a new way to send
money but a much coveted one.
There are now nearly 15 million
Bitcoin worth more than $5 billion.

What It Is, How It Works, How It Lives, and How It Dies

What are the

benefits?
The rst is unobstructed speed.
Money is sent immediately,
and no one can stop it. When
Visa and Paypal refused to
transact payments to Wikileaks
in 2010, so as to not support its
release of classied government
documents, donors sent $32,000
in Bitcoin. The second is that its
built for the Internet, and that
could make commerce a much
better experience. Credit-card
transactions will disappear,
making the whole process more
streamlined and efficient. Webbased businesses will be able to
capitalise on that too. Crappy
things companies do now to
monetisebanner ads, captchas,
spam emailswill go away,
predicts Fred Ehrsam, CFO of
Bitcoin wallet Coinbase.

What stops
Bitcoin from
taking over?
Banks are sceptical of Bitcoin.
With no government backing it
up, they worry its value could
crash at any moment. Also
Bitcoin would end if its cryptography were broken (the NSA is
probably working on that). The
biggest challenge for Bitcoin,
though, is that its still associated
with and used by a criminal
element. It grew in prominence
on drug sales website Silk Road.
Now its a favourite of digital
extortionists, who capture and
encrypt a computers contents,
and threaten deletion without
payment, usually in Bitcoin.
Ransomware victims paid $18
million to criminals last year,
according to the FBI.

What are the

drawbacks?
Bitcoin is not intuitive. It
takes more than 10 minutes to
explain. It can be stolen from
you if someone steals your
cryptographic keys. And it can
be lost or destroyed. If you misplace the keys needed to
unlock your entry on the Bitcoin
ledger, say by wiping your hard
drive or discarding it, you lose
your Bitcoin. People call these
zombie coins, and one analysis
estimated that 25 per cent of
Bitcoin are zombied, a loss of
more than a billion dollars.

3 THINGS TO
KEEP IN MIND
BEFORE YOU BUY
BITCOIN
1
Dont invest unless you have
money to lose. Originally
worth pennies, Bitcoin
surged past $1,000 apiece
in 2013 but has hovered
around the $200 to $400
mark for the past year.

2
Safekeeping is key. If your
Bitcoin get deleted or stolen,
theyre gone forever.

3
Prepare to keep clean books.
As with stocks, the tax
man requires you to report
the gains (or losses) on
every Bitcoin transaction,
comparing the value of
when you spend it to that of
when you bought it.

P OP U L AR S C I EN C E

59

FU TU RE O F M ONE Y

AM RON
ND YLER
WIN
LEVOSS
ON THE PPEAL OF
CRYPTOCURRENCIES
Best known as the litigation-happy twins
in the Facebook origin story, Cameron
and Tyler Winklevoss are hoping to gain
attention for being involved in another
possible Internet giant: Bitcoin. They
adopted it early, back in 2012, when
cryptocurrency was still a fringe concept.
In October, they got approval from financial
regulators to launch their own US-based
exchange: Gemini. Heres why they have bet
that Bitcoin will go big.
T: We are fascinated with Bitcoin because it is
the first iteration of money thats actually built for
the Internet, by the same type of engineers who
builtthe Internet itself.
C: It sends payments over protocols, the same way
we send data and voice today.
T: With just a cellphone and a Bitcoin address,
you now have a bank account. You have a way to
accept payment. You have a way to store value
that isnt your mattress.
C: How itll affect your life in the US might be
substantially different than in another part of the
world. If youre in Argentina, and theres currency
debasement of 25 to 30 per cent a year, Bitcoin
is sort of like disaster insurance. Plus you dont
have to give over a lot of personal information to
a retailer like you do with a credit card, so things
like identity theft and consumer protection are
actually improved.
T: Early Bitcoin operators, like Silk Road, definitely
did it a disservice. But the irony is that Bitcoin is not
good for illicit behaviour. We know that because
Silk Road was busted. And then two of the federal
agents who made the bust and embezzled some of
the Bitcoin were arrested too. The provenance of
every coinwhere its travelled, what marketplace
its been on, what addresses have touched itis all
transparent and completely public.
C: So hows it going to affect your day-to-day?
Through transactions we cant even contemplate
right now.
T: Things like property deeds and title insurance
could be moved to a blockchain-type transaction,
such as Bitcoin. Computers and self-driving cars
cant go open up a bank account at JPMorgan or
Wells Fargo, but they can plug into protocols. So if
your power meter needs to purchase more energy,
you can program it to do that with Bitcoin. The
fact that the government is now regulating Bitcoin
shows it understands that the currency is hugely
transformative. This decentralised blockchaintype technology is here to stay. And its going to
completely rewire the way the Internet works.

TH E EMER GI N G
B ITC O I N EC OSYST EM
Nearly a billion dollars in venture-capital funding has flowed into Bitcoin companies to date, most of it since the price
of a Bitcoin cracked $1,000 in late 2013.

More than 100 firms have sprung up to

serviceand profit fromBitcoin. Theyre
creating a new financial landscape
for cryptocurrency. K ATIE P E E K

TOT L VENTURE-CAPIT L INVESTMENT BY TYPE OF FIRM

PAYMENT
PROCESSORS
US$78 million
These companies provide
the software for shops to
accept Bitcoin payments.

EXCHANGES
US$98 million
Like traditional exchanges, these companies provide a platform for buying
and selling Bitcoin.

WALLETS
US$94 million
Similar to cheque accounts, wallet companies
hold your Bitcoinsome
even issue debit cards.

MINING OPERATIONS
US$112 million
These firms create new
Bitcoin by supplying
computational power for
the blockchain.

INFRASTRUCTURE
US$101 million
Blockchains can verify
many kinds of transactions, not just Bitcoin, so
these firms are growing.

UNIVERSAL FIRMS
US$322 million
Outfits that provide
multiple Bitcoin services
have drawn the most
venture capital thus far.

FINANCIAL SERVICES
US$118 million
These are the companies
that mediate investments and transactions
involving cryptocurrency.

NUMBER OF BITCOIN COMPANIES WITH PUBLICLY DISCLOSED FUNDING

100

NERD BOX:
Size of circle shows amount of
funding a rm has raised.

80

1 million 10 million 100 million

60

Color indicates the rm type, as

dened in bar chart above.
Horizontal lines connect
multiple funding rounds.

40

20

2012

2013

2014

2015

2014

2015

THE VALUE OF 1 BITCOIN IN US DOLLARS

$1,250
$1,000
$750
$500
$250

as told to BR E ANNA D R AX L E R
2012

60

PO P U L A R S CI E N CE

SOURC E : CO INDES K . C O M

2013

JAN UARY 201 6

NOW, FOR
A REALITY
CHECK
IF YOURE NOT a math genius or a
cryptographer, it can be hard to wrap
your head around what Bitcoin is. So two
years ago, I decided to get familiarised by
immersing myself in it. I got rid of my cash
and credit cards, and spent a week in San
Francisco living on Bitcoin. At the time, few

people had heard of the cryptocurrency, and

fewer actually accepted it. I couldnt pay my
rent. I had to walk or bike everywhere. The only
food places that took it were a sushi restaurant,
a cupcake shop, and a grocery store, which
were all miles away (I lost over two kilos in a
week). It was hard, but I got to know the fervent
libertarians, entrepreneurs, cryptogeeks, and
fringe economists who were part of Bitcoins
then-small community. They so desperately
wanted their radical currency to succeed, and
they were worried at the time that the US
government might ban it.
A year later, in 2014, I repeated the
experiment and had a completely different
experience. Venture capitalists had discovered
Bitcoin, pouring money into startups that made
it easier to use. Intense interest from China sent
Bitcoins value over $1,000, turning many of
those early cryptogeeks into multimillionaires,
at least on digital paper. Businesses had learned
that accepting Bitcoin was an easy way to get
press. So I was able to use Bitcoin to go on a
wine tour of Santa Cruz and eat a 14-course
dinner at a hip new restaurant. I even visited a
strip club, where I convinced the exotic dancer to
create a Bitcoin wallet while I watched. Hot.
For many early adopters, this was all a
bit depressing; their indie band had gone
mainstream. China had mining operations

I even visited a strip club,

where I convinced the
exotic dancer to create a Bitcoin
wallet while I watched.
with hundreds of servers. The venture-capital
firm Andreessen Horowitz was funding a
secret mining company. Most people no
longer focused on how Bitcoin could free
us from government monetary control.
Instead, they talked of how it could be
better regulated to power the robot-to-robot
transactions just over the horizon.
That future might be coming, but its
slower to arrive than most enthusiasts
think. Even a year later, if I tried to live only
on Bitcoin for more than a week, Id either
be very hungry or very bored with my meal
options. And thats really the central issue
with Bitcoin: Unless it becomes even easier
for consumers and vendors to use, it could
still become the Apple Newton of moneyan
incredible technology that flops.

P OP U L AR S C I EN C E

61







AS CONSI STEN TLY GAR R U LO US AS HIS FAMOU S S HIPMATE WAS R ECLU S IVE,
BUZ Z A L D R I N TAL KS ABO UT SEN DING HU MANS TO MAR S , WHY YOU S HOU LD
A LWAYS HAV E A PEN O H , AN D O F COU R S E THAT LITTLE TR IP HE TOOK IN 196 9.
Story by Andrew P Street

62

PO P U L A R S CI E NCE

Aldrin has worked for decades on alternative ways

to get a human colony up and running on Mars.

P OP U L AR S C I EN C E

63

A V I E W FR O M TH E M O O N

Unlike many of the other astronauts,

Aldrin was not a test pilot, and had to think
his way into the third intake. His academic
focus eventually got him to the moon.

THERES SOMETHING extraordinarily odd

about meeting a person that youve seen
pictures of since you were a kid. Edwin Eugene
Buzz Aldrin, Jr is 85 years old, a little shorter
than youd expect, and impossibly fit not by 85
year old standards, by anyones. Sure, he was
a spry 72 in 2002 when he legendarily decked
Moon hoax proponent Bart Sibrel after he was
accused of falsifying his greatest adventure, but
anyone considering a similar approach would be
well advised to think again.
The second human to walk on the Moon
was born into a military family in New Jersey in
1930, joined the air force on graduation, served
with distinction in Korea and was among the
third astronaut intake in 1963. After two Gemini
missions he was rostered for the Moon landing
as part of the crew of Apollo 11, along with Neil
Armstrong and Michael Collins (who remained
in the orbital Command Module). He walked on
the moon on July 21, 1969.
Aldrin first left NASA in 1971 and returned to
the Air Force before going into private enterprise
(including becoming chair of Eastern Airlines).
His personal life was a mess as he struggled
with fame, divorce, depression and defeating
alcoholism (as he poignantly covered in his
memoir, Return to Earth).
Since then hes written many books, including
works of science fiction. Hes also been a lecturer and academic, particularly with regard to his
greatest ambition: to light a new fire under the
field of human exploration of space. Specifically,
getting people to Mars, for which he designed
the Aldrin Mars Cycler (an orbital vehicle to
ferry supplies from Earth to Mars) and several
space station habitats.
And lets not overlook his promotional work,
appearing as himself in the classic Simpsons
episode Deep Space Homer (and, when Homer
opens a packet of crisps in zero G, delivering
the immortal line Careful! Theyre ruffled!),
Futurama, The Big Bang Theory and, perhaps
most beautifully, 30 Rock where he comforted
Tina Feys Liz Lemon in the best way possible:
Would you like to yell at the Moon with Buzz
Aldrin?
However, despite all of these many achievements, the thing that sets Aldrin apart from
other Mars-enthusiasts isnt just his unique
qualifications and perspective. Its also his attention to practical detail. For example: will Mars

64

PO P U L A R S CI E NCE

We should have
modelled Mars ater
landing on the Moon
with no atmosphere,
because we took all the
energy out of the orbit by
getting as low as possible
have different time zones?
You may not have given this issue a lot of
thought, but rest assured: Aldrin has. Im really
having fun trying to figure what kind of watch
we need for Mars time, he explains. We need
to have communication back and forth between
people at Mars and people here [on Earth], so
they dont want to deal with just numbers and
fractions of numbers. It needs to be meaningful
to everyone, not just scientists.
The question of how to work out the relative
time between a habitat on Mars and a base on
Earth is surprisingly tricky. Days are almost

the same, yet the slight difference could prove

extremely irritating - a Martian day as most
people think of a day is 24 hours, 37 minutes
and slightly more than 22 seconds, vs Earths
23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds. The length
of the solar day (ie noon-to-noon) fluctuates
because of Mars eccentric orbit. The year
meanwhile, is slightly under 687 days so what
would a Martian calendar look like?
Well, Im trying to work out something
thats compatible between April is April, here
or there, he enthuses. Even though a year is
much longer, so we just have more days in the
month. Anyway, its kind of fun to come up with
my thoughts and then have somebody send me
what the scientists think In New York, its a different time zone, so Mars can be a different time
zone, but its going to have [multiple] time zones
there too. You know, its fun: its an exercise in
doing something that hasnt been done before.
When hes not working out how people can
more easily celebrate their space birthdays,
Aldrin has a rather more lofty aim. As one of the
Distinguished Lunar Pioneers along with the
other 23 people who reached the Moon (seventeen of whom are still alive) he is seeking to
get US President Barack Obama to commit to
lead international nations within two decades to

JA N UARY 201 6

permanence at Mars.
And the idea of putting people on Mars
has never been more present in the public
mind, from The Martian novel and film, to the
science-as-reality-show Mars One project - discredited though it may be. But this is no (ahem)
fly-by-night idea: Aldrin has been working on his
Mission To Mars project for decades.
Establishing the beginning of occupancy
on another planet is going to be one of the
biggest deals in the progression of humanity, he declares. To decide we now have the
ability to do that and were going to do that
leading all the other nations. Its not competitively, its just it gives the United States the
ability to gather nations, like we did with the
International Space Station.
The Moon to Mars plan involves putting
transports in permanent orbit between the
Earth and Mars in order to send materials to the
red planet in a low-fuel, low-cost manner. But
people are a different matter - so lets get down
to brass tacks.
We know that people in the ISS have health
issues, and theyre only in high orbit: how do
you keep people healthy in a spacecraft for the
five-to-eight months a trip to Mars would take,
not to mention how to keep them alive once
they get there? After all, humans have evolved

to live at 1G and under a relatively

thick atmosphere and thats
before taking into account cosmic
radiation, lack of trace elements
oh, and that niggling need for
water and air
People in space stations who
have been there six months to a
year have calcium loss unless they
exercise cause their bones and
muscles are not stressed, Aldrin
agrees. We can do that for prolonged zero gravity, like [the travel
time] in Moon to Mars. But we
dont need artificial gravity at the
surface of the Moon, and we dont
need it at the surface of Mars. We
need radiation protection at both
those places, and en route we need
radiation protection, but its only
five-six months, including getting
on and getting off.
And because weight is fuel,
fuel is also weight, and weight

In 2015, NASA released an incredible

archive of photographs from the
Apollo missions. Moon hoaxers are
reported to be disappointed.

is money, Aldrins big focus has been on how

to make things as modular, as versatile and
as un-augmented as possible. For example,
creating a landing module that can work on
Mars and the Moon.
Mars has got an atmosphere, and weve got
an atmosphere at the Earth, so we think oh,
we know how to deal with that, lets just do the
same thing at Mars: you have to have a big heat
shield, and you got to have a big parachute, and
you got to have thrust at the end, he explains.
But I draw the comparison and I think its pretty valid that we should have modelled Mars
after landing on the Moon with no atmosphere,
because we took every bit of energy out of the
orbit by getting as low as possible, fifty thousand feet, before we started descent.
And thats the core of Aldrins idea for a
lightweight Mars lander: At Mars you want to
take every bit of energy out of it before you light
the engines to do the last part. So if I can design
a really good Mars lander, I could take the heat
shields and all the rest of the stuff away and use
it as a Moon lander, not the other way around.
So the more that these pieces can be standardised, the cheaper and easier they are to use?
I think thats the best way. If somethings
good on the ground, lets use the same thing in
space instead of having something thats totally

P OP U L AR S C I EN C E

65

A V I E W F R O M TH E M O O N

different. For example, so the cycler is made of

three of the same things that are on the ground,
modified a little bit cause we can.
Aldrins enthusiasm is not just infectious:
it also suggests a sense of unfinished business. While many of the Apollo astronauts
shunned the limelight particularly Armstrong, who hated being recognised and actively avoided the media Aldrin has always
been a proud self-promoter. One gets the
sense that despite his extraordinary achievements, theres still a tinge of bitterness about
how things played out with Apollo 11.
Ah, but the symbolism, he says of Apollo.
Look at the Olympics. We only pay attention
to gold medal winners; silver forgotten, bronze

He went to test pilot

training and I went to
take advantage of the
additional time to get
a doctors degree. Oh,
what am I going to write
a thesis about? Aha!

Getting to the moon was a triumph of atomic-age

technology. Getting to Mars will take every bit of
our knowhow and determination, and will rely on
machines we havent invented yet.

66

PO P U L A R S CI E N CE

forgotten. The emphasis throughout life is on

the first to do something. Of course, Armstrong
was in command of the mission
Weve always only sent one person outside
[in space missions], and it was never the
Commander, Aldrin points out. Its always
the experiments guy, because the Commander was so occupied in training for important
things and whats more important than being
in charge of a spacecraft to make the landing
and then liftoff and rendezvous so we got a
way back home.
I mean, thats pretty important. But then
to throw on top of that, okay, youre in charge
of everything outside, and assume the other
guy whos just twiddling his thumbs, hell just
follow along.
So if Armstrong did the landing, Aldrin
should have been first on the surface? In
retrospect, we could have [done it that way].
But thats kind of a detail that you think about
afterward and then you say gee we could
have evened out the tasks differently.
Aldrin has always been a man ready to make
do with what he had. Realising that he didnt
have the test pilot background to get into the
first intake of Apollo he thought strategically
about what sort of talents NASA might be looking for as the space programme expanded.
And thus, having enrolled at MIT at the end
of the Korean War, he chose the subject of his

1963 PhD: Line-of-sight guidance techniques

for manned orbital rendezvous. You know, just
in case such a technique might be useful for,
say, people commanding a spacecraft.
I was too late to get there to be a part of
the older guys, from Mercury. And I hadnt
been through the test pilot training, which was
pretty important for the second group. But with
the third group, they wanted more academic
achievements still significant jet-fighter
experience, that didnt change, but the test pilot
requirement was lifted.
It was a very deliberate plan, and Aldrin
had some inside knowledge thanks to the
experience of his old West Point buddy and
fellow fighter pilot, Ed White. White was to
be the first man to walk in space, who was
later to die tragically when a freak accident
set fire to the Apollo 1 capsule during a test,
killing all three of who would have been the
crew of the first Apollo mission: White, Gus
Grissom and Roger Chaffee.
He did things that I didnt do, Aldrin says of
his friend. He went to test pilot training and I
went to take advantage of the additional time
to get a doctors degree. Oh, what am I going to
write a thesis about? Aha!
Thinking about the problem, and looking
at the existing techniques, he realised there
wasnt a method of calculating trajectories in a
pilot-friendly accurate way. And in retrospect, I

JAN UARY 201 6

Greenbacks to
Redbacks: paying for Mars
One of the questions most often
asked about a Mars mission is how
it gets paid for specically, which
government is going to pony up the
billions of dollars for it, in a time
when most governments are pursuing
budgetary austerity, especially when it
comes to science.
Mars is gonna be tough to do
without government funding, admits
Dr Andrew Aldrin son of Buzz, and
recent president of the private space
company Moon Express. Its too
massive. In terms of big international
scientic projects, something like the
Large Hadron Collider is what, ten
billion dollars, something like that?
Mars will be hundreds of billions. Its an
expensive proposition.
However, we have a multigovernmental funding structure for
space exploration already in place. And
its orbiting above you right now.
You have an international
partnership and structure that
works pretty well, he says of the
International Space Station. So all
of that bureaucratic infrastructure
is in place, so you can bring in new
participants you can bring in India,
you can bring in China into that
existing structure. And I think the
major accomplishment with the space
station was that infrastructure.
He crunches the numbers based
on current expenditure, and concludes
that even without a massive increase in
spending or extra governments buying
in, by 2033 you could get a bare-bones
Mars mission. And that would not be
permanence, but it shows that theres
a plausible way of actually doing this
without re-inventing Apollos national
or international commitment to space.
But is money the only real thing
standing between us and the (almost
imperceptible) slopes of that great
megamountain, Olympus Mons?
There actually arent that many
unknowns, he insists. There are some
things that could do with more time
and study, but we could do Mars. Its
just a matter of commitment. This is
not incredible stuff.

cant say I was brilliant, but having had experience

[in combat] knowing how to get on a perfect
intercept with a target for aerial gunnery, I could
see there was a natural comparison.
And, as with the Mars mission, it offered extra
redundancy if things went wrong with Apollo 11s
systems, what better backup could there be than
someone who could work out an intercept on the
back of an envelope?
Exactly: if it fails, I know how to take over.
Speaking of which, Aldrin has some good life
advice: always make sure you have a pen to hand.
Its handy in case you need to jot something down
or, you know, push a crucial circuit breaker back
into place in order to not die on the Moon.
That was the moment that he goes back to

most in his own head when he remembers Apollo

11: knowing that if that circuit breaker didnt work,
he and Armstrong would never leave the Lunar
surface since even an emergency repair would
probably not leave enough time to rendezvous
with Collins.
He laughs about it now, but at the time
presumably he was a little less sanguine about
finding that a critical component for lift off was
broken, surely?
It was disastrously critical, but looking back
on it you can find some humorous aspects, he
explains. And we couldnt do anything about it at
first, we were supposed to sleep. So we missed
the opportunity of saying Houston, you got a
problem, he chuckles. Cause it wasnt Houston:
we got a problem.

The crew of Apollo 11 (left to right), Neil

Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz
Aldrin. Aldrin only flew in space twice
(his other flight was Gemini 12). But
still, what missions they were!

SUBSCRIBE FOR YOUR

CHANCE TO WIN

7 NIGHT

WIN0A0
$9,0

TRRIP
2!
FO

PRIZE INCLUDES:
Two return economy airfares with Jetstar Airlines Australia between Sydney/
Melbourne/Brisbane/Adelaide or Perth to Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali
Seven nights in a Resort Room at Hotel Komune Resort & Beach Club, Bali
including complimentary breakfast for two each morning
Round-trip Transfers between Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali and
Komune Resort & Beach Club valid for two
Complimentary dinner for two at Komune Resort & Beach Club restaurant
Set on the lush and unspoilt East Coast of Bali, Hotel Komune Resort and Beach Club is blessed with a hypnotising view
of the world famous Keramas surf break. The resort is conveniently only 50 minutes away from Ngurah Rai International
Airport. With its pristine volcanic beach, this 4 star beachfront Bali resort oers a wonderful experience of spending
leisure time in a natural luxury hotel. Sumptuously appointed accommodation with artistic furniture, this unique Bali
resort articulates the identity of the Island of the Gods.
In 2015 Hotel Komune launched its new Health Hub facility
at the Bali resort after recognising demand from guests for
further health and wellness experiences. The Health Hub
features a yoga centre, 25m training pool, functional
training centre, day spa, health caf and tness centre.
For more information, visit www.komuneresorts.com/keramasbali

3 easy ways
to order

1300 361 146 Toll free in Australia

+61 2 9901 6111 From overseas

Popular Science,
Locked Bag 3355,
St Leonards NSW 1590

S INBALI!

SUBSCRIBE
AT
/8/&*&9,0)4'1/&6
:
"
#
10
5+)
'17)3
23,')
:

().,7)38
51
8163
(113
:
#
/,44
&0
,446)

Australia-wide 1300 361 146

OR CALL Sydney metro (02) 9901 6111
(02) 9901 6110
OR FAX

Locked Bag 3355

St Leonards NSW 1590

OR MAIL

HURRY
COMP !
END
14/02 S
/16

Please send me a subscription to

24ISSUES (2 years)@ A$165.00 SAVE OVER 30%!
12ISSUES (1 year) @ A$89.00

SAVE OVER $30!

New Subscription

Gift Subscription

Renewal

MY DETAILS:
Name: Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms
Address:
Postcode:
Daytime phone:
E-mail address:
Please provide phone or email in case of delivery issues

PAYMENT:
I enclose cheque/money order for $____ payable to nextmedia Pty Ltd
OR please charge my

MasterCard

Visa

American Express

No.
Expiry:

CVV:

Name on card:
Cardholders signature:

GIFT RECIPIENTS DETAILS:

Name: Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms
Address:
Postcode:
Daytime phone:
E-mail address:

mymagazines.com.au

Price offer available to Australian and New Zealand residents; expires 27/01/16. Overseas airmail: A$150 for 12 issues.
Savings based on total cover price; includes GST. This form may be used as a tax invoice. nextmedia Pty Ltd; ABN 84 128
805 970. Bali competition open to Australian and New Zealand residents over the age of 18. One entry per Eligible Product
Purchase, dened in full terms. Competition opens 02/11/15 at 12:01 AM and closes 14/02/16 at 11:59 PM. Winner drawn
23/02/16 at 11:00 AM at the Promoters premises. The total prize pool valued at up to $9000 (incl. GST). Winner notied by
email or mail and published online at www.mymagazines.com.au from 23/02/16 for 28 days. The Promoter is nextmedia
Pty Ltd (ABN 84 128 805 970) of Level 6, Building A, 207 Pacic Highway, St Leonards NSW 2065. Authorised Under: NSW
Permit No. LTPS/15/08513. ACT Permit No. TP 15/07891. SA Licence No. T15/1934. Visit www.mymagazines.com. au
for full terms and conditions. Please tick if you do not wish to receive special offers or information from nextmedia or its
partners via Mail email. Refer to www.nextmedia.com.au for full Privacy Notice.

MA/601

EDITED BY SO PHIE B U SHW I C K

Scoop Snow from

the Comfort of Home
TIME 2 hours
COST $499
DIFFICULTY w

70

wwww

Okay so the average Australian

doesnt need to worry about clearing snow. But with a radio-controlled snowplough, freak weather
becomes peak fun. It
does the work while
by
you photograph the
DAV E
white stuff.
PROCHNOW
To make sure your
plough will have

WARNING Water
and electricity
shouldnt mix. Use
waterproof tape
to keep snow out
o f t h e p l ow s m a i n
compar tment.

sufficient muscle, start with the

rugged Warden Robot Kit from
Actobotics. Add a sealed gel-cell
battery, electrically joined drive
motors, and a shovel blade assembled from 3D-printed parts. Steer
your vehicle over the driveway
using the remote, and youre ready
for total winter dominationfrom
the comfort of the indoors.

P HOTOG R AP H BY
P O P U L A R S CI E N CE

Sam Kaplan

JAN UA RY 2 0 1 6

TOOL S

Hex keys
(7/64, 9/64,
and 3/32)

Soldering
iron

Wire
cutter/
stripper

3-D
printer and
filament

Electrical
tape

I L LU ST R ATI O N BY C L IN T FO R D

M AT ER I AL S
w )->0 1: $;.;@
 5@
w ;A> 31->9;@;>
.;->0 ?
w W 9 ;2
VT
3-A31 >10N.8 -/7
F5< /; >0
w ! : 1 <-5>
-88 53-@;> /85<?
w ";8;8A &$1*
> 0A-8
9;@;>
/;:@>;881>
w ! : N; 22 @;3381
? C 5@/4
w &C; WT
/ 9
?1>B; 1D@1:?5;:
/-.81?
w &C;
/4- :: 1 8
@ >-:?9 5@@1>N>1/1 5B1>
>-0 5;
/;:@>;8 ?E? @19
w ;A> WT
/ 9
9 -81
@;
9 -81
%& /;:: 1/@; >?
w ;A> 31->9;@;>
1 : 0 /-<?
w WU
5:/4
.E
Z
WV
?;/71@
4 1- 0 /- <
?/>1C?
w WU Z
WV :E8 ;/7
:A@?
w UV
B; 8@ Y 
31 8
/1 88 .-@@1>E
w UV
B; 8@  YT T
9 4 .-@@1> E
/4 ->31>

INSTRU CTIO NS
1 Assemble the Warden Robot
Kit according to the Actobotics
instructions.
2 Solder a gearmotor board to
each motor.
3 Separate the red-and-black wire
from the zip cord. Solder a black
alligator clip to one black end. Strip
and insert the other end into the
GND terminal of TReX Jr.
4 Cut the red wire in half. For one
half, solder a red alligator clip to
one end and connect the other end
to the on/off switch. For the other
red wire, solder one end to the
switch, and strip and insert the opposite end into the positive 12-volt
terminal of the TReX Jr.

5 Route the two servo extensions

from the CH1 and CH2 headers
of TReX Jr to, respectively, the
R
CH2 and CH3 outputs of the R/C
receiver.

8 Print the parts of the shovel

blade, using the STL files you can
search for at Thingiverse. Fasten
them to the front bumper with
the socket-head cap screws and
nylock nuts.

6 Snip one set of plugs off each

JST connector. Strip the ends and
plug the remaining JST connectors into the gearmotor boards,
reversing their polarity in the rear
gearmotors.

9 Charge the battery, if needed.

Mount the on/off switch to the rear
bumper, and slip the alligator clips
onto the battery terminals.

7 Twist the stripped ends of the

two left motors together, red to red
and black to black, and insert the
joined ends into the M1 terminals
of TReX Jr. Repeat for the right
motors, but insert into the M2
terminals.

10 Put battery, wires, and

electronics into the main
compartment, and apply waterresistant electrical tape over all
openings. Turn on the switch, and
test the speed control and directional drive of each motor. Now
youre ready to kick back and show
the snow whos boss.

P OPU L AR S C I EN C E

71

Manual
ual
Troublesh
shooter

A WiFi heatmap
will h elp you
identify dead zones
in your home

Take
Control
of Your WiFi
Wireless networking is a modern
marvel. Its also one of those inventions that you take for granted until it
stops working properly, and becomes
the most frustrating experience ever.
Part of the problem is that WiFi is the result of a
whole lot of very complex signals processing and
advanced radiation physics. Its easy to tell when its
not working, but rather harder to gure out why
its not working. Just about every house has that
inexplicable black spot, or mystery interference that
interrupts Netix. Lucky for our future-lifestyles,
there are plenty of ways to tweak and improve WiFi
for a better networking experience.
by LINDSAY HANDMER

72

P O P U L A R S CI E N CE

WIFI 101
A wireless local area
networking technology,
WiFi uses radio waves at
2.4GHz and 5.8GHz for
data communication. The
concept dates back to
dio
the 1970s, and UHF rad
network communications. WiFi is generally
low power, and fairly
short range - 100m or
less. Access points, such
as a home router, use
nal
small internal or extern
echigh gain antennas. Ele
tromagnetic radiation rar
ons
diates out in all directio
d
from the antennas, and
can be absorbed or de-ure
flected by walls, furnitu
and people. Despite some
claims, the World Health
d
Organisation has found
no risk (such as cancerr)
from long term exposure
to WiFi. So far.

Manual

JAN UA RY 2 0 1 6

Troubleshooter

INTERFERENCE?
Other WiFi signals, cordless
phones, IP cameras, baby
monitors and even Bluetooth can cause active WiFi
interference. Microwave ovens
also operate around 2.4GHz,
and older or poorly shielded
models can mess with WiFi
when cooking. Certain internal
walls (especially brick or
damp areas) can absorb WiFi
signals. Metal walls on a shed
or garage can reflect or block
o
cconnections as well.
A dual band 5GHz router
is one solution for interfference, as it operates at a
higher frequency that is not
h
as commonly used. It also has
a
no channel overlap, and typn
ically has higher bandwidth,
which is handy for uses such
w
as streaming. The downside
a
tto 5GHz is that only newer
devices tend to support it, so
d
wont help an older laptop. Its
w
also generally shorter range,
a
and gets absorbed more
a
easily by walls.
e
IINSTALL AN EXTENDER
I nothing else helps (such as
If
getting a signal in the garage),
g
its possible to boost the signal
instead. Range extender units
ccost as little as $50, and can
drastically improve reception
d
in problem areas. The devices
cconnect to the existing network
a
and squawk out the same
ssignal, just stronger. For best
e
effect they need to be situated
cclose to, but not right at the
edge of the reception black
e
sspot. Use the WiFi heatmap to
ffind the ideal locations.

Download: Free smartphone apps (or computer

software) such as WiFi Analyzer (sic) can check which
channels are in use nearby,
and recommend the best
channels to use instead.

UNDERSTANDING
CHANNELS
WiFi splits the available spectrum into
20MHz channels, which helps multiple
devices connect to the one access point.
The problem is that the channels overlap slightly. While not usually an issue,
as more and more devices use WiFi in
a small area or on the same channels,
you get congestion, which can decrease
signal strength and throughput. While
some devices scan for and choose
an empty channel when they try to
connect, others simply use a default
selection. If you live in a small home or
an apartment, you can improve WiFi by
manually checking for and selecting an
empty channel.

 Wireless Scanning: Run

the app in various parts of the
home to get a better idea of
all the networks nearby that
could be causing interference.
The living room might look
clean, but the neighbours
router could be causing problems in the bedroom.
As it were.
 Changing Channels: The
ideal channel will have the
fewest other signals in the
spot where you get the worst
reception. The procedure
varies based on model, but
changing channels is as simple as logging into the router
and making a selection.
Check online for a manual or
guide if needed.

MAPPING THE NETWORK

To get a clearer picture of exactly what is
causing interference, attenuating the WiFi
signal or where the black spots are, you
need a heatmap - a map that shows various
signal strengths at various positions in the
house. There are a range of free options
available for download. Mapping with a
smartphone is the fastest and easiest, and
the free Telstra WiFi Maximiser app is excellent. A laptops more sensitive antenna gives
a more detailed result though - in which
case Ekauhau HeatMapper is the best bet.

Create Floorplan:
The mapping software uses an imported
floorplan. It does not have to be super
accurate or exactly to scale, so a hand
drawn one is perfectly fine. Online floorplan
creators such as RoomSketcher are also a
good choice.

 Wi
WiFi Scanning:
After locating where the router is on the
floorplan, signal strength measurements
are taken around the house. It involves
physically walking to each location and
marking it on the floor plan, while the
software takes a measurement. The
more locations added, the more accurate
the final map will be.
 Using the Map:
Green is the strongest signal, while red is
bad news. The signal can sometimes be
improved by adjusting a routers antennas - straight up and down is ideal, but
sometimes having one horizontal helps.
The best fix is to move the router closer
to the middle of the house, or towards
a black spot. In my own case, there is
a weird black spot in one corner of the
dining room, perhaps caused by external
interference.

P OPU L AR S C I EN C E

73

Manual

JANUARY 201 6

Meet a Maker

by
REBECCA
HARRINGTON

When Hailey Fort decided she wanted to build a shelter

for a local homeless man named Edward, her parents
said she had to draw a blueprint rst. So the 9-year-old
native of Bremerton, Washington, started by planning
the three-square-metre footprintand then designed a
tiny house from the ground up.
Hailey has been building things for most of her life,
whether its helping out her mum, Miranda, with home
projects or consulting with her grandfather, whos a
contractor. But when it came to constructing Edwards
house, she did everything herself (although her parents
did step in to give pointers and help lift heavy materials).
Miranda and her husband, Quentin, banned Hailey from
using power saws and let her work for only about an

hour each day, so the housewhich has windows,

insulation, and solar panels for electricitytook
several months to complete. If she had her way,
she would work all day, Miranda says.
Now that shes nished with Edwards house,
Hailey plans to make at least 10 more over the
next two years. Her family is coordinating with
local churches to nd a place to park the shelters,
which have wheels for easy transportation. After
that, Hailey plans to keep building things. I want
to be an engineer, she says. In the meantime,
she hopes other people will help out in their
communities: You can do that by just planting a
tree or opening the door for someone.

TIPS FOR BUILDING SMALL

Ryan Mitchell, who lives in a 14-square-metre
house and runs the website The Tiny Life, shares
his tips for tiny-home builders.
1 Every hour of building usually takes an
hour of research.
2 Design the house
around the core
things you really need
to live your life.
3 Storage is critical:
If every item has its
own place, it will be

74

P HOTOGR A P H BY
P OP U L A R S CIE NCE

easier to keep the

house neat.
4 Accidents happen;
use tools carefully,
and be prepared.
5 Your best tool is
a chair to sit inso
you can figure out
how to overcome
any challenges.

Jose Mandojana

Manual

JA N UA RY 2 016

Theme Building

SNOWBOARD
Entrepreneur Jude Gomila
was tired of having to push
his snowboard across the
flats by foot. To propel
himself, he mounted a
battery-powered jet
engine to his board. First,
he 3D-printed six separate
parts and assembled them
into the mount. Then he attached a ducted fan engine.
It sounds like 100 vacuum
cleaners powering on at the
same time, Gomila says.
But outdoors, its actually
not that bad. By connecting
a handheld controller to
the motor, he can gradually
increase his speed up to 25
kilometres per hour.

Win W er
with These JetPowered Projects
Retire the reindeerand fire up the jet
engines. These three vehicles will put your
average sleigh to shame.

I L LUST RAT I O N S BY

Chris Philpot

RC ICE CAR
When Mason Ferlic was in Y
Year 12, his
parents gave him a welder. He and his
youngest brother, Evan, immediately began using the new tool to build valveless
pulse jets. The Ferlics put the engines
to good use on the frozen lakes that dot
the landscape of their native Minnesota.
They attached old ice-skate blades to
a sturdy frame, and then added a jet,

a propane fuel tank, and the control

system from a remote-controlled car.
The resulting RC ice racer zips across
the surface at up to 35 km/h. Evan says
hes surprised it worked as well as it did.
It blew us out of the water, he says.
Not literally though. The car can skate
for about five minutes straight before
running out of fuel.

SNOWBLOWER TRAIN
When winter storms threaten to shut
down commuter trains, New York
Y
Citys Metropolitan Transportation
Authority blasts snow off the switches
with jet engines. Built and mounted
on railroad vehicles by mechanic Olie
M. Ericksen, so-called snow jets use
old aircraft engines as heating units.
Ericksen replaced the original ignition
systems with acetylene ones, which use
a lower-voltage spark to ignite the fuel.
It actually works much better than the
high-voltage spark, especially in colder
temperatures, he says. The jets can

even blow or melt ice from the third rail

(which provides trains with electric power) with 370- to 480-degree exhaust.
Ericksen isnt the first to build snow
jetsthe oldest one still in use dates
back to the 1960s. And some onboard
engines are even older: Certain snow
trains still use J57s, the first American
jet engine to produce more than 10,000
pounds of thrust.
by
A L L I E W I L KI NS ON

P OP UL A R S C I EN C E

75

Manual

JANUARY 201 6

Hackertainment

Drone
Racing
Takes Off

July 2015: Steele Davis walked onto

Sacramentos Bonney Field and prepared to
steer a drone around a flag-marked track. First
he donned a pair of goggles. Then he launched
his H-shaped quadcopter and sent it into his
signature trick - an inverted yaw spin.
You flip upside down and then rotate, says
Davis, a 25-year-old from Atlanta. So youre
inverted, but youre being forced toward the
ground because the props are still spinning.
Davis is one of the pioneers in the sport
of first-person-view drone racing. Pilots
competing in the races wear goggles that give
them a drones-eye aerial view, streamed from
cameras on their machines. The effect is as if
they had been miniaturised and placed in tiny
drone cockpits (get one for yourself on p.28).
The sport began with casual races among
friends. French model-aircraft association
Airgonay recorded one such race and posted
the video on YouTube a little over a year
ago. The footage of drones racing through a
forest racked up more than two million views.
As more FPV drone videos hit the Web, the
1 At drone nationals,
competitors wore goggles that look like small
VR headsets.
2 Cameras on the drones
streamed video to their
pilots goggles.
3 Eight drones flew in

each heat, with scores

based on lap time.
4 Racers had to avoid
other drones and stay on
the flagged course.
5 In initial time trials,
barely half the pilots
completed all five laps.

burgeoning sport grew and grew, culminating

in the first large-scale, organised droneracing competition: the US National Drone
Racing Championships.
Over two days in 2015s northern summer,
120 FPV pilots from around
the world descended on
by
A N DR EW
the California State Fair
Z A L ES KI
to compete for the fastest
five-lap timeand more
than $25,000 in prizes.
Davis and eight other pilots also participated in a
special freestyle heat. In this category, judges
score competitors based on the intricacy and
inventiveness of their maneuvers. Davis took
second behind Australian Chad Nowak.
Everybody was racing in different countries,
but this was the first official international one
that put it on the map, says Scot Refsland,
CEO of RotorSports, the California company
that organised the US championships. Since
then, national competitions have been staged in
Germany, the UK, and Canada. RotorSports is
also planning a world championship in Hawaii
this October, with more than 300 pilots from at
least 35 countries and $200,000 in prize money.
With the drone nationals, the drone world
championships, and little events everywhere
popping up, its becoming a very competitive
sport, says Swiss pilot Raphael Pirker, known
as Trappy for his aerial tricks. Theres an
opportunity for people to turn a hobby into a
business and fly professionally.

1
2

76

P O P U L A R S CI E N CE

I LLU STRATI ON BY

Graham Murdoch

69

Years since the first helicopter,

the Bell 47, was certified for
civilian use, on 8 March 1946

Archives
March 1931

A WORLD
WITHOUT
CHOPPERS
Today, we take helicopters pretty much
for granted, but back in
1931, rotorcraft were
strictly experimental. As
the March issue notes,
autogyros - which are
just planes with a freely
rotating wing mounted on the top - need a
runway to take off. The
promise of the helicopter (which must have
sounded like a techno
buzzword to readers of
the day) was true vertical
take off and landing. The
helicopter in this 1931
issue is depicted landing
on a high rise rooftop,
something that had
been a pipe dream for
aviators for years. In fact,
helicopter projects had
been going on for nearly
a decade. This design
was built by Spanish aviator Rauol Pescara, and
lacks the tail rotor that
gives modern choppers
their stability. Pescara
had already built several
prototypes before this
one flew. The odd balls
under the fuselage are
balance pontoons that
he would bounce off the
ground if the aircraft
seemed in danger of
tipping - something it
did a lot. These days we
rely on helicopters for
medical evacuations,
traffic monitoring, law
enforcement and more.
Strange to think they are
less than 85 years old.
ANT H O N Y FO R D H A M

...two g ant w n m s o e g t a es eac egan to a t e a r, w e an or nary

[aeroplane] propeller at the front idled slowly. Then the crat rose bodily into the air,
slowly and deliberately, as if its great weight had vanished. It skipped and skimmed
across the ying eld. The helicopter was a success. POPUL AR SCIENCE , M ARCH 1 931
P OP U L AR S C I EN C E

77

Have a burning question? Email

it to letters@popsci.com.au

Go Ahead . . .

Ask Us Anything

Q: SHOULD I
BE FREAKED
OUT BY
BACKWASH?
Short answer Yes.

78

P O P U L A R S CI E NCE

A N SW E R S BY Daniel Engber
I LLU ST R AT I O N S BY Jason Schneider

A:
The term backwash, referring to the mix
of beverage and saliva that sloshes back into
a shared drink, has been in use only since the
mid-1980s. But concerns about its disgusting
nature go back centuries. Early Muslim scholars
argued over whether the liquid leftover in a vessel after someone has drunk from itcalled sur
in Arabicwas pure enough to be used for ritual
ablutions. These days, we have hard science to
settle that ancient debate.
Sunny Jung of Virginia Tech, who studies
fluid mechanics in biological systems, explains
that, in general, animals take in water in one
of two ways: They either lap it up, like a dog, or
they use a suction mechanism. Humans (and
mosquitoes and elephants) fall into the latter

camp. Its a pretty efficient mechanism, but it

cant ensure that all the fluid will be contained:
Theres [always] backflow, Jung says.
Theres also evidence that backwash contains
bacteria, and that sharing drinks can spread
disease. In 2007, for example, epidemiologists
began a study of pneumococcal pneumonia
among young recruits in the Israeli Defense
Forces. During six months of basic training,
about one-third of recruits acquired the bacteria.
Those who said they always or usually
drank from shared bottles were at more than
twice the risk of the contagion. Its hard to know
whether pneumococci were surfing a wave of
backwash, or if the germs merely settled on the
spout. Either way, its gross.

Q: WHY DO I FEEL
LIKE SOMEONES
WATCHING ME?
Short answer Your brain is likely reverse-engineering a reason.

A:
In 1898, a prominent Cornell psychologist named Edward Titchener used a few simple tests on his
students to prove that the feeling
of being stared at was a product
of neurosis. He became convinced
it was. But weve learned since
there are likely more than just
panicky feelings at play.
The stared at paranoia could
arise from several factors, one of
which is confirmation bias. You

remember those moments you

turned around and saw someone
staring at you, but youll forget
the times when this was not
the case. Or someone might
be watchingjust not with the
intention you think: A sudden
movement could have triggered
an unintended glance from a
stranger. And never discount the
role of an overactive imagination.
For instance, you might hear a
sound behind you thats too quiet
to enter consciousness but loud

enough to activate the fear circuits

in the amygdalathe brain region
primarily responsible for memory
processing, decision-making, and
emotional reactions. Then your
brain constructs a story to explain
it. For some people the feeling
itself is so compelling that they
have to explain it as something
real, says University of Waterloo
psychology professor emeritus

Q: WHICH IS MORE
POWERFUL: A GIANT
MICROSCOPE OR A
GIANT TELESCOPE?
Short answer The edge is microscopic.

A:

The Scanning Transmission Electron

Holography Microscope stands 4.5 metres tall
and weighs 6,350 kilos. Its such a powerful
machine, says Rodney Herring, who runs the
microscope facility at the University of Victoria
in Vancouver. It can image at an unprocessed
resolution of 35 trillionths of a metre, making
it more powerful than any other microscope in
the world. And any telescope too.
Microscopes like Herrings take images
using electrons, which have a wavelength
five orders of magnitude smaller than that

of light. Telescopes cant use the same

approach, because electrons from a far-off
source would be deflected or absorbed before they made their way to Earth. Electrons
dont reach us, but light does, says Herring,
which is one reason that we can see a lot
better looking down at small things than we
can looking out at big things.
Microscopists can also manipulate their samples. According to Mark Neil, an optical physicist
at Imperial College London, illuminating a
sample with a pair of lasers can improve the

James Allan Cheyne.

This same mechanism could be
at work, on overdrive, in the minds
of diagnosed paranoids, who
experience delusions, hallucinations, and disruptions of typical
emotions and thoughts. Most pathologies are extreme conditions,
Cheyne says. They tend to be
exaggerated forms of something
that we experience all the time.

resolution of a normal microscope, from 300

nanometers to 10 nm. Electron microscopes
like Herrings push that down even more, into
the atomic scale.
Its hard to find a comparable measure
for a giant telescope. Astronomers are less
concerned with linear resolution than they are
with angular resolution, measured in arc-seconds (1/3,600 of a degree). The Hubble Space
Telescope, for example, can take images less
than 0.1 arc-seconds. The European Extremely
Large Telescopecurrently under construction on a Chilean mountaintopwill have an
angular resolution of 0.01 arc-seconds or better.
To draw an accurate comparison between
telescopes and microscopes, we should think
of them in terms of the unaided human eye.
Neil says a person with normal vision is able to
perceive objects at a linear resolution of about
25,000 nm and an angular resolution of about
60 arc-seconds. So the best microscopes take
us from 25,000 nm to 0.035 nma 714,000fold improvement. The best telescopes, on the
other hand, can push our vision only from 60
arc-seconds to 0.01 arc-secondsa 6,000fold improvement.

P OP U L AR S C I EN C E

79

Then
Retro Invention

by LINDSAY HANDMER

When Steve Jobs returned

to Apple in 1997, one of the
many projects he killed off
wass the Newton.
Newton Why was
the worlds first tablet
platform so ill-fated?
80

P O P U L A R S CI E N CE

A h ead o f its
t i m e? T h e App le
MessagePad n eve r
ga i n ed serious
momentum in th e
P DA market
PDA

Then

JA NUA
U A RY 2 0 16

Retro Invention

Even if it hadnt bee daggy early-90s Apple

that had brought out the first ttablet, the public
response would have been the same: This isnt
like the ones in the stories! T
The concept of a
light, touch-enabled, everyday computer has
been around in fiction since at
a least the 1950s.
In 1972, Alan Kay envisioned the Dynabook - a
tablet-like computer aimed at children. Through
the 1980s, various companie developed tablet
prototypes, but none ever m de it to market.
Apple started developing itss own device in 1987,
and by 1993, had released t ree models.

Apple, Newton, Ged

ddit?
After sinking over $100 milllion dollars into
development, Apple had what was arguably the
best PDA available - not th
h t this meant much.
Newton referred to the pla
atform. Apples actual
product was called the Me sagePad, and it
was crazy expensive on re ease: the cheapest
version cost about $1500 in todays money.
A bigger problem was that
t
the Newton
platform was actually ver different to what
was originally envisioned. The core concept at
first was much more like a tablet computer is

today, with a large s reen and more powerful

hardware. Over the long six-year development
cycle, the Newton w s scaled back to a digital
assistant, rather than a device that would actively compete with the Macintosh desktop PC.
The first model ran Newton OS on an ARM
610 RISC CPU buzzzing along at 20MHz, with
a 4MB ROM and 640 KB RAM. The monochrome screen m asured 4.9 x 3.3 inches and
had a 336 x 240 p xel resolution - a similar res-

olution to the Nintendo 3DSs BOTTOM screen today. It

ran from four AAA batteries, or could use rechargeables
and an external power supply. It weighed 410 grams and
measured in at 18.42 cm x 11.43 cm x 1.91 cm.
The Newton was innovative at launch, but underdeveloped software meant that it was ultimately not very well
received. The highly anticipated handwriting recognition
was mocked for its poor performance, including in the
Simpsons Episode, Lisa On Ice, (Beat Up Martin becomes
Eat Up Martha) which was first screened in 1994.
Still, Newton-based devices did reasonably well in a
number of industries, such as the medical field.
After struggling along for a few years, Newton lost
significant market share to the much cheaper and
better-equipped Palm Pilot. In 1998, Steve Jobs killed
off the Newton project. But he saw the potential in the
concept, which finally found almost unimaginable levels
of success in the iPad and iPhone.

After the Apple Fell

Post-Newton, the personal digital assistant (or PDA)
market quickly filled with a range of devices, at first dominated by Palm. In 2000, Microsoft released the Pocket PC
2000, which ran Windows CE - an operating system that
lives on in todays suction-cup car GPS units.
From there a range of tablet PCs
were produced but all failed to sell
particularly well to general consumers.
The main issues were high weight and
bulk which made extended handheld
use uncomfortable.
The software was also never as good
as hoped, and hyped features such as
on-screen keyboards and finger support
(rather than using a stylus) failed to
meet expectations.
Various companies such as Palm,
Nokia and Intel all continued to develop
tablets, but it wasnt until Apple released
the iPad in 2010 that what we consider
e modern tablet was born.
The critical improvement was the
super-sensitive capacitive touchscreen,
which makes navigating and typing by
hand simple and intuitive.
Today, it looks like were on the edge of
yet another shift, away from tablets that
are, in software terms, essentially giant
smartphones toward so-called hybrids.
These devices look like tablets and have touchscreens,
but they also pack powerful PC components and can
connect to traditional PC peripherals like printers, access
network domains and more.
Apple continues to espouse a post PC world - using
the iPad Pro as the current flagship - and tablet sales are
starting to drop off, a mere five years after they began.
Thats exactly how long Newton-based devices were on
the market: from 1993 to 1998.
That said, we think the tablet has a few years in it yet.

EO PERSONAL
COMMUNICATOR

Launched at the same time,

AT&Ts EO was the Newton
platforms only real competition. While the Apple PDA
was small and portable, the
EO was a much larger device.
The Personal Communicator
was a chunky 17cm wide,
28cm long and 2.5cm thick
slab, and weighed about a
kilo. It had a custom AT&T
CPU called the Hobbit, which
ambled along at 2MHz. The
device had between 4 and
12MB of RAM, as well as an
optional 20MB internal HDD.
The screen measured in at
4.3 x 6 inches (7.5 diagonal)
and had a pretty decent 640
x 480 resolution. It was also
a touch screen, operated
with a stylus.
The Communicator used
a special OS called PenPoint,
developed by yet another
company: GO Corporation.
Designed specifically for
tablets and PDAs, it was
used on a number of devices
and could handle third party
applications. The OS also had
some pretty advanced features, such as system-wide
gesture recognition.
The operating system
was loaded via an 8MB ROM
card, rather than installed on
internal storage.
The EO had a bunch of
other hardware features, such
as a modem, VGA output,
microphone and speaker as
well as parallel and serial
ports. It could even connect
to a cellular network (for free)
to send and receive faxes(!)
and emails.
The Personal
Communicator was not a
cheap purchase though,
and in todays money cost
about $4000. Makes the
$1500 MessagePad seem
almost reasonable...

POP UL AR S C I EN C E

81

Labrats

STO RY BY

Subject Zero

GutBuddi (with Companion

Windows 10 AppTM)
On the throne, one
has many worries;
and remorse is
the one that weighs
the least. - J E AN RAC I N E *
Biotelemetry probe tests are
among the easiest ways for an
itinerant scientific test subject, like
myself, to make $125. Because most
of them dont work. So all I do is
write device did not connect in the
log for two weeks, and then I gets
mah money. Okay, sure, returning
the probe to its owners can be a
little unpleasant, but I dont mind the
taste of paraffin oil that much.
This latest one though gives me
pause. On the one hand, the capsule
containing all the clever sensors
and whatever is smaller and thus
easier than ever to swallow. But it
comes with an app. And the app is
for Windows 10.
At first, this is cool because the
company behind it - GutBuddi - also
loans me a totally sweet Surface
4 Pro with the i5 CPU and the cute
red Type Cover and everything. And
I enjoy playing with the Surface
for several hours, or rather I enjoy
rebooting it over and over as it
crashes repeatedly for no reason.
Then I decide to go out.
Where are you going? asks a
voice. It comes from the Surface.
Uh I was just going down to the
shops? I say.
You should take a coat, says the
voice, a little priggishly.
I consider this. A coat? But its
like 30 degrees outside.
Yes but the last seven weather

forecasts have only had an accuracy

rating of 82%. There is an 18%
chance the forecast could be wrong
and it could get suddenly cold. Or
rain. You should take a coat.
I narrow my eyes. This is
very sophisticated AI and voice
recognition and suchforth, I say.
Oh Im not an AI, says the
Microsoft Surface. Im your
personal wellness consultant. I work
in a call centre.
Where are you then?
Theres a pause. Im not
supposed to say.
So, India?
Theres another pause. Yes.
Good accent.
Thank you. I practiced for ages.
So anyway, since I get a bonus if
you dont get sick for a full month, I
really think you should take a coat.
I sigh. There is absolutely no
point trying to stop me from getting
sick for an entire month.
The Surface sounds offended.
Why not?
Because this trial only goes for
two weeks. I feel kind of smug, but
then my stomach rumbles in an
unpleasant way.
Oh dear, says the Surface.
I am seeing some intestinal
instability here. I have a sheet that
says there was some concern this
could happen.
What could happen? I ask.
Explosive diarrhoea.
DIARRHOEA? I exclaim.
Explosive diarrhoea, says the
Surface. Quite explosive. I mean, I
have a button I can press to dispense
Immodium right out of the capsule,
but then again you dont want to take
a coat so maybe my advice and help
isnt that valuable to you...

The rumbling intensifies. Okay! I

shriek. Ill get a coat!
Make sure its a warm coat, says
the Surface. You never know when
there could be a freak hailstorm.
Sydney is famous for its freak
hailstorms, I think I read that one
time in a Buzzfeed article? Also, do
koalas fall in your pool a lot?
I dont have a pool, I shout,
feeling somewhat muffled as I dig
through my permanent pile of dirty
clothes looking for something that
I can pass off as a coat. I eventually
find the bloodstained lab coat with
the tattered sleeve, and shrug it on.
There! I say. Satisfied? Make
with the gut stop juice!
The Surface doesnt answer
for a moment. Im only seeing
body temperature increasing by
half a degree. Is it a proper warm
coat? Please stand in front of the
Microsoft Surface 4 Pros innovative
3D camera for verification.
Augh! I yell, and mess about
with the stupid kickstand for a
moment until Im more or less in
front of what I more or less guess is
the camera. Well?
That is not a proper coat, says
the Surface. And what is the deal
with the colour of your skin?
Protein shake experiment, I say.
Good for the protein, not so good for
the not getting jaundice.
You need to get a better coat.
Forget it! I scream. Youre
worse than my mother probably
would have been if Id ever met
her! Keep your Immodium! Ive had
explosive diarrhoea before and Ill
have it again, so do your worst! I
hurl off the lab coat and stomp into
the bathroom. There the toilet sits,
ominous and looming.
Wait! says the Surface. But
thats all. The damn thing crashes,
my gut roils, and four seconds later I
lose interest in almost everything.

*Apparently a famous French dramatist, but then again I just did a Google search for throne quotes so who knows.

82

PO P U L A R S CI E N CE

NEXT
ISSUE!
Issue #87,
February 2016
On sale 28th
January 2016
THE LAST
FIGHTER
PILOT !
In a d rone d o m i n ated
s ky, wh ats
to become of
t h e human
pilot? PLUS!
Electroshock
t h e ra py // BMW
M 4 // BEST
RO B OTS EV ER
// Predicting
Ear thquakes +
M O RE!

DIGITAL VIDEO CAMERA

OF THE YEAR

ZOOM Q8

astron.
the worlds rst
gps solar watch.
In 2012 we made history with Astron, the worlds first GPS solar watch.
Using just the power of light, Astron adjusts to every time zone on earth at the touch of a button.
In 2014 we took Astron even further, introducing a full-function GPS solar chronograph.
Now with dual time display, Astron is simply the worlds finest GPS solar watch.

*If there are changes in the region / time zone, manual time zone selection may be required.

seiko.com.au