Technology DIY circuit turns your alphabet soup into a keyboard Probably the strangest musical instrument you'll see today Ever wanted to move Pac-Man using pencil drawings, make music with bananas or type an email with alphabet soup? Now you can thanks to Makey Makey, a simple circuit board that turns almost any object into a computer key ( see video here ). "It works with … 51¶¯Âþ
Augmented reality offers a new layer of intrigue IF YOU ever come across a photograph of communist-era East Berlin, or modern Pyongyang in North Korea, the cityscapes look drab and featureless. Billboards, advertising hoardings, neon signs, shopfronts and graffiti are conspicuous by their absence. To future eyes, that is how drab today's London and New York will appear. Not because of an even … Opinion
Rubber soul: California's 6-million-tyre mountain AN UNUSUAL mountain stands in Westley, California. Made up of 6 million tyres, of which just a fraction are shown here, it is testament to our love affair with – or, as some would say, perverse reliance on – oil. This shot was taken by Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky as part of his study of … Regulars
Earth Dump the pump: When oil will lose its lustre Oil production may fall in 10 years – not because it is running out but because electric cars will be cheaper and gasoline engines will be better Features
A history of the insatiably curious NOBEL prizes in science are awarded for the fruits of curiosity moderated by discipline; Ig Nobel prizes for the results of apparently aimless curiosity. Thus, curiosity in science may inspire both respect and wariness. Knowing where we should draw the line is not always easy, as becomes clear in Curiosity , science writer Philip Ball's … CultureLab
Enigma Number 1698 The pied piper I found an old eight-digit calculator. As usual, each position of the display consisted of seven light segments – with, for example, seven lighting up to display an "8" and four lighting up to display a "4". To see if it still worked, I typed in the approximation for Ï€, namely 22/7, … Regulars
Feedback: Chemistry without the chemicals Chemistry without the chemicals WAITING in line at the Heathcote post office in Victoria, Australia, Beck Lowe's eye was caught by one of the items on sale there – the Chemistry 60 science kit for children, which boasts that it contains "60 Fun Activities With No Chemicals". This improbable concession to "chemicals" hysteria is produced … Regulars