There are two main types or setups of a coilgun, single stage and multistage. A single stage coilgun uses just one electromagnet to propel a ferromagnetic projectile. A multistage coilgun uses multiple electromagnets in succession to progressively increase the speed of the projectile. Many hobbyists use low-cost rudimentary designs to experiment with coilguns, for example using photoflash capacitors from a disposable camera, or a capacitor from a standard cathode-ray tube television as the energy source, and a low inductance coil to propel the projectile forward. A superconductor coilgun called a quench gun could be created by successively quenching a line of adjacent coaxial superconducting electromagnetic coils forming a gun barrel, generating a wave of magnetic field gradient traveling at any desired speed. A traveling superconducting coil might be made to ride this wave like a surfboard. The device would be a mass driver or linear synchronous motor with the propulsion energy stored directly in the drive coils.

One main obstacle in coilgun design is switching the power through the coils. There are several main options — the simplest (and probably least effective) is the spark gap, which releases the stored energy through the coil when the voltage reaches a certain threshold. A better option is to use solid-state switches; these include IGBTs or power MOSFETs (which can be switched off mid-pulse) and SCRs (which release all stored energy before turning off). A quick-and-dirty method for switching, especially for those using a flash camera for the main components, is to use the flash tube itself as a switch. By wiring it in series with the coil, it can silently and non-destructively (assuming that the energy in the capacitor is kept below the tube’s safe operating limits) allow a large amount of current to pass through to the coil. Like any flash tube, ionizing the gas in the tube with a high voltage triggers it. However, a large amount of the energy will be dissipated as heat and light, and, due to the tube being a spark gap, the tube will stop conducting once the voltage across it drops sufficiently, leaving some charge remaining on the capacitor.

The coil gun first appeared in literature as the “electric gun” in the 1897 science fiction novel A Trip to Venus by John Munro. The novel described in detail a way to launch vehicles into outer space from the Earth’s surface. In the novel, Munro describes in great detail multiple coils fired in sequence by solenoids timed to achieve acceleration without generating g forces that would harm passengers. The gun could be angled on a hillside if desired.

More than 1000 species of tardigrades have been described. Tardigrades occur over the entire world, from the high Himalayas (above 6,000 m), to the deep sea (below 4,000 m) and from the polar regions to the equator.The most convenient place to find tardigrades is on lichens and mosses. Other environments are dunes, beaches, soil and marine or freshwater sediments, where they may occur quite frequently (up to 25,000 animals per litre). Tardigrades often can be found by soaking a piece of moss in spring water.

Tardigrades are polyextremophiles and are able to survive in extreme environments that would kill almost any other animal. Some can survive temperatures close to absolute zero, temperatures as high as 151 °C (303 °F), 1,000 times more radiation than other animals such as humans, nearly a decade without water, and even the vacuum of space.

Tardigrades have a body with four segments (not counting the head), four pairs of legs without joints, and feet with claws or toes. The cuticle contains chitin and is moulted. They have a ventral nervous system with one ganglion per segment, and a multilobed brain. Their pigment-cup eyes are rhabdomeric. Instead of a coelom they have a haemocoel. The only place where a true coelom can be found is around the gonad (coelomic pouch). The pharynx is of a triradiate, muscular, sucking kind, armed with stylets.

Although some species are parthenogenetic, males and females are usually present, each with a single gonad. Tardigrades are eutelic (all adult tardigrades of the same species are believed to have the same number of cells) and oviparous. Some tardigrade species have as many as about 40,000 cells in each adult’s body, others have far fewer

Maybe those UV are also extreme tattoos and also bizarre and weird tattoos. UV tattoo ink is not commonly known or used, as very few varieties of UV inks are approved for use in the US. It is also many times more expensive than regular tattoo inks. Some people have had reactions to ingredients in the ink, ranging from minor itching to dermatitis. Several UV inks are suspected carcinogens and allergens and at this time, no research has been conducted into the possible side effects of long term exposure. Some UV inks are known to yellow or turn slightly brown with sun exposure.

UV inks are not as bright under normal light as normal tattoo inks, and do not blend during application, as normal inks do. Their effect will be dulled if regular ink is used on top of them. Therefore, for vibrant, high impact tattoos, normal ink should be used, allowed to heal, and then highlighted with UV inks. Only highly experienced tattooists should apply UV tattoos, and should have a blacklight within arm’s length of the tattoo chair. When applying white or clear UV ink, this blacklight should be turned on throughout the procedure. UV inking takes a little bit longer than normal, due to UV inks being a little thinner and harder to work with, and because the tattoo must be wiped and checked under a blacklight frequently during application.

Also note that for non-colour based UV work, it is possible that outlines can become an issue. If the artist isn’t careful, any ink or other materials they use to outline their design can become part of the work. This is not normally an issue with standard tattoos as normal coloured ink covers this. However for fully hidden UV art, this can be a problem, as it will most likely not be even, or well distributed within the work, and reveal some of the art instead of being mostly hidden (scarring can always give away the art).

This photo of a tortoise was taken  on the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. The tortoise, named Jonathan, still lives there today. He may be the world’s oldest living animal.

A spokesman for the island’s tourist board said Jonathan is owned by the St Helena government and lives in the specially built plantation on the governor’s land.

He said: “Jonathan is the sole survivor of three tortoises that arrived on St Helena Island in 1882.

“He was already mature when he arrived and was at least 50-years-old.

“Therefore his minimum age is 176-years-old. He is the oldest inhabitant on St Helena and is claimed to be the oldest living tortoise in the world.

Icelandic scientists have found a 400-year-old clam, nearly twice as old as any other animal in history.

The clam — a qahog or, technically, Arctica islandica — spent those centuries in the frigid Atlantic waters off Iceland’s north coast. As the press release notes, “When this animal was a juvenile, King James I replaced Queen Elizabeth I as English monarch, Shakespeare was writing his greatest plays Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth and Giordano Bruno was burnt at the stake for espousing the view that the Sun rather than the Earth was the centre of the universe.”

Rabbit: Fourteen-year-old George, from Tewksbury, Massachusetts in the US, was recognised as the oldest rabbit in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records earlier this year.

The average life expectancy of a rabbit is six to eight years, making George an estimated 160 years old in human terms. His owners met at college and fed their pet Doritos.

Cat: Spike, a ginger and white tom, died two months after his 31st birthday in July 2001 – making him the world’s oldest cat.

He was bought for two shillings and sixpence in London’s Brick Lane market in 1970 and nearly died at the age of 19 when he was attacked by a dog.

Spike’s owners, from Bridport in Devon, used to put aloe vera gel into his cat food.

Spider: The world’s oldest spider is thought to have been a female from the Theraphosidae family, which lived up to the age of 28. The bird-eating arachnid was captured in Mexico in 1935.

Dog: At 29, black Labrador Bella was thought to be the oldest dog in the UK until her death in September.

She was bought from an RSPCA sanctuary 26 years ago and lived out her long life in Derbyshire.

Guinea Pig: The average age for a guinea pig may be between five and eight years, but the official record is 14 years and 10 and a half months.

Monkey: Bueno, a black spider monkey, died in 2005 at the age of 53 and was thought to be the world’s eldest monkey.

She lived a “stress-free” life at the Japan Monkey Centre in Aichi, 150 miles west of Tokyo. The average black spider monkey lives for between 30 and 33 years.

Goldfish: Tish beat all the records by living to a ripe old age of 43 after being won a funfair in Doncaster in 1956.

As he aged, his scales faded from orange to silver but his owner Hilda Hand said the key to his longevity was not feeding him too much and placing him in the sun every now and then.

CONDUCT THIS SIMPLE TEST:
Place the tip of your fingernail against the reflective surface and if there is a GAP between your fingernail and the image of the nail, then it is a GENUINE mirror.

However, if your fingernail DIRECTLY TOUCHES the image of your nail, then BEWARE, IT IS A 2-WAY MIRROR! (There is someone seeing you from the other side). So remember, every time you see a mirror, do the “fingernail test.” It doesn’t cost you anything. It is simple to do.This is a really good thing to do. The reason there is a gap on a real mirror, is because the silver is on the back of the mirror UNDER the glass.
Whereas with a two-way mirror, the silver is on the surface. Keep it in mind! Make sure and check every time you enter in hotel rooms. May be someone is making a film on you. “

This one is false. Here are few tips how you can detect real one:

1. Realize that a popular email about two-way mirrors you may have received is a hoax. It is simply an urban legend that has gained credibility as it has gone from one recipient to the next. You can check suspect stories you hear against the urban legends database at Snopes.com.

2.  Understand that a two-way mirror is specially treated glass that allows light to pass through in both directions, but which also reflects light back into the room. If lights are off on one side of the mirror and on in the other, those on the bright side will see a reflection and those on the dark side will see through the glass.

3.  Know that because they function as windows, two-way mirrors are generally set into the wall; they are not hung on a wall. If the mirror is not flush with the wall, it is most likely not a two-way mirror.

4. Test the mirror. Cup your hands around your eyes and place your face next to the mirror. If it is a two-way mirror, you will be able to see something on the other side—unless there is absolutely no light on that.

5. Turn out the lights. The two-way mirror only works if light is more intense on one side. With the lights off, you will see through a two-way mirror. It may take a few moments to detect the mirror as your eyes adjust.

6. Tap the mirror. A two-way mirror will produce a hollow sound like a window because there is no backing on the other side. A regular mirror will sound dull.

This SkyTran system operates with individual, two-passenger vehicles, which are propelled and suspended by a maglev system from overhead guideways. These are laid out in a one mile by one mile networked grid throughout the city. A large number of small departure and exit portals are placed underneath the guideways at approximately every 400 metres or at every city block. Read the rest at Dark Roasted Blend

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

MODEL NAME: EMBRIO Advanced Concept
DEVELOPED BY:Bombardier Recreational Products
STATUS: Concept
YEAR: 2003
DRIVE SYSTEM: Fuel cell electric
FUEL: Hydrogen
LENGTH: 1,240 mm (48.8 in)
WIDTH: 700 mm (27.5 in)
HEIGHT: 1,200 mm (47.5 in)
WEIGHT: 164 kg (360 lbs)
SEATING CAPACITY: 2

Although the vehicle will also remain stable when motionless, with two small front wheels deployed at speeds below 20 kilometres per hour (12.5 mph). To move forward, the rider activates a trigger on the left handlebar. At a speed of 20 kilometres per hour (12.5 mph) the front wheels or “landing gear” retracts so the rider is balancing on the large single wheel. To turn the rider leans to the left or right. The brake is activated by a trigger on the right handlebar. Fuel cells running on hydrogen provide electricity for the electric motor which drives the single wheel.

The first ULTra (Urban Light Transport) system is actually under construction at the moment at Heathrow airport in London. It will be operable in the fall of 2008. A certain Dutch company has recently signed an agreement to introduce ULTra in the Netherlands and Belgium. Read the rest at Dark Roasted Blend

This highly streamlined electric bus can also be driven at lower speeds on existing roads and bus lanes. With a length of 15 metres (49.2 ft) and a width of 2.5 metres (8.2 ft), the Superbus has similar dimensions to a conventional bus. Due to the seating arrangement without a centre aisle however, the height is just 1.7 metres (5.6 ft). The low aerodynamic drag (less than 0.2) makes the Superbus more efficient than a passenger car. Read the rest at Dark Roasted Blend