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Rabu, 19 Februari 2014

Sir David Attenborough gloriously narrates a round of Olympic Curling onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

Written By 12; About: Sir David Attenborough gloriously narrates a round of Olympic Curling onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com on Rabu, 19 Februari 2014

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Sir David Attenborough gloriously narrates a round of Olympic Curling

Sir David Attenborough gloriously narrates a round of Olympic Curling


If you are mystified by the sliding and sweeping sport that is curling, Sir David Attenborough is here to help. BBC Radio 1 convinced the naturalist to narrate a few moments with Great Britain's Olympic curling team as if it were a nature documentary.


Attenborough was featured this week on Greg James' show on Radio 1, and the host had Attenborough apply his behavioral wisdom to the curious sport that is curling. Who knew that insect checks were such an important part of the game? Truly a magnificent sport.


[via MetaFilter, video via The Verge]


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Sir David Attenborough gloriously narrates a round of Olympic Curling

Brain interface lets one monkey control the movements of another onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Brain interface lets one monkey control the movements of another

Brain interface lets one monkey control the movements of another S


Neuroscientists have taken us one step closer to an Avatar-like world after demonstrating a brain-to-spinal-cord interface that allowed a "master" monkey to remotely control the hand movement of an "avatar" monkey who was completely unconscious.


Scientists have already developed brain-to-brain interfaces, but this is the first demonstration of a brain-to-spinal-cord interface. The breakthrough could eventually allow a paralyzed person to regain control over their muscles by directly bypassing the injury in their spinal cord.


The Master and the Avatar


To make it work, scientists at the Harvard Medical School implanted a chip in a "master" monkey's brain in order to record the activity of some 100 neurons. While the monkey moved, its physical actions were mapped against patterns of electrical activity in the neurons (it's a tedious trial-and-error process, but it's the only way it can currently be done).


For ethical reasons, the "avatar" monkey was not made to be paralyzed and was instead given a strong sedative. The scientists implanted 36 electrodes in its spinal cord, followed by tests to see how different stimulations of these electrodes could affect its movement.


During the experiment, the two monkeys were hooked up such that the brain scans of the master could control the avatar's movements in real time. The avatar monkey, though unconscious, had its hand attached to a joystick.


The master monkey was then coaxed to think about moving its partner's hand in and up and down motion in order to direct a computer cursor to a target — which it was able to do 98% of the time.


Direct to Spinal Cord


The experiment successfully demonstrated that it's possible to control the movement of a limb without having to directly stimulate muscles. Eventually, more refined versions may be designed to allow a paralyzed person to control their own movements.


But for that to work, neuroscientists will have to create something far more precise and robust. Brain waves — particularly across a section of 100 neurons — are far too limited for more detailed physical applications. It may be some time before scientists will be able to achieve more than just two-dimensional up and down hand movements. In all likelihood, they'll have to develop a system that takes other neurological transmissions into account.


The other ramification of this study, of course, is the prospect of "neural coupling" — where two or more people are connected via brain interfaces (again, we're talking about something significantly more powerful). This would allow people to control the movements of their partners. Applications could range from everything through to physical rehabilitation through to recreation.


Read the entire study at Nature Communications: "A cortical–spinal prosthesis for targeted limb movement in paralysed primate avatars."


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Brain interface lets one monkey control the movements of another

Will a superhero movie ever win the Academy Award for Best Picture? onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Will a superhero movie ever win the Academy Award for Best Picture?

Will a superhero movie ever win the Academy Award for Best Picture?


Greetings, folks. Sorry if I'm a bit snappy today in my answers; but I'm in a bad mood. I set up the first mailbox in town so people could drop off their letters (and I didn't have to personally pick them up), but someone, I don't know who, keeps pooping in it. I know civilization's been destroyed for 30 years, but COME ON. Have some goddamn decency.




Up the Academy



Brian L.:


Dear Postman,


Can a comic book movie, or more specifically a superhero movie, ever win an Oscar?


I know there were some rumours about Dark Knight Rises getting a nomination that didn't pan out, and that Heath Ledger won one for his Joker, but do you think there will a comic book/superhero movie that get an Oscar?



A comic book movie might, but a superhero movie never will. Period.


That's mostly because the Academy is a sham. They stopped actually awarding the Best Picture Oscar to the year's best movie decades ago. Now it's purely a popularity contest, based way too much on box office, coupled with the Academy's egotistical sense of what an "important" movie should be. Hey, do you want to win an Oscar? Make a movie about the power of movies, like The Artist and Argo.


Superhero movies will always be considered low-brow entertainment for us plebs, and thus they will never get recognized (the fact that a fantasy movie like Return of the King won is a miracle made possibly only by Peter Jackson's incredible achievements, the zillion dollars he made, and mostly because it was a particularly anemic year). I say a comic book movie can, because a comic book can be about anything, and thus if you write a comic about, say, how a guy overcomes a physical handicap to direct a movie which inspires America to beat the Nazis, then it can be adapted into a real movie and win pretty easily. But superheroes? No way.


It should probably be noted that when the second Gladiator won Best Picture in 2001, I turned off the Oscars and have never turned them back on again. That's when I knew the system was incredibly, unrepairably fucked.




Will a superhero movie ever win the Academy Award for Best Picture? S


Science Friction



Zdenko V.:


So, a friend of mine and me had an argument the other day about Gravity and does it count as a SF movie or not. His argument is that it's not a SF movie because everything in it is grounded in reality and the technology presented in it is available to us right now. As for me, mine argument that Gravity was a SF movie because it takes place in space and there's such a thing as a Space SF movie (I think).


It quickly devolved to "So, if it happens in space it's a SF" debate and he found a rare exception to it - Apollo 13. I told him that it's a movie about a historical event so it can't be a SF movie but he is using it as his master stroke to end my "If it's in space it's an SF movie" theory.


So, basically... Who is right? Are there not-based-on-historical-events space movies that are not SF?



Gravity is not a true story, so it's fiction. It's set in space, exploring physics and problems that aren't commonly known to people other than the astronauts and the scientists who study them, so I'd say it's perfectly acceptable to call Gravity science fiction.


Science fiction doesn't need to take place in the future, although it normally does. A movie like The Core, in which a group of "scientists" travel underground to "restart" the molten core of the earth and takes place in the present, is also science fiction, even though the "science" it presents makes me want to bleed from my ears.


Your friend is correct in that Apollo 13 isn't science fiction, because it's based on a historical event. Call it "science fact" if you will, but the issue here is that it's not fiction, nothing else. A fictional movie set in space in the past, like the horror flick Apollo 18? Science fiction. Basically, until space travel become prevalent enough that it becomes part of everyday life for people, all movies set in space not based on factual events can be safely and correctly called science fiction. To argue otherwise is extremely pedantic, and since I get paid to argue stupid shit on the internet, if I find it pedantic you know it's ridiculous.




Will a superhero movie ever win the Academy Award for Best Picture?


Con Job



DC John :


Dear Postman,


Over the past weekend I had my first convention experience. I went to Katsucon in DC with my wife and two friends.


I have always liked tech, scifi, and foreign cultures so I was excited to go. We didn't dress up —- maybe this was a mistake because 85%+ of attendees were cosplaying. While walking from one exhibit to another, someone there (who we didn't know and was dressed normally) approached the four of us in the atrium. He said, "did you guys mean to come here?" My friend responded, "Why? Do we look out of place?" Then he said, "Hah! You have no idea."


We didn't know what to make of this. Were we too normal looking? I was wearing a black jacket and jeans. Soon after the interaction we decided we felt self-conscious and that we should leave to get dinner and sangria. Maybe we did something wrong, but I feel dissed. I probably won't go back.



That sucks. I've been to a million nerd-based conventions, most of them anime-centric. Usually I've found that anime fans are the most accepting of people, maybe because it's a such specific, but still kind of wide fandom. Maybe that's changed over the past few years; it's been a while since I've been to one.


But were you too normal looking? No. Fuck no. You don't have any obligation to dress up for a con. Plenty of people do, but there's no rule. I certainly never did, and no one ever gave me shit for it. You go to cons to have fun, hang around like-minded people, and probably buy some shit you don't need and could have ordered cheaper on line, whether you're cosplaying or dressed in a tuxedo. It sounds like that guy was just a bit of an asshole, and you shouldn't let one jerk ruin you experience, especially if you were enjoying yourself otherwise.


One more thing: if you're into nerd stuff other than anime, you might think about heading to a comic con or a more general nerd con. Anime fans are really into cosplay, which is why you end up with that 85% of attendees dressed up. At other cons the ratio is more like 10-20%. But still, there's no unspoken rule you have to cosplay. Fuck that guy for making you feel bad.




Will a superhero movie ever win the Academy Award for Best Picture? S


War Bonds



Gregory M.:


Would it be wrong to ask for a remake of the War of the Worlds tv show? This is probably the only reboot that would hold my interest. The original show was pretty cheesy but, given my age at the time, it was pretty awesome. I still have chills from when the aliens finally reactivated their war machines and we saw the stalk-gun rising and firing with that iconic noise.


What could we do to make this happen? Nostalgia demands it! Nostalgia must be satisfied!



Would it be wrong? No. There's no crime in wanting a reboot of anything, especially not the War of the Worlds TV series. It's not like the original is some perfect masterpiece that can never be replicated.


What could you do to make this happen? Go to Hollywood, get hired on a movie, rise through the ranks until you become a producer, be really successful, and then pitch a reboot to a TV network. No amount of letter-writing or online petitions will ever amount to anything.


Or you could just wait. War of the Worlds is one of those things that's going to be remade over and over again for the rest of time. Eventually some network will use it as the basis for a new series. Just hope it's a good one.




Will a superhero movie ever win the Academy Award for Best Picture? S


DC Gridlock



Misty H.:


Rob,


Can you please shed some light on what happened with the Batwoman title? It has been on of my favorites since the New 52 reboot. Looks like a "do it this way or else" from management or a 30 second notice from Williams.



I've discussed this before, but I'm happy to repeat it because it's still so ridiculous.


After J.H. Williams III and Haden Blackman wanted Batwoman, a.k.a Kate Kane, to marry her long-time partner Maggie Sawyer. DC said no, even though they approved of Maggie and Cathy getting engaged. Williams and Blackman were so upset by DC's decision that they voluntarily left the book.


DC claims there Batwoman's homosexuality had nothing to do with their decision, and that the sole reason they refused the marriage is because they don't want any of their heroes married, in order to keep them relatable to their young readers. I believe them, although it was clearly a snap decision that forced them to retcon Aquaman's marriage to Mera (and ignored the fact that Animal Man was married, and his family was a fundamental part of his character) well after the New 52 started. Also, claiming that marriage somehow negates a character — especially a lesser tier one like Batwoman — is completely bullshit for reasons I detail here, but I believe that DC believes it.


But at the very bottom line, I think DC put themselves in a position where they had to say, out loud, "We do not want this gay character to get married." This is insane on so many levels. One, it's 2014 (well, 2013 when it happened). Two, they'd recently hired Orson Scott Card and could totally have used something like this to offset the outcry over hiring a vocal homophobe. Three, the fact that they thought they could make this decision and it not leak out and bite them tremendously on the ass is absolutely crazy.


It's amazing what a bad decision this was on pretty much every single level. There was literally no good that could have possible come out of DC denying Batwoman's marriage, and they still thought it was the right thing to do. Madness.




Will a superhero movie ever win the Academy Award for Best Picture? S


Spider Bites



C.J. MacD:


Rob,


I'm probably in the minority of what I'm about to say, but I am not looking forward to "The Amazing Spider-Man 2." I know a lot of people like this whole new continuity for Spider-Man, but I did not like the first movie nor do I think it deserves the praise it gets. And quite frankly, the trailers to the new film look terrible in my eyes. I think it has bad effects, bad dialogue, bad jokes, and a story that seems to have no real narrative other than to lead up to another movie. I guess part of my hatred comes from the fact that I'm a fan of the Raimi films (Yes, even Spider-Man 3. Bite me.), but my mind tells me that these are movies made only for financial purposes and that these are genuinely bad films.


But that's not why I'm contacting you for. I get the feeling that I'm actually excited to see this movie suck. I'm counting the days for when the film comes out and I can (hopefully) rage about it as much as I can. And, quite frankly, this has gotten me more hyped up than any movie that I actually want to like. So is it wrong of me to feel more negatively towards something as opposed to something else positively? Do you think it's bad for my health? I actually like being happy.



If pre-hating things and looking forward to them sucking is bad for your health, then I'm in serious trouble. Although I'm also in terrible health, so… maybe this is not a coincidence. Hmm.


I will say that although I found the first Amazing Spider-Man movie bland and kind of useless (in that it didn't do anything the first Sam Raimi film hadn't already) I personally don't pre-hate ASM2. I like that Garfield's Peter Parker seems to be more quippy and less asshole-y, I admit Foxx's Electro is extremely cheesy but that's not the worst problem in the world for a superhero movie to have, and although all the rumored villains could very, very easily end up as a godawful mess, I have to admit I'm kind of excited at the possibility of seeing the Sinister Six on-screen, however it turns out.




Do you have questions about anything scifi, fantasy, superhero, or nerd-related? Email the postman@io9.com! No question too difficult, no question too dumb! Obviously


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Will a superhero movie ever win the Academy Award for Best Picture?

The Most Detailed Saturn V Cutaway We've Ever Seen onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com The Most Detailed Saturn V Cutaway We've Ever Seen

The Most Detailed Saturn V Cutaway We've Ever Seen S


NASA's Saturn V remains the only launch vehicle in history to catapult humans beyond low-Earth orbit. In this beautiful cutaway – what appears to be an original diagram from Boeing's Space Division – the legendary rocket's internal workings are laid bare in captivating detail.


The diagram, which features precise measurements and technical details on the rocket's various components, was drawn by Don Sprague and is dated March 1st, 1967 [click here to see it in high-res]. The rocket's maiden flight would occur eight months later on November 9th, 1967, with the Apollo 4 test launch. Its final voyage, on May 14th, 1973, helped place Skylab 1 – the United States' first space station – into Earth orbit. In the intervening years, the Saturn V would launch a total of two dozen astronauts to the Moon. What a beautifully documented bit of space history.


Complement with XKCD's UpGoerFive comic, this #upgoerfive about Saturn, and the latest concept images of NASA's next generation heavy lift rocket.


[Spotted on Silodrome]


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com The Most Detailed Saturn V Cutaway We've Ever Seen

Walking Dead's Norman Reedus to star as an apocalyptic janitor in Air onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Walking Dead's Norman Reedus to star as an apocalyptic janitor in Air

Walking Dead's Norman Reedus to star as an apocalyptic janitor in Air S


Everyone's favorite Walking Dead character is getting his own personal apocalypse movie. Set in an underground facility isolated from the destroyed future Earth, Norman Reedus is the caretaker for the only survivors left on the planet, who all happen to be frozen.


The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Djimon Hounsou and Reedus will be starring in the movie titled Air, which is also produced by Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman. Christian Cantamessa (who co-wrote the script with Chris Pasetto) will make his directorial debut on this film. Here's the premise (it's kind of wacky):



The story is set in an underground cryogenic facility after a nuclear fall-out renders the atmosphere unbreathable. Air centers on its two custodial workers (Reedus, Hounsou) who take care of the cryogenically sleeping personnel that are to re-establish society but they struggle to preserve their own sanity and lives while maintaining the extremely fragile environment of the last livable place on earth.



Honestly, more Reedus is like more pizza — always good. So we're down. Fingers crossed for our boy Daryl and his wonderful poncho of many colors.


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Walking Dead's Norman Reedus to star as an apocalyptic janitor in Air

Show us what you're working on! onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Show us what you're working on!

Show us what you're working on!


We were seriously impressed by the projects you showed us last time, ranging from these awesome geek-themed alphabet blocks to fun with laser scanning microscopes. Now we want more.


Top image: Handcrafted geek alphabet wooden blocks — from Ada Lovelace to Zombies — from commenter Jonathan Guberman.


What are you working on now? Either update us on the progress of the project that you showed us last time or tell us about a new project. io9 show-and-tell time begins now!


Show us what you're working on! S


Image: 3D reconstruction of a segment of an axon fiber from commenter TimF101, who is using a laser scanning microscope to trace the fibers from their cell bodies to their terminals.


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Show us what you're working on!

Superpower vision lets cats and dogs see in ultraviolet onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Superpower vision lets cats and dogs see in ultraviolet

Superpower vision lets cats and dogs see in ultraviolet


A new study suggests dogs and cats can see things that are invisible to humans — from psychedelic stripes on flowers to flashy patterned feathers on birds. Scientists say the secret behind this remarkable "superpower" is ultraviolet light detection.


Given their sleek ways, cats have long been a symbol of mysticism, and now the reputation gets a boost from new research that finds common house cats see things that are invisible to us.


Everything from psychedelic stripes on flowers to flashy patterned feathers on birds are likely detectable by cats and certain other animals, while humans remain oblivious to such things. We are also — perhaps luckily — missing out on seeing a whole world of urine markers blanketing the landscape.


UV Light Detection


The secret behind the feline vision "superpower" is ultraviolet light (UV) detection. A new paper, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, found that cats, dogs and certain other animals see this form of light that is usually invisible to humans.


"There are many examples of things that reflect UV, which UV sensitive animals could see that humans can't," co-author Ronald Douglas told Discovery News. "Examples are patterns on flowers that indicate where nectar is, urine trails that lead to prey, and reindeer could see polar bears as snow reflects UV, but white fur does not."


A reindeer, a cat and a dog could therefore probably see a white-furred animal, such as a bunny, hopping through a snow blizzard, while most people would just see a blur of all white.


Douglas, a professor of biology at City University London specializing in the visual system, and co-author Glen Jeffery, a professor of neuroscience at University College London, determined that cats, dogs, rodents, hedgehogs, bats, ferrets and okapis all detect substantial levels of UV.


"It has been known for nearly a hundred years that many invertebrates, such as bees, see UV," Douglas said, adding that birds, fish, and some reptiles and amphibians were added to the list in more recent decades.


"However," he added, "it was assumed that most mammals do not see UV because they have no visual pigment maximally sensitive in the UV and (instead possess) lenses like those of man, that prevent UV reaching the retina."


Ocular Media


He explained that visual pigments are the substances that absorb light and turn it into the electrical activity that nerve cells transmit. They turn out not to be always necessary for UV sensitivity. Instead, the "ocular media" (transparent parts of the eye like the cornea and crystalline lens) in certain animals transmits UV wavelengths.


The ability allows more light to reach the retina, "which would be good for a nocturnal cat," Douglas said.


The skill might also help to explain why cats become obsessed with unusual objects, like sheets of paper.


Man-made optical brighteners are sometimes added to paper, fabrics, laundry detergents, cosmetics and shampoos to make them appear brighter. Since optical brighteners absorb light in the UV spectrum, they might appear different, or stand out more, to UV-sensitive animals.


Certain people, such as those who have had their lenses replaced during cataract surgery, can see at least some UV, but most humans cannot.


"We do all assume that it (UV) may be harmful," Jeffery told Discovery News. "I work a lot in the Arctic where UV levels can be very high, particularly in spring and early summer when there is still a lot of snow and ice. These surfaces reflect 90 percent of the UV, so the animals are exposed from above and below. If you do not have snow goggles on, your eyes hurt within 15 minutes."


Studies on reindeer, however, find that repeated exposure to UV doesn't bother them at all.


Cats, reindeer and other animals built to detect UV might be protected from this visual damage in some way. It's also thought that UV light tends to create more blurry images.


"Now, if there is one thing humans are good at, it's seeing detail," Douglas said. "Perhaps that's why they have a lens that removes the UV. If they didn't, the world would appear more blurred."


This article originally appeared at Discovery News.


Image: Paris Owl/Shutterstock.


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Superpower vision lets cats and dogs see in ultraviolet

Is Robert Redford hiding a huge, insane secret in Captain America 2? onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Is Robert Redford hiding a huge, insane secret in Captain America 2?

Is Robert Redford hiding a huge, insane secret in Captain America 2?


Donal Logue talks Harvey Bullock's clash with Jim Gordon in Gotham. There might be romance amongst the new characters in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Go behind the scenes of Terry Gilliam's Zero Theorem, and check out amazing new X-Men character images. Plus, a look at a new Star Wars Rebels character and important penis-related news from Star-Crossed. Spoilers now!


Captain America: The Winter Soldier


Over the weekend, Amazon UK accidentally posted what might be the track listing for the soundtrack. If it's for real, there are two listings that reveal two major, huge plot points. One is "Alexander Pierce is the Red Skull," which links Robert Redford's character in the sequel to the villain played by Hugo Weaving in the first movie. The second is "Quill's SOS," which indicates that Chris Pratt's Guardians of the Galaxy character will appear in The Winter Soldier.


While neither of these things are totally out of the realm of possibility, the soundtrack lists the first as being both three seconds long and halfway through the movie, which seems way early for such a reveal. Also, the purported track listing has several tracks named after Police Academy movies, which throws up a giant red flag. Plus it seems unlikely that anybody would be silly enough to give away such major plot points in the titles for music cues.


So, chances are these aren't real — but here's the rumored track listing:



1. Mission to Moscow (4:42)

2. Opening Titles (3:43)

3. Back in Training (3:03)

4. Fast and Fury-ous (2:24)

5. City Under Siege (5:38)

6. Friendly Fire (3:19)

7. The Pursuit of Justice (1:59)

8. S.H.I.E.L.D. Blows Up (1:23)

9. Civil War (3:51)

10. Alexander Pierce is the Red Skull (0:03)

11. The Falcon and The Snowman (4:12)

12. Going Down (2:32)

13. Old-Fashioned (1:37)

14. Comrades in Arms (2:47)

15. Finale (8:19)

16. Assignment Miami Beach (2:12)

17. The Date (1:46)

18. End Credits (15:41)

19. Quill's S.O.S.(1:15)



[Screen Crush]


The rumor that Robert Redford is Red Skull gains a slight bit of respectability from the fact that the Captain America: The Winter Soldier toy line was recently unveiled, and it included a Red Skull figure. Redford did say he was playing a villain, and it could be that his character, Alexander Pierce, is possessed by Red Skull, a la Ed Brubaker's Captain America run. [Comic Book Resources]




Star Wars


According to AICN, two different sources say Jack Reynor (Transformers: Age of Extinction) has already been cast. There's literally no way to tell at this point if that's true or if it's an exaggeration based on the fact that everyone has auditioned for Episode VII. [First Showing]




Avengers: Age of Ultron


Movies.com poses this question: Since Avengers: Age of Ultron has cast both Vision and the Scarlet Witch, could the film be interpreting their romance from the comics? The pairing goes back to the 70s, but ended with Vision's memory being wiped clean in 1989. This is, of course, speculation based on the characters' comics history. Given that the assumption by many is that Paul Bettany's Vision will be in some way related to the movies version of Jarvis (who has been voiced by Bettany), there's always the chance that the movie will go somewhere else with these two characters. Read more about the Scarlet Witch and Vision's history at the link. [Movies.com]


This week, the Avengers sequel is filming in South Africa. It's also already announced it will be filming in Italy. Now, we can add South Korea to the list of international locations that will be used in the film. Here's what Marvel's Kevin Feige had to say about it:



South Korea is the perfect location for a movie of this magnitude because it features cutting-edge technology, beautiful landscapes and spectacular architecture. We would especially like to thank the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) for making it possible for 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' to come to Korea.



[Marvel.com]




Avatar 2,3, and 4


James Cameron recently spoke to RTL about the status of the Avatar sequels, saying:



We're still in the early stages. Right now we're developing the software. I'm writing the scripts. We're designing all the creatures and characters and the settings, and so on. So, I'm not actually directing yet, but I'm doing all the other creative processes that lead up to that.


. . . It's going very well. I think it's going to be spectacular. You'll see new worlds, new habitats, new cultures. The primary conflict between the human view kind of dominating nature and the Na'vi view of being integrated into nature is the same, but it manifests itself in very different ways.



He also said that the sequels will definitely take less time to film than the original, since they're not creating the technology this time around



The first film… took almost four years to make. We expect to be able to accelerate the process quite a bit, because we've improved a lot of the software and the computer graphics tools, and we've been working very closely with Weta Digital down here in New Zealand developing a whole new suite of tools to speed up the process.



The thing that may be different is that Cameron's considering cranking up the frame rate, like Peter Jackson did for The Hobbit:



[I'm] looking at high frame rate. I'm studying that. I haven't made a final decision yet, whether the entire film will be made at high frame rate or parts of it. You know, we'll be shooting at a native resolution of probably 4K and so then there should be a lot of true 4K theaters by then as well.


The thing that's great about 'Avatar,' it's such a rich world, I can explore any theme or any idea that I want. Once you've got the characters that an audience loves, it's great to surprise them and make changes and turns that they don't expect. And you don't have to spend so much time of the movie setting up all that stuff, because the audience will remember from the previous film.



[Coming Soon]




X-Men: Days of Future Past


Here are some great photos of future!Iceman, Wolverine, and Shadowcat. All of which serve to downplay past!Beast's awesomeness. [via @Marvel_Freshman on Twitter]


Is Robert Redford hiding a huge, insane secret in Captain America 2? S


Is Robert Redford hiding a huge, insane secret in Captain America 2? S


Is Robert Redford hiding a huge, insane secret in Captain America 2?


Is Robert Redford hiding a huge, insane secret in Captain America 2? S




Interstellar


This is all Matthew McConaughey can say about Christopher Nolan's Interstellar:



Here's what I can tell you: It's the most ambitious thing he's ever done. And he's done some ambitious stuff.



He did go on to describe what kind of atmosphere Nolan created:



There's no fucking around on set. He's a great problem solver. In that way, he's very indie. Here's a guy who could have whatever budget he wants — and we finished shooting early.



Nolan, for his part, had nothing but praise for McConaughey's work:



Matthew works from the inside out. He approaches a character from a deep human understanding, refusing to take shortcuts to an emotional connection with the audience — all while never losing sight of the demands of the overall narrative.



[Variety]




Batman Vs. Superman


Forbes' Mark Hughes had previously tweeted that we'd be getting a look at the suit right about now, but that's apparently been pushed back by the studio due to delays in the filming. Which may indicate more than just a picture of the suit on a dummy, since we know it's been seen by at least Kevin Smith, Jennifer Garner, and Matt Damon, all of whom have been quoted as loving it. Hughes said that it's not confirmed, but that he believes it'll now take until March to see it. He added:



The upside is, the reveal sounds like it'll be bigger & cooler than previously thought.



[HNGN]




Guardians of the Galaxy


Marvel.com has released a guide to the various weapons of the Guardians of the Galaxy characters, which may indicate what will be included in the movie. It lists Star-Lord's strategy-enhancing helmet, Gamora's Godslayer sword (although the guide notes that she lost it in the comics, but that swords "remain her primary weapon of choice"), Rocket Raccoon's laser pistols, and "Groot's Roots." More about the weapons as they appear in the comics, at the link. [Marvel.com]




Zero Theorem


Here are three behind-the-scenes featurettes from Terry Gilliam's upcoming film. [Coming Soon]




Gotham


Donal Logue, who'll be playing Harvey Bullock, says if the show's set in the past at all, it's the near-recent past, and not decades ago:



You know what, that's hard for me to really get into, I don't want to say. But there were a couple of examples of modern technology, but maybe an antiquated version of it, that gave me a little bit of sense that it's certainly not the 50s and the 60s. No one's making a joke about how "there's no way you can press a telephone button and have a piece of paper show up in another machine." There is an acceptance of a certain technological reality. But its not high tech and it's not futuristic, by any means.



And yet, Logue still feels like there's a bit of a older feel to the show:



What I do love about Gotham, that I can say so far, is that it creates this incredible world that, for me, you can step into things that almost feel like the roaring 20s, and then there's this other really kind of heavy Blade Runner vibe floating around. It has this anachronistic element to it where it feels like it's either New York in the 70s, or it kind of exists independently of time and space in a way, and you can dip into all of these different genres. So I'm excited by it.


There are elements of it that are completely contemporary and there are pieces of it that are very old-fashioned. I'm excited to see which way they go with the production design and wardrobe and all that kind of stuff. My main concern to start with, I was just going over this relationship between him and Gordon, just to find out how that dynamic plays out. Just to do my homework, basically.



He also guarantees that Bullock's looser approach to rules will bring him into conflict with the idealistic Jim Gordon:



Not only do I foresee it, I guarantee that is the complete and utter core of the conflict. One guy's been around Chinatown for a long time, and knows how it has to work. Someone who's come in from a more idealistic world – not to say non-violent, he's coming back from the war – steps into it, and absolutely there's a huge moral quandary.


I had a friend who's a combat vet of Iraq and Afghanistan, and he was telling me the other day about one of his partners who, after retiring from active military life became a police officer in New Orleans, and how much it threw him. And it's not that violence throws the person, it's just the nature of it and who's doing it.


It's a lot like Gotham , where there's kind of an ambiguous line between good and bad. We have to let certain bad guys do certain things, in order for the greater good, for this machine to keep working. And then someone comes in who's like "no, I have a much more black and white view, I'm not into this notion of moral relativism. There's right and there's wrong."


And what is law? Is law this platonic form of truth that floats in space that is fixed, or is it something that's this arbitrary thing where it's like "the law is me and you, right now, in this car. Whatever we determine, that's the law." And that's the kind of thing that will be a conflict in this show.



More from Logue at the link. [Nerdrep]




Once Upon a Time


The return of Once Upon a Time on March 9th will spend time with both Emma and Henry in New York and the rest of the crew in the Enchanted Forest. Chris Gorham's still-unnamed character is apparently a big part of Emma and Henry's life and Hook's having problems adjusting to New York. He will be pulling out a number of tricks to try to get Emma to believe him, though.


In the Enchanted Forest, everyone from Storybrooke will stick together, save one character who embarks on a quest of their own. TV Line's saying that "Belle has a plan," so I wonder if it could be her. This part of the story will flashback a year to show everyone's arrival in Storybrooke, and their run-ins with other familiar faces (Mulan? Aurora? Robin Hood?). One of the people the Storybrookers reacquaint themselves with keeps something huge from them.


And we'll see Snow White playing wingman for Regina, who is trying "drastic measures" to get over the loss of Henry. And we'll reportedly be getting the Wicked Witch's flying monkeys right out of the gate. [TV Line]


We've heard that Rebecca Mader's Wicked Witch will be wholly new, and Ginnifer Goodwin says that they've done that by making her as nice as Snow White:



[The Wicked Witch] is seemingly a kindred spirit to Snow White, which is part of what makes her so evil. She seems so genuinely kind and has a way of becoming intimate with others and making them trust her…. Rebecca Mader called her 'Mary Poppins,' because she was just so damn likeable!


. . . She [Mader] wanted her to be manipulative and conniving, something of an investigato. But then she realized, 'No, what would actually be wicked would be to match Snow's sweetness and really seem like someone cut from the same cloth.'



Goodwin also hinted that Emma might be playing a bit of Dorothy, since part of her theme will be coming home. [TV Line]




Star-Crossed


Star Matt Lanter talked about what makes the Atrians aliens, apart from their tattoo-looking birth marks:



As we go on in the series more things come out, more kinda cool secrets about things they can and can't do. Our producer has said this so I know I can say this without getting in trouble: We can breathe through our skin. So that's kind of a cool thing that the tattoos can do. There's a lot of cool visual effects as well that kind of go along with that. Atrians have two hearts. They have two sets of lungs. They have a lot of allergies. They age quicker.



Most importantly, Lanter answered the vital question of whether or not Atrians have three penises:



That's a rumor going on in the school. Not true.



Just when they started sounding interesting. [She Knows]


Here's the synopsis for the second episode, "These Violent Delights Have Violent Ends":



EMERY TRIES TO REACH OUT TO ROMAN AFTER THE TRAGEDY AT THE SECTOR


Roman (Matt Lanter) and Sophia (guest star Brina Palencia) prepare for a funeral. Roman is surprised and suspicious when his Uncle Castor (guest star Johnathon Schaech) shows up in the sector offering to help the family. Meanwhile, Emery (Aimee Teegarden) tries to talk to Roman about what happened, but he doesn't want anything to do with her. Upset, Emery turns to Grayson (Grey Damon). Meanwhile, the Atrian Seven are invited to the school carnival. However, the fun ends after Drake (Greg Finley) is kidnapped and Roman finds out the Trags are preparing a hit on Emery and her family at the carnival. Gary Fleder directed the episode written by Meredith Averill (#102).



And here's one for the third episode, "Or Toil Shall Strive to Mend":



ARRIVAL DAY - It's the tenth anniversary of "Arrival Day" and the town is preparing a commemoration for the fallen soldiers. Gloria (guest star Victoria Platt) selects a small group of human teenagers who will spend some time inside the sector to see what it's like to be an Atrian for a day. In addition, Gloria assigns Emery (Aimee Teegarden) the task of filming the interactions. While Grayson (Grey Damon) offers to help her with the project, Roman (Matt Lanter) strongly objects to Emery going inside the sector. Despite Roman's concern for her safety, Emery decides to move forward with the project. While Sophia (Brina Palencia) is excited to show everyone around her pod, Teri (Chelsea Gilligan) and Drake (Greg Finley) resent the intrusion and decide to have a little fun at the humans' expense. However, when Drake is kidnapped during the tour, he's surprised by who is behind the abduction. Meanwhile, Julia (Malese Jow) confronts Roman with her suspicions about cyper. Deran Sarafian directed the episode written by Adele Lim (#103).



[K Site TV]




Star Wars Rebels


Yet another new character has been unveiled: Zeb. On the ship the show will follow, the Ghost, Zeb is the "muscle." Here's Disney's description of him:



Zeb is a well-trained honor guard and is highly educated, according to executive producer Dave Filoni, which juxtaposes his brutish, alien appearance. He's voiced by Steve Blum, who says, "He's got a bit of a chip on his shoulder, hates Chopper and is starting to build a relationship with Ezra, begrudgingly."


Zeb's favorite pastime: beating up Stormtroopers, or bucket heads, as he's heard calling them. He's an agile fighter, using his hands, feet, and acrobatics. But there is more to Zeb than pounding Imperials. "It's just going to be exciting to develop him and his bizarre new species," says Filoni, "and to explain to the audience where he came from."



Below is a picture of Zeb, concept art, and an introductory video:


Is Robert Redford hiding a huge, insane secret in Captain America 2? S


Is Robert Redford hiding a huge, insane secret in Captain America 2? S




Grimm


Reggie Lee discussed Wu's first encounter with a mythological character and how he helped the writers come up with what it will be:



As the season moves on, characters start to form a little more, and you see the formation of this sort of gang of people who start working together in order to solve crime and help Nick out – except for Wu!


It's funny I've had so many responses from people, saying 'he needs to find out'; well this will be the season Wu sees something for the first time, and it affects him differently to everyone else. They way they've created it, it's akin to his culture. It's a fairy tale. The writers asked me if I knew any Filipino or Chinese fairy tales, and I said I knew a slew. Especially in island countries there's all this folklore; people have very little to do in the village area, so they create these things. So [the writers] ended up using one of them to facilitate me seeing something for the first time. I can't give it away, but it will definitely affect him for the episodes after that, and possibly for the rest of the season.



[Den of Geek]




Warehouse 13


Here's a trailer for season 5. [via SpoilerTV]




Agents of SHIELD


Go here for more photos from episode 14, "T.A.H.I.T.I." Looks like Coulson and Co. are doing some confronting. [SpoilerTV]


Is Robert Redford hiding a huge, insane secret in Captain America 2? S




Person of Interest


Here are photos from episode 3.15, "Last Call." Get a look at Finch's undercover uniform. [SpoilerTV]


Is Robert Redford hiding a huge, insane secret in Captain America 2? S




Once Upon a Time in Wonderland


Episode 12 will be called "To Catch a Thief" and the finale will be called "And They Lived..." [SpoilerTV]




Bitten


Go here for photos from episode 7, "Stalking." [SpoilerTV]


Is Robert Redford hiding a huge, insane secret in Captain America 2? S




Revolution


Here's the title and description of episode 2.16:



Exposition Boulevard


Upon returning to Willoughby, Monroe, Charlie and Connor find the Patriots' reeducation center is up and running; Rachel and Miles are at odds on how far they are willing to go to take down the Patriots; Neville and Jason find a new ally.



[SpoilerTV]




Almost Human


Here's the promo for episode 1.12, "Beholder." [via SpoilerTV]


Additional reporting by Charlie Jane Anders and Emily Stamm


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Is Robert Redford hiding a huge, insane secret in Captain America 2?

Selasa, 18 Februari 2014

The first full-length Guardians of the Galaxy just got us really excited onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

Written By 12; About: The first full-length Guardians of the Galaxy just got us really excited onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com on Selasa, 18 Februari 2014

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com The first full-length Guardians of the Galaxy just got us really excited

Here it is: The very first trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy, the misfits in space movie from Super director James Gunn. And it's hilarious.


Yep, Marvel's next movie is exactly what we'd hoped it would be — screamingly funny. The first ever trailer is made up of new footage, character shots and a bit of the footage that we saw at San Diego Comic-Con. We're seeing a lot of alien shenanigans, and we are liking what we are seeing!


Guardians of the Galaxy hits theaters on August 1st.


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com The first full-length Guardians of the Galaxy just got us really excited

Composite sketch shows the difference between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Composite sketch shows the difference between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Composite sketch shows the difference between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde S


Assuming the differences between Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Edward Hyde are a matter of personality, carriage, and grooming, just how different do they look from one another? Using police sketch software, an artist envisions the faces of Jekyll and Hyde.


Brian Joseph Davis has been translating descriptions of fictional characters into portraits using law enforcement composite software for a while now, but this Jekyll and Hyde portrait pairing is especially interesting as it shows two personas who share a face but not an appearance. Here are the excerpts from Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that Davis used to make these portraits:



To this rule, Dr. Jekyll was no exception; and as he now sat on the opposite side of the fire—a large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast perhaps, but every mark of capacity and kindness…The large handsome face of Dr. Jekyll grew pale to the very lips, and there came a blackness about his eyes.



And:



Mr. Hyde was pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation, he had a displeasing smile…thickly shaded with a swart growth of hair…corded and hairy…God bless me, the man seems hardly human! Something troglodytic…Edward Hyde was so much smaller, slighter, and younger than Henry Jekyll. Even as good shone upon the countenance of the one, evil was written broadly and plainly on the face of the other…The few who could describe him differed widely, as common observers will. Only on one point, were they agreed; and that was the haunting sense of unexpressed deformity with which the fugitive impressed his beholders.



You can see more of Davis' portraits at the Composites Tumblr.


The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson [Composites via Nerdcore]


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Composite sketch shows the difference between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Honest Trailers reveals Gravity is an epic tale of bumping into stuff onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Honest Trailers reveals Gravity is an epic tale of bumping into stuff

You know you can still mock good movies, right? That's why Honest Trailers chose Gravity — a film they clearly genuinely like — for its newest installment. It's still just as funny as when they take on crap like Batman & Robin. And besides, now we know Gravity would be even better with pinball sound effects.


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Honest Trailers reveals Gravity is an epic tale of bumping into stuff

Being Human is back to its old self. Finally. onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Being Human is back to its old self. Finally.

Being Human is back to its old self. Finally. S


Being Human is back, kind of. Honestly still not sure what to make of this season, but at least the show is starting to feel like its old self again.


First up apologies for missing the recap last week, but...


Being Human is back to its old self. Finally. S


As you can see from this picture of myself, I was sick. Sorry, much better — let's move on.


And that's a shame, because last week was a fun episode. There was a bit of excellent historical vampire hair flashback. We got to see Aidan in his best little old-timey mustache. It was scary, both for the mustache and for the women that he murdered. It was all very clappy, clappy, camp, camp. Especially when he started singing to his victim and later showed up drunk to the werewolf party and did this:


Being Human is back to its old self. Finally. S


And that's good, because this show is at its best when its bridging the gap between cute and campy. Aidan continued on his blood binge, hitting on Sally and doing "the curtain." It was all very odd, and I am NOT a fan of these two getting together so I'm glad it's over. ON TO THIS WEEK.


Do you guys remember Sally's probably real life brother (no I'm not looking it up) Robbie? Of course you do, because that is literally Sally with a TERRIBLE wig. Seriously, they are both very pretty but Robbie's present-day hair has got to go. Moving on. Pretty, pretty Robbie shows up and says, "GET OUT." Because he has papers and forms, and is going to sell their house. He even goes as far as moving into the basement, so he can continue to sell the house and figure out why it smells like hell (Sally did it), which I'm sure is a totally legal thing to do. But there's no time to debate it — because Robbie is now dead. Killed by the brand new kid closet ghost Lil' Smoky, whom we have really got to get to know.


Full truth? I'm OK with Robbie dying, because hopefully this means no more Robbie flashbacks. We didn't need to know that Sally and Robbie love each other because that was already established when she basically sacrificed her life for him many episodes ago. However I would totally be down for a man in the mirror acting exercise where Sally and Robbie stand facing each other in front of a frame and copy what the other person is doing.


Moving on, because that's all you really need to know about Robbie and Sally is that he is maybe now dead. That being said, my money is on someone giving him CPR — and this is all just a out-of-body experience (which incidentally would be perfect for a mirror gag).


On to Josh and Nora. Surprise... they joined the pack. Why? I guess because things went SO well at the werewolf baby party, they just had to join? Right? Of course not right. Eh, I'm not bothered I like seeing the werewolf dynamic take place. So Josh and Nora phase with their new werewolf friends and new werebaby and do not show us any of the werewolf baby as a werewolf, and yet make wildly insupportable claims that said werebaby was cuter than a cat video. A CAT VIDEO. Shenanigans. If you're going to make unsubstantiated claims about things being cuter than internet cat videos, you need to show this video or else you are just a liar.


Unfortunately for Josh his wolf bangs another wolf while they are wolf people.


Being Human is back to its old self. Finally. S


Because OF COURSE HE DID. Josh, the noblest of all human wolf peoples, cheated on his one-month-old wife. OF. COURSE. HE. DID. I refuse to believe you, Being Human. In fact, I reject your drama. It did not happen and is not real — this is not our puppy and I refuse to believe it. The husband of the woman he allegedly wolf-diddled shows up and Josh, understandably Hulks out.


Being Human is back to its old self. Finally. S


Josh wins, because the wolfman always wins. And Nora kicks Josh out of her bedroom because he cheated on her in wolf form. I'm with her. If your wolf knows not to kill Nora while a wolf, it can make "I shan't fuck that" decisions as well.


And now Aidan. Oh Aidan. Aidan. Aidan. Aidan. Aidan. Aidan the weak-willed vampire. He and his wife FINALLY do it, standing up awkwardly in a bar. I'm very happy with this character. Out of all these supernaturals, she is the one with the most common sense and will power. She has a good job, smarts and a pretty good mission: "Kill all the vampires." However she's clearly weighed down from the guilt of killing her only child in a blood lust, which... we getcha, girl. Suzanna is just great, and I'm glad she's getting some even if she did look throughly annoyed with her husband right afterwards. (Didn't she?)


Being Human is back to its old self. Finally. S


At the end, they agreed to continue bumping uglies if Aidan could give up killing people for blood and she could give up killing vampires. Guess who fails? It's Aidan, AIDAN FAILS. Once again he's seen in his pilot pose, crying at the foot of a dead girl's bedroom. Gah, Aidan, you are so bad at being a non-killing vampire. But that's OK — you make it more interesting. But seriously we cannot wait until your wife tells you she killed your kids. He's going to fli-ip.


All in all, I was just happy to get Aidan and Josh in a bar talking about problems. It felt like old times. Pair that with all the spinning plot plates and you once again have a supernatural soap that I don't mind giving my time to. Feels like this show is back on track.


Until next week, let's all practice having forward facing lens standing sex like the pretty vampire people do!


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Being Human is back to its old self. Finally.

Those brain implants may be trickier than you realized onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Those brain implants may be trickier than you realized

Those brain implants may be trickier than you realized S


Ramez Naam, author of Nexus and Crux, has speculated a lot about humans being merged with machines — but he's actually quite skeptical about how quickly this will happen in reality. He's also not sure the Singularity is coming in his lifetime.


Naam is guest blogging over at Charles Stross' blog AntiPope, and all of his posts are incredibly worth reading. In his latest post, he talks about the challenges involved in putting implants into your brain — chief among them the surgical challenges:



The safety bar for doing a surgery to implant something in the human body (let along the human brain) is extremely high.


Indeed, brain surgery itself is biggest barrier to progress here. We're going to need new, less invasive ways to interface brains and electronics if we ever want this to take off. In Nexus I proposed doing this by self-assembling nano-structures, each component of which is small enough to cross the blood-brain barrier. It's sort of a barely-plausible hand wave. Real neuroscientists, however, have somewhat similar ideas. Rudolfo Llinas, who was the Editor in Chief of the journal Neuroscience for 20 years, has proposed inserting somewhere between tens of thousands and millions of nanowires into the brain by sliding them into an artery somewhere else in your body. This approach needs no brain surgery.



If we could upgrade our brains via implants, that would give us a huge advantage in the race against the machines — but meanwhile, we are already using our technology as a "cognitive prosthesis," says Naam.


It's definitely worth reading all of Naam's posts over at Antipope, including the fascinating discussion about the Singularity.


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Those brain implants may be trickier than you realized

Watch Spike Jonze argue with an anchor who thinks Her is about tech onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Watch Spike Jonze argue with an anchor who thinks Her is about tech

Watch Spike Jonze argue with an anchor who thinks Her is about tech


This is fascinating. Spike Jonze went on the BBC and became petulant with a reporter who asked him about his movie Her's theme of "falling in love with software" — something that Jonze didn't appreciate, since he sees the film as a pure love story. Worth seeing for yourself.


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Watch Spike Jonze argue with an anchor who thinks Her is about tech

Perusing the Meat Counter at the Intergalactic Night Market onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Perusing the Meat Counter at the Intergalactic Night Market

Perusing the Meat Counter at the Intergalactic Night Market S


"The trick to preparing Xenomorph at this life stage," the butcher said as he sawed off another leg, "is to cut out the ovipositor. Otherwise, your dinner's just going to be hungry again in an hour."


Night Market Galaxy by Horim [CG Hub via Xombie DIRGE]


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Perusing the Meat Counter at the Intergalactic Night Market

High school student's argument for ammonia-fueled cars is awesome onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com High school student's argument for ammonia-fueled cars is awesome

High school student's argument for ammonia-fueled cars is awesome S


Carbon emissions from cars and other vehicles are a huge part of what is driving current climate changes. Now a high school student has made a passionate argument for ammonia-fueled cars, and he even got it published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.


Doo Won Kang is a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia. Ammonia fuel isn't a new idea, but Kang does a great job explaining how it works, and why it would be a good solution scientifically and economically.


In the Bulletin, Kang explains why ammonia is a good candidate for an alternative fuel:



An ammonia molecule is composed of one nitrogen atom and three hydrogen atoms. Ammonia can be burned in internal combustion engines with minor modifications — emitting only nitrogen and water vapor from the tailpipe, even when only low-cost emissions controls are used. Unburned ammonia and nitrogen oxides in the engine's exhaust would be removed by a selective catalyst reduction system. Ammonia can be produced, at an affordable cost, by a catalytic reaction between nitrogen (obtained from air, which is 78 percent nitrogen) and hydrogen (obtained by splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen).


Ammonia-fueled vehicles operate in much the same way as gasoline-fueled vehicles: Liquid ammonia is burned with oxygen, producing energy that is harnessed to drive the vehicle's wheels. This familiar technology means that ammonia-fueled vehicles can generally be built and maintained in the same way as the current vehicle fleet. But unlike conventionally fueled vehicles, ammonia-powered cars would not emit carbon dioxide.


Most cars on the road can run on a mixture of 90 percent gasoline and 10 percent liquid ammonia, and could be modified to run on a mixture of up to 80 percent ammonia—at a cost of $1,000 to $5,000 per vehicle. An engine that could run entirely on ammonia is currently under development.


A 2005 study by the Risø National Laboratory in Denmark concluded that ammonia would be no more dangerous than current fuels. Ammonia has been used as an industrial and agricultural chemical for more than a century, and it dissipates rapidly when released because it is lighter than air.


The infrastructure for large-scale production and distribution of ammonia already exists worldwide. Gas stations would require only modest changes to dispense ammonia. It can be stored easily in pressurized tanks at relatively low pressure.



Read more at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com High school student's argument for ammonia-fueled cars is awesome