Square rockets? Why not?
Sascha Grant posted images of his square rocket build (built around a BT-50 body tube) on the MAKE Flickr pool. Rocket Squared
Drones & Vehicles
The Copenhagen Wheel
The Copenhagen Wheel recently demonstrated at the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change is a clever device that can store energy every time you apply the breaks and then reapply it in the form of motor assist as you ascend a hill on your bicycle.
Bright Bike v2.0 plus kits!
Michael Mandiberg developed a kit for making your bike super visible to car headlights with retroreflective vinyl tape! It’s easy to apply, looks fly, and comes in several colors. I did up my ride too, check it out above in normal light and below in flash (simulating headlights). The kit makes a great gift for […]
On a unicycle built for two…
Not a whole lot of build info, but this looks like it would be an exciting ride! [Thanks, Star!]
Scooter-bike hybrid
Spotted on the corner of 15th and P St., in Washington, DC, and posted on ReadysetDC. Bike of the Day: 15th + P
How-To: Mount a video camera in a model rocket
James Yawn’s site Recrystallized Rocketry has lots of great information about DIY rocketry, including this great tutorial about mounting a video camera. This hot pink rocket is called the “sugar rush,” because it is powered by Yawn’s homemade potassium nitrate/sugar rocket fuel. [Thanks, Kenneth!]
Rocket fuel from aluminum and ice
The key to the process is that the metallic aluminum is present as a nano-scale powder, and its oxidation by water thus occurs over a huge surface area and therefore proceeds very quickly, releasing amazing amounts of energy. The video starts with the acoustic mixing of the nano-aluminum with water to make a gray paste which is frozen, in a mold, to make a tubular rocket motor. It then proceeds through various test-bench firings and culminates (at 4:00) in the launch of an actual rocket using the mixture.