Related Sections: Future Tech
Walk on water? Pshaw! Now you can write on it
If you thought using a skywriter to propose to your girlfriend was a clever way of spelling something out, take a look at this. Researchers at Akishima Laboratories have developed a way to spell out words and draw pictures on the surface of a pool by using 50 wave generators. The generators create "pixels" in the water and combine them to create the letters. Earlier versions of the pool had trouble creating straight lines and took up to 15 minutes to input each letter. This latest version, however, handles Ks and Ls with ease and takes between 15 and 30 seconds to input each letter. I'm not sure if and when this sort of thing will be available to impress the hell out of your neighbors in your backyard pool, but it's sure to be extremely expensive if it ever does get a commercial release.
Via Gizmowatch
By leefentress at 2:05 PM ON 07/26/06
dude, i want one. or two. or a hundred.
By raefon at 8:36 PM ON 07/26/06
Okay...so what are the practical applications of this? What ever happened to improving the quality of life? I shutter to think how many man hours and how much investment capital it took to pull that off.
By Malacandar at 2:22 PM ON 07/27/06
this is rediculous. I'm with Raefon what happened to improving the quality of life? This is nothing more then parlor tricks and I'm quite sure it cost entirely too much to make... couldn't we perhaps use that time, energy, and brain activity to make something better, like oh I don't know.... maybe figure out cold fusion? or perhaps start smaller and figure out a better fuel for automotives? smaller still how about a way to make lost keys come to you instead of hunting for them (even with the help of the little pager devices it still sucks looking for them)? I mean come on this was just a massive waste of time.. while yes its cool, it is COMPLETELY and TOTALLY Impratical for any use what-so-ever other then giving rich people another way to ask someone to marry them(basicly).
Pffffft, what a total waste of time, money, and energy.
By CovariantGemini at 5:19 PM ON 07/27/06
Practical applications? Well, I suppose that understanding wave dynamics well enough to create stable, formed waves might be a step towards being able to do things like erase tsunamis. Sure, that's a much larger problem but wave dynamics is possibly one of the only solutions to that destructive phenomenon.
By sanzoneguy at 8:08 AM ON 07/29/06
Cold fusion? Stable dynamic wave forms is the first step in micro Cavitation fusion. Currently this is done with ultrasonic wave generators. the math is just about the same only applied on a different scale.
By BraidyLaidy at 8:55 AM ON 08/03/06
I am with CovariantGemini on the anti-tsunami thoughts. I am also of the mind that there could be medical applications for this. Water is used in Physical Therapy all time with humans and animals. Not to mention the fact that this might help us understand how things in space work. After all, are not some practice runs for certain maneuvers to be done in space, done under water.
So, still thinking waste of time, money and energy?
By mikeb270 at 5:38 PM ON 08/03/06
Can it part the red sea???
By billy240z at 5:58 PM ON 08/07/06
I agree with the rest of the post whats the purpose of this .
i RATHER SEE COLD FUSION
By jen at 4:23 PM ON 01/14/09
I miss you
By RobKohr at 7:08 PM ON 01/30/09
For those who see no application... remember most great scientific feats started out as simple experiments that seemed to have no practical value.
By xitrika at 6:36 PM ON 05/09/09
how can see the video about this
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