What does it take to prolong the apocalypse by minutes? Better radars, apparently. Raytheon, an American defense technology giant, has a new video out explaining how multiple types of radars can work together for a more complete picture of an incoming attack. Seeing different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, with different kinds of radar, is a complex topic, and I think Raytheon's video explains it pretty well. There's an exclusive first look at the video at the end of this article. It's about how radars work, but it's also part of the broader world of missile defense, so let's start there first.
Video extracted from a CIA spy drone that Iran captured in 2011 has been broadcast on the country's state television - or that's what Iran says. The video was released in the midst of tightening U.S. sanctions to pressure Iran to limit its nuclear program and rein in institutions that are censoring free speech and political dissent.
Last night, a video supposedly showing a golden eagle swooping down to pluck a toddler from a Montreal park - it was unsuccessful, luckily - hit the internet. Great video! This morning, avian experts both amateur and professional began weighing in, saying the video was doctored, that the bird in question was not actually a golden eagle, that the bird's behaviour is unusual and that, all in all, it's probably fake.
Recent events have shown how social networks can help world unrest get witnessed globally. YouTube was a major player in sending videos of Arab Spring protestors out to masses across the world, but it had its drawbacks: the person protesting in a video was seen everywhere, but they were also seen back at home, where losing anonymity to a despotic government could become dangerous. To counteract that, YouTube is launching a tool to let video uploaders blur faces, hopefully allowing the spread of the videos without bringing danger to the ones in them.
When the roused and active sun flings its energetic particles at Earth, we get to see beautiful aurorae, even in low latitudes of late. Pretty as they are, they don't give a full account of how hard the planet's magnetosphere is working to shield us from the sun's wrath. This new video from the animation whiz team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in the US brings it home.
Google announced just a month or two ago that they were in the advanced stages of work on a pair of augmented reality glasses - a concept we've been waiting for since some sci-fi writer thought of it in decades ago. The company was short on details or, importantly for our fantasies, imagery, until today, when it posted a concept video showing how these glasses might be used. And it's pretty amazing. Video after the jump.
So this video was uploaded on April 1st (*danger! danger!*) but we've known of the Pal-V for a few years and we'll assume for the moment that the Dutch company was not aware of the risk in uploading a video of a flying car on April Fool's Day. The Pal-V, which stands for Personal Air and Land Vehicle, is actually more of a driving autogyro than a flying car, but it can drive like a car, and it can also fly, so we are definitively on board.
