And when we say ridiculously tiny, we mean it. So tiny, in fact, that 1,000 of these 3D maps can fit on a single grain of salt. IBM scientists working in tandem across three countries created this minuscule map. A map so tiny that the tallest mountain in the world is reduced to a few nanometers. The map, measuring 22 ...

What can we learn from this image of the surface of the Sun taken in 2007 by the Swedish Solar Telescope. Well, for one, it was a surprise to me that the Sun’s surface is composed of pomegranate seeds. Very very large pomegranate seeds (the white line in the left corner measures 5000 kilometers). And no, those little white dots ...

NASA has announced that they plan to launch their R2 Robonaut into orbit in September, making it the first robo-humanoid resident of the International Space Station. Before launch, the robot/slayer of the human race will be thoroughly tested in conditions ranging from vacuum, low gravity and high radiation. Sure, he might be displaying amazingly good will for now. Just don’t ...

I’m not sure if you can actually call this “talking,” per se, but the oral movements of this robot are more akin to the actual movements of human oral muscles then I’ve seen in other robotic works. It’s certainly worthy of an uncanny feeling. Even if it does sound like one of the bots female attendance got a little bit ...

We’ve seen a few incarnations of the Periodic Table ourselves, but there have been so many different variations and themes that the massive number of designs call for a Periodic Table of Periodic Tables. Included are a collection of some of the web’s most popular and most creative Periodic Table renditions. The Halo Periodic Table was only the tip of ...

And all you’ll need is a few things laying around the house. You know, the usual – 9v batteries, needles.. *ahem* silicon carbide crystals *ahem*, all easily accessible stuff. In all honesty though you apparently can pick up silicon carbide crystals easily enough from eBay. And if you’re really in a pinch you can even use sandpaper, which is made ...

Cornell University’s James Cutting has a theory about Hollywood blockbusters. To be a really engaging potential classic, a movie needs to follow the 1/f�fluctuation, a mathematical theory that attempts to solve the mystery of attention spans. In his research, Cutting measured the shot length of the 150 highest-grossing movies between 1935 and 2005. He then graphed the varying shot lengths ...

Developed in Germany at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, this hand sanitizer uses plasma to zap your hands free of germs. And it’s cheap! With only a $100 production cost. It uses plasma�heated gas, essentially�to clean your hands all over, including underneath your nails. It�s quick: your hands will be clean as a whistle (?) in only four ...

Ok, so it might not be an actual dragon as it doesn’t blow fire, but it’s a lizard… with wings… which is pretty damn close. Hide your treasure and lock up your princesses! Wait a second, what are we scared of, it’s like two inches long. Oh wait, they have parents don’t they? Link [via]

Best0fScience produced this amazing video tour of the entire piss-drinking International Space Station, detailing all of the nooks and nodes of the most diplomatic spacecraft in the known universe. This thing is huge, much bigger and windier than I had ever anticipated. Be warned that the multi-dimensional construction of the ISS leads to some serious nausea-inducing moments, complete with handheld ...