Friday, July 19, 2013

Tweets of the Week: Space Probes, Giant Robots and Teen Inventors


We culled through our tweets (and yours!) this week to pick out some of our favorite links and things. Here's what rose to the top this week. For more, keep up with the action at @BWCnews!

1. NASA Recovers Kepler's Reaction Wheels via NASA.gov: NASA's planet-hunting Kepler Space Telescope already identified more than 3,000 planets. But on May 7 it stopped working when two of its four reaction wheels failed. Since then, the team has been working to fix them. Read more on NASA's Kepler mission website about the space agency's progress on fixing the wheels, which control precision pointing to aid in collecting data about other planets. Via @NASAKepler.

2. Teen Develops Flashlight Powered by the Human Hand via Design News: This 15-year-old Canadian girl invented a "hollow flashlight," which harvests energy from the heat of the human hand. Check it out. Via @DesignNews.


3. 3D Printer Made Almost Entirely From LEGO via Tech & Facts: Another whiz kid created an additive manufacturing machine from LEGOs, turning child's play into something remarkably high tech. Kudos to the curious, the makers, the young scientists! Via @IEEEorg.

4. A Minutes of Motion — Rotary Motion Guide via YouTube: There are endless possibilities for this ring and track assembly, called the HepcoMotion® PRT2 Precision Ring and Track. It's a rotary motion system that comes in stainless steel, is low-friction, flings away debris and includes a clamping brake. What can you build from our rotary motion solutions? Via @BWCnews.

5. Giant Robot Storms San Diego ComicCon 2013 via YouTube: Watch MythBuster's Adam Savage geek out over a talking Transformers-style robot Wired Magazine unveiled at the SoCal comic book, science fiction and costume convention. It's incredible! Via @Wired. (It's so cool, we just have to post the video here ... enjoy!)