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The study was commissioned by SETE, the Eiffel Tower Operating Company, to gather more data about the strengths and weaknesses of the iconic structure. But that's an even more complicated task than you'd imagine. You've got the usual variables, like the tower's weight (9,369 tons) and added weight from restaurants and such (another 3,306 tons), and the impact of weather on its peculiar design, but there were some unexpected struggles.

The tower is constructed not of the typical steel but of so-called "puddle iron," a popular iron-treatment of the 19th century that involves heating and folding over sheets of iron. It performs totally differently than steel, and so the engineers had to pretty much start from scratch to build an accurate model--they called in materials engineers to reconstruct the long-forgotten puddle iron and perform various tests on it. Other problems included the ludicrous number of separate pieces in the construction (over 18,000, not including additions) and the impact of time (the tower has shrunk a few inches).

But the findings are encouraging for those who love the tower--the engineers at the Technical Center for Mechanical Industries bombarded the model with every conceivable kind of inclement weather, and even doubled the weight, just to see what would happen. In the worst cases, like with the absurd weight gain, a SETE rep notes that "the tower moves, but is not destroyed." As it turns out, the tower's strength is largely due to that near-forgotten puddle iron--the engineers estimate that the tower will still be standing for at least another two or three centuries.

[AFP]

Reaching back to a time when wine was sold in exactly the same fashion – that is, out of huge casks from which customers drew their desired quantity into their own containers for transport – the wine pumps achieve two separate goals that are often at odds with one another by providing at inexpensive product that also has a decreased carbon footprint. The wine goes for something like $2 a liter and, because it cuts down on costly packaging materials as well as packaging mass, it’s greener to transport as well.

The machines are currently installed in eight supermarkets in France, but Dr. Vino seems to think the scheme will come stateside within a year. Which is great, from an eco-lifestyle standpoint. If the more – how do the French say? – prétentieux, glass-swirling, Whole Foods-patronizing wine snobs among us will apply a bring-your-own-container mindset to something as precious as our Viogniers and Pinot Noirs, it might just catch on with other packaging-intensive staples as well (Milk? Eggs? Those individually wrapped yogurt snacks?). Such a return to the commercial mores of a century ago could do a lot to reduce carbon footprints, and costs, across the board.

[Dr. Vino]

The work taps an audio signal processing technique (also invented by a French physicist in 2004) called time reversal signal processing. Using what's known as a time reversal mirror, researchers found they could take a short pulse of electromagnetic energy fired from one antenna and bounce the exact signal back with its wave-form perfectly reversed (hence "reversal mirror"). This relies on yet another device, a arbitrary waveform generator, which can generate pretty much any waveform in a matter of milliseconds.

This process allows the researchers to exploit another principle, known as the "pulse compression property" of time reversal, which generates a significantly amplified version of the signal at some point outside of the reverb chamber housing all the other gizmos. Set up in the proper array, the engineers were able to create an arrangement that could amplify the original signal by 10,000 times. Needless to say, that's enough to crank up a relatively weak EMP signal to devastating levels that could be used to disable electronic devices from a distance.

That could be a problem, of course, for militaries around the globe that rely on growing arsenals of electronic gear. There's also a security question; an EMP weapon placed with ill intent could disable an aircraft on approach or takeoff, or be used to throw economies or defensive systems into chaos by crippling key computer networks. Further, it doesn't appear that such a weapon would necessarily require highly technical know-how or hard-to-acquire hardware or materials. But on the bright side, such an EMP bazooka could prove quite effective in the upcoming war with the machines.

[Technology Review]

The panels, made by the Dutch company Sustainable Dance Club, compress by 0.4 inches every time they are stepped on, and a motor converts that mechanical energy into electrical power. According to Sustainable Dance Club, a person dancing on one of the tiles can generate between 2 and 20 watts, depending on their weight. Toulouse plans to install the panels in the city center, and test them out for two weeks.

However, the fine chaps over at the Register have done some math, and concluded that the panels can't possibly provide enough power to light the streets. Based on their calculations, even if every resident of the city spent an hour walking every day through a city where every square inch of sidewalk absorbed their energy, it wouldn't provide enough energy to light the streets or significantly offset the cost of lighting them.

So sure, a large city filled with skinny people may not be the best place to implement this technology. But transport this tech to Huntington, West Virginia, where pedestrians probably generate two or three times the power per person of the average Frenchman, and maybe you could start producing some real power.

[The Guardian, and The Register]