Popular Science (March 2005)

111 Pages·2005·13.422 MB·English

by  Various

THE TOP TECH CITIES IN AMERICA: HOW DOES YOUR TOWN RATE?
WHAT’S NEW
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VOLUME 266 #3
CONTENTS
MARCH2005
As the beefy guards wearing desert fatigues and .45s check your ID,
maybe you’ll notice their black shoulder patches,which feature
FOUNDED IN1872 a classically oval-eyed alien face outlined in silver and gold.
tech THE FIVE-BILLION-STAR HOTEL,p.50
13|What’s New
Volvo’s ultra-efficient boat engine.
VoIP phones go cordless. Flight of the
FanWing.Carbon-fiber laptops. Souped-
up cars hit the showroom.
73|How2.0
GEEK GUIDEDisaster-proof your data.
DIYBuild a portable game console.
GRAY MATTER See subatomic particles.
TECH SUPPORTEavesdrop on your engine.
news and views
27|Headlines
SPACENASA’s new prize patrol.
ARCHITECTUREThe eco-friendly skyscraper.
CHEMISTRYSlob-proof clothing. 50
DIY ASTRONOMYMake your own nebulae.
36|Soapbox
PLUGGED INWhen ISPs secretly sort your
e-mail,nobody wins. By Cory Doctorow
SCIENCE FRICTIONPopular culture lauds the
wrong Einstein. By Gregory Mone
NETT (2); stories 41
AR 41|Technopolis Found POPSCIidenti-
C
B. fies the most high-tech U.S. cities. How
N
OH does yours rate? By Matthew Power
OP: J
M T 50|The Five-Billion-Star Hotel
SE FRO Adenv eelxocpluesr iRveo bfierrstt Bgilgimelposwe’ sa t$ L50as0 -Vmeigllaison
CKWI inflatable orbital retreat. By Michael Belfiore 64 14
O
CL
GE, 58|“And Finally,I’d Like to Thank
A
S P My High School Physics Teacher. . .”
M; THIS An insider’s view of the movie tech-
WN; INSET: HOLLY LINDENASA; BRENT HUMPHREY nT6shpei4ogeclhon|hB-gd sAiieienoccsgual on dr$igoet2iymm2c bayibnil ioA laWlttwieoeraandrrro fodfroan slr.ra geBbtehysTr i.J mshBa eymu r etUee assw. rSeV’isa.ll a lriS schtchhoi es-asned
KENN BROCOURTESY deffeoprtst ms.ake us safer? By Jeffrey Rothfeder
COVER: WTON; 6From the Editor 80FYI
ON THE JOHN LA 170CLoenttterribsutors 104 Looking Back 27
POPULAR SCIENCE MARCH 2005 5
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FROM THE EDITOR
Editorial Director Scott Mowbray
EditorMark Jannot
Art Director Nathalie Kirsheh
Executive Editor, Features Emily Laber-Warren
Science Editor Dawn Stover
Senior Technology Editor Suzanne Kantra Kirschner
Senior Editor, What’s New Eric Hagerman
Aviation & Automotive Editor Eric Adams
Senior Editors Michael Moyer, Kalee Thompson
Managing Editor Jill C.Shomer
Senior Associate Editor Nicole Dyer
Copy Chief Rina Bander
Associate Editors Jenny Everett, Mike Haney, Martha Harbison
Assistant Editor Rena Marie Pacella
Assistant Editor, Best of What’s New Joe Brown
Designer April Bell
Photo Editor Kristine LaManna
Staff PhotographerJohn B.Carnett
Editorial Assistant Barbara Caraher
Taxicab Web Producer Peter Noah
Contributing Design EditorChee Pearlman
Contributing Automotive EditorStephan Wilkinson
Contributing Editors Cory Doctorow, Theodore Gray, Joseph
Confessions
Hooper, Preston Lerner, Gregory Mone, Jeffrey Rothfeder,
Jessica Snyder Sachs, Rebecca Skloot, Bill Sweetman, Phillip
Torrone, James Vlahos, Charles Wardell, William Speed Weed
Contributing TroubadourJonathan Coulton
Contributing FuturistAndrew Zolli
Contributing Artists Mika Grondahl, Jason Lee, John
THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW IS AN OVERWHELMING EXPERIENCE
MacNeill, Garry Marshall, Stephen Rountree, Bob Sauls
for every one of the 140,000 engineers,marketers,buyers,journalists and Editorial InternSarah Goforth
Art Intern Dana Stratton
other tech-obsessed individuals who throng the Las Vegas Convention Center
in early January—but the editor of POPULARSCIENCEexperiences a different POPULAR SCIENCE PROPERTIES
Publisher Gregg R. Hano
brand of overwhelm. Not for me the standard overload brought on by prowl- Advertising Director John Tebeau
ing 1.5 million square feet of exhibit space occupied by 2,550 companies un- General Manager Robert Novick
Executive Assistant Chandra Dwhaj
veiling thousands of new products and technologies. No,in my case,CES is Northeast Advertising Office: Manager Howard S. Mittman
[phone], Jill Schiffman [phone],
mostly an extended opportunity to bounce from booth to booth handing out Mike Schoenbrun [phone], Missy Dye Radin EL
prizes to the richly deserving winners of our annual Best of What’s New [phone] ART
Ad Assistant Christopher Graves M
awards. When making my rounds,I relish the chance to chat with the engineers Midwest Advertising Office: ManagerJohn Marquardt D
N
who created the technology,because they really get it—these innovators are con- [phone], Megan Williams [phone] A
Ad AssistantSindy Sonshine KL
tinually telling their marketing people that thisis the award that truly matters. Los Angeles Advertising Office: ManagerDana Hess OC
As you might expect,hearing that sort of thing a dozen times or more a [phone], Ad AssistantMary Infantino ST
Detroit Advertising Office: ManagerDonna Christensen R
day is a mighty fine way to spend a trade show. But my happy bubble was [phone],Ad AssistantDiane Pahl FO
burst one night when,riding in a taxi,I heard this bit of devil’s advocacy San Francisco Advertising Office: ManagerAmy EL
Cacciatore [phone],Ad AssistantCarly Petrone H
C
from one of my cabmates: “Has anyone here seen a single thing at this Southern Regional Advertising Office: ManagerDave E
show that is really going to change the world for the better?” HClaadsys if(4ie0d4 A) 3d6ve4r-4ti0si9n0g, SAadle As sJosaisnta Ontr thC (h2ri1st2y ) C7h7a9p-5m5a5n 5 A RU
This was just after the Indian Ocean tsunami took well over 150,000 lives, Direct Response SalesMarie Isabelle [phone] AIL
Business ManagerJacqueline L. Pappas N
a great many of whom might have been saved if early-warning technology were Director of Brand & Business Development L. Dennett BY
bseeetmters ad irsetarsibountaebdle. Ipnr otvhoec actoinonte. xMt yo fr etthoer tm woams seonmt,emthyin cgo tmo pthaen ieoffne’cs t rtehmata hrke RSDoaablneeiser tlDs Voeanvueglohpamnent Managers Mike Saperstein, YLING
Senior Manager, Events and Promotions Christy Chapin ST
was at the wrong trade show. No one,after all,is making grand claims of social Ellinger P;
U
relevance for remote-access TiVo or the latest flat-panel television. However eye- Creative Services Designer MaryMcGann O
popping and awe-inspiring,this stuff represents just a slice of the spectrum of MAdavrekrettiisningg C CoooordrdininaatotorrEsEhvoenlydna N Ceagrraownay R iGR
what technology can and should do,and it ought to be judged accordingly. Consumer Marketing DirectorBarbara Venturelli O
thaItn f athllsis s iosmsueew,wheer aet bteemtwpete tno tihlleu mlifiensaatvei nthga itn anroevaa otifo tnhse a snodc itahl/et etechch s pcaenctdryu—m SCSeeonnniisoourrm PPelraor ndMnuaicnrtgiko enMt iDnagnir aeMgctaeornraMLgaaeurrrgesel ArKitduara nCmida eFtwseiefellr, Kristen Shue EGLIA F
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Publicity ManagerHallie Deaktor C
which a population embraces technology. But we’ve gone much further by MI
Y
quantifying the extent to which a city’s policymakers and private sector use tech- G B
nology to improve quality of life—from innovative traffic systems to pioneer- MIN
ing medical care to energy-efficient building codes. When we crunched all the President Mark P. Ford OO
data,our top technopolis turned out to be . . . well,turn to page 41 to find out. Senior Vice Presidents James F. Else, GR
As for me,I’m just happy that I get to deliver another award. VEdicittoorr iMal. DSiareucetrohro fSf,c oSttte Mveonw Sbhruarye UX;
Director, Corporate Communications Samara Farber Mormar ED
R
CUSTOMERSERVICEANDSUBSCRIPTIONS R/
MARK JANNOT For 24/7 service, please use our Web site: popsci.com/ KE
[email protected] customerservice BA
You can also call: 800-289-9399or write to: N
Popular Science P.O. Box 62456 Tampa, FL 33662-4568 BE
6 POPULAR SCIENCE MARCH 2005
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CONTRIBUTORS
If hotelier Robert Bigelow has his way, well-heeled adventurers will be able to see the world
in comfort—and from a distance. He wants to rocket them up to a $1-million-a-night,Earth-
orbiting space hotel. Writer MICHAEL BELFIORE[left] was one of the first journalists to visit
the top-secret Bigelow Aerospace hangar in Las Vegas, which houses the inflatable space
modules that are to become Bigelow’s otherworldly resort. A space junkie, Belfiore has
written a children’s book about life on the International Space Station, wire stories for
Reuters about last fall’s Ansari X Prize flights, and a one-man play about alien abductions.
Whereas Belfiore traces his extraterrestrial enthusiasms to the science fiction he read as
a kid, artist KRIS HOLLAND[right] got his start in science-related illustration when, as a
university student majoring in physics and geology, he entered a computer-modeling contest
and won third place. Holland’s science background helps him create realistic images like
the one on page 55 that shows how a rocket will get tourists to habitations situated in low-
Earth orbit. “I know what a launch profile is supposed to look like,” he explains.
RN We sent photographer BRENT HUMPHREYSto Galveston, Texas,
E
ST to capture the essence of daily work in a new high-security Bio-
G
U Safety Level 4 laboratory, where the most lethal and intractable
O
Y D diseases, such as Ebola, can be studied in safety [page 64].
D B “The suits were the most difficult element to deal with, hot and
E
H cumbersome,” says Humphreys, adding, “I tried to convey the
P
A
GR isolation of the researchers while they were wearing them.”
O
HOT To experience the glories of the city anointed by POPSCIas the most
P
E high-tech in the U.S., writer MATTHEW POWERpacked his bags
E
NTR and traveled to. . . What, you think we’re going to give it away
OU here? [See page 41.] Power was impressed by the city in question’s
R
N embrace of environmentally sustainable technologies and its “intel-
E
PH lectual ferment.” Not to mention the multilingual ticket machines.
E
ST Power’s work has also appeared in Harper’sand Discover.
; ETT
N Contributing editor JAMES VLAHOStraveled to L.A. to get the low-
R
CA down on the special Academy Awards given to recognize technical
N B. achievement [page 58]. While investigating the digital cloning used
OH to render vampires in Blade: Trinity, he had his own face scanned.
Y J Innocuous, but the research scarred him in other ways: He has be-
B
ED come an effects pedant, scrutinizing CG hair and skin for realism.
H
AP “I’ve become annoying to go to the movies with,” he acknowledges.
R
G
OTO Longtime POPSCIcontributor STEPHEN ROUNTREEis a film buff,
H so he was happy to create images of the Oscar statuette in various
P
RE poses for Vlahos’s story on the Sci-Tech Oscars. As an illustrator
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FI who renders objects in 3-D, is he envious of the guys who work
EL
EL B with the latest CG effects? “I wish I had their equipment,” he
HA says. “But I don’t have the animation chops to do what they do.”
C
MI Rountree is the graphics director at U.S. News and World Report.
POPULAR SCIENCE MARCH 2005 7