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$45 million, 300 mph train. Tell me what you think.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Plans for a levitating train from Las Vegas to Disneyland can move forward under a transportation bill signed by President Bush on Friday that frees up $45 million for the futuristic project.
Derided by critics as pie in the sky, the train would use magnetic levitation technology to carry passengers from Disneyland to Las Vegas in well under two hours, traveling at speeds of up to 300 mph. It would be the first MagLev system in the U.S.
The money is the largest cash infusion in the project's nearly 20-year history. It will pay for environmental studies for the first leg of the project.
The money had been delayed by a drafting error in Congress' 2005 highway bill, which was corrected along with some other changes by the legislation signed Friday by Bush. The delay had allowed a competing and cheaper diesel-electric plan to emerge as an alternative, but with the money now freed up supporters hope to move forward with the MagLev plan.
The train is meant to ease traffic on increasingly clogged Interstate 15, the main route for the millions of Southern Californians who make the 250-plus-mile drive to Las Vegas each year. There is no train on the route—Amtrak's Desert Wind between Los Angeles and Las Vegas was canceled in 1997 because of low ridership.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., praised passage of the law, saying the MagLev project "will safely and efficiently move people between Southern California and Las Vegas."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20... WASHINGTON (AP) - Plans for a levitating train from Las Vegas to Disneyland can move forward under a transportation bill signed by Pre... more -
Physicists have 'solved' mystery of levitation
"Levitation has been elevated from being pure science fiction to science fact, according to a study reported today by physicists.
In theory the discovery could be used to levitate a person
In earlier work the same team of theoretical physicists showed that invisibility cloaks are feasible.
Now, in another report that sounds like it comes out of the pages of a Harry Potter book, the University of St Andrews team has created an 'incredible levitation effects’ by engineering the force of nature which normally causes objects to stick together.
Professor Ulf Leonhardt and Dr Thomas Philbin, from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, have worked out a way of reversing this pheneomenon, known as the Casimir force, so that it repels instead of attracts." "Levitation has been elevated from being pure science fiction to science fact, according to a study reported today by physicists.... more -
Levitating Chair?!
I'm sure it's outrageously expensive and it seems to only levitate about eight inches, but... IT LEVITATES!
How long can the excitement linger?
Probably until about...... now. I'm sure it's outrageously expensive and it seems to only levitate about eight inches, but... IT LEVITATES! ... more -
Current.com Gets a Facebook Widget!
The new Current News Facebook widget puts the power of the current.com homepage news feed right into your Facebook account and lets you pick the Facebook friends you want to affect your news feed. It's awesome!
How to install and use the application:
1. Sign into your Facebook account
2. Go to http://apps.facebook.com/currentnews/
3. Click the "Add current news" button
4. You'll then see a main window with a feed of news snippets from Current.com and a list of friends on the right who've also installed the application
5. There are 3 main things you can do:
5.a. Vote yes or no on a story you see in your feed. Your activity affects the stories your friends will get in their feed (see below)
5.b. Use the "Share" button to send items with other friends on Facebook or post to your profile
5.c. Choose your Current News "editors": (pick your friends on Facebook that you want to influence what items you see)
6. The Current News Application will live in the "Applications" sidebar on the left side your profile, and you can drag it to the top for easy access when you sign in.
How to invite friends and capture your results:
Go to http://apps.facebook.com/currentnews/invite and pick the friends you want to invite (you can only do 20 at a time, but feel free to get creative) The new Current News Facebook widget puts the power of the current.com homepage news feed right into your Facebook account and lets yo... more -
Levitating Islands In Bermuda Triangle Observed by Satellite
Or it's just seaweed. Or oil. Or something that makes the water dark. An unidentified source at the National Security Agency said, "We have no comment on the possible levitation of one or more Caribbean islands". Or it's just seaweed. Or oil. Or something that makes the water dark. An unidentified source at the National Security Agency said... more
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Man Levitates outside White House
How does he do it, and why?
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What happens when your nanotech parts are sticking?
Well, you drag out some level 70 physics and drop some levitation on that ish!
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I want to levitate.
A way of making levitation possible using a mysterious force of nature has been proposed by two British physicists. Still seems a bit of a fantasy for people to levitate, but still cool to think about! A way of making levitation possible using a mysterious force of nature has been proposed by two British physicists. Still seems a bit... more
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Levitation
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Levitation
