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POPSSouth American Pyramids were musical instruments? more: To investigate further, Jorge Cruz of the Professional School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in Mexico City and Nico Declercq of the Georgia Institute of Technology compared the frequency of sounds made by people walking up El Castillo with those made at the solid, uneven-stepped Moon Pyramid at Teotihuacan in central Mexico. At each pyramid, they measured the sounds they heard near the base of the pyramid when a student was climbing higher up. Remarkably similar raindrop noises, of similar frequency, were recorded at both pyramids, suggesting that rather than being caused by El Castillo being hollow, the noise is probably caused by sound waves travelling through the steps hitting a corrugated surface, and being diffracted, causing the particular raindrop sound waves to propagate down along the stairs (Acta Acustica united with Acustica, DOI: 10.3813/AAA.918216).
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POPSCybraphon - An emotional autonomous band! First I have to say that I really love the sound of mechanical bands such as this so that does way on my feelings about it. That said, it's not the best sounding I've heard but it has to be the best implementation I've seen yet. I love the fact that it's mood is affected by things such as it's friend count on myspace and the number of results on google about it. In fact, me posting this will put it in a better mood and therefore it will play more upbeat music! Sounds like a lot of people I know who's moods are way to affected by there online "status".
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POPSMarinetti futurists to Childish&Thompson stuckists
Futurism was an art movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century. It was largely an Italian phenomenon, though there were parallel movements in Russia, England and elsewhere. The Italian writer Filippo Tommaso Marinetti was its founder and most influential personality. The Stuckists have grown to an international movement and as of November 2008 numbered 183 (affiliated but independent) groups in 44 countries. In October 2000, Regan Tamanui founded the Melbourne Stuckists, the first one outside the UK. On 27.10.2000, he staged the Real Turner Prize Show at the Dead End Gallery in his home, concurrent with three shows with the same title in England (London, Falmouth and Dartington), and one in Germany, in protest against the Tate Gallery's Turner Prize. In 2000, Susan Constance founded the first US group The Pittsburgh Stuckists: "The new word in art is Stuckism. A Stuckist paints their life, mind and soul with no pretensions and no excuses."[
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POPSFuture Devices Could Power Themselves
There are other mechanisms other than "pushing" that can generate pressure waves to spark energy in piezoelectric materials. Imagine a self-powering cell phone, for instance, that never needs to be charged because it converts sound waves produced by the user into the energy it needs to keep running. Some night clubs in Europe now feature dance floors built with piezoelectrics that absorb and convert energy from footsteps in order to help power lights in the club. And a Hong Kong gym reportedly is using the technology to convery energy from exercisers to help power its lights and music. Tahir Cagin and his partners study the piezoelectric concept. For this project, they fine-tuned piezoelectric materials with nanoscale dimensions . Studying piezoelectrics in microscopic units is a relatively new endeavor, but a key step along the road toward inventing a self-powering cell phone and other portable, high-tech devices, which contain these minute components already.
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POPS To extended the present - the Future of Time.. 3500 through 1500 B.C. The earliest clocks Mechanism: The sun’s movement across the sky, water dripping from a vessel, candles burning down through marked increments Error: Extremely large and variable Accurate enough to: Schedule religious ceremonies 1200s through 1920s Mechanical clocks Mechanism: Balance wheels, weights, or pendulums Accurate enough to: Coordinate military activities and standardize trains
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POPSSydney Town Hall Grand Organ The world's largest, entirely mechanical pipe organ. There is a video link a to rendition of Toccata and fugue in D minor by J.S.Bach - one of the best compositions for a grand organ there is. Just the sort of thing you would expect Igor to play. The title above the top thumbnail, is a link to the Video The title may be unfamiliar, but the music has been used in any number of film and T.V. productions,(and ads) so it should be familiar.
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POPSMicrofiber Fabric Makes It's Own Electricity? One of the fibers in each pair is coated with gold and serves as an electrode. As the bristles brush together through a person's body movement, the wires convert the mechanical motion into electricity. "When a nanowire bends it has an electric effect," Wang said in a telephone interview. "What the fabric does is it translates the mechanical movement of your body into electricity." His team made the nanogenerator by first coating fibers with a polymer, and then a layer of zinc oxide. They dunked this into a warm bath of reactive solution for 12 hours. This encouraged the wires to multiply, coating the fibers. "They automatically grow on the surface of the fiber," Wang said. "In principal, you could use any fiber that is conductive." Continued...
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POPSM.I.T Open Courses I know that M.I.T. has been clipped in the past. However this is a list of updated courses. Please refrain from studying too hard during the festive season
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POPSUilleann Pipes History Part 1 of 3 -& hurdy gurdy 
accompaniment as needed. There are also many ornaments based on multiple or single grace notes. The chanter can also be played staccato by resting the bottom of the chanter on the piper's knee to close off the bottom hole and then open and close only the tone holes required. If one tone hole is closed before the next one opened, a staccato effect can be created because the sound stops completely when no air can escape at all. The uilleann pipes have a different harmonic structure, sounding sweeter and quieter than many other bagpipes, such as the Irish Warpipes or Great Highland Bagpipes. The uilleann pipes are usually played indoors, and are always played sitting down. A hurdy gurdy (or hurdy-gurdy) is a stringed musical instrument with several strings arranged so that they can be played simultaneously by a rotating wheel covered with rosin. It is essentially a mechanical violin. This method of producing sound is similar to string instruments such as the violin, but because the
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