Popular Science March 2014

On December 1 of last year at around 7:20 a.m., a speeding commuter train bound for New York City careened off its tracks, killing four and injuring 59. Popular Science is based in New York, so for us the accident was particularly scary, and we all waited eagerly for an explanation. An investigation soon revealed that the train had approached a sharp bend in the track at 80 mph, nearly three times the advised speed. And then an all too familiar detail emerged: The engineer had nodded off at the controls. Of the body's primary functions, sleep is the one we most often take for granted. On average, Americans sleep about an hour less than they used to in the 1940s, and 43 percent say they're routinely under-slept. We get…

When reporting this month's cover story, “Sleep. How To Do It Right.” on page 40, Brooke Borel mounted her own sleep study. She wore four different activity-tracking devices at once—all day and night for a week. The result: “They kind of stressed me out,” Borel says. But she did learn she didn't sleep as well as she thought. That, and wearing four gadgets on her arm is a surefire way to get strange looks at the gym. For “The Garbage Man” on page 58, Cody Pickens photographed plastics-recycling pioneer Mike Biddle in a familiar environment: a recycling center. During the course of the shoot, Biddle's recycled-plastic chips became the backdrop for our story's opening photo. “We were just messing around,” Pickens says. “I said, ‘What's it look like if you…

Is there a risk of “predators” mistaking microdrones for prey? Would insectivores such as birds and chipmunks be at risk? And if there is a danger, what is the potential of making them so they are digestible and easily eliminated? Dearborn, Mich. Response from microroboticist Rob Wood: Right now the materials are optimized for function. If robots like RoboBees were ever to be produced and deployed in large enough numbers, we could seek biocompatible or biodegradable alternatives. This would be a nontrivial exercise given the challenges we have had just finding material combinations that work at all, but not out of the question.…

Inside: Smart glasses, ranked. Ten things we love this month. An unstrippable, unslippable screw. The most addictive videogame ever. Hydrogen-powered Hyundai. A tiny robot with perfect balance. Smartphone construction, democratized. For all their engineering, speakers are mostly just form-Less boxes—eyesores that we shove into corners and forget about. The Harmon Kardon Aura is one that even the most design-conscious can proudly plop in the middle of their living rooms. Engineers molded the six-driver Bluetooth speaker into a retro-futuristic dome that evenly distributes audio 360 degrees. A 30-watt subwoofer fires up into the dome, which radiates the bassline up, out, and into the room—instead of into the floor. Interior LEDs sync with the music to draw a LittLe extra attention. Drivers six, plus subwoofer Frequency Response 50 Hz to 20 kHz…

Range 300 miles Top speed 100 mph Lease terms $500/ month; $3,000 down When it comes to alternate energy sources, most automakers think simply—battery power or bust. That's what makes the Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell an outlier. The SUV will be the first mass-produced hydrogen car in the U.S. when it debuts this spring. Because hydrogen fuel infrastructure is more or Less nonexistent, Hyundai's rollout will be small The car will be available at select dealers in Southern California, all within range of the company's sources of hydrogen, which include a nearby waste water treatment plant. Local drivers will be able to “gas” up for free at any of seven distribution stations. A fill-up takes Less than 10 minutes and Lasts for up to 300 miles. The company claims that…

Michelin is exploring organic replacements—wood, straw, and sugar beets—for the petroleum-based ingredient butadiene used in rubber. The company hopes a switch will help it keep up with growing demand. Sketches of a radical new engine designed by John DeLorean in the 1980s recently surfaced. The powertrain, which DeLorean hoped would get 100 mpg, would have featured a laser ignition and regenerative braking. A driver in Newport Beach, California, purchased a Tesla Model S with cash he converted from bitcoin. The driver exchanged 91.4 bitcoins, which at the time were worth more than $100,000. Next month, Audi will begin selling the new A3, the first car with built-in 4G LTE. The high-speed cellular connection will give drivers (and passengers) lag-free streaming capabilities from music services like Pandora and Rdio—and maybe some…