Perfect timing and extreme temperatures mix to make this amazing series of photographs in which you can watch hot liquid instantly turn into dramatic ice plumes in midair.

Michael Davies, a photographer from Canada, took pictures of his friend throwing out a thermos full of tea in Pangnirtung, a remote spot in Canada’s High Arctic (only a dozen miles south of the Arctic Circle). With just a few hours of daylight during the winter, and temperatures down to and below negative 40 degrees (fun fact: that’s the same in Celsius or Fahrenheit!), there are few better places for such an insanely frigid photo shoot.

From the photographer: “Around 1pm I jumped on my skidoo along with my friend Markus and we drove 45 minutes to the top of a nearby mountain where the light (which is almost always pink near the solstice) would hit the hills. Prepared with multiple thermoses filled with tea, we began tossing the water and shooting. Nothing of this shot was to chance, I followed the temperature, watched for calm wind, and planned the shot and set it up. Even the sun in the middle of the spray was something I was hoping for, even though it’s impossible to control.”

The post Thermal Shock: Watch Hot Tea Hit Arctic Air at -40 Degrees first appeared on Gajitz.

A lot of hoverboard fanatics were disappointed to learn that recent sleek-looking attempts were ultimately limited to skating above the surfaces of special magnetic plates, often carefully concealed beneath pavement or ramps, but this model goes above and beyond, using actual fans to float is riders.

The ArcaBoard from ArcaSpace can hover a person for six minutes using a combination of 36 fans strapped beneath it – 300 horsepower lifting a human up to around 250 pounds. On-board stabilizers help keep it upright while a cooling system and aerospace-grade composite materials prevent overheating.

The device is not cheap, listed at $20,000 but really meant more as a proof of concept than good for purchase. It is still a long way from a cheap, sleek, off-the-shelf model, but at least this version is free of the constraints of other models, if only for a few minutes at a time.

The post Fan-Driven Hoverboard Floats Users Over Land & Water first appeared on Gajitz.

Using the rhythmic compression of a tire rolling over the ground, this new product from PumpTire provides a tube that can be swapped into any tire and keep itself inflated, providing efficiency, flexibility and reliability (since pressure can be a factor in busting tubes).

A mechanism regulating tube pressure sense the need and turns on or off as required, keeping your tube at optimal levels while you ride, which means: nothing for you to worry about before or getting onto the road. Expert users can even set their own custom target pressures as desired.

The original version of the PumpTire was an integrated system, meaning: you had to use their entire tires to make it work, and when they wore down, the whole combination had to be replaced. This new version will work with different types of tires, meaning you only have to replace the tube. And, of course, it means you don’t have to buy a separate pump to inflate your tires.

From the makers: “What could be better than maintenance free bicycle tires? PumpTire inner tubes and tires do the pumping so you don’t have to. No dirty hands, no looking for a bicycle pump. PumpTire inner tubes and tires are compatible with existing tires and rims. No modifcations are necessary to add PumpTire inner tubes and tires to your current bike. PumpTire inner tubes are designed to exceed the puncture resistance of standard inner tubes and tires. Our design includes a proprietary design which resists puncture and wear more than standard inner tubes and tires.”

The post Self-Inflating Bike Tire Tube Pumps Itself Up as You Ride first appeared on Gajitz.

In much of the world, mosquitoes are considered annoying pests, but the reality is that they are one of the deadliest animals on the planet, killing over 600,000 people a year, a problem this high-tech laser system aims to permanently eliminate. In the image below, you can see the simple but deadly and effective solution in action, a small pulse of light killing the fly.

While nets, drugs and other methods have been deployed to help address the flying menaces and disease carriers, the key is eliminating their ability to approach or contact people in the first place, hence this invention that “works by combining low-cost sensor and laser technology with software to identify, track, and kill mosquitoes, thus eliminating malaria’s primary transmission vector.”

Though the primary purpose for Intellectual Ventures developing these photonic fences is one particular pest, the applications of the technology have a great deal of potential beyond that application.

For instance, the same systems could be deployed to kill pests on farms, an environmentally-friendly and lower-cost alternative to chemical pesticides. “Global Good and LSG are currently developing field-ready photonic fence prototypes to test new, efficient, and effective pest control products for health, commercial, and residential use around the world.”

The post Photonic Fence: Laser Network Zaps Mosquitoes in Midair first appeared on Gajitz.

Hair dryers provide the driving force behind this mesmerizing set of simple-but-beautiful installation art projects by Antoine Terrieux, a magician and juggler with an eye for repurposing everyday objects.

Presented last year at the Maison Des Jonglages (House of Juggling) in La Courneuve, France, this series of kinetic pieces shows how simple materials can create experiential art that lasts effectively forever. Paper airplanes circle over a series of blowers in one scene, a record spins and bounces endlessly in another while a string dances in the air in yet another.

His performances, light on drama and heavy on humor, incorporate similar elements, in illustrated in one of his stage shows, segments of which are shown above. The outfits alone make the video worth watching, so at least skip through some scenes to see for yourself!

The post Perpetual Motion: Kinetic Artworks Driven by Hair Dryers first appeared on Gajitz.