The world is nowhere close to being done with rail transport, but it can be argued that it plays a more minor role today than it did a hundred years ago. French design studio HeHe envisioned what it would look like if rail transport became obsolete and industrialized nations were left with millions of miles of unused railroad tracks.

Their vision: the Métronome. The tiny, solar-powered, dual-rider capsule is simple and kind of futuristic. It is basically a platform with wheels, enclosed in a plastic bubble. Solar power moves it along at a rate much slower than just walking the tracks, but for cruising along and enjoying the scenery the pace is nice and relaxing.

The prototype vehicle is an exploration into the use of temporary vehicles on obsolete railroad tracks in Paris. It is the exact opposite of traditional rail transport: it is light, small, slow, and not fit for large numbers of people.

HeHe built the vehicle as part of their “train project,” a larger exploration of potential future uses for a specific area of unused railroad tracks. It’s an intriguing mix of past and future: the railroad no longer operates here, so will we one day repurpose the tracks for recreational sightseeing use? If we had to guess, we’d say that a project like the Métronome could breathe new life into run-down segments of railroad infrastructure – not just the tracks, but abandoned stations and platforms, as well.

The post Transport Cylinder Glides Along Abandoned Railroad Tracks first appeared on Gajitz.

It’s hard enough to grow up on Earth, what with the social development, the awkward teen years and then trying to figure out what being a grownup really means. But the sciencey minds at VSauce took a very careful look at what it means to be an Earth-bound human…and what it would be like to be born outside the confines of our home planet. Namely, in outer space.

The long but very entertaining video goes into the specifics of how difficult it would be to conceive in space, the problems a human body would have developing in outer space, and (somewhat creepily) what a space child might look like. Radiation, isolation, decreased bone mass and an increased chance of dementia later in life are just some of the woes that await kids conceived and born in that vast area outside of our home planet.

The post What Would a Human Conceived + Born in Space Look Like? first appeared on Gajitz.