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Since when is the law supposed to be fungible? Even better — from a certain point-of-view — than a radar trap based on an under-posted speed limit is a radar trap with a changing speed limit. One that can be dumbed-down at random and with no prior notice, at the whim of the same government workers who enforce the limits and profit from that enforcement. It’s called Variable Speed Limits and the Feds — through the Department of Transportation — are not only encouraging the states to adopt them, they are bribing them to adopt them. Cue Dr. Evil voice...

The Constants They Are A Changin': NIST Posts Latest Adjustments to Fundamental Figures The electromagnetic force has gotten a little stronger, gravity a little weaker, and the size of the smallest "quantum" of energy is now known a little better. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has posted* the latest internationally recommended values of the fundamental constants of nature. Credit: Mohr,Talbott/NIST View hi-resolution image The constants, which range from relatively famous (the speed of light) to the fairly obscure (Wien frequency displacement law constant) are adjusted every four years in response to the latest scientific measurements and advances....

This is the Lund Variable Velocity Weapons System, a combustion-powered rifle that can both kill or stun an enemy. It was developed by the creators of Honey My Baby Pony and Tickle Me Elmo dolls for the Pentagon. No kidding. Lund—a company specialized in creating toys—started to work with the Pentagon under the Small Business Innovation Research funds, following the military's objective to develop a non-lethal weapons arsenal. To achieve its double-function, the LVVWS works at two different speeds. By clicking a switch, the weapon goes from one mode to the other. To make is safer, it also has...

A gun that fires variable speed bullets and which can be set to kill, wound or just inflict a bruise is being built by a US toy manufacturer. The weapon is based on technology used to propel toy rockets. Lund and Company Invention, a toy design studio based near Chicago, makes toy rockets that are powered by burning hydrogen obtained by electrolysing water. Now the company is being funded by the US army to adapt the technology to fire bullets instead. The US Army are interested in arming soldiers with weapons that can be switched between lethal and non-lethal modes....

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - The treaty that will eventually replace the Kyoto Protocol on climate change could be a potpourri of legal obligations, nonbinding commitments and aid arrangements for the developing world, but each nation should choose its own course, the U.N.'s top climate official said Thursday. At the outset of a season of climate negotiations, Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, said countries such as the United States are mistaken if they dismiss the Kyoto process on the grounds it is forcing them into unwanted legal commitments. "Countries themselves are in the best...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 October 10 Dusty Environs of Eta Carinae Credit: MSX, IPAC, NASA Explanation: Eta Car is a massive star, but it's not as bright as it used to be. Now only easily visible in binoculars or a small telescope, Eta Carinae has a history of spectacular flaring and fading behavior. In fact, in April of 1843 Eta Car briefly became second only to Sirius as the brightest star...

    Black hole theory suggests light is slowing   13:27 08 August 02 Hazel Muir   One of Einstein's most dearly held concepts - that the speed of light is constant - is looking a little fragile. Physicists in Australia claim there is good reason to think the speed of light has slowed over time. "Einstein would have absolutely hated this," said Paul Davies of Macquarie University in Sydney. "His entire theory of relativity was founded on the notion that the speed of light is an absolute fixed universal number." The physicists' suggestion follows earlier measurements of a key quantity called...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 March 13 LL Orionis: When Cosmic Winds Collide Credit: Hubble Heritage Team (AURA / STScI), C. R. O'Dell (Vanderbilt), NASA Explanation: This arcing, graceful structure is actually a bow shock about half a light-year across, created as the wind from young star LL Orionis collides with the Orion Nebula flow. Adrift in Orion's stellar nursery and still in its formative years, variable star LL Orionis produces a...