Technology

About 13.7 billion years ago, the big bang created a big mess of matter that eventually gave rise to life, the universe, and everything. Now a new material may help scientists understand why.

The material was designed to detect a theorized but unproven property of electrons, subatomic particles with a negative charge that orbit the centers of atoms.

If this “new” property of electrons exists, scientists say, it would help explain the current imbalance between matter and antimatter in the universe.

Prepare for battle if you’re ready to pull away from the electricity grid and generate at least some of your energy at home.

“The first thing you do is make war on consumption,” said Richard Perez, the publisher of Home Power Magazine, which guides people through the transition to a life built around renewable energy. “In other words, analyze where you are using electricity and see where you can make it more efficient.”

From Santa Claus’ sleigh to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, flying contraptions with the convenience of the personal automobile have long filled our fantasies, according John Brown, editor of RoadableTimes.com, a Web database of flying cars. That fantasy, he predicted, will become a reality in the form of an “everyday practical flying car” within the next five years.

Swimmer Michael Phelps earns gold medals and piles of cash for his physical prowess in the pool. But that’s not the only way to get awards. Every year, for example, scientists and engineers get medals and cash for their mental prowess in the lab.

In 2011, the last rivet should be in place on the International Space Station, a $100 billion project under construction in outer space since 1998. Once completed, the 16-nation orbiting lab will contain more than 33,000 cubic feet of livable space, weigh 925,000 pounds and stretch 361 feet from end to end, which is the length of a football field including the end zones. Check out this and six more colossal engineering projects.

While robots as sophisticated – and quirky – as R2D2 are still only fantasy, researchers around the world are hard at work making innovative – and sometimes just plain weird – robots come alive in the real world.

An image of the mustard plant’s male reproductive organ, enlarged 20 times under a microscope, took top honors in the 2009 Small World Photomicrography Competition, announced October 8.