GLASSDROP FLOOR TILES

A bathroom or kitchen decoration with a twist. Ceramic tiles with glass drops designed by Arnout Visser for Droog. [Ph: Glassdrop floor tiles by Erik-Jan Kwakkel and Arnout Visser, 1997]

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NIKE AIRLAB

30th anniversary of the Airsole Nike Europe! The "Airlab" laboratory was used to present the history of the airsole, including original shoes and footage from the past.
For fun and good times, +41 and Sooishi make delectable Nike-flavored treats like baked cheese swooshes and mini-jello kicks. JUST DO IT !

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via Core

TABLE BY INSECTS

Out of the "Design by animals" products from Frontdesign :"Table by insects".Paths in wood made by insects become a table top pattern.[Photo credit:Katja K.]

We asked animals to help us."Sure we'll help you out" they answered. "Make something nice," we told them. And so they did...

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MICROBE WIKI

MicrobeWiki is a free wiki resource on microbes and microbiology, edited by students at Kenyon College. MicrobeWiki includes these modules:

:: Microbial Biorealm
encylopedia of bacteria, archaea and eukaryotic microbes.
:: Viral Biorealm
encyclopedia of viruses of animals and plants, and bacteriophages.
:: Microbial World News
highlights of microbiology in the news.
:: Microbial Mythology
common errors and controversies in microbiology.

[+ more] Listeria monocytogenes;Dennis Kunkel Microscopy.
[+ more] Centric Diatom Silica Skeleton;Dennis Kunkel Microscopy.
[+ more] MicrobeWiki

DORKBOT-SF #24 PHOTOS

Here are the photos from last night’s amazing dorkbot-24 at RX Gallery which featured Marc Powell, who did a food hacking demo involving gratuitous molecular gastronomy and Jennifer Granick, who gave a presentation on security and the law, using examples from Star Wars to illustrate her points.Most interesting that is...

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CAPTAIN ORGANIC

Ross Lovegrove, the 47-year-old industrial designer, has placed a bear skull and a meringue side-by-side on his studio shelf in London. The Welshman, who is inspired by the beauty and logic of nature, says the two very different objects remind him of the versatility of biomaterials.Both are made of protein and polysaccharides, yet the skull is strong enough to stand on, while the meringue would disappear if he poured water on it. "They set my mind fizzing about packaging, waste, and the earth," he enthuses.

Visitors of food for design, please take the time to view and listen to Lovegrove @ TEDTALKS. , who is, to say the least, an incredibly visionary thinker.

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via MoCoLoco

TABLE

Great table designed by Damien Regamey & Sergio Streunduring during a workshop with Fernando et Humberto Campana at ecal 2000 (materials : aluminium,rubber)

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DYNAMIC TEXTURES

April just launched the website Dynamic Textures a very visual summary of her earlier material explorations, her thesis work at the Art Center College of Design. Not yet another smart material - April prefers the not so smart materials, or as she calls them, dumb materials.

"We as designers rarely study the obvious and boring materials around us", for instance bubblegum. Trial and error and smart thinking allows April to realize several patterns that are able to morph into textures affecting current materials in design. A practical example is the coffee cup's skin that changes into a thorn-like texture to prevent the user from handling an extremely hot cup of coffee.

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via core77

FERRO FLUIDS

A ferrofluid is a liquid which becomes strongly polarised in the presence of a magnetic field. Ferrofluids are composed of nanoscale ferromagnetic particles suspended in a carrier fluid, usually an organic solvent or water. The ferromagnetic nano-particles are coated with a surfactant to prevent their agglomeration (due to van der Waals and magnetic forces). Although the name suggests otherwise, ferrofluids do not display ferromagnetism, since they do not retain magnetisation in the absence of an externally-applied field. In fact, ferrofluids display paramagnetism, and are often referred as being "superparamagnetic" due to their large magnetic susceptibility. Although current theory does not preclude the possibility of a truly ferromagnetic fluid, no such fluid has yet been observed.

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via futurefeeder

AEROGEL SOLID SMOKE

A new version of aerogel, the particle-collecting substance on NASA's Stardust spacecraft, has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the solid with the lowest density.

Aerogel is pure silicon dioxide and sand, just as is glass, but aerogel is a thousand times less dense than glass because it is 99.8 percent air. It is prepared like gelatin by mixing a liquid silicon compound and a fast-evaporating liquid solvent, forming a gel that is then dried in an instrument similar to a pressure cooker. The mixture thickens, and then careful heating and depressurizing produce a glassy sponge of silicon.

What remains is sometimes called "solid smoke," for its cloudy translucent color and super-light weight. Surprisingly, this seemingly brittle substance is durable and easily survives launch and space environments.

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via inhabitat

AIR DU TEMPS

Dining at 'L'air du temps" (belgian MG restaurant) 4 august 2006. Very impressive. Overview of some dishes including a fabulous decomposed sushi with lobster and a mouth melting low temperature pigeon with quinoa, tonga beans.

Chef Sang Hoon will also do some demonstrations on the first seminar on MG in Belgium (20 november 2006). Be there!

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[+ more] via Food for design on Flickr

HET GEBAAR

Dessert by Roger Vandamme of 'Het Gebaar' in Antwerp. Roger Vandamme is seen as one of the most innovative patissiers in Belgium. One of his inspirations is Alberto Adria, which he has a good contact with (so also MG desserts on the menu) and Gunther Van Essche of 'Del Rey'.

[+ more] Het Gebaar [+ more] Del Rey