Considering that a single cross-country flight puts an amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere roughly equal to the annual output of all of its passengers cars combined, it’s surprising that the environmental impact of plane travel is often overlooked. For that reason, I’m happy to report that there are people out there working on the problem: Robert D. Hunt in this case, with his gravity-powered plane that ostensibly can fly without the use of fuel. Further, the design of the plane grants it some of the benefits, such as VTOL and hovering capability, previously available only to zeppelins (no, the Osprey and Harrier don’t count).

Want the ambience of candlelight, but not the messy, hot, dripping wax or the fire hazard? Check out these gorgeous LED driven synthetic candles. [engadget]

Someone went ahead and reinvented the wheel.

Josh Ellis offered to write an article about the Trinity Test Site if random strangers who read his website were willing to pay his way. They did, and the piece that came out of it makes for a fascinating read.

IBM announces the development of a method to hardwire encryption into a microprocessor. The system encrypts data at all stages, including onboard RAM – the only place it would be un-encrypted would be at the user’s screen. So good news for people worried about sensitive data being lifted from stolen kit, but bad news for the anti-DRM lobby – this system would make copyright enforcement a lot easier.