Super Terrific Japanese Thing: WipeOut Quantum
The researchers at the Japan Institute for Science and Technology have been looking into controlled quantum levitation, like researchers at the Japan Institute for Science and Technology are wont to do. But rather than just sit around and write dissertations on it, they decided to make a working hovership racetrack as inspired by the WipeOut videogame series. It’s totally awesome.
My favorite part is how the scientists went out of their way to craft WipeOut specific ships for the track. Now, I assume this video is not a fake — I wouldn’t think the Japan Institute for Science and Technology would be cool if their scientists just made up shit and posted it on YouTube with JIST’s name on it — but I am superperplexed as to how the ships are trailing that “smoke.” Science, I guess. Thanks to Lorindor for the tip.
About The Author
Robert Bricken is one of the original co-founders of the site formerly known as Topless Robot, and its first editor-in-chief, serving from 2008-12. He brought the site to prominence with “nerd news, humor and self-loathing” as its motto, raising it from total internet obscurity to a readership in the millions, with help from his savage “FAQ” movie reviews and Fan Fiction Fridays. Under his tenure Topless Robot was covered by Gawker, Wired, Defamer, New York magazine, ABC News, and others, and his articles have been praised by Roger Ebert, Avengers actor Clark Gregg, comedian and The Daily Show correspondent John Hodgman, the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Rifftrax, and others. He is currently the managing editor of io9.com. Despite decades as both an amateur and professional nerd, he continues to be completely unprepared for either the zombie apocalypse or the robot uprising.