42-inch TV Held Up By Incredibly Strong, Gecko-inspired Tape

One day soon, mounting your flat-screen TV could be as easy as taping it to the wall.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are working to make that happen. They've created a new adhesive that mimics gecko feet, a design that enables it to hold up to 660 pounds of force on smooth surfaces.

Check out the video to see it successfully holding up a 40-pound TV. The best part? It can be easily removed without leaving behind residue -- and can even be reused.

How does it work? New Scientist explains:

The device consists of a silicone adhesive pad attached to the middle of a stiff fabric "tendon", mimicking a joint and allowing for flexibility of movement. The pad can be draped over a surface to maximise its contact area and increase its strength. Even on a vertical wall, it resists peeling off.

The material holds promise as a simple, durable alternative to existing dry adhesives. My only question: How much is a roll of this stuff going to cost?

A Camera That Makes the Speed of Light Look Slow

What a week for pushing the limits of human knowledge. Not only are we closer to identifying the very particle that explains how the Universe is built -- we also have realized that a camera can break the speed of light.

MIT researchers have created a new imaging system that can acquire visual data at a rate of 1 trillion exposures per second. That’s fast enough to produce a slow-motion(!) video of a burst of light traveling the length of a one-liter bottle, bouncing off the cap and reflecting back to the bottle’s bottom.

Media Lab postdoc Andreas Velten, one of the system’s developers, calls it the “ultimate” in slow motion: “There’s nothing in the universe that looks fast to this camera,” he says.

Check out the incredible video for more.

First Time Ever: Renewable Energy Investments Top Fossil Fuels

Last year was the first time that investments in renewable energy exceeded those in fossil fuels, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Even in a recessed economy, investments in wind and solar power hit $187 billion last year, compared to the $157 billion that was funneled into natural gas, oil and coal.

What accounts for this switch? Renewable energy subsidies have increased, for one thing. Last year, they exceeded $66 billion. People also seem more willing to look into solar and wind energy -- perhaps especially because of the recession.

As even more new energy innovations emerge, it will be fascinating to see how society reacts.

Scientists Have Invented the Lightest Material on Earth

Image Credit: LA Times

Imagine something so light, it can rest on top of a dandelion without disturbing the seeds. This material actually exists, and its creators are claiming it's the lightest substanc on Earth.

In fact, styrofoam is 100 times heavier than this stuff.

So, what is it? It's called ultralight metallic microlattice. According to an article in the LA Times, it consists of 99.99 percent air thanks to its "microlattice" cellular architecture.

"The trick is to fabricate a lattice of interconnected hollow tubes with a wall thickness 1,000 times thinner than a human hair," lead author Tobias Shandler of HRL said in a press release.

Now, what will the microlattice be used for? That's TBD. But the researchers have suggested impact protection, uses in the aerospace industry, acoustic dampening and even some battery applications.

Might I suggest extremely expensive -- but lightweight -- Christmas packing material?