Supreme gadget

If looks could determine the success of an invention, then this straight-out-of-Jules-Verne sonofusion machine (nucler fusion triggered with sound wave pressure) must be a sure winner!

The National Academy of Engineering hosts a project inviting scientists and thinkers to propose the ”Grand challenges for engineering” in the 21st century. There's some interesting choices, including both the obvious and the ones that become so once you understand their implications (I wouldn't have guessed “controlling the nitrogen cycle” in a million years). There are some good comments (is nanotechnology a field in itself or a subset of electronics?), and the list of personalities involved is a good entry point to few hours of catching up.

First picked up on TierneyLab in NYT.