Distributing Natural Light with Lucy

Solenica's portable intelligent mirror follows the sun and reflects light to where you need it

Norway might be using giant mirrors to bring sunlight into a town sandwiched by mountains, but how can urban apartment owners in dungeon-like situations harness that kind of heliostat technology? Lucy, from San Diego-based Italian start-up Solenica, is one solution for bringing more sunshine into our lives. Founded by Cambridge University graduate Diva Tommei (who knows her stuff—she has a PhD in molecular and computational …

Link About It: This Week’s Picks

Test riding the hoverboard, digital detox, an alien voiced by Kathleen Hanna and more in this week's look around the web

1. A 390-Year-Old Bonsai Tree that Survived an Atomic Bomb Washington DC’s National Arboretum will honor its oldest artifact this week: a 390-year-old bonsai tree from Japan. But perhaps more impressive than its age is the tree’s history—which was fortuitously revealed in 2001. The miniature white pine is actually a survivor of the 9,700-pound atomic bomb that hit Hiroshima and was quietly donated to the …

Oswalds Mill Audio

Founder Jonathan Weiss explains why bigger is sometimes better when it comes to sound

A beautifully restored mill house, hidden in the Dutch country of Pennsylvania, sits on a quiet creek. There are no massive stone wheels turning within, only vinyl records being broadcast on some of the highest quality stereo systems available today. OMA (which stands for Oswalds Mill Audio) specializes in creating the pinnacle of auditory experience using almost exclusively local materials transformed into breathtaking sound sculptures. …