Watch a Supersonic Jet Hover With Breathtaking Stillness

Lockheed Martin video of the Mar 17 first hover the a STOVL F-35B Joint STrike Fighter, aircraft BF-1, at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. The flight began with a conventional takeoff before F-35 lead STOVL pilot Graham Tomlinson initiated conversion to STOVL mode at 200 knots airspeed. He then slowed the aircraft to 60 knots and flew a decelerating approach to a zero airspeed hover at 150 feet above the runway. This marked the first free air hover by the F-35B. Upon reaching zero airspeed, the pilot executed test points to confirm the controllability of the aircraft in the hover. After completing all hover test points, the pilot executed a STOVL landing at 70 knots airspeed. LINK: Youtube

Sculptures inspired by Quantum Physics

"Father" from the series "Spin Family (Bosons and Fermions)" 2009, steel and silk, 7" x 6" x 6".

We've posted previously about physicist, software designer, and artist Julian Voss-Andreae whose work lies at the intersection of science and sculpture. Last year, he created a massive metal protein sculpture linked to Leonardo's Vitruvian Man. Now, Julian has made 30 objects inspired by his former physics research area of quantum physics. The objects are currently on display at the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland. More images and background on the work after the jump. LINK: Boingboing

Quantum Objects

Aurora Excalibur VTOL UAV First Flight

Aurora Flight Sciences video of the first flight of its Excalibur experimental vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aircraft. The 13ft-long UAV is powered by a tilting jet engine and three battery-powered lift fans. The aircraft made its first hover flight, lasting just under 2min, at Aberdeen proving Gorund in maryland on June 24. Excalibur is a proof-of-principle testbed for a 400kt VTOL unmanned combat aircraft. LINK: Youtube

Parrots teach man to speak again

Brian Wilson, from Damascus, Maryland, suffered life-threatening injuries in the accidnet 14 years ago. He also lost his ability to speak.

But he now claims that the chatter of pet parrots confounded the bleak outlook of doctors, who were convinced that he would spend the rest of his life in bed at a nursing home.

"Two birds taught me to talk again," he said. "I had such a bad head injury I was never supposed to talk any more than a two-year-old."

But two of the birds that he had had as pets since he was a child "just kept talking to me and talking to me". LINK