The last time we saw someone move the game on for Rock'em Sock'em Robots, it was a motion-controlled experiment that was unlikely to see the light of day. Tomy must have been frustrated enough waiting for the practical reality to take matters into its own hands, as it's just unveiled the BattroBorg 20, a fighting robot that... lets you take matters into your own hands. The toy uses a Wii-style nunchuk motion controller that translates the player's own thrusts into the plastic robot's punches. Each robot can tell if it's been decked, although it takes just five punches to win by TKO -- these aren't exactly Queensbury rules. At an estimated $50 for each robot and matching controller on the July 14th release date, the BattroBorg isn't the cheapest way to relive the glory days of pint-sized fisticuffs, but it's certainly the most involving.
Time to break out your theoretical physics cap for a moment. A new idea about the cause of neutron loss (a phenomena in which neutrons seem to momentarily disappear), is pushing the boundaries of easy to conceptualize science. Zurab Berezhiani and Fabrizio Nesti of Italy's University of l'Aquila have suggested that the particles could briefly be visiting parallel universes before returning. Experiments have shown that the rate of loss is dependent on the direction and strength of an applied magnetic field -- an anomaly that doesn't jibe with current physics. If a parallel universe existed consisting of so-called "mirror particles," however, the neutrons could temporarily swap places with its invisible twin before returning to its rightful place in this world. More experimentation is needed, but if the predictions of Berezhiani and Nesti are correct, it could indicate that we're surrounded by mirror particles in a parallel universe -- a potential culprit for the mystery of dark matter.
