The WISPR Vaporizer Looks Like a Retro Transistor Radio [Smoking]

By Andrew Liszewski Oct 15, 2011 2:00 PM 10,882 17

There's an endless list of reasons why you should probably just quit smoking. But quitting isn't easy, so the WISPR promises to deliver everything you love about cigarettes, with a bit less of the stuff that could be killing you.

Thanks to design firms Thing Tank and Sequitur Creative, IOLITE's WISPR vaporizer looks like a retro-riffic transistor radio from yesteryear. But inside it packs a butane burner and a compartment for holding pipe tobacco. The IOLITE website actually suggests the use of "other herbs" here because everyone knows you look way cooler smoking tobacco from a pipe. And, let's be frank, there's only one type of smoker who's going to spend hundreds of dollars on a device like this.

Once filled with both fuel and your leaves of choice, you light the WISPR and wait for it to heat up to 374 degrees. At that temperature the tobacco is heated instead of burned, producing a vapor that's inhaled through a pop-up straw. Still not healthy but also less un-healthy, as the process reduces the amount of toxins you're taking in. Available in five very appealing colors for about $280. [WISPR via Wired]

Related Stories

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

The Transistor Was Almost Called the Iotatron [Past Perfect]

When Bell Laboratories wrapped up work on the transistor in 1948, they let 25 employees vote on the name. And for some reason, those stodgy bastards passed up options such as the crystal triode and the iotatron. Sad face.

According to Adafruit, the transistor was originally referred to as a semiconductor triode, but Bell Labs wanted a shorter name. Offering their thoughts on the pros and cons of each name on the ballot, the ballot authors felt crystal triode was misleading (it needed to be piezo-electric for the name to ring true, apparently), and iotatron would not properly distinguish it from gas-filled devices. Of course, they had no issues with transistor as a name. And it was so.

Transistors, of course, went on to become one of the most, if not the most, important component in all of electronics. The little piece of semiconductor material helps amplify signals, or switch those signals on and off. Bell Labs' first transistor could be easily viewed by the naked eye from several feet away. 60 years later, however, billions of them can be packed into a processor not much bigger than your fingertip. [Internet Archive via Adafruit]

Related Stories

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.