1 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:03,160 Speaker 1: Welcome to How Stuff Works Now. I'm your host, Lauren 2 00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:09,240 Speaker 1: vocal Bam, a researcher and writer. Here at How Stuff Works. 3 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: Every week, I'm bringing you three stories from our team 4 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:16,160 Speaker 1: about the weird and wondrous advances we've seen in science, technology, 5 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:19,920 Speaker 1: and culture. This week, there's some science that says drivers 6 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: who wait until the last second to merge out of 7 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:26,439 Speaker 1: an ending lane are actually in the right and unrelated 8 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:29,400 Speaker 1: researchers have built a humanoid robot that can do push 9 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:33,440 Speaker 1: ups and cool itself off by sweating. But first, Tex 10 00:00:33,479 --> 00:00:36,800 Speaker 1: Stuff host Jonathan Strickland, via our freelance writer David Ruse, 11 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:39,680 Speaker 1: debunks a few myths about the care and feeding of 12 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:43,160 Speaker 1: smartphone batteries. There's a lot of conflicting information out there, 13 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 1: but we're here to straighten things out. You've probably taken 14 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:53,000 Speaker 1: note of all the talk about smartphones and lithium ion batteries, 15 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:56,280 Speaker 1: so we thought we'd take this opportunity to address three 16 00:00:56,560 --> 00:01:00,680 Speaker 1: burning questions. Question one, isn't a bad idea to leave 17 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 1: your phone plugged in overnight? You might have heard that 18 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:05,840 Speaker 1: if you leave your phone plugged in for too long, 19 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:08,840 Speaker 1: it will damage the battery in some way. But assuming 20 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:11,959 Speaker 1: your charger is in proper working order, there's nothing to 21 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 1: worry about. Smartphone battery stopped charging once they hit a limit. 22 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:19,919 Speaker 1: It's as if your phone is already unplugged, so good news. 23 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:23,440 Speaker 1: As long as your charger is working correctly, you don't 24 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 1: have to set an alarm for the middle of the 25 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:28,960 Speaker 1: night so that you don't accidentally overcharge your smartphone into 26 00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: the incredible hulk. Question two, should you run your smartphone's 27 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:37,680 Speaker 1: battery out completely before recharging it. You've probably heard that 28 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 1: batteries have a limited number of power cycles. This represents 29 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: the number of times a battery can discharge and recharge 30 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:48,000 Speaker 1: before it loses so much capacity then it's pretty much useless. 31 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 1: This is true. Batteries experienced stress through usage, similar to 32 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: what you'd see in a mechanical system. Eventually the battery 33 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: wears out, But recharging your phone when it's at say 34 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: capacity doesn't represent a full charge. It's not like you 35 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 1: lose one cycle every time you plug in your phone. 36 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:10,000 Speaker 1: That means you don't need to discharge a battery completely 37 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: before recharging it. In fact, that would cause more stress 38 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:18,120 Speaker 1: to your battery, wearing it out faster. Experts suggest recharging 39 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: your battery when it's between forty and eight capacity. This 40 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:25,239 Speaker 1: will decrease the amount of stress the battery experiences as 41 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:28,800 Speaker 1: it discharges and recharges. For some of us, this means 42 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:31,800 Speaker 1: recharging our phones several times throughout the day. If you 43 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: can't do that, don't sweat it. Most of us replace 44 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 1: our phones before we've significantly whittled down battery capacity. And 45 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 1: now question three, how does heat affect battery performance? Not great, bob. 46 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:48,080 Speaker 1: Heat will reduce a battery's capacity faster than going through 47 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:51,520 Speaker 1: lots of charging cycles in a short time. That means 48 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:55,160 Speaker 1: when you fully recharge your smartphone, you'll have fewer hours 49 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:57,960 Speaker 1: of operation because the battery won't be able to store 50 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 1: as much energy as it did previous sleep. So don't 51 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 1: leave your smartphones sitting out in the sun or in 52 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:07,800 Speaker 1: a hot car, or I don't know, on the stove 53 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:15,600 Speaker 1: or something. It's better. Next up step, editor Christopher Hasiotus 54 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:20,040 Speaker 1: and freelancer Jescelin Shields explain how one annoying traffic behavior 55 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 1: turns out to be for the good of all of us. 56 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:26,560 Speaker 1: Merging lanes at the last possible second isn't just more efficient, 57 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 1: it's safer To imagine you're driving down the road, and 58 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:34,239 Speaker 1: all of a sudden you see a brightly colored sign 59 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:38,080 Speaker 1: announcing lane closed in one thousand feet. You've got a 60 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: couple of options. One, immediately turn on your blinker and 61 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:44,360 Speaker 1: wait until someone in the next lane lets you in. Two, 62 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:46,560 Speaker 1: just stay in your lane and wait for all the 63 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 1: plaite people to get out of your way. Then zoom 64 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:50,600 Speaker 1: to the front of the line and merge at the 65 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 1: last moment, right where the lane closes. Watches people who 66 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:57,400 Speaker 1: merge hurley rage in your general direction, silent behind their 67 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: glass windows, but faces twisted in fury. To most people, 68 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:05,040 Speaker 1: the first option seems more courteous and patient, less selfish, 69 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:09,680 Speaker 1: but study upon study proves the upstanding early mergers among 70 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:13,080 Speaker 1: us are just creating a single slow line of traffic 71 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:17,760 Speaker 1: that's not only frustrating for drivers, it's inefficient. That's because 72 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:21,000 Speaker 1: by merging early, we minimize the amount of usable road, 73 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:24,880 Speaker 1: leaving a long swath of perfectly good street capacity open 74 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:28,120 Speaker 1: and unused. What we all should be doing is called 75 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:31,200 Speaker 1: the late merge zipper system, and by the way, the 76 00:04:31,279 --> 00:04:34,600 Speaker 1: Germans naturally have their own word for it, rice verst 77 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: loose system. In this system, every car in the lane 78 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:40,839 Speaker 1: that's ending drives all the way up to the front 79 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:43,240 Speaker 1: of the line and takes turns merging with the other 80 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:46,479 Speaker 1: lane of traffic. From above, it looks a bit like 81 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:49,599 Speaker 1: the teeth on a zipper coming together. Because the system 82 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 1: uses all the available road space for as long as possible, 83 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:58,000 Speaker 1: it cuts congestion by according to recent studies from various 84 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:01,080 Speaker 1: US state departments of Transportation and as well as the 85 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:05,640 Speaker 1: Federal Highway Administration. The late merge zipper system also reduces 86 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:08,400 Speaker 1: crashes because it keeps all traffic moving at the same 87 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:11,720 Speaker 1: rate of speed, rather than having some cars going slow 88 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:15,960 Speaker 1: to merge early while others zoom passed them. So why 89 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:18,839 Speaker 1: don't we all just zipper merge at the last minute? Already? 90 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:21,320 Speaker 1: The problem is, of course, that our driving habits are 91 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:24,440 Speaker 1: baked in pretty deep. But to help steer us to 92 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:27,360 Speaker 1: a more rational place, some states are shelling out big 93 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:30,719 Speaker 1: bucks to actually retrain their drivers to use the zipper merge. 94 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:34,200 Speaker 1: Colorado and Minnesota have been working on encouraging the late 95 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:37,839 Speaker 1: merge zipper for a decade, already, followed by Washington, Missouri 96 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 1: in Kansas, and even earlier this year, Missouri launched its 97 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 1: own public education campaign. Will this efficient and safe merging 98 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:48,600 Speaker 1: technique find a place in our traffic habits. Minnesota Radio's 99 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:52,480 Speaker 1: Bob Collins reflected after his state implemented its campaign, saying 100 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:55,719 Speaker 1: the zipper merge is going to be this centuries conversion 101 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:59,000 Speaker 1: to the metric system in the seventies great idea made 102 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:04,200 Speaker 1: perfect sense and was dead on arrival. However, change could 103 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:06,840 Speaker 1: be on its way thanks to a generational shift. A 104 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 1: two thousand thirteen Minnesota survey found that only eight percent 105 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:14,279 Speaker 1: of senior drivers felt comfortable with the late March zipper system. 106 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 1: On the other hand, among drivers aged to thirty four, 107 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:22,240 Speaker 1: a full fort of the young population are okay zipping 108 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:27,920 Speaker 1: up for common sense and the common good. Finally, this week, 109 00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:30,599 Speaker 1: I'm bringing you a story from our freelance writer Patrick 110 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:33,720 Speaker 1: Jake Tiger about a robot built to manage the heat 111 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:37,760 Speaker 1: from its machinery by sweating. It's only gross and or 112 00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:41,640 Speaker 1: hilarious until you start thinking about how efficient biomimicry can be. 113 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:47,800 Speaker 1: When you physically exert yourself, you break a sweat. You've 114 00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:51,680 Speaker 1: probably noticed this that dripping is a biological mechanism that 115 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: keeps your body from overheating when the water secreted out 116 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:58,160 Speaker 1: of your sweat glands evaporates, it draws off heat and 117 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: cools you down. Now, if a machine does something strenuous, 118 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:04,320 Speaker 1: it has to get rid of the resulting heat energy too. 119 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:07,880 Speaker 1: In the past, engineers have relied upon fans, motors, and 120 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:12,480 Speaker 1: radiators to cool robotic gadgetry. But those solutions are pretty bulky, 121 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:15,240 Speaker 1: and when you're talking about robotic gadgetry that mimics living 122 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 1: creatures movements, bulky equals cumbersome. That's why University of Tokyo 123 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:23,720 Speaker 1: j s K Lab researchers, who are designing robots with 124 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 1: muscular and skeletal systems based on the human body, have 125 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:29,480 Speaker 1: come up with a solution to the heat problem that's 126 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:33,600 Speaker 1: either ingenious or obvious. They've created a robot that uses 127 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:38,000 Speaker 1: sweat to cool itself. The robot, named Kenoto, was presented 128 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in October. 129 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:44,320 Speaker 1: It's a five and a half foot tall, hundred and 130 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:47,400 Speaker 1: twenty three pound automaton, which is one point seven ms 131 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 1: and about fifty six ks for our metric friends. It's 132 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:53,680 Speaker 1: stuffed with circuitry and a hundred and eight motors that 133 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:57,560 Speaker 1: need to remain relatively cool to function. Optimally. To do that, 134 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:00,320 Speaker 1: the designers created a system of channels that allow water 135 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:03,000 Speaker 1: to run through the robot's body and then evaborate out 136 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 1: from its metal skin. To accomplish that, the engineers three 137 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 1: D printed a highly permeable aluminum frame with a spongelike 138 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:14,520 Speaker 1: array of tiny gaps and tunnels through which water can trickle. 139 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:18,440 Speaker 1: Ken Godo has to be kept constantly hydrated for the 140 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:20,680 Speaker 1: cooling to be effective, just like you or me, but 141 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:22,840 Speaker 1: ken Godo only needs about half a cup of water 142 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:26,080 Speaker 1: per day, far less than a human. To demonstrate how 143 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:29,040 Speaker 1: well the system works, researchers had the robot do push 144 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:33,239 Speaker 1: ups for eleven minutes straight, which it managed without overheating. 145 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:36,600 Speaker 1: The whole thing looks well a lot like you'd expect 146 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:39,480 Speaker 1: to push up maniac robot to look, which is to say, 147 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:42,400 Speaker 1: something like a Terminator T eight hundred skeleton, except it's 148 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:45,719 Speaker 1: ropey muscles are more puffy than sleek, and they gave 149 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:49,040 Speaker 1: it a face based in classic manga think Samu Tezuka, 150 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:51,880 Speaker 1: but more Buddha than Astro Boy. For anyone who doesn't 151 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:54,000 Speaker 1: speak fluent nerd, there's a video on now dot how 152 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:56,880 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com with a visual and of course, 153 00:08:57,000 --> 00:08:59,320 Speaker 1: the j s K Lab isn't just interested in making 154 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:02,160 Speaker 1: robots that do push ups. Lots of their research is 155 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:05,080 Speaker 1: bent toward designing bots that are humanoid enough to move 156 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:08,200 Speaker 1: with ease around space. Is built for humans like the 157 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:10,880 Speaker 1: homes of the elderly and other people who need help 158 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:14,400 Speaker 1: with housework or around offices. Do you think how stuff 159 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:16,960 Speaker 1: Works would buyas a robot that delivers our inter office mail, 160 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:25,720 Speaker 1: sets up teleconferencing, and microwaves our luncheons. That's our show 161 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:28,000 Speaker 1: for this week. Thank you so much for tuning in. 162 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:31,400 Speaker 1: Subscribe now for more of the latest and strangest science news, 163 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 1: and send us links to anything you'd like to hear 164 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 1: us cover, plus the name of your favorite local charity. 165 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:38,680 Speaker 1: We're feeling the weight of our civic duty this week. 166 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:41,280 Speaker 1: You can send us an email at now podcast at 167 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:44,400 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com, and of course, for lots 168 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:46,600 Speaker 1: more stories like these, head on over to our home 169 00:09:46,640 --> 00:10:03,160 Speaker 1: planet now dot how stuff works dot com.