Good news, McFly. The Mr. Fusion home reactor, which of course made time travel possible again at the end of
'Back to the Future,' may soon be a reality ... sort of. Researchers at the Institute of Technological Research and the Technological Institute of Aeronautics have announced that they are working on a device that would break down garbage by sending it through a turbine with gas heated to an "ultra-high temperature." The bi-product of this process is energy -- though, they're still not at 1.21 gigawatts quite yet.
Also this morning comes word that another bit of Doc Brown tech, the long-awaited flying car, might finally
go on sale within a few months. The Moller M400 Flying Saucer, which has existed in some prototype form or another for decades, is supposedly slated for limited production of about 250 per year. More an aircraft than a car, the M400 uses four engines to provide lift and thrust. It's able to hover in the air and supposedly top 400 mph in flight. It is slated to cost somewhere between $500,000 and $1 million, though we're guessing closer to the latter.
These are just the latest in a number of gadgets and technologies from the film that have already come to pass. Hoverboards -- probably the most famous prop from the movie next to the DeLorean -- have not made an appearance yet (despite rumors to the contrary), though the
secret of levitation was discovered earlier this month, so we may be on the right track. Also, you may remember the scene in which the future, wimpy McFly gets an angry call at home from his boss via video chat -- technology that hasn't exactly gone mainstream yet, but is easy enough to achieve with a cheap Web cam and a free
Skype account. Future McFly also received a fax from his boss, a technology that's decidedly gone mainstream since 1985, though we're happy to report the double-necktie look and the giant, self-lacing shoes never caught on.
From
SCIFI.COM and
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