It wasn’t the airlines or the government that come up with a scientific, algorithmically-based method for speeding up the boarding of a plane. It was an astrophysicist named Jason Steffen who came up with the “Steffen Method” with uses the Monte Carlo optimization method  of calculating to bring us the technique. A few years ago, Steffen was boarding a plane and witnessed the slow methods airlines were using to get people on board. He came up with the Steffen Method which alternates rows, starts with window seats first, and keeps progress moving in the right direction when everyone boards in…

The sun-powered Solar Impulse HB-SIA is the  brainchild of Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg and the futuristic vessel has finally taken it’s first flight. On April 9, 2010, the solar-powered plane took off in Paverne, Switzerland and soared high in the sky for over 87 minutes. The Solar Impulse was flown by pilot Markus Scherdel and climbed its way to over 1,200 meters high. The team who designed and built the aircraft hope to be able to fly the Solar Impulse non-stop around the world. The Solar Impulse has a gigantic wingspan of over 200 feet, which is the same size as a Boeing 747, but weighs…