The Daily Flash -Eco, Space, Tech (11/03)

The Fastest Solar Car on the Planet

In the most recent World Solar Challenge, a Japanese team upset the former 4-time Dutch champs to win the 1,864-mile solar car race across Australia with the vehicle you see here. The Tokai Challenger completed the journey in 29 hours and 49 minutes despite a flat tire—that's an average speed of about 63mph.

Mob Rule! How Users Took Over Twitter

Twitter itself didn’t invent retweeting; it was created by Twitter users. The company’s second-in-command, Biz Stone, called them “a great example of Twitter teaching us what it wants to be.” The good news, he said, was that Twitter was building retweets right into the site’s architecture. The bad news was that Project Retweet didn’t make any provision for the commentary that users might like to add.

Opening Up A Colorful Cosmic Jewel Box

The Kappa Crucis Cluster, also known as NGC 4755 or simply the "Jewel Box" is just bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye. It was given its nickname by the English astronomer John Herschel in the 1830s because the striking colour contrasts of its pale blue and orange stars seen through a telescope reminded Herschel of a piece of exotic jewellery.

Chinese iPhone Looks Poised to Fail

At Apple's all-night iPhone launch party in Beijing, there were none of the day-long lines seen in New York, London, or Paris. According to the Financial Times, the Chinese iteration of the iPhone, which went on sale on October 30, has stirred the interest of only 11.7 of Chinese cell phone users, according to one survey.