Pure science is generally defined as a process of studying what already is, such as energy, matter and scientific principles. The development of processes is an example of applied science, which manipulates or combines the discoveries of pure science into something new, something which did not previously exist.

I'm not so sure, Hesiod, but I should be clear that I'm distinguishing "pure" science from "applied" science. Applications of pure science should be patentable, of course, just as applications of unpatentable things like steel, wood or aluminum are patentable, but in my opinion pure science is more like a raw material than a product.

Why should pure science be patentable?

The best "prize" system for encouraging innovation already exists, and you named it: "... inventing applications for it will make you rich." The patent system as it exists today functions almost exactly opposite to what it was intended to do, which was to share knowledge and ... encourage innovation. One severe failing in that system is the tolerance of preclusive patents, those filed specifically and only to keep a discovery off the market or to keep others from applying concepts which might compete with the patent-holder's core business. To end this practice patents should expire if they aren't developed into marketable form -- and actual products -- within, say, five years.

Unless we find enough applications to make graphene really useful, it would just be an expensive way to store carbon. It would almost certainly be cheaper to turn pollution into pencil lead.

Finally -- a useful application for table sugar!

While these phones may very well scan for channels not being used at the moment by baby monitors and cordless phones, said baby monitors and cordless phones etc. aren't as accommodating, meaning your pseudo-cell call could presumably be interrupted at any moment by the sounds of a crying baby or a pizza order. Cheaper isn't always better.

(I'll stick with my modified 10-meter 1KW CB radio ...)

Stonehenge as we know it is a fairly modern structure, almost completely disconnected from what existed prior to what can only be called an "artistic" reconstruction in the early 1900s. Here can be found a fairly good summary of the story, which shows that "[Stonehenge] has been created by the heritage industry and is NOT the creation of prehistoric peoples." An online search for "Stonehenge rebuilt" brings up other articles, including (while they last!) photos, showing that commercial interests like English Heritage have a far better claim to Stonehenge than archeology or history. One more quote summarizes the issue: ""The instigators of the English heritage landscape were essentially amateurs, working by trial and error."

Here. Pictures and everything for the curious.

Eerily quiet. Someone had one around my Michigan home town; the loud muffler crowd I hung out with was quite disappointed. Hear a "close-up" sample here.

... what you're asking for sounds more like Dr. Strangelove.

John Leavers invented those machines in 1812 and they're still in use. If two hundred years isn't job security, I don't know what is!

I well remember punching decks of cards for my Computer Science classes, then "submitting" them to the guy behind the bank-teller window in the Mainframe Suite and waiting for my job to finish so another guy could hand me a thick stack of folded paper from the LinePrinter so I could see if my program had worked. I always got a laugh out of waiting an hour or more for my printout, which proclaimed on the second page that I had consumed .00058 seconds of CPU time -- talk about a responsive user interface!

The end product, stored in vast underground reserves, is then recovered by drilling and refining, transported in liquid form, and converted back to energy through a process referred to as "combustion." The developers are certain there can be no negative impact and envision safe, clean "filling stations" someday dotting the landscape.

Your local Goodwill will take it, clean it up and either find a good home for it or dispose of it responsibly. They might even come and pick it up if you've got enough stuff, and in the process you'll be helping the folks who Goodwill helps. I'd call it a Win-Win-Win if it didn't annoy the Mac users.