Some ingenious exhibits are on show in Galway, the only Irish stop for a tour that shows science's role in our lives, writes Lorna Siggins.
The familiar rattle of a widget in an empty beer can is now echoing in glassware. Thanks to European research and development, the technology devised to put the creamy head on canned stout is being applied to bottled beers and ales.
The simple little nitrogen-charged disc of plastic is an exhibit in the Eureka Treasure collection currently on display in Galway as part of Ireland's EU presidency.
Eureka is a pan-European initiative formed by several member states in 1985 to foster a "bottom-up" approach to technological research and development. Its treasures are 12 experiments that reflect advances in technology.
Take the widget: the new version, which was made in collaboration with Murphy's brewery, is smaller and made of recyclable aluminium; it can float on top of the beer in a bottle to allow the head to form when the cap is removed.
If you prefer tea, Eureka project 1465 reflects a breakthrough in cup design. Chinaware manufacturers were bedevilled for years with a major problem. Whereas plates and bowls could run off automated production lines, teacups and mugs could be produced only to a certain stage. Their handles always had to be applied manually.
Project 1465 shows how smart use of pressure-casting technology resolves the issue - and saves on labour costs. First clay and water are injected into a porous mould, then pressure is applied to force out the water and "create a perfectly handled cup or mug". Jacques Ronger of the project partners, Elmeceram, says cups are now stronger and cheaper to make and involve considerably less waste.
An exhibit designed to catch most young visitors' eyes is project 1505, known as "Remod". Minutes after walking - or dancing or running - in front of its tiny camera lens, visitors can watch their images being played back on screen. It aims to show how high- density recordable DVDs can now be used for home movies and personal music compilations. Project Remod involves development of a disc that can store up to four hours of high-quality material.
Some of the other treasures on display are "high intensity discharge" headlamps that give drivers much clearer views of roads at night; the network supporting Amadeus, one of four main computerised booking systems used by the travel trade; and a single chip capable of integrating two- and three-dimensional graphics, video and audio functions on computers and television sets.
There's also an exhibit of Traprio, a traffic-management system that uses low frequency tags below the road surface near junctions to give priority to buses running late or emergency services stuck in traffic.
Keylight, the software that allowed for the sort of special effects used in the BBC series Walking With Dinosaurs, is encapsulated in project 1683; another uses the latest aerospace technology to design a 21st-century mountain bike. The Cap-bike is up to 40 per cent cheaper than competitive models made in the US and Taiwan, because it relies on single-frame construction using carbon composite materials first developed by NASA and the aircraft industry.
More than 1,500 schoolchildren have booked to visit the modestly sized exhibition, at Atlantaquaria. The trip also includes a full tour of its aquarium, however, according to Neil Campbell, the manager, who is proud that Galway is the only Irish venue on the treasures' European tour.
Eureka Treasures is at Atlantaquaria, in Galway, until March 28th. Further information from 091-585100
The Martin Ryan Marine Science Institute, at NUI Galway, marks its 10th anniversary next month with a public lecture by the naturalist and broadcaster David Bellamy. His talk, The Life-Giving Sea: From Kelp To Coral - A Trip Around Earth's Own Inner Space And A Look Into A Sustainable Future, is on Friday,March 5th, at the Kirwan Theatre, NUI Galway, at 7 p.m. Admission is free but by ticket only. Tickets are available from the university's information office on 091-750418.