# General science advances thread



## ScienceRocks

This thread is for the stuff that isn't part of the others.
Excluding
Medical
3-d printers
Robotics
Advances in comptuers
ect



*Tractor beam built from rings of laser light *
18:05 19 October 2012 by Jacob Aron
Tractor beam built from rings of laser light - physics-math - 19 October 2012 - New Scientist




> Stand aside, Wesley Crusher: there's a new tractor beam on deck that pulls objects using nothing more than laser light. The device has already grabbed NASA's attention as it could one day prove useful on space missions.
> 
> It is well known that light can push on objects  this is the basis for using solar sails to propel a spacecraft. But getting light to pull on something is a bit trickier.
> 
> Previous laser-based tractor beams could act like tweezers to move particles, picking up the sample and putting it down a short distance away. A more recent version actually pulls on particles, but relies on temperature variations in the beam, which means it cannot function in space.
> 
> In 2011, researchers in China calculated that a type of laser called a Bessel beam, which puts out light in concentric rings, could be designed to make a particle inside the beam emit photons on the side facing away from the beam source. These photons should allow the particle to recoil towards the source. But nobody has so far managed to put the idea into practice.
> 
> David Ruffner and David Grier of New York University instead projected two Bessel beams side by side and used a lens to angle them so that they overlapped, creating a pattern of alternating bright and dark regions. Fine-tuning the beam caused photons in the bright regions to scatter toward the beam source, pushing a particle in the beam to the next bright region. The beam thus acts like a conveyor belt, constantly drawing the particle toward the source.


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## ScienceRocks

Boeing Successfully Tests Microwave Missile That Takes Out Electronic Targets 
CBS St. Louis ^ | October 25, 2012 | NA 

Boeing Successfully Tests Microwave Missile That Takes Out Electronic Targets « CBS St. Louis



> HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah (CBS St. Louis) &#8212; Boeing successfully tests a new missile that can take out electronic targets with little collateral damage.
> 
> The aerospace company tested the microwave missile last week on a two-story building on the Utah Test and Training Range where computers and electronic systems were turned on to gauge the effects of the missile&#8217;s radio waves, according to a Boeing press release.
> 
> The missile, known as CHAMP (Counter-electronics High-powered Advanced Missile Project), fired a burst of High Powered Microwaves at the building, successfully knocking out the electronic systems and computers, and even taking out the television cameras recording the test...


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## ScienceRocks

*World&#8217;s first commercial vertical farm opens in Singapore*

George Dvorsky

World's first commercial vertical farm opens in Singapore



> The prospect of growing crops in vertical farms directly inside of cities has been on the collective wish-list of environmentalists, sustainable developers, and futurists for quite some time now. And now it looks like it's finally starting to happen. Land-strapped Singapore has opened its first vertical farm &#8212; an innovation that will increase the variety of foods it has available and decrease its dependance on foreign imports.
> 
> And indeed, a major problem facing Singapore (and many other cities) today is land scarcity. Located at the tip of the Malay Peninsula, it is an island country that consists of a mere 710 square kilometers (271 square miles) &#8212; and most of it is developed and urbanized. Today, only 7% of Singapore's vegetables are grown locally. But by virtue of the new facility, it's looking to change the situation.
> 
> Developed by Sky Greens Farms, the vertical farm consists of 120 aluminum towers that extend over 9 meters (30 feet) in height. In total, the vertical farm is able to produce vegetables at a rate of 0.5 tonnes per day. The company is hoping to attract investors so that it can devote another USD$21M dollars for upgrades. Ideally, they'd like to construct as many as 300 towers &#8212; enough to produce two tonnes of vegetables per day.
> 
> Currently, the farm is able to grow three kinds of vegetables, and they can only be found at the local FairPrice Finest supermarkets, but at a price that's 10 to 20 cents more than vegetables from other sources. But according to Channel News Asia, customers are enthusiastic about the new products and the supermarkets are struggling to keep the vegetables in stock. Moreover, Sky Greens expects the price to drop as the farm ramps up supply.


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## ScienceRocks

*
Navy Will Get Lasers in 2 Years, Admiral Says*

Navy Will Get Lasers in 2 Years, Admiral Says | Office of Naval Research | LiveScience



> Laser weapons capable of burning small boats or sending drones plunging from the sky as flaming wrecks could find a home aboard U.S. Navy ships in the next two years, an admiral says.
> 
> That prediction came from Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, the chief of the Office of Naval Research, during an interview with Wired's Danger Room. The Navy has already worked with defense companies to test lasers for destroying both boats and aircraft, and has even looked at pairing lasers up with more traditional machine guns for ship defense.




Now this is cool!


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## ScienceRocks

Key test for re-healable concreteBy Paul Rincon

BBC News - Key test for re-healable concrete



> Experimental concrete that patches up cracks by itself is to undergo outdoor testing.
> 
> The concrete contains limestone-producing bacteria, which are activated by corrosive rainwater working its way into the structure.
> 
> The new material could potentially increase the service life of the concrete - with considerable cost savings as a result.
> 
> The work is taking place at Delft Technical University, the Netherlands.
> 
> It is the brainchild of microbiologist Henk Jonkers and concrete technologist Eric Schlangen.
> 
> If all goes well, Dr Jonkers says they could start the process of commercialising the system in 2-3 years.
> 
> Concrete is the world's most widely used building material. But it is prone to cracks, which means that structures need to be substantially reinforced with steel.
> 
> "Micro-cracks" are an expected part of the hardening process and do not directly cause strength loss. Fractures with a width of about 0.2mm are allowed under norms used by the concrete industry.
> 
> But over time, water - along with aggressive chemicals in it - gets into these cracks and corrodes the concrete.
> 
> 
> Longer life
> 
> "For durability reasons - in order to improve the service life of the construction - it is important to get these micro-cracks healed," Dr Jonkers told BBC News.
> 
> Bacterial spores and the nutrients they will need to feed on are added as granules into the concrete mix. But water is the missing ingredient required for the microbes to grow.
> 
> Concrete is the world's most popular building material, but cracking is a problem
> So the spores remain dormant until rainwater works its way into the cracks and activates them. The harmless bacteria - belonging to the Bacillus genus - then feed on the nutrients to produce limestone.
> 
> The bacterial food incorporated into the healing agent is calcium lactate - a component of milk. The microbes used in the granules are able to tolerate the highly alkaline environment of the concrete.


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## ScienceRocks

*Researchers create new microparticles that self-assemble like atoms into molecules*



> Researchers create new microparticles that self-assemble like atoms into molecules
> diameter of a human hair, that spontaneously assemble themselves into structures resembling molecules made from atoms.
> 
> Scientists have created new kinds of particles, 1/100th the diameter of a human hair, that spontaneously assemble themselves into structures resembling molecules made from atoms. These new particles come together, or "self-assemble," to form structures in patterns that were previously impossible to make and hold promise for manufacturing advanced optical materials and ceramics.
> 
> The method, described in the latest issue of the journal Nature, was developed by a team of chemists, chemical engineers, and physicists at New York University (NYU), the Harvard School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, the Harvard Department of Physics, and Dow Chemical Company. The method is centered on enhancing the architecture of colloids&#8212;small particles suspended within a fluid medium. Colloidal dispersions are composed of such everyday items as paint, milk, gelatin, glass, and porcelain, but their potential to create new materials remains largely untapped.
> 
> 
> "What this means is we can make particles that attach only at the patches, and then we can program them so only specific kinds of particles attach at those patches," said coauthor and NYU physics professor David Pine. "This gives us tremendous flexibility to design 3-dimensional structures." The researchers added that the specificity of DNA interactions between patches means that colloids with different properties, such as size, color, chemical functionality, or electrical conductivity, could lead to the production of new materials. These potentially include 3-dimensional electrically wired networks or photonic crystals to enhance the optical displays of a range of consumer products and to improve the speed of computer chips.



 Read more at: Researchers create new microparticles that self-assemble like atoms into molecules


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## Mr. H.

Awesomeness.


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## ScienceRocks

*Researchers create laser the size of a virus particle*



> Miniature laser operates at room temperature and defies the diffraction limit of light
> 
> A Northwestern University research team has found a way to manufacture single laser devices that are the size of a virus particle and that operate at room temperature. These plasmonic nanolasers could be readily integrated into silicon-based photonic devices, all-optical circuits and nanoscale biosensors.
> 
> Reducing the size of photonic and electronic elements is critical for ultra-fast data processing and ultra-dense information storage. The miniaturization of a key, workhorse instrument -- the laser -- is no exception.
> 
> The results are published in the journal Nano Letters.
> 
> "Coherent light sources at the nanometer scale are important not only for exploring phenomena in small dimensions but also for realizing optical devices with sizes that can beat the diffraction limit of light," said Teri Odom, a nanotechnology expert who led the research.
> 
> Odom is the Board of Lady Managers of the Columbian Exposition Professor of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and a professor of materials science and engineering in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science.
> 
> "The reason we can fabricate nano-lasers with sizes smaller than that allowed by diffraction is because we made the lasing cavity out of metal nanoparticle dimers -- structures with a 3-D 'bowtie' shape," Odom said.
> 
> These metal nanostructures support localized surface plasmons -- collective oscillations of electrons -- that have no fundamental size limits when it comes to confining light.
> 
> The use of the bowtie geometry has two significant benefits over previous work on plasmon lasers: (1) the bowtie structure provides a well-defined, electromagnetic hot spot in a nano-sized volume because of an antenna effect, and (2) the individual structure has only minimal metal "losses" because of its discrete geometry.
> 
> "Surprisingly, we also found that when arranged in an array, the 3-D bowtie resonators could emit light at specific angles according to the lattice parameters," Odom said.




###

The Nano Letters paper, titled "Plasmonic Bowtie Nanolaser Arrays," is available at Plasmonic Bowtie Nanolaser Arrays - Nano Letters (ACS Publications).
Researchers create laser the size of a virus particle


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## ScienceRocks

High-strength material advancements may lead to new, life-saving steel
November 5, 2012 



> There has been great advancements in the development of the high-strength steel and the need for additional enhancements continue to grow. Various industries have a need for structural components that are lighter and stronger, improve energy efficiencies, reduce emissions and pollution increase safety and cost less to produce, particularly in the automotive industry.
> 
> A group of researchers in Wayne State University's College of Engineering have been working to create advanced materials with high-yield strength, fracture toughness and ductility. Their efforts have led to the development of a new material consisting of bainitic steels and austempered ductile iron that has all these characteristics, ultimately resisting fatigue that can cause fractures in materials often with catastrophic consequences.
> 
> The group, led by Susil Putatunda, Ph.D., professor of chemical engineering and materials science in WSU's College of Engineering, has focused on developing novel materials using unique processing technique. These materials are processed from existing raw materials used in the steel industry and can be heat treated using currently available industrial austempering process. According to Putatunda, this third generation advanced high strength steel has a number of advantages over the currently available steels currently being used in industry today.
> 
> *"Our steel has twice the yield strength, has a very high tensile strength, and is close to three times the fracture toughness over advanced steels currently on the market," said Putatunda. "In addition, it has improved strength for fatigue and impact, improved durability, lower weight, and the austempering process reduces energy consumption and eliminates the post-treatment process."*


High-strength material advancements may lead to new, life-saving steel


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## Mr. H.

Let's hear it for bainitic steels and austempered ductile iron.



99 pallets of bainitic steels and austempered ductile iron on the wall,
99 pallets of bainitic steels and austempered ductile iron...

Take one down, pass it around,
98 pallets of bainitic steels and austempered ductile iron on the wall.


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## ScienceRocks

Heres another one!
Hypergravity helping aircraft fly further

Hypergravity helping aircraft fly further
November 6, 2012 



> Aircraft turbine in flight. ESA research has helped to develop an aircraft-grade alloy that is *twice as light as conventional nickel superalloys *while offering equally good properties. Credit: Creative Commons&#8211;A. Rueda
> 
> (Phys.org)&#8212;ESA research has helped to develop an aircraft-grade alloy that is twice as light as conventional nickel superalloys while offering equally good properties. The path to creating this alloy required research under all types of gravity.
> 
> Airlines are always looking for ways to save fuel by cutting down on weight without sacrificing safety. Generally, cutting weight by 1% will save up to 1.5% in fuel.
> 
> For commercial airlines, this saving quickly adds up, offering cheaper flights and fewer stopovers while reducing the overall impact on the environment.
> 
> For years, engineers have known that titanium aluminide alloys offer great weight benefits over the nickel superalloys used today in conventional jet engines.
> 
> 
> Since the newer alloy can withstand extreme temperatures up to 800°C, it is of particular interest to engine manufacturers.
> 
> Although it is possible to make the alloy in a laboratory, casting it in the shapes required by industry, such as a turbine blade, is not simple.
> 
> ESA scientists working in the Impress project looked into the problem. To understand natural processes, scientists often remove as many external variables as possible, concentrating their observations on core interactions.
> 
> Switching off gravity
> 
> Aluminium samples were heated in a small furnace carried in a sounding rocket launched from Kiruna, Sweden. During six minutes of free fall, they were heated to over 700°C and then monitored by X-rays as they cooled.
> 
> Looking at the results, the researchers realised that casting titanium aluminides might require looking in the opposite direction: hypergravity.
> 
> ESA is the only organisation that offers all levels of gravity, so the Impress team turned to the agency's centrifuge in the ESTEC research and technology centre, the Netherlands to test their theory.
> 
> Casting the metals in a centrifuge creating up to 20 times normal gravity helps the liquid metals to fill every part of a mould, producing a perfectly cast alloy, even with complex shapes.
> 
> Analysing metal casting in as many ways as possible produced building blocks of knowledge that allowed the industrial process to be refined and commercialised.
> 
> Over a million jet turbine blades will be made over the next eight years, *and using titanium aluminide would reduce their weight by 45% over traditional components.*
> 
> The alloy's benefits are also of interest to the car industry &#8211; before long, cars will run on engines using space-based knowledge.


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## ScienceRocks

Batteries not required, just plug into ear cells 
16:55 08 November 2012 by Will Ferguson

Batteries not required, just plug into ear cells - health - 08 November 2012 - New Scientist



> For the first time, an electrical device has been powered by the ear alone.
> 
> The team behind the technology used a natural electrochemical gradient in cells within the inner ear of a guinea pig to power a wireless transmitter for up to five hours.
> 
> The technique could one day provide an autonomous power source for brain and cochlear implants, says Tina Stankovic, an auditory neuroscientist at Harvard University Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts.
> 
> Nerve cells use the movement of positively charged sodium ions and negatively charged potassium ions across a membrane to create an electrochemical gradient that drives neural signals. Some cells in the cochlear have the same kind of gradient, which is used to convert the mechanical force of the vibrating eardrum into electrical signals that the brain can understand.


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## Mr. H.

99 groups of natural electrochemical gradient in cells on the wall

99 groups of natural electrochemical gradient in cells...

Take one down, pass it around,

98 groups of natural electrochemical gradient in cells on the wall


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## Mr. H.

Serious- this is neat shit. Thanks for posting it all up.


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## ScienceRocks

Four African Teens Create Pee-Powered Energy Generator


Article | November 9, 2012 - 8:56pm Comment0




> Quote:
> Four African teens have wowed visitors to Maker Faire Africa by creating a generator that is powered with pee. Using a resource that everyone has, the girls developed a generator that produces six hour of power for one liter of urine. At only 14 and 15 years old, the students are an inspiration for renewable energy developers everywhere!
> Duro-Aina Adebola, Akindele Abiola, Faleke Oluwatoyin and Bello Eniola aren&#8217;t even college grads &#8212; the young inventors barely in their teens! Growing up in a region with little natural resources, the girls were inspired to take on the challenge of creating an alternative energy system that could be further developed to solve energy solutions in their community.



http://www.zeitnews.org/applied-scie...ergy-generator

Doesn't surprise me that they'd do something like this.


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## Mr. H.

May I call you Matt? 

Do you wear a hat?

Would you wear it here or there?

Would you wear it anywhere?


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## ScienceRocks

*Entanglement Makes Quantum Batteries Almost Perfect, Say Theorists*

Entanglement Makes Quantum Batteries Almost Perfect, Say Theorists | ZeitNews





> In recent years, physicists have amused themselves by calculating the properties of quantum machines, such as engines and refrigerators.
> 
> The essential question is how well these devices work when they exploit the rules of quantum mechanics rather than classical mechanics. The answers have given physicists important new insights into the link between quantum mechanics and thermodynamics.
> 
> The dream is that they may one day build such devices or exploit those already used by nature.
> 
> Today, Robert Alicki, at the University of Gdansk in Poland, and Mark Fannes, at the University of Leuven in Belgium, turn their attention to quantum batteries.  They ask how much work can be extracted from a quantum system where energy is stored temporarily.
> 
> Such a system might be an atom or a molecule, for example. And the answer has an interesting twist.


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## ScienceRocks

*Coimbatore students design model for flying car*
Arun P Mathew, TNN | Nov 7, 2012, 06.17AM IST


Coimbatore students design model for flying car - The Times of India



> COIMBATORE: Most people will go out of their way to avoid rush hour traffic. The lucky ones can adjust their schedules to work around peak traffic hours, while the rest of us take to the road reluctantly, wishing and hoping our car or bike could fly. The good news is that we may be closer to operating a flying car than we think, thanks to three students of a prominent city college who have designed a car that can fly at the press of a switch.
> 
> Godfrey Derek Sams, Kamali Gurunathan and Prasanth Selvan, aeronautical engineering students at Kumaraguru College of Technology have been selected by the Planetary Scientific Research Centre to present their design for a flying car at the International Conference on Aerospace, Automotive and Mechanical Engineering that will be held on December 8 and 9 at Pattaya in Thailand. The flying car is a concept that has existed from the time of the Wright Brothers. Although many have attempted to design a flying car, no one has been successful so far. However, the selected students are optimistic that their design is a workable solution.


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## ScienceRocks

Flexible and transparent supercapacitor: For energy-storage devices, thin is in (w/ Video)
November 12, 2012 by Angela Herring 



> (Phys.org)&#8212;Cell phones as thin and flexible as a sheet of paper. Energy-storing house paint. Roll-up touch screen displays. These are the sorts of devices that the engineering industry is preparing for and expecting. But if any of them is to work, said Northeastern University mechanical and industrial engineering professor Yung Joon Jung, experts also need to create a thin and flexible energy-storage system. His lab has developed such a system.
> 
> The supercapacitor, which has not yet been optimized, is able to store energy and provide power at levels comparable to other devices. The difference, however, is its ability to be incorporated into thin film devices. "If we give up transparency and mechanical flexibility," Jung said, "we can easily go to that level of commercially available devices. But my goal is not to lose these two qualities and simultaneously develop high-performance energy devices."
> 
> The research team has already used a flexible and transparent prototype to power a light. The group plans to make continued improvements in power generation and energy storage.



Flex*ible and trans*parent super*ca*pac*itor: For energy-storage devices, thin is in (w/ Video)


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## ScienceRocks

Team demonstrates new hybrid nanomaterial for power generation
November 12, 2012 



> A University of Texas at Arlington physics professor has helped create a hybrid nanomaterial that can be used to convert light and thermal energy into electrical current, surpassing earlier methods that used either light or thermal energy, but not both.
> Working with Louisiana Tech University assistant professor Long Que, UT Arlington associate physics professor Wei Chen and graduate students Santana Bala Lakshmanan and Chang Yang synthesized a combination of copper sulfide nanoparticles and single-walled carbon nanotubes.
> 
> The team used the nanomaterial to build a prototype thermoelectric generator that they hope can eventually produce milliwatts of power. Paired with microchips, the technology could be used in devices such as self-powering sensors, low-power electronic devices and implantable biomedical micro-devices, Chen said.
> 
> "If we can convert both light and heat to electricity, the potential is huge for energy production," Chen said. "By increasing the number of the micro-devices on a chip, this technology might offer a new and efficient platform to complement or even replace current solar cell technology."


Team demonstrates new hybrid nanomaterial for power generation


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## ScienceRocks

*Space-age Rapid Transit to debut in Tel Aviv*




> Space-age rapid transit to debut in Tel Aviv Developer of NASA-designed skyTran chose Israel
> Article | November 14, 2012 - 11:22am
> Comment1
> 
> If all goes as planned, within two years Israelis will be the first people to try out a futuristic rapid transport system designed by NASA&#8217;s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California. The skyTran uses two-person modules that drive along a guide rail suspended from existing power lines. Magnets in the vehicle create a magnetic field around the metal coil inside the rail, causing the vehicle to lift up and glide 60 miles per hour on a cushion of air. The system uses very little energy and potentially could be powered entirely by solar panels.
> 
> "Our objective is to build a pilot project here so that we can make Israel the center of the skyTran world,&#8221; CEO Jerry Sanders tells ISRAEL21c. The first route, on which construction could begin next spring, would run from the high-tech center in Atidim through the Tel Aviv University train station to the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Port. Another installation might be placed on Netanya&#8217;s congested east side and a third would take people into and around Ariel Sharon Park, a huge public &#8220;green belt&#8221; in central Israel.




Space-age Rapid Transit to debut in Tel Aviv | ZeitNews


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## Mr. H.

Super Material Can Stop Speeding Bullet | ABC News - Yahoo!

_Researchers at a Rice University lab are researching technology that that could potentially stop a 9-millimeter bullet and seal the entryway behind it - an advance that may have huge implications for ballistic protection for soldiers, as well as other uses._


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## ScienceRocks

Researchers laser print polymer circuits, usher in age of inexpensive electronics
Brittany Hillen, Nov 17th 2012 Discuss [0] 
Researchers laser print polymer circuits, usher in age of inexpensive electronics - SlashGear


> The National Technical University of Athens in Greece has developed a method for potentially ushering in an age of cheaper electronics. The researchers successfully created polymer circuits using laser printing, which eliminates the needs for solvents that can cause more harm than good. So far, the team responsible has printed photovoltaic and biological sensing circuits.
> 
> 
> Maria Kandyla of the University of Athens, along with a few other individuals, use the laser printing as a demonstrable alternative to traditional solvent use. The problem with solvents is their potential for damaging the unit, as well as a tendency to concentrate on the outer edge of drying droplets. Laser printing eliminates these possible damaging effects by removing the need for solvents altogether.
> 
> Using the laser printing method, solid polymer is applied directly, starting with the initial conducting layer located on a piece of either quartz or glass; this is the donor substrate. A second layer, called the receiving substrate, is placed facing the conducting polymer with a small space between them. The laser is then used through the glass or quartz and to the polymer layer, transferring part of it onto the receiving substrate.


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## ScienceRocks

*European Union To Spend $900M Building Super Lasers More Powerful Than Any Yet Constructed*

European Union To Spend $900M Building Super Lasers More Powerful Than Any Yet Constructed | Singularity Hub



> On the coattails of CERN&#8217;s success with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), Europeans and the world at large have another grand science project to be excited about: the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) project involving 40 research and academic institutions. The project&#8217;s goal is to build powerful lasers &#8212; two in Romania and the Czech Republic and a third in Hungary. These lasers will progressively serve as prototypes for a fourth more powerful laser &#8212; the Ultra-High Field Laser &#8212; whose location hasn&#8217;t been decided yet, though the UK is the likely candidate.


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## rdean

I love it when Republicans talk about "science".  Fraught with humor.







Section 4: Scientists, Politics and Religion | Pew Research Center for the People and the Press


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## ScienceRocks

Iron Dome rocket smasher set to change Gaza conflict 
17:54 20 November 2012 by Paul Marks
Iron Dome rocket smasher set to change Gaza conflict - tech - 20 November 2012 - New Scientist





> As violence erupts once more in Israel and the Gaza Strip, new military technology is set to change how future conflicts will play out.
> 
> For the first time, a missile-defence system is working effectively. Nicknamed "Iron Dome", Israel's missile interceptor uses radar to identify rocket launches, track their trajectory and guide a Mach 2.2 missile to blow them up mid-air.
> 
> By noon on 19 November, 877 rockets were fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip, according to figures from the Israeli Defence Force, which claims to have downed 307 rockets on a dangerous trajectory.
> 
> Until 17 November the system had a range of only 15 kilometres but a software upgrade fast-tracked over the weekend extended the range to
> 
> 75 km, says Ben Goodlad, a defence analyst with IHS Jane's, the military data publisher based in Coulsdon, UK.
> 
> That immediately allowed the system to destroy at least one Iranian-designed Fajr-5 missile headed for Tel Aviv. Although the Fajr-5 can reach Tel Aviv, about 70km away, most rockets coming out of the Gaza Strip are Qassam rockets, with ranges between 3 and 15 km. "They are very easy to produce, made of common day to day materials, but are quite unsophisticated, not guided in any way," says Goodlad.


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## Toddsterpatriot

rdean said:


> I love it when Republicans talk about "science".  Fraught with humor.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Section 4: Scientists, Politics and Religion | Pew Research Center for the People and the Press



It's better when Al Gore talks about science. LOL!


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## Mr. H.

This is cool...

Dark matter detector nearing activation in SD mine - Yahoo! News


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## ScienceRocks

Appliqué vehicle armour could withstand numerous bullets

23 November 2012 | By Jason Ford 





> Engineers at Surrey University and Lockheed Martin UK are working on a project to develop appliqué vehicle armour that can withstand multiple ballistic strikes.
> 
> Andrew Harris, an engineering doctorate research engineer at Surrey, explained that ceramic armour is used on many light-armoured vehicles because it is as effective as metal and can withstand a number of threats, particularly bullets.
> 
> Another advantage of ceramic-based shielding is that it is lightweight &#8212; an important consideration given that armour can account for half of a vehicle&#8217;s mass.
> 
> 
> Harris explained that, despite its advantages, ceramic armour possesses a flaw that has been a problem for a number of years.
> 
> &#8216;A very basic ceramic armour would be a very hard front-face material such as alumina or silicon carbide that is bonded to an energy-absorbing backing material, typically a composite fibre or metal that absorbs the energy of the fragments,&#8217; he said.
> 
> &#8216;When you get a bullet impact, it transmits a lot of energy into the ceramic and that shock causes the ceramic tiles to come off the backing material, which makes the ceramic armour only good for one hit. You can get around this by over-designing the ceramic armour, making it heavier. What we&#8217;ve done is improve the bond strength; we tested it and found that the armour performance is improved.&#8217;




Read more: Appliqué vehicle armour could withstand numerous bullets | News | The Engineer


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## ScienceRocks

Rice unveils super-efficient solar-energy technology



> Rice University scientists have unveiled a revolutionary new technology that uses nanoparticles to convert solar energy directly into steam. The new "solar steam" method from Rice's Laboratory for Nanophotonics (LANP) is so effective it can even produce steam from icy cold water. Details of the solar steam method were published online in ACS Nano. The technology has an overall energy efficiency of 24 percent.


 
From http://www.solardail...nology_999.html


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## ScienceRocks

*Star Trek Classroom: The next generation of school desks*

Star Trek Classroom: The next generation of school desks | e! Science News



> Durham University
> 
> Researchers designing and testing the 'classroom of the future' have found that multi-touch, multi-user desks can boost skills in mathematics. New results from a 3-year project working with over 400 pupils, mostly 8-10 year olds, show that collaborative learning increases both fluency and flexibility in maths. It also shows that using an interactive 'smart' desk can have benefits over doing mathematics on paper.



One Idea we could do with this is have "e-paper". This is pretty much the student has a account with all his information on it and he/she can access this to get into a class. This class student access page could give notes, e-book of the material and "e-paper" which the student can write on. 

This could limitate using paper and could give everyone within the class room access to this way of doing things. This could also be done on a smart-phone, tablet such as blackboard college program within away.


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## Mr. H.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvMxLpce3Xw]Star Trek 2009 Vulcan School - YouTube[/ame]


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## ScienceRocks

Army Wants to Stop Bombs Using Halo-Style Electric Pulses

By Robert Beckhusen
11.20.12
3:21 PM


Army Wants to Stop Bombs Using Halo-Style Electric Pulses | Danger Room | Wired.com



> Electromagnetic pulse grenades are a favorite of sci-fi storytellers and videogame designers, a la Halo and Call of Duty. The Army evidently doesn&#8217;t want to be left out: It&#8217;s seeking a real-life version that can blast electromagnetic signals and fry insurgent bombs.
> 
> To be specific, the Army wants &#8220;High Power Microwave (HPM) grenades&#8221; to &#8220;generate an electromagnetic pulse that could be used to defeat the electronics used to activate [homemade bombs] or that could be used to attack blasting caps,&#8221; according to its latest round of research contracts with small businesses. In theory, the electrical components on improvised explosive devices, like radio transmitters, could be overwhelmed by surging electromagnetic radiation emitted by such a weapon.
> 
> If the Army can actually develop this kind of Halo weapon, it&#8217;ll take a step toward making each of its soldiers a kind of one-man bomb squad.
> 
> While the improvised bomb is the primary weapon used against U.S. troops fighting overseas, not every soldier or marine can destroy a bomb like he or she can shoot an insurgent. To defuse bombs, troops rely on explosive ordnance demolition specialists, bomb-disposing robots and vehicle-mounted jammers. The Pentagon has also desperately struggled to stay a step ahead of the bombs&#8217; technical adaptations. But if the Army has working EMP grenades, any soldier could conceivably lob one into a room, around a corner or into a ditch to fry an awaiting booby-trap&#8217;s circuits. As the Army puts it, it could mean &#8220;defeating IEDs by the individual soldier, while minimizing the collateral damage to humans.&#8221; Easier said than done.


----------



## ScienceRocks

R/C aircraft company developing personal electric helicopter 
R/C aircraft company developing personal electric helicopter | DVICE

http://dvice.com/assets_c/2012/11/hiro_heli2-105998.php



> Hirobo is a Japanese company that's best known for its line of smallish remote control helicopters. So that's nice. But now, the company is thinking bigger. Not a lot bigger, but just big enough to carry you to work and back every day in a one-seater coaxial personal microhelicopter.
> 
> Called the HX-1, Hirobo's helicopter can hoist a single person into the air at speeds of over 60 mph for up to 30 minutes at a stretch. It's completely electric, which makes it quiet enough that you can hold a conversation with your nonexistent passenger, and might even be light enough that wannabe aviators won't need a pilot's license to fly it, which is either a wonderful or terrible thing.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Unexpected data from the Large Hadron Collider suggest the collisions may be producing a new type of matter
November 27, 2012 by Anne Trafton 

Unexpected data from the Large Hadron Collider suggest the collisions may be producing a new type of matter



> Collisions between protons and lead ions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have produced surprising behavior in some of the particles created by the collisions. The new observation suggests the collisions may have produced a new type of matter known as color-glass condensate.
> 
> When beams of particles crash into each other at high speeds, the collisions yield hundreds of new particles, most of which fly away from the collision point at close to the speed of light. However, the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) team at the LHC found that in a sample of 2 million lead-proton collisions, some pairs of particles flew away from each other with their respective directions correlated.
> 
> "Somehow they fly at the same direction even though it's not clear how they can communicate their direction with one another. That has surprised many people, including us," says MIT physics professor Gunther Roland, whose group led the analysis of the collision data along with Wei Li, a former MIT postdoc who is now an assistant professor at Rice University.


----------



## editec

> Based on these results, we believe that *isopropylamine used in commercial farming can induce genetic damage,* depending on the dose used and the physiological characteristics of the plants exposed to it.


 
Yeah for science!

Go MONSANTO go!


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers genetically alter wheat to make it nearly free of gluten*

Researchers genetically alter wheat to make it nearly free of gluten



> (Phys.org)&#8212;An international team of researchers has succeeded in genetically altering wheat seeds to prevent the production of gluten in subsequent plants. The effort focused, the team writes in their paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, on disabling the enzyme responsible for activating genes responsible for the development of gluten protein.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Developing 'second skin' military fabric to repel chemical and biological agents*
November 27, 2012 
Developing 'second skin' military fabric to repel chemical and biological agents



> Military uniforms of the future may offer a new layer of critical protection to wearers thanks to research by teams at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and several other institutions who are developing a nanotube-based fabric that repels chemical and biological agents.
> 
> UMass Amherst polymer scientists Kenneth Carter and James Watkins, collaborating with team leader Francesco Fornasiero of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), recently received a five-year $1.8 million grant to design ways to manufacture the new material as part of a $13 million project funded by the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency. It's estimated that the new uniforms could be deployed in the field in less than 10 years.
> 
> The researchers say the fabric will be able to switch reversibly from a highly breathable state to a protective one in response to the presence of the environmental threat without the need for an external control system. In the protective state, the uniform material will block the chemical threat while maintaining a good breathability level. "The uniform will be like a smart second skin that responds to the environment," says Fornasiero.


----------



## ScienceRocks

New ground-based laser system tested against rockets and unmanned aerial system
November 28, 2012 
New ground-based laser system tested against rockets and unmanned aerial system



> Lockheed Martin today announced that it has successfully demonstrated a portable, ground-based military laser system in a series of tests against representative airborne targets. Lockheed Martin developed the Area Defense Anti-Munitions (ADAM) system to provide a defense against short-range threats, such as rockets and unmanned aerial systems.
> 
> Since August, the ADAM system has successfully engaged an unmanned aerial system target in flight at a range of approximately 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) and has destroyed four small-caliber rocket targets in simulated flight at a range of approximately 2 kilometers (1.2 miles).
> 
> "Lockheed Martin has invested in the development of the ADAM system because of the enormous potential effectiveness of high-energy lasers," said Doug Graham, Lockheed Martin's vice president of advanced programs for Strategic and Missile Defense Systems. "We are committed to supporting the transition of directed energy's revolutionary capability to the war fighter."


----------



## ScienceRocks

NASA Study Could Improve Hurricane Strength Forecasts



> Lead author and former JPL postdoctoral scholar Longtao Wu, now an assistant researcher at the UCLA-JPL Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering, said the study could lead to improvements in hurricane intensity forecasts.
> 
> "Our results show relative humidity and its variations within a hurricane's large-scale environment may be useful predictors in improving intensity forecast models," Wu said. "This is the first satellite analysis to quantify this small but statistically significant correlation." Results of the study were published recently in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
> 
> The team found substantial differences in relative-humidity levels between storm quadrants. One factor may be the shape of the Atlantic basin. Hurricanes in the Atlantic usually travel to the west or northwest -- regions that are drier, climatologically-speaking, than from where the storms originated. This causes the front two quadrants of Atlantic hurricanes to be drier than their rear two quadrants.
> 
> A unique result the team found is that in their front-right quadrants, rapidly intensifying hurricanes tended to have sharply higher amounts of upper tropospheric moisture near their centers than they did farther from their centers.
> 
> "We speculate that decreasing relative humidity levels farther from a storm's center may be an important factor in a cyclone's rapid intensification," said JPL co-author Hui Su. "A drier environment farther from a storm's center limits the development of its outer rain bands and favors the growth of its inner core. Conversely, a wet environment farther from a storm's center can weaken a cyclone by making it easier for rain bands to form outside the storm's core, which compete with the inner core's growth."
> 
> "Most scientists have tended to view hurricane intensification as a process that takes place within a cyclone's inner core and depends more on smaller-scale processes than on a storm's large-scale environment," said JPL co-author Bjorn Lambrigtsen. "This study shows a different path, and the usefulness of incorporating large-scale environmental data collected far away from a storm's center."
> 
> Su said NASA is exploring collaborations with NOAA forecasters to incorporate AIRS relative humidity data into NOAA's real-time hurricane prediction system.



NASA Study Could Improve Hurricane Strength Forecasts - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory


----------



## ScienceRocks

*This radical discovery could turn semiconductor manufacture inside out*

How to "grow" self-assembling semiconductors, atomic layer by atomic layer

Article | November 30, 2012 - 11:37am




> A completely new method of manufacturing the smallest structures in electronics could make their manufacture thousands of times quicker, allowing for cheaper semiconductors.
> 
> Instead of starting from a silicon wafer or other substrate, the idea is to grow gallium arsenide semiconductor structures from freely suspended nanoparticles of gold in a flowing gas. Semiconductor nanowires are key building blocks for the next generation of light-emitting diodes, solar cells, and batteries, according to Lund University researchers.


This radical discovery could turn semiconductor manufacture inside out | ZeitNews


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Plastic bulb development promises better quality light *
By Matt McGrath



BBC News - Plastic bulb development promises better quality light

*New light bulb to last 23 years *



> US researchers say they have developed a new type of lighting that could replace fluorescent bulbs.
> 
> The new source is made from layers of plastic and is said to be more efficient while producing a better quality of flicker-free light.
> 
> The scientists behind it say they believe the first units will be produced in 2013.
> 
> 
> Light not heat
> 
> Another step forward has been organic LEDs (OLEDs) which also promise greater efficiency and better light than older, incandescent bulbs. Their big advantage over LEDs is that they can be transformed into many different shapes including the screens for high-definition televisions.
> 
> But Prof Carroll believes OLED lights haven't lived up to the hype.
> 
> "They don't last very long and they're not very bright," he said. "There's a limit to how much brightness you can get out of them. If you run too much current through them they melt."
> 
> The Fipel bulb, he says, overcomes all these problems.
> 
> _"What we've found is a way of creating light rather than heat. Our devices contain no mercury, they contain no caustic chemicals and they don't break as they are not made of glass."_
> 
> Prof Carroll says his new bulb is cheap to make and he has a "corporate partner" interested in manufacturing the device. He believes the first production runs will take place in 2013.
> 
> He also has great faith in the ability of the new bulbs to last.* He says he has one in his lab that has been working for about a decade*


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Apple files patent for magnetic wireless charging - no contact required*

        Charges devices up to 1 meter away


http://www.techradar...equired-1117194

Time to unplug?





> The next iPhone may have a wireless charging system, if a recently published patent by Apple is any indication.
> And while there are other phones with wireless charging capabilities, like the Nokia Lumia 920, what Apple's aiming for is a little different.
> The patent covers "various embodiments of a wirelessly powered local computer environment." It uses a near field magnetic resonance (NFMR) to wirelessly charge devices up to 1 meter away. That's right - no contact required.
> The patent was filed November 2010, but was published just a few days ago.





*I wish we could run something 200 feet away one day. Telsa may of been right.* Fuck, Imagine no wires running into your home and everything is running wirelessly.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Nature Materials Study: Boosting Heat Transfer With Nanoglue

Interdisciplinary Study From Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Demonstrates New Method for Significantly Increasing Heat Transfer Rate Across Two Different Materials



> A team of interdisciplinary researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has developed a new method for significantly increasing the heat transfer rate across two different materials. Results of the team&#8217;s study, published in the journal Nature Materials, could enable new advances in cooling computer chips and lighting-emitting diode (LED) devices, collecting solar power, harvesting waste heat, and other applications.
> 
> By sandwiching a layer of ultrathin &#8220;nanoglue&#8221; between copper and silica, the research team demonstrated a *four-fold increase in thermal conductance *at the interface between the two materials.


Nature Materials Study: Boosting Heat Transfer With Nanoglue | ZeitNews


----------



## ScienceRocks

Flexible silicon solar-cell fabrics may soon become possible
December 6, 2012 by Katrina Voss 



> For the first time, a silicon-based optical fiber with solar-cell capabilities has been developed that has been shown to be scalable to many meters in length. The research opens the door to the possibility of weaving together solar-cell silicon wires to create flexible, curved, or twisted solar fabrics. The findings by an international team of chemists, physicists, and engineers, led by John Badding, a professor of chemistry at Penn State University, will be posted by the journal Advanced Materials in an early online edition on 6 December 2012 and will be published on a future date in the journal's print edition.


Flexible silicon solar-cell fabrics may soon become possible


----------



## ScienceRocks

Driverless vehicles will safely wiz through intersections at the full speed limit, according to researchers from Virginia Tech Transportation Research.



> Autonomous vehicles will turn themselves over to an automated intersection controller, with the controller tweaking their trajectory to prevent crashes, explained Ismail Zohdy of Cairo, Egypt, a Ph.D. student in civil engineering at Virginia Tech, and Hesham Rakha, director of the Center for Sustainable Mobility at the transportation institute and professor of civil engineering at the university.
> 
> The proposed system considers the vehicles&#8217; location, speed, and acceleration plus the surrounding environment, such as weather and intersection characteristics. An intersection controller would allow vehicles to keep moving, reduces the delay for each vehicle compared to traditional intersection control.



http://www.kurzweila...h-intersections


----------



## ScienceRocks

Toyota and Microsoft working on driver gesture recognition (no, not those gestures)
By Bill Howard on December 10, 2012 at 9:13 am
2 Comments


Toyota and Microsoft working on driver gesture recognition (no, not those gestures) | ExtremeTech



> Raise your hand, palm up, and the radio volume in your car goes up. Toyota sees gesture recognition as one way to reduce the complexity of cars. Not for steering and braking, but to deal with the secondary controls such as infotainment, navigation, or your cellphone. So says Jim Lentz, head of Toyota in the US. The goal is to reduce driver distraction.
> 
> Toyotas Board of Awesomeness (seriously) research team is working with Microsoft, a company that has spent years trying to reduce crashes. Their research vehicle is an electric skateboard with a Windows 8 tablet and Kinect motion sensing software (pictured below). In this case, raising or lowering the riders hand changes the speed. So, probably, does falling off.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Student designs of 'intelligent' tires for tomorrow win kudos at a prestigious international trade show



> December 11, 2012 by M. Reilly (Phys.org)&#8212;Intelligent tires may be just around the corner &#8211; especially if designs by students in the University of Cincinnati's nationally number-one ranked industrial design program are realized.



 Read more at: Student designs of 'intelligent' tires for tomorrow win kudos at a prestigious international trade show

Some cool designs...


----------



## ScienceRocks

New material for stretchy electronics

New material for stretchy electronics  News in Science (ABC Science)



> Scientists in Switzerland have come up with a material mimicking the way tendons connect to bones, which could speed the development of stretchy, wearable electronic devices.
> 
> The stretchable electronics industry is in its infancy, but devices that are able to flex without breaking could revolutionise devices from smartphones and solar cells to medical implants.


----------



## Mr. H.

Matthew said:


> Student designs of 'intelligent' tires for tomorrow win kudos at a prestigious international trade show
> 
> 
> 
> 
> December 11, 2012 by M. Reilly (Phys.org)Intelligent tires may be just around the corner  especially if designs by students in the University of Cincinnati's nationally number-one ranked industrial design program are realized.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Read more at: Student designs of 'intelligent' tires for tomorrow win kudos at a prestigious international trade show
> 
> Some cool designs...
Click to expand...


Alas, they are still just... round.

Boring!


----------



## rdean

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-54gBLwK3s]The Shanghai Maglev Train - 250mph - from WINDING ROAD - YouTube[/ame]

Invented in this country.

Glencoe Online External Link


----------



## rdean

http://go.hrw.com/resources/go_sc/bpe/HQ8PE330.PDF


----------



## rdean

Notice how scientific advances and education seem to go together?


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Company claims creation of Harry Potter-style invisibility cloak*


> A Canadian company called Hyperstealth says that it's developed a wearable cloak that uses "Quantum Stealth" technology to provides complete invisibility across the visible, infrared, and ultraviolet spectrum by bending light around objects. We're pretty sure that this is mostly or entirely not true, so stick with us while we explain why we're so skeptical.
> 
> The first thing to mention is that the pictures seen here of the cloak in operation are all just simulations, Photoshopped by Hyperstealth on the grounds that "for security issues we can not show the actual technology." We'll get in to that later, but Hyperstealth says that these images are an accurate simulation, although the cloak itself does apparently work a bit better than the pictures show.
> 
> Here's the claim, from inventor and Hyperstealth CEO Guy Cramer, as described in an interview in The Atlantic from 2011 with an appropriately skeptical journalist:
> 
> 
> Late last year, Cramer told me about a project he'd been working on for two years that sounded like it relied on refraction. He called it "quantum stealth," and it seemed like science fiction. "It works by bending light around an object," he explained at the time. "So far, we've been able to make an object about the size of an orange completely disappear." When he said this, I nodded and nearly choked on my skepticism. If Cramer spoke the truth, he'd have surpassed the preeminent experts in the study of light refraction



Company claims creation of Harry Potter-style invisibility cloak | DVICE


----------



## ScienceRocks

rdean said:


> Notice how scientific advances and education seem to go together?





You're right on this rdean.


----------



## ScienceRocks

More information on the cloaking device. 



*Quantum Stealth material designed to make target invisible*



> "This is mock-up of our 'Quantum Stealth' (Light Bending) material with my assistant behind it. No cameras and no projectors are used. These photos are to show the Media the concept, for security issues we can not show the actual technology. With the real material you would only see about 5% of the shadow on her and the ground as we've determined a 95% reduction of shadow in testing." Many comment-makers to sites reporting on the material said they had a difficult time accepting the claims of invisibility. As one comment responder said, "I'll believe it when I don't see it." Sebastian Anthony
> 
> Cramer nonetheless has made presentations of Quantum Stealth* to military personnel and according to his report on his site: "Two separate command groups within the U.S. Military and two separate Canadian Military groups as well as Federal Emergency Response Team (Counter Terrorism) have seen the actual material so they could verify that I was not just manipulating video or photo results," *Cramer said.
> 
> "Groups now know that it works and does so without cameras, batteries, lights or mirrors... It is lightweight and quite inexpensive. Both the U.S. and Canadian military have confirmed that it also works against military infra-red scopes and thermal optics," he said. Cramer has announced the Quantum Stealth material as "light-bending material," which is "non-powered adaptive camouflage that portrays what is behind the user in-front of the user bending the light around the target."


 Read more at: Quantum Stealth material designed to make target invisible

If I got a hold of this I'd rob a bank!


----------



## ScienceRocks

*DARPA begins work on 100Gbps wireless tech with 120-mile range*
By Sebastian Anthony on December 17, 2012 at 8:05 am



> DARPA has begun development of a wireless communications link that is capable of 100 gigabits per second over a range of 200 kilometers (124mi). Officially dubbed &#8220;100 Gb/s RF Backbone&#8221; (or 100G for short), the program will provide the US military with networks that are around 50 times faster than its current wireless links.
> 
> DARPA clearly states that the 100G program is for US military use &#8212; but it&#8217;s hard to ignore the repercussions it might have on commercial networks, too. I&#8217;m surprised that it has fallen to DARPA to develop an ultra-high-speed point-to-point wireless technology. 100Gbps wireless backhaul links between cell towers, rather than costly and cumbersome fiber links, would make it much easier and cheaper to roll out additional mobile coverage. Likewise, 100Gbps wireless links might be the ideal way to provide backhaul links to rural communities that are still stuck with dial-up internet access, or additional backbone bandwidth during peak periods. One day, you might even have a 100Gbps wireless link from your home to your ISP.



DARPA begins work on 100Gbps wireless tech with 120-mile range | ExtremeTech


I got a idea for once this jumps from military to civilen. How about every state installs 2-3 of these and charges a small tax? Free internet for all!


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Reducing electrons' effective mass to nearly zero *


http://www.rdmag.com/news/2012/12/reducing-electrons-effective-mass-nearly-zero




> The field of metamaterials involves augmenting materials with specially designed patterns, enabling those materials to manipulate *electromagnetic waves and fields in previously impossible ways*. Now, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have come up with a theory for moving this phenomenon onto the quantum scale, laying out blueprints for materials where electrons have nearly zero effective mass.
> 
> Such materials could make for faster circuits with novel properties.
> 
> The work was conducted by Nader Engheta, the H. Nedwill Ramsey Professor of Electrical and Systems Engineering in Penn&#8217;s School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Mario G. Silveirinha, who was a visiting scholar at the Engineering School when their collaboration began. He is currently an associate professor at the University of Coimbra, Portugal.
> 
> &#8220;Imagine you have a ball inside a fluid,&#8221; Engheta says. &#8220;You can calculate how fast the ball falls as a combination of the force of gravity and the reaction of the fluid, or you can say that the ball has an effectively different mass in the fluid than it does normally. The effective mass can even be negative, which we see in the case of a bubble. The bubble looks like it has negative mass, because it&#8217;s moving against gravity, but it is really the fluid moving down around it.&#8221;


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Liquid Metal Creates Wires That Stretch 8x Original Length*



> Researchers from North Carolina State University have created conductive wires that can be stretched up to eight times their original length while still functioning. The wires can be used for everything from headphones to phone chargers, and hold potential for use in electronic textiles.
> 
> To make the wires, researchers start with a thin tube made of an extremely elastic polymer and then fill the tube with a liquid metal alloy of gallium and indium, which is an efficient conductor of electricity. &#8220;Previous efforts to create stretchable wires focus on embedding metals or other electrical conductors in elastic polymers, but that creates a trade-off,&#8221; says Dr. Michael Dickey, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper on the research.


Read more at Liquid Metal Creates Wires That Stretch 8x Original Length | ScienceBlog.com


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Synthetic and biological nanoparticles combined to produce new metamaterials*



> Scientists from Aalto University, Finland, have succeeded in organising virus particles, protein cages and nanoparticles into crystalline materials. These nanomaterials studied by the Finnish research group are important for applications in sensing, optics, electronics and drug delivery.
> 
> "Virus particles &#8211; the old foes of mankind &#8211; can do much more than infect living organisms. Evolution has rendered them with the capability of highly controlled self-assembly properties. Ultimately, by utilising their building blocks we can bring multiple functions to hybrid materials that consist of both living and synthetic matter," Kostiainen trusts.



Synthetic and biological nanoparticles combined to produce new metamaterials


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Single-step process simplifies development of new materials*

21 December 2012



> A multidisciplinary team has developed a low-temperature process that removes complex, time-consuming steps from the development of new materials.
> 
> The team at the University of Texas at Austin&#8217;s Cockrell School of Engineering is using microwave energy to assemble atoms into thin films and is growing them directly onto a substrate at significantly low temperatures.
> 
> Results of the team&#8217;s research, conducted under the supervision of Prof Arumugam Manthiram of the Texas Materials Institute and the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Prof Ali Yilmaz of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, were published in the 19 December issue of Scientific Reports.
> 
> &#8216;Lowering the temperature at which thin films of relevant materials can be grown is one of the key focus areas of our research,&#8217; said Reeja Jayan, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas at Austin and one of the lead authors of the paper. &#8216;With our microwave process, we could bring down temperatures to the level that enables us to grow materials on heat-sensitive surfaces, such as plastics, without damaging them.&#8217;
> 
> *The conventional methods for growing thin films typically require temperatures of more than 450ºC for several hours and a cumbersome multi-step process.
> 
> With the new method, thin films can now be grown at temperatures as low as 150ºC in less than 30 minutes, in a single-step process, by using microwaves.*
> 
> &#8216;With this new method, the process of thin-film growth is made simple, wherein a solution containing the atoms of the desired material, together with the substrate, when exposed to microwaves can result in controlled film growth,&#8217; said Manthiram in a statement. &#8216;Applications that could utilise this process include developing thin-film batteries and solar cells that could be integrated into various devices such as cell phones and tablets.&#8217;



Read more: Single-step process simplifies development of new materials | News | The Engineer


----------



## ScienceRocks

Flexible, light solar cells: Researchers develop a new approach using graphene sheets coated with nanowires
December 21, 2012 by David L. Chandler 

Flexible, light solar cells: Researchers develop a new approach using graphene sheets coated with nanowires


> MIT researchers have produced a new kind of photovoltaic cell based on sheets of flexible graphene coated with a layer of nanowires. The approach could lead to low-cost, transparent and flexible solar cells that could be deployed on windows, roofs or other surfaces. The new approach is detailed in a report published in the journal Nano Letters, co-authored by MIT postdocs Hyesung Park and Sehoon Chang, associate professor of materials science and engineering Silvija Grade&#269;ak, and eight other MIT researchers.
> 
> While most of today's solar cells are made of silicon, these remain expensive because the silicon is generally highly purified and then made into crystals that are sliced thin. Many researchers are exploring alternatives, such as nanostructured or hybrid solar cells; indium tin oxide (ITO) is used as a transparent electrode in these new solar cells.
> 
> "Currently, ITO is the material of choice for transparent electrodes," Grade&#269;ak says, such as in the touch screens now used on smartphones. But the indium used in that compound is expensive, while graphene is made from ubiquitous carbon.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers develop a biological concrete for constructing 'living' facades with lichens, mosses, other microorganism*
December 21, 2012 



> The Structural Technology Group at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia has developed and patented a type of biological concrete that supports the natural, accelerated growth of pigmented organisms. The material, which has been designed for the façades of buildings or other constructions in Mediterranean climates, offers environmental, thermal and aesthetic advantages over other similar construction solutions.
> 
> In studying this concrete, the researchers at the Structural Technology Group of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, BarcelonaTech (UPC) have focused on two cement-based materials. The first of these is conventional carbonated concrete (based on Portland cement), with which they can obtain a material with a pH of around 8. The second material is manufactured with a magnesium phosphate cement (MPC), a hydraulic conglomerate that does not require any treatment to reduce its pH, since it is slightly acidic.
> 
> On account of its quick setting properties, magnesium phosphate cement has been used in the past as a repair material. It has also been employed as a biocement in the field of medicine and dentistry, indicating that it does not have an additional environmental impact.



Researchers develop a biological concrete for constructing 'living' facades with lichens, mosses, other microorganism


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Rheinmetall's 50kW high-energy laser weapon successfully passes tests*
Rheinmetall's 50kW high-energy laser weapon successfully passes tests



> Practical high-energy laser weapons came a step closer to reality in November as Rheinmetall tested its new 50 kW high-energy weapon laser demonstrator. The series of exercises took place at the German-based group&#8217;s Ochsenboden Proving Ground in Switzerland. There the 50 kW laser weapon was tested against a series of targets to show the improvements over last year&#8217;s 10 kW version.
> 
> Designed for air defense, asymmetric warfare and Counter Rocket, Artillery, Mortar (C-RAM) operations, the Rheinmetall laser isn't a single weapon, but two laser modules mounted on Oerlikon Revolver Gun air defense turrets with additional modules for the power supply. The lasers are combined using Rheinmetall's Beam Superimposing Technology (BST) to focus a 30 kW and a 20 kW laser on the same spot. This gives it the destructive power of a single 50 kW laser. The company says that a future 100 kW laser weapon is entirely feasible.


----------



## Mr. H.

Weapons tech is sexy.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Magnetically levitating graphite can be moved with laser



> Magnetic levitation has been demonstrated for a variety of objects, from trains to frogs, but so far no one has developed a practical maglev-based actuator that converts some external source of energy into motion. Now in a new study, researchers for the first time have used a laser to control the motion of a magnetically levitating graphite disk. By changing the disk's temperature, the laser can change the disk's levitation height and move it in a controlled direction, which has the potential to be scaled up and used as a light-driven human transportation system. Laser light or sunlight can also cause the levitating disk to rotate at over 200 rpm, which could lead to a new type of light energy conversion system.
> 
> The researchers predict that the ability to control maglev-based motion with a laser could lead to the development of maglev-based actuators and photothermal solar energy conversion systems. Applications could include a low-cost, environmentally friendly power generation system and a new type of light-driven transportation system.
> 
> "As for the actuator, the maglev graphite can convey anything that has almost the same weight as the levitating graphite disk. So, if the scale expansion of the photo-actuator system is achieved,* it is not a dream that a human on the maglev graphite can drive himself."*


 Read more at: Magnetically levitating graphite can be moved with laser


----------



## ScienceRocks

*China opens the longest high-speed rail route in the world*

China's capital Beijing is now linked to Guangzhou in the south by a 1,436 mile (2,298 km) high speed rail route.

China opens the longest high-speed rail route in the world


> This dwarfs the 819 mile (1,318 km) route between Beijing and Shanghai which opened in June 2011. The new line is described by officials as "one of the most technically advanced in the world" and will cut the previously 20-hour journey to just 8 hours. It has a total of 35 stops, with trains running at 186 mph (300 km/h), although the line is designed to accommodate future speeds of up to 220 mph (350 km/h). The route will be extended to Hong Kong by 2015.
> 
> China already has the world's biggest high speed rail (HSR) network, covering over 5,800 miles (9,300 km) of routes. As it continues to grow and become more developed, the country has even bigger ambitions. With $300 billion of investment between 2010 and 2020, it will construct over 11,000 miles (17,600 km) of new HSR lines, reaching 5 billion journeys per year and giving 90% of its population access to the network.
> 
> Trains are also being developed for other lines that could eventually travel at 625 mph (1,000 km/h), shattering previous speed records. These would use vacuum tubes which avoid the problem of heat from air friction.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Hyundai tests NFC tech to bring phones and cars closer together*




> Smartphones and cars have been coming together for some time now, but Hyundai is moving experimentation forward with its new "Connectivity Concept." The basis of the concept is using NFC tags attached to a car, allowing the driver to swipe their phone over the tag to unlock the car and perform other functions.
> 
> Hyundai revealed the new technology at its headquarters in Germany and calls the project a "technology study."
> 
> Not only does the phone use Near Field Communication (NFC) &#8212; or short-range electronic transmissions to unlock doors wirelessly, and even starts the car before the driver enters. Once inside, the phone docs in the center console and synchs it with the seven-inch onboard infotainment touchscreen.
> 
> Hyundai has tested the Connectivity Concept on the European model i30. When docked in the console the phone streams music, accesses the users' phonebook, text-messaging, remembers preferences such as radio presets and more. Plus, like other docking systems while the phone is doing its thing, it's also wirelessly charging.


Hyundai tests NFC tech to bring phones and cars closer together | DVICE


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New thermoelectric material sucks electricity out of hot water*



> When humans produce energy, we do it very inefficiently. Usually what happens is that we make something very hot (like a car engine), use a tiny bit of that energy to do work, and then spend even more energy getting rid of all the waste heat. Panasonic has developed a new thermoelectric material that can get a chunk of that energy back.
> 
> A thermoelectric material is something that can convert heat directly into electricity. It's not a new thing, but generally it's so inefficient that anyone who's serious about capturing electricity through heat instead uses some sort of steam generator. Where thermoelectrics have potential is in microgenerators, where you're just looking for a little bit of power to take the edge off of your electricity bill.
> 
> Panasonic's new thermoelectric material can suck 2.5 watts of electricity out of hot water running through a 10 centimeter section of pipe. Four pipes put together gets you about 10 watts, which is enough to power a light bulb. Nothing is free, of course, and this material is really just harvesting energy from whatever energy source you used to heat up your water in the first place. But losing energy from hot water is something that happens anyway, and the difference here is that instead of losing that energy out into the environment, it's being reclaimed (to some extent) by the thermoelectric material instead. It's also important to keep in mind that this stuff doesn't just require a source of hot water; since it operates based on a temperature differential, it needs cold water as well, along with (long term) a pump to keep the cold water circulating.


New thermoelectric material sucks electricity out of hot water | DVICE


----------



## Mr. H.

Ain't science grand.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Not a Blimp, Not a Plane: The Gigantic Aeroscraft Is Ready, and It&#8217;s Awesome*


Jesus Diaz
Not a Blimp, Not a Plane: The Gigantic Aeroscraft Is Ready, and It's Awesome



> This is a new type of rigid aircraft. It's not a blimp, and it's not an airplane, but this thing has the potential to alter the way we understand travel and completely change military transportation. You can see a video of its first move here.
> 
> According to the company, "the final configuration and vehicle systems integration functionality testing has been completed as the Aeroscraft subscale demonstration vehicle reaches the finish line." The aircraft will enter a flying tests phase over the next 60 days. After they are done with the testing, they will build the full scale version. Yes, this gigantic aircraft is only a small version of what's coming. Imagine that.
> 
> Aeros CEO Igor Pasternak thinks that "this is truly the beginning of a vertical global transportation solution for perhaps the next 100 years." Indeed, it may become just that. Imagine having the capability of transporting huge amounts of material or people across any distance, without the need of any ground infrastructure.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Quantum gas goes below absolute zero - Ultracold atoms pave way for negative-Kelvin materials.
 Nature News ^ | 03 January 2013 | Zeeya Merali 

Quantum gas goes below absolute zero : Nature News & Comment



> It may sound less likely than hell freezing over, but physicists have created an atomic gas with a sub-absolute-zero temperature for the first time1. Their technique opens the door to generating negative-Kelvin materials and new quantum devices, and it could even help to solve a cosmological mystery.
> 
> Lord Kelvin defined the absolute temperature scale in the mid-1800s in such a way that nothing could be colder than absolute zero. Physicists later realized that the absolute temperature of a gas is related to the average energy of its particles. Absolute zero corresponds to the theoretical state in which particles have no energy at all, and higher temperatures correspond to higher average energies.
> 
> However, by the 1950s, physicists working with more exotic systems began to realise that this isn't always true: Technically, you read off the temperature of a system from a graph that plots the probabilities of its particles being found with certain energies. Normally, most particles have average or near-average energies, with only a few particles zipping around at higher energies. In theory, if the situation is reversed, with more particles having higher, rather than lower, energies, the plot would flip over and the sign of the temperature would change from a positive to a negative absolute temperature, explains Ulrich Schneider, a physicist at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany.
> 
> Peaks and valleys
> 
> Schneider and his colleagues reached such sub-absolute-zero temperatures with an ultracold quantum gas made up of potassium atoms. Using lasers and magnetic fields, they kept the individual atoms in a lattice arrangement. At positive temperatures, the atoms repel, making the configuration stable. The team then quickly adjusted the magnetic fields, causing the atoms to attract rather than repel each other. &#8220;This suddenly shifts the atoms from their most stable, lowest-energy state to the highest possible energy...&#8221;..
> 
> Wolfgang Ketterle, a physicist and Nobel laureate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, who has previously demonstrated negative absolute temperatures in a magnetic system2, calls the latest work an &#8220;experimental tour de force&#8221;. Exotic high-energy states that are hard to generate in the laboratory at positive temperatures become stable at negative absolute temperatures &#8212; &#8220;as though you can stand a pyramid on its head and not worry about it toppling over,&#8221; he notes &#8212; and so such techniques can allow these states to be studied in detail. &#8220;This may be a way to create new forms of matter in the laboratory,&#8221; Ketterle adds.
> 
> If built, such systems would behave in strange ways, says Achim Rosch, a theoretical physicist at the University of Cologne in Germany, who proposed the technique used by Schneider and his team3. For instance, Rosch and his colleagues have calculated that whereas clouds of atoms would normally be pulled downwards by gravity, if part of the cloud is at a negative absolute temperature, some atoms will move upwards, apparently defying gravity4.
> 
> Another peculiarity of the sub-absolute-zero gas is that it mimics 'dark energy', the mysterious force that pushes the Universe to expand at an ever-faster rate against the inward pull of gravity. Schneider notes that the attractive atoms in the gas produced by the team also want to collapse inwards, but do not because the negative absolute temperature stabilises them. &#8220;It&#8217;s interesting that this weird feature pops up in the Universe and also in the lab,&#8221; he says. &#8220;This may be something that cosmologists should look at more closely.&#8221;
> .



Weird...


----------



## ScienceRocks

New antimatter method to provide 'a major experimental advantage'



> Researchers have proposed a method for cooling trapped antihydrogen which could offer 'a major experimental advantage' and help to map the mysterious properties of antimatter that have to date remained elusive.
> New antimatter method to provide 'a major experimental advantage'
> 
> 
> The new method, developed by a group of researchers from the USA and Canada, could potentially cool trapped antihydrogen atoms to temperatures 25 times colder than already achieved, making them much more stable and a lot easier to experiment on.
> 
> The suggested method, which is published today in the Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, involves a laser, directed at antihydrogen atoms to give them a 'kick', causing them to lose energy and cool down.
> 
> Antihydrogen atoms are formed in an ultra-high vacuum trap by injecting antiprotons into positron plasma. An atomic process causes the antiproton to capture a positron which gives an electronically excited antihydrogen atom.
> 
> Typically, the antihydrogen atoms have a lot of energy compared to the trapping depth which can distort the measurements of their properties. As it is only possible to trap very few antihydrogen atoms, the main method for reducing the high energies is to laser cool the atoms to extremely low temperatures.





> In the future, antimatter could be used as a fuel for interplanetary travel &#8211; or even interstellar travel &#8211; as part of antimatter catalysed nuclear pulse propulsion, or other antimatter-based rocketry such as the redshift rocket. Since the energy density of antimatter is much higher than that of conventional fuels, an antimatter fueled spacecraft would have a higher thrust-to-weight ratio than a conventional spacecraft.
> 
> At a recent presentation with NASA's Future In-Space Operations working group, an expert claimed that such technology may be possible within 50 or 60 years. Spacecraft could reach Jupiter within four months, potentially opening up parts of the outer Solar System to manned exploration.



I want a anti-matter engine capable of getting us from earth to mars in 2 months.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*German Military Laser Destroys Targets Over 1Km Away*



> A German company has brought us one step closer to the kinds of shootouts only seen in Sci-Fi films. Düsseldorf-based Rheinmetall Defense recently tested a 50kW, high-energy laser at their proving ground facility in Switzerland. According to the company, the laser passed the test with &#8220;flying colours.&#8221;
> 
> The system isn&#8217;t actually a single laser but two laser modules mounted onto Revolver Gun air defense turrets made by Oerlikon and attached to additional power modules. The laser modules are 30 kW and 20 kW, but a Beam Superimposing Technology (BST) combines two lasers to focus in a &#8220;superimposed, cumulative manner&#8221; that wreaks havoc on its targets.
> 
> First, the system sliced through a 15mm- (~0.6 inches) thick steel girder from a kilometer away. Then, from a distance of two kilometers, it shot down a handful of drones as they nose-dived toward the surface at 50 meters per second. The laser&#8217;s radar, a widely used system called Skyguard, was capable of tracking the drones through their descent up to three kilometers away
> 
> The glass here isn't made in the same way as vases and juice tumblers are. Glassware for the home is made by cooling molten glass into a solid shape. But Mark Ediger, a chemist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who worked with de Pablo, built the new glass by heating it to a molten form and then a vapor, then letting the vapor settle layer by layer onto a hard surface. The result was a denser, stronger material that withstands higher temperatures than conventionally made glass does.


 http://www.technewsdaily.com/16254-creating-durable-aged-glass.html


----------



## ScienceRocks

Clear Improvement: New Glass Could Last Millennia
TechNewsDaily StaffJanuary 07 2013 02:59 PM ET    
Clear Improvement: New Glass Could Last Millennia | TechNewsDaily.com


> An unusual way of making glass could create glassy materials as durable as amber &#8212; which is considered a glasslike material &#8212; that's been around for thousands of years, a new study has found. In other words, researchers have figured out a way to make new glass act just like aged glass.
> 
> Knowing how to make ultra-stable, aged glass could help researchers make stronger metals, according to a statement from the University of Chicago, where the lead study scientist, Juan de Pablo, is a professor of molecular engineering. Stable glass-making techniques could also make drugs that, like super-stable glass, don't have crystals in their molecular structure and therefore dissolve more quickly in the body.
> 
> The glass here isn't made in the same way as vases and juice tumblers are. Glassware
> 
> Knowing how to make ultra-stable, aged glass could help researchers make stronger metals, according to a statement from the University of Chicago, where the lead study scientist, Juan de Pablo, is a professor of molecular engineering. Stable glass-making techniques could also make drugs that, like super-stable glass, don't have crystals in their molecular structure and therefore dissolve more quickly in the body.
> 
> The glass here isn't made in the same way as vases and juice tumblers are. Glassware for the home is made by cooling molten glass into a solid shape. But Mark Ediger, a chemist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who worked with de Pablo, built the new glass by heating it to a molten form and then a vapor, then letting the vapor settle layer by layer onto a hard surface. The result was a denser, stronger material that withstands higher temperatures than conventionally made glass does. [SEE ALSO: New Self-Cleaning Glass Avoids Fogging, Glare]


----------



## Mr. H.

Don't for a minute think that avatar hasn't gone unnoticed.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*'Tricorder' invention could put medical diagnosis and terrorism prevention in the palm of the hand*

Published: Tuesday, January 8, 2013 - 14:03 in Physics & Chemistry



> The hand-held scanners, or tricorders, of the Star Trek movies and television series are one step closer to reality now that a University of Missouri engineering team has invented a compact source of X-rays and other forms of radiation. The radiation source, which is the size of a stick of gum, could be used to create inexpensive and portable X-ray scanners for use by doctors, as well as to fight terrorism and aid exploration on this planet and others. "Currently, X-ray machines are huge and require tremendous amounts of electricity," said Scott Kovaleski, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at MU. "In approximately three years, we could have a prototype hand-held X-ray scanner using our invention. The cell-phone-sized device could improve medical services in remote and impoverished regions and reduce health care expenses everywhere."
> 
> Kovaleski suggested other uses for the device. In dentists' offices, the tiny X-ray generators could be used to take images from the inside of the mouth shooting the rays outward, reducing radiation exposure to the rest of the patients' heads. At ports and border crossings, portable scanners could search cargoes for contraband, which would both reduce costs and improve security. Interplanetary probes, like the Curiosity rover, could be equipped with the compact sensors, which otherwise would require too much energy.



'Tricorder' invention could put medical diagnosis and terrorism prevention in the palm of the hand | e! Science News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Another tiny miracle: Graphene oxide soaks up radioactive waste*
January 8, 2013 



> A new method for removing radioactive material from solutions is the result of collaboration between Rice University and Lomonosov Moscow State University. The vial at left holds microscopic particles of graphene oxide in a solution. At right, graphene oxide is added to simulated nuclear waste, which quickly clumps for easy removal. Credit: Anna Yu. Romanchuk/Lomonosov Moscow State University
> 
> (Phys.org)&#8212;Graphene oxide has a remarkable ability to quickly remove radioactive material from contaminated water, researchers at Rice University and Lomonosov Moscow State University have found


Another tiny miracle: Graphene oxide soaks up radioactive waste


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Chips that can steer light*
 January 9, 2013 1:18 pm | by Larry Hardesty, MIT News Office | News | 


> Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a 4,096-emitter array that fits on a single silicon chip. Chips that can steer beams of light could enable a wide range of applications, including cheaper, more efficient, and smaller laser rangefinders; medical-imaging devices that can be threaded through tiny blood vessels; and even holographic televisions that emit different information when seen from different viewing angles.


Chips that can steer light | News | R&D Magazine


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Molecular machines could lead to more efficient manufacturing*

10 January 2013 | By Stephen Harris 




> .
> 
> Materials built by molecule-sized machines have moved a step closer to reality thanks to research at Manchester University.
> 
> A group of scientists led by Prof David Leigh have developed what they claim is the world&#8217;s most complex synthetic molecular machine, one that can build other molecules in a similar way to how biological compounds such as proteins and DNA are created.
> 
> The work, published today in a paper in the journal Science, could lead to the creation of molecular machines that automatically synthesise materials without the need for a complex process of chemical reactions, or even help create entirely new materials.
> 
> Molecular machines are complex arrangements of atoms that are designed to react with and manipulate other molecules, driven by the natural random movement of particles.
> 
> &#8216;What people have done up to now is make molecular machines that can do very simple tasks like switch between different states and even do a limited amount of mechanical work, pull things a very small distance and so on,&#8217; Leigh told The Engineer.
> 
> &#8216;What we&#8217;ve come up with is a molecular machine that&#8217;s able to build other molecules and that&#8217;s not been done before.&#8217;



Read more: Molecular machines could lead to more efficient manufacturing | News | The Engineer


----------



## ScienceRocks

*15 times stronger than steel: Scientists develops strongest, lightest glass nanofibres in the world*
January 10, 2013 

15 times stronger than steel: Scientists develops strongest, lightest glass nanofibres in the world


> The University of Southampton's Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) is pioneering research into developing the strongest silica nanofibres in the world.
> 
> Globally the quest has been on to find ultrahigh strength composites, leading ORC scientists to investigate light, ultrahigh strength nanowires that are not compromised by defects. Historically, carbon nanotubes were the strongest material available, but high strengths could only be measured in very short samples just a few microns long, providing little practical value.
> 
> Now research by ORC Principal Research Fellow Dr Gilberto Brambilla and ORC Director Professor Sir David Payne has resulted in the creation of the strongest, lightest weight silica nanofibres - 'nanowires' that are 15 times stronger than steel and can be manufactured in lengths potentially of 1000's of kilometres.
> 
> Their findings are already generating extensive interest from many companies around the world and could be set to transform the aviation, marine and safety industries. Tests are currently being carried out globally into the potential future applications for the nanowires.
> 
> "With synthetic fibres it is important to have high strength, achieved by production of fibre with extremely low defect rates, and low weight," says Dr Brambilla.
> 
> "Usually if you increase the strength of a fibre you have to increase its diameter and thus its weight, but our research has shown that as you decrease the size of silica nanofibres their strength increases, yet they still remain very lightweight. We are the only people who currently have optimised the strength of these fibres.
> 
> "Our discovery could change the future of composites and high strength materials across the world and have a huge impact on the marine, aviation and security industries. We want to investigate their potential use in composites and we envisage that this material could be used extensively in the manufacture of products such as aircraft, speedboats and helicopters," he adds.
> 
> Professor Payne explains: "Weight for weight, silica nanowires are 15 times stronger than high strength steel and 10 times stronger than conventional GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic). We can decrease the amount of material used thereby reducing the weight of the object.


----------



## ScienceRocks

New Material Harvests Energy from Water Vapor 
Published: January 10, 2013.  by  Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- MIT engineers have created a new polymer film that can generate electricity by drawing on a ubiquitous source: water vapor.

New Material Harvests Energy from Water Vapor - ScienceNewsline


> The new material changes its shape after absorbing tiny amounts of evaporated water, allowing it to repeatedly curl up and down. Harnessing this continuous motion could drive robotic limbs or generate enough electricity to power micro- and nanoelectronic devices, such as environmental sensors.
> 
> "With a sensor powered by a battery, you have to replace it periodically. If you have this device, you can harvest energy from the environment so you don't have to replace it very often," says Mingming Ma, a postdoc at MIT's David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and lead author of a paper describing the new material in the Jan. 11 issue of Science.
> 
> "We are very excited about this new material, and we expect as we achieve higher efficiency in converting mechanical energy into electricity, this material will find even broader applications," says Robert Langer, the David H. Koch Institute Professor at MIT and senior author of the paper. Those potential applications include large-scale, water-vapor-powered generators, or smaller generators to power wearable electronics.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Molecular Machine Could Hold Key to More Efficient Manufacturing*
Published: January 10, 2013.  by  University of Manchester 



> An industrial revolution on a minute scale is taking place in laboratories at The University of Manchester with the development of a highly complex machine that mimics how molecules are made in nature. The artificial molecular machine developed by Professor David Leigh FRS and his team in the School of Chemistry is the most advanced molecular machine of its type in the world. Its development has been published in the journal Science.


Molecular Machine Could Hold Key to More Efficient Manufacturing


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Can mass spectrometers rival the canine nose?*
By John Hewitt on January 15, 2013 at 2:05 pm




> Locating survivors trapped within rubble is a demanding job. Dogs are the best tool we have at the present time but they have difficulty identifying the victims most in need of help, namely, those that are still alive. Meanwhile, man&#8217;s answer to Fido&#8217;s soggy snout, the mass spectrometer, has been improved to the point that many diseases can be detected from the breath alone. This suggests the possibility that they might be adapted to detect the signatures of life from the gases exhaled by trapped victims. Will the technology be enough just to match the canine nose or will these machines also need to perform the more subtle task of navigating these plumes to be effective?


Can mass spectrometers rival the canine nose? | ExtremeTech


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Flexible nanocircuits that can go on almost anything *


> Electronic chips in your clothes to monitor your vitals? A tablet that folds up and fits in your back pocket?
> 
> The flexible nanoelectronic circuit Bedell and Shahrjedri designed is 10,000 times thinner than a piece of paper, and was peeled off of a silicon wafer and put onto plastic  an industry first.
> 
> These circuits are also easily transferrable at any size, arbitrary in shape, and compatible with any flexible substrate.
> 
> With a radius of curvature of only 6 mm, these sheets of circuits could cover or roll on top of almost anything.
> 
> These flexible chips are as powerful as any brittle chip sitting on silicon. More than 10 billion transistors can sit on the plastic substrate. And their ultra low-power needs  just 0.6 volts  make them perfect for novel mobile applications, wearable electronics and bioelectronics.


 
http://www.kurzweila...almost-anything


----------



## ScienceRocks

Mathematical breakthrough sets out rules for more effective teleportation 
January 16, 2013 



> For the last ten years, theoretical physicists have shown that the intense connections generated between particles as established in the quantum law of 'entanglement' may hold the key to eventual teleportation of quantum information.
> 
> Now, for the first time, researchers have worked out how entanglement could be 'recycled' to increase the efficiency of these connections. Published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the result could conceivably take us a step closer to sci-fi style teleportation in the future, although this research is purely theoretical in nature. The team have also devised a generalised form of teleportation, which allows for a wide variety of potential applications in quantum physics. Once considered impossible, in 1993 a team of scientists calculated that teleportation could work in principle using quantum laws. Quantum teleportation harnesses the 'entanglement' law to transmit particle-sized bites of information across potentially vast distances in an instant.


 Read more at: Mathematical breakthrough sets out rules for more effective teleportation


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Flexible Smartphone Batteries*

 A discovery from a Korean research team gets us closer. 
.
Flexible Smartphone Batteries | MIT Technology Review



> The road to a bendable smartphone has proved, perhaps fittingly, long and winding. Most efforts so far have focused on making flexible displays (see &#8220;Towards Flexible Mobile Screens&#8221, with interesting advances from the likes of Samsung. But even if you succeeded in making the screen of a smartphone flexible, you&#8217;d still have to tackle the phone&#8217;s innards, too, if you ultimately want to be able to roll up the thing like a sheet of paper. To tackle that problem, you&#8217;re going to need to have a flexible battery.
> 
> Some new research from a team of Korean researchers points to just that: a flexible battery. Their Advanced Materials paper has a cumbersome title: &#8220;Imprintable, Bendable, and Shape-Conformable Polymer Electrolytes for Versatile-Shaped Lithium-Ion Batteries.&#8221; But the world it points to is just the opposite of cumbersome: lithe, convenient, and ultraportable (see &#8220;Are Bendable Smart Phones the Future?&#8221.


----------



## Mr. H.

Do you ever sleep?


----------



## ScienceRocks

Not very good 

*Nearly perfect, ultrathin invisibility cloak could have wide practical applications*
January 17, 2013 by Lisa Zyga  




> The dc invisibility cloak has a thickness of just one unit cell and can cloak an object nearly perfectly. The inset shows an enlarged view of the cloak&#8217;s resistor network. Credit: Wei Xiang Jiang, et al. ©2013 American Institute of Physics
> 
> (Phys.org)&#8212;Researchers have created a dc invisibility cloak made of a metamaterial that not only shields an object almost perfectly, but at 1-cm thick is also the thinnest cloak ever constructed, reaching the ultimate limit of thinness for artificial materials. As the first invisibility cloak that combines both near-perfect performance and extreme thinness, it could open the doors to practical applications. In the past, invisibility cloaks have been too large to be used in many real-world applications.


Nearly perfect, ultrathin invisibility cloak could have wide practical applications


----------



## ScienceRocks

*The Pentagon&#8217;s Wall-of-Light Laser Shield*
The Pentagon&#8217;s Plasma-Producing Laser Shield - Popular Mechanics

The Joint Nonlethal Weapons Directorate is developing a laser-based shield that could create a wall of light in the air.


January 22, 2013 2:13 PMText Size:A . A . A 




> The Plasma Acoustic Shield System (PASS) is a crackling, flashing wall of light hanging in the air up to 100 meters away. And while it&#8217;s the stuff of sci-fi, the laser-powered PASS already exists in prototype form, built by Stellar Photonics of Redmond, Wash., with funding from the Pentagon&#8217;s Joint Nonlethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWD).
> 
> Initially intended to shield soldiers by creating a high-intensity distraction and provide a highly visible warning signal, PASS may develop into a weapon in its own right, producing a barrage of explosions with the power of flash&#8211;bang stun grenades. *It may also evolve into a shield capable of absorbing laser and microwave blasts from directed energy weapons.*
> 
> The technology is based on short pulses from a high-power laser. If you focus a laser beam down to a point, the intensity can become so great that the molecules of air itself break down. As electrons separate from their atoms to produce ions, the gas becomes plasma, an effect seen at the core of a lightning bolt. This ionization produces a miniature explosion with a flash of light and a sharp pop.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*US Military Will Install Laser Turrets on Bombers and Fighter Jets*

US Military Will Install Laser Turrets on Bombers and Fighter Jets
Jesus Diaz



> It was science fiction before, but now it's really happening, Young Skywalker: The US Navy and Air Force are going to install liquid-cooled, solid-state lasers in combat airplanes. Laser turrets designed to defend the planes by shooting incoming threats like surface-to-air missiles and rockets. Seriously. The above is an official concept image by DARPA, but integration is happening this year, with real firing tests coming in 2014.
> 
> The USAF has been playing with lasers in planes for a while. They worked to create the the highly successful&#8212;but ultimately shelved&#8212;Boeing YAL-1 Airborne Laser Testbed. Remember Reagan's Star Wars? This was one of the few technologies that we got to work outside those 3D animations that scared the Soviets so much.



This is likely cheaper then installing solid missiles to do the same. So I don't understand why Obama would want to destroy it.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Moller makes agreement to help produce flying cars*


Moller makes agreement to help produce flying cars - Sacramento Business Journal


> Moller International Inc. of Davis has entered into joint venture agreement with a Southern California firm to coproduce variations of its flying car in the U.S. and China, the company announced this week.
> 
> Moller said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Athena Technologies Inc. of Harbor City to form the joint venture. Moller is the developer of the Skycar, a flying vehicle.
> 
> The joint venture will initially invest $80 million of a planned $480 million investment with the objective of producing a variety of aircraft by 2014, according to Moller.


----------



## RoadVirus

Matthew said:


> *Moller makes agreement to help produce flying cars*
> 
> 
> Moller makes agreement to help produce flying cars - Sacramento Business Journal
> 
> 
> 
> Moller International Inc. of Davis has entered into joint venture agreement with a Southern California firm to coproduce variations of its flying car in the U.S. and China, the company announced this week.
> 
> Moller said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Athena Technologies Inc. of Harbor City to form the joint venture. Moller is the developer of the Skycar, a flying vehicle.
Click to expand...


Promises Promises. We should've had them by now!


----------



## ScienceRocks

*'Breathable' metal could make air conditioning obsolete*

Megan Wollerton

Monday, February 4, 2013 - 4:52pm





> Doris Kim Sung is a bioarchitecture student (that's a thing, right?) who has been working with thermo-bimetals, "smart materials that respond dynamically to temperature change." These adaptable materials could change the way buildings are designed in the future, by making them more responsive to the outside temperature. Just like clothing or human skin, buildings themselves could have a system that automatically "breathes" to regulate internal temperatures without relying on expensive and wasteful heating or air conditioning systems.
> 
> Doris tested her dynamic building concept with a 2011 art installation in Los Angeles called "Bloom."
> 
> 
> The installation is 20 feet tall and made with 14,000 completely unique pieces of thermo-bimetal, a smart material made of two different metals laminated together. This metal is dynamic and responsive, curling as air temperatures rise, resulting in a beautiful sculpture that breathes.
> 
> Watch the video below to hear Doris explain her breathable metal and why it would be a step forward for building design.


'Breathable' metal could make air conditioning obsolete | DVICE


----------



## ScienceRocks

RoadVirus said:


> Matthew said:
> 
> 
> 
> *Moller makes agreement to help produce flying cars*
> 
> 
> Moller makes agreement to help produce flying cars - Sacramento Business Journal
> 
> 
> 
> Moller International Inc. of Davis has entered into joint venture agreement with a Southern California firm to coproduce variations of its flying car in the U.S. and China, the company announced this week.
> 
> Moller said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Athena Technologies Inc. of Harbor City to form the joint venture. Moller is the developer of the Skycar, a flying vehicle.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Promises Promises. We should've had them by now!
Click to expand...


Yep, for 40 years we have been waiting for moller to move forward.  On the other hand if they did it would be really cool!


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Wireless power transfer technology for high capacity transit*




> Quote
> 
> Daejeon, Republic of Korea (SPX) Feb 25, 2013
> 
> 
> The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI) have developed a wireless power transfer technology that can be applied to high capacity transportation systems such as railways, harbor freight, and airport transportation and logistics. The technology supplies 60 kHz and 180 kW of power remotely to transport vehicles at a stable, constant rate.
> 
> 
> 
> KAIST and KRRI have successfully showcased the wireless power transfer technology to the public by testing it on the railroad tracks at Osong Station in Korea. Originally, this technology was developed as part of an electric vehicle system introduced by KAIST in 2011 known as the On-line Electric Vehicle (OLEV).


 
From http://www.spacedail...ransit_999.html


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Claimed 270 mpg car going into production *



> http://life.national...nto-production/
> 
> 
> VW to build 270 mpg XL1  When we first saw Volkswagen&#8217;s XL1 on the auto show circuit in 2011, we thought the futuristic, hyper-mileage, bullet-on-wheels was a mere one-off from the German automaker; a showcase of what VW could do. But now, amazingly, VW says it will build about 1,000 copies annually of the XL1 two-seater for sale to the public starting later this year. The XL1&#8242;s showstopping 270 miles per U.S. gallon (or about 0.87 L/100 km) rating is achieved via groundbreaking aerodynamics, the use of lightweight materials and a gas-electric, plug-in hybrid powerplant that marries an 800-cc two-cylinder diesel engine and an electric motor rated for a combined 74 horsepower.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Jetpack "anyone can fly" launched at Abu Dhabi exhibition

A jetpack costing $100,000 has been unveiled at the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in the United Arab Emirates. Its makers, California-based Martin Aircraft Company, say it could be used by emergency services, the military and also for leisure. The 140kg aircraft, which took 10 years to develop, can fly up to a mile high, reach a speed of 62mph and take off from a small space. It has an automated hover function, making it easy to operate.


Jetpack "anyone can fly" launched at Abu Dhabi exhibition


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Stretchy battery drawn to three times its size*
By Jason Palmer
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21585817
Science and technology reporter, BBC News



> The team tested their battery by stretching it 300% while it powered an LED lamp Continue reading the main story
> 
> 
> Researchers have demonstrated a flat, "stretchy" battery that can be pulled to three times its size without a loss in performance.
> 
> While flexible and stretchable electronics have been on the rise, powering them with equally stretchy energy sources has been problematic.
> 
> The new idea in Nature Communications uses small "islands" of energy-storing materials dotted on a stretchy polymer.
> 
> The study also suggests the batteries can be recharged wirelessly.
> 
> In a sense, the battery is a latecomer to the push toward flexible, stretchable electronics. A number of applications have been envisioned for flexible devices, from implantable health monitors to roll-up displays.
> 
> But consumer products that fit the bendy, stretchy description are still very few - in part, because there have been no equally stretchy, rechargeable power sources for them.
> 
> "Batteries are particularly challenging because, unlike electronics, it's difficult to scale down their dimensions without significantly reducing performance," said senior author of the study John Rogers of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign


.


----------



## Mr. H.

Science marches on!


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Sodium-air batteries could replace lithium-air as the battery of the future*
By James Plafke on March 1, 2013 at 3:35 pm

Sodium-air batteries could replace lithium-air as the battery of the future | ExtremeTech


> The world of tech hardware moves and reshapes itself as fast as it ever has nowadays. Pocket computers exponentially increase in power seemingly every few months, while our laptops can now fold completely in half and masquerade as a tablet. However, as far as hardware ever reaches, batteries always seem so stagnant. Now, though, promising research into sodium-air batteries could lead toward the battery revolution we&#8217;ve all been waiting for.
> 
> Aside from, for example, standard AA or AAA batteries, lithium-ion batteries are the go-to power source for our most prized mobile devices. They are rechargeable, and last an acceptable amount of time before cutting out right in the middle of an important phone call. Though our smartphones and tablets have an acceptable lifetime, sometimes you accept what you&#8217;re given rather than what you actually want. An iPhone 5 can last around 8 hours of 3G, LTE data use or talk time, or for 10 hours of video playback, or 40 hours of audio playback. When you&#8217;re using some combination of all those features &#8212; as anyone with a smartphone and a long commute is fully aware &#8212; the phone&#8217;s battery life is woefully short. Because of the way a lithium-ion battery generates power &#8212; through chemical reactions &#8212; the amount of power generated has a ceiling. This means that at some point, a lithium-ion battery will be giving literally the maximum amount of power it can. A ceiling means that, eventually, our devices will require more power than the battery can give.
> 
> This type of battery, rather than the usual suffix of -ion, carries the self-explanatory suffix of -air. *Scientists theorize that, in part due to not requiring a catalyst in the battery, a higher yield of energy can be generated. Whereas a lithium-ion battery has a capacity of around 200Wh/kg, a lithium-air battery could reach all the way up to 3460Wh/kg*.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New Discovery Challenges Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, Advancing Quantum Mechanics*

New Discovery Challenges Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, Advancing Quantum Mechanics : Physics : Science World Report



> (Photo : Jonathan Leach) Heisenberg&#8217;s famous Uncertainty Principle may not be as uncertain as once thought. Weak measurement: as light goes through a birefringent crystal the horizontally and vertically polarized components of light spread out in space, but an overlap between the two components remains when they emerge. In a &#8220;strong&#8221; measurement the two components would be fully separated.
> 
> Heisenberg's famous Uncertainty Principle may not be as uncertain as once thought. Researchers have applied a recently developed technique to directly measure the polarization of light, which overcomes some important challenges of the principle and is also applicable to qubits, the building blocks of the quantum information theory.
> 
> The findings, published in the journal Nature Photonics, used a direct measurement technique that was first developed in 2011 by scientists at the National Research Council, Canada. It was first created in order to measure the wavefunction, which is a way of determining the state of a quantum system.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Superomniphobic surface sees off non-Newtonian fluids*

Superomniphobic surface sees off non-Newtonian fluids | Chemistry World




> Quote
> 
> A material that is equally good at repelling water, oil, concentrated acid and alkali solutions, and non-Newtonian fluids like polymer solutions has been created by chemists in the US. This chemical resistance combined with the simple, scalable production process makes it promising for protective and self-cleaning surface applications.
> 
> 
> Anish Tuteja from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor explains that while a lot of effort has been directed towards creating &#8216;self-cleaning&#8217;superomniphobic surfaces that repel both oily and water-based liquids, less attention has been paid to non-Newtonian fluids.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Wirelessly Charged Lithium Battery Can Be Stretched, Folded, and Twisted*





> Singularity Hub has faithfully followed flexible displays over the last few years&#8212;but now researchers are hard at work fabricating flexible components to match. In a recent paper, Yonggang Huang and John A. Rogers of Northwestern University and the University of Illinois demonstrated a lithium-ion battery embedded in a rubber substrate that can be stretched, folded, twisted, and charged wirelessly.
> 
> Lithium-ion batteries are the power source of choice in mobile devices from laptops to cell phones these days. Making them flexible and pairing them with flexible displays like OLEDs and (yet to be invented) CPUs may lead to fully flexible devices.


Wirelessly Charged Lithium Battery Can Be Stretched, Folded, and Twisted | Singularity Hub


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Indestructible self-healing circuits*



> Imagine that the chips in your smart phone or computer could repair and defend themselves on the fly, recovering in microseconds from less-than-ideal battery power or total transistor failure. It might sound like the stuff of science fiction, but a team of engineers, for the first time ever, has developed just such a system.
> 
> 
> 
> The team, from the High-Speed Integrated Circuits laboratory at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), has demonstrated this self-healing capability in tiny power amplifiers. The amplifiers are so small, in fact, that 76 of the chips &#8211; including everything they need to self-heal &#8211; could fit on a single penny. In perhaps the most dramatic of their experiments, the team destroyed various parts of their chips by zapping them multiple times with a high-power laser, and then observed as the chips automatically developed a work-around in less than a second.
> 
> Ali Hajimiri, Professor of Electrical Engineering: "It was incredible the first time the system kicked in and healed itself. It felt like we were witnessing the next step in the evolution of integrated circuits. We had literally just blasted half the amplifier


Indestructible self-healing circuits


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Teenage girl creates sustainable, renewable algae biofuel under her bed*
By James Plafke on March 19, 2013 at 2:55 pm



> In what is essentially a fancy science fair sponsored by Intel, over 1,700 high school seniors enter projects each year in order to not only be crowned the country&#8217;s youngest mad scientists, but have a chance to win $100,000. This year, Sara Volz claimed that crown and a $100,000 four-year scholarship, thanks to her efficient algae-based biofuel lab &#8212; that she created under her bed.


Teenage girl creates sustainable, renewable algae biofuel under her bed | ExtremeTech


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientist develops a multi-purpose wonder material to tackle environmental challenges*



> Science fiction? Hardly, and there's more - It can also desalinate water, be used as flexible water filtration membranes, help recover energy from desalination waste brine, be made into flexible solar cells and can also double the lifespan of lithium ion batteries. With its superior bacteria-killing capabilities, it can also be used to develop a new type of antibacterial bandage. Scientists at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), led by Associate Professor Darren Sun have succeeded in developing a single, revolutionary nanomaterial that can do all the above and at very low cost compared to existing technology. This breakthrough which has taken Prof Sun five years to develop is dubbed the Multi-use Titanium Dioxide (TiO2). It is formed by turning titanium dioxide crystals into patented nanofibres, which can then be easily fabricated into patented flexible filter membranes which include a combination of carbon, copper, zinc or tin, depending on the specific end product needed



 Read more at: Scientist develops a multi-purpose wonder material to tackle environmental challenges


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New Solar-Energy Device is 100 Times More Efficient Than Previous Design*


March 20, 2013 by Staff

New Solar-Energy Device is 100 Times More Efficient Than Previous Design | SciTech Daily
A





> 100x More Efficient Solar Energy Chip
> Part of a 2-inch-diameter gallium-arsenide wafer used as a base for photon-enhanced thermionic emission chips. (Credit: Brad Plummer / SLAC)
> 
> Based on the photon-enhanced thermionic emission (PETE) process, a new solar-energy device is about 100 times more efficient than its previous design.
> 
> Scientists working at the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences (SIMES) have improved an innovative solar-energy device to be about 100 times more efficient than its previous design in converting the sun&#8217;s light and heat into electricity.
> 
> &#8220;This is a major step toward making practical devices based on our technique for harnessing both the light and heat energy provided by the sun,&#8221; said Nicholas Melosh, associate professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford and a researcher with SIMES, a joint SLAC/Stanford institute.
> 
> The new device is based on the photon-enhanced thermionic emission (PETE) process first demonstrated in 2010 by a group led by Melosh and SIMES colleague Zhi-Xun Shen, who is SLAC&#8217;s advisor for science and technology. In a report last week in Nature Communications, the group described how they improved the device&#8217;s efficiency from a few hundredths of a percent to nearly 2 percent, and said they expect to achieve at least another 10-fold gain in the future.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Engineers develop nanofoams for better body armor, layers of protection for buildings*



> (Nanowerk News) &#8220;We are developing nanofoams that help disperse the force of an impact over a wider area,&#8221; said Yu Qiao, a professor of structural engineering at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego. &#8220;They will appear to be less rigid but will actually be more resistant than ordinary foams.&#8221;


Read more: Engineers develop nanofoams for better body armor, layers of protection for buildings


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Television brings odor to the watching experience *

Travis Andrews

Sunday, March 31, 2013 - 12:09pm



> You know how when you&#8217;re watching television, there&#8217;s always that nagging awareness in the back of your head that you&#8217;re watching television, most likely because you can&#8217;t smell what&#8217;s on the screen? Yeah, me neither. Still, folks have been trying to engage our senses of smell in the world of televised entertainment since the &#8216;80s.
> 
> Back in the day, this was achieved by a scratch-and-sniff card that coincided with parts of the film in question. Deciding scratch-and-sniffs are a little outdated, researchers at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology created a television that takes care of the olfactory component of TV-watching for you.
> 
> The TV set comes with a fan mounted on each corner that push forward various scents and odors. And because of their placement, it&#8217;ll feel like the smells are coming right out of your screen, erasing all suspension-of-disbelief difficulties (until someone eats something, and you realize you can&#8217;t taste it).
> 
> While I wouldn't expect these to start showing up in homes across suburban America, they're out there.


Television brings odor to the watching experience | DVICE


----------



## ScienceRocks

A team of Virginia Tech researchers has discovered a way to extract large quantities of hydrogen from any plant, a breakthrough that has the potential to bring a low-cost, environmentally friendly fuel source to the world.

Breakthrough in hydrogen fuel production could revolutionize alternative energy market



> "Our new process could help end our dependence on fossil fuels," said Y.H. Percival Zhang, an associate professor of biological systems engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Engineering. "Hydrogen is one of the most important biofuels of the future."
> 
> 
> 
> Zhang and his team have succeeded in using xylose, the most abundant simple plant sugar, to produce a large quantity of hydrogen that previously was attainable only in theory. Zhang's method can be performed using any source of biomass.
> 
> 
> 
> Mielenz said Zhang's process could find its way to the marketplace as quickly as three years if the technology is available. Zhang said when it does become commercially available, it has the possibility of making an enormous impact.
> 
> 
> 
> The energy stored in xylose splits water molecules, yielding high-purity hydrogen that can be directly utilized by proton-exchange membrane fuel cells. Even more appealing, this reaction occurs at low temperatures, generating hydrogen energy that is greater than the chemical energy stored in xylose and the polyphosphate. This results in an energy efficiency of more than 100 percent -- a net energy gain. That means that low-temperature waste heat can be used to produce high-quality chemical energy hydrogen for the first time. Other processes that convert sugar into biofuels such as ethanol and butanol always have energy efficiencies of less than 100 percent, resulting in an energy penalty.
> 
> 
> 
> The commercial market for hydrogen gas is now around $100 billion for hydrogen produced from natural gas, which is expensive to manufacture and generates a large amount of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Industry most often uses hydrogen to manufacture ammonia for fertilizers and to refine petrochemicals, but an inexpensive, plentiful green hydrogen source can rapidly change that market.
> 
> 
> 
> "It really doesn't make sense to use non-renewable natural resources to produce hydrogen," Zhang said. "We think this discovery is a game-changer in the world of alternative energy."


----------



## ScienceRocks

Bladeless wind turbine works without any moving parts

Megan Wollerton

Wednesday, April 3, 2013 - 4:56pm

Bladeless wind turbine works without any moving parts | DVICE
.



> It may look like some sort of massive garlic press, but this is actually a model of a wind turbine without blades. In fact, it has no moving parts at all. Designed by Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo, the electrostatic wind energy converter (EWICON) prototype is currently on display at Delft University of Technology.
> 
> How does it work? In brief, it uses "particle movement" to generate energy, which is explained more fully in the video below. One major factor that has negatively influenced windmill installation in the United States is noise &#8212; a bladeless energy generator would pretty much negate these complaints. The EWICON also doesn't require as much maintenance as traditional windmills. Just imagine how this could be used in urban environments.
> 
> For more specifics, the video below explains the process very well


----------



## iaanhayden

What about 3 d printer? Can you explain it? In my opinion Engineers and designers have been utilising 3D printers for more than a ten years, but mostly to make prototypes quickly and cheaply before they embark on the expensive enterprise of tooling up a manufacturer to produce the genuine thing.


----------



## RoadVirus

Matthew said:


> *Television brings odor to the watching experience *
> 
> Travis Andrews
> 
> Sunday, March 31, 2013 - 12:09pm
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You know how when youre watching television, theres always that nagging awareness in the back of your head that youre watching television, most likely because you cant smell whats on the screen? Yeah, me neither. Still, folks have been trying to engage our senses of smell in the world of televised entertainment since the 80s.
> 
> Back in the day, this was achieved by a scratch-and-sniff card that coincided with parts of the film in question. Deciding scratch-and-sniffs are a little outdated, researchers at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology created a television that takes care of the olfactory component of TV-watching for you.
> 
> The TV set comes with a fan mounted on each corner that push forward various scents and odors. And because of their placement, itll feel like the smells are coming right out of your screen, erasing all suspension-of-disbelief difficulties (until someone eats something, and you realize you cant taste it).
> 
> While I wouldn't expect these to start showing up in homes across suburban America, they're out there.
> 
> 
> 
> Television brings odor to the watching experience | DVICE
Click to expand...


I don't think i would want a television that brings me the odors from _Dirty Jobs_


----------



## ScienceRocks

Solar Panels Now Make More Electricity Than They Use 




> And by 2020, the solar industry will have completely "paid back" the energy it took to produce the world's panels.
> 
> 
> Solar panels make energy, but they take energy to make, too. And, until about 2010 or so, the solar panel industry used more electricity than it produced, according to a new analysis. Now, the industry is set to "pay back" the energy it used by 2020.
> 
> The study looked at what went into building and installing solar panels all over the world, including everything from home installations to solar farms, says Michael Dale, a climate and energy researcher at Stanford University, in a Stanford-produced video. He and a senior scientist, Sally Benson, thought that because the solar panel industry was growing so quickly, it might actually be using more electricity than it produced. Instead, they found an industry at a crux.
> 
> "I think that this paper shows that actually the industry is making positive strides and it's even in spite of its fantastically fast growth rates, it's still producing, or it's just about to start producing, a net energy benefit to society," Dale said



Solar Panels Now Make More Electricity Than They Use | Popular Science


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Two million-year-old creature had mix of ape, human traits*

Two million-year-old creature had mix of ape, human traits | Reuters



> JOHANNESBURG | Fri Apr 12, 2013 1:57pm EDT
> 
> (Reuters) - A 2 million-year-old ancestor of man had a mixture of ape and human-like features that allowed it to hike vast distances on two legs with as much ease as it could scurry up trees, according to research published on Friday.
> 
> Discovered in cave near Johannesburg in 2008, the fossils of a species named "Australopithecus sediba" have given researchers clues about the evolution of man and which traits in our ancestors fell by the wayside.
> 
> Standing about 1.3 meters (4 ft) tall, sediba had a narrow rib cage similar to apes but a flexible spine more similar to that of a human. Its long arms and powerful torso helped in climbing, according to the research published in the journal Science.


----------



## mamooth

Large Solar flare pushing northern lights south on Saturday evening 4/13

Dazzling Northern Lights Anticipated Saturday Night - AccuWeather.com
---
The flare is also expected to cause vibrant northern lights from the Arctic as far south as New York, the Dakotas, Washington and Michigan, with a smaller possibility of it going into Pennsylvania and Iowa, even Kansas. The lights are currently estimated for 8 p.m. EDT Saturday arrival, with a possible deviation of up to seven hours. If the radiation hits much after dark settles on the East Coast the lights may be missed and will instead only be visible for the West.
---


----------



## rdean

3d printers printing out skin and bones.


----------



## ScienceRocks

'Most energy-efficient' LED light revealed 


BBC News - 'Most energy-efficient' LED light revealed by Philips


> Lighting company Philips has developed an LED lamp that it describes as "the world's most energy-efficient".
> 
> It said the prototype tube lighting LED is twice as efficient as those currently used in offices and industry around the world but offers the same amount of light.
> 
> Being able to halve the amount of energy used could bring huge cost and energy savings.
> 
> Lighting accounts for more than 19% of global electricity consumption.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New lithium-ion battery design that&#8217;s 2,000 times more powerful, recharges 1,000 times faster*
By Sebastian Anthony on April 17, 2013 at 7:41 am

New lithium-ion battery design that?s 2,000 times more powerful, recharges 1,000 times faster | ExtremeTech
University of Illinois, 3D porous microstructure lithium-ion battery



> Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a new lithium-ion battery technology that is 2,000 times more powerful than comparable batteries. According to the researchers, this is not simply an evolutionary step in battery tech, &#8220;It&#8217;s a new enabling technology&#8230; it breaks the normal paradigms of energy sources. It&#8217;s allowing us to do different, new things.&#8221;


----------



## ScienceRocks

Inexpensive Solar Cell Coating May Lead To Big Increases In Solar Cell Efficiency, 1 Photon Knocks Loose 2 Electrons



> http://cleantechnica.com/2013/04/19...lows-one-photon-to-knock-loose-two-electrons/
> A potentially very important development has just been announced in the field of solar cell technology. Researchers at MIT have successfully demonstrated a technique that allows a photon to knock two electrons loose, rather than only the usual one electron. The demonstration opens the door to solar cells with efficiencies higher than 30% in the near future, and potentially far higher than the 34% Shockley-Queisser efficiency &#8220;limit.&#8221;


----------



## Mr. H.

I read about that ^. Neater than shit. 

What I'd like to see is a material that is actually reflective that can be applied (painted?) to a surface such as a rooftop. The reflective properties keep the roof cool, while the material is engineered in such a fashion as to absorb those electrons (times a bazillion) and feed the electricity to the house.


----------



## Mr. H.

Calling Old Rocks...


----------



## ScienceRocks

Experimental Air Force aircraft goes hypersonic
The Associated PressAssociated Press
Posted:   05/03/2013 1222 PM PDT
May 3, 2013 9:21 PM GMTUpdated:   05/03/2013 0234 PM PDT

Experimental Air Force aircraft goes hypersonic - San Jose Mercury News


> LOS ANGELES&#8212;An experimental, unmanned aircraft developed for the U.S. Air Force went hypersonic during a test off the Southern California coast, traveling at more than 3,000 mph, the Air Force said Friday.
> The X-51A WaveRider flew for more than three minutes under power from its exotic scramjet engine and hit a speed of Mach 5.1, or more than five times the speed of sound.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Scientists Seek To Take The Measure of Antimatter  Scientists Seek To Take The Measure of Antimatter | WBAA


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Graphene paint could power homes of the future
Houses could be painted with a new super-material that generates electricity from sunlight and can even change colour on request, following new research. *

Richard Gray By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent
7:00AM BST 03 May 2013


> Scientists at the University of Manchester used wafers of graphene, the discovery of which won researchers a Nobel Prize, with thin layers of other materials to produce solar powered surfaces.
> 
> The resulting surfaces, which were paper thin and flexible, were able to absorb sunlight to produce electricity at a level that would rival existing solar panels.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo...ne-paint-could-power-homes-of-the-future.html


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Terrafugia to develop vertical takeoff flying car*



> The TF-X will build on the company's Transition flying car and will allow drivers to takeoff and land vertically.
> Frustrated commuters may soon get some good news from Terrafugia, the maker of the Transition flying  car.
> 
> The company on Sunday said it has begun feasibility studies of a four-seat, vertical takeoff and landing plug-in hybrid-electric flying car, the TF-X. The vehicle will "further increase the safety, simplicity, and convenience of personal aviation" by using state-of-the-art intelligent systems and other technology, Terrafugia said.



Terrafugia to develop vertical takeoff flying car | Cutting Edge - CNET News


----------



## Mr. H.

This is a good'n...

Cheap Nanotech Filter Clears Hazardous Microbes and Chemicals from Drinking Water

_Thalappil Pradeep and his colleagues at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras developed a nanoparticle water filtration system that promises potable water for even the poorest communities in India and, in the future, for those in other countries sharing the same plight._


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New advance in biofuel production: Researchers develop enzyme-free ionic liquid pre-treatment*
New advance in biofuel production: Researchers develop enzyme-free ionic liquid pre-treatment
9 minutes ago by Lynn Yarris 


> liquid fuels synthesized from the sugars in cellulosic biomass &#8211; offer a clean, green and renewable alternative to gasoline, diesel and jet fuels. Bringing the costs of producing these advanced biofuels down to competitive levels with petrofuels, however, is a major challenge. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), a bioenergy research center led by Berkeley Lab, have taken another step towards meeting this challenge with the development of a new technique for pre-treating cellulosic biomass with ionic liquids - salts that are liquids rather than crystals at room temperature. This new technique requires none of the expensive enzymes used in previous ionic liquid pretreatments, and makes


New advance in biofuel production: Researchers develop enzyme-free ionic liquid pre-treatment


----------



## ScienceRocks

Morocco on Friday officially launched the construction of a 160-megawatt solar power plant near the desert city of Ouarzazate, the first in a series of vast solar projects planned in the country. 


> The largest of its kind in the world, according to Mustapha Bakkoury, the head of Morocco's solar energy agency MASEN, the thermo-solar plant will cost 7 billion dirhams (630 million euros) and is slated for completion in 2015, the official MAP news agency reported.
> 
> The ambitious project "reinforces the will... to optimise the exploitation of Morocco's natural resources, to preserve its environment... and sustain its development," Bakkoury said at the ceremony which was attended by King Mohammed VI.



Morocco launches solar mega-project at Ouarzazate


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New magnetic graphene may revolutionise electronics*

9 hours ago 




> Researchers from IMDEA-Nanociencia Institute and from Autonoma and Complutense Universities of Madrid (Spain) have managed to give graphene magnetic properties. The breakthrough, published in the journal Nature Physics, opens the door to the development of graphene-based spintronic devices, that is, devices based on the spin or rotation of the electron, and could transform the electronics industry.



 Read more at: New magnetic graphene may revolutionise electronics


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers develop metamaterials able to control spread of light*
Researchers develop metamaterials able to control spread of light


> (Phys.org) &#8212;A team of researchers at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology has developed a new class of metamaterials that allow for control of the spread of light in communications devices. As the team explains in their paper published in the journal Science, the new materials are able to alter the standard characteristics of light waves.


 Read more at: Researchers develop metamaterials able to control spread of light


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Nano-Breakthrough: Solving the Case of the Herringbone Crystal*

Nano-breakthrough: Solving the case of the herringbone crystal


> May 12, 2013  Leading nanoscientists created beautiful, tiled patterns with flat nanocrystals, but they were left with a mystery: Why did some sets of crystals arrange themselves in an alternating, herringbone style? To find out, they turned to experts in computer simulation at the University of Michigan and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Earliest Archaeological Evidence of Human Ancestors Hunting and Scavenging*
Earliest archaeological evidence of human ancestors hunting and scavenging



> May 10, 2013 &#8212; A recent Baylor University research study has shed new light on the diet and food acquisition strategies of some the earliest human ancestors in Africa.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Plague Helped Bring Down Roman Empire
Plague Helped Bring Down Roman Empire : Discovery News


> New evidence suggests the Black Death bacterium caused the Justinianic Plague of the sixth to eighth centuries. The pandemic, named after the Byzantine emperor Justinian I (shown here), killed more than 100 million people.
> 
> Plague may have helped finish off the Roman Empire, researchers now reveal.
> 
> Plague is a fatal disease so infamous that it has become synonymous with any dangerous, widespread contagion. It was linked to one of the first known examples of biological warfare, when Mongols catapulted plague victims into cities.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Oldest water on Earth found deep underground 



> A pocket of water some 2.6 billion years old the most ancient pocket of water known by far, older even than the dawn of multicellular life has now been discovered in a mine 2 miles below the Earth's surface.



Read more: Oldest water on Earth found deep underground | Fox News


----------



## ScienceRocks

Autonomous X-47B Jet Fighter Makes Historic First Launch From An Aircraft Carrier 

Autonomous X-47B Jet Fighter Makes Historic First Launch From An Aircraft Carrier | Popular Science


> Technology, Clay Dillow, aviation, military, ucas, unmanned aerial systems, x-47bThe X-47B is also the first tail-less aircraft to operate from a carrier deck, which also makes it the first jet, manned or unmanned, with a low observable stealth profile to operate from a carrier. Its the first self-piloting, autonomous unmanned jet to fly in any branch of the military. In this writers experience, its the first unmanned aircraft thats this ridiculously cool.
> 
> Which explains the enthusiasm of the Navy/Northrop Grumman program crew that finally launched their Unmanned Combat Aerial System (UCAS) after years of development (though combat is part of the title, the two existing X-47Bs are only technology demonstrator meant to prove technological capability; Navy brass emphasize that it is not intended for active service, nor for weaponization). The team has been hard at work for the past year at Naval Air Station Patuxent River putting its X-47Bs through their paces on a terrestrial carrier simulator.
> 
> Noticeably absent from todays demonstration, however, was an arrested landing aboard the carrier. After launching from the USS Bush the air vehicle designated Salty Dog 502 for the purposes of this demonstration flight made two approaches to the carrier, one at roughly 1,000 feet altitude and another just 50 feet above the flight deck. Both were simulated wave-offs, where the Landing Signal Officer on deck or the aircraft decides that a landing is not safe and the aircraft aborts touchdown. Instead of eventually landing, Salty Dog 502 turned west and made a 65-minute flight back to Pax River in Maryland, where it landed on a terrestrial runway.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
TF-X, a new flying car to avoid traffic jams *

Saturday, May 18, 2013



> A Massachusetts-based company called Terrafugia has developed the TF-X flying car, a four-passenger plug-in hybrid with retractable wings. In flight mode, it will have a non-stop range of more than 805 kilometres.
> 
> According to the video, all you have to do is to enter a destination; the TF-X will automatically take off and fly at up to 322 km/h before landing on its own exactly where you wanted.
> 
> &#8220;We are passionate about continuing to lead the creation of a flying car industry and are dedicating resources to lay the foundations for our vision of personal transportation.&#8221; announced Terrafugia CEO/CTO Carl Dietrich.
> 
> Of course, the production and manufacture of flying cars face significant obstacles, but the company says preliminary discussions with the Federal Aviation Administration in the U.S. have been positive. In fact, the FAA is reportedly ready to consider regulatory changes needed to enable buyers to make use of such vehicles.
> 
> Bottom line: Flying cars are not that far-fetched. After all, didn't we see Marty McFly pilot Doc Brown's DeLorean in the year 2015?


 
http://www.auto123.com/en/news/tf-x-a-new-flying-car-to-avoid-traffic-jams?artid=155832


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Weather Service to Add Major Might to Computing Power*
Published: May 17th, 2013 , Last Updated: May 17th, 2013 
Weather Service to Add Major Might to Computing Power | Climate Central

Andrew Freedman	By Andrew Freedman 


> After coming under fire for falling behind the capabilities of other nations, the National Weather Service (NWS) is setting out to make an unprecedented increase in its computing power over the next several years, the agency announced this week. The computing boost will triple a key measure of the agency's main weather model, and could yield major improvements to its weather forecasting and warnings capabilities.
> 
> The ECMWF model consistently forecast that Hurricane Sandy would make landfall in the Mid-Atlantic region, starting a week in advance.
> Credit: Weatherbell.com.
> 
> The program is made possible by recent funding from Congress contained in the Hurricane Sandy relief legislation, which was signed into law in January. The NWS plans to use $25 million of the $48 million provided to it in the Sandy supplemental bill, along with funds that are called for in President Obama&#8217;s fiscal year 2014 budget proposal, to bring about "unprecedented" computing upgrades &#8212; going from an operational computing capacity of 213 peak teraflops at the end of the current fiscal year, to 1,950 peak teraflops by the end of fiscal year 2015, according to NWS Director Louis Uccellini. A teraflop is a measure of how many calculations a computer can make per second, and indicates that a computer can make one trillion &#8220;floating point calculations&#8221; in just one second. In other words, the agency doesn&#8217;t run weather models on your typical personal computer.



About fucking time!


----------



## ScienceRocks

*SheerWind claims its INVELOX wind turbine produces 600% more power*

May 13, 2013 by Bob Yirka report
SheerWind claims its INVELOX wind turbine produces 600% more power


> SheerWind claims its INVELOX wind turbine produces 600% more power
> 
> (Phys.org) &#8212;SheerWind Inc. of Chaska, Minnesota is claiming in a press release that its newly developed funnel-based wind turbine system is capable of producing 600 percent more power than conventional wind turbines. The new design uses funnels to channel wind to a ground-based turbine.
> 
> The idea behind the INVELOX system is to capture wind using wide mouthed funnels and channel it via ducts to a turbine sitting at ground level. The wind picks up speed as it is concentrated through a series of nozzle and pipes before it is delivered to a turbine, which produces electricity. SheerWind claims in its announcement that the system is capable of producing electricity with wind speeds as low as 1mph.
> 
> As an example, they say that tests have demonstrated that the system operating in natural wind speeds of 10mph is able to increase that speed to 40mph before it enters the turbine. After passing through the turbine, the wind is exhausted back into the environment, in this case, at 15mph.



 Read more at: SheerWind claims its INVELOX wind turbine produces 600% more power


----------



## ScienceRocks

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5evOIe4IvP8&feature=player_embedded]Printing Australia's largest solar cells - YouTube[/ame]




*Largest solar cell printer can make a new panel every two seconds*

Scientists have produced the largest flexible, plastic solar cells in Australia &#8211; 10 times the size of what they were previously able to &#8211; thanks to a new printer installed at CSIRO, the country's national science agency.


*Printing Australia&#8217;s Largest Solar Cells*


May 19, 2013  Guest Contributor	



> Scientists have produced the largest flexible, plastic solar cells in Australia &#8211; 10 times the size of what they were previously able to &#8211; thanks to a new solar cell printer that has been installed at CSIRO.
> 
> The printer has allowed researchers from the Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium (VICOSC) &#8211; a collaboration between CSIRO, The University of Melbourne, Monash University and industry partners &#8211; to print organic photovoltaic cells the size of an A3 sheet of paper.
> 
> According to CSIRO materials scientist Dr Scott Watkins, printing cells on such a large scale opens up a huge range of possibilities for pilot applications.
> 
> &#8220;There are so many things we can do with cells this size,&#8221; he says. &#8220;We can set them into advertising signage, powering lights and other interactive elements. We can even embed them into laptop cases to provide backup power for the machine inside.&#8221;


Read more at http://cleantechnica.com/2013/05/19/printing-australias-largest-solar-cells/#bhSmUrZzMcvtQ0rp.99


----------



## ScienceRocks

Finally! Independent Testing Of Rossi's E-Cat Cold Fusion Device: Maybe The World Will Change After All
 Italiano: Schema della cella di Piantelli-Foca...


> Back in October 2011 I first wrote about Italian engineer, Andrea Rossi, and his E-Cat project, a device that produces heat through a process called a Low Energy Nuclear Reaction (LENR).
> 
> Very briefly, LENR, otherwise called cold fusion, is a technique that generates energy through low temperature (far lower than hot fusion temperatures which are in the range of tens off thousands of degrees) reactions that are not chemical. Most importantly, LENR is, theoretically, much safer, much simpler, and many orders of magnitude cheaper than hot fusion. Rather than explaining LENR in detail here please see my original posting for a more complete explanation.
> 
> My next post on this topic was here on Forbes a few days later and, as the labyrinthine and occasionally ridiculous saga developed, I tried to sort fact from fiction in a series of posts (see the list at the end of this posting) which covered everything from unconvincing demos, through an Australian businessman offering Rossi $1 million to show independently tested proof, to other players in the LENR market showing interesting results.
> 
> While a few commentators have raised criticisms concerning how the measurements were made and sources of error others have argued that the energy produced is so significant even knocking off an order of magnitude on either axis still portrays a process with insanely valuable output.
> 
> This is not, of course, the last word or even one anywhere near the end of this story but unless this is one of the most elaborate hoaxes in scientific history it looks like the world may well be about to change. How quick will depend solely on Rossi.



Finally! Independent Testing Of Rossi's E-Cat Cold Fusion Device: Maybe The World Will Change After All - Forbes


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Ministers approve plans for world's biggest wave farm in Western Isles*


> Ministers have approved plans for the world's largest commercial wave farm.
> 
> Full consent has been given for a 40MW farm off the north-west coast of Lewis - enough to power nearly 30,000 homes.
> 
> Wave energy firm Aquamarine Power said it would begin installing its Oyster devices in the next few years, once grid infrastructure is put in place.
> 
> Energy giant SSE said last week it would not be able to commission work on a Western Isles subsea electricity cable before 2017.
> 
> Aquamarine said it planned "ultimately" to deploy between 40 and 50 devices along the coast at Lag na Greine, near Fivepenny Borve.



BBC News - Ministers approve plans for world's biggest wave farm in Western Isles


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Transparent electrode innovation could bring flexible solar cells, transistors, displays*



> (Phys.org) &#8212;Researchers have created a new type of transparent electrode that might find uses in solar cells, flexible displays for computers and consumer electronics and future "optoelectronic" circuits for sensors and information processing.
> 
> The electrode is made of silver nanowires covered with a material called graphene, an extremely thin layer of carbon. The hybrid material shows promise as a possible replacement for indium tin oxide, or ITO, used in transparent electrodes for touch-screen monitors, cell-phone displays and flat-screen televisions. Industry is seeking alternatives to ITO because of drawbacks: It is relatively expensive due to limited abundance of indium, and it is inflexible and degrades over time, becoming brittle and hindering performance.
> 
> "If you try to bend ITO it cracks and then stops functioning properly," said Purdue University doctoral student Suprem Das.



 Read more at: Transparent electrode innovation could bring flexible solar cells, transistors, displays


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New technique may open up an era of atomic-scale semiconductor devices*

8 hours ago by Matt Shipman 



> New technique may open up an era of atomic-scale semiconductor devices
> The thin films are only one atom thick, but can be made wide enough to coat wafers that are two inches wide or larger. The films are made of molybdenum sulfide, an inexpensive semiconductor material.
> (Phys.org) &#8212;Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new technique for creating high-quality semiconductor thin films at the atomic scale &#8211; meaning the films are only one atom thick. The technique can be used to create these thin films on a large scale, sufficient to coat wafers that are two inches wide, or larger.
> 
> "This could be used to scale current semiconductor technologies down to the atomic scale &#8211; lasers, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), computer chips, anything," says Dr. Linyou Cao, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and senior author of a paper on the work. "People have been talking about this concept for a long time, but it wasn't possible. With this discovery, I think it's possible."
> 
> The researchers worked with molybdenum sulfide (MoS2), an inexpensive semiconductor material with electronic and optical properties similar to materials already used in the semiconductor industry. However, MoS2 is different from other semiconductor materials because it can be "grown" in layers only one atom thick without compromising its properties.
> 
> Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-technique-era-atomic-scale-semiconductor-devices.html#jCp




 Read more at: New technique may open up an era of atomic-scale semiconductor devices


----------



## Trakar

COOLTECHGIRLS
New club aims to interest girls in science, math, tech fields | ThisWeek Community News

"New club aims to interest girls in science, math, tech fields"



> Girls tend to shy away from science, technology, engineering and math, but a new Dublin club is aiming to change that.
> CoolTechGirls, an initiative for girls in grades 6-12 started by Dublin, the Dublin Entrepreneurial Center and Cybervation, will kick off Saturday, May 18...
> 
> ...CoolTechGirls is a joint initiative between Cybervation, City of Dublin, Dublin Entrepreneurial Center (DEC) and TechDEC. Our vision is to provide a supportive and collaborative environment to school age girls to ignite their passion in science and technology.
> 
> Our goal is to distribute valuable career-related information to students and parents through lunch and learns and workshops. We strive to engage girls by introducing them to Role Models in the field of Science and Technology who would motivate and mentor them. The program would also provide girls with possible internships and job shadow opportunities.


Cooltechgirls


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## ScienceRocks

I'd like to see such a program in Africa and the middle east. Now that would be good.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*The better to see you with: Scientists build record-setting metamaterial flat lens*



> For the first time, scientists working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have demonstrated a new type of lens that bends and focuses ultraviolet (UV) light in such an unusual way that it can create ghostly, 3D images of objects that float in free space. The easy-to-build lens could lead to improved photolithography, nanoscale manipulation and manufacturing, and even high-resolution three-dimensional imaging, as well as a number of as-yet-unimagined applications in a diverse range of fields.


 Read more at: The better to see you with: Scientists build record-setting metamaterial flat lens


----------



## ScienceRocks

China's Sky City will be world's tallest building by year's end

Colin Druce-McFadden

Tuesday, May 21, 2013 - 4:42pm
China's Sky City will be world's tallest building by year's end | DVICE



> Like a massive erector set, China's Sky City is a pre-fab skyscraper, one that is expected to become the world's tallest structure. And will be completed in record time.
> 
> The total scheduled build time of Sky City is a meager seven months. That's a rate of 13 feet (more than a single story) per day. Even that incredibly ambitious goal is a step back toward sanity for Sky City's developers. The initial plan was to complete the structure in 90 days, which would have come out to roughly three floors a day.
> 
> It's true that pre-fab materials will likely speed the process onward, but that's a speedy clip, no matter what it is you're building. And what with Sky City boasting the ability to resist a 9.0 earthquake, the design isn't exactly something a five-year-old could whip up with some crayons.
> 
> That's good because the $628 million cost isn't something anyone would want to invest in a slap-dash effort. Hopes are high and fingers are crossed for next month's ground breaking ceremony and subsequent construction. If all goes well, China could eclipse Dubai as home of the world's tallest man-made structure by the holidays. Catch a glimpse of how the project will come together &#8212; and what it will ultimately look like &#8212; in the video below.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers capture image of hydrogen atom&#8217;s electron orbital for first time*
Researchers capture image of hydrogen atom?s electron orbital for first time | Science! | Geek.com

Science! By Ryan Whitwam May. 27, 2013 10:01 am  
orbital	


> An international team of researchers has managed for the first time to visualize the electron orbital of a hydrogen atom. The image was acquired with a revolutionary new instrument called a quantum microscope, which allows scientists to push the limits of quantum states and observe what was once only theory. It almost goes without saying this is a huge deal.


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## ScienceRocks

Scientists Thaw and Revive Plants Frozen Since Shakespeare's Time

Tags Plants, Glaciers, canada, Regeneration



> Centuries-old plant life has been revived after being frozen and buried under glaciers for 400 years. The mosses were revealed by the melting Canadian glaciers, and the tough little plants were actually regenerated by scientists without using any outlandishly novel techniques.
> 
> Dr. Catherine La Farge and her colleagues at the University of Alberta discovered and collected the mosses and liverworts, called "bryophytes," which were uncovered by the swift thawing of the Teardrop Glacier on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, according to Dr. La Farge's study, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS


Scientists Thaw and Revive Plants Frozen Since Shakespeare's Time : Science : Latinos Post


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Mammoth find: Preserved Ice Age giant found with flowing blood in Siberia*



> Russian scientists discovered a fully-grown female mammoth with blood and well-preserved muscle tissue trapped in ice in Siberia. The findings come amid debates on whether the extinct species should be resurrected using DNA.
> 
> Scientists say they have managed to find mammoth blood during the excavation of a grown female animal on the Lyakhovsky Islands, the southernmost group of the New Siberian Islands in the Arctic seas of northeastern Russia.
> The dark blood was found in ice cavities below the belly of the animal. When researchers broke the cavities with a poll pick, the blood came flowing out. The fact surprised them because the temperature was 10C below zero.
> 
> "It can be assumed that the blood of mammoths had some cryo-protective properties,&#8221; said Semyon Grigoriev, head of the Museum of Mammoths of the Institute of Applied Ecology of the North at the North Eastern Federal University as cited by Interfax news agency.



Mammoth find: Preserved Ice Age giant found with flowing blood in Siberia ? RT News


----------



## ScienceRocks

US Transportation Department backs self-driving cars


Craig Lloyd, May 30th 2013 Discuss [0]	
US Transportation Department backs self-driving cars - SlashGear


> While self-driving cars have faced a bit of controversy amongst the general public, it seems the government likes the idea for the most part. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is a branch of the US Department of Transportation, has released a policy that looks to fast-track the development and testing of self-driving cars.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Artificial magnetic monopoles discovered*

4 hours ago 


> A team of researchers from Cologne, Munich and Dresden have managed to create artificial magnetic monopoles. To do this, the scientists merged tiny magnetic whirls, so-called skyrmions. At the point of merging, the physicists were able to create a monopole, which has similar characteristics to a fundamental particle postulated by Paul Dirac in 1931. In addition to fundamental research, the monopoles may also have application potential. The question of whether magnetic whirls can be used in the production of computer components one day is currently being researched by a number of groups worldwide.



 Read more at: Artificial magnetic monopoles discovered



*Even with defects, graphene is strongest material in the world*


> In a new study, published in Science May 31, 2013, Columbia Engineering researchers demonstrate that graphene, even if stitched together from many small crystalline grains, is almost as strong as graphene in its perfect crystalline form. This work resolves a contradiction between theoretical simulations, which predicted that grain boundaries can be strong, and earlier experiments, which indicated that they were much weaker than the perfect lattice.



 Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-defects-graphene-strongest-material-world.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Graphene sensor is 1,000 times more sensitive to light, could enable ultra-low-light photography*
By Sebastian Anthony on May 31, 2013 at 12:56 pm
Graphene sensor is 1,000 times more sensitive to light, could enable ultra-low-light photography | ExtremeTech



> Hey, historians! Add extremely low-light, broadband photography to graphene&#8217;s miraculous list of potential applications. Researchers in Singapore are reporting that they&#8217;ve created a graphene photodetector that is roughly 800 times more sensitive than previous graphene photodetectors, and around 10 times more sensitive than the CMOS-based sensors in today&#8217;s digital cameras.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Coming to a printer near you: Electronics manufacturing*
Coming to a printer near you: Electronics manufacturing | Cutting Edge - CNET News

At PARC, researchers are developing a new technology for printing everything from transistors to smart labels to semiconductors.


> PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Got a large roll-to-roll printer that you're not sure what to do with? You might have a future in electronics manufacturing.
> 
> It's still very early days, but researchers at the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) have been taking significant strides in developing a new technology that makes it possible to print electronic components like sensors, transistors, light-emitters, smart tags, flexible batteries, memory, smart labels, and more.




*Apple patents point to slimmer battery tech *
20:14 31 May 2013 by Paul Marks 

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23631-apple-patents-point-to-slimmer-battery-tech.html



> Graphene, the wonder material whose glittering array of electrical and thermal properties won its discoverers a Nobel prize in 2010, could soon be helping Apple's iPhones and iPads pack more power.
> 
> The company has filed a US patent application (2013/0136966) on a graphene-based heat sink for the lithium batteries and circuit boards in its tablets and smartphones.
> 
> Graphene is a form of carbon that comes in sheets one-atom thick, with its atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice. It is 10 times better at conducting heat than graphite, which is often used as a heat sink in mobile gadgets.
> 
> But in order to adequately cool a battery, a graphite coating is typically 30 micrometres thick. That eats up space within the gadget enclosure that could be used for a bigger battery, explains inventor Ramesh Bhardwaj of Fremont, California, in Apple's patent application.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Printing innovations provide 10-fold improvement in organic electronics*

Published: Sunday, June 2, 2013 - 14:01  in Physics & Chemistry 

Printing innovations provide 10-fold improvement in organic electronics | e! Science News


> This photo shows an array of 1-mm-wide by 2-cm-long single-crystal organic semiconductors. The neatly-aligned blue strips are what provide greater electric charge mobility. The Stanford logo shown here is the same size as a dime.
> 
> This scanning electron micrograph shows the micropillars embedded in the shearing blade used in the printing process. The pillars are 35 micrometers by 42 micrometers -- less than half the width of an average human hair in both directions -- and mix the organic semiconductor solution, ensuring it's evenly deposited.
> 
> This image shows a cross-polarized optical micrograph comparing a sample of an organic semiconducting film created without micropillars (top) and with micropillars (bottom) at scales of both one millimeter and 50 micrometers. Note the uniformity of the crystals in the bottom image as compared to in the top image.
> 
> Through innovations to a printing process, researchers have made major improvements to organic electronics -- a technology in demand for lightweight, low-cost solar cells, flexible electronic displays and tiny sensors.
> 
> Organic electronics have great promise for a variety of applications, but even the highest quality films available today fall short in how well they conduct electrical current. The team from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have developed a printing process they call FLUENCE -- fluid-enhanced crystal engineering -- that for some materials results in thin films capable of conducting electricity 10 times more efficiently than those created using conventional methods.
> 
> "Even better, most of the concepts behind FLUENCE can scale up to meet industry requirements," said Ying Diao, a SLAC/Stanford postdoctoral researcher and lead author of the study, which appeared today in Nature Materials.
> 
> Stefan Mannsfeld, a SLAC materials physicist and one of the principal investigators of the experiment, said the key was to focus on the physics of the printing process rather than the chemical makeup of the semiconductor. Diao engineered the process to produce strips of big, neatly aligned crystals that electrical charge can flow through easily, while preserving the benefits of the "strained lattice" structure and "solution shearing" printing technique previously developed in the lab of Mannsfeld's co-principal investigator, Professor Zhenan Bao of the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, a joint SLAC-Stanford institute.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Bath University uses bacteria for self-healing concrete

You&#8217;d think that concrete would last forever. After all, it&#8217;s pourable stone, so it should hang around as long as the Rock of Gibraltar. But, under the right (or wrong) conditions, concrete decays with alarming speed. To combat this, researchers at the University of Bath in the UK are working on a self-healing concrete that uses bacteria to seal the cracks that lead to decay. In this way, they hope to cut down on maintenance costs and increase the life of concrete structures.

Concrete is one of the most remarkable building materials of the modern age. It&#8217;s pourable into an incredible number of shapes, sets like stone, and when combined with iron rebars is immensely strong. Unfortunately, it is much more vulnerable than people think. Proper design, pouring and curing of concrete structures can go a long way, but one tiny crack can set a building on its way to becoming a pile of rubble.
Bath University uses bacteria for self-healing concrete


----------



## ScienceRocks

Deadly Oklahoma tornado was widest on record




*This graphic by the National Weather Service shows the path of an EF5 tornado that swept through the El Reno area in Oklahoma. *


OKLAHOMA CITY The deadly tornado that struck near Oklahoma City late last week had a record-breaking width of 2.6 miles and was the second top-of-the-scale EF5 twister to hit the area in less than two weeks, the National Weather Service reported Tuesday.

Tornado in Moore, Okla., was an EF5, the most powerful there is 
.



> The weather service initially rated the Friday tornado that hit El Reno as an EF3. But the agency upgraded the ranking after surveying damage from the twister, which along with subsequent flooding killed 18 people. The weather service determined that the storm packed winds reaching 295 mph.
> 
> The update means the Oklahoma City area has seen two of the extremely rare EF5 tornadoes in only 11 days. The other hit Moore, a city about 25 miles away from El Reno, on May 20, killing 24 people and causing widespread damage.



I guess it all has to do with where it tracks! 295 mph? o'shit! Deadly Oklahoma tornado was widest on record - CBS News


----------



## mamooth

Nearly complete triceratops skeleton found in Wyoming, part of a family group, two adults and one half-size.

http://www.argusleader.com/article/...d-may-provide-treasure-insight?nclick_check=1

Complete triceratops skeletons are a big deal because they're so rare, with only 2 others existing. They tended to die from being eaten by a T. Rex, which would tear them up and scatter the bones all about. Usually, it's just a triceratops head that gets found.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New all-solid sulfur-based battery outperforms lithium-ion technology *

New all-solid sulfur-based battery outperforms lithium-ion technology


> Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have designed and tested an all-solid lithium-sulfur battery with approximately four times the energy density of conventional lithium-ion technologies that power today's electronics.
> 
> The ORNL battery design, which uses abundant low-cost elemental sulfur, also addresses flammability concerns experienced by other chemistries.
> 
> The new ionically-conductive cathode enabled the ORNL battery to maintain a capacity of 1200 milliamp-hours (mAh) per gram after 300 charge-discharge cycles at 60 degrees Celsius. For comparison, a traditional lithium-ion battery cathode has an average capacity between 140-170 mAh/g. Because lithium-sulfur batteries deliver about half the voltage of lithium-ion versions, this eight-fold increase in capacity demonstrated in the ORNL battery cathode translates into four times the gravimetric energy density of lithium-ion technologies, explained Liang.
> 
> Although the team's new battery is still in the demonstration stage, Liang and his colleagues hope to see their research move quickly from the laboratory into commercial applications. A patent on the team's design is pending.


----------



## ScienceRocks

UV light in food storage could double shelf life



> Researchers in the U.S. have doubled the shelf life of strawberries, using a new device that could soon be commercialised for home refrigerators.
> 
> A team from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Sensor Electronic Technology, Inc. (SETi) demonstrated that low irradiance ultra-violet (UV) light exposure of strawberries in low temperature and very high humidity &#8211; typical home refrigerator conditions &#8211; can delay spoilage over long periods. The researchers developed a novel device incorporating light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that emit UV at wavelengths found in sunlight transmitted through Earth's atmosphere.
> 
> The results, to be presented next week at the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO: 2013), are significant because previous attempts using traditional UV light sources for storage of produce resulted in severe drying, and it was unknown if the advantages of long exposure to low-level UV light would be effective against rot.
> 
> LEDs are now commonplace thanks to their long life and energy efficiency, and their ability to span the wavelength range from near UV to infrared. The full UV spectrum, however, had presented challenges for LED manufacturers &#8211; until recently. SETi developed a special technology to fabricate UV LEDs across the entire UV spectrum from UVA to UVC. This flexibility allowed them to tune the emitted light to the wavelengths most effective for this application.



UV light in food storage could double shelf life


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Can engineers develop a more flexible, eco-friendly plastic for packaging?*

1 hour ago by Jessica Salerno 



> Can engineers develop a more flexible, eco-friendly plastic for packaging?
> 
> (Phys.org) &#8212;The idea of '"going green" for one person can mean anything from driving a hybrid car to simply recycling glass bottles. But Barbi Wheelden, a doctoral student in chemical engineering, is thinking more globally. She's seeking a way for manufacturers to use a more eco-friendly and biodegradable plastic in their packaging.
> Wheelden is using a component called polylactide, a bio-based plastic that comes from any crop with a starch, such as corn or sugar. However, polylactide (also known as PLA) itself is too brittle, making it necessary to blend a more flexible polymer or other plasticizing additive with it in order to use it for flexible packaging. She's researching how to come up with a bio-based, eco-friendly plasticizer so that PLA can be used for an even broader range of applications.
> 
> "My goal is to create a more flexible, tougher polylactide blend," she says.



 Read more at: Can engineers develop a more flexible, eco-friendly plastic for packaging?

Man are you leftist going to be pissed when plastic is environmental. lol


----------



## ScienceRocks

I'll allow general advancement of tech in this thread...So--->



*Meet the heir apparent to the U.S. Army's Blackhawk helicopter*
Meet the heir apparent to the U.S. Army's Blackhawk helicopter | DVICE
Colin Druce-McFadden

Friday, June 7, 2013 - 11:34am


> The U.S. Army is poking around the market for their next high-speed helicopter. It recently chose the JMR MPS design put forth by AVX Aircraft Company, for their Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) program.
> 
> The AVX design is the third to join the Army's program, with veteran helicopter makers Bell and a joint Sikorsky/Boeing already in the mix. By the program's end, the U.S. Army will have their new attack chopper. And if all goes well, the new bird might just be a replacement not only for the Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk, but for the Boeing AH-64 Apache as well.
> 
> AVX's JMR MPS features a sleek, low-drag profile, which incorporates a number of weapons bay doors that function to conceal payload until the appropriate moment. Targets may be entirely unaware if the helicopter is an assault aircraft or a similarly-designed cargo variant


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Ultra elevator takes you higher with carbon-fibre tape *
14:28 11 June 2013 by Paul Marks 



Ultra elevator takes you higher with carbon-fibre tape - tech - 11 June 2013 - New Scientist


> Going up? Elevators can now carry people to the top of a kilometre-high skyscraper in a single run. The key is the development of a super-light and super-strong lift-hoisting cable. The sheer weight of the steel cable that hoists today's elevators has prevented them going any higher than 500 metres in one go.
> 
> That means, for instance, that people in Dubai's 828-metre-high Burj Khalifa tower, currently the world's tallest building, have to switch lifts to go above the 500-metre mark. But lifts in the nascent Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia &#8211; due to top out above 1 kilometre in 2019 &#8211; could use the new technology to zoom to the top in one go.
> 
> With at least 20 buildings more than 500 metres high on architects' drawing boards around the world, and more expected as megacities proliferate, lift maker Kone Corporation of Espoo, Finland, has been engineering ways to move people up and down them in more convenient and less energy-intensive ways. In London yesterday it revealed its solution: UltraRope.
> 
> Instead of interwound steel hawsers, Kone's hoisting line comprises four carbon-fibre tapes sealed in transparent plastic about 4 centimetres wide and 4 millimetres thick. It's more like a belt than a rope and looks like a school ruler shot through with magnetic tapes.
> 
> UltraRope beats steel for tensile strength but weighs only one-seventh as much. "That's a tremendous amount of steel you won't have to move around the building," says Kone's head of technology, Johannes de Jong. "And it will last longer than steel too."





> UltraRope will also save energy. Simulating its use in a 640-metre-high building, Kone found that the elevator used 11 per cent less electrical power than a steel-cabled version.
> 
> Kone's main rival, Otis Elevator of Farmington, Connecticut, is also looking at carbon fibre for use in future ultra-tall buildings. However, the US company is thinking of using the material to strengthen steel cables.
> *
> "UltraRope is one of the biggest breakthroughs since the advent of the [Otis] safety elevator 150 years ago,"* says Antony Wood, executive director of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat in Chicago.
> 
> "The biggest limiting factor in building higher until now has been the steel rope weight &#8211; and we have reached the limit of that technology at 500 metres."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Gorilla Glass for cars tipped for lighter, quieter automobiles*


Craig Lloyd, Jun 11th 2013 Discuss [1]	




> Gorilla Glass is used in millions of handheld products, including smartphones and tablets. The glass offers a stronger, more durable build that makes it scratch-resistent and less likely to break. While it&#8217;s mostly meant for consumer electronic devices, we could be seeing Gorilla Glass make its way into the auto industry as soon as next year.
> 
> However, while durability is the selling point behind Gorilla Glass, auto makers seem to want it due to its lightweight design and soundproofing abilities. According to Corning senior vice president Jeffrey Evenson, Gorilla Glass would help reduce a car&#8217;s overall weight, boosting fuel economy by up to a few percentage points depending on how much Gorilla Glass is used.
> 
> Since most auto makers are looking for more ways to make lighter vehicles in order to improve fuel economy, Gorilla Glass could be a viable way to accomplish that. Plus, the glass could also kill two birds with one stone and provide a quieter interior for drivers, something that&#8217;s a significant factor for a lot of car buyers.


Gorilla Glass for cars tipped for lighter, quieter automobiles - SlashGear


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Filmmaking magic with polymers: Researchers make breakthroughs in manufacturing copolymer block thin film*

3 hours ago 

Filmmaking magic with polymers: Researchers make breakthroughs in manufacturing copolymer block thin film 


> Dr. Alamgir Karim holds a strip of the polymer thin film that can now be produced at an industrial level for use in a wide range of applications.
> (Phys.org) &#8212;Think about windows coated with transparent film that absorbs harmful ultraviolet sunrays and uses them to generate electricity. Consider a water filtration membrane that blocks viruses and other microorganisms from water, or an electric car battery that incorporates a coating to give it extra long life between charges.
> 
> The self-assembled copolymer block film that makes it all possible is now being fabricated with intricately organized nanostructures, giving them multiple functions and flexibility on a macroscale level never before seen. Gupreet Singh, a Ph.D. candidate in the University of Akron College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, led a team of researchers to devise a method that enables the films to assemble themselves and allows them to serve as templates or directly as end products. The films can be embedded with nanoparticles that enable everything from data storage to water purification.



 Read more at: Filmmaking magic with polymers: Researchers make breakthroughs in manufacturing copolymer block thin film


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New 31-km-long International Linear Collider ready for construction*

3 hours ago 


> Today the Linear Collider Collaboration published its Technical Design Report [PDF] for the International Linear Collider (ILC) - a proposed 31-kilometer electron-positron collider that will both complement and advance beyond the physics of the Large Hadron Collider.
> 
> In three consecutive ceremonies in Asia, Europe and the Americas, the authors officially handed the report over to the international oversight board for projects in particle physics, the International Committee for Future Accelerators (ICFA). The report presents the latest, most technologically advanced and most thoroughly scrutinized design for the ILC.



 Read more at: New 31-km-long International Linear Collider ready for construction


*Nano-thermometer enables first atomic-scale heat transfer measurements*

10 hours ago 



> In findings that could help overcome a major technological hurdle in the road toward smaller and more powerful electronics, an international research team involving University of Michigan engineering researchers, has shown the unique ways in which heat dissipates at the tiniest scales.




 Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-06-nano-thermometer-enables-atomic-scale.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Organic photo sensor dumps silicon, promises to shatter CMOS imaging limits*
By David Cardinal on June 13, 2013 at 8:30 am
Organic photo sensor dumps silicon, promises to shatter CMOS imaging limits | ExtremeTech


> Most attempts to improve the quality of image sensors have focused on making them more sensitive to low light. A newly-developed organic CMOS sensor from Fuji and Panasonic goes in the other direction. It increases the sensor&#8217;s saturation level &#8212; while at the same time reducing noise. The result is a ground-breaking 88dB of signal-to-noise (s/n), about 12dB above the typical value for conventional silicon sensors.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*A350 marks new phase in aero-engines*

BBC News - A350 marks new phase in aero-engines


> A UK aircraft engine claimed to be the most efficient in the world faced its toughest test on Friday.
> 
> A Trent XWB, produced by Rolls Royce, was fitted to the new Airbus A350, which made its debut flight from Toulouse, France.
> 
> The new engine includes novel technologies designed to shave off weight and minimise fuel consumption.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Affordable wireless charging coming to an EV near you*
Affordable wireless charging coming to an EV near you | DVICE
Colin Druce-McFadden

Friday, June 14, 2013 - 2:22pm



> If you've ever owned a wireless charger for your smartphone, you know the feeling of having to go back to a plug. Wires suddenly feel ungainly or childish. Charging your stuff wirelessly, on the other hand &#8212; well that's from the future.
> 
> That's exactly the way of thinking that led Bosch to create their awesome new wireless charger &#8212; for your car. You just pull into the garage, park above their wireless charger and walk away. Of course, only EV owners need apply. You can't exactly pick up a charger in the hopes that it will somehow fill your Model A with gasohol. Get with the times already.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Major upgrades on the HWRC hurricane model


*The scientific enhancements include the following: *



> -- Implement HWRF GSI V3.7 one-way hybrid EnKF-3DVAR data
> 
> assimilation with GDAS forecasts as first guess and 80-member GFS
> 
> EnKF forecasts for ensemble covariances, assimilation of all
> 
> conventional data and provision to assimilate real-time inner-
> 
> core TDR/FL/SFMR/Dropsonde recon datasets
> 
> -- Improve storm size correction in the vortex initialization,
> 
> modified filter domain and use GFS vortex when the storm is
> 
> weaker than 16 m/s
> 
> -- Upgrade the nest movement algorithm using 9 parameters based
> 
> on NCEP tracker
> 
> -- Redesign nest-parent interpolations for improved treatment of
> 
> nest boundaries
> 
> -- Increase frequency of physics calls from 180 sec. to 30 sec.
> 
> and increase size of the third domain from 5-deg x 5.5-deg to
> 
> 6-deg x 6.5-deg
> 
> -- Modify GFS PBL to include variable critical Richardson number
> 
> -- Fix bug for GFDL radiation
> 
> -- Remove flux truncation from HWRF to POM
> 
> -- Improve HWRF Unified Post Processor to reduce domain
> 
> discontinuities in the simulated satellite imagery products
> 
> 
> 
> The model has been extensively tested with a combination of all
> 
> the upgrades listed above for a 3-year sample of cases. The
> 
> results showed impressive and remarkable results.* For Atlantic
> 
> basin track, the HWRF is improved by ~5-15% and now appears
> 
> competitive with the GFS.* For intensity, the model reduces errors
> 
> by ~15%, has demonstrated skill greater than that of the NHC
> 
> official forecast and greater than that of the statistical
> 
> models. Similar improvements are noted for the Eastern North
> 
> Pacific basin as well.
> 
> 
> 
> There are no changes to existing products or their contents.
> 
> There will be an increase of roughly 1GB in product size due to
> 
> expanded size of the third domain. The grid is not changing, but
> 
> additional points will now have non-missing values.
> 
> 
> 
> More details about the HWRF-POM are available at:


 

HWRF Homepage


----------



## ScienceRocks

Upgrade to ECMWF on June 25



> Let's see if the model gets better after this upgrade.
> 
> Implementation of IFS cycle 38r2
> 
> IFS cycle 38r2 introduces higher vertical resolution in the high-resolution (T1279) forecast and data assimilation of the operational runs at 00 and 12 UTC (HRES) as well as the 06 and 18 UTC cycles of the Boundary Conditions (BC) optional programme. The number of model levels increases from the current 91 levels (L91) to 137 levels (L137).
> 
> There is no change in the vertical extent of the model, i.e. the model top remains unchanged at 0.01 hPa. Also the pressure levels remain unchanged.
> 
> The vertical resolution of the ensemble (ENS) and seasonal (SEAS) forecasts remain unchanged at L62 and L91, respectively.
> 
> The date of implementation is Tuesday 25 June 2013.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Will a New Driverless Car Soon Hit the Road?*

Published Wed, Jun 12th, 2013   Capitol Hill Daily Research

Will a New Driverless Car Soon Hit the Road? | *Capitol Hill Daily



> Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have joined  the quest to develop a driverless car. And at first sight, the Cadillac looks like any other SUV on the road.
> 
> According to Professor Raj Rajkumar and his Carnegie Mellon team, the Cadillac prototype is the most advanced example of driverless technology yet produced. Rajkumar believes that driverless cars will one day be the norm, and that is a good thing, because they remove human drivers &#8211; who are the single biggest cause of traffic accidents.
> 
> &#8220;Humans get distracted. Over 93 percent of accidents in cars happen due to human error. People are distracted, they are sleepy maybe angry, looking at something else or they may even be drunk. If we can basically take the human out of the driving equation distractions will go away and computer will not get distracted because they are not human. So, therefore we can minimize those accidents and we can slowly take those accidents towards zero,&#8221; says Rajkumar, a professor of electrical and computer engineering.


----------



## ScienceRocks

The thinnest t.v on the market!



*Meet the Philips DesignLine LED HDTV, the Thinnest TV on the Market *
http://www.highsnobiety.com/2013/03...nline-led-hdtv-the-thinnest-tv-on-the-market/

By Brock Cardiner  posted on March 15, 2013 4:00 pm


> File this one under &#8220;woah.&#8221; The DesignLine LED HDTV from Philips is nothing more than a sheet of glass available in numerous sizes and appears to be a thin mirror when switched off. The TV&#8217;s design allows for it to be hung or leaned against any wall for a truly contemporary look. Check out a video demonstration below and look for them to hit retailers towards the end of the summer.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Cheap, color, holographic video: Better holographic video displays*

8 hours ago by Larry Hardesty 



> Today in the journal Nature, researchers at MIT's Media Lab report a new approach to generating holograms that could lead to color holographic-video displays that are much cheaper to manufacture than today's experimental, monochromatic displays. The same technique could also increase the resolution of conventional 2-D displays.
> Using the new technique, Daniel Smalley, a graduate student in the Media Lab and first author on the new paper, is building a prototype color holographic-video display whose resolution is roughly that of a standard-definition TV and which can update video images 30 times a second, fast enough to produce the illusion of motion. The heart of the display is an optical chip, resembling a microscope slide, that Smalley built, using only MIT facilities, for about $10.



 Read more at: Cheap, color, holographic video: Better holographic video displays


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Physicists develop flexible multicell Zn-MnO2 battery for printed electronics*



> Phys.org) &#8212;The market for thin, flexible, printed electronic circuits is potentially huge. Although tremendous advances have been made in printing organic semiconductors like thin-film transistors (TFTs), one of their present limitations is a relatively high operating voltage requirement. 3D printed lithium-ion batteries with acceptable single-cell potentials (~3V) have been previously demonstrated, at least on small scales. The main concerns though, are that even with hermetic packaging, the raw materials for these cells still pose inherent safety and reliability risks. For wearable devices, which are a major application for flexible printed devices, a more versatile technology has been sought. A new study in Applied Physics Letters describes recent experiments with a different battery chemistry&#8212;Zn-MnO2. Using special fabrication techniques, a 10-cell series configuration of the battery was able to generate peak voltages of 14 volts, and a capacity of up to 0.8 mA h.



 Read more at: Physicists develop flexible multicell Zn-MnO2 battery for printed electronics


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Physicists Build Super-Powerful Tabletop Particle Accelerator  *

Physicists Build Super-Powerful Tabletop Particle Accelerator | Popular Science


> Scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have shrunk a high-energy particle accelerator from the length of two football fields to just 1 inch.
> 
> In comparison to the conventional 2 GeV accelerators which span two football fields, the tabletop accelerator built by physicists at The University of Texas Austin accelerates electrons over a distance of about one inch.  Courtesy of Rafal Zgadzaj
> 
> The latest tabletop particle accelerator, built by physicists at The University of Texas at Austin, can generate energy and speeds hitherto reached only by major facilities hundreds of meters long.
> 
> The results represent a huge step towards standardizing multi-gigaelectronvolt laser plasma accelerators in labs worldwide. (A gigaelectronvolt is the amount of energy gained or lost by an electron as it moves across an electric potential difference of 1 billion volts. Deep breath. OK.)


----------



## Mr. H.

^ that's pretty darn cool.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*MBDA Increases Laser Firepower For Non-Mobile Applications *

MBDA Increases Laser Firepower For Non-Mobile Applications | Aviation International News
by  Chris Pocock



> MBDA&#8217;s high-energy laser weapon uses highly sensitive, four-channel mirror optics to track targets and adjust the laser beam.
> 
> MBDA Germany is claiming a world&#8217;s first in the development of high-energy laser weapons after coupling together four commercially available 10kW-industrial lasers to achieve a 40kW weapon that can intercept and destroy incoming rockets, artillery and mortars (RAM). Small aerial vehicles, such as UAVs, are also on MBDA&#8217;s target list, but the company says power supply challenges still preclude adding lasers to aircraft for defensive purposes.
> 
> &#8220;We are leading the world in this technology,&#8221; claimed Peter Heilmeier, head of market and business development, MBDA Germany. He described several successful tests since 2008, including one in the Bavarian mountains in 2011 that fired a 10kW-laser beam toward a target at a slant distance of 2,350 meters (7,700 feet) and an altitude gain of 1,000 meters (3,300 feet). The source comprised two 5kW lasers; MBDA&#8217;s patented beam-coupling technique achieved good beam quality. That performance would be sufficient to bring down, for example, a UAV.
> 
> &#8220;High-power laser weapons will soon provide an answer to conventional and asymmetric threats,&#8221; said Heilmeier. &#8220;They are characterized by precision at long ranges, minimum operating costs and the avoidance of collateral damage.&#8221; Other advantages include minimal logistics (no need to store and transport ammunition) and the possibility to scale the weapon and the power of its response to an approaching target.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*'Go park yourself': Volvo driverless prototype will obey *
(w/ video)

15 minutes ago by Nancy Owano weblog



> (Phys.org) &#8212;Conversations about advancements in driverless cars on the road eventually have to pull over to discuss what happens when the cars need to be parked. Interactions with pedestrians and other moving objects are among the self-parking challenges confronting automobile R&D. Volvo is eager to ignite interest in its efforts thus far. They have developed the driverless car that, with the assistance of a smartphone, parks itself in a suitably vacant space. Here's their concept. The driver drops the vehicle off at a designated drop off zone at the parking lot. The driver uses a mobile phone application to activate "Autonomous Parking." Pressing a button on that mobile device institutes the command to the vehicle to go park itself; the driver walks away from the car. The vehicle deploys its sensors to navigate to a free parking space. The sensors and cameras scan for pedestrians and vehicles. Once a parking space is found, the vehicle parks there and automatically sends the driver notification that the Volvo has parked safely.




 Read more at: 'Go park yourself': Volvo driverless prototype will obey (w/ video)


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Satellites to provide broadband speed to billions of under-connected people across the world's first fiber-speed satellite network, is launching its first four satellites into orbit.*



> 03b, network  started as a visionary idea six years ago in the jungles of Rwanda, to solve the challenge of limited affordable international connectivity. It has now become a state-of-the-art satellite network that will soon provide billions of people across Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific access to fast and affordable internet for the first time. The name "O3b" stands for "[The] Other 3 Billion", referring to the population of the world where broadband Internet is not currently available without help. The company has backing from high profile names including Google and HSBC.
> 
> The first four O3b satellites have been built, tested and are now poised on top of a Soyuz rocket, waiting to be launched into orbit. O3b's ground systems around the world are in place ready to communicate with and operate these newly delivered satellites, which are due to be launched tomorrow at 18:54 UTC from the Guiana Space Centre. A live webcast will be available at ArianeSpace.tv.



Satellites to provide broadband speed to billions of under-connected people across the world

I wish this would cover the entire world. This would end all these costly internet money pits!


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Electric aircraft start finding a foothold in aviation industry*

Don't expect an all-electric plane to carry hundreds of passengers soon, but in some corners of aviation, battery-powered aircraft are attracting industry interest.

Stephen Shankland 



> EADS' E-Fan is an all-electric, zero-emission aircraft. It can carry 550kg of weight with a cruising speed of 110kmph and maximum speed of 160kmph. But its range is fairly limited compared to conventionally fueled aircraft: it can fly only about 45 minutes to an hour.
> 
> At the Paris Air Show here, a handful of companies tried out their own version of a change sweeping the automotive industry: electric power. There are abundant challenges to the approach, but some believe that the technology will catch on at least in some circumstances.
> 
> Early electric  cars were small and light, and electric aircraft are following suit for the same reason: having less mass to push around means a vehicle can get farther on a limited amount of energy. Thus, you shouldn't expect a 250-passenger electric jet any time soon, but perhaps in a decade an all-electric six-seater Elektra E6 will carry you and a couple friends on a shorter flight.



Electric aircraft start finding a foothold in aviation industry | Cutting Edge - CNET News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Wearable Solar turns clothing into a personal charging station*


Brittany Hillen, Jun 25th 2013 Discuss [0]	
Wearable Solar turns clothing into a personal charging station - SlashGear



> We&#8217;ve seen clothing that doubles as something else a few times before, such as the drone-evading stealth hoodie revealed back in January, and the GPS-trackable line of wearables announced way back in 2006. The latest to surface comes from a team composed of students, a creative agency, and a fashion designer, all of whom worked together to assemble a wardrobe called Wearable Solar.
> 
> Wearable Solar is a line of clothing that harbors embedded solar panels wired to allow for personal device charging. As such, one can plug their smartphone in and allow it to charge while they walk around the park or do their daily shopping. Thus far there are two prototypes, one being a dress and the other being a coat.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*A3SM: A True Game Changer for Submarine Self Defence against Threats from the Sky*
Navy Recognition ^  | 24 June 2013 

A3SM: A True Game Changer for Submarines Self Defence against Threats from the Sky



> A3SM: A True Game Changer for Submarine Self Defence against Threats from the Sky
> 
> As part of the Paris Air Show Navy Recognition was invited by DCNS to visit their factory located near Angoulême in southwestern France. The 260 year old site used to manufacture guns for the "French Royal Navy". It now specializes in the production of submarine equipment such as torpedo tubes and torpedo handling systems. It is also the place where the FREMM frigates' vertical launch systems are produced. The focus of the visit however was the A3SM, a new anti-air defence weapon system for submarine currently under development by DCNS and MBDA.
> 
> A3SM stands for Arme Anti-Aérienne pour Sous Marins (literally Anti-Air Weapon for Submarines). The project was first unveiled during Euronaval 2012 and it actually consists in two versions: a Mast version and an Underwater Vehicle version.
> 
> A3SM: What needs does it fulfill?
> 
> Today, submarines have no way to defend themselves against air threats. Submarine forces worldwide have an increasing need to operate close to shores in shallow waters. (As an example during the campaign in Libya, submarines were conducting intelligence missions close to shores). In such situation submarines are an easy target for helicopters and maritime patrol aircraft (MPA). When detected in shallow waters, there is no possibility for the submarine to escape, contrary to deep sea where they can employ various tactics and disappear. Up until now, submarines were harmless against air threats, while significantly cheaper and less complex naval platform like small Fast Attack Craft (FAC) may be fitted with a SAM solution.
> 
> It is this gap that DCNS and MBDA are looking to fill. The doctrine of use is not for the



The French are kicking our ass!


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Meet 'The Horizon System,' Clip-Air's worst nightmare*

Colin Druce-McFadden

Thursday, June 27, 2013 - 4:07pm
Meet 'The Horizon System,' Clip-Air's worst nightmare | DVICE




> Hot on the heels of Clip-Air, the train-meets-airplane mass transit system, a second, similar design has surfaced. If you've seen the images of Clip-Air, you'll note the tell-tale flying wing shape right off the bat. Here too are the passenger cars, carried upon the massive airliner's underbelly. And yes, the cars detach and become part of a transit system upon arrival at your destination. Just like Clip-Air.
> 
> But if you look closer, the similarities between the two projects start to fade. For instance, The Horizon System is entirely electric. No fossil fuels are needed to keep the massive flying wing aloft &#8212; and aloft is where it aims to stay.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Low-power Wi-Fi signal tracks movement&#8212;even behind walls*

21 minutes ago 



> The comic-book hero Superman uses his X-ray vision to spot bad guys lurking behind walls and other objects. Now we could all have X-ray vision, thanks to researchers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.
> 
> Researchers have long attempted to build a device capable of seeing people through walls. However, previous efforts to develop such a system have involved the use of expensive and bulky radar technology that uses a part of the electromagnetic spectrum only available to the military.



 Read more at: Low-power Wi-Fi signal tracks movement?even behind walls


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Old wheat, new genetic engineering may protect crop from deadly pest*

Uncultivated strains offer keys to resisting stem rust.

Old wheat, new genetic engineering may protect crop from deadly pest | Ars Technica
Evans Lagudah and Zakkie Pretorius 


> Currently, roughly 20 percent of humanity's caloric intake comes from wheat. Agricultural strains, specialized for bread or pasta production, have been bred for high productivity and resistance to many agricultural pests. But over the past few years, one of those pests, a fungus called wheat stem rust, has evolved the ability to overcome wheat's defenses. Dangerous strains of wheat stem rust were first spotted in Uganda, but are now present elsewhere in Africa, in Yemen, and in some areas of Iran. That's set off an international scramble to find ways of generating a resistant wheat before the rust spreads any further.
> 
> By working with uncultivated relatives of agricultural wheat, two teams of scientists have identified a pair of genes, each of which provides partial resistance to the new strain of stem rust. Although each gene can be bred back into commercial wheat strains, the combination of the two is likely to be even more potent, so the researchers are considering putting them on a single DNA construct and then engineering that into various agricultural strains.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New material holds big energy hope*


> (Phys.org) &#8212;A new material that can store large amounts of energy with very little energy loss has been developed by researchers at the Australian National University.
> 
> 
> The material has practical applications in renewable energy storage, electric cars and defence and space technologies.
> 
> "Dielectric materials are used to make fundamental electrical components called capacitors, which store energy," said Associate Professor Yun Liu of the ANU Research School of Chemistry, co-author of the paper detailing the new material.
> 
> The new metal oxide dielectric material outperforms current capacitors in many aspects, storing large amounts of energy and working reliably from -190°C to 180°C, and is cheaper to manufacture than current components.
> 
> "Our material performs significantly better than existing high dielectric constant materials so it has huge potential. With further development, the material could be used in 'supercapacitors' which store enormous amounts of energy, removing current energy storage limitations and throwing the door wide open for innovation in the areas of renewable energy, electric cars, even space and defence technologies," said Associate Professor Liu.




 Read more at: New material holds big energy hope


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Silent underwater propusion borrows a page from Jules Verne*
Colin Druce-McFadden

Monday, July 1, 2013 - 3:19pm

Silent underwater propusion borrows a page from Jules Verne | DVICE
.





> 20,000 leagues under the sea you'll find all sorts of massive cephalopods. And in the near future they just might be joined by a submarine straight out of Jules Verne.
> 
> When spooked, an octopus can propel itself by taking sea water into its body and then shooting it out again as a high powered jet. The octopus can also steer the jet of water coming out of its body in order to accurately direct itself through the sea.
> 
> All this simplicity and precision got researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA thinking. They surmised that a system based upon an octopus would not only offer a new choice in submarine silent engines, but also be adaptable for all manner of small craft. Anything from small boats to jet skis and surfboards could soon be propelled by small octopus-like engines &#8212; with a few less suction cups.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Art Lebedev imagines new modular traffic light design*

Megan Wollerton
Art Lebedev imagines new modular traffic light design | DVICE
Wednesday, July 3, 2013 - 3:57pm


> Art Lebedev Studio isn't new to designing traffic lights. In fact, we wrote about a square traffic signal prototype unveiled by the design studio back in 2008. It really is curious that traffic lights haven't had much of a makeover when you consider all of the innovative things folks have been doing with lighting lately.
> 
> One progressive city in Turkey is turning this around, though. The municipality of Kayseri, Turkey asked Art Lebedev Studio to design a contemporary traffic signal that fits in better with the city's urban vibe. It's smaller, much easier to move around and it clearly displays the words "stop," "go," and "caution" in addition to the color indicators to give drivers a little extra help.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
China opens city-sized shopping mall, with fake sun*
China opens city-sized shopping mall, with fake sun | Cutting Edge - CNET News


> If you don't care about authenticity, the New Century Global Center has everything you could want, including an artificial Mediterranean village.
> 
> The international tallest building arms race has been dominated by Dubai, with its Burj Khalifa, for several years, but China has upped the ante by unveiling what it calls the world's largest building.
> 
> The New Century Global Center building opened recently in Chengu, a city of more than 14 million people in southwest China's Sichuan province. It's described as "the world's largest standalone structure" by Chinese officials and is 328 feet high, 1,640 feet long, and 1,312 feet wide.


----------



## BlueGin

*Hubble Telescope Snaps 'Comet of the Century' Fireworks*

	The Comet ISON shines like a cosmic skyrocket in a new video from the Hubble Space Telescope as the icy wanderer, which some astronomers have billed as a potential "comet of the century," streaks through our solar system at a staggering 48,000 mph.

The new Comet ISON video, which NASA released Tuesday (July 2), is a time-lapse view created from images of the comet obtained using the Hubble telescope on May 8. At the time, the comet was about 403 million miles (648 million kilometers) from Earth and crossing between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars. NASA officials likened the comet's extreme speed to a skyrocket on the Fourth of July.

Hubble Telescope Snaps 'Comet of the Century' Fireworks (Video)


----------



## BlueGin

*The Next Big Thing for Exploring the Distant Universe: Balloons*

The history of space exploration is in many ways a history of lenses. From Galileo's Starry Messenger to the powerful telescope arrays we have today, it has been two basic facts -- the curve of a glass, the sheen of a mirror -- that have largely been responsible for expanding human vision beyond Earth. And one of the best ways we have imagined to explore the worlds beyond our own is to put human-honed glass into space itself. Space telescopes can capture images that are unblurred by Earth's atmosphere.

But while the Hubbles and the Chandras of the world are amazing sources of scientific data about the distant universe, they are also amazingly expensive sources of those data. Hubble, launched into orbit in 1990, cost around $2.5 billion; Chandra, prior to its 1999 launch, was scaled down in its capabilities -- with a reduction of the number of mirrors it contained from 12 to eight and a reduction in scientific instruments from six to four -- in order to minimize its costs.

So while our appetites for exploration are large, our resources are (relatively) small. Especially now, during this time of austerity here on Earth, it's salad days when it comes to our scanning of the universe. Which means that scientists need to devise ways not just to process the new knowledge we gather, but also to gather that knowledge as efficiently -- read: as cheaply -- as possible.

A team of researchers in the U.S. and Europe think they've done just that. The group has devised a system for exploring the universe through a telescope that will hover over 99 percent of the Earth's atmosphere. 

And that telescope will be hanging from a balloon.

The Next Big Thing for Exploring the Distant Universe: Balloons - Yahoo! Finance


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Navy awards weaponized railgun manufacturing contract to BAE Systems *

By Timothy J. Seppala posted Jul 3rd, 2013 at 10:11 PM 26   



> DNP Navy awards electromagnetic railgun manufacturing contract, proves we're living in the future
> 
> Just over 18 months after making its video debut, the Navy's electromagnetic railgun has a manufacturer. BAE Systems -- known for e-ink-powered tank camouflage, autonomous spiderbots and machine-gun-mounted lasers -- won the government contract and hopes to have phase-two prototypes ready "as early as next year." While the current design is capable of firing one shot, the Office of Navy Research hopes for six to ten shots per minute. If that doesn't scare you, consider this: The pulse-driven projectiles travel at Mach 6 and can hit targets over 100 nautical miles away. Don't worry, it's not too late to rethink that career of sailing the high seas as a pirate and get to work on that accounting degree instead.



Navy awards weaponized railgun manufacturing contract to BAE Systems


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Here's what you need ... a Laser Gatling Gun*


By Ben Coxworth

July 4, 2013

The Laser Gatling Gun features six burning lasers, and one aiming beam  



> Patrick Priebe, the German laser weapons hobbyist who previously brought us such creations as the Iron Man Gauntlet and the Plasma Cutter, has gone and made something else. This time around, he&#8217;s built a proof-of-concept Laser Gatling Gun.
> The Laser Gatling Gun shoots a ring of laser light
> The turret speed can be controlled using a knob on the underside of the gun, while four ba...
> The motor and aiming laser are powered by eight AA batteries, and the six blue lasers run ...
> 
> 
> The aluminum-bodied gun&#8217;s spinning turret features six blue 1.4-watt Class 4 lasers, supplied by Wicked Lasers. While these won&#8217;t stop a marauding robot, they will at least pop a balloon ... as long as the turret isn&#8217;t turning too fast. A 100-mW green laser is mounted to one side, to assist in aiming.
> 
> The turret speed can be controlled using a knob on the underside of the gun, while four ball bearings keep that turret spinning relatively smoothly. The motor and aiming laser are powered by eight AA batteries, and the six blue lasers run off four parallel 18650 lithium-ions.



Here's what you need ... a Laser Gatling Gun


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Radically Better Smarphones May Be Possible Using System Inspired by Bird Migration: Molecular Chains Hypersensitive to Magnetic Fields*
Radically better smarphones may be possible using system inspired by bird migration: Molecular chains hypersensitive to magnetic fields



> July 5, 2013 &#8212; Researchers of MESA+, the research institute for nanotechnology of the University of Twente, in cooperation with researchers of the University of Strasbourg and Eindhoven University of Technology, are the first to successfully create perfect one-dimensional molecular wires of which the electrical conductivity can almost entirely be suppressed by a weak magnetic field at room temperature. The underlying mechanism is possibly closely related to the biological compass used by some migratory birds to find their bearings in the geomagnetic field. This spectacular discovery may lead to radically new magnetic field sensors, for smartphones for example.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*How to write with single atoms, on the cheap*
By Graham Templeton on July 5, 2013 at 11:51 am

How to write with single atoms, on the cheap | ExtremeTech


> There are always two stages in the development of any new technology: inventing it, and making it useful. The first computer was the size of a room, and slower than a first-grader counting on his fingers. The first telephone transmitted noises so garbled they could barely be understood even when you knew what was being said. We&#8217;ve had abilities in nanoscale writing, or &#8220;lithography,&#8221; for some time, but it was too expensive, too slow, too limited, to be of use in many contexts. Researchers often despaired at using the technique outside of very specific uses, or with huge grants, and many ended up using it simply to write their names as a proof of concept. Now, Boston University researchers say they&#8217;ve taken nanoscale lithography to the a new level of usefulness, creating a machine that can lay down previously impossible patterns at the atomic scale, and do it without crippling hassle or expense.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Mesoscale ocean eddies impact weather*

Mesoscale ocean eddies impact weather


> Ocean currents have a big impact on weather and climate. Without the Gulf Stream, the climate of Northern and Western Europe would be cooler. Scientists at ETH Zurich now uncovered that also relatively small swirling motions in the ocean, so called eddies, impact weather. A large number of such eddies exists in all oceans at any time, featuring diameters of about one hundred kilometers.
> 
> Eddies arise because ocean currents are generally turbulent, affected for instance by the topography of the ocean bottom, explains Ivy Frenger, a postdoc in the group of ETH-professor Nicolas Gruber at the Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics. "An analogy to this topographic effect are the swirls that occur downstream of a rock in a creek", says Frenger. In the ocean, eddies can be carried along by large-scale currents over vast distances, and also move around independently.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Physicists build quantum refrigerator based on four quantum dots*

6 hours ago by Lisa Zyga feature



> (Phys.org) &#8212;With the goal of understanding the relation between thermodynamics and quantum mechanics, physicists have recently been investigating the fundamental limits of the smallest possible quantum refrigerator. As a refrigerator, the device must be able to transfer heat from one reservoir to another. In a new study, physicists have proposed a quantum refrigerator consisting of just four quantum dots, each in contact with a thermal reservoir. They theoretically show that this system can extract heat from the coldest reservoir and cool the nearby quantum dot, making it one of the smallest quantum refrigerators proposed to date.



 Read more at: Physicists build quantum refrigerator based on four quantum dots


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Materials scientists devise window that mutes sound but allows air to pass through*

5 hours ago by Bob Yirka report



> (Phys.org) &#8212;A team of materials scientists in South Korea has created a type of window that mutes noise while simultaneously allowing air to move through. In their paper they've uploaded to the preprint server arXiv, the team describes their window and how it was constructed.
> 
> To prevent noise from passing from one place to another, engineers generally use types of material that are able to transfer sound in the air to another medium, which then weakens its force (attenuation). For that reason, it would seem impossible to create a medium that would allow sound carrying air to pass though, while muting the very sound its carrying. But that's what the team in Korea has accomplished.




 Read more at: Materials scientists devise window that mutes sound but allows air to pass through


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Synthetic spider web may be super strong material of the future *

Adario Strange

Tuesday, July 9, 2013 - 5:09pm
Synthetic spider web may be super strong material of the future | DVICE


> Talk of wonder materials and super metals almost always accompanies any discussion of a technologically advanced future, but we still have yet to benefit from the visions offered by such predictions. A Japanese research group has just come up with what it believes is a next generation super material that could change the way we make nearly everthing.
> 
> Western Japan-based Spiber has unveiled a kind of synthetic spider web material it calls Qmonos, named after the Japanese word for spider web (kumonosu). According to the company, the material has the tensile strength of steel while maintaining the flexibility of rubber. Although it will take another two years to bring the material into mass production, the company claims Qmonos will be able to be used for everything from clothing, medical materials, cars parts, bullet proof vests, and even space suits.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Graphene Can Reduce The Working Temperature Of Electronics By Up To 25% &#8212; Greatly Extending Their Working Life*


July 10, 2013  Nathan 



> One simple, single layer of graphene can lower the working temperature of a processor by up to 25% &#8212; potentially extending the working life of most types of electronics significantly, according to new research from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. The new research &#8212; which may lead to considerable improvements in the lifespans of computers and other widely used electronics, while also improving energy efficiency &#8212; is the first to demonstrate that graphene can have a heat-dissipating effect when applied to silicon-based electronics.


Read more at Graphene Can Reduce The Working Temperature Of Electronics By Up To 25% -- Greatly Extending Their Working Life | CleanTechnica


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New phenomenon could lead to novel types of lasers and sensors*

9 hours ago by David Chandler 



> There are several ways to "trap" a beam of lightusually with mirrors, other reflective surfaces, or high-tech materials such as photonic crystals. But now researchers at MIT have discovered a new method to trap light that could find a wide variety of applications.
> 
> The new system, devised through computer modeling and then demonstrated experimentally, pits light waves against light waves: It sets up two waves that have the same wavelength, but exactly opposite phaseswhere one wave has a peak, the other has a troughso that the waves cancel each other out. Meanwhile, light of other wavelengths (or colors) can pass through freely.
> 
> The researchers say that this phenomenon could apply to any type of wave: sound waves, radio waves, electrons (whose behavior can be described by wave equations), and even waves in water.
> 
> The discovery is reported this week in the journal Nature by professors of physics Marin Solja?i? and John Joannopoulos, associate professor of applied mathematics Steven Johnson, and graduate students Chia Wei Hsu, Bo Zhen, Jeongwon Lee and Song-Liang Chua.



 Read more at: New phenomenon could lead to novel types of lasers and sensors


----------



## ScienceRocks

*X-47B makes historic first carrier landing*


By David Szondy

July 10, 2013


> The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator put another page in the history books on Wednesday with its first unmanned arrested-wire carrier landing. The drone flew 35 minutes from Patuxent River Naval Air Station to the carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) off the coast of Virginia, where is landed at about 145 knots (167 mph, 268 km/h) with an arresting wire catching its tail hook and bringing it to a stop in 350 ft (107 m).


X-47B makes historic first carrier landing


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists building the world's first synthetic yeast* 



> A UK team is building a synthetic chromosome to be inserted into the world's first synthetic yeast.
> 
> Teams worldwide are making the other parts of its genome, which will be assembled to make the yeast strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
> 
> Once complete, new strains of synthetic yeast could help make products such as vaccines, biofuels and chemicals.
> 
> The UK government has announced a grant of almost £1m towards the project, which aims to be complete by 2017.



BBC News - Scientists building the world's first synthetic yeast


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Link between quantum physics and game theory found*

1 hour ago 



> (Phys.org) &#8212;A deep link between two seemingly unconnected areas of modern science has been discovered by researchers from the Universities of Bristol and Geneva.
> While research tends to become very specialized and entire communities of scientists can work on specific topics with only a little overlap between them, physicist Dr Nicolas Brunner and mathematician Professor Noah Linden worked together to uncover a deep and unexpected connection between their two fields of expertise: game theory and quantum physics.



 Read more at: Link between quantum physics and game theory found


----------



## ScienceRocks

*GOES-R improvements to provide stunning, continuous full-disk imagery*

6 hours ago 




> The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's next generation of GOES satellites, beginning with GOES-R, will have the ability to take full-disk images of Earth at five-minute intervals.
> 
> That means that GOES-R will be able to image everything it can see in the same length of time it takes the current GOES (short for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) series to provide one small image of a stormy region. Increased imagery over a shorter time period will provide more timely and informative data to forecasters everywhere in the Western Hemisphere.


http://phys.org/news/2013-07-goes-r-stunning-full-disk-imagery.html

NICE!!!!


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Distorted GPS signals reveal hurricane wind speeds*



> By pinpointing locations on Earth from space, GPS systems have long shown drivers the shortest route home and guided airline pilots across oceans. Now, by figuring out how messed up GPS satellite signals get when bouncing around in a storm, researchers have found a way to do something completely different with GPS: measure and map the wind speeds of hurricanes.
> 
> Improved wind speed measurements could help meteorologists better predict the severity of storms and where they might be headed, said Stephen Katzberg, a Distinguished Research Associate at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., and a leader in the development of the new GPS technique. On a global scale, experts hope to use the new measurement method to better understand how storms form and what guides their behavior.
> 
> The new technique could inexpensively provide a much more extensive view of a storm's wind speeds than currently possible, its developers say. Test flights on storm-hunting airplanes of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) &#8211; nicknamed Hurricane Hunters &#8211;demonstrate that the system provides valuable information at little additional cost, according to Katzberg and his colleagues.


 Read more at: Distorted GPS signals reveal hurricane wind speeds


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Floating Free: New Levitation System Uses Sound Waves* 




> Hold on to your wand, Harry Potter: Science has outdone even your best "Leviosa!" levitation spell. Researchers report that they have levitated objects with sound waves, and moved those objects around in midair, according to a new study.
> 
> Scientists have used sound waves to suspend objects in midair for decades, but the new method, described today (July 15) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, goes a step further by allowing people to manipulate suspended objects without touching them.
> 
> This levitation technique could help create ultrapure chemical mixtures, without contamination, which could be useful for making stem cells or other biological materials.
> 
> Major advance The new system is a major advance, both theoretically and in terms of its practical applications, said Yiannis Ventikos, a fluids researcher at the University College London who was not involved in the study. The new method could be an alternative to using a pipette to mix fluids in instances when contamination is an issue, he added. For instance, acoustic levitation could enable researchers to marinate stem cells in certain precise chemical mixtures, without worrying about contamination from the pipette or the well tray used. "The level of control you get is quite astounding," Ventikos said.



 - See more at: Sound Waves Can Levitate and Manipulate Moving Objects | LiveScience




*Sound waves can be used to levitate and move small objects*

Robin Burks
http://www.dvice.com/2013-7-16/sound-waves-can-be-used-levitate-and-move-small-objects
Tuesday, July 16, 2013 - 1:19pm



> It seems that levitation without contact is no longer just a cool illusion trick performed by magicians. Scientists at the Laboratory of Thermodynamics in Emerging Technologies in Zurich, Switzerland, have successfully levitated small objects using only sound waves.
> 
> Acoustic levitation is better than magnetic levitation in that it can be used on any object, not just materials that are magnetic. The only limitation with acoustic levitation is that the object's diameter must correspond to half the wavelength of the acoustic waves. Although acoustic levitation has been performed before, this new method allows researchers to have full control over an object's movement with a precision not seen in previous studies. With this new technique, the effect is created by static waves that are held in place by a reflector that bounces the wave back upon itself. This causes interference and creates a consistent upwards pressure that can cancel out the effect of gravity on an object placed within its field.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Autonomous cars to appear on UK roads by the end of the year*
Autonomous cars to appear on UK roads by the end of the year


> Autonomous cars will be tested on UK roads before the end of the year, according to a government policy paper published on Tuesday. According to the BBC, trials will take place on less busy rural and suburban roads, using what the paper describes as a semi-autonomous mode which will allow a driver to take control of the vehicle if necessary. A driver will ride along during all tests for safety reasons.
> 
> The tests will be carried out by the Mobile Robotics Group at Oxford University which has adapted a Nissan Leaf for autonomous driving. The prototype uses stereo cameras and laser scanners as sensors, and is able to learn frequently driven routes. (See Gizmag's February report for more details of the prototype.)


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Impossible material with world record breaking surface area made swedish researchers*



> A novel material with world record breaking surface area and water adsorption abilities has been synthesized by researchers from Uppsala University, Sweden. The results are published today in PLOS ONE.
> 
> The magnesium carbonate material that has been given the name Upsalite is foreseen to reduce the amount of energy needed to control environmental moisture in the electronics and drug formulation industry as well as in hockey rinks and ware houses. It can also be used for collection of toxic waste, chemicals or oil spill and in drug delivery systems, for odor control and sanitation after fire.


 Read more at: Impossible material with world record breaking surface area made swedish researchers


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Know when to fold 'em: Advances in self-assembly techniques*
Know when to fold 'em: Advances in self-assembly techniques



> Sure, flat-pack furniture is inexpensive and easy to transport, but when you open the box the first question almost everyone asks is, &#8220;Wouldn't it be great if it would assemble itself?&#8221; You could get a robot to help, but engineers at the Harvard Microrobotics Laboratory are working on ways to get objects to assemble themselves ... and they might give 3D printing a run for its money at the same time.
> 
> 3D printing is seen as the next big thing. That&#8217;s not surprising for a technology that offers versatile manufacturing without much capital or technical expertise. You can take a simple CAD file, switch on the printer, and out come solid objects that only a few years ago would have taken a skilled craftsman to produce. However, it does have its limitations as to what it can make, how quickly, and where it can make them.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists create first shape-memory plastics able to reverse deformation *
 July 17, 2013 8:27 am  |  News  |  1 Comment  
Scientists create first shape-memory plastics able to reverse deformation



> Until now, polymers with temperature-controlled shape memory could only change form once. Biomaterial researchers have recently developed plastics that can repeatedly change from one shape to another and then back again when temperatures fluctuate within a selected range. The material is dubbed &#8220;polymer actuators&#8221; by its creators in Germany.
> 
> Biomaterial researchers in Teltow have developed plastics that can repeatedly change from one shape to another and then back again when temperatures fluctuate within a selected range. The material, dubbed &#8220;polymer actuators&#8221; by its creators, thus overcomes a major limitation that affects similar materials. Up until now, polymers with temperature-controlled shape memory could only change form once.
> 
> The new material represents a breakthrough that will open up a wide variety of applications&#8212;from automatic blinds that function without electricity to new kinds of heat engines. Researchers from the Institute of Biomaterial Science in Teltow, part of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, have now presented the polymer actuators in the online edition of the PNAS journal.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists break record for thinnest light-absorber*



> Stanford University scientists have created the thinnest, most efficient absorber of visible light on record. The nanosize structure, thousands of times thinner than an ordinary sheet of paper, could lower the cost and improve the efficiency of solar cells, according to the scientists. Their results are published in the current online edition of the journal Nano Letters.
> 
> "Achieving complete absorption of visible light with a minimal amount of material is highly desirable for many applications, including solar energy conversion to fuel and electricity," said Stacey Bent, a professor of chemical engineering at Stanford and a member of the research team. "Our results show that it is possible for an extremely thin layer of material to absorb almost 100 percent of incident light of a specific wavelength."



 Read more at: Scientists break record for thinnest light-absorber


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New manufacturing method to help automakers lighten up*

9 minutes ago 



> New federal fuel-efficiency rules are forcing auto makers to lighten up their vehicles &#8211; a task that has proved difficult given the challenge of combining high-strength steels with lighter metals.
> 
> But a new method from BYU's School of Technology may be helpful to automakers in achieving the 54.5 miles per gallon average the EPA is mandating for U.S. fleets by 2025.
> 
> Manufacturing engineering technology professor Michael Miles has found a way to successfully create an extremely strong bond between lightweight aluminum and ultra-high-strength steel. It's called friction bit joining, and it may be the breakthrough the automotive industry is looking for.
> 
> "It's all about making vehicles lighter and our process can help to combine steels and light metals in the same vehicle frame, which gives engineers more flexibility in designing an optimal structure," Miles said.






 Read more at: New manufacturing method to help automakers lighten up


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers make droplets dance (w/ Video)*



> (Phys.org) &#8212;Researchers from Aalto University and Paris Tech have placed water droplets containing magnetic nanoparticles on strong water repellent surfaces and have made them align in various static and dynamic structures using periodically oscillating magnetic fields. This is the first time researchers have demonstrated reversible switching between static and dynamic self-assembly.
> 
> "We are conducting this line of research because it opens up a way to create new responsive and intelligent systems and materials," said Dr. Robin Ras of Aalto University.
> 
> Self-assembly is a process in which multiple components form organized structures or patterns without external direction. The process is very interesting both for scientists and industry, because many natural systems rely on self-assembled structures and they can further inspire technological applications.




 Read more at: Researchers make droplets dance (w/ Video)


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Discovery of rare decay narrows space for new physics*

5 hours ago 



> After a quarter of a century of searching, physicists have discovered a rare particle decay that gives them an indirect way to test models of new physics.
> Researchers on the CMS and LHCb collaborations at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN announced today at the EPS-HEP Conference in Stockholm, Sweden, that their findings agreed closely with the Standard Model of particle physics, ruling out several models that predict new particles.





 Read more at: Discovery of rare decay narrows space for new physics


----------



## ScienceRocks

*These streetlamps only light up when you need them*



> If a tree falls in a forest and no one&#8217;s around to hear it, does it still make a sound? It&#8217;s an age-old philosophical quandary, but it isn&#8217;t nearly as pressing as this one: If a streetlamp shines when no one is around, is it using energy? The answer, of course, is yes. And lots of it. That&#8217;s where Tvilight comes in.
> 
> We waste a lot of money on streetlights. Europe spends $13 billion powering them, which is more than 40 percent of its energy expenditures. And these release 40 million tons of CO2 each year. Think 20 million cars. Tvilight drastically changes this.
> 
> It&#8217;s a simple concept: the streetlights only light up when you need them. The rest of the time, they remain dim. By using intelligent wireless sensors, the lights can detect people, bikes and cars. The sensors detect how fast something is approaching, and the lights pop on as needed.



These streetlamps only light up when you need them | DVICE


----------



## ScienceRocks

*The Exodus, by Suprine: A recumbent motorcycle powered by BMW*



> The Exodus recumbent motorcycle, by US company Suprine, is a 130-horsepower lay-back motorbike with a roll cage and a perspex windscreen. It's a radical design with a street-legal prototype already in action, and its remarkable form factor allows it to make a fantastic 80-plus miles per gallon on the highway, while looking like something out of a Japanese anime movie.



The Exodus, by Suprine: A recumbent motorcycle powered by BMW


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Life on Earth dates back to 2.2 billion years*


> WASHINGTON: Newly discovered ancient fossils from South Africa provide strong evidence that life existed on Earth 2.2 billion years ago - four times earlier than previously believed.
> 
> Conventional scientific wisdom has it that plants and other creatures have only lived on land for about 500 million years, and that landscapes of the early Earth were as barren as Mars.



Life on Earth dates back to 2.2 billion years - The Times of India


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Schrödinger's 'kittens' made in the lab from photons *

Schrödinger's 'kittens' made in the lab from photons - physics-math - 24 July 2013 - New Scientist



> Erwin Schrödinger dreamed up the famous thought experiment about a cat that is both dead and alive to demonstrate the absurdity of applying quantum mechanics to ordinary objects. Now two teams have made the closest thing yet to a Schrödinger's cat in the lab &#8211; by connecting hundreds of millions of photons via the strange quantum property of entanglement.
> 
> "It's not the entanglement of something as big as a cat, but it's at least a kitten," says Seth Lloyd of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a quantum physicist who was not involved in the work


----------



## ScienceRocks

*World changing technology enables crops to take nitrogen from the air*

50 minutes ago 



> A major new technology has been developed by The University of Nottingham, which enables all of the world's crops to take nitrogen from the air rather than expensive and environmentally damaging fertilisers.
> 
> Nitrogen fixation, the process by which nitrogen is converted to ammonia, is vital for plants to survive and grow. However, only a very small number of plants, most notably legumes (such as peas, beans and lentils) have the ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere with the help of nitrogen fixing bacteria. The vast majority of plants have to obtain nitrogen from the soil, and for most crops currently being grown across the world, this also means a reliance on synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.




 Read more at: World changing technology enables crops to take nitrogen from the air



*Researchers prove dogs are able to differentiate colors*



> A team of researchers in Russia has conducted a series of experiments that prove that dogs are able to distinguish between different colors. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the team describes the experiments with dogs they conducted and the results they found.



 Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-07-dogs-differentiate.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

*World's oldest calendar uncovered in a Scottish field*



World's oldest calendar uncovered in a Scottish field


> While we take calendars for granted these days, the invention of systems that track time stands as one of humanity's most monumental achievements ... in more ways than one. Long before written calendars emerged, monuments were used to measure time. Now a crude but working "calendar" discovered in Warren Field, Scotland, suggests that these time measuring monuments may have been developed much earlier than previously thought. Archaeologists believe the Warren Field calendar was created by hunter gatherers around 8,000 BC, making it the world's oldest calendar discovered to date by a significant margin


.


*The TerraCraft: A convertible, tilting 3-wheeler with an unique steering system*


http://www.gizmag.com/terracraft-tilting-3-wheeler-vehicle/28453/


> The Terracraft is a sharp-looking 3-wheeler concept that aims to offer a unique hybrid of the motorcycle riding and car driving experiences. Its retractable roof and doors can offer weather protection and aerodynamics, its tandem double seat replicates the motorcycle pillion experience, and its unique steering system means the driver can manually dial in a tilt angle to replicate the sensation of leaning a motorcycle into a corner. Gizmag spoke with inventor James 'Wes' Abbott.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers stop and store light for 60 seconds*

8 hours ago by Bob Yirka report



> A team of researchers at Germany's University of Darmstadt has succeeded in causing light to stop and then to be held in place for 60 seconds. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the researchers describe how they achieved this feat and how their technique might be used in possible future applications



 Read more at: Researchers stop and store light for 60 seconds


----------



## ScienceRocks

Another arctle on the Scotland thing


*Scotland lunar-calendar find sparks Stone Age rethink*



> 7 hours ago by Nancy Owano report
> 
> Archeologists have discovered a lunar calendar in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, that is nearly ten thousand years old. Their findings show that the calendar makers (1) thought about time and (2) figured out a means to follow it at a period in history that was still in the Stone Age. The discovery is considered both surprising and important because it now places a calendar nearly five thousand years before what was previously considered as the first formal calendar, created in Mesopotamia 5,000 years ago. But here, a discovery has been made of a calendar construct appearing to track the phases of the moon nearly 10,000 years ago.



 Read more at: Scotland lunar-calendar find sparks Stone Age rethink


----------



## ScienceRocks

*It's a bird, it's a plane, it's ... Swiss 'Jetman'*

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's ... Swiss 'Jetman'


> A Swiss adventurer is making his first public flights in the United States this summer with his custom-built jet suit.
> 
> Yves Rossy (eev RAW'-see), also known as "Jetman," is making appearances at the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture in Wisconsin. On Monday he demonstrated his carbon-Kevlar jetwing with four engines.
> 
> His first public flight in the U.S. is set for Tuesday.
> 
> Rossy says he hopes to inspire people with his flight.
> 
> He's able to propel himself through the sky at upward of 190 mph, controlling his jet suit with a throttle in his hand. He can go as high as 12,000 feet.
> 
> AirVenture runs through Aug. 4 in Oshkosh. His flights will be part of the air shows during the week.
> 
> He'll also fly at the Reno Air Races in September.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Simulations aiding study of earthquake dampers for structures*



> Researchers have demonstrated the reliability and efficiency of "real-time hybrid simulation" for testing a type of powerful damping system that might be installed in buildings and bridges to reduce structural damage and injuries during earthquakes.
> 
> The magnetorheological-fluid dampers are shock-absorbing devices containing a liquid that becomes far more viscous when a magnetic field is applied.
> 
> "It normally feels like a thick fluid, but when you apply a magnetic field it transforms into a peanut-butter consistency, which makes it generate larger forces when pushed through a small orifice," said Shirley Dyke, a professor of mechanical engineering and civil engineering at Purdue University.



 Read more at: Simulations aiding study of earthquake dampers for structures


----------



## ScienceRocks

*NOAA&#8217;s National Weather Service more than doubles computing capacity*
NOAA?s National Weather Service more than doubles computing capacity


First in a series of upgrades includes improved hurricane model


> Whizzing through 213 trillion calculations per second, newly upgraded supercomputers of NOAA&#8217;s National Weather Service are now more than twice as fast in processing sophisticated computer models to provide more accurate forecasts further out in time. And as the hurricane season ramps up, forecasters will be armed with an enhanced hurricane model that will improve track and intensity forecasts.
> 
> The scientific data and insights that these newly upgraded supercomputers will provide are essential to help government officials, communities, and businesses better understand and manage the risks associated with extreme weather and water events. In support of the president&#8217;s Climate Action Plan, the administration will continue to take steps like this to analyze and predict climate variability amid an increasing number of extreme natural events affecting the nation.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Australia's new supercomputer a boon for climate scientists*

23 minutes ago 



> Australia's most powerful computer was unveiled Wednesday, in a boost for climate scientists who need to crunch vast amounts of data to make forecasts and pinpoint extreme weather, officials said




 Read more at: Australia's new supercomputer a boon for climate scientists


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Computer system boosts the resolution of ordinary microscopes*
Computer system boosts the resolution of ordinary microscopes



> Thanks to research being conducted at the California Institute of Technology, regular microscopes could soon be capable of much higher-resolution imaging. Instead of making changes to the microscopes&#8217; optics, the Caltech researchers are instead focusing on using a computer program to process and combine images from the devices.
> 
> The main hardware change to an existing microscope involves installing an array of about 150 LEDs beneath the stage, in place of the regular light. Using each bulb in that array one at a time, 150 images are then acquired of the sample that&#8217;s being viewed. In each image, the light is originating from a slightly different (and known) direction. The computer program then stitches all of those images together into one cohesive image of the sample.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New Doppler radar takes flight on this summer&#8217;s HS3 mission *
New Doppler radar takes flight on this summer?s HS3 mission



> Most aircraft carrying Doppler radar look like they&#8217;ve grown a tail, developed a dorsal fin, or sprouted a giant pancake on their backs. But when the unmanned Global Hawk carries a radar system this summer, its cargo will be hard to see. The autonomous and compact High-altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Profiler, or HIWRAP, a dual-frequency conical-scanning Doppler radar, will hang under the aircraft&#8217;s belly as it flies above hurricanes to measure wind and rain and to test a new method for retrieving wind data.
> 
> HIWRAP is one of the instruments that will fly in this summer's mission to explore Atlantic Ocean hurricanes. NASA's Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel, or HS3, airborne mission will investigate tropical cyclones using a number of instruments and two Global Hawks. The HS3 mission will operate between Aug. 20 and Sept. 23.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New coating turns ordinary glass into super glass*




> A new transparent, bioinspired coating makes ordinary glass tough, self-cleaning and incredibly slippery, a team from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) reported online in the July 31 edition of Nature Communications.
> 
> The new coating could be used to create durable, scratch-resistant lenses for eyeglasses, self-cleaning windows, improved solar panels and new medical diagnostic devices, said principal investigator Joanna Aizenberg, Ph.D., who is a Core Faculty Member at the Wyss Institute, Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science at SEAS, and a Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.



 Read more at: New coating turns ordinary glass into super glass


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Hybrid planes trying to charge into action*


BBC - Future - Technology - Hybrid planes trying to charge into action


> How would you feel about flying on an electric airliner? Current planes may be noisy, rattly, and relatively inefficient, but there&#8217;s something reassuring about being able to hear the constant roar of the engines, or glance out of the window and see them.
> 
> So the airliner of the future may feel very alien to anyone comfortable with our current mode of flying &#8211; at least if an ambitious model called the eConcept is anything to go by. Designed by European aviation powerhouse, EADS (which announced it will be renamed Airbus Group next year), together with Rolls Royce, the eConcept shows how cutting-edge technology and materials could combine to make more efficient and quiet aircraft that take their cues from the hybrid-car model.
> 
> &#8220;We imagine the impossible, and then try to think how possible it might be,&#8221; Professor Ric Parker, Chief Technical Officer of Rolls Royce tells me. &#8220;We don&#8217;t just do science fiction. We want things that are maybe a stretch for today&#8217;s technology, but where the basic laws of physics aren&#8217;t being broken. That&#8217;s the bounds we are setting ourselves.&#8221;


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Evidence For 'New Physics' Means Universe Is Not As We Know It* 


Evidence For 'New Physics' Means Universe Is Not As We Know It


> First evidence that the universe is not as we know it has emerged from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the giant atom-smashing machine built to recreate conditions at the dawn of time.
> 
> Confirmation of the results, showing minute deviations in the behaviour of a sub-atomic particle, would indicate the existence of a 'new physics' model of the universe.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Materials break, then remake, bonds to build strength*

5 hours ago 



> Microscopic tears in a new kind of man-made material may actually help the substance bulk up like a bodybuilder at the gym.
> 
> "We've shown how normally destructive mechanical forces can be channeled to bring about stronger materials," said Duke chemist Steve Craig, who led the research. "The material responses are like Silly Putty transforming into a solid as stiff as the cap of a pen or a runny liquid transforming into soft Jell-O."




 Read more at: Materials break, then remake, bonds to build strength


----------



## ScienceRocks

*World's first lab-grown burger to be cooked and eaten*



> The world's first lab-grown burger is to be unveiled and eaten at a news conference in London on Monday.
> 
> Scientists took cells from a cow and, at an institute in the Netherlands, turned them into strips of muscle which they combined to make a patty.
> 
> Researchers say the technology could be a sustainable way of meeting what they say is a growing demand for meat.
> 
> Critics say that eating less meat would be an easier way to tackle predicted food shortages.
> 
> BBC News has been granted exclusive access to the laboratory where the meat was grown in a project costing £215,000.
> 
> Prof Mark Post of Maastricht University, the scientist behind the burger, said: "Later today we are going to present the world's first hamburger made in a lab from cells. We are doing that because livestock production is not good for the environment, it is not going to meet demand for the world and it is not good for animals".



BBC News - World's first lab-grown burger to be cooked and eaten

I am not going to fucking eat less meat.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Jetpack prepares for launch* 


> Christchurch aero-engineering firm Martin Aircraft Company has appointed a new chief executive to launch its jetpack into the market later this year.
> 
> International aviation expert Peter Coker spent part of his first day on the job watching test flights near Oxford yesterday.
> 
> He said he had been a long-time observer of the Martin Jetpack and his decision to join the company was spurred by the &#8216;&#8216;spectacular leap forward&#8217;&#8217; in the aircraft&#8217;s technological capabilities.
> 
> &#8216;&#8216;Recently, the company achieved a number of flight technology breakthroughs with their latest generation Jetpack and that&#8217;s when I really sat up and took notice.&#8217;&#8217;
> Coker said the developments had allowed the flying machine to become &#8216;&#8216;a very practical machine&#8217;&#8217; rather than  something that was in research stages only.
> 
> &#8216;&#8216;In the past it&#8217;s been a research and development company. My role is now to bring it into a very much commercial company.&#8217;&#8217;
> 
> The company was putting in place a plan to take it from development into production stage.
> 
> &#8216;&#8216;A commercial opportunity by the end of the year is certainly an aim that we have right now.&#8217;&#8217;
> 
> The current development model, the P12, has already been proven up to 5000 feet and could theoretically fly for 10 or 15 minutes, but the end production model would have greater range and endurance, Coker said.


Martin Jetpack Prepares For Launch | Stuff.co.nz


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Roots breakthrough for drought-resistant rice*



> Japanese biotechnologists on Sunday said they had developed a rice plant with deeper roots that can sustain high yields in droughts that wipe out conventional rice crops.
> 
> It is the third breakthrough in new cereal strains in less than two years, boosting the quest to feed the world's spiralling population at a time of worsening climate change.
> 
> Writing in the journal Nature Genetics, a team led by Yusaku Uga of the National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences in Tsukuba describe how they found a remarkable gene in a rice plant cultivated in the dry uplands of the Philippines.


 Read more at: Roots breakthrough for drought-resistant rice

*Graphene-based supercapacitor a step closer to commerical reality*



> Graphene-based supercapacitors have already proven the equal of conventional supercapacitors &#8211; in the lab. But now researchers at Melbourne&#8217;s Monash University claim to have developed of a new scalable and cost-effective technique to engineer graphene-based supercapacitors that brings them a step closer to commercial development.
> 
> With their almost indefinite lifespan and ability to recharge in seconds, supercapacitors have tremendous energy-storage potential for everything from portable electronics, to electric vehicles and even large-scale renewable energy plants. But the drawback of existing supercapacitors has been their low energy density of around 5 to 8 Wh/liter, which means they either have to be exceedingly large or recharged frequently.
> 
> Professor Dan Li and his team at Monash University&#8217;s Department of Materials Engineering has created a graphene-based supercapacitor with an energy density of 60 Wh/liter, which is around 12 times higher than that of commercially available supercapacitors and in the same league as lead-acid batteries. The device also lasts as long as a conventional battery.



http://www.gizmag.com/graphene-based-supercapacitor/28579/


----------



## ScienceRocks

*3D IR images now in full color*



> An iconic moment in the history of Hollywood movie magic was born in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz when Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale stepped out of the black and white world of Kansas into the rainbow colored world of Oz. An iconic moment in the history of infrared imaging may have been born with the announcement of the first technique to offer full color IR tomography.



 Read more at: 3D IR images now in full color


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Flying car completes first public demo flight*

Flying car completes first public demo flight | DVICE



> It's been quite a while in coming, but the Terrafugia Transition just fulfilled the dream of everyone who's ever had a fantasy about the future. At the EAA AirVenture airshow in Wisconsin, the flying car completed two laps around the airfield &#8212; one on the pavement, and one in the air. The whole thing went off without a hitch, and even the namesake transition between laps worked smoothly. And, believe it or not, that just might mark the beginning of the era of the flying car.
> 
> No longer is Terrafugia's invention simply a theoretical device, nor something undergoing tests in some far-off secret lab. It's real, it works, and people have seen it. It might not be quite as slick as what we've all been imagining, but it's here, it's real, and soon enough, you'll be able to buy one, for a totally worth it $300,000.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers invent the world&#8217;s smallest terahertz detector* 



> Molecules could soon be &#8220;scanned&#8221; in a fashion similar to imaging screenings at airports, thanks to a detector developed by Univ. of Pittsburgh physicists.
> 
> The detector, featured in a recent issue of Nano Letters, may have the ability to chemically identify single molecules using terahertz radiation&#8212;a range of light far below what the eye can detect.


Researchers invent the world?s smallest terahertz detector


----------



## ScienceRocks

What's the beef? Cultured meat remains a distant dream 
What's the beef? Cultured meat remains a distant dream - environment - 06 August 2013 - New Scientist




> "It's an intense taste, close to meat but not as juicy," says Hanni Rützler between mouthfuls. "Perfect consistency, but I miss salt and pepper."
> 
> Rützler, an Austrian nutrition scientist, is the first person in history to tuck into a burger made by turning cells from live animals into meat in the lab. She was part of a tasting panel convened in London yesterday for the cooking and eating of the world's first lab-grown burger. The consensus was that the burger tasted of meat, but lacked meat's delectable fatty juiciness.
> 
> It took five years of research and a charitable donation of &#8364;250,000 from Google co-founder Sergey Brin to get to yesterday's demonstration, but turning lab-grown meat into a commercial proposition still seems a distant dream. Two years ago, Mark Post from Maastricht University in the Netherlands, the researcher behind the prototype burger, predicted it would possible to produce a sausage or burger within six months to a year. Now he reckons it will take 10 to 20 years to make it commercially viable.
> 
> If that does happen, aside from the obvious boon of producing slaughter-free meat, there could also be huge environmental benefits.
> 
> A study published two years ago by Hanna Tuomisto of the University of Oxford and M. Joost Teixeira de Mattos of the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands compared the environmental costs of producing 1000 kilograms of farmed and lab-grown beef. It concluded that cultured meat would require less than 1 per cent of the land needed to produce the equivalent amount of beef. What's more, producing lab beef would consume about 4 per cent of the water and about half the energy needed for the same amount of farmed beef, and would produce only 4 per cent of the greenhouse emissions.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers remove oil from water using copper cones inspired by cactus spines (w/ Video)*



> (Phys.org) &#8212;A team of researchers working at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, has developed a new way to remove oil from water&#8212;using a design inspired by nature. In their paper published in the journal Nature Communications, the team describes how an array of their cones could be used to help clean up oil spills.



 Read more at: Researchers remove oil from water using copper cones inspired by cactus spines (w/ Video)


*Cree $99 LED streetlight could come to a city near you*



> City planners across the U.S. are dropping the streetlights of yesteryear for brighter, more energy-efficient lights. Here's the scoop on a super-cheap LED streetlight that could come to your city sooner than later.
> 
> One day in the not too distant future, the familiar orange and yellow glow of a streetlight may become nothing more than a distant memory. Why? Cities en masse are switching to brighter, whiter LED streetlights, and Cree has a new low-cost LED that could accelerate municipal adoption of these highly efficient illuminators.
> 
> Starting at $99, the new Cree XSPR LED residential street light comes in two flavors -- 25-watt (2,722 lumen) and 42-watt (4,109 lumen) -- that uses 65-percent less energy than the common high-pressure sodium streetlight. Cities can replace up to 100-watt streetlights with these LED units, and Cree notes that the light could deliver payback in less than one year.


http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57597262-76/cree-$99-led-streetlight-could-come-to-a-city-near-you/


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Q-glasses could be a new class of solids *


> There may be more kinds of stuff than we thought. A team of researchers has reported possible evidence for a new category of solids, things that are neither pure glasses, crystals nor even exotic quasicrystals. Something else.
> 
> "Very weird. Strangest material I ever saw," says materials physicist Lyle Levine of NIST.


Q-glasses could be a new class of solids


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
European countries to join in building particle accelerator in Russia*



> MOSCOW, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Germany, Bulgaria and three former Soviet republics say they have agreed to help Russia construct a heavy-ion collider in a Moscow suburb.
> 
> The parties signed a letter of intent Thursday to cooperate on building the collider, planned for 2017, on the premises of the already existing Nuclotron particle accelerator in the town of Dubna, RIA Novosti reported.




Read more: Germany, Bulgaria and three former Soviet republics in collider pact - UPI.com


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Personal jetpack gets flight permit for manned test*



> The New Zealand developers of a personalised jetpack said Tuesday that aviation regulators have issued the device with a flying permit, allowing for manned test flights.
> 
> Martin Aircraft chief executive Peter Coker said the certification was a significant milestone in the development of the jetpack, which the company hopes to begin selling next year.
> 
> "For us it's a very important step because it moves it out of what I call a dream into something which I believe we're now in a position to commercialise and take forward very quickly," Coker told AFP.



 Read more at: Personal jetpack gets flight permit for manned test


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Wireless devices go battery-free with new communication technique*



> We might be one step closer to an Internet-of-things reality. University of Washington engineers have created a new wireless communication system that allows devices to interact with each other without relying on batteries or wires for power.
> 
> The new communication technique, which the researchers call "ambient backscatter," takes advantage of the TV and cellular transmissions that already surround us around the clock. Two devices communicate with each other by reflecting the existing signals to exchange information. The researchers built small, battery-free devices with antennas that can detect, harness and reflect a TV signal, which then is picked up by other similar devices.
> 
> The technology could enable a network of devices and sensors to communicate with no power source or human attention needed.
> 
> "We can repurpose wireless signals that are already around us into both a source of power and a communication medium," said lead researcher Shyam Gollakota, a UW assistant professor of computer science and engineering. "It's hopefully going to have applications in a number of areas including wearable computing, smart homes and self-sustaining sensor networks."


Wireless devices go battery-free with new communication technique | e! Science News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*A greener, more sustainable source of ingredients for widely used plastics*



> A new process can convert a wide variety of vegetable and animal fats and oils &#8211; ranging from lard to waste cooking oil &#8211; into a key ingredient for making plastics that currently comes from petroleum, scientists say. Their report on the first-of-its-kind process appears in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.
> 
> Douglas Neckers and Maria Muro-Small explain that many of the plastics found in hundreds of everyday products begin with a group of chemical raw materials, termed olefins, that come from petroleum. They include ethylene, propylene and butadiene, which are building blocks for familiar plastics like polyethylene, polyester, polyvinyl chloride and polystyrene. The scientists sought a more sustainable alternative source of olefins.
> 
> Their report describes use of &#8220;UV-C&#8221; light &#8211; used in sanitising wands to kill bacteria and viruses around the house &#8211; to change lard, tallow, olive oil, canola oil and waste canola cooking oil into olefins. Neckers and Muro-Small say that this is the first report on use of this photochemical process to make olefins.



A greener, more sustainable source of ingredients for widely used plastics


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New approach assembles big structures from small interlocking pieces*



> MIT researchers have developed a lightweight structure whose tiny blocks can be snapped together much like the bricks of a child's construction toy. The new material, the researchers say, could revolutionize the assembly of airplanes, spacecraft, and even larger structures, such as dikes and levees.



 Read more at: New approach assembles big structures from small interlocking pieces


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Carbyne: A new form of carbon that&#8217;s stronger than graphene*




> A new form of carbon, dubbed carbyne, is stronger and stiffer than any known material. In fact, carbyne is about two times stronger than graphene and carbon nanotubes, which until now were the strongest materials by some margin. Carbyne has a long list of unusual and highly desirable properties that make it an interesting material for a wide range of applications, from nanoelectronic/spintronic devices to hydrogen storage to higher-density batteries.


Carbyne: A new form of carbon that?s stronger than graphene | ExtremeTech


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Carbyne: A new form of carbon that&#8217;s stronger than graphene*
Carbyne: A new form of carbon that?s stronger than graphene | ExtremeTech



> A new form of carbon, dubbed carbyne, is stronger and stiffer than any known material. In fact, carbyne is about two times stronger than graphene and carbon nanotubes, which until now were the strongest materials by some margin. Carbyne has a long list of unusual and highly desirable properties that make it an interesting material for a wide range of applications, from nanoelectronic/spintronic devices to hydrogen storage to higher-density batteries.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Laser weapons inch closer to battlefield*



> Who wouldn&#8217;t want a ray gun?
> 
> The military aims to turn lasers weapons from science fiction into reality for everything from space platforms to Humvees.
> 
> &#8220;RELI&#8221; is the Department of Defense&#8217;s relatively new Robust Electric Laser Initiative, which is meant to create next-generation lightweight, compact laser weapons.
> 
> Weaponized lasers will bring nearly instant, extremely precise strikes to the battlefield. And with &#8220;deep magazines&#8221; of laser-ness, they remove the worry of running out of ammunition. Plus lasers can be calibrated to the scale of the threat, ranging from a non-lethal blow through to taking out a missile.
> 
> That&#8217;s why several big defense companies are taking a fresh look at lasers.
> 
> Thin Disk Laser
> This week, Boeing announced that its &#8220;Thin Disk Laser&#8221; system surpassed the DoD&#8217;s requirements for the RELI system. It takes a series of commercial solid-state lasers and integrates them to produce one concentrated high-energy beam.



Read more: Laser weapons inch closer to battlefield | Fox News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*A &#8216;universal smart window&#8217; for instant control of lighting and heat*

A ?universal smart window? for instant control of lighting and heat | KurzweilAI



> Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy&#8217;s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have designed a new material to make smart windows even smarter.
> 
> The material is a thin coating of nanocrystals embedded in glass that can dynamically modify sunlight as it passes through a window.
> 
> Unlike existing technologies, the coating provides selective control over visible light and heat-producing near-infrared (NIR) light independently, so windows can maximize both energy savings and occupant comfort in a wide range of climates.



http://newscenter.lbl.gov/news-releases/2013/08/14/raising-the-iq-of-smart-windows/


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Boeing solid-state laser weapon system outshines expectations*

By David Szondy

August 18, 2013



> The likelihood of lasers appearing on the battlefield was boosted last week when Boeing announced that its Thin Disk Laser system had achieved unexpected levels of power and efficiency. In a recent demonstration for the US Department of Defense, the laser&#8217;s output was 30 percent higher than project requirements and had greater beam quality, a result which paves the way toward a practical tactical laser weapon.
> As it says on the tin, the Boeing Thin Disk Laser system uses a thin disc laser. Also known as an active mirror laser, this type of solid state laser was first developed in the 1990s. Instead of rods, as is found in most solid-state lasers, the thin disk laser uses a layer of lasing material with a thickness less than the diameter of the beam it emits. This layer acts as both the gain medium or amplifier of the laser and as the mirror that reflects the beam.




Boeing solid-state laser weapon system outshines expectations


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Russian Military to Receive Nano-Armor by 2015 - Report*


> MOSCOW, August 13 (RIA Novosti) &#8211; A Russian company is developing nanotechnology that would allow production of light-weight ceramic armor for the military and police as early as by the end of 2015, the Izvestia newspaper said Tuesday.
> 
> Ceramic armor plates manufactured with the use of boron carbide powder will be used to make bulletproof vests, armor protection for combat vehicles and even for combat aircraft as they would be *four times lighter* than the existing armor plates.
> 
> &#8220;The effectiveness of protection&#8230;will be 5-6 times higher than that of existing armor while the price will drop by up to 25 percent compared to existing models,&#8221; Izvestia cited officials from the Novosibirsk-based NEVZ-Soyuz company.
> 
> According to the company, boron carbide armor plates used in bulletproof vests would ensure effective protection from 7.62-mm rounds while vehicle armor would be able stop 12.7-mm and 14.5-mm rounds.


Russian Military to Receive Nano-Armor by 2015 - Report | Defense | RIA Novosti


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Affordable Self Driving cars will be technologically solved by about 2020 and will become globally dominant as fast as the laws and regulations will allow *




> Navigant Research forecasts that vehicles with autonomous driving modes will gradually gain traction in the market over the coming two decades, from about 4% of the global light-duty vehicle market in 2025, rising to roughly 41% in 2030 and 75% by 2035&#8212;about 95.4 million units annually by then.
> 
> Basically it will be like a more regulated version of the transition from dumb feature phones to smartphones. This transition has taken about two decades. This is counting the time from the mid-1990s with the first Palm and Nokia smartphones and then the blackberry. The huge success of the iPhone in 2007 followed by the Android. The cost to transition to self driving cars will be made faster more affordable with cameras and electronics that only cost a few hundred dollars or even $100-150. The Oxford Mobile Robotics Group (MRG team) sees an immediate future in production cars modified for autonomous driving only part of the time on frequently driven routes. They estimate that the cost of the system can be brought down from its current £5,000 ($7700) to only £100 (US$155).


Affordable Self Driving cars will be technologically solved by about 2020 and will become globally dominant as fast as the laws and regulations will allow


----------



## ScienceRocks

*How to print wall-sized displays*

August 22, 2013


> Adapting conventional printing technology, UC Berkeley researchers have developed a way to rapidly and inexpensively make uniform arrays of high-performing transistors out of carbon nanotubes on flexible plastic sheets, MIT Technology Review reports.
> 
> The process could eventually lead to a tool for manufacturing large-area, low-power sensor arrays and displays.


How to print wall-sized displays | KurzweilAI


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Prehistoric giant fish could grow more than 16 metres long*



> The skeletal remains of the biggest fish ever to have swum the seas have revealed just how massive the prehistoric creature could grow.
> 
> The skeletal remains of the biggest fish ever to have swum the seas have revealed just how massive the prehistoric creature could grow.



 Read more at: Prehistoric giant fish could grow more than 16 metres long


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers develop molecular switch that changes liquid crystal colors*

5 hours ago 



> Dartmouth researchers have developed a molecular switch that changes a liquid crystal's readout color based on a chemical input. This new development may open the way for using liquid crystals in detecting harmful gases, pathogens, explosives and other chemical substances.




 Read more at: Researchers develop molecular switch that changes liquid crystal colors


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New technique for measuring tree growth cuts down on research time*

5 hours ago 



> Tree growth is measured to understand tree health, fluxes in carbon sequestration, and other forest ecosystem functions. It is one of the most essential and widely collected woody plant traits. Yet, the traditional method to measure tree growth is awkward and time consuming. Scientists have developed a new, resourceful way to take repeated tree growth measurements safely and accurately.



 Read more at: New technique for measuring tree growth cuts down on research time


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Graphene used to make graphene-copper composite that&#8217;s 500 times stronger*


> Researchers at the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have created composite materials using graphene that are up to 500 times stronger than the raw, non-composite material. This is the first time that graphene has been successfully used to create strong composite materials &#8212; and due to the tiny amounts of graphene used (just 0.00004% by weight) this breakthrough could lead to much faster commercial adoption than pure graphene, which is still incredibly hard to produce in large quantities.
> 
> At this point, we shouldn&#8217;t be wholly surprised that graphene &#8212; which holds a huge number of superlative titles, including the strongest material known to man &#8212; can also be used to create strong composite materials. In this case, the KAIST researchers created a copper-graphene composite that has 500 times the tensile strength of copper (1.5 gigapascals), and a nickel-grapehene composite that has 180 times the tensile strength of nickel (4 gigapascals). This is still some way off graphene&#8217;s tensile strength of 130 GPa &#8212; which is about 200 times stronger than steel (600 MPa) &#8212; but it&#8217;s still very, very strong. At 1.5 GPa, copper-graphene is about 50% stronger than titanium, or about three times as strong as structural aluminium alloys.


Graphene used to make graphene-copper composite that?s 500 times stronger | ExtremeTech


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Supervolcanic ash can turn to lava miles from eruption, scientists find*



> Supervolcanoes, such as the one sitting dormant under Yellowstone National Park, are capable of producing eruptions thousands of times more powerful than normal volcanic eruptions. While they only happen every several thousand years, these eruptions have the potential to kill millions of people and animals due to the massive amount of heat and ash they release into the atmosphere. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have shown that the ash produced by supervolcanoes can be so hot that it has the ability to turn back into lava once it hits the ground tens of miles away from the original eruption.



 Read more at: Supervolcanic ash can turn to lava miles from eruption, scientists find


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers figure out how to 'grow' carbon nanotubes with specific atomic structures*


> Move over, silicon. In a breakthrough in the quest for the next generation of computers and materials, researchers at USC have solved a longstanding challenge with carbon nanotubes: how to actually build them with specific, predictable atomic structures.



 Read more at: Researchers figure out how to 'grow' carbon nanotubes with specific atomic structures


----------



## ScienceRocks

*'Grand Canyon' of Greenland Discovered Under Ice Sheet*
World's Longest Canyon Lurks Under Greenland Ice Sheet | LiveScience




> The age of discovery isn't over yet. A colossal canyon, the longest on Earth, has just been found under Greenland's ice sheet, scientists announced today (Aug. 29) in the journal Science.
> 
> "You think that everything that could be known about the land surface is known, but it's not," said Jonathan Bamber, lead study author and a geographer at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom. "There's still so much to learn about the planet."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Zeoform: The eco-friendly building material of the future?*

Zeoform: The eco-friendly building material of the future?




> Australian company Zeo has developed and patented a glue-fee process that creates a strong, versatile new building material out of just cellulose and water. The resulting hardwood-like material known as Zeoform can then be sprayed, molded or shaped into a range of products. And it's not just trees that stand to benefit &#8211; Zeoform also promises an eco-friendly alternative to the use plastics and resins.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Russia to deploy 'star wars' missile system in 2017, report says*



> Russia's defence ministry plans to deploy in 2017 a sophisticated new air missile defence system that can hit targets in space, a senior ministry source told Russian news agencies on Friday.
> 
> "The promising S-500 air defence missile system is at the development stage. It's planned to be deployed in 2017," the source was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
> 
> The long-range system will be able to destroy targets even if they are in space and cover the whole Russian territory, the source added.



 Read more at: Russia to deploy 'star wars' missile system in 2017, report says


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Breakthrough in sensing at the nanoscale*


Breakthrough in sensing at the nanoscale | e! Science News
Published: Sunday, September 1, 2013 - 16:30  in Physics & Chemistry 



> Researchers have made a breakthrough discovery in identifying the world's most sensitive nanoparticle and measuring it from a distance using light. These super-bright, photostable and background-free nanocrystals enable a new approach to highly advanced sensing technologies using optical fibres. This discovery, by a team of researchers from Macquarie University, the University of Adelaide, and Peking University, opens the way for rapid localisation and measurement of cells within a living environment at the nanoscale, such as the changes to a single living cell in the human body in response to chemical signals.
> 
> Published in Nature Nanotechnology today, the research outlines a new approach to advanced sensing that has been facilitated by bringing together a specific form of nanocrystal, or "SuperDot&#8482;" with a special kind of optical fibre that enables light to interact with tiny (nanoscale) volumes of liquid.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Japan's maglev train runs test at over 310 mph (w/ Video)*


> (Phys.org) &#8212;Moving toward its goal of building a high-speed magnetic levitation (maglev) train line between Tokyo and Osaka, Central Japan Railway Co has resumed testing of its L0 (L Zero) train&#8212;demonstrating speeds just above 310 miles per hour (500 km per hour). That makes it the longest and fastest maglev train in the world.
> 
> Maglev trains are able to travel very fast all while using less energy than conventional trains because they allow the train to ride on a cushion of air&#8212;friction from the wheels on the track is eliminated. Most in the field expect they will require less maintenance costs as well. But what's still not clear is if the lower operating costs will make up for the dramatically greater installation cost. The line between Tokyo and Osaka is expected to cost approximately $90 billion and it won't be completed until 2045 (an initial line is expected to begin operating between Tokyo and Nagoya in 2027 reducing travel time from 95 to 40 minutes).



 Read more at: Japan's maglev train runs test at over 310 mph (w/ Video)


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Matroid Theory: Mathematician Solves 40-Year-Old Problem*



> Aug. 28, 2013 &#8212; A team of mathematicians has solved a problem first posed more than 40 years ago that has confounded modern mathematicians, until now.
> 
> Professor Jim Geelen of the University of Waterloo and his colleagues, Professor Bert Gerards of Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica and the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, and Professor Geoff Whittle of Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand have proved the famous Rota's Conjecture.
> 
> The three men worked for almost 15 years to solve this problem posed by the famous mathematician and philosopher Gian-Carlo Rota in 1970. Earlier this year, in Waterloo, the trio completed the final step in their epic project.




Matroid theory: Mathematician solves 40-year-old problem


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Using lithographic lasers to harvest super-pure graphene suitable for stacking*


> Graphene is a material with seemingly unlimited potential. This remarkable single-layer lattice of carbon atoms has been put forward as the solution to a huge number of engineering problems from semiconductors to solar cells. Even with all that promise, a single layer of graphene is little more than a scientific curiosity. To make anything truly useful with graphene, you have to be able to layer it. This is where the problem comes in, but it&#8217;s a problem a group of Nankai University researchers in China hope they&#8217;ve finally solved.



Using lithographic lasers to harvest super-pure graphene suitable for stacking | ExtremeTech


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New low-temperature chemical reaction explained*



> In all the centuries that humans have studied chemical reactions, just 36 basic types of reactions have been found. Now, thanks to the work of researchers at MIT and the University of Minnesota, a 37th type of reaction can be added to the list.
> 
> The newly explained reaction&#8212;whose basic outlines had been known for three decades, but whose workings had never been understood in detail&#8212;is an important part of atmospheric reactions that lead to the formation of climate-affecting aerosols; biochemical reactions that may be important for human physiology; and combustion reactions in engines.
> 
> The new analysis is explained in a paper by MIT graduate student Amrit Jalan, chemical engineering professor William Green, and six other researchers, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.


New low-temperature chemical reaction explained


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists confirm existence of largest single volcano on earth*



> A University of Houston (UH) professor led a team of scientists to uncover the largest single volcano yet documented on Earth. Covering an area roughly equivalent to the British Isles or the state of New Mexico, this volcano, dubbed the Tamu Massif, is nearly as big as the giant volcanoes of Mars, placing it among the largest in the Solar System. William Sager, a professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at UH, first began studying the volcano about 20 years ago at Texas A&M's College of Geosciences. Sager and his team's findings appear in the Sept. 8 issue of Nature Geoscience, the monthly multi-disciplinary journal reflecting disciplines within the geosciences.


Scientists confirm existence of largest single volcano on earth | e! Science News

*Made-to-order materials: Engineers focus on the nano to create strong, lightweight materials*



> (Phys.org) &#8212;The lightweight skeletons of organisms such as sea sponges display a strength that far exceeds that of manmade products constructed from similar materials. Scientists have long suspected that the difference has to do with the hierarchical architecture of the biological materials&#8212;the way the silica-based skeletons are built up from different structural elements, some of which are measured on the scale of billionths of meters, or nanometers. Now engineers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have mimicked such a structure by creating nanostructured, hollow ceramic scaffolds, and have found that the small building blocks, or unit cells, do indeed display remarkable strength and resistance to failure despite being more than 85 percent air


 Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-09-made-to-order-materials-focus-nano-strong.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Growing thin films of germanium*



> Researchers have developed a new technique to produce thin films of germanium crystals&#8212;key components for next-generation electronic devices such as advanced large-scale integrated circuits and flexible electronics, which are required for gadgets that move or bend.
> 
> Unlike conventional methods, the new approach does not require high temperatures or other crystals to act as seeds to grow the germanium crystal. And, the researchers say, the new method can be used to produce germanium films with a very large area, allowing for more potential applications.
> 
> "This is the realization of the dreams of crystal-growth researchers," says Taizoh Sadoh of Kyushu University. "This unique method will open new ways to create advanced flexible electronics."



 Read more at: Growing thin films of germanium


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Dutch &#8216;vegetarian butcher&#8217; turns plants into &#8216;meat&#8217;*


> THE HAGUE: Never mind last month's revolutionary testtube beef burger grown from meat stem cells. The Dutch are way ahead with a 'vegetarian butcher' who transforms plants into 'meat'. Dubbed the 'Frankenburger', the lab-grown beef developed at a cost of more than 250,000 euros ($330,000) was unveiled by scientists and served to volunteers in what was billed as a food revolution.
> 
> "But we are much more advanced, so-much-so that we have built an unassailable lead over meat produced from stem cells," said Jaap Korteweg, founder of the 'Vegetarian Butcher' .
> 
> While the 'cultured beef' in London was made using strands of meat grown from muscle cells taken from a living cow, the Dutch butcher needs only plant matter to make his 'meat' .
> 
> Korteweg's shop on a main street in downtown The Hague is packed with a range of products from veggie 'hamburger' patties to 'meatballs' and 'tuna' salad.



Dutch ?vegetarian butcher? turns plants into ?meat? - The Times of India


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Bomb-detecting lasers could improve security checkpoints*


> Michigan State University research has put the possibility of bomb-detecting lasers at security checkpoints within reach. In the current issue of Applied Physics Letters, Marcos Dantus, MSU chemistry professor and founder of BioPhotonic Solutions, has developed a laser that can detect micro traces of explosive chemicals on clothing and luggage.
> 
> "Since this method uses a single beam and requires no bulky spectrometers, it is quite practical and could scan many people and their belongings quickly," Dantus said. "Not only does it detect the explosive material, but it also provides an image of the chemical's exact location, even if it's merely a minute trace on a zipper."



Bomb-detecting lasers could improve security checkpoints | e! Science News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Butterfly wings inspire new technologies: from fabrics and cosmetics to sensors*



> A new study has revealed that the stunning iridescent wings of the tropical blue Morpho butterfly could expand the range of innovative technologies. Scientific lessons learnt from these butterflies have already inspired designs of new displays, fabrics and cosmetics.
> 
> 
> Now research by the University of Exeter, in collaboration with General Electric (GE) Global Research Centre, University at Albany and Air Force Research Laboratory, and funded by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), has discovered that the physical structure and surface chemistry of the Morpho butterfly's wings provides surprising properties that could offer a variety of applications ranging from photonic security tags to self cleaning surfaces and protective clothing and to industrial sensors.



 Read more at: Butterfly wings inspire new technologies: from fabrics and cosmetics to sensors


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Toward a truly white organic LED: Physicists develop polymer with tunable colors*



> By inserting platinum atoms into an organic semiconductor, University of Utah physicists were able to "tune" the plastic-like polymer to emit light of different colors &#8211; a step toward more efficient, less expensive and truly white organic LEDs for light bulbs of the future.



 Read more at: Toward a truly white organic LED: Physicists develop polymer with tunable colors


----------



## ScienceRocks

*First reported self-healing polymer that spontaneously and independently repairs itself*



> Scientists in Spain have reported the first self-healing polymer that spontaneously and independently repairs itself without any intervention. The new material could be used to improve the security and lifetime of plastic parts in everyday products such as electrical components, cars and even houses.



 Read more at: First reported self-healing polymer that spontaneously and independently repairs itself


----------



## ScienceRocks

*'Accelerator on a chip' demonstrated*



> In an advance that could dramatically shrink particle accelerators for science and medicine, researchers used a laser to accelerate electrons at a rate 10 times higher than conventional technology in a nanostructured glass chip smaller than a grain of rice.



 Read more at: 'Accelerator on a chip' demonstrated


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Flowering plant origins pushed back 100 million years*



> Flowering plants may have originated more than 100 million years earlier than previously thought, according to scientists in Switzerland and Germany.
> 
> The previously oldest known flowering plant-like pollen dates from the Early Cretaceous period.
> 
> But the team described six types of fossil pollen grains from older Middle Triassic core samples that closely resemble these earliest examples.
> 
> The research is published in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science.
> 
> Flowering plants - also known as angiosperms - are the most numerous and diverse group of seed-producing plants on land.
> 
> All seed-producing plants make pollen, with each grain enclosing the developing male cell used in sexual reproduction.



BBC Nature - Flowering plant origins pushed back 100 million years


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Recent study reduces Casimir force to lowest recorded level*

15 hours ago 


> Phys.org) &#8212;A research team that includes a physics professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) has recorded a drastically reduced measurement of the Casimir effect, a fundamental quantum phenomenon experienced between two neutral bodies that exist in a vacuum.



 Read more at: Recent study reduces Casimir force to lowest recorded level


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
New refining process could lower cost of titanium by 60%*
New refining process could lower cost of titanium by 60%



> Researchers at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) have been selected by ARPA-E, the US government's Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy, to carry out a one year project aimed at developing a low cost method to obtain titanium metal from its ore. It is thought that the process could lower the cost of the metal by up to 60 percent.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Compact, High-Power Terahertz Source at Room Temperature*




> Oct. 9, 2013 &#8212; Terahertz (THz) radiation -- radiation in the wavelength range of 30 to 300 microns -- is gaining attention due to its applications in security screening, medical and industrial imaging, agricultural inspection, astronomical research, and other areas. Traditional methods of generating terahertz radiation, however, usually involve large and expensive instruments, some of which also require cryogenic cooling. A compact terahertz source -- similar to the laser diode found in a DVD player -- operating at room temperature with high power has been a dream device in the terahertz community for decades.


FutureTimeline.forum


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Mix of graphene nanoribbons, polymer has potential for cars, soda, beer*



> A discovery at Rice University aims to make vehicles that run on compressed natural gas more practical. It might also prolong the shelf life of bottled beer and soda.
> 
> The Rice lab of chemist James Tour has enhanced a polymer material to make it far more impermeable to pressurized gas and far lighter than the metal in tanks now used to contain the gas.
> 
> The combination could be a boon for an auto industry under pressure to market consumer cars that use cheaper natural gas. It could also find a market in food and beverage packaging.
> 
> Tour and his colleagues at Rice and in Hungary, Slovenia and India reported their results this week in the online edition of the American Chemistry Society journal ACS Nano.
> 
> They tested GNR/TPU films by putting pressurized nitrogen on one side and a vacuum on the other side. For films with no GNRs, the pressure dropped to zero in about 100 seconds as nitrogen escaped into the vacuum chamber. With GNRs at 0.5 percent, the pressure didn't budge over 1,000 seconds, and it dropped only slightly over more than 18 hours.
> 
> Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-10-graphene-nanoribbons-polymer-potential-cars.html#jCp


 Read more at: Mix of graphene nanoribbons, polymer has potential for cars, soda, beer


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New one-dimensional form of carbon may be the strongest material ever*




> Carbyne is a chain of carbon atoms held together by either double or alternating single and triple atomic bonds. That makes it a true one-dimensional material, unlike atom-thin sheets of graphene, which have a top and a bottom, or hollow nanotubes, which  have an inside and outside.
> 
> According to calculations by theoretical physicist Boris Yakobson and his group:
> &#8226;Carbyne&#8217;s tensile strength &#8212; the ability to withstand stretching &#8212; surpasses &#8220;that of any other known material&#8221; and is double that of graphene. (Scientists have calculated it would take an elephant on a pencil to break through a sheet of graphene.)
> &#8226;It has twice the tensile stiffness of graphene and carbon nanotubes and nearly three times that of diamond.
> &#8226;Stretching carbyne as little as 10 percent alters its electronic band gap significantly.
> &#8226;If outfitted with molecular handles at the ends, it can also be twisted to alter its band gap. With a 90-degree end-to-end rotation, it becomes a magnetic semiconductor.
> &#8226;Carbyne chains can take on side molecules that may make the chains suitable for energy storage.
> &#8226;The material is stable at room temperature, largely resisting crosslinks with nearby chains.
> 
> &#8220;You could look at it as an ultimately thin graphene ribbon, reduced to just one atom, or an ultimately thin nanotube,&#8221; Yakobson said.. It could be useful for nanomechanical systems, in spintronic devices, as sensors, as strong and light materials for mechanical applications, or for energy storage.


 
New one-dimensional form of carbon may be the strongest material ever | KurzweilAI


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New material gives visible light an infinite wavelength*


> Researchers from the FOM Institute AMOLF and the University of Pennsylvania have fabricated a material which gives visible light a nearly infinite wavelength. The new metamaterial is made by stacking silver and silicon nitride nanolayers. It may find applications in novel optical components or circuits and the design of more efficient leds. The work will appear on October 13th in Nature Photonics.


 Read more at: New material gives visible light an infinite wavelength


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Spin Chill turns beverages cold in 60 seconds*



> Since the earliest days of brewing beer and making wine, the search has been on for an easy, affordable method of chilling drinks quickly without diluting them in the process. Florida-based start-up Spin Chill claims to have a solution to this vexing problem with a portable device that (literally) turns beverages ice cold in 60 seconds.
> 
> Spin Chill aims to radically shorten the time required to cool a canned or bottled beverage &#8211; 20-30 minutes if you simply put the container in the freezer. To solve this problem wouldn't seem to require more than a little planning ahead, but somehow running out of cold beer always seems to come as a surprise. Spin Chill brings this cooling time down to less than a minute.



Spin Chill turns beverages cold in 60 seconds


----------



## ScienceRocks

*First laser-driven electron accelerator demonstrated*



> If Angus MacGyver was a particle physicist, he might face a challenge like this: Take a femtosecond laser and a fused quartz grating and make the world's most powerful particle accelerator. Despite the apparent incongruity of the resources and the goal, researchers at Stanford University and the US Department of Energy&#8217;s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have fabricated a proof-of-principle electron accelerator using just such equipment. In the demonstration, electrons from a 60 MeV beam saw a force of acceleration about ten times greater than possible in a conventional accelerator.



First laser-driven electron accelerator demonstrated


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Flying Cars Coming Soon: Terrafugia Says Its First Vehicle Will Be Available in 2015 [VIDEO]*


> Terrafugia says they will have a flying car in the skies in just two years. The Massachusetts-based company is developing two "roadable aircrafts": the Transition, an airplane with fold-up wings which can be driven to the airport, and the TF-X, a consumer-focused "flying car for all of us," which can vertically take off and land in your driveway.
> 
> Like Us on Facebook
> 
> "The potential benefit to humanity of a practical flying car is tremendous," says Terrafugia CEO Carl Dietrich. "The global impact of widely distributed, practical, personal airborne transportation has been estimated by the non-profit CAFE Foundation at approximately $800 billion/year. NASA has estimated it at $1 trillion/year. I believe it is impossible to quantify the benefit to humanity."
> 
> The Transition, which will be the first commercially available flying car from Terrafugia, is closer to a novel airplane than a flying car. The Transition is designed to be kept in your garage, but must be driven to an airport for takeoff (and must land at an airport too). The Transition is classified as a Light Sport Aircraft and requires a sport pilot certificate, so it isn't a flying car you'd take to the mall. It's for pilots, not for drivers, and at a cost of $279,000 it obviously isn't going to be the flying car for every driveway.


Flying Cars Coming Soon: Terrafugia Says Its First Vehicle Will Be Available in 2015 [VIDEO] - International Science Times


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Volvo to replace body parts with energized carbon fiber panels*



> For automobile manufacturers, the electric elephant in the room continues to be bulky and weighty battery packs. This week, Volvo unveiled an innovative potential solution to the problem that it has been working on for the past three and a half years with other European partners; replace steel body panels with carbon fiber composite panels infused with nano-batteries and super capacitors.
> 
> The conductive material used around the vehicle to charge and store energy can be recharged via the vehicle&#8217;s regenerative braking system or via the grid. When the system and motor requires charge, the energized panels behave like any traditional battery pack and discharge accordingly. According to Volvo, the system not only charges faster than traditional battery configurations but also takes a charge faster.
> 
> Using a Volvo S80 as a test platform, the team replaced the vehicle&#8217;s trunk lid and plenum cross member over the engine bay with the new material. Volvo claims the composite trunk lid, which is stronger than the outgoing steel component, could not only power the vehicle's 12 volt system but the weight savings alone could increase an EV's overall range and performance as a result.



Volvo to replace body parts with energized carbon fiber panels


----------



## ScienceRocks

_Aeromobil Flying car prototype gets off the ground for the first time_
Aeromobil Flying car prototype gets off the ground for the first time



> There is a saying in flying: &#8220;If it looks good, it will fly well.&#8221; Stefan Klein, a designer from the Slovak Republic, has announced the first flight of his Aeromobil Version 2.5, a flying car prototype he has been developing over the last 20 years. This vehicle is a strikingly beautiful design with folding wings and a propeller in the tail. But will its flight capabilities match its looks?
> 
> 
> The Aeromobil V2.5 is a propeller-driven aircraft that also functions as an automobile &#8211; or you can think of it it a car with lofty aspirations. The aviation aspects seem to be prominent in the design, with a streamlined cockpit, super light weight, and sleek tail fins in the back. Propulsion is provided by a 100 hp Rotax 912 water cooled engine mounted behind the seats, with drive shafts leading both aft to the propeller and forward to the two front wheels for driving.
> 
> This project is not the only flying car around. There is also the US-based Terrafugia, which folds up its wings vertically on the sides of the vehicle. There is also a Dutch design called the PAL-V, where the ground vehicle is a three wheeled tilting motorcycle that turns into a gyrocopter at the airport.



http://www.gizmag.com/klein-flying-car-first-flight/29448/pictures#6


http://www.aeromobil.com/#url-people


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New particle might make quantum condensation at room temperature possible*



> Researchers from FOM Institute AMOLF, Philips Research, and the Autonomous University of Madrid have identified a new type of particle that might make quantum condensation possible at room temperature. The particles, so called PEPs, could be used for fundamental studies on quantum mechanics and applications in lasers and LEDs. The researchers published their results on 18 October in Physical Review Letters.
> 
> In quantum condensation (also known as Bose-Einstein condensation) microscopic particles with different energy levels collapse into a single macroscopic quantum state. In that state, particles can no longer be distinguished. They lose their individuality and so the matter can be considered to be one 'superparticle'.
> 
> Quantum condensation was predicted in the 1920s by Bose and Einstein, who theorised that particles will form a condensate at very low temperatures. The first experimental demonstration of the quantum condensate followed in the 1990s, when a gas of atoms was cooled to just a few billionths of a degree above absolute zero (-273°C). The need for such an extremely low temperature is related to the mass of the particles: the heavier the particles, the lower the temperature at which condensation occurs. This motivated an ongoing search for light particles that may condense at higher temperatures than atoms. The eventual goal is to find particles that form a condensate at room temperature.



 Read more at: New particle might make quantum condensation at room temperature possible


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Mixing Nanoparticles to Make Multifunctional Materials*



> UPTON, NY&#8212;Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a general approach for combining different types of nanoparticles to produce large-scale composite materials. The technique, described in a paper published online by Nature Nanotechnology on October 20, 2013, opens many opportunities for mixing and matching particles with different magnetic, optical, or chemical properties to form new, multifunctional materials or materials with enhanced performance for a wide range of potential applications.



BNL | Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) | Mixing Nanoparticles to Make Multifunctional Materials


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Nanodiamond production in ambient conditions opens door for flexible electronics, implants and more*


> Instead of having to use tons of crushing force and volcanic heat to forge diamonds, researchers at Case Western Reserve University have developed a way to cheaply make nanodiamonds on a lab bench at atmospheric pressure and near room temperature.
> 
> The nanodiamonds are formed directly from a gas and require no surface to grow on.
> 
> The discovery holds promise for many uses in technology and industry, such as coating plastics with ultrafine diamond powder and making flexible electronics, implants, drug-delivery devices and more products that take advantage of diamond's exceptional properties.
> 
> Their investigation is published today in the scientific journal Nature Communications. The findings build on a tradition of diamond research at Case Western Reserve.


 Read more at: Nanodiamond production in ambient conditions opens door for flexible electronics, implants and more


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Lasers offer an automated way to test drinking water*


> To keep drinking water clean, experts are constantly monitoring our supply to check it for contaminants. Now laser technology will give them a helping hand: a new system automatically analyzes water samples at the waterworks itself.



 Read more at: Lasers offer an automated way to test drinking water


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers advance scheme to design seamless integrated circuits etched on graphene*



> (Phys.org) &#8212;Researchers in electrical and computer engineering at University of California, Santa Barbara have introduced and modeled an integrated circuit design scheme in which transistors and interconnects are monolithically patterned seamlessly on a sheet of graphene, a 2-dimensional plane of carbon atoms. The demonstration offers possibilities for ultra energy-efficient, flexible, and transparent electronics.



 Read more at: Researchers advance scheme to design seamless integrated circuits etched on graphene


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New device stores electricity on silicon chips*



> (Phys.org) &#8212;Solar cells that produce electricity 24/7, not just when the sun is shining. Mobile phones with built-in power cells that recharge in seconds and work for weeks between charges.
> 
> These are just two of the possibilities raised by a novel supercapacitor design invented by material scientists at Vanderbilt University that is described in a paper published in the Oct. 22 issue of the journal Scientific Reports.


New device stores electricity on silicon chips


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New technique creates multifunctional nanomaterials by mixing and matching existing particles*


> Researchers at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) have developed a generalized method of blending two different types of nanoparticles into a single large-scale composite material using synthetic DNA strands. The technique has great potential for designing a vast range of new nanomaterials with precise electrical, mechanical or magnetic properties.
> 
> The "mix and match" approach
> 
> Assembly of nanostructures using synthetic DNA isn't new, and has already been used to combine two or even three different types of nanoparticles into a single material. However, the process as it stands comes with a number of limitations, such as the inability to control the distance between the nanoparticles.
> 
> The technique developed at BNL is much more generalized and can be used to control parameters such as the spacing and ordering of the different particles, allowing for the mixing and matching of nanoparticles with different magnetic, optical, or chemical properties.
> 
> Physicist Oleg Gang and his team first coat the two kinds of nanoparticles with binding chemicals and then attach them to two complementary strands of lab-synthesized DNA. When the two DNA strands are placed in close proximity, they help the nanoparticles mix and match into a very large three-dimensional array.


New technique creates multifunctional nanomaterials by mixing and matching existing particles


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New autonomous security checkpoints can scan five people at once*


> Like it or not, passing through security is part of life nowadays. Whether you're headed to a sporting event, a theme park or hopping on a plane, passing through security is pretty much a given. In its current state, a security check can not only be a choke point, but can leave you feeling abused and manhandled by the horrific rogue's gallery of security employees venues see fit to employ.
> 
> A single airport security checkpoint, for instance, usually sports around seven disgruntled TSA agents sitting around and deriding travelers as they try to make their flight. While security concerns are a given, it's this sort of emotional assault that travelers can really do without. And thankfully a California-based security firm has a solution. They call it the Qylatron, and it's an autonomous, universal checkpoint that requires only a single security agent per gate.



New autonomous security checkpoints can scan five people at once | DVICE


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Nanoscale engineering boosts performance of quantum dot light emitting diodes*

Nanoscale engineering boosts performance of quantum dot light emitting diodes | e! Science News



> Dramatic advances in the field of quantum dot light emitting diodes (QD-LEDs) could come from recent work by the Nanotechnology and Advanced Spectroscopy team at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Quantum dots are nano-sized semiconductor particles whose emission color can be tuned by simply changing their dimensions. They feature near-unity emission quantum yields and narrow emission bands, which result in excellent color purity. The new research aims to improve QD-LEDs by using a new generation of engineered quantum dots tailored specifically to have reduced wasteful charge-carrier interactions that compete with the production of light.
> 
> "QD-LEDs can potentially provide many advantages over standard lighting technologies, such as incandescent bulbs, especially in the areas of efficiency, operating lifetime and the color quality of the emitted light," said Victor Klimov of Los Alamos.
> 
> Incandescent bulbs, known for converting only 10 percent of electrical energy into light and losing 90 percent of it to heat, are rapidly being replaced worldwide by less wasteful fluorescent light sources. However, the most efficient approach to lighting is direct conversion of electricity into light using electroluminescent devices such as LEDs.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*MIT&#8217;s DarkLight project prepares to finally create dark matter in the lab*



> At MIT, members of the DarkLight project are preparing to create tiny amounts of dark matter using a particle accelerator, to finally prove once and for all just how dark matter operates.
> 
> As it stands, the generally accepted theory is that almost 27% of the universe is fashioned out of dark matter, compared to just 5% for ordinary matter. We say &#8220;theory&#8221; because no one has ever observed dark matter (nor dark energy, which makes up the remaining 68% of the universe), but given our current understanding of the universe, it&#8217;s the explanation that makes the most sense.


MIT?s DarkLight project prepares to finally create dark matter in the lab | ExtremeTech


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Canada to get world's first Bitcoin ATM next week*



> A Vancouver coffee shop will see the first of five ATMs expected in major Canadian cities.
> Bitcoin fans, prepare your passports. If you want to be among the first to use a Bitcoin ATM, head to Canada.
> 
> What's being billed as the world's first Bitcoin ATM is set to enter service next week in Vancouver, according to local operator and broker Bitcoiniacs and Nevada-based manufacturer Robocoin.
> 
> The $18,500 ATM will debut in downtown coffee shop Waves as the first of five Bitcoin machines that will be deployed across the country.
> 
> They'll trade the increasingly popular digital currency for Canadian dollars and vice versa, with a CAD $3,000 daily limit ($2,870) for each user.
> 
> 
> Related stories
> Winklevoss twins: Bitcoin could be the 'currency of a country'
> Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox sues for return of $5M from CoinLab
> 
> The ATMs will use palm scans to identify users and enforce the limit, which is also designed to prevent problems with anti-money-laundering laws.



Canada to get world's first Bitcoin ATM next week | Cutting Edge - CNET News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists eye longer-term forecasts of US heat waves*


> Scientists have fingerprinted a distinctive atmospheric wave pattern high above the Northern Hemisphere that can foreshadow the emergence of summertime heat waves in the United States more than two weeks in advance. The new research, led by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), could potentially enable forecasts of the likelihood of U.S. heat waves 15-20 days out, giving society more time to prepare for these often-deadly events.
> 
> The research team discerned the pattern by analyzing a 12,000-year simulation of the atmosphere over the Northern Hemisphere. During those times when a distinctive "wavenumber-5" pattern emerged, a major summertime heat wave became more likely to subsequently build over the United States.
> 
> "It may be useful to monitor the atmosphere, looking for this pattern, if we find that it precedes heat waves in a predictable way," says NCAR scientist Haiyan Teng, the lead author. "This gives us a potential source to predict heat waves beyond the typical range of weather forecasts."
> 
> 
> The study is being published next week in Nature Geoscience. It was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, NASA, and the National Science Foundation (NSF), which is NCAR's sponsor. NASA scientists helped guide the project and are involved in broader research in this area.
> 
> Predicting a lethal event
> 
> Heat waves are among the most deadly weather phenomena on Earth. A 2006 heat wave across much of the United States and Canada was blamed for more than 600 deaths in California alone, and a prolonged heat wave in Europe in 2003 may have killed more than 50,000 people.
> 
> To see if heat waves can be triggered by certain large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns, the scientists looked at data from relatively modern records dating back to 1948. They focused on summertime events in the United States in which daily temperatures reached the top 2.5 percent of weather readings for that date across roughly 10 percent or more of the contiguous United States. However, since such extremes are rare by definition, the researchers could identify only 17 events that met such criteria -- not enough to tease out a reliable signal amid the noise of other atmospheric behavior.
> 
> The group then turned to an idealized simulation of the atmosphere spanning 12,000 years. The simulation had been created a couple of years before with a version of the NCAR-based Community Earth System Model, which is funded by NSF and the Department of Energy.
> 
> By analyzing more than 5,900 U.S. heat waves simulated in the computer model, they determined that the heat waves tended to be preceded by a wavenumber-5 pattern. This pattern is not caused by particular oceanic conditions or heating of Earth's surface, but instead arises from naturally varying conditions of the atmosphere. It was associated with an atmospheric phenomenon known as a Rossby wave train that encircles the Northern Hemisphere along the jet stream.
> 
> During the 20 days leading up to a heat wave in the model results, the five ridges and five troughs that make up a wavenumber-5 pattern tended to propagate very slowly westward around the globe, moving against the flow of the jet stream itself. Eventually, a high-pressure ridge moved from the North Atlantic into the United States, shutting down rainfall and setting the stage for a heat wave to emerge.
> 
> When wavenumber-5 patterns in the model were more amplified, U.S. heat waves became more likely to form 15 days later. In some cases, the probability of a heat wave was more than quadruple what would be expected by chance.
> 
> In follow-up work, the research team turned again to actual U.S. heat waves since 1948. They recognized that some historical heat wave events are indeed characterized by a large-scale circulation pattern that indicated a wavenumber-5 event.



Scientists eye longer-term forecasts of US heat waves | e! Science News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Breakthrough in study of aluminum to yield new technological advances*


> Researchers at Oregon State University and the University of Oregon today announced a scientific advance that has eluded researchers for more than 100 years &#8211; a platform to fully study and understand the aqueous chemistry of aluminum, one of the world's most important metals.
> 
> The findings, reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, should open the door to significant advances in electronics and many other fields, ranging from manufacturing to construction, agriculture and drinking water treatment.
> 
> Aluminum, in solution with water, affects the biosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere and anthrosphere, the scientists said in their report. It may be second only to iron in its importance to human civilization. But for a century or more, and despite the multitude of products based on it, there has been no effective way to explore the enormous variety and complexity of compounds that aluminum forms in water.
> 
> Now there is.
> 
> "This integrated platform to study aqueous aluminum is a major scientific advance," said Douglas Keszler, a distinguished professor of chemistry in the OSU College of Science, and director of the Center for Sustainable Materials Chemistry.
> 
> "Research that can be done with the new platform should have important technological implications," Keszler said. "Now we can understand aqueous aluminum clusters, see what's there, how the atomic structure is arranged."
> 
> Chong Fang, an assistant professor of chemistry in the OSU College of Science, called the platform "a powerful new toolset." It's a way to synthesize aqueous aluminum clusters in a controlled way; analyze them with new laser techniques; and use computational chemistry to interpret the results. It's simple and easy to use, and may be expanded to do research on other metal atoms.



 Read more at: Breakthrough in study of aluminum to yield new technological advances


----------



## ScienceRocks

*FiberFix aims to make duct tape look pathetic*


> People may make jokes about how duct tape can be used to fix just about anything, but a new product is claimed to be 100 times stronger than our matte-silver friend. It's called FiberFix, and it's a tape impregnated with a resin that reportedly "hardens like steel."
> 
> To use FiberFix, you just immerse a length of it in water, wrap that wet tape around the broken item in question, and allow it to set. Although it takes 24 hours to cure completely, it should begin to harden within just a few minutes, and will set to its hard consistency within about 10 &#8211; so you need to work with it quickly. Once set, it can be sanded or painted, and will be completely waterproof.
> 
> While it's apparently non-toxic, its makers warn against getting the resin on skin, clothes, tools or other places where you don't want it, as it will be very difficult to remove once it's set ... they also advise against using it to make an arm cast, in case you were wondering.


FiberFix aims to make duct tape look pathetic


----------



## ScienceRocks

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4-M_7MdvwY&feature=player_embedded]Japanese translation glasses seen as Olympic boon for tourists - YouTube[/ame]

If Star Trek or Hitchhiker&#8217;s Guide to the Galaxy have the right of it, language will be a negligible barrier when fraternizing with aliens. But before worrying about extraterrestrial translators, it might behoove us to work on the terrestrial sort first&#8212;and Japanese telecommunications firm, NTT Docomo, is doing just that.

Using a pair of Vusix smart glasses at the annual Japanese electronics trade show, CEATEC, Docomo unveiled an app that translates written foreign languages and overlays the digital translation on real world documents.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New fingerprint-lifting compound could make life easier for CSIs*


New fingerprint-lifting compound could make life easier for CSIs


> If you regularly watch any police forensics TV shows, then the word "Luminol" is probably already part of your vocabulary. Now, however, you might also want to add the word "Lumicyano." That's the name of a new product that is said to reveal latent fingerprints faster, cheaper and better than other methods.
> 
> Along with good ol' fingerprint powder dusting, one process commonly used by crime scene investigators involves exposing touched objects to the fumes given off by a cyanoacrylate compound &#8211; known to you and I as super-glue. These fumes react with chemicals in the fingerprint oil (which is mainly sweat residue), polymerizing into a white deposit that causes the print to visually stand out from the surface of the object ... ideally, that is.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*We could see a small-scale Hyperloop in about a year*



> There's a new corporation out there, folks. It's called Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, and contrary to what you might believe, Elon Musk had nothing to do with it being formed. Instead, the new corporation is the logical progression of JumpStartFund, the crowdsourcing group announced last month by ex-SpaceX director Marco Villa and past ASCA president Patricia Galloway.
> 
> Since its inception, the crowdsourcing endeavor has been wrangling an impressive list of partners, all of whom are hell-bent on seeing the Hyperloop come into being. One such partner, computer modeling and simulation firm Ansys, has already begun Hyperloop feasibility studies. It is their belief that, thanks to the unique nature of crowdsourcing, we could see a working scale model of the Hyperloop by the beginning of 2015.
> 
> What that means for Elon Musk's vision of an eventual Hyperloop carrying commuters between San Francisco and Los Angeles is up for debate. There's already a high speed rail project underway in California, making the Hyperloop potentially redundant (even if it is a much better idea). There's also been a lot of chatter about other cities wanting a piece of the Hyperloop's action. Wherever it ends up, it looks like Musk's Hyperloop concept might actually turn into something real far sooner than anyone expected.


We could see a small-scale Hyperloop in about a year | DVICE


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
The Touchless V-Switch*

Touchless V-Switch by Vuong Binh Hong ? Kickstarter



> The story: about 7 years ago, I just thought that it is cool to turn on/off the light or door switch without touching the contact especially at the public area such as restroom... I started to experiment with the touchless switch. I chose the infrared technology because it is widely available and least expensive.
> What is the V-Switch?
> The V-Switch is based on the infrared technology. It has one infrared emitter and one infrared receiver. The Receiver receives the infrared ray which is reflected from your hand or some other thing will toggle the switch. This is a simple concept; however, to make the switch reliable, I have to figure out how to avoid the problems arrives from heat, light, temperature, sound noise, Voltage surge...etc. And more important, it must fit into one gang box.
> I have been working for more than seven years try to perfect the V-Switch. I know that there is no such thing as perfect but I have tried to make the switch to work as much as possible what it supposed to do. As of today, I have exhausted of things to make the V-Switch false triggers. Under direct sun light or too close to an infrared source, the user have to use hand to block the sun or light to turn on/off but there is no false trigger. Nobody knows the future, but I am confident that the V-Switch will work very well under indoor conditions.


----------



## ScienceRocks

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOwU2VNej1U]NASA | ABI: The Future of Weather Monitoring - YouTube[/ame]



> Published on Oct 31, 2013
> 
> 
> The Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) is the primary sensor on the new generation GOES satellites, GOES-R. ABI will have 16 spectral bands, which will contribute to a greater number of products and better data quality. ABI will track and monitor cloud formation, atmospheric motion, convection monitoring, land surface temperature, ocean dynamics, flow of water, fire, smoke, volcanic ash plume, aerosols and air quality, as well as vegetation health. With 5 times faster coverage rate and 4 times better spatial resolution ABI is poised to become a true success story, benefitting the public by providing critical data.
> 
> This video is public domain and can be downloaded at: Jump to number 10936
> 
> Like our videos? Subscribe to NASA's Goddard Shorts HD podcast:
> http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/iTunes/f...
> 
> Or find NASA Goddard Space Flight Center on facebook:
> http://www.facebook.com/NASA.GSFC


----


Now this is good stuff and will advance weather forecasting greatly!!!


----------



## ScienceRocks

*SkyRunner car goes off-road and off-ground*




> Back in 2008, we heard about a parasail-equipped dune buggy, known as the Parajet Skycar. It could scramble over rough ground like a true off-roader, but then take to the skies when needed. One epic 6,000-km (3,728-mile) drive/flight from London to Tombouctou later, its creators got some ideas about how the design could be improved. The result is the lighter, better-flying and less-polluting SkyRunner &#8211; and you can order one now


SkyRunner car goes off-road and off-ground

*Toyota to Launch Partially Self Driving cars around 2015 *



> Toyota Motor Corporation announces that it has developed a next-generation advanced driving support system, Automated Highway Driving Assist (AHDA), which uses automated driving technologies to support safer highway driving.
> 
> AHDA links two automated driving technologies to support safer driving and reduce driver workload: Cooperative-adaptive Cruise Control, which wirelessly communicates with preceding vehicles to maintain a safe distance; and Lane Trace Control, which aids steering to keep the vehicle on an optimal driving line within the lane.
> 
> Toyota recognizes the importance of the driver being in ultimate control of a vehicle and is therefore aiming to introduce AHDA and other advanced driving support systems where the driver maintains control and the fun-to-drive aspect of controlling a vehicle is not compromised. Toyota plans to market the newly developed AHDA in the mid-2010s and other driving support systems as soon as possible to provide safe and secure means of transportation.



http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/10/toyota-to-launch-partially-self-driving.html


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Columbia Scientists Produce Cleanest Graphene Contact Ever*


> A research team at Columbia University has figured out a way to bridge the gap between our three-dimensional world and the two-dimensional world of graphene, an alluring but notoriously fickle &#8220;miracle material&#8221; only one atom thick. The finding brings us one step closer to a new generation of smaller, lighter, faster, cheaper, more flexible and more energy efficient computers, solar cells, and other electronic devices.
> 
> Columbia&#8217;s new graphene research, &#8220;One dimensional electrical contact to a two-dimensional material,&#8221; is published in the November 1 edition of Science.
> 
> Making Clean Contact With Graphene
> 
> Graphene is a two-dimensional sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a characteristic chicken wire pattern. Despite its slim nature, it is 200 times stronger than steel.



Read more at Columbia Scientists Produce Cleanest Graphene Contact Ever | CleanTechnica


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Lockheed envisions Mach 6 successor to SR-71 Blackbird*



> Over at the Skunk Works, aircraft designers are hard at work cooking up a hypersonic scion to the legendary SR-71, the superspeedy recon jet of the Cold War.
> 
> The SR-71 Blackbird flew faster than any other production plane ever. Its successor, the SR-72, will go twice as fast.
> 
> That's the big, jawdropping takeaway from Aviation Week's exclusive look at Lockheed Martin's work on the next-generation aircraft. A demonstrator version of the SR-72 could be ready as early as 2018.
> 
> Lockheed told Aviation Week that the goal is for the new aircraft to be seriously hypersonic, blazing across the sky at around Mach 6. The intent, too, is to broaden the mission: The SR-72 would pick up where the Blackbird left off in performing high-altitude intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, but unlike its weaponless predecessor also would -- hypothetically -- be capable of carrying out strikes on targets.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Brain-inspired synaptic transistor learns while it computes*



> (Phys.org) &#8212;It doesn't take a Watson to realize that even the world's best supercomputers are staggeringly inefficient and energy-intensive machines.
> Our brains have upwards of 86 billion neurons, connected by synapses that not only complete myriad logic circuits; they continuously adapt to stimuli, strengthening some connections while weakening others. We call that process learning, and it enables the kind of rapid, highly efficient computational processes that put Siri and Blue Gene to shame.
> 
> Materials scientists at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have now created a new type of transistor that mimics the behavior of a synapse. The novel device simultaneously modulates the flow of information in a circuit and physically adapts to changing signals.



 Read more at: Brain-inspired synaptic transistor learns while it computes


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Gadgets, airplanes, and you: What's up with the FAA rules*



> The FAA now says that it's fine and dandy for airline passengers to use their electronic devices in all phases of flight, including takeoff and landing. Here's how the rule change could affect your future flights.
> Flying will soon be a little more tech-friendly. Gone are the days of flight attendants politely, or not so politely, reminding airline passengers to turn off all electronic devices for takeoff and landing. Imagine using Wi-Fi on your device during the entire flight.
> 
> On Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a long-awaited -- and much hoped for -- ruling that airlines can "safely expand passenger use of Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) during all phases of flight," including during takeoff and landing.


Gadgets, airplanes, and you: What's up with the FAA rules | Cutting Edge - CNET News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*A new topological insulator breaks symmetry, and that's a good thing*



> (Phys.org) &#8212;Scientists working at SLAC, Stanford, Oxford, Berkeley Lab and in Tokyo have discovered a new type of quantum material whose lopsided behavior may lend itself to creating novel electronics.
> 
> The material is called bismuth tellurochloride, or BiTeCl. It belongs to a class of materials called topological insulators that conduct electrical current with perfect efficiency on their surfaces, but not through their middles. Researchers hope to exploit their unusual properties to create "spintronic" devices that use the electron's spin, rather than just its charge, to carry energy and information with 100 percent efficiency and at room temperature.



 Read more at: A new topological insulator breaks symmetry, and that's a good thing


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Photon-plasmon nanowire laser offers new opportunities in light manipulation*


> Recently, researchers have been developing a new type of laser that combines photons and plasmons (electron density oscillations) into a single radiation-emitting device with unique properties. In particular, nanoscale photon-plasmon lasers can emit light that is more tightly confined than the light emitted by lasers that use only photons.



 Read more at: Photon-plasmon nanowire laser offers new opportunities in light manipulation


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Ain't no mountain high enough: Jetman soars near Mt. Fuji*

Ain't no mountain high enough: Jetman soars near Mt. Fuji | Fox News Video


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Nissan's revolutionary trapezoidal BladeGlider Concept defies convention*



> The BladeGlider concept to be shown by Nissan at the Tokyo Motor Show this month will no doubt cause a stir among the general populace for its radical shape, but it just might represent a significant moment in the history of the automobile. When Ben Bowlby conceived the vehicle&#8217;s revolutionary architecture in December 2008, he envisioned a far more efficient automobile than current form factors allow
> 
> The BladeGlider concept to be shown by Nissan at the Tokyo Motor Show this month will no doubt cause a stir among the general populace for its radical shape, but it just might represent a significant moment in the history of the automobile. When Ben Bowlby conceived the vehicle&#8217;s revolutionary architecture in December 2008, he envisioned a far more efficient automobile than current form factors allow.
> 
> Just five years later, the same trapezoid form factor will be the marquee unveiling at one of the most important car shows in the world. The reason it is so important, and yes, revolutionary, is that the Bladeglider (nee ZEOD RC, nee Deltawing) has such a low aerodynamic drag coefficient, that it uses considerably less energy to achieve the same performance as a conventional car using the same powerplant &#8211; maybe as little as half the energy.


.

Nissan's revolutionary trapezoidal BladeGlider Concept defies convention


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Japan PM Abe rides around Tokyo in self-driving vehicles*



> Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took a ride in several self-driving vehicles on the public roads in the capital on Saturday, showcasing the technology ahead of Tokyo Motor Show.
> 
> Abe tried auto-piloting vehicles from Toyota, Honda, and Nissan on the roads around Japan's National Diet Building, as major international automakers compete with likes of Google and other IT firms to develop new types of cars with the goal of helping to reduce accidents by eradicating human error.


 Read more at: Japan PM Abe rides around Tokyo in self-driving vehicles


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New 'invisibility cloak' type designed*



> A new "broadband" invisibility cloak which hides objects over a wide range of frequencies has been devised.
> 
> Despite the hype about Harry Potter-style cloaks, our best current designs can only conceal objects at specific wavelengths of light or microwaves.
> 
> At other frequencies, invisibility cloaks actually make things more visible, not less, US physicists found.
> 
> Their solution is a new ultrathin, electronic system, which they describe in Physical Review Letters.
> 
> Continue reading the main story
> &#8220;
> Start Quote
> If you want to make an object transparent at all angles and over broad bandwidths, this is a good solution&#8221;
> End Quote
> Andrea Alu
> 
> University of Texas
> 
> "Our active cloak is a completely new concept and design, aimed at beating the limits of [current cloaks] and we show that it indeed does," said Prof Andrea Alu, from the University of Texas at Austin.



Nothing's perfect

*Prof David Smith of Duke University, one of the team who created the first cloak in 2006, said the new design was one of the most detailed he had yet seen.*



> "It's an interesting implementation but as presented is probably a bit limited to certain types of objects," he told BBC News.
> 
> "There are limitations even on active materials. It will be interesting to see if it can be experimentally realised."
> 
> Prof Smith points out that even an "imperfect" invisibility cloak might be perfectly sufficient to build useful devices with real-world applications.
> 
> For example, a radio-frequency cloak could improve wireless communications - by helping them bypass obstacles and reducing interference from neighbouring antennas.
> 
> "To most people, making an object 'invisible' means making it transparent to visible wavelengths. And the visible spectrum is a tiny, tiny sliver of the overall electromagnetic spectrum," he told BBC News.



BBC News - New 'invisibility cloak' type designed


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Japanese PM climbs aboard autonomous Nissan Leaf*


> Autonomous cars took to the roads of Tokyo for the first time on Saturday with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as a passenger. The Prime Minister rode on the public roads in the National Diet Front Garden in a Nissan Leaf and autonomous cars built by Honda and Toyota. According to Nissan, Saturday&#8217;s drive was meant to show the Japanese government&#8217;s support for the development of autonomous cars, as was symbolized by the venue located between Japan's parliament and the Imperial Palace.



Japanese PM climbs aboard autonomous Nissan Leaf


----------



## ScienceRocks

*E-volo&#8217;s 18-rotor electric Volocopter makes maiden flight*



> E-volo recently celebrated the maiden launch of its electric two-passenger, 18-rotor VC200 "Volocopter," touting the vehicle's safety and simplicity after an indoor flight inside the dm-arena in Karlsruhe, Germany on November 17. While the copter is similar in form to both quadcopters and helicopters, the company resists the helicopter label, pointing out the numerous radically different safety and design choices that set the vehicle apart.



E-volo?s 18-rotor electric Volocopter makes maiden flight


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New superconductor theory may revolutionize electrical engineering*

9 hours ago by Bill Steele 



> (Phys.org) &#8212;High-temperature superconductors exhibit a frustratingly varied catalog of odd behavior, such as electrons that arrange themselves into stripes or refuse to arrange themselves symmetrically around atoms. Now two physicists propose that such behaviors &#8211; and superconductivity itself &#8211; can all be traced to a single starting point, and they explain why there are so many variations.



 Read more at: New superconductor theory may revolutionize electrical engineering


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Now We Can Predict Where And When Extreme Weather Is Likely To Hit Up To Two Months In Advance*




> Extreme weather, like the insane Colorado flooding in September and the tornadoes that ripped through Illinois in November, is rocking the Midwest.
> 
> Normally we don't have much advanced warning for storms like these, but a new tool from researchers at Utah State University could help predict when this kind of destructive extreme weather is more likely.This weather-predicting index was created by monitoring a specific weather pattern &#8212; a low-level jet stream that interacts with another circumglobal stream &#8212; that makes strong storms and tornadoes form in the Midwest.
> 
> Before any storm can form the water in the air has to rise and condense, said study researcher Robert Davies. Davies hopes the index can be used with climate models to predict which areas should be expecting some extreme weather up to 60 days before they happen.
> 
> The researchers analyzed precipitation data from the past 32 years to create the index.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/this-tool-predicts-extreme-weather-2013-11#ixzz2mpHr7Y8h


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
Cold dis-comfort: Antarctica set record of -135.8*

4 hours ago by Seth Borenstein 



> Feeling chilly? Here's cold comfort: You could be in East Antarctica which new data says set a record for soul-crushing cold
> Try 135.8 degrees Fahrenheit below zero. Better yet, don't. That's so cold scientists say it hurts to breathe.
> 
> A new look at NASA satellite data revealed that Earth set a new record for coldest temperature recorded. It happened in August 2010 when it hit -135.8 degrees. Then on July 31 of this year, it came close again: -135.3 degrees.
> 
> The old record had been -128.6 degrees.
> 
> Ice scientist Ted Scambos at the National Snow and Ice Data Center said the record low temperature is about 50 degrees colder than anything in Alaska.





 Read more at: Cold dis-comfort: Antarctica set record of -135.8


----------



## Mr. H.

Hey Matthew- got any news on the advances in the science of hydraulic fracturing?


----------



## Mr. H.

Oh, I forgot- you engage in the selective science of Liberal Thought. 

My bad.


----------



## ScienceRocks

That would be a energy topics and would go within one of my energy threads.


Likely general energy or advances of it.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Geologists report that risks of big earthquakes may be underestimated*



> (Phys.org) &#8212;Several geologists from around the world are presenting a case for missing or underreported earthquakes at this year's American Geophysical Union Fall meeting being held in San Francisco. They suggest that faulty or missing data from before 1900 might be leading to underestimations of the numbers of big quakes to expect in the future.



 Read more at: Geologists report that risks of big earthquakes may be underestimated


----------



## ScienceRocks

*HEL-MD takes out mortars and UAVs with vehicle-mounted laser *



> High energy laser weapons are a hot area of research with companies including Lockheed Martin, Rheinmetall and Northrop Grumman all developing systems. Boeing is also in the mix with its High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD), which is being put through its paces by the US Army. Between November 18 and December 10, the HEL MD successfully took out mortar rounds and UAVs in flight, marking a first for the vehicle-mounted system.
> 
> The recent tests, which took place at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, followed on from low- and medium-power test demonstrations conducted in 2011. These latest tests were the first full demonstration of the HEL MD in a configuration that included the laser and beam director mounted in the vehicle. A surrogate radar, the Enhanced Multi Mode Radar, provided support by queuing the laser.



HEL-MD takes out mortars and UAVs with vehicle-mounted laser

*Army laser weapon KOs mortar rounds*
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57615550-76/army-laser-weapon-kos-mortar-rounds/


Call it HEL MD on wheels. The Army's truck-mounted High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator shows flying targets that it means business.




> It's another small step on the long march toward laser weapons.
> 
> The US Army said this week that its big, boxy HEL MD system turned in a bang-up performance in its recent shoot-'em-up on the test range. During a three-week run between November 18 and December 10 at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the truck-mounted High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (PDF) successfully engaged more than 90 mortar rounds, along with "several" unmanned aerial vehicles in flight.
> 
> No specifics were given on what exactly constitutes a successful engagement, but judging by various earlier tests of laser weapons prototypes, HEL MD's beam likely scorched a hole in the side of its targets and disrupted their trajectories, perhaps even causing them to explode in the air.


----------



## armada

this is very interesting and informative thread thank you Mathew and please keep posting.... great scientific work of white man 

thank you and God bless you with man for making our life easy and comfortable


----------



## ScienceRocks

Thanks 

*Home-made laser rifle laughs at your puny pointer*



> German laser weapons hobbyist Patrick Priebe, the creator of such one-off curiosities as the Iron Man Gauntlet and the Crysis 2-inspired Gauss Rifle, has now gone and made a laser rifle. While it won't bring down a storm trooper or an alien facehugger, it'll make short work of things like wood, Styrofoam and glass.
> 
> The mostly aluminum-bodied 12-lb (5.4-kg) rifle incorporates a 7-watt infrared burning laser, along with a 2-milliwatt red aiming laser. Power comes from an 18-volt rechargeable battery pack converted to run at 12,000 volts, while a 12-volt pump circulates one liter of distilled water to help keep things cool. An LCD screen indicates when the temperature of that water is getting too high (28ºC/82ºF), at which point the gun has to stop shooting things for a while.



Home-made laser rifle laughs at your puny pointer

I am thinking with todays tech we'd probably be able to make a laser as effective as a 22 hand gun with a backpack of telsa batteries.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Invisibility gun uses a beam of darkness to make objects vanish from sight*



> Researchers at the National University of Singapore have built a beam of darkness that can make objects invisible from a long distance away. This isn&#8217;t the plot from some not-so-distant sci-fi movie: It really works. The beam of darkness can create a 3D region of invisibility &#8212; or &#8220;empty light capsule&#8221; as the researchers call it &#8212; that can hide macroscopic objects.
> 
> The darkness beam, developed by Chao Wan and fellow researchers in Singapore, creates invisibility in a fundamentally different way to the invisibility cloaks that we usually cover on ExtremeTech. For the most part, the bleeding edge of invisibility cloak tech consists of a metamaterial enclosure that bends radiation (microwaves, not light) around an object. If we could build large, flexible, and lightweight invisibility cloaks of metamaterials, that&#8217;d be cool &#8212; but sadly, we&#8217;re years and years away from such an invention. For now, metamaterial invisibility cloaks are mostly limited to a single dimension and a narrow range of radiation frequencies &#8212; and, as we&#8217;ve covered before, due to the cloak&#8217;s clunky physical dimensions, most of these cloaks actually increase the RF footprint of an object due to scattering of radiation that isn&#8217;t picked up by the metamaterial.


Invisibility gun uses a beam of darkness to make objects vanish from sight | ExtremeTech


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers design first battery-powered invisibility cloak*

2 minutes ago 



> Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have proposed the first design of a cloaking device that uses an external source of energy to significantly broaden its bandwidth of operation. Andrea Alù, associate professor at the Cockrell School of Engineering, and his team have proposed a design for an active cloak that draws energy from a battery, allowing objects to become undetectable to radio sensors over a greater range of frequencies.



 Read more at: Researchers design first battery-powered invisibility cloak


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Hypersonic airplanes get new design*



> International flights take forever. Just for a "quick" jaunt to Europe, you&#8217;re looking at sitting on an airplane for at least six hours. The experience is always miserable, unless you&#8217;re lucky enough to get upgraded to first class (or have the dollars to pay for it). Now imagine if that trip only took an hour or two. If hypersonic airplanes can be realized, you could fly from New York to Beijing in just two hours, taking advantage of a new design from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.



Hypersonic airplanes get new design | DVICE


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Battery helps this invisibility cloak work*



> WASHINGTON: Scientists have designed an 'invisibility cloak' that draws energy from a battery, allowing objects to become undetectable to radio sensors over a greater range of frequencies.
> 
> Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have proposed the first design of a cloaking device that uses an external source of energy to significantly broaden its bandwidth of operation.
> 
> The proposed active cloak will have a number of applications beyond camouflaging, such as improving cellular and radio communications, and biomedical sensing.
> 
> Cloaks have so far been realised with so-called passive technology, which means that they are not designed to draw energy from an external source.



Battery helps this invisibility cloak work - The Times of India


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Mixing It Up 50,000 Years Ago &#8212; Who Slept With Whom?*




> In a remote cave in Siberia, scientists have found a 50,000-year-old bone from a toe that tells a story about life &#8212; and love &#8212; among some of the earliest humans.
> 
> They did it by analyzing DNA from that bone.
> 
> Back in 2010, scientists stunned the world by retrieving recognizable DNA from a Neanderthal bone that was tens of thousands of years old. They compared it with modern human DNA, and &#8212; what do you know? There's some Neanderthal DNA in many of us. Apparently, we Homo sapiens occasionally interbred with our primitive cousins.
> 
> Since then, the plot has thickened.
> 
> Scientists subsequently found a finger bone from a place called the Denisova Cave, in Siberia. They thought: Neanderthal. But no, it wasn't Neanderthal. Nor was it from a modern human, H. sapien. It was from some previously unknown but close relative. The scientists called them the Denisovans, a third kind of early human, whose DNA had been analyzed. And we know almost nothing about them.
> 
> So now comes yet another bone fossil &#8212; a toe from the same cave. It's from a female Neanderthal this time. And all the DNA is still there. It shows that her ancestors also interbred with Denisovans.



Mixing It Up 50,000 Years Ago ? Who Slept With Whom? : Shots - Health News : NPR


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Neanderthals could speak, according to a new study.*



> An international team of researchers has found evidence that Neanderthals, like modern humans, had the ability to speak.
> 
> By analyzing a fossilized Neanderthal hyoid bone&#8211;a horseshoe-shaped bone in the neck that&#8217;s crucial for speech&#8211;Stephen Wroe of the University of New England in New South Wales, Australia, and his colleagues were able to determine how the structure worked in these early humans.
> 
> The findings are &#8220;highly suggestive&#8221; of complex speech in Neanderthals, the team wrote in a paper published in the journal Plos One.
> 
> The hyoid bone is critical for speech as it supports the root of the tongue. Non-human primates are incapable of vocalizing like humans because their hyoid bones aren&#8217;t in the right position.
> 
> The team analyzed the Neanderthal hyoid bone using computer modeling and 3D Xray imaging. This allowed the researchers to see how the hyoid behaved in relation to the other surrounding bones.
> 
> &#8220;We would argue that this is a very significant step forward,&#8221; Wroe told BBC News. &#8220;It shows that the Kebara 2 hyoid doesn&#8217;t just look like those of modern humans&#8211;it was used in a very similar way.&#8221;
> 
> Wroe said the findings not only alters our understanding of Neanderthals, but of ourselves as well.




Read more: Neanderthals capable of complex speech, new study suggests | Science Recorder


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Cellulose nanocrystals possible 'green' wonder material*



> WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The same tiny cellulose crystals that give trees and plants their high strength, light weight and resilience, have now been shown to have the stiffness of steel.
> 
> The nanocrystals might be used to create a new class of biomaterials with wide-ranging applications, such as strengthening construction materials and automotive components.
> 
> Calculations using precise models based on the atomic structure of cellulose show the crystals have a stiffness of 206 gigapascals, which is comparable to steel, said Pablo D. Zavattieri, a Purdue University assistant professor of civil engineering.
> 
> "This is a material that is showing really amazing properties," he said. "It is abundant, renewable and produced as waste in the paper industry."
> 
> Findings are detailed in a research paper featured on the cover of the December issue of the journal Cellulose.
> 
> "It is very difficult to measure the properties of these crystals experimentally because they are really tiny," Zavattieri said. "For the first time, we predicted their properties using quantum mechanics."
> 
> The nanocrystals are about 3 nanometers wide by 500 nanometers long - or about 1/1,000th the width of a grain of sand - making them too small to study with light microscopes and difficult to measure with laboratory instruments.



Cellulose nanocrystals possible 'green' wonder material


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Genetic discovery points the way to much bigger yields in tomato, other flowering food plants*



> Every gardener knows the look of a ripe tomato. That bright red color, that warm earthy smell, and the sweet juicy flavor are hard to resist. But commercial tomato plants have a very different look from the backyard garden variety, which can grow endlessly under the right conditions to become tall and lanky. Tomatoes that will be canned for sauces and juice are harvested from plants that stop growing earlier than classic tomato varieties, and are therefore more like bushes. While the architecture of these compact bushy plants allows mechanical harvesters to reap the crop, the early end of growth means that each plant produces fewer fruits than their home garden cousins.



 Read more at: Genetic discovery points the way to much bigger yields in tomato, other flowering food plants


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Bomb radiocarbon dating reveals white sharks can live 70 years and longer*



> Sharks&#8217; ages are usually estimated by counting the alternating opaque and translucent band pairs deposited in succession in their vertebrae.
> A January 8 news release from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration&#8217;s Northeast Fisheries Science Center announced the latest finding that adult great white sharks may live 70 years or longer, based on the results of a study that determined age estimates for great whites in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean by using radiocarbon dating.
> 
> Akin to measuring the rings on trees to determine age, sharks&#8217; ages are usually estimated by counting the alternating opaque and translucent band pairs deposited in succession in their vertebrae.  Scientists do not know if these band pairs deposit on the animals&#8217; vertebrae annually, so accurately estimating the age of sharks or speculating on the lifespan of individual species is a major challenge for scientists.



Bomb radiocarbon dating reveals white sharks can live 70 years and longer | Science Recorder


----------



## ScienceRocks

*True colors of ancient sea monsters revealed*



> The analyzed fossils are comprised of skeletal remains, in addition to dark skin patches holding masses of micrometer-sized, oblate bodies.
> According to a January 8 news release from Lund University, scientists at SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden and MAX IV Laboratory have analyzed pigment preserved in the fossilized skin of a 55 million-year-old leatherback turtle, an 85 million-year-old mosasaur, and a 196-190 million-year-old ichthyosaur.  The result?  The study scientists determined for the first time the color scheme of any extinct marine mammal.
> 
> &#8220;This is fantastic!  When I started studying at Lund University in 1993, the film Jurassic Park had just been released, and that was one of the main reasons why I got interested in biology and palaeontology.  Then, 20 years ago, it was unthinkable that we would ever find biological remains from animals that have been extinct for many millions of years, but now we are there and I am proud to be a part of it,&#8221; said Johan Lindgren, a scientist at Lund University, and leader of the international research team that studied the fossils.



True colors of ancient sea monsters revealed | Science Recorder


----------



## ScienceRocks

*AT Transformer roadable VTOL aircraft*

AT Transformer roadable VTOL aircraft



> When someone mentions flying cars it conjures up images of a sporty little number that takes to the air like something out of the Jetsons. But what about one that&#8217;s a cross between a 4x4, an octocopter, and a blackhawk helicopter? That&#8217;s what Advanced Tactics of El Segundo, California is seeing with its ambitions to produce a roadable VTOL aircraft capable of unmanned autonomous operations as a more flexible way to recover casualties, move supplies, and support special forces.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Carbon nanotube sponge shows improved water clean-up*



> 9 hours ago
> 
> A carbon nanotube sponge capable of soaking up water contaminants, such as fertilisers, pesticides and pharmaceuticals, more than three times more efficiently than previous efforts has been presented in a new study published today.
> 
> The carbon nanotube (CNT) sponges, uniquely doped with sulphur, also demonstrated a high capacity to absorb oil, potentially opening up the possibility of using the material in industrial accidents and oil spill clean-ups.
> 
> The results have been published today, 17 January, in IOP Publishing's journal Nanotechnology.




Carbon nanotube sponge shows improved water clean-up


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Carbon nanotubes used to create a flame-retardant coating for furniture*


> Your furniture could kill you. According to the US National Fire Protection Association, nearly 20 percent of home fire deaths between 2006 and 2010 occurred in fires where upholstered furniture was the first item to ignite. It's actually not so much the exterior fabric that burns, as it is the foam beneath it. With that in mind, scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have used carbon nanotubes to create a coating for that foam, that reduces its flammability by 35 percent.
> 
> The coating was made by inserting a layer of the heat-dissipating nanotubes between two layers of polymer, then stacking four of those three-layer sandwiches to form one sheet. Despite the fact that it's made up of a total of 12 layers, that sheet has a thickness of less than one-hundredth the diameter of human hair.



Carbon nanotubes used to create a flame-retardant coating for furniture


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Natural 3D counterpart to graphene discovered*



> The discovery of what is essentially a 3D version of graphene -- the 2D sheets of carbon through which electrons race at many times the speed at which they move through silicon -- promises exciting new things to come for the high-tech industry, including much faster transistors and far more compact hard drives. A collaboration of researchers at the U.S Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has discovered that sodium bismuthate can exist as a form of quantum matter called a three-dimensional topological Dirac semi-metal (3DTDS). This is the first experimental confirmation of 3D Dirac fermions in the interior or bulk of a material, a novel state that was only recently proposed by theorists. "A 3DTDS is a natural three-dimensional counterpart to graphene with similar or even better electron mobility and velocity," says Yulin Chen, a physicist with Berkeley Lab's Advanced Light Source (ALS) when he initiated the study that led to this discovery, and now with the University of Oxford. "Because of its 3D Dirac fermions in the bulk, a 3DTDS also features intriguing non-saturating linear magnetoresistance that can be orders of magnitude higher than the materials now used in hard drives, and it opens the door to more efficient optical sensors."


Natural 3D counterpart to graphene discovered | e! Science News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Respirator concept could give you your own set of gills*


> The ocean has been described as our world's final frontier. For everything we know about the vast blue expanse that covers 71 percent of our globe, far more remains uncovered. As you probably know, humans don't breathe so well when you take away our oxygen. A new concept straight out of James Bond's bag of tricks aims to correct this evolutionary oversight.
> 
> Aptly called the Triton, this diminutive respirator is designed to offer you an indefinite stay under the waves &#8212; er, and alive. All you have to do is bite down on the mouth piece and breathe and oxygen will fill your lungs, even though you're not carrying a tank of the stuff on your back. The Triton actually functions just like your own set of gills, stripping oxygen from the water around you.
> 
> Based on a technology developed by a yet-unnamed Korean scientist, the Triton employs a filter made up of threads woven together too tightly for whole water molecules to pass through. A powerful micro compressor pulls oxygen through the filter, storing it in a small breath-sized tank. The only limit to your stay under the waves is how long the next-gen battery that powers the compressor can keep your gills working.
> 
> Supposedly, the battery in question is 30 times more compact than current off-the-shelf tech and can also charge 1,000 times faster. That, along with a couple other details of the Triton Respirator, sounds a bit fishy, but if this concept makes it through to testing, we'd love to take the plunge.




Respirator concept could give you your own set of gills | DVICE


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Vertical farms sprouting all over the world*


> URBAN warehouses, derelict buildings and high-rises are the last places you'd expect to find the seeds of a green revolution. But from Singapore to Scranton, Pennsylvania, "vertical farms" are promising a new, environmentally friendly way to feed the rapidly swelling populations of cities worldwide.
> 
> In March, the world's largest vertical farm is set to open up shop in Scranton. Built by Green Spirit Farms (GSF) of New Buffalo, Michigan, it will only be a single storey covering 3.25 hectares, but with racks stacked six high it will house 17 million plants. And it is just one of a growing number.
> 
> Vertical farms aim to avoid the problems inherent in growing food crops in drought-and-disease-prone fields many hundreds of kilometres from the population centres in which they will be consumed. Instead, Dickson Despommier &#8211; an ecologist at Columbia University in New York City who has championed vertical farms since 1999 &#8211; suggests that food should be grown year-round in high-rise urban buildings, reducing the need for the carbon-emitting transport of fruit and vegetables.
> 
> The plant racks in a vertical farm can be fed nutrients by water-conserving, soil-free hydroponic systems and lit by LEDs that mimic sunlight. And they need not be difficult to manage: control software can choreograph rotating racks of plants so each gets the same amount of light, and direct water pumps to ensure nutrients are evenly distributed.



Vertical farms sprouting all over the world - tech - 16 January 2014 - New Scientist


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists turn table salt into forbidden compounds that violate textbook rules*


> In the field of exotic new materials, we've examined one of the strongest  ones and another declared to be impossible; scientists now report creating "forbidden" materials out of ordinary table salt that violate classical rules of chemistry. Not only does the development challenge the theoretical foundation of chemistry, but it is also expected to lead to the discovery of new exotic chemical compounds with practical uses and shed light on the deep interiors of planets.
> 
> The international team of researchers led by Artem R. Oganov, a Professor of Crystallography at Stony Brook University, predicted that taking table salt and subjecting it to high pressure in the presence of an excess of one of its constituents (either chlorine or sodium) would lead to the formation of totally unexpected compounds. In spite of salt being one of the most thoroughly studied chemical compounds out there, the researchers predicted the formation of compounds forbidden by classical chemistry, such as Na3Cl and NaCl3. Their predictions were proven by subsequent experiments.



Scientists turn table salt into forbidden compounds that violate textbook rules


----------



## ScienceRocks

> In December of 2011 Superconductors.ORG announced the discovery of the first true room-temperature superconductor - a senary oxycuprate with transition temperature near 28.5 Celsius. Shortly after that Dr. Thom Mason, Director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, viewed the data graphs of this discovery online and called them "tantalizing hints" of room-temperature superconductivity. Now O.R.N.L. SQUID tests have confirmed a diamagnetic transition is occuring at 28.5C.
> 
> Samples of the compound (Tl5Pb2)Ba2Mg2Cu9O17+ were delivered to Oak Ridge Labs on December 18, 2013, and tests were performed using a commercial SQUID magnetometer. Magnetization tests ranged from 250K to 350K with two different test criteria. Magnetic susceptibility was first measured with an applied magnetic field of 20 Gauss (red dots). This produced considerable scattering of the data points. Then another test was done with a higher applied magnetic field of 1 Tesla (blue dots). This produced a nearly straight line with much less scatter (see plot upper left). Readings were taken every 0.5K and the bulk material characterized as a "weak paramagnet" overall. However within the blue line representing the 1 Tesla data points was a visible negative shift near 302K, indicating a small diamagnetic component at 28.5 Celsius.



Oak Ridge National Lab provides a partial confirmation of one of Joe Ecks Room Temperature Superconductors


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Beyond the Moore's Law: Nanocomputing using nanowire tiles*



> An interdisciplinary team of scientists and engineers from The MITRE Corporation and Harvard University have taken key steps toward ultra-small electronic computer systems that push beyond the imminent end of Moore's Law, which states that the device density and overall processing power for computers will double every two to three years. In a paper that will appear this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team describes how they designed and assembled, from the bottom up, a functioning, ultra-tiny control computer that is the densest nanoelectronic system ever built.
> 
> The ultra-small, ultra-low-power control processor&#8212;termed a nanoelectronic finite-state machine or "nanoFSM"&#8212;is smaller than a human nerve cell. It is composed of hundreds of nanowire transistors, each of which is a switch about ten-thousand times thinner than a human hair. The nanowire transistors use very little power because they are "nonvolatile." That is, the switches remember whether they are on or off, even when no power is supplied to them.



Beyond the Moore's Law: Nanocomputing using nanowire tiles


----------



## ScienceRocks

3-d wikipedia


----------



## longknife

*Here Comes Hated Monsanto Again!*

Monsantos Newest Veggies Are High-Tech  But They Arent GMO
By Carl Engelking | January 28, 2014








> You may soon be seeing on your local grocery stores shelves some exotic-sounding new fruits and veggies created by Monsanto. Theres the onion that wont make you cry, the better-for-you broccoli, and the melon that wont spoil when its ripe. But these arent the genetically-modified plants Monsanto has made its name on. Instead, biologists there are taking a high-tech approach to a very ancient kind of crop modification: crossbreeding.



Read more of this truly alarming news @ Monsanto's Newest Veggies Are High-Tech ? But They Aren't GMO - D-brief | DiscoverMagazine.com

Are the environmentalists going to go nuts of this too?


----------



## ScienceRocks

I have no problem with improving our food. Humans been doing it for hundreds of thousands of years.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*The Turkish Prime Minister spoke as a hologram*

The Turkish Prime Minister spoke as a hologram | DVICE



> A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, Princess Leia stepped out as a hologram, setting the stage for the Turkish Prime Minister to do the same years later. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister of Turkey, attended a meeting in Izmir. That, in and of itself, shouldn&#8217;t be particularly surprising. Izmir is, after all, the third largest city in Turkey. What is surprising is that the PM attended said meeting as a hologram. Holographic technology has made major strides since the release of A New Hope.
> 
> HoloVision promises to bring life-sized holographic representations of real people into your very living room.Holho makes a tablet a holographic projection device. And interactive holographs are becoming the norm in some regions of the world. It's no longer science fiction to imagine a world in which holograms are part of our daily lives, and they do more than give us a chance to continuously reference Princess Leia in DVICE articles.
> 
> Holographs allow for a future in which a political leader can attend a meeting in a city he can&#8217;t reach. It allows for said political leader to address his congregation. In Turkey, the Prime Minster addressed the ruling Justice and Development Party, to deliver the following message: "We are going to the elections in the shadow of attacks prepared by treasonous networks. I urge all my mayoral candidates to not waste any of their time."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Forget ink: this printer uses water*


> Office waste is a part of doing business. Although our world has become increasingly digital, paper copies of documents are still often used for reasons that nobody entirely understands. It's incredibly wasteful: about 40 percent of these documents end up being tossed into the trashcan shortly after being read. Also, the ink to print those documents isn&#8217;t cheap. A group of chemists from Jilin University in China, though, have a solution: they invented a printer that uses water instead of ink and paper that becomes blank again after 22 hours, making it 100 percent re-usable.
> 
> The most important element of this invention is the paper: it comes pre-treated with an invisible dye called oxazolidine that reacts to the water from the printer, creating a clear print that lasts for about a day. After that, the print slowly fades and becomes clear again, making it capable of being used as many times as needed. The only necessary component to make that happen is a temperature below 95 degrees Fahrenheit. The printer works like a standard inkjet, but instead of having to purchase a costly cartridge when it gets low, you just fill up its cartridges with water using a syringe.



Forget ink: this printer uses water | DVICE


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Expanding the range of nature's catalysts for industrial applications*


*Researchers time plasmon-generated electrons moving from nanorods to graphene*
5 hours ago 



> To make paper, manufacturers must break down cellulose (chunks of wood pulp), a process that currently requires large amounts of energy and toxic chemicals like chlorine. Nature performs the same task using enzymes, non-toxic biodegradable proteins that accelerate chemical reactions using far less energy. The catch is that the enzymes required for the job, in this case xylanases, don't hold up to the high temperatures of the manufacturing process. This is only one of many examples of how the limitations of enzymes hamper the development of elegant solutions in the manufacture of everything from medicine to detergents.
> 
> "So the question is: can we improve on nature?" said George Makhatadze, a chaired professor in the Biocomputation and Bioinformatics research constellation, professor of biological sciences, and member of the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. "Can we take an existing protein and, using computation, redesign it to withstand higher temperatures?"



Expanding the range of nature's catalysts for industrial applications




> (Phys.org) &#8212;Plasmonic nanoparticles developed at Rice University are becoming known for their ability to turn light into heat, but how to use them to generate electricity is not nearly as well understood.
> 
> Scientists at Rice are working on that, too. They suggest that the extraction of electrons generated by surface plasmons in metal nanoparticles may be optimized.
> 
> Rice researchers led by chemist Stephan Link and graduate student Anneli Hoggard are endeavoring to understand the physics; they started by measuring the speed and efficiency of excited "hot" electrons drawn from gold nanoparticles into a sheet of graphene.



http://phys.org/news/2014-01-plasmon-generated-electrons-nanorods-graphene.html


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
First graphene radio broadcast is a wireless wonder*
22:55 30 January 2014 by Paul Marks
First graphene radio broadcast is a wireless wonder - tech - 30 January 2014 - New Scientist



> Three letters beamed across a lab bench may spark a revolution in wireless communication. The seemingly simple transmission of "IBM" was received by the first working radio chip to be made from the modern wonder material, graphene &#8211; sheets of carbon, each just one atom thick.
> 
> Graphene, with its flat, hexagonal lattice, was first isolated a decade ago. It won its discoverers a Nobel prize in physics, in part because its high electrical and thermal conductivity led to broad predictions that it would completely replace silicon transistors, the key component in many electronics. This latest achievement shows that analogue circuits such as radios can indeed make use of the material, potentially leading to cheaper, more efficient wireless devices.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Many lasers become one in Lockheed Martin's 30 kW fiber laser*



> In another step forward for laser weapons that brings to mind the Death Star's superlaser, Lockheed Martin has demonstrated a 30-kilowatt fiber laser produced by combining many lasers into a single beam of light. According to the company, this is the highest power laser yet that was still able to maintain beam quality and electrical efficiency, paving the way for a laser weapon system suitable, if not for a Death Star, for a wide range of air, land and sea military platforms.
> 
> The test was the culmination of an internally-funded research and development program based around a process that the company calls Spectrum Beam Combining. Though laser weapons have been successfully tested in the past, Lockheed says that even though such systems could acquire, track, and destroy targets, they lack practicality as a tactical weapon because the inefficient nature of the lasers resulted in them being too large, needing too much power, and being difficult to cool.
> 
> Spectrum Beam Combining seeks to overcome these deficiencies by means of fiber laser modules. Fiber lasers are lasers where the active gain medium consists of an optical fiber doped with a rare-earth element, such as erbium, ytterbium, neodymium, or others. The optical fibers are flexible, so the laser can be thousands of meters long for greater gain, yet takes up very little space because it can be coiled like a rope, and the large surface to volume ratio means that it's easy to cool. In addition, fiber laser are very durable and project a high-quality beam.



Many lasers become one in Lockheed Martin's 30 kW fiber laser


----------



## realinvestment

Matthew said:


> *
> First graphene radio broadcast is a wireless wonder*
> 22:55 30 January 2014 by Paul Marks
> First graphene radio broadcast is a wireless wonder - tech - 30 January 2014 - New Scientist
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Three letters beamed across a lab bench may spark a revolution in wireless communication. The seemingly simple transmission of "IBM" was received by the first working radio chip to be made from the modern wonder material, graphene  sheets of carbon, each just one atom thick.
> 
> Graphene, with its flat, hexagonal lattice, was first isolated a decade ago. It won its discoverers a Nobel prize in physics, in part because its high electrical and thermal conductivity led to broad predictions that it would completely replace silicon transistors, the key component in many electronics. This latest achievement shows that analogue circuits such as radios can indeed make use of the material, potentially leading to cheaper, more efficient wireless devices.
Click to expand...


Graphene is also being implemented in desalination, the new filters use considerably less energy than previous designs that required 800 psi to operate.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists Create Synthetic Dirac Monopole*



> For the first time ever, physicists have created and photographed synthetic magnetic monopoles by engineering an environment that mimics a monopole&#8217;s magnetic field in a cloud of rubidium atoms.
> 
> In 1931, the English theoretical physicist Prof Paul Dirac predicted that the north and south poles of a magnet could exist independently and behave like electric charges.
> 
> Despite experimental searches since then no observation of a naturally-occurring magnetic monopole &#8211; a magnetic particle possessing only a single, isolated pole &#8211; has yet been confirmed.
> 
> In 2009, Finnish researchers published theoretical results demonstrating a method to create Dirac monopoles in a Bose&#8211;Einstein condensate, an extremely cold atomic gas tens of billionths of a degree warmer than absolute zero.




Scientists Create Synthetic Dirac Monopole | Physics | Sci-News.com


----------



## waltky

Uncle Ferd wonderin' if dey can use it to make an artificial woman?...

*Scientists Build Artificial Chromosome*
_March 27, 2014 ~ In what is being called a major step forward in genetic engineering, scientists have built a customized copy of an entire yeast chromosome._


> Experts say it may lead to a better understanding of how the thousands of genes contained in these packages of genetic material work together in everything from yeast to humans.  And it may make it easier to make designer yeast, creating living factories that churn out everything from antibiotics to biofuels.  Geneticist Jef Boeke says it started with a coffee shop conversation with a colleague.  I mentioned casually to him that, of course we could make the yeast chromosome if we wanted to, but why on Earth would we want to do that? And he practically literally started jumping up and down with excitement when I told him that, he said.  So Boeke, the colleague, Srinivasan Chandrasegaran and a third partner, Joel Bader, spent the next year discussing how they could engineer the chromosome to make it worth the enormous investment of time and money it would take.  Working at Johns Hopkins University, they decided to create an artificial version of chromosome III, one of the smallest of yeasts 16 chromosomes. It carries about 100 genes.  Boeke says scientists have studied it for years, adding It is the sentimental favorite of yeast geneticists.
> 
> Block by block
> 
> Boeke and his colleagues recreated their favorite chromosome, gene by gene, with synthetic chemical building blocks.  They included molecular seams, so they could cut the chromosome apart, take some genes out, add others, rearrange them and stitch it back together in ways that would help them understand how different combinations of genes work together.  Since yeast genes are a lot like ours, Boeke says the research could lead to a better understanding of human genetics.  And perhaps most interesting of all, we think it will be useful for actually improving the strain under certain conditions of growth or production of some useful product, he said.  Different strains of yeast are already used to produce antibiotics, antimalarial drugs, vaccines, biofuels and much more. The ability to custom-tailor chromosomes could give the biotech industry a boost.  And Boeke says the same process his group used to build a new yeast chromosome could be used in plants and animals and even humans as well.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The 46 human chromosomes, where DNA resides and does its work.
> 
> Ethical issues
> 
> Boeke, now at New York University, says they are all aware of the ethical issues that possibility raises.  We have a card-carrying bioethicist who is part of our team, he pointed out, adding, And we think a lot about these things.  In fact, our whole field is infused with a passion for doing the right thing.  He says every member working on the project has to sign an agreement not to do what he calls bad things with it.  Experts note that this is not the first time researchers have built a big chunk of genome from scratch.  A group at the J. Craig Venter Institute synthesized an entire bacterial genome in 2008.
> 
> Paying for research
> 
> Ventners group was funded entirely with private money.  Boekes group relied on a single, relatively small government grant.  Virginia Tech professor Jean Peccoud notes that undergraduate students did much of the actual work.  There is a lot of significance in terms of engaging students and using a research project like this as a training opportunity," he said. "But in terms of the kind of infrastructure and the kind of intensity you need for a project like this, is it really something that is fundable through public sources, or is it something that is going to be in the hands of commercial interests?  Peccoud notes that Craig Venter also used private money to sequence the human genome faster than the publically-funded project.  Meanwhile, researchers have 15 more chromosomes to build in order to reach their goal of constructing an entirely custom-made yeast genome.  The work appears in the journal Science.
> 
> Scientists Build Artificial Chromosome


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Global breakthrough: Irish scientists discover how to mass produce wonder material graphene*

Global breakthrough: Irish scientists discover how to mass produce ?wonder material? graphene


These single-atom thick sheets of carbon made from graphite could potentially revolutionise many parts of our lives.



> RESEARCHERS IN DUBLIN have achieved a breakthrough in the production of wonder material graphene.
> 
> Scientists at the AMBER, a materials science centre at Trinity College Dublin and funded by Science Foundation Ireland, have discovered a way to produce the material in industrial quantities.
> 
> The substance is one the strongest known with a section 1mm thick being 200 times stronger than steel and a superconductor of electricity more than 1000 times more effective than copper.
> 
> Its also 97.3 per cent transparent and extremely bendable.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
China Takes Lead in Carbon Nanotubes & Graphene*

China Takes Lead in Carbon Nanotubes & Graphene | EE Times




> PORTLAND, Ore. -- China has taken the lead in carbon nanotube and graphene research and manufacturing, according to Lux Research of Boston, by adding to a global glut market, driving down prices, eroding margins, and likely causing an early shakeout in the fledgling industry.
> 
> Lux Research Analyst Zhun Ma, lead author of the recently released report entitled "Fishing for Carbon Gems in a Vast Sea of Oversupply: Assessing China's Carbon Nanotube and Graphene Landscape," tells EE Times:
> Lux forecasts that the global graphene nanoplatlet and carbon nanotube demand in 2018 stands at 1,520 tons and 2,016 tons, respectively. However, China alone will be enough to feed total global graphene nanoplatlet demand until 2016. Similarly, aggregate current capacity of Chinese carbon nanotube suppliers can meet forecasted global demand until 2015. We believe the prices of graphene nanoplatlets and carbon nanotubes will continue to drop down once capacity and utilization climb, and the aggressive capacity expansion of Chinese companies will squeeze the profit margins of both nanomaterials.




China is serious about becoming a great power.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Yeah, men are so stupid even through we created 80%+ of all science and math. Some really stupid people post on this board.

The weird thing is as they push more women into science and math = less advancement of those fields. Do some research and you will see the last decade has really sucked!


----------



## ScienceRocks

> The Neanderthal extinction may have led to the rise of early humans, but it was not a lack of wits that lead to the change.
> 
> In a new study, published in the journal PLOS One, two researchers found that Neanderthals likely had the same mental aptitude for hunting, language and culture as did the early humans that followed them.
> 
> Wil Roebroeks, an archaeologist at Leiden University in the Netherlands, told Al Jazeera the study disproves a common stereotype that Neanderthals were not intelligent compared to humans that came later.



Neanderthals Not Deserving of Cognitively Inferior Stereotype, New Study Finds : Science : University Herald


----------



## ScienceRocks

*2D self-assembling semiconductor could beat out graphene *



> Graphene may be talked about as the future wonder material (and for that matter, the present one), but it has one critical deficiency. It lacks a natural bandgap, the physical trait that puts the &#8220;semi&#8221; in &#8220;semiconductor," so it has to be doped to become effective. Enter Ni3(2,3,6,7,10,11-hexaiminotriphenylene)2 ... well, you can refer to it as a metal-organic graphene analogue for now. In addition to having a natural band gap, it&#8217;s able to self-assemble and represents a whole family of compounds that&#8217;s exciting to researchers for its novel properties.
> 
> Nickel (the metal) and HITP (the organic compound) are represented in the diagram at the top of the page, with nickel colored in green, amino groups in purple, and carbon rings in grey. The amino groups in the carbon rings are attracted to the nickel, and because of the symmetry and geometry in HITP, the overall organometallic complex almost has a fractal nature that allows this new semiconductor to self-organize perfectly. A band gap is created in the &#8220;hole&#8221; where electrons aren&#8217;t, a space that's just about 2 nm across.





2D self-assembling semiconductor could beat out graphene


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Boffins confirm super-heavy Element 117 does exist &#8211; albeit briefly*

It may be time to update the periodic table



> Scientists at Germany's GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research have successfully recreated a new type of element, paving the way for its admission into the periodic table.
> 
> "This is an important scientific result and a compelling example of international cooperation in science, advancing superheavy element research by leveraging the special capabilities of national laboratories in Germany and the US," said Oak Ridge National Laboratory director Thom Mason in a statement.




Boffins confirm super-heavy Element 117 does exist ? albeit briefly ? The Register


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists watch high-temperature superconductivity emerge out of magnetism*



> (Phys.org) &#8212;Scientists at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have shown for the first time how high-temperature superconductivity emerges out of magnetism in an iron pnictide, a class of materials with great potential for making devices that conduct electricity with 100 percent efficiency



 Read more at: Scientists watch high-temperature superconductivity emerge out of magnetism


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Proving uncertainty: First rigorous formulation supporting Heisenberg's famous 1927 principle*



> Nearly 90 years after Werner Heisenberg pioneered his uncertainty principle, a group of researchers from three countries has provided substantial new insight into this fundamental tenet of quantum physics with the first rigorous formulation supporting the uncertainty principle as Heisenberg envisioned it.



 Read more at: Proving uncertainty: First rigorous formulation supporting Heisenberg's famous 1927 principle


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Physics students devise concept for Star Wars-style deflector shields*


> If you have often imagined yourself piloting your X-Wing fighter on an attack run on the Death Star, you'll be reassured that University of Leicester students have demonstrated that your shields could take whatever the Imperial fleet can throw at you.


 Read more at: Physics students devise concept for Star Wars-style deflector shields


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists overcome fundamental atom laser limit to build brightest atom laser to date*



> (Phys.org) &#8212;In an atom laser, millions of individual atoms propagate through space with minimal spreading, just like photons propagate in a coherent photon laser beam. Although both types of lasers are similar, atom lasers are still in the early stages of research with much work to be done before they can be used for applications, which may include atom lithography, atom interferometry, and magnetometry (measuring magnetic fields).



 Read more at: Scientists overcome fundamental atom laser limit to build brightest atom laser to date


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists create world's first acoustic tractor beam*



> The idea that a beam emitted from a starship can draw in another object is one of sci-fi's oldest and wildest concepts. It's also slowly becoming a reality. Since 2010, nano-scale tractor beams made up of light particles have been capable of drawing in their tiny nanoparticle prey. A new, acoustic method developed by an international team of scientists has effectively supercharged the nascent technology.
> 
> Beams of light and sound function in similar ways, both existing as waves of varying frequency. Imagining them like ocean waves, you might be a bit bewildered as to how waves can tug at you instead of crashing and pushing you away. By making sonic waves strike a target object at just the right angle, however, the research team has found that they can actually create a low pressure zone in front of it, effectively coaxing the object closer with every wavelength. Think of it like manufacturing a sonic undertow.




Scientists create world's first acoustic tractor beam | DVICE


----------



## ScienceRocks

*China's super-maglev train could shatter speed records*

China's super-maglev train could shatter speed records | DVICE



> Japan's LO maglev train, currently clocked at around 311 miles per hour, has garnered news for years as the world's fastest train. By the time the LO begins service in 2027, however, another maglev project may be well on its way to shattering that speed record. At Southwest Jiaotong University, in the central Chinese province of Sichuan, Dr. Deng Zigang has been working on something called a high-temperature superconducting magnetic levitation train, or a super-maglev for short.
> 
> The single-car super-maglev prototype, sitting upon its domed test track, looks a bit like an over-sized child's plaything. But it's no plaything. In fact, the bitty little train and its enclosed track are designed to keep the maglev track at just the right temperature, ensuring the best possible test results. The tunnel also allows Dr. Zigang to remove the air, and therefore the air resistance, from the train's path.
> 
> Tests so far have progressed slowly, with simulations showing that the super-maglev will eventually be capable of speeds of at least 373 miles per hour. In itself, that top speed would be 62 miles per hour faster than Japan's best efforts, but Dr. Zigang isn't through yet. Given an ideal setting, a "perfect world" if you will, the super-maglev could eventually reach a massive top speed of 621 miles per hour.



America is dying because of its extremes and retards!


----------



## ScienceRocks

*FDA approves first commercial bionic arm*

FDA approves first commercial bionic arm | DVICE



> Many of the things we&#8217;ve only previously read about in science fiction are now getting real-world applications, including, finally, cybernetics. Remember The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman? At the time those two television series aired, the technology of using bionics to repair limbs and organs was only fiction. The FDA has just approved a device that signals the beginning of the bionic revolution: a prosthetic arm that responds to commands from the brain.
> 
> Created by DEKA, a company founded by Dean Kamen (the inventor of the Segway, among many other things), this new prosthetic arm works by using electrodes in arm muscles that detect movement, as signaled by the brain. The arm translates those signals into 10 specific movements in the prosthetic arm. Unlike most prosthetics on the market, the wearer won&#8217;t have to control it via other arm movements, like from the shoulder or the elbow: this arm works like a real arm, relying on brain signals to tell the arm&#8217;s muscles, and thereby the prosthetic arm, what to do.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*IBM discovers new class of ultra-tough, self-healing, recyclable plastics that could redefine almost every industry*
ExtremeTech



> Stop the press! IBM Research announced this morning that it has discovered a whole new class of&#8230; plastics. This might not sound quite as sexy as, say, MIT discovering a whole new state of matter &#8212; but wait until you hear what these new plastics can do. This new class of plastics &#8212; or more accurately, polymers &#8212; are stronger than bone, have the ability to self-heal, are light-weight, and are 100% recyclable. The number of potential uses, spanning industries as disparate as aerospace and semiconductors, is dizzying. A new class of polymers hasn&#8217;t been discovered in over 20 years &#8212; and, in a rather novel twist, they weren&#8217;t discovered by chemists: they were discovered by IBM&#8217;s supercomputers.
> 
> One of the key components of modern industry and consumerism is the humble thermosetting plastic. Thermosetting plastics &#8212; which are just big lumps of gooey polymer that are shaped and then cured (baked) &#8212; are light and easy to work with, but incredibly hard and heat resistant. The problem is, once a thermoset has been cured, there&#8217;s no turning back &#8212; you can&#8217;t return it to its gooey state. This means that if you (the engineer, the designer) make a mistake, you have to start again. It also means that thermoset plastics cannot be recycled. Once you&#8217;re done with that Galaxy S5, the thermoset chassis can&#8217;t be melted down and reused; it goes straight to the dump. IBM&#8217;s new polymer retains all of a thermosetting plastic&#8217;s useful properties &#8212; but it can also be recycled.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Groundbreaking experiment aims to create matter from light*

Groundbreaking experiment aims to create matter from light



> In what could be a landmark moment in the history of science, physicists working at the Blackett Physics Laboratory in Imperial College London have designed an experiment to validate one of the most tantalizing hypotheses in quantum electrodynamics: the theory that matter could be created using nothing more than pure light.
> 
> Premised on a discussion that they had over one day and a few cups of coffee, the three physicists &#8211; two from Imperial College and one visiting from the Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg, Germany &#8211; recognized that their work on fusion energy also offered possibilities in the theory of light to matter creation, suggested in a theory 80 years ago by two American physicists, Breit and Wheeler. These two physicists had premised the idea that because annihilating electron-positron pairs produce two or more photons, then colliding photons should, in turn, produce electron-positron (or &#8220;Breit-Wheeler&#8221 pairs.
> 
> In devising an experiment aimed at attempting to produce these Breit-Wheeler pairs, the physicists working at Imperial College propose a two-step process. Firstly, a high-energy electron beam accelerating electrons in a vacuum close to the speed of light would be fired into a target of pure gold several millimeters thick. Via a process called &#8220;Bremsstrahlung&#8221; (German for &#8220;Braking radiation&#8221 the high-energy electrons bombarding the target would lose kinetic energy but, in so doing, release gamma-ray photons.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*DARPA Z-Man Program Demonstrates Human Climbing Like Geckos*
2014/06/05 DARPA Z-Man Program Demonstrates Human Climbing Like Geckos


> DARPA&#8217;s Z-Man program has demonstrated the first known human climbing of a glass wall using climbing devices inspired by geckos. The historic ascent involved a 218-pound climber ascending and descending 25 feet of glass, while also carrying an additional 50-pound load in one trial, with no climbing equipment other than a pair of hand-held, gecko-inspired paddles. The novel polymer microstructure technology used in those paddles was developed for DARPA by Draper Laboratory of Cambridge, Mass.
> 
> Historically, gaining the high ground has always been an operational advantage for warfighters, but the climbing instruments on which they&#8217;re frequently forced to rely&#8212;tools such as ropes and ladders&#8212;have not advanced significantly for millennia. Not only can the use of such tools be overt and labor intensive, they also only allow for sequential climbing whereby the first climber often takes on the highest risk.
> 
> DARPA created the Z-Man program to overcome these limitations and deliver maximum safety and flexibility for maneuver and rapid response to warfighters operating in tight urban environments. The goal of the program is to develop biologically inspired climbing aids to enable warfighters carrying a full combat load to scale vertical walls constructed from typical building materials.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Raydiance's R-Cut system promises "new paradigm" in high-tech glass fabrication*
Raydiance's R-Cut system promises "new paradigm" in high-tech glass fabrication


> According to Raydiance, the R-Cut combines an ultra-short pulse laser and micromachining processes to cut very hard and brittle materials very quickly and with less chance of their chiping or shattering. It&#8217;s based on a femtosecond laser, which is generated by a technique called chirped pulse amplification that produces a burst of laser light that lasts one quadrillionth of a second. This is so short that during its pulse, the laser will only travel 1/100th the width of a human hair.
> 
> What&#8217;s important about this laser is that these very tiny pulses of light can concentrate so much power in such a small space of time that they can destroy anything they touch, and the laser can fire these pulses many times a second. The R-Cut uses these pulses in "cold ablation" for drilling very precise holes or shaping materials. The femtosecond laser vaporizes matter so fast that the surrounding materials have no time to heat up and there&#8217;s much less of a shock wave than with longer-duration lasers. The trick is to apply enough power in a short enough time to remove material without stressing the surrounding area.
> 
> Michael Mielke, Chief Scientist at Raydiance told Gizmag that the company has used fiber optics and developed algorithms that allow the R-Cut to take the femtosecond laser from being a laboratory curiosity and make it into an industrial tool that can quickly cut brittle materials in a matter of seconds instead of minutes or hours.
> 
> Aimed at high-volume manufacturers, the R-Cut can handle Gorilla glass, sapphire crystals, and similar hard and brittle materials. It can work on thinner materials than previously possible and form them into complex shapes, such as curves, chamfers, and holes on a micron scale, with less waste and at lower costs providing savings of more than 50 percent. The company also says that it can work on both strengthened and unstrengthened glass while doubling efficiency.
> 
> "The laser is fully programmable, which eliminates a lot of the hard-tooling with the mechanical approaches," says Stefan Zschiegner, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Raydiance. "You can basically take a design drawing and in 24 hours you have a fully functioning prototype."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*A new way to make laser-like beams using 1,000x less power*



> With precarious particles called polaritons that straddle the worlds of light and matter, University of Michigan researchers have demonstrated a new, practical and potentially more efficient way to make a coherent laser-like beam.
> 
> They have made what's believed to be the first polariton laser that is fueled by electrical current as opposed to light, and also works at room temperature, rather than way below zero.
> 
> Those attributes make the device the most real-world ready of the handful of polariton lasers ever developed. It represents a milestone like none the field has seen since the invention of the most common type of laser &#8211; the semiconductor diode &#8211; in the early 1960s, the researchers say. While the first lasers were made in the 1950s, it wasn't until the semiconductor version, fueled by electricity rather than light, that the technology took off.



Read more at: A new way to make laser-like beams using 1,000x less power


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists find stronger 3-D material that behaves like graphene*



> (Phys.org) &#8212;Scientists have discovered a material that has the same extraordinary electronic properties as 2-D graphene, but in a sturdy 3-D form that should be much easier to shape into electronic devices such as very fast transistors, sensors and transparent electrodes.
> 
> The material, cadmium arsenide, is being explored independently by three groups, one of which includes researchers at the University of Oxford, SLAC, Stanford and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who described their results in a paper published May 25 in Nature Materials.
> 
> "Now more and more people realize the potential in the science and technology of this particular material. This growing interest will promote rapid progress in the field &#8211; including the exploration of its use in functional devices and the search for similar materials," said Yulin Chen of the University of Oxford, who led the research.
> The group's work builds on its earlier studies of a sodium bismuth compound that also mimics graphene but turns to powder when exposed to air. Both compounds had been predicted by co-authors Zhong Fang and Xi Dai, theoretical physicists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who suggested that cadmium arsenide, which is used in detectors and sensors, would provide the same properties in a much more stable form.
> 
> Their prediction proved correct, said Zhongkai Liu, the paper's first author and a graduate student at SIMES, the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences at SLAC. "The environmental stability of cadmium arsenide allows us to explore it very systematically, and makes it easier to study," he said.
> 
> Graphene is a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms peeled from a piece of graphite, which is familiar as the lead in pencils. One of its hallmarks is the weird behavior of its electrons: When confined to this thin layer of regularly spaced atoms, these lightweight particles act as if they have no mass at all. This allows them to zip through the material much faster than usual. The scientists who first isolated graphene in 2004 were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics; and researchers have been racing to explore its properties and find practical uses for it ever since.
> 
> One such quest has been to find graphene-like materials that are three-dimensional, and thus much easier to craft into practical devices. Two other international collaborations based at Princeton University and in Dresden, Germany, have also been pursuing cadmium arsenide as a possibility. One published a paper on its results in the May 7 issue of Nature Communications, and the other has posted an unpublished paper on the preprint server arXiv.




Read more at: Scientists find stronger 3-D material that behaves like graphene


----------



## ScienceRocks

*The Open-Source Electronics Robot, The FirePick Delta, Could Bring Real Manufacturing To The Desktop*

The Open-Source Electronics Robot, The FirePick Delta, Could Bring Real Manufacturing To The Desktop | TechCrunch


> Pick-and-place (PNP) machines are the robots that grab and drop tiny components onto circuit boards. Designed to make thousands of boards an hour, these super-fast machines are part of the multi-part ballet that is modern manufacturing. And they&#8217;re amazingly expensive &#8211; sometimes reaching into the millions of dollars.
> 
> The Holy Grail, then, for the home-brew manufacturer is to build a PNP machine on a small scale. Two engineers, Neil Jansen and Karl Lew, have dealt with the almost constant frustration of wanting to build cool hardware yet having no way to build usable circuit boards without expensive investments. By creating a very simple, very cheap PNP machine, they would enable a new electronics maker movement to blossom where, until now, the big boys held sway.
> 
> The project is still in its infancy and the pair are now trying to enter the next HAXLR8R class in order to fine-tune their idea. The goal is to create a simple pick-and-place machine that can lift and rotate parts using suction, draw traces onto boards, and solder and remove components from the board. A CNC attachment would allow users to cut down PCBs to size and a laser would allow them to plot onto photo-sensitive boards. It&#8217;s not quite Foxconn but it&#8217;s good enough for 90% of the hardware projects out there.
> What&#8217;s most interesting about this project is that it looks to be the first one that both works, in prototype, and could actually come to market. There are many hacks you can use to create your own PNP machines &#8211; you can even turn a standard 3D printer into a PNP with a lot of gumption &#8211; but a ready-made, tested device for the home electronics maker would me amazing. The team is also looking into creating a printing system that can extrude both plastic and electronic components which would create truly organic, cohesive products that used fewer resources and were more rugged.
> 
> You can see the first few open source documents here related to the manufacture. Because the FirePick is a delta machine it uses fewer parts and is less complex to build. In fact, it&#8217;s much like a 3D printer in that the head moves in certain pre-set patterns, over and over, until it produces a finished product.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Bad news for the bad guys: Laser weapon being readied for marine vehicles*



> As the Navy prepares to deploy its first laser weapon on a ship later this summer, Office of Naval Research (ONR) officials announced June 11 that they have finished awarding contracts to develop a similar weapon to be used on ground vehicles.
> 
> The Ground-Based Air Defense Directed Energy On-the-Move program, commonly referred to as GBAD, aims to provide an affordable alternative to traditional firepower to keep enemy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from tracking and targeting Marines on the ground.
> 
> ONR is working with Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division and industry partners on the development of GBAD's components and subsystems, including the laser itself, beam director, batteries, radar, advanced cooling, and communications and command and control.
> 
> "We're confident we can bring together all of these pieces in a package that's small enough to be carried on light tactical vehicles and powerful enough to counter these threats," said Brig. Gen. Kevin Killea, vice chief of naval research and commanding general, the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory.




Read more at: Bad news for the bad guys: Laser weapon being readied for marine vehicles

This fucking rules!


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
3D Systems breaks speed barrier, showing 3D printing is faster than injection molding*

Jun 12, 2014



> Will 3D printing ever, in a million years, be faster than injection molding? 3D Systems announced this week a breakthrough - for the first time ever, its fab-grade 3D printers effectively matched and exceeded the productivity of traditional injection molding in the direct manufacture of functional parts.
> 
> "Our unwavering commitment to customer success through innovation has literally broken the mold this time &#8211; challenging the myth that 3D printing can't match the productivity of injection molding," said Cathy Lewis, 3DS' CMO. "This is just the beginning. We are working on additional applications that defy traditional manufacturing constraints, allowing our customers to go from idea to product in hours, instead of months - to truly manufacture the future."
> 
> This breakthrough opens up the possibility of just-in-time, high volume flexible additive manufacturing using 3D printing technology. 3D Systems pointed out, while injection molding is not getting any faster because the technology is mature, 3D printing technology has been tremendously improved over the last 20~30 years. "We're doubling 3D printer capabilities every 18 months." 3D Systems said. But how could that happen? "Lots of R&D, better material, more powerful lasers, bigger machines. There's lots more at work." 3D Systems said.



3ders.org - 3D Systems breaks speed barrier, showing 3D printing is faster than injection molding | 3D Printer News & 3D Printing News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Found! Hidden Ocean Locked Up Deep in Earth's Mantle*



> Deep within the Earth's rocky mantle lies oceans' worth of water locked up in a type of mineral called ringwoodite, new research shows.
> 
> The results of the study will help scientists understand Earth's water cycle, and how plate tectonics moves water between the surface of the planet and interior reservoirs, researchers say.
> 
> The Earth's mantle is the hot, rocky layer between the planet's core and crust. Scientists have long suspected that the mantle's so-called transition zone, which sits between the upper and lower mantle layers 255 to 410 miles (410 to 660 kilometers) below Earth's surface, could contain water trapped in rare minerals. However, direct evidence for this water has been lacking, until now.
> 
> To see if the transition zone really is a deep reservoir for water, researchers conducted experiments on water-rich ringwoodite, analyzed seismic waves travelling through the mantle beneath the United States, and studied numerical models. They discovered that downward-flowing mantle material is melting as it crosses the boundary between the transition zone and the lower mantle layer.
> 
> "If we are seeing this melting, then there has to be this water in the transition zone," said Brandon Schmandt, a seismologist at the University of New Mexico and co-author of the new study published today (June 12) in the journal Science. "The transition zone can hold a lot of water, and could potentially have the same amount of H2O [water] as all the world's oceans." (Melting is a way of getting rid of water, which is unstable under conditions in Earth's lower mantle, the researchers said.)



Found! Hidden Ocean Locked Up Deep in Earth's Mantle


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Harvey, the robot farmer fixing the US labour shortage*
Harvey, the robot farmer fixing the US labour shortage - tech - 18 June 2014 - New Scientist


> It's getting harder to find people to work on farms in the US &#8211; robo-farmers are shifting plants and could soon be picking strawberries in their place
> 
> HACKNEY Nursery in northern Florida has just hired its first fleet of robots.
> 
> The nursery specialises in woody ornamentals and perennials, heavy plants that grow in large tubs across several hundred hectares of land. A typical day at the nursery might require carrying as many as 5000 of these plants around. In the past, this tedious and back-breaking work took four men the better part of a working day.
> 
> Now, four HV100s &#8211; nicknamed Harveys by Harvest Automation, the Boston company that makes them &#8211; work just nine hours a day. The robots zip autonomously around the nursery, spacing plants farther apart as they grow and then scooping them back together when it's time for a sale. A person monitors their work.
> 
> Hackney is one of 20 nurseries and greenhouses in the US that have started using Harveys this year. It's another example of agriculture's enthusiastic shift towards automation. While other sectors are concerned that robots might take their jobs, many farmers are greeting technology with open arms.
> 
> "Our experience has been fantastic. I think it's the way of the future," says Joseph Hackney, who works at the nursery. "The robots are doing jobs that people don't want to do."
> 
> In the past, agricultural work in the US was generally carried out by low-paid immigrants. But their numbers have dwindled, a shift that's been attributed in part to stricter border enforcement, but also an improving economy in Mexico, where most immigrants are from. This shortage will worsen over the coming years, suggests a 2012 study by Edward Taylor and colleagues at the University of California-Davis and The College of Mexico in Mexico City.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Team of 3D-printing "Minibuilder" robots print large-scale structures on site*

Team of 3D-printing "Minibuilder" robots print large-scale structures on site



> 3D printers are great at creating small objects &#8211; and some can even be pressed into doing larger things, such as cars &#8211; but a 3D printer able to print a full-sized house would have to be, well, bigger than a house. To tackle this problem, a team of researchers from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) in Barcelona removed the size restrictions of a printer altogether by using mobile 3D printer robots to print directly on site.
> 
> Though other structures have been printed in 3D &#8211; such as low-cost housing in China &#8211; these are produced piecemeal off site and have to be transported. This is where the IAAC concept is unique; it 3D prints structures in one continuous process, so that a building can be formed layer by layer in place.
> 
> The robots used have been dubbed "Minibuilders" because of their diminutive stature, the largest being just 16.5 in (42 cm) wide. These robots make up a team of three that all carry out different functions in the process, working independently on their own task but in coordination with each other on the overall work. Each Minibuilder performs its role in order using instructions provided by a central computer, in conjunction with its own sensors and local positioning systems. One other robot &#8211; a "Supplier" robot &#8211; provides the liquid building material to each of the Minibuilders, as required.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*LLNL improving the efficiency of 3D metal printing
*


> To paraphrase Samuel Johnson, there was a time when 3D metal printing was like a dog walking on his hind legs &#8211; it wasn't done well; but you were surprised to find it done at all. Now that laser sintering or Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is used for everything from printing rocket engine components to semi-automatic pistols, the time for surprise may b long past, but the technology still has plenty of room for improvement. That's why researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) are working on simulations to improve the speed of 3D laser printing and the quality of the final product by using higher-powered lasers.
> 
> SLM is a form of additive printing where, instead of squirting melted plastic out like cake icing, an object is built up layer by layer using metal powder that&#8217;s melted into a pool by a high-power laser. As each layer is fused into the desired shape, the printer adds another layer of powder and the process repeats until the printing is completed. Then, you remove the excess powder, give the printed object a polish, and you&#8217;re done.
> 
> The problem is that 3D printing is rapidly developing from a novelty into a mainstream manufacturing technique. That means that processes like SLM need to improve quickly in terms of predictability, quality, and speed of output. In the case of SLM, a key question is how to get the resulting metal as close as possible to full density in as short a time as possible.



LLNL improving the efficiency of 3D metal printing


----------



## ScienceRocks

*The first &#8216;unfeelability&#8217; invisibility cloak will please campers and princesses everywhere*
The first ?unfeelability? invisibility cloak will please campers and princesses everywhere | ExtremeTech


> You know how a princess can feel a pea through 20 mattresses and 20 feather beds? Well, not any more. Researchers in Germany have created the first mechanical invisibility cloak. When this cloak is placed over an object, the object cannot be felt at all &#8212; either by your finger, or a more sensitive measuring device. This has obvious repercussions for the authentication of fairytale princesses, and also in the realm of camping (die, tree roots, die) and carpeting (cabling begone!) Personally, I hope someone takes this mechanical invisibility material and creates the world&#8217;s first sock that is immune to the terrifying strength of errant-in-the-night Lego bricks.
> 
> If you&#8217;ve been following ExtremeTech for a while, you&#8217;ll know that we&#8217;ve covered plenty of invisibility cloaks, all of wildly varying form and function. There have been some &#8220;conventional&#8221; cloaks that hide objects from visible light, but also lots that cloak against microwaves, sound waves, and various other forms of radiation. A mechanical invisibility cloak, however, is something new.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers develop new ultralight, ultrastiff 3D printed materials*


> Researchers speculate that the material could have a deep impact on the aerospace and automotive industries.
> 
> According to Aerogel.org, the materials are the world&#8217;s lightest solid materials, composed of up to 99.98 percent air by volume.  Aerogels are a diverse class of amazing materials with properties unlike anything else.  Transparent superinsulating silica aerogels exhibit the lowest thermal conductivity of any solid known.  Ultrahigh surface area carbon aerogels power today&#8217;s fast-charging supercapacitors.  In addition, ultrastrong, bendable x-aerogels are the lowest-density structural materials ever developed.
> 
> However, according to a report from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), researchers have developed a material so light it&#8217;s called &#8220;frozen smoke,&#8221; and it has a stiffness 10,000 times greater than aerogel.
> 
> Researchers speculate that the material could have a deep impact on the aerospace and automotive industries, in addition to other applications where lightweight, high-stiffness and high-strength materials are needed.
> 
> LLNL and MIT researchers developed a material possessing these properties by means of additive micro-manufacturing processes.  The findings appear today in the journal Science, in an article titled, &#8220;Ultralight, Ultrastiff Mechanical Metamaterials.&#8221;  The article describes the team&#8217;s development of micro-architected metamaterials that retain a virtually constant stiffness per unit mass density, even at ultralow density.




Read more: Researchers develop new ultralight, ultrastiff 3D printed materials | Science Recorder


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers plan to revive extinct passenger pigeon*



> A flock of passenger pigeons once darkened the Ontario skies for 15 hours straight while the animals were migrating.
> It&#8217;s been almost a century since the death of Martha, the world&#8217;s last passenger pigeon at the Cincinatti Zoo, passing 14 years after the species had become extinct in the wild. It was one of the first cases of animal extinction that drew scientific attention.
> 
> Less than a century earlier, a flock of billions darkened the Ontario skies for 15 hours straight while the animals were migrating &#8211; an entire flock that stretched for 300 miles, and was one mile deep. So common were the passenger pigeon at the end of the nineteenth century that they were considered a poor man&#8217;s food &#8211; served in enormous quantities to domestic servants who often grew tired of the taste.
> 
> Martha gained some significant attention after she died, preserved in a block of ice for visitors at the Smithsonian Institution, as she was studied by ornithologists who hoped to prevent a future instance of species extinction.
> 
> Today, she rests on the shelf of the Smithsonian ornithology lab, but her significance has only increased &#8211; as scientists from the non-profit genetic research organization Revive & Restore are  seeking to recreate a flock of passenger pigeons from the DNA of scientific collections and believe that the science will be possible over the course of the next decade.




Read more: Researchers plan to revive extinct passenger pigeon | Science Recorder


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Cambridge team breaks superconductor world record
*


> A world record that has stood for more than a decade has been broken by a team led by University of Cambridge engineers, harnessing the equivalent of three tonnes of force inside a golf ball-sized sample of material that is normally as brittle as fine china.
> 
> The Cambridge researchers managed to 'trap' a magnetic field with a strength of 17.6 Tesla - roughly 100 times stronger than the field generated by a typical fridge magnet - in a high temperature gadolinium barium copper oxide (GdBCO) superconductor, beating the previous record by 0.4 Tesla. The results are published today in the journal Superconductor Science and Technology.
> 
> The research demonstrates the potential of high-temperature superconductors for applications in a range of fields, including flywheels for energy storage, 'magnetic separators', which can be used in mineral refinement and pollution control, and in high-speed levitating monorail trains.
> 
> Superconductors are materials that carry electrical current with little or no resistance when cooled below a certain temperature. While conventional superconductors need to be cooled close to absolute zero (zero degrees on the Kelvin scale, or -273.15 °C) before they superconduct, high temperature superconductors do so above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen (-196 °C), which makes them relatively easy to cool and cheaper to operate.
> Superconductors are currently used in scientific and medical applications, such as MRI scanners, and in the future could be used to protect the national grid and increase energy efficiency, due to the amount of electrical current they can carry without losing energy.
> 
> The current carried by a superconductor also generates a magnetic field, and the more field strength that can be contained within the superconductor, the more current it can carry. State of the art, practical superconductors can carry currents that are typically 100 times greater than copper, which gives them considerable performance advantages over conventional conductors and permanent magnets.
> 
> The new record was achieved using 25 mm diameter samples of GdBCO high temperature superconductor fabricated in the form of a large, single grain using an established melt processing method and reinforced using a relatively simple technique. The previous record of 17.2 Tesla, set in 2003 by a team led by Professor Masato Murakami from the Shibaura Institute of Technology in Japan, used a highly specialised type of superconductor of a similar, but subtly different, composition and structure.




Read more at: Cambridge team breaks superconductor world record


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Sea temperatures likely readable real-time with new model*



> Western Australian researchers believe they are first to develop a model for accurately estimating local water temperature in near real-time for marine protected areas (MPAs).
> 
> The model is more accurate than others because it allows for different seasonal patterns in water temperature.
> 
> The group used sea surface temperature (SST) data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Coral Reef Watch (CRW) program and in situ temperature data from four WA MPAs to test the model.
> 
> The CRW provides marine managers and researchers with access to near real-time SST updates globally.



Read more at: Sea temperatures likely readable real-time with new model


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Lettuce See the Future: Japanese Farmer Builds High-Tech Indoor Veggie Factory*



> Humans have spent the last 10,000 years mastering agriculture. But a freak summer storm or bad drought can still mar many a well-planted harvest. Not anymore, says Japanese plant physiologist Shigeharu Shimamura, who has moved industrial-scale farming under the roof.
> 
> Working in Miyagi Prefecture in eastern Japan, which was badly hit by powerful earthquake and tsunamis in 2011, Shimamura turned a former Sony Corporation semiconductor factory into the world&#8217;s largest indoor farm illuminated by LEDs. The special LED fixtures were developed by GE and emit light at wavelengths optimal for plant growth.
> 
> The farm is nearly half the size of a football field (25,000 square feet). It opened on July and it is already producing 10,000 heads of lettuce per day. &#8220;I knew how to grow good vegetables biologically and I wanted to integrate that knowledge with hardware to make things happen,&#8221; Shimamura says.


Lettuce See the Future: Japanese Farmer Builds High-Tech Indoor Veggie Factory - GE Reports


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
US Navy deploys prototype EM railguns on USS Millinocket JHSV*
US Navy deploys prototype EM railguns on USS Millinocket JHSV - Naval Technology


> The US Office of Naval Research (ONR) has integrated two prototype electro-magnetic (EM) railgun weapons on the joint high-speed vessel (JHSV) USS Millinocket, at the Naval Base San Diego.
> 
> Until now, the prototypes had been tested and fired in a lab setting.
> 
> Scheduled for testing in a maritime environment in 2016, the prototypes, developed by BAE Systems and General Atomics, will undergo at-sea demonstrations, marking a significant step forward in naval combat for the US Navy.
> 
> Launched at high velocities to accomplish greater ranges than traditional guns, the projectiles sustain sufficient kinetic energy, while eliminating the requirement of a high explosive payload when they reach the target.
> 
> *Each projectile costs approximately $25,000, which is 100 times less than a traditional missile*.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
Designs Would Put Surveillance Drones Over Hurricanes For A Week At A Time*



> The three designs above won a NASA competition to envision the next generation of hurricane surveillance drones.
> 
> The agency asked teams to develop an unmanned aerial system (UAS) that could stay aloft for seven days at a time and offer persistent remote sensing over a period of five months. That timeframe covers a typical Atlantic hurricane season, and the agency&#8217;s goal is to closely follow storm formation from when a tropical wave moves off Africa&#8217;s west coast through the full life cycle of the weather system.
> 
> Current UASs used for tropical storm monitoring are similar to the military Global Hawk surveillance and security platform, and can only stay aloft for 24 hours at a time before they need to come home.
> 
> &#8220;The data gathered by UASs is crucial to refining computer models so we can better predict not just the path of these storms, but also the process of hurricane formation and growth,&#8221; said NASA aerospace engineer Craig Nickol in a statement. &#8220;This is where current systems fall short.&#8221;
> 
> Nickol was the technical lead for the contest, which awarded first place ton a design from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The student engineering team&#8217;s plan calls for two aircraft, each able to stay airborne for 7.8 days straight. Their proposed vehicle, which they snarkily named Gobble Hawk as a nod to its military predecessor, would be fueled by liquid hydrogen and come with a price tag of almost $200 million for production and 10 years of service.
> 
> Purdue University&#8217;s team took second place and the University of Virginia grabbed third. Click on the images of their designs for some more info.
> 
> Other work at the University of Florida is looking to put much smaller drones right into the eye of hurricanes to get more needed data to better understand these weather systems.



Txchnologist


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
DARPA plans to speed process for developing new advanced materials*



> US military research agency DARPA intends to cut the average time to develop new advanced materials from 10 years to less than three.
> 
> Military platforms &#8211; such as ships, aircraft and ground vehicles &#8211; rely on advanced materials to make them lighter, stronger and more resistant to stress, heat and other harsh environmental conditions. Currently, the process for developing new materials to field in platforms frequently takes over a decade. These lengthy schedules often mean that developers of new platforms are forced to rely on decades-old, mature materials, because other potentially more advanced materials are still being tested and aren&#8217;t ready to be implemented into platform designs.
> 
> To address this problem, US military research agency DARPA has initiated a new program called Materials Development for Platforms (MDP). This aims to develop a methodology and toolset to compress the applied material development process by at least 75 percent: from an average of 10 years or more, to just two and a half years.
> 
> To achieve this goal, a cross-disciplinary model will incorporate materials science and engineering, Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) principles, and platform development disciplines of engineering, design, analysis and manufacturing. DARPA will focus on rapid development of materials with specific platform capabilities and intended missions in view &#8211; rather than supporting long-term, generalised materials development followed by assessments of potential applications for the resulting materials.
> 
> &#8220;In this program, we want to move from the current mindset of sporadic &#8216;pushes&#8217; in materials technology development to a mindset that &#8216;pulls&#8217; materials technology forward driven by platform design intent and mission need,&#8221; says Mick Maher, DARPA program manager. &#8220;Ideally, we could envision materials development happening on timescales more in line with modern commercial automobile development.&#8221;



DARPA plans to speed process for developing new advanced materials


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Boron 'buckyball' discovered*



> The discovery 30 years ago of soccer-ball-shaped carbon molecules called buckyballs helped to spur an explosion of nanotechnology research. Now, there appears to be a new ball on the pitch.
> 
> Researchers from Brown University, Shanxi University and Tsinghua University in China have shown that a cluster of 40 boron atoms forms a hollow molecular cage similar to a carbon buckyball. It's the first experimental evidence that a boron cage structure&#8212;previously only a matter of speculation&#8212;does indeed exist.
> 
> "This is the first time that a boron cage has been observed experimentally," said Lai-Sheng Wang, a professor of chemistry at Brown who led the team that made the discovery. "As a chemist, finding new molecules and structures is always exciting. The fact that boron has the capacity to form this kind of structure is very interesting."
> 
> Wang and his colleagues describe the molecule, which they've dubbed borospherene, in the journal Nature Chemistry.
> 
> Carbon buckyballs are made of 60 carbon atoms arranged in pentagons and hexagons to form a sphere&#8212;like a soccer ball. Their discovery in 1985 was soon followed by discoveries of other hollow carbon structures including carbon nanotubes. Another famous carbon nanomaterial&#8212;a one-atom-thick sheet called graphene&#8212;followed shortly after.
> 
> After buckyballs, scientists wondered if other elements might form these odd hollow structures. One candidate was boron, carbon's neighbor on the periodic table. But because boron has one less electron than carbon, it can't form the same 60-atom structure found in the buckyball. The missing electrons would cause the cluster to collapse on itself. If a boron cage existed, it would have to have a different number of atoms.
> 
> Wang and his research group have been studying boron chemistry for years. In a paper published earlier this year, Wang and his colleagues showed that clusters of 36 boron atoms form one-atom-thick disks, which might be stitched together to form an analog to graphene, dubbed borophene. Wang's preliminary work suggested that there was also something special about boron clusters with 40 atoms. They seemed to be abnormally stable compared to other boron clusters. Figuring out what that 40-atom cluster actually looks like required a combination of experimental work and modeling using high-powered supercomputers.




Read more at: Boron 'buckyball' discovered
*
First boron &#8216;buckyball&#8217; could be used to store hydrogen*


> Just in time for the World Cup final, researchers have succeeded in building the first &#8220;buckyballs&#8221;  made entirely of boron atoms. Unlike true, carbon-based buckyballs, the boron molecules are not shaped exactly like footballs.  But this novel form of boron might lead to new nanomaterials and could find uses in hydrogen storage.
> 
> Robert Curl, Harold Kroto and Richard Smalley found the first buckyball &#8211; or buckminsterfullerene &#8211; in 1985. The hollow cage, made of 60 carbon atoms arranged in pentagons and hexagons like a football, got its name from the American architect and engineer Richard Buckminster Fuller, who used the same shapes in designing his domes. The discovery opened the flood gates for creating more carbon structures with impressive qualities, such as carbon nanotubes and the single-atom thick graphene. Since then material scientists have also searched for buckyball-like structures made of other elements.
> 
> In 2007, Boris Yakobson, a material scientist at Rice University theorised that a cage made of 80 boron atoms should be stable. Another study published just last week predicts a stable structure with 36 boron atoms.
> 
> Publishing today in Nature Chemistry a team led by Lai-Sheng Wang, a chemist at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, has become the first to see such a beast &#8211; though it has a slightly different structure to the predictions. They called their 40-atom molecule  borospherene. It is arranged in hexagons, heptagons and triangles.
> 
> &#8220;We predicted the possibility of B80 fullerene, and now, seven years after, it is remarkable to see experimental evidence,&#8221; says Yakobson.  &#8221;Especially as it is not what any of the theoretical calculations predicted.&#8221;
> 
> Wang&#8217;s team found the structure while looking for analogues of graphene made of boron. They found that clusters of 40 boron atoms seemed to be unusually stable, but they didn&#8217;t know what form these clusters were taking. Further calculations and experiments revealed that they had made two stable structures:  one an almost flat molecule, the other a hollow, ball-like structure made of tesselated shapes, similar to the carbon buckyball.
> 
> In addition to having a less elegant shape, the borosphene balls form a different type of internal bond to their carbon counterparts. This makes them difficult to use as isolated building blocks as they have a tendency interact with each other, but this reactivity may make boron buckyballs good for connecting in chains. It also makes the balls capable of bonding with hydrogen, which the team says could make them useful in hydrogen storage.
> 
> Boron is not the first element after carbon to get buckyballed, but it may be the closest analogue to the carbon variety. Scientists have formed buckyball-like structures out of uranium-based and silicon-based compounds, mutli-walled boron nitride and molybdenum disulphide structures and smaller single-element cages of gold, tin and lead. But only boron seems to match the large hollow cage and  symmetry of the original carbon buckyball, says Yakobson.



http://blogs.nature.com/news/2014/0...d:+news/rss/newsblog+(News+Blog+-+Blog+Posts)


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Big Dog robot gets its first taste of real-world action with US Marines*
Big Dog robot gets its first taste of real-world action with US Marines



> LS3&#8212;the official name for the scary quadruped robot also known as Big Dog&#8212;has been deployed for the first time during the RIMPAC 2014, the multinational maritime war games in and around the Hawaiian Islands. It looks different from the last time we saw it, more like a big ox than a giant dog.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*World&#8217;s First Plant to Print Jet Engine Nozzles in Mass Production*



> GE is taking mass production to a lofty new level. The company is pulling 3D printing out of the lab and installing it at the heart of the world&#8217;s first factory for printing jet engine fuel nozzles in Auburn, Ala.
> 
> The company has spent the last several years developing technologies ranging from data analysis to machine monitoring and preventive maintenance to get 3D printing ready for production prime time. &#8220;We need to have systems in place that anticipate a failure before it happens,&#8221; says Steve Rengers, principal engineer for additive manufacturing at GE Aviation. &#8220;This has not been done before.&#8221;
> 
> When it opens in 2015, the Auburn plant will be producing fuel nozzles for the next-generation LEAP jet engine, which was developed by CFM International, a joint venture between France&#8217;s Snecma (Safran) and GE Aviation.
> 
> The engine has benefited from GE&#8217;s $1 billion annual investment in jet propulsion R&D. Each engine will have nearly twenty 3D-printed fuel nozzles, as well as fan blades made from fourth-generation carbon-fiber composite blades and a hot section that includes parts from groundbreaking ceramic matrix composites (CMCs).



World's First Plant to Print Jet Engine Nozzles in Mass Production - GE Reports


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Honda's new ASIMO robot is all grown up*



> Humanoid robots are continually improving and Honda's ASIMO is no different. Honda's first two-legged robot was born in 1986 and since then, subsequent models have become increasingly advanced. Today's newly-announced version is autonomous, intelligent and responsive.
> 
> An increased understanding of robotics, ability to share knowledge and availability of requisite components have resulted in a proliferation of humanoid robots. Robots like the 3D-printed Poppy and the German Aerospace Center's TORO have been developed relatively recently. Few have the near 30-year heritage of Honda's ASIMO, though.
> 
> ASIMO was developed out of Honda's desire to create a robot that could help in human society. For that, it needed to be able to move around objects in a room and negotiate stairs and that, in turn, meant it needed two legs. Its first design, the Eo, could walk by putting one leg in front of the other, but did so slowly and took five seconds between steps.
> 
> Honda continued develop the walking ability of its robots throughout the late 80s and early 90s. Innovations included modelling a robot's walk on that of humans, determining center of gravity and torque requirements, and adding sensors into the robots.
> 
> The most recent version of ASIMO was released in 2011. It boasted a host of sensors, with a number devoted to mimicking certain human senses, plus it could balance better than previous incarnations and, for the first time, had dexterous hands. Touch sensors throughout the hand and flexible fingers meant it could carry out tasks like opening bottles and pouring liquid.
> 
> All of which brings us up to today's announcement. The new ASIMO has been launched in Brussels with a variety of improvements. Many of those improvements are refinements of existing capabilities, but are no less impressive for it.
> 
> Improved intelligence allows the robot to recognize the faces and voices of multiple simultaneous speakers, and to change its behavior based on the perceived intention of the other party. This, of course, is calculated based on data collected via the robot's host of sensors.
> 
> ASIMO can now run at up to 5.6 mph (9 km/h) &#8211; 1.8 mph (2.9 km/h) faster than previously &#8211; and can run backwards, jump, and hop on one leg continuously. Its hands are more dexterous, allowing it to pick up a bottle and twist off the cap, and it can use its hands to perform sign language. The robot now has 57 degrees of freedom (ways of moving), up from 23 previously. It is 130 cm (51 in) tall and weighs 50 kg (110 lb).
> 
> Honda says that many of the new features and capabilities of ASIMO are a result of its research into the decision-making capabilities of robots. This has led ASIMO to be able to adapt much of its behavior in real time and, claims Honda, brings us one step closer to a world in which robots can be employed at home (or elsewhere) for practical purposes.
> 
> Source: Honda



Honda's new ASIMO robot is all grown up


I hope they develop a version with intelligence enough to do math, science and the ability to consider.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
Quadrotor Hoverbike hits Kickstarter &#8211; available to own in drone form*
Quadrotor Hoverbike hits Kickstarter ? available to own in drone form


> Having revealed its original Hoverbike design back in 2011, Malloy Aeronautics has been hard at work developing its ambitious, science fiction inspired vehicle. The team has made some significant changes in the last few years, moving from a dual rotor to quad rotor design while adding some serious stability credentials in the process. Chris Malloy has now launched a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter where backers are being offered a working 1/3rd scale version of the second generation Hoverbike, while giving the team a helping hand in the development of the eventual, manned vehicle.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*NSU researcher part of team studying ways to better predict intensity of hurricanes*
Published: Friday, July 25, 2014 - 12:22 in Earth & Climate
NSU researcher part of team studying ways to better predict intensity of hurricanes | (e) Science News



> They are something we take very seriously in Florida -- hurricanes. The names roll off the tongue like a list of villains -- Andrew, Charlie, Frances and Wilma. In the past 25 years or so, experts have gradually been improving prediction of the course a storm may take. This is thanks to tremendous advancements in computer and satellite technology. While we still have the "cone of uncertainty" we've become familiar with watching television weather reports, today's models are more accurate than they used to be.
> 
> The one area, however, where there is still much more to be researched and learned is in predicting just how intense a storm may be. While hurricane hunter aircraft can help determine wind speed, velocity, water temperature and other data, the fact is we often don't know why or how a storm gets stronger or weaker. There has been virtually no progress in hurricane intensity forecasting during the last quarter century.
> 
> But, thanks to new research being conducted, all that's about to change.
> 
> "The air-water interface -- whether it had significant waves or significant spray -- is a big factor in storm intensity," said Alex Soloviev, Ph.D., a professor at Nova Southeastern University's Oceanographic Center. "Hurricanes gain heat energy through the interface and they lose mechanical energy at the interface."
> 
> Soloviev is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (UM RSMAS) and a Fellow at the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS.) He and his fellow researchers used a computational fluid dynamics model to simulate microstructure of the air-sea interface under hurricane force winds. In order to verify these computer-generated results, the group conducted experiments at the UM's Rosenstiel School Air-Sea Interaction Salt Water Tank (ASIST) where they simulated wind speed and ocean surface conditions found during hurricanes.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*China is set to build a particle collider twice the circumference of the LHC*



> CERN&#8217;s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is by far the biggest particle collider in the world&#8211;it even has &#8220;large&#8221; in the name. However, the now famous scientific instrument buried near Geneva, Switzerland may soon be eclipsed by an even bigger collider currently being planned in China. The plan from scientists at the Institute of High Energy Physics in Beijing calls for a ring-shaped collider nearly twice the size of the LHC.
> 
> The LHC is 27 kilometers (about 16.7 miles) in circumference and capable of generating about 14 TeV of energy in collisions. That proved to be sufficient to coax the Higgs boson out of hiding, but the proposed Chinese machine would be 52 kilometers (around 32.3 miles) long and capable of collisions in the 70 TeV range. That&#8217;s the eventual goal, though. The initial version of the collider would be designed for electron-positron collisions and just 240 GeV (an order of magnitude less than the LHC). The instrument would then be upgraded to do proton-proton collisions at full power.



China is set to build a particle collider twice the circumference of the LHC | Science! | Geek.com

China is owning our asses!


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
Urban rooftop farms can yield 20 times more produce than traditional farms*



> Based in Brooklyn, New York, Gotham Greens is involved in urban agriculture projects in cities across the United States and internationally.
> 
> Gotham Greens designs, builds and operates commercial-scale greenhouse facilities in urban areas for fresh vegetable production. Since commencing production in early 2011, the company has quickly become a worldwide pioneer in the field of urban agriculture and one of New York State's leading producers of premium-quality, greenhouse-grown vegetables and herbs.
> 
> Gotham Greens' pesticide-free produce is grown using ecologically sustainable methods in technologically-sophisticated, climate-controlled rooftop greenhouses. Gotham Greens provides its retail, restaurant, and institutional customers with reliable, year-round, local supply of produce grown under the highest standards of food safety and environmental sustainability.



Urban rooftop farms can yield 20 times more produce than traditional farms


----------



## ScienceRocks

*The Army Is 3D Printing Warheads*
The Army Is 3D Printing Warheads | Motherboard



> Every technology casts a shadow. In the case of 3D printing, for every potentially benign use &#8212;like bioprinting organs&#8212;there is an unsettling opposite like printing guns at home. Now, the army is looking to use 3D printing to make the world a more dangerous place in at least one more way: building deadlier warheads.
> 
> The army has been developing its 3D printing capabilities for some time now, and has technology already nearly advanced enough to bioprint replacement skin on the battlefield. But the military isn&#8217;t just interested in saving lives&#8212;more often than not, it takes them. In its latest bid to kill more people, more efficiently, and at less cost, the army is planning to print warhead components, according to the latest issue of Army Technology.
> 
> &#8220;3D printing of warheads will allow us to have better design control and utilize geometries and patterns that previously could not be produced or manufactured,&#8221; James Zunino, a researcher at the Armament Research, Engineering and Design Center (ARDEC) in Picatinny, New Jersey, told Motherboard in an email.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Flying Cars Take Flight, Samson Motors And ICON Aircraft Likely To Launch In Northern California
By Brandon Mercer*
Flying Cars Take Flight, Samson Motors And ICON Aircraft Likely To Launch In Northern California « CBS San Francisco



> CBS SF) &#8212; The flying car is coming, and it will likely be built right here in Northern California from two companies competing to put you in the pilot&#8217;s seat: Auburn-based Samson Motors, and ICON Aircraft, which manufacturing planned for Vacaville.
> 
> Over the weekend, ICON flew its first working prototype of the amphibious and trailerable A5 at the flagship EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Samson Motorworks has been testing its tricycle-plane hybrid for years, and isn&#8217;t far behind.
> 
> Both companies take advantage of lightweight composite materials that didn&#8217;t exist when the Jetsons creators made the concept of a flying car every kid&#8217;s dream, and they capitalize on new FAA rules making &#8220;sport planes&#8221; less regulated, and sports pilot licenses easier to get.
> 
> The ICON A5 is not exactly a flying car, but it does have wings that fold up, letting you tow it on a trailer, and it can take off and land on water. The Samson Switchblade is more truly a flying sportscar, or flying motorcycle, but the company is still testing the driving unit, and is manufacturing prototype airframe parts to minimize weight and get a working model off the ground within the next six months.  Samson expects to sell them for $95,000. The ICON starts at $189,000.  Both would be very reasonably priced for airplanes.  Both can easily fit into your garage.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Superconductors Notch Highest Current of 100,000 amperes*
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/supercond...current-100-000-amperes-102331180.html#T8VtcR


> Japan's National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS) has achieved an electrical current of 100,000 amperes, the highest to be generated so far in the world. This has major implications for its use in fusion reactors.
> 
> They used state-of-the-art yttrium-based high-temperature superconducting tapes to fabricate a large-scale magnet conductor by a relatively simple technique of stacking the tapes to obtain a conductor of exceptional mechanical strength. For the conductor joints, NIFS developed low-resistance joint technology through collaborative research with Tohoku University.
> 
> At the absolute temperature of 20 degrees Kelvin (minus 253 degrees Celsius) the electrical current exceeds 100,000 amperes.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
North American Robotics Market Posts its Best Quarter Ever, Sets New Record for First Half of 2014*
Robotics News - North American Robotics Market Post...


> Fueled by strong demand from manufacturing companies in all sectors, the North American robotics industry is off to its fastest start ever in 2014, according to new statistics released from Robotic Industries Association (RIA), the industry&#8217;s trade group.
> 
> A record 14,135 robots, valued at $788 million were ordered from North American robotics companies in the first half of 2014, an increase of 30% in units and 16% in revenue over the same period in 2013. The second quarter of 2014 was the main driver of the market&#8217;s record first half, with 8,197 robots valued at $450 million sold to North American customers. This performance shattered the previous record for a single quarter, exceeding the fourth quarter of 2012 by 31% in units and 17% in revenue.
> 
> Since 2010 the robotics market in North America has grown an average of 26% per year leading up to its record setting first half performance in 2014. At the same time, the unemployment rate in the United States has fallen precipitously over this period.
> 
> &#8220;In 2010, after one of the worst recessions in our nation&#8217;s history, unemployment in the U.S. was nearing 10%,&#8221; said Jeff Burnstein, President of RIA. &#8220;Since then, amidst record years for robot sales, unemployment has steadily fallen toward pre-recessionary levels. The unemployment rate reached 6.1% in June of this year, the lowest it has been since September of 2008.&#8221;
> 
> In addition to falling unemployment, manufacturing jobs are now returning to the U.S. because of automation. "While we often hear that robots are job killers, just the opposite is true," Burnstein added. "Robots save and create jobs."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*The next graphene? Engineers to study new class of ultra-thin film materials*



> Three University of California, Riverside engineers are part of team recently awarded a nearly $1.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation to characterize, analyze and synthesize a new class of ultra-thin film materials that could improve the performance of personal electronics, optoelectronic devices and energy conversion systems.



Read more at: The next graphene? Engineers to study new class of ultra-thin film materials


----------



## ScienceRocks

*
Magnetic microhair material can change transparency, and make water flow uphill*
Magnetic microhair material can change transparency, and make water flow uphill


> What if your house's windows could automatically reduce the amount of hot sunlight passing through them, or your car's windshield could cause rain droplets to bead off to its edges? These things and more could soon be possible, thanks to a new animal hair-inspired material developed at MIT.
> 
> The material consists of a base layer of transparent flexible silicone, studded with a dense array of tiny nickel microhairs (or "micropillars"). At around 70 microns in height and 25 microns in width, each one is approximately a quarter the diameter of a human hair.
> 
> When an external magnetic field is applied at one side of the array, all of the hairs simultaneously bend towards it. The degree to which they bend can be controlled by varying the intensity of the field.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Clam fossils offer 10,000 year history of El Nino Southern Oscillation*



> (Phys.org) &#8212;A research team working in Peru, with members from France, Peru and the U.S. has found a way to track the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) going back as far as ten thousand years. In their paper published in the journal Science, the team reports that their study of clam fossils has revealed clear patterns of the ENSO and report that it has not been increasing in intensity over the course of the Holocene as some have suggested.
> 
> People have been living on the shores of the Pacific Ocean in Peru for a long time, and as they've done so, they've eaten clams, tossing the shells onto waste areas that grew to become huge mounds over thousands of years. In this new effort, the researchers dug down into several such mounds and extracted clam fossils they found, along with dirt and charcoal&#8212;remnants of ancient fires used to cook the clam meat. By taking measurements of oxygen isotopes in the clam shells, the researchers were able to calculate ocean surface temperatures at two to four week intervals throughout the lives of the individual clams, while radiocarbon dating of the dirt and charcoal revealed when the clams made their way into the mound. Examining multiple clams at different depths in the mounds allowed for creating a historical record of sea surface temperatures, and that allowed for charting the cycle of the ENSO going back ten thousand years.
> 
> The charts created by the research team suggest that the ENSO cycle does not have a predictable cycle and also that it has not been increasing in strength over the course of the Holocene as others have suggested. They did find some patterns, however. During a period approximately 4,000 to 5,000 years ago, for example, the ENSO was relatively weak, and during another period, from 6,700 to 7,500 years ago, ocean temperatures along the coast of Peru appeared to have been skewed by the location of warm water from an El Niño (when trade winds push warm water into the Eastern Pacific.)
> 
> The findings by the team also cast doubt on some theories that have been developed to explain why the ENSO occurs at all&#8212;primary among them are those that suggest they are due to a slight wobble in the Earth's orbit. If that were the case, it would seem logical to conclude that an identifiable periodicity would emerge over the course of ten thousand years, but now, that doesn't appear to be the case.


Read more at: Clam fossils offer 10,000 year history of El Nino Southern Oscillation


----------



## Abishai100

"Engineers have been discussing an ambitious and elegant habitat design project involving a complex built entirely of plastic.

Plastics have come a long way, and there is good talk of developing a living center which includes a swimming pool, apartment towers, work-out gym, hair cuttery, laundry room, department store, grocery store, food court, and its own security officers.

The plastics in the proposed habitat are reinforced with rubbers and efficient plumbing and each apartment comes with an individual heating-cooling box.

Of course, elevator cables and telephone wires are of usual material in this otherwise completely plastic mini-city.

We've already developed sophisticated solar homes and elaborate adult-themed tree houses, so a plastic habitat further encourages people to think about creative home designs in our consumerism age of self-determined material use."


Such storyboarding is made possible with the well-funded development of plastics research.






Plastic News Daily, Injection Molding, Extrusion Polymers Communities


----------



## ThirdTerm

Neanderthals went extinct in Europe about 40,000 years ago, giving them millennia to coexist with modern humans culturally and sexually, new findings suggest. This research also suggests that modern humans did not cause Neanderthals to rapidly go extinct, as some researchers have previously suggested. Neanderthals are the closest extinct relatives of modern humans, and lived in Europe and Asia. Recent findings suggest that Neanderthals were closely related enough to interbreed with ancestors of modern humans — about 1.5 to 2.1 percent of the DNA of anyone outside Africa is Neanderthal in origin.





A site in Abric Romani, Spain, where Neanderthal remains were found.

The new findings suggest that Neanderthals disappeared from Europe between about 41,000 and 39,000 years ago. The Neanderthal extinction occurred across sites ranging from the Black Sea to the Atlantic Coast of Europe. The timing and geography suggest Neanderthals may have overlapped with modern humans for 2,600 to 5,400 years, opening the door for genetic and cultural exchanges between the two groups for millennia.

Neanderthals may not even have truly disappeared, but instead have been assimilated into modern human populations. "We know, of course, that we have a genetic legacy from Neanderthals of about 1 to 2 percent, so there was interbreeding," Higham said. One mystery regarding sex between Neanderthals and modern humans is that the greatest amount of interbreeding between the two lineages is currently thought to have occurred about 77,000 to 114,000 years ago, preceding any potential interbreeding in Europe. However, Higham noted more recent as-yet-unpublished data suggest the interbreeding events occurred about 55,000 to 60,000 years ago, more in tune with interbreeding scenarios involving Europe. "What is needed is more genetic analysis of human bone from this transitional period in Europe," Higham said.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Japan's creepy sex doll industry 'reaches next level' in creation of perfect artificial £1,000 ‘Dutch Wife’ which comes with 'realistic feeling skin'*


Firm Oriental Industry claims the dolls are their most realistic to date
Come complete with realistic feeling skin and authentic looking eyes
Sold under the name 'Dutch Wives' and cost just over £1,000 each
Company say early sales indicate the dolls are a big success

Read more: http://www.dailymail....ling-skin.html


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Schrödinger's cat caught on quantum film*
*New Scientist ^ * | 27 August 2014 | Penny Sarchet 


Schrödinger's cat is the poster child for quantum weirdness. Now it has been immortalised in a portrait created by one of the theory's strangest consequences: quantum entanglement.

These images were generated using a cat stencil and entangled photons. The really spooky part is that the photons used to generate the image never interacted with the stencil, while the photons that illuminated the stencil were never seen by the camera.

(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...


----------



## ScienceRocks

http://techcrunch.co...7/18/matterfab/

This company is making 3D printing metal an order of magnitude (10×) cheaper.


----

http://www.gartner.c...room/id/2825417


"Consumer 3D printing is around five to 10 years away from mainstream adoption."

----

NASA is testing swarm robots: http://www.valuewalk...xplore-planets/


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Robotic raptors that look and fly like the real thing*
By Colin Jeffrey
Robotic raptors that look and fly like the real thing
_September 2, 2014_

10 Comments
7 Pictures




> Birds that stray into the paths of aircraft, eat crops, or spread disease from foraging in large numbers at landfills are, at best, a nuisance and, at worst, downright dangerous. Over the years people have tried everything from scaring them away with loud noises to trapping them – all with varying results. Now a designer from the Netherlands has come up with robotic birds of prey that look and fly exactly like the real thing.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* 3D printed concrete castle and plans to create and sell a concrete printer kit for about $30,000 to $50,000 that can print two story houses *


> [In Minnesota, contractor Andrey Rudenko is currently working on a project of gargantuan proportions that seems to be stretching and exploring the limits of 3D printing technology. Using a printer that was substantially modified and expanded, he has printed a concrete castle in his own backyard. And at 3 by 5 meters, this concrete structure is the world's first 3D printed concrete castle, and one of the largest objects that has, up till now, ever printed with 3D printing technology.
> 
> 
> Contour crafting has been under development for several years but has not gotten to commercialized production of houses. There were ten houses built in China using 3D printing earlier this year. This project could soon bring 3Dhouse printing to the popular Maker movement and building contractors.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Newly discovered cave art is likely the work of Neanderthals*
* James Sullivan * | Science Recorder | September 01, 2014




> While the word Neanderthal typically conjures up the image of primitive, brutish cave-men, some newly discovered cave etchings at Gorham’s Cave near the Strait of Gibraltar suggest that there is likely more to our distant hominid ancestors than was previously thought, The Associated Press reports. Like modern day humans, Neanderthals may have been capable of expressing abstractions.
> 
> The study, which was published this week in the journal _Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences_, examined rock grooves covered in sediment. Prior to this discovery, archaeologists found Neanderthal tools buried in the same sediment, suggesting that the etchings were around at the time of the Neanderthals.




Read more: Newly discovered cave art is likely the work of Neanderthals Science Recorder





> A series of lines scratched into rock in a cave near the southwestern tip of Europe could be proof that Neanderthals were more intelligent and creative than previously thought.
> 
> The cross-hatched engravings inside Gorham's Cave in Gibraltar are the first known examples of Neanderthal rock art, according to a team of scientists who studied the site. The find is significant because it indicates that modern humans and their extinct cousins shared the capacity for abstract expression.
> 
> The study, released Monday by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, examined grooves in a rock that had been covered with sediment. Archaeologists had previously found artifacts associated with Neanderthal culture in the overlying layer, suggesting that the engravings must be older, said Clive Finlayson, one of the study's authors.
> 
> "It is the last nail in the coffin for the hypothesis that Neanderthals were cognitively inferior to modern humans," said Paul Tacon, an expert in rock art at Australia's Griffith University. Tacon, who was not involved in the study, said the research showed that the engravings were made with great effort for ritual purposes, to communicate with others, or both.
> 
> "We will never know the meaning the design held for the maker or the Neanderthals who inhabited the cave but the fact that they were marking their territory in this way before modern humans arrived in the region has huge implications for debates about what it is to be human and the origin of art," said Tacon.



Study Claims Cave Art Made by Neanderthals - ABC News


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New fossils found in Argentina represent the most complete giant sauropod dinosaur ever discovered.*

Scientists say they have 70% of the key bones needed to fully describe the creature, _Dreadnoughtus schrani_.

Continue reading the main story








> At 26m from head to tail, Dreadnoughtus was longer than two London buses parked end to end
> It means they can confidently estimate its great bulk - a beast that measured 26m from head to tail and weighed in at almost 60 tonnes.
> 
> Remarkably, the skeletal analysis reveals _Dreadnoughtus_ was still growing at the time of its death.
> 
> Quite how large the dino might have become, no-one can say.
> 
> The Patagonian rocks from which it was pulled suggest that the young animal's life was cut short in a catastrophic flood.
> 
> A detailed write-up on the 77-million-year-old fossils appears in the journal Scientific Reports.
> 
> The study group's leader is Kenneth Lacovara from Drexel University, Philadelphia, US.
> 
> He told the BBC that the dinosaur's enormous size would have been intimidating.
> 
> And for that reason, he has given the beast a name that recalls the massive battleships that revolutionised naval warfare in the early 1900s.
> 
> "_Dreadnoughtus_ was huge, and in its environment there would have been nothing that could have preyed on it; it was essentially impervious to attack," he explained.
> 
> "And that evoked in my mind those turn-of-the-last-century battleships - the first really big steel battleships - that were also impervious to attack from the other ships that existed at that time. So, what better name than 'dread nought' - 'fears nothing'."
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _Dreadnoughtus_ was one of the so-called titanosaurs.
> 
> These immense, long-necked, plant-eating dinos were the most massive beasts ever to plod the Earth's land surface.
> 
> These immense, long-necked, plant-eating dinos were the most massive beasts ever to plod the Earth's land surface.
> 
> Jump media player
> Media player help
> Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.
> Ken Lacovara: "Previous skeletons have been so fragmentary"
> 
> Some, such as _Argentinosaurus_ - a previous South American discovery - could even have topped the scales at close to 100 tonnes.
> 
> But such estimates are based on very fragmentary evidence. In the case of _Argentinosaurus_, this is just half-a-dozen vertebrae in its mid-back, a few hip pieces and a shin bone.
> 
> And this is why _Dreadnoughtus_ is generating so much excitement.
> 
> Although its skull has not survived, almost half of the rest of the skeleton has been preserved.
> 
> And when you consider just the key bone groups, more than two-thirds of the complete animal is present in fossil form.
Click to expand...


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Korea made graphene nickel composite that were up to 4 times stronger than Titanium *
Nature - Korean researchers developed graphene copper composite material that is 50% stronger than titanium and a graphene nickel composite that is 4 times stronger than titanium.



> They demonstrated a new material design in the form of a nanolayered composite consisting of alternating layers of metal (copper or nickel) and monolayer graphene that has ultra-high strengths of 1.5 and 4.0 GPa for copper–graphene with 70-nm repeat layer spacing and nickel–graphene with 100-nm repeat layer spacing, respectively. The ultra-high strengths of these metal–graphene nanolayered structures indicate the effectiveness of graphene in blocking dislocation propagation across the metal–graphene interface. Ex situ and in situ transmission electron microscopy compression tests and molecular dynamics simulations confirm a build-up of dislocations at the graphene interface.
> 
> The copper-graphene composite that has 500 times the tensile strength of copper (1.5 gigapascals), and a nickel-grapehene composite that has 180 times the tensile strength of nickel (4 gigapascals). This is still some way off graphene’s tensile strength of 130 GPa — which is about 200 times stronger than steel (600 MPa) — but it’s still very, very strong. At 1.5 GPa, copper-graphene is about 50% stronger than titanium, or about three times as strong as structural aluminium alloys.


----------



## ScienceRocks

http://phys.org/news...-cryogenic.html



> A new concept in metallic alloy design – called "high-entropy alloys" - has yielded a multiple-element material that not only tests out as one of the toughest on record, but, unlike most materials, the toughness as well as the strength and ductility of this alloy actually improves at cryogenic temperatures. This multi-element alloy was synthesized and tested through a collaboration of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley and Oak Ridge National Laboratories.





> "We examined CrMnFeCoNi, a high-entropy alloy that contains five major elements rather than one dominant one," says Robert Ritchie, a materials scientist with Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division. "Our tests showed that despite containing multiple elements with different crystal structures, this alloy crystalizes as a single phase, face‐centered cubic solid with exceptional damage tolerance, tensile strength above one gigapascal, and fracture toughness values that are off the charts, exceeding that of virtually all other metallic alloys."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Drone helps RCMP find missing family in Dartmouth woods*
*Family of 3 found near Topsail Lake*



> RCMP in Nova Scotia used a drone to find a family missing in the woods in Dartmouth Saturday night.
> 
> On Saturday night a couple and their 17 year old left to go hiking around 4:30 p.m., off Highway 107.
> 
> They become disoriented and called police around 8:30 p.m.
> 
> Police say they sent up one of their unmanned aerial vehicles and it found the family in a heavily wooded area near Topsail Lake.
> 
> Officers and police dogs were able to walk the family out of the woods around 2 a.m. on Sunday.
> 
> Nova Scotia RCMP bought five drones earlier this summer. Each machine costs around $30,000.


Drone helps RCMP find missing family in Dartmouth woods - Nova Scotia - CBC News


Drones are cool and helping people all the time!


----------



## ScienceRocks

Nanostructured ceramics could be used to build lighter, stronger airplanes and batteries


> A new type of material, made up of nanoscale struts crisscrossed like the struts of a tiny Eiffel Tower, is one of the strongest and lightest substances ever made.
> 
> If researchers can figure out how to make the stuff in large quantities, it could be used as a structural material for making planes and trucks, as well as in battery electrodes.


----------



## boedicca

Genetically Modified Microhumans.....

_*Developers of artificial micro-humans, or ‘mini GM humans,’ are hoping to release their technology on the market by 2017.*
No this isn’t a sci-fi joke. Scientists are developing artificial humans in the same vein as GM plants with the hope that these creations will replace the need for using animals in laboratory testing.

Artificial humans will be ‘farmed’ with interacting organs that can be used in drug tests, speeding up the process of FDA and other government regulatory approvals, and supposedly without damaging rats or other animals currently used in laboratories. The GM humans will contain smartphone-sized microchips that will be programmed to replicate up to 10 major human organs.

Each GM human will be tiny – roughly the size of a microchip itself, simulating the response of humans to substances inhaled, absorbed in the blood, or exposed to in the intestinal tract...._


 Mad Science Genetically Modified Micro Humans to be Farmed for Drug Testing by 2017 Alex Jones Infowars There s a war on for your mind


----------



## Old Rocks

Micro-humans? Is that really what you and Jones read into this? Lordy, lordy!


----------



## Old Rocks

Matthew said:


> * 3D printed concrete castle and plans to create and sell a concrete printer kit for about $30,000 to $50,000 that can print two story houses *
> 
> 
> 
> [In Minnesota, contractor Andrey Rudenko is currently working on a project of gargantuan proportions that seems to be stretching and exploring the limits of 3D printing technology. Using a printer that was substantially modified and expanded, he has printed a concrete castle in his own backyard. And at 3 by 5 meters, this concrete structure is the world's first 3D printed concrete castle, and one of the largest objects that has, up till now, ever printed with 3D printing technology.
> 
> 
> Contour crafting has been under development for several years but has not gotten to commercialized production of houses. There were ten houses built in China using 3D printing earlier this year. This project could soon bring 3Dhouse printing to the popular Maker movement and building contractors.
Click to expand...


Interesting, and an advance. BUT! You have to have rebar in a concrete structure, otherwise, it is a hazard.


----------



## Abishai100

*DNA Gossip*

The primary reason that American comic books have such a cult following is because they characterize modern age scientific fascination with genetic modification.  Special comic book avatars such as Flash and She-Hulk exhibit traits of super-human strength or speed and encourage discussion about genetic transformation of the human body (or brain).

These avatars are the modern day political cartoon characters, inviting readers to comment on the dangers and the intrigue of science itself.

Serpentor, a super-genetic mutant soldier from the paramilitary comic book stylized franchise "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" (Hasbro & IDW), encourages people to ponder the impact of scientific progress.  Has science made us more sensitive (i.e., psychoanalysis) or more savage (i.e., nuclear weapons)?

Using art to discuss the politics behind science is a sign of modernity, and perhaps the Internet facilitates the dissemination of such dialogue.





Serpentor RAH - G.I. Joe Wiki - Joepedia - GI Joe Cobra toys


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers develop world's thinnest electric generator*


> Researchers from Columbia Engineering and the Georgia Institute of Technology report today that they have made the first experimental observation of piezoelectricity and the piezotronic effect in an atomically thin material, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), resulting in a unique electric generator and mechanosensation devices that are optically transparent, extremely light, and very bendable and stretchable.




Read more at: Researchers develop world s thinnest electric generator


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Physicists build reversible tractor beam*

Physicists build reversible tractor beam - Newsroom - ANU


> Laser physicists have built a tractor beam that can repel and attract objects, using a hollow laser beam that is bright around the edges and dark in its centre.
> 
> It is the first long-distance optical tractor beam and moved particles one fifth of a millimetre in diameter a distance of up to 20 centimetres, around 100 times further than previous experiments.
> 
> “Demonstration of a large scale laser beam like this is a kind of holy grail for laser physicists,” said Professor Wieslaw Krolikowski, from the Research School of Physics and Engineering.
> 
> The new technique is versatile because it requires only a single laser beam. It could be used, for example, in controlling atmospheric pollution or for the retrieval of tiny, delicate or dangerous particles for sampling.
> 
> The researchers can also imagine the effect being scaled up.
> 
> “Because lasers retain their beam quality for such long distances, this could work over metres. Our lab just was not big enough to show it,” said co-author Dr Vladlen Shvedov, a driving force behind the ANU project, along with Dr Cyril Hnatovsky.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Scientists resurrect 700-year-old viruses*



> (Phys.org) —Eric Delwart of the Blood Systems Research Institute in San Francisco and colleagues have found two 700-year-old viral sequences in frozen caribou dung in an arctic ice patch. The researchers isolated part of a viral RNA genome and the complete genome of a DNA virus. They infected living plants with the DNA virus. The study appears in the _Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences._




Read more at: Scientists resurrect 700-year-old viruses


----------



## ScienceRocks

28 October 2014 - A new £97m Met Office supercomputer will cement the UK's position as a world leader in weather and climate prediction.



> The weather's volatility has long been a popular British conversation topic - but the Government's plans for a new £97m supercomputer unveiled today will cement the UK's position as a world leader in weather and climate prediction.
> 
> This supercomputer will be 13 times more powerful than the current system used by the Met Office and will have 120,000 times more memory than a top-end smartphone.
> 
> Enabling forecast updates every hour and the ability to provide very high detail weather information for precise geographical areas, the world-leading High Performance Computer (HPC) will help the UK to predict disruptive weather events such as flooding, strong winds, fog and heavy snowfall more effectively.
> 
> The supercomputer's impressive computing power also opens up the potential for higher resolution models, which would have the ability to pinpoint more detail for small scale, high-impact weather. For example applying very high resolution (300m) models could help better determine the risk and timing of fog over airports.
> 
> Scientists will also explore the benefits of adapting the resolution to improve UK winter forecasts out to months ahead, and assessing the specific regional impacts of climate change such as floods, droughts and heatwaves.



 97m supercomputer makes UK world-leader in weather and climate science - Met Office


----------



## ScienceRocks

DARPA-Funded Researchers Have Tested a Drone That Can Learn



> Almost seven years ago, we learned that DARPA was investing millions of dollars in neuromorphic chips. That's a fancy term for a computer chip that mimics a biological cortex—a brain chip. Today, researchers are getting closer. And of course, they're putting those brain chips in drones.
> 
> Responding to DARPA's challenge, HRL Laboratories' Center for Neural and Emergent Systemsjust tested a tiny drone with a prototype neuromorphic chip. The drone packs 576 silicon neurons that communicate through spikes in electricity and respond to data from optical, ultrasound, and infrared sensors. And thanks to that brain-like chip, the little robot doesn't necessarily need a human to tell it what to do. It can learn and act on its own.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Japan's levitating maglev train reaches 500km/h (311mph)*




> Train fans have experienced the speed of super-fast maglev trains, during test runs for members of the public in central Japan.





http://www.bbc.co.uk...d-asia-30067889


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Martin Jetpack closer to takeoff in first responder applications*








> Last year's redesign of the long-awaited Martin Jetpack was accompanied by plans to begin commercial sales in 2014, starting with emergency response services and individual sales to follow thereafter. The release date for the first responder Jetpack has since been revised to 2016, a prediction bolstered by the fresh announcement of a partnership between Martin Aircraft Company and US company Avwatch to develop air-based, first responder solutions for the US Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense.


----------



## ScienceRocks

So DARPA is going to build atom replicators (APM / Molecular Manufacturing) for ...2019 (Development starting in Mars 2015). (self.Futurology)
submitted 22 hours ago * by Valmond



> I'm closely following what I can concerning Atomically Precise Manufacturing (search for anything with Dr Eric Drexler) and when DARPA launched a round searching contracts to bridge the atomic processing fabrication from the atomic level with that of the millimetre range in September, I knew something big was coming.
> 
> To deposit a candidature you had til somewhere in November (too late now!) and they will check all that out and choose with whom they will work. This is supposed to be done in March 2015.
> 
> And than I stumbled on this Document (Warning, direct download link to pdf) on this Website.
> 
> They have an actual timeline (!!) for the development of APM and it is 48 months (!!!) so ... March 2015 + 48 months is 2019...
> 
> In one of the latest videos with Dr Drexler (who have lately advocated for the exact same planning as DARPA seems to take, feedstocks + assembly), he also hints that 'it might be coming faster than you think' (paraphrasing, but that's the idea).


----------



## ScienceRocks

*MIT unveil the cheetah robot that can run and jump on its own power*



> Engineers have revealed a robot that runs on batteries at speeds of more than 10mph, jump 16 inches and gallop for at least 15 minutes while using less power than a microwave.
> 
> The robot is called the cheetah, named after the creature that inspired its creation by engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*15,000 robots usher in Amazon's Cyber Monday*



> An army of 15,000 robots is ready to roll as Amazon's fulfillment centers prepare for the holiday sales onslaught.
> 
> To pick, pack and ship those items, the company is launching a full-scale deployment of a robotic fulfillment system it purchased in 2012 and tested in 2013.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Charles Darwin's evolution notes released by Cambridge University*




> Charles Darwin's notebooks in which he first jotted down his theory of evolution have been put online in one of the most significant worldwide releases of the naturalist's material.
> 
> Over 12,000 images have been digitised by the University of Cambridge.
> 
> They chart Darwin's journey from him first coining the term "natural selection" to the release of On the Origin of Species 155 years ago.





> It is hoped the material will aid academic research throughout the world.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Horizontal, cableless elevators to enter testing in 2016*

December 2, 2014 02:45 am


> German tech company ThyssenKrupp envisions a future where self-propelled elevators can travel both horizontally and vertically along skyscrapers. Using linear motor technology similar to those seen in maglev — magnetic levitation — trains, the MULTI elevator system is billed as the first of its kind to operate without cables.



http://www.theverge.....ess-horizontal


----------



## ScienceRocks

New Cosmological Theory Goes Inflation-Free


> The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation is one of the greatest discoveries of modern cosmology. Astrophysicist George Smoot once likened its existence to “seeing the face of God.” In recent years, however, scientists have begun to question some of the attributes of the CMB. Peculiar patterns have emerged in the images taken by satellites such as WMAP and Planck – and they aren’t going away. Now, in a paper published in the December 1 issue of The Astronomical Journal, one scientist argues that the existence of these patterns may not only imply new physics, but also a revolution in our understanding of the entire Universe.
> 
> Let’s recap. Thanks to a blistering ambient temperature, the early Universe was blanketed in a haze for its first 380,000 years of life. During this time, photons relentlessly bombarded the protons and electrons created in the Big Bang, preventing them from combining to form stable atoms. All of this scattering also caused the photons’ energy to manifest as a diffuse glow. The CMB that cosmologists see today is the relic of this glow, now stretched to longer, microwave wavelengths due to the expansion of the Universe.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Time cloak used to hide messages in laser light*



> A "time cloak" that conceals events rather than objects can hide secret messages through a trick of light, making information invisible to all but the intended recipient.
> 
> Like an invisibility cloak that makes something disappear in plain sight, _*a time cloak makes an event disappear in time. *_It works by manipulating light traveling along an optical fibre.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Indonesian shell has 'earliest human engraving'*
BBC News - Indonesian shell has earliest human engraving 



> Zig-zag patterns found on a fossilised shell in Indonesia may be the earliest engraving by a human ancestor, a study has claimed.
> 
> The engraving is at least 430,000 years old, meaning it was done by the long-extinct Homo erectus, said the study.
> 
> The oldest man-made markings previously found were about 130,000 years old.
> 
> If confirmed, experts say the publishedfindings  in the journal Nature may force a rethink of how human culture developed.
> 
> One of the report's authors, Stephen Munro, told the BBC it could "rewrite human history".
> 
> "This is the first time we have found evidence for Homo erectus behaving this way," said the researcher, from Australian National University.
> 
> 'No other explanation'
> Hundreds of fossilised freshwater mussel shells were excavated and collected in Java by Dutch scientist Eugene Dubois in the 1890s, then stored in boxes for years in the Dutch city of Leiden.
> 
> In May 2007, Mr Munro took photos of them as part of his research for his PhD.
> 
> The engravings stood out very clearly on the digital photos when they had not been visible to the naked eye.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Polish scientists develop revolutionary graphene machine *

http://www.thenews.p...raphene-machine


> Researchers from the Institute of Electronic Materials Technology collaborated with engineers from the firm Seco-Wawreick to create a machine which can produce a sheet of graphene with a surface area of 50x50 cm within four hours.
> 
> According to Dr. Włodzimierz Strupiński from the Institute this is now one of the most efficient graphene producing machines in the world, and only Japan and Korea have any comparable technology.


----------



## ScienceRocks

This Software Takes Us One Step Closer To Biological Nanomachines



> Scientists at MIT have developed a computer model that allows them to create three-dimensional DNA shapes of unprecedented complexity (like 20-faced icosahedrons). Their system represents a significant step forward in the field of nanoscale biological engineering.
> 
> Researchers led by MIT biological engineer Mark Bathe describe their design program in the latest issue of Nature Communications. The video up top gives a good summary of the team's achievements, but we reached out to Bathe for some clarification on the claim that the designs in the video constitute "the most complicated 3D structures ever made (from) DNA."


----------



## ScienceRocks

3-D haptic shapes can be seen and felt in mid-air

*New research, using ultrasound, has developed a 3-D haptic shape that can be seen and felt in mid-air.*











> Touch feedback technology – known as haptics – has advanced rapidly in recent years. It is now used in a range of applications including entertainment, rehabilitation and even surgical training. New research by the University of Bristol, using ultrasound, has created a virtual 3-D haptic shape that can be seen and felt in mid-air.
> 
> This breakthrough, led by Dr Ben Long and colleagues at the university's Department of Computer Science, could improve the way 3-D shapes are used and function as an important new tool in certain situations. It could enable surgeons to explore a CT scan, for example, by enabling them to actually "feel" a disease, such as a tumour.
> 
> The method uses ultrasound, focussed onto hands above the device and can be felt. By focussing complex patterns of ultrasound, the air disturbances can be seen as floating 3-D shapes. Visually, the researchers have demonstrated the ultrasound patterns by directing the device at a thin layer of oil so that the depressions in the surface can be seen as spots when lit by a lamp.
> 
> The system generates a virtual 3-D shape that can be added to 3-D displays to create a holographic effect that can be seen and felt. The research team have also shown that users can match a picture of a 3-D shape to the shape created by the system. They have already been approached by companies interested in commercialising the technology. At this early stage of development, the level of detail in the virtual objects is limited, but using a greater number of speakers at smaller sizes could improve the resolution of projections.
> 
> “Touchable holograms, immersive virtual reality that you can feel and complex touchable controls in free space, are all possible ways of using this system,” says Dr Long. “In the future, people could feel holograms of objects that would not otherwise be touchable, such as feeling the differences between materials in a CT scan or understanding the shapes of artefacts in a museum.”
> 
> The research paper is published in ACM Transactions on Graphics and is presented at this week’s SIGGRAPH Asia 2014 conference [3-6 December].


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Quantum Teleportation Reaches Farthest Distance Yet*
Quantum Teleportation Reaches Farthest Distance Yet

A new distance record has been set in the strange world of quantum teleportation.



> In a recent experiment, the quantum state (the direction it was spinning) of a light particle instantly traveled 15.5 miles (25 kilometers) across an optical fiber, becoming the farthest successful
> 
> quantum teleportation feat yet. Advances in quantum teleportation could lead to better Internet and communication security
> 
> , and get scientists closer to developing quantum computers.
> 
> About five years ago, researchers could only teleport quantum information, such as which direction a particle is spinning, across a few meters. Now, they can beam that information across several miles


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## ScienceRocks

*Graphene Armor Would Be Light, Flexible and Far Stronger Than Steel*


> Who needs science fiction? Nature is a wealth of imaginative plot twists. Take carbon. Carbon is common. It’s the fourth most abundant element in the universe. And yet, carbon is also exceptional.
> 
> It’s the elemental keystone of terrestrial life. It stores and releases enough energy to power industrial revolutions. And flakes of the stuff, first peeled off graphite with scotch tape, might one day repel bullets and shield spacecraft.
> 
> Experimenting with the one-atom-thick sheets of carbon known as graphene, Researchers at Rice University recently wrote the material’s properties make it exceptionally good at dissipating the energy of incoming projectiles.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Historic leap: Navy shipboard laser operates in Persian Gulf*



> Officials at the Office of Naval Research (ONR) announced today that the laser weapon system (LaWS)—a cutting-edge weapon that brings significant new capabilities to America's Sailors and Marines—was for the first time successfully deployed and operated aboard a naval vessel in the Persian Gulf.
> 
> The operational demonstrations, which took place from September to November aboard USS Ponce (AFSB_ 15), were historic not only because they showed a laser weapon working aboard a deployed U.S. Navy ship, but also because LaWS operated seamlessly with existing ship defense systems._
> 
> _
> "Laser weapons are powerful, affordable and will play a vital role in the future of naval combat operations," said Rear Adm. Matthew L. Klunder, chief of naval research. "We ran this particular weapon, a prototype, through some extremely tough paces, and it locked on and destroyed the targets we designated with near-instantaneous lethality."_
> 
> _
> During the tests, LaWS—a collaborative effort between ONR, Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Research Laboratory, Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division and industry partners—hit targets mounted aboard a speeding oncoming small boat, shot a Scan Eagle unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) out of the sky, and destroyed other moving targets at sea.
> 
> Sailors worked daily with LaWS over several months since it was installed, and reported the weapon performed flawlessly, including in adverse weather conditions of high winds, heat and humidity. They noted the system exceeded expectations for both reliability and maintainability.
> 
> 
> _





> Data regarding accuracy, lethality and other factors from the Ponce deployment will guide the development of weapons under ONR's Solid-State Laser-Technology Maturation program. Under this program, industry teams have been selected to develop cost-effective, combat-ready laser prototypes that could be installed on vessels such as guided-missile destroyers and the Littoral Combat Ship in the early 2020s.
> 
> Researchers say the revolutionary technology breakthroughs demonstrated by LaWS will ultimately benefit not only U.S. Navy surface ships, but also airborne and ground-based weapon systems.
> 
> While laser weapons offer new levels of precision and speed for naval warfighters, they also bring increased safety for ships and crews, as lasers are not dependent on the traditional propellant and gunpowder-based ordnance found on ships. Lasers run on electricity and can be fired as long as there is power.
> 
> They also cost less to build, install and fire than traditional kinetic weapons—for example a multimillion-dollar missile.
> *
> 
> "At less than a dollar per shot, there's no question about the value LaWS provides," said Klunder. "With affordability a serious concern for our defense budgets, this will more effectively manage resources to ensure our Sailors and Marines are never in a fair fight."*
> 
> The Navy already has demonstrated the effectiveness of lasers in a variety of maritime settings. In a 2011 demonstration, a laser was used to defeat multiple small boat threats from a destroyer. In 2012, LaWS downed several unmanned aircraft in tests during naval exercises. Specific details on next steps and timeframes are being determined as the data from the current demonstrations are analyzed.







Read more at: Historic leap Navy shipboard laser operates in Persian Gulf


----------



## ScienceRocks

LHC finds new baryons


> Using the same massive particle accelerator that found the elusive Higgs Boson in 2012, physicists at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) announced that they discovered two new "heavy-weight" subatomic particles on Wednesday.
> 
> The LHC is a 17-mile long underground “racetrack” that accelerates two opposing beams of particles to speeds of 99.9999 percent the speed of light. The particles race around the LHC on a crash course, and when they collide, the temperatures soar to more than 100,000 times hotter than the center of the sun. At heats this extreme, the particles transform into a primordial form of matter known–in not-quite-technical terms–as a “subatomic soup.”


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Another four US companies granted approval for commercial drone use*
By Nick Lavars

_December 10, 2014_








> In another small, but promising step toward the adoption of commercial drones in the US, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted exemptions to four companies that clear their unmanned aircraft systems for takeoff.
> 
> The FAA has faced mounting pressure to redraft the strict laws that ban drone use in commercial operations. In attempting to balance the safety of US airspace with the largely untapped potential of unmanned aerial vehicles, the FAA was ordered by Congress to write new laws for commercial drones by September 2015.
> 
> A congressional hearing this week revealed that this deadline is unlikely to be met, with the FAA claiming it needs until at least 2017 to safely integrate commercial drones with national airspace.
> 
> *We have lift-off*
> In the meantime, the agency has been handing out discretionary permits to a handful of companies. The first tranche, announced back in September, granted six Hollywood studios permission to use drones in film production. These included conditions that all operators hold pilot certificates, the drone be subject to inspection before use and only be flown within line of sight.



* New Mazda Miata will feature no-paint bioplastic parts *
By Ben Coxworth
December 10, 2014



 


> The sporty Mazda Miata may not be at the top of many "green car" lists, but the 2016 model will nonetheless be the first vehicle to incorporate parts made from a new bioplastic developed by the automaker. The plastic is based on plant-derived materials instead of petroleum, and doesn't need to be painted.


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## ScienceRocks

*New 'high-entropy' alloy is as light as aluminum, as strong as titanium alloys*
*Dec 10, 2014 by Matt Shipman *


> Researchers from North Carolina State University and Qatar University have developed a new "high-entropy" metal alloy that has a higher strength-to-weight ratio than any other existing metal material.
> 
> High-entropy alloys are materials that consist of five or more metals in approximately equal amounts. These alloys are currently the focus of significant attention in materials science and engineering because they can have desirable properties.
> 
> The NC State research team combined lithium, magnesium, titanium, aluminum and scandium to make a nanocrystalline high-entropy alloy that has low density, but very high strength.
> 
> *"The density is comparable to aluminum, but it is stronger than titanium alloys,"* says Dr. Carl Koch, Kobe Steel Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at NC State and senior author of a paper on the work. "It has a combination of high strength and low density that is, as far as we can tell, unmatched by any other metallic material. The strength-to-weight ratio is comparable to some ceramics, but we think it's tougher - less brittle - than ceramics."




Read more at: New high-entropy alloy is as light as aluminum as strong as titanium alloys


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## ScienceRocks

* Laser-induced graphene electronics scalable for roll-to-roll manufacture of nanoscale electronics *


> Researchers at Rice University have created flexible, patterned sheets of multilayer graphene from a cheap polymer by burning it with a computer-controlled laser. The process works in air at room temperature and eliminates the need for hot furnaces and controlled environments, and it makes graphene that may be suitable for electronics or energy storage.
> 
> Under a microscope, what the researchers call laser-induced graphene (LIG) doesn’t look like a perfect chicken wire-like grid of atoms. Instead, it’s a jumble of interconnected graphene flakes with five-, six- and seven-atom rings. The paired five- and seven-atom rings are considered defects – but in this case, they’re not. They’re features.
> 
> The material can be made in detailed patterns. For show-and-tell, the Rice team patterned millimeter-sized LIG Owls (the school’s mascot), and for practical testing they fabricated microscale supercapacitors with LIG electrodes in one-step scribing.
> 
> The one-step process is scalable, said Tour, who suggested it could allow for rapid roll-to-roll manufacture of nanoscale electronics.


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## ScienceRocks

*Horned dinosaurs landed in America 110 million years ago, some rabbit-sized*
* Delila James * | Science Recorder | December 10, 2014
Horned dinosaurs landed in America 110 million years ago some rabbit-sized Science Recorder


> An itsy-bitsy dinosaur, discovered in 1997 but only recently classified, is the oldest evidence of a group of horned dinosaurs that includes Triceratops, on the North American continent. Researchers discuss the dinosaur, newly dubbed _Aquilops americanus_, in the open-access journal _PLOS ONE_.
> 
> When paleontologists unearthed the tiny skull 17 years ago, they did not know what they had found, according to a report by _National Geographic_. The fossil belonged to a group of horned dinosaurs called ceratopsians—a group known to have flourished during the Cretaceous period but whose evolutionary ancestry was uncertain.


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## ScienceRocks

*Fossils of rare, ancient animals found in Tegal *
Fossils of rare ancient animals found in Tegal The Jakarta Post




> The Yogyakarta Archaeology Agency has said that it has found fossils of two rare, ancient animals in Semedo, an archaeology site in Semedo village in Kedungbanteng district, Tegal regency, Central Java.
> 
> The unearthed fossils of the species -- dwarf elephant (stegodon) and giant ape -- are considered to be an extraordinary finding as the agency says those species have never been seen before.
> 
> Agency head Siswanto said the two fossils were found separately. The dwarf elephant fossil was discovered in 2013 while the giant ape fossil was found this year.
> 
> “These two findings are important because after we examined them further, we found that the dwarf elephant was an endemic fauna in Semedo. That’s why we named the species stegodon [pygmy] semedoensis,” Siswanto said. The archaeologist explained the findings in a general lecture at the University of Soedirman (Unsoed) in Purwokerto, Central Java, on Monday.
> 
> Siswanto said the naming of the species was based on a number of scientific reasons. Based on morfometria mandibular analysis, for instance, the discovered dwarf elephant species belongs to stegodontidae, an extinct family of proboscideans. Its mandibular size was below normal.
> 
> Siswanto further explained the dwarf elephant fossil was a representative finding because it had never been found in other archaeological sites. The species had also never received a scientific name before.
> 
> Results of fossil examination showed that stegodon semedoensis was a stunted animal species as shown by the small size of its teeth and lower jaw.
> 
> Siswanto said the agency was still analyzing two fossils of teeth still attached to the lower jaw of the species identified as an ancient giant ape.
> 
> “It’s a phenomenal and sensational discovery because all this time, fossils of the species could be found only in China, India and areas in Vietnam that cross border with China,” said Siswanto.
> 
> He said archaeologists had previously concluded that the habitat of the gigantophitecus species was only on China and South Asia.
> *
> “The discovery of gigantopithecus in Semedo proves that the ancient giant ape species--around 3 meters tall (between 9 and 10 feet)-- also lived in Java,” said Siswanto. (ebf)*(+++)


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## ScienceRocks

*Discovery advances ferroelectrics in quest for lower power transistors*
*15 hours ago *




The atomic structure of a ferroelectric material exhibits the so-called “negative capacitance” effect. If successfully built into transistors, it could drastically reduce the electricity needed to run computer processors and other …more


> (Phys.org)—An article released today by the journal _Nature Materials_ describes the first direct observation of a long-hypothesized but elusive phenomenon called "negative capacitance." The work describes a unique reaction of electrical charge to applied voltage in a ferroelectric material that could open the door to a radical reduction in the power consumed by transistors and the devices containing them.





Read more at: Discovery advances ferroelectrics in quest for lower power transistors


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New, tighter timeline confirms ancient volcanism aligned with dinosaurs' extinction*
*6 hours ago *




A definitive geological timeline from Princeton University researchers shows that a series of massive eruptions 66 million years ago in a primeval volcanic range in western India known as the Deccan Traps played a role in the extinction event …more


> A definitive geological timeline shows that a series of massive volcanic explosions 66 million years ago spewed enormous amounts of climate-altering gases into the atmosphere immediately before and during the extinction event that claimed Earth's non-avian dinosaurs, according to new research from Princeton University.




Read more at: New tighter timeline confirms ancient volcanism aligned with dinosaurs extinction


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Elon Musk’s speed-of-sound Hyperloop is actually being built*

By Sebastian Anthony on December 19, 2014 at 9:02 am
30 Comments



> *Share This article*
> 
> Way back in the summer of 2013, SpaceX’s Elon Musk proposed a new transportation system that was equal parts awesome and insane: The Hyperloop. The system, which would consist of an above-ground vacuum tube, would be able to get people from San Francisco to Los Angeles in under 30 minutes. Unfortunately, that was the extent of Musk’s involvement: He gave us his plans in the form of a 57-page white paper, and then told the world to go ahead and build it. Now, a group of 100-odd engineers have banded together to try and actually create a Hyperloop — and they seem to be making pretty solid progress.
> 
> Back in September, following the release of Musk’s Hyperloop white paper, a company called Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc was formed. This isn’t your usual kind of company, though: They’re using a model/service called JumpStartFund, where each employee is only paid if the company ever turns a profit. As a result, most of the workers are already working for other companies, such as Boeing, NASA, and SpaceX — but on the side they do some moonlighting on the Hyperloop project, with the hope that there’s eventually a massive pay-off. Wired reports that there’s about 100 engineers currently working on the Hyperloop project, and that it isn’t some all-inclusive club where everyone can join in: They rejected “100 or so” applicants, too. It’s kind of like crowdsourcing, but a bit pickier.
> 
> Anyway, Hyperoloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) has been fairly quiet over the past year — but now, it seems, they’re ready to show their work so far:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> There’s a lot of work left to do, of course. So far, a lot of the work appears to have been done by a group of 25 UCLA design and architecture students. The engineers — the ones who work at aerospace companies during the day — are working on a technical feasibility study, which is due to be completed by mid-2015.



Elon Musk 8217 s speed-of-sound Hyperloop is actually being built ExtremeTech


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## ScienceRocks

*New record for deepest fish*
BBC News - New record for deepest fish


> A new record has been set for the world's deepest fish.
> 
> The bizarre-looking creature, which is new to science, was filmed 8,145m beneath the waves, beating the previous depth record by nearly 500m.
> 
> Several other new species of fish were also caught on camera, as well as huge crustaceans called supergiants.
> 
> The animals were discovered during an international expedition to the Mariana Trench, which lies almost 11km down in the Pacific Ocean.
> 
> The 30-day voyage took place from the Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel, Falkor, and is the most comprehensive survey of world's deepest place ever undertaken.
> 
> The Hadal Ecosystem Studies (Hades) team deployed unmanned landers more than 90 times to depths that ranged between 5,000m and 10,600m. They studied both steep walls of the undersea canyon.


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## ScienceRocks

*First direct evidence that a mysterious phase of matter competes with high-temperature superconductivity*
*5 hours ago *






> (Phys.org)—Scientists have found the first direct evidence that a mysterious phase of matter known as the "pseudogap" competes with high-temperature superconductivity, robbing it of electrons that otherwise might pair up to carry current through a material with 100 percent efficiency.
> 
> The result, led by researchers at Stanford University and the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, is the culmination of 20 years of research aimed at finding out whether the pseudogap helps or hinders superconductivity, which could transform society by making electrical transmission, computing and other areas much more energy efficient.
> 
> The new study definitively shows that the pseudogap is one of the things that stands in the way of getting superconductors to work at higher temperatures for everyday uses, said lead author Makoto Hashimoto, a staff scientist at SLAC's Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL), the DOE Office of Science User Facility where the experiments were carried out. The results were published in _Nature Materials_.
> 
> "Now we have clear, smoking-gun evidence that the pseudogap phase competes with and suppresses superconductivity," Hashimoto said. "If we can somehow remove this competition, or handle it better, we may be able to raise the operating temperatures of these superconductors."





Read more at: First direct evidence that a mysterious phase of matter competes with high-temperature superconductivity


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## ScienceRocks

Google self-driving car prototype ready to try road


> Google on Monday announced that the first completed prototype of its self-driving car is ready to be road tested.
> 
> "We're going to be spending the holidays zipping around our test track, and we hope to see you on the streets of Northern California in the new year," the Internet titan's autonomous car team said in a post at Google+ social network.


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## ScienceRocks

*Scientists reveal breakthrough in optical fibre communications*
*Dec 19, 2014 *




A constellation diagram of one of the mainstream modulation formats of the future system: Sixteen Quadrature-Amplitude modulation


> Researchers from the University of Southampton have revealed a breakthrough in optical fibre communications.
> 
> Academics from the University's Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) have collaborated with colleagues at Eblana Photonics Inc, in Ireland, to develop an approach that enables direct modulation of laser currents to be used to generate highly advanced modulation format signals.
> 
> The research, published in the journal _Nature Communications_, explores a radically new approach to the generation of spectrally-efficient advanced modulation format signals as required in modern optical communication systems.
> 
> This new technology, patented by the University of Southampton and licensed to Eblana Photonics Inc, avoids the need for costly and power-inefficient external modulator schemes that are currently used to generate such signals..
> 
> Dr Radan Slavik, Principal Research Fellow at the ORC, said: "Our paper highlights the exquisite control that we have achieved over the optical field generated directly from a current-modulated semiconductor laser."




Read more at: Scientists reveal breakthrough in optical fibre communications

----


*Quantum physics just got less complicated*
*Dec 19, 2014 *




Quantum physics says that particles can behave like waves, and vice versa. Researchers have now shown that this 'wave-particle duality' is simply the quantum uncertainty principle in disguise. Credit: Timothy Yeo / CQT, National University of Singapore


> Here's a nice surprise: quantum physics is less complicated than we thought. An international team of researchers has proved that two peculiar features of the quantum world previously considered distinct are different manifestations of the same thing. The result is published 19 December in _Nature Communications_.
> 
> Patrick Coles, Jedrzej Kaniewski, and Stephanie Wehner made the breakthrough while at the Centre for Quantum Technologies at the National University of Singapore. They found that 'wave-particle duality' is simply the quantum 'uncertainty principle' in disguise, reducing two mysteries to one.
> 
> "The connection between uncertainty and wave-particle duality comes out very naturally when you consider them as questions about what information you can gain about a system. Our result highlights the power of thinking about physics from the perspective of information," says Wehner, who is now an Associate Professor at QuTech at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.



Read more at: Quantum physics just got less complicated


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## ScienceRocks

* Harvard coloring tech could be an attractive alternative to paint *
By Ben Coxworth
December 23, 2014
3 Pictures





> Most people probably don't think of a coating of paint as being a particularly major component of a manufactured item. If the object is quite large, however, or if a lot of them are being made, paint can add considerably to its weight and/or production costs. With that in mind, researchers from Harvard University's Laboratory for Integrated Science and Engineering have created a new lightweight, low-cost coloring technology for both rough and smooth surfaces.


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## ScienceRocks

* 1.2-Million-Year-Old Stone Tool Unearthed in Turkey*
*1.2-Million-Year-Old Stone Tool Unearthed in Turkey Archaeology Sci-News.com*
Dec 24, 2014 by Sci-News.com


> *Archaeologists have found a Paleolithic stone flake in the ancient deposits of the Gediz River, revealing that human ancestors passed through the gateway from Asia to Europe much earlier than previously thought.*
> 
> *
> 
> 
> 1.2-million-year-old quartzite flake found in Turkey. Image credit: Royal Holloway University of London.
> 
> 
> Although Paleolithic stone tools have been found in western Turkey before, few have been associated with geological deposits of known age. As a result, the timing of early humans’ progress across the Anatolian peninsula is poorly understood.
> 
> The newfound stone tool is composed mainly of quartz and is about 5 cm long.
> 
> It shows evidence of being hammered by a hard tool and, according to the scientists, is at least 1.2 million years old.
> 
> “The flake was an incredibly exciting find. I had been studying the sediments in the meander bend and my eye was drawn to a pinkish stone on the surface. When I turned it over for a better look, the features of a humanly-struck artifact were immediately apparent,” said Prof Danielle Schreve of Royal Holloway University of London, UK, who is a co-author of the paper published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews.
> 
> “This discovery is critical for establishing the timing and route of early human dispersal into Europe.”*


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## ScienceRocks

*Little Uruguay has big plans for smart agriculture*
*3 hours ago by Ana Inés Cibils *




A combine harvester is used in a wheat field near the city of Mercedes, 270 km northwest of Montevideo, Uruguay, on December 4, 2014


> Uruguay, a country of 3.3 million inhabitants and four times as many cows, hopes to feed 50 million people thanks to drones, "smart" combines and other high-tech farming techniques.





Read more at: Little Uruguay has big plans for smart agriculture

Sounds awesome! No more slave labor to feed the population!


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## ScienceRocks

*Department of Defense developing smart sniper bullets that can change direction*
Trent Moore
Friday, December 26, 2014 - 9:58am






> It sounds like something straight out of science fiction, but the Department of Defense is developing a new smart bullet that can be controlled in flight — meaning it’s basically a bullet you can steer.


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## longknife

Matthew said:


> *Department of Defense developing smart sniper bullets that can change direction*
> Trent Moore
> Friday, December 26, 2014 - 9:58am
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It sounds like something straight out of science fiction, but the Department of Defense is developing a new smart bullet that can be controlled in flight — meaning it’s basically a bullet you can steer.
Click to expand...


Informative but kind of old "news". This was reported in Military Times a year ago.


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## ScienceRocks

*Study unveils new half-light half-matter quantum particles*
*10 hours ago *






> Prospects of developing computing and communication technologies based on quantum properties of light and matter may have taken a major step forward thanks to research by City College of New York physicists led by Dr. Vinod Menon.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> In a pioneering study, Professor Menon and his team were able to discover half-light, half-matter particles in atomically thin semiconductors (thickness ~ a millionth of a single sheet of paper) consisting of two-dimensional (2D) layer of molybdenum and sulfur atoms arranged similar to graphene. They sandwiched this 2D material in a light trapping structure to realize these composite quantum particles.
> 
> "Besides being a fundamental breakthrough, this opens up the possibility of making devices which take the benefits of both light and matter," said Professor Menon.




Read more at: Study unveils new half-light half-matter quantum particles


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## ScienceRocks

Dark Matter --Is It the "Operating System" of the Universe? 


> Is dark matter the "operating system" of the Universe? Tom Broadhurst, an Ikerbasqueresearcher at the UPV/EHU's Department of Theoretical Physics, thinks it is. He has participated alongside scientists of the National Taiwan University in a piece of research that explores cold dark matter in depth and proposes new answers about the formation of galaxies and the structure of the Universe. These predictions, published today in the prestigious journal Nature Physics, are being contrasted with fresh data provided by the Hubble space telescope.
> 
> In cosmology, cold dark matter is a form of matter the particles of which move slowly in comparison with light, and interact weakly with electromagnetic radiation. It is estimated that only a minute fraction of the matter in the Universe is baryonic matter, which forms stars, planets and living organisms. The rest, comprising over 80%, is dark matter and energy.


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## ScienceRocks

*Nanoscale neighbors: First use of transformation optics to accurately analyze nonlocality in 3D plasmonic systems*
*10 hours ago by Stuart Mason Dambrot 

*




The schematic of the problem. A dimer of separated nanospheres where the surface charge smearing is described by an effective cover layer of (A) a constant thickness Δd’, (B) a constant permittivity, εS =1 (shifting the metal bo


> undary by …more
> (Phys.org) —The ubiquitous _van der Waals_ interaction – a consequence of quantum charge fluctuations – includes intermolecular forces such as attraction and repulsion between atoms, molecules and surfaces. The most long-range force acting between particles, it influences a range of phenomena including surface adhesion, friction and colloid stability. Typically a simple task when parallel surfaces are further apart than 10 nanometers, calculating van der Waals forces between, for example, a pair of nanospheres less than five nanometers apart becomes quite difficult. Moreover, the latter scale requires that the effect of nonlocality (the direct interaction of two objects that are separated in space with no perceivable intermediate agency or mechanism) be considered, introducing complexity into, and thereby further hampering, analysis.





Read more at: Nanoscale neighbors First use of transformation optics to accurately analyze nonlocality in 3D plasmonic systems


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## ScienceRocks

There's three millitary innovations that impress me of the past 20 years.
1. The f-22. Of course, we only built 120 of them. 
2. The laser being deployed on a destroyer that is the real deal.
3. And finally the iron dome. 


*Upgrading Israel’s Iron Dome with swarmware*

*Upgrading Israel s Iron Dome with swarmware - Opinion - Jerusalem Post*


> If the summer war with Hamas in Gaza proved anything, it was the role the Iron Dome anti-missile system played in minimizing civilian deaths in Israel and keeping the war from escalating in response to greater casualties. But while Israel enjoyed the tactical advantage afforded by this technological marvel, Hamas, for its part, wasn’t just sitting idly by. It was learning how to beat it.
> 
> The qualitative edge that Israel has developed in the sky – offensively, with advanced jets and well-trained fighters and now UA Vs, and defensively with the Iron Dome and other layers of missile defense – is crucial to its survival, especially given its 20-milewide waist at the center of the country.


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## ScienceRocks

Audi takes its self-driving A7 development car on a 550-mile trip from the San Francisco Bay Area to CES 2015 in Las Vegas.


> During a ride in Audi's self-driving car along a freeway in Las Vegas at last year's CES, the system failed and the driver had to take over. After a year of development, Audi must feel it solved all the glitches, as it sends an A7 fitted with its self-driving gear on a two-day, 550-mile road trip from the San Francisco Bay Area to Las Vegas, and the 2015 International CES.



Audi s 550-mile self-driving gamble - CNET


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## ScienceRocks

*Weather service to boost its computer power for forecasting*
*12 hours ago by By Seth Borenstein *


> The National Weather Service is about to boost its computing power by more than tenfold, which officials hope will translate to better forecasts.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's two supercomputers will more than triple in computational ability this month and more than triple again by October. Computers will go from now being able to handle 426 trillion operations a second to 5,000 trillion calculations in the fall.
> 
> The upgrade costs $44.5 million.
> 
> NOAA chief Kathryn Sullivan, in a press release, said the computer boost "will lead to more timely, accurate, and reliable forecasts." The weather service's main computer forecast model this month will double its resolution for forecasts of less than 10 days.





Read more at: Weather service to boost its computer power for forecasting


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## ScienceRocks

* New acoustic levitation device goes out of alignment to expand potential applications *
By Ben Coxworth
January 6, 2015
1 Comment
3 Pictures





> Acoustic levitators are already pretty intriguing devices, in that they use opposing sound waves to suspend small objects in mid-air. Now, however, scientists from Brazil's University of São Paulo have created what they claim is a _better_ acoustic levitator. It's less fussy about the exact orientation of its components, making it more feasible for use in practical applications.


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## ScienceRocks

*High-temperature superconductor 'fingerprint' found*

*High-temperature superconductor fingerprint found*
*28 minutes ago by Anne Ju *


> (Phys.org) —Theorists and experimentalists working together at Cornell may have found the answer to a major challenge in condensed matter physics: identifying the smoking gun of why "unconventional" superconductivity occurs, they report in _Nature Physics_, published online Dec. 22.


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## ScienceRocks

* Honda's predictive cruise control aims to detect lane-changes ahead of time *
By Nick Lavars
January 8, 2015
1 Comment


 


> The emergence of adaptive cruise control in recent years has certainly been a welcome development, and now Honda is promising to take things one step further. It has today unveiled its Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control (i-ACC), a technology it claims is capable of predicting the chances of a car cutting into your lane up to five seconds before it occurs.


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## ScienceRocks

* US Navy buying $81 million in heat resistant batteries for hypersonic railguns *







> The U.S. Navy placed an $81.4 million order with K2 Energy Solutions Inc. for a battery system to power an electromagnetic railgun. K2 will design and build the lithium-ion storage system. The U.S. Navy plans to install and test a prototype electromagnetic railgun aboard a joint high speed vessel in fiscal year 2016.


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## ScienceRocks

*Israel Iron Beam will become the world's first active duty combat laser in 2015 *

Next Big Future Israel Iron Beam will become the world s first active duty combat laser in 2015


> Iron Beam is an air defense system currently in development by Israeli defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. It is expected to enter service with the Israel Defense Forces in 2015, the system is designed to destroy short-range rockets, artillery, and mortars too small for the Iron Dome system to intercept effectively.
> 
> This will be the first combat laser fielded for active service. Israel has the pressing need for short range defense that are too close for the Iron Dome. The US has the luxury of taking time to test lasers on navy ships, trucks and fighter planes and then fielding in a few years. Israel has testing in live combat since if the Iron beam fails the mortar would have got through anyway. Patriot anti-missile systems were also rushed into active service in early days of the Iraq conflict.
> 
> Iron Beam will use a "directed high energy laser beam" to destroy hostile targets with ranges of up to 7 kilometres (4.3 miles)


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## ScienceRocks

* Researchers discover a universal law of superconductivity  *
By Colin Jeffrey
January 11, 2015






> The immutable laws that govern our universe – such as those that reign over the observable world in classical mechanics and those that rule the atomic physics world – are at the core of all of our scientific principles. They not only provide consistent, repeatable, and accurate rules that allow calculations and experiments to be tested or verified, they also help us make sense of the workings of the cosmos. MIT researchers claim to have discovered a new universal law for superconductors that, if proved accurate, would bring the physics of superconductors in line with other universal laws and advance the likes of superconducting circuits for quantum and super low-power computing.


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## ScienceRocks

Black Phosphorous: The Birth of a New Wonder Material


> In the last few years, two-dimensional crystals have emerged as some of the most exciting new materials to play with. Consequently, materials scientists have been falling over themselves to discover the extraordinary properties of graphene, boron nitride, molybdenum disulphide, and so on.
> 
> A late-comer to this group is black phosphorus, in which phosphorus atoms join together to form a two-dimensional puckered sheet. Last year, researchers built a field-effect transistor out of black phosphorus and showed that it performed remarkably well. This research suggested that black phosphorous could have a bright future in nanoelectronic devices.


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## ScienceRocks

*CNN wins go-ahead to test drones for news coverage*
*3 hours ago *


> CNN said Monday it has reached agreement with US aviation regulators to test drones for news gathering in the US, the network said.
> 
> Conceived initially mainly for military purposes, private use of the small unmanned aircraft allowing for image and information gathering is practically banned in the United States, except at low altitudes (below 122 meters, or 400 feet, and far from airports).
> 
> "Our aim is to get beyond hobby-grade equipment and to establish what options are available and workable to produce high quality video journalism using various types of UAVs and camera setups," said CNN Senior Vice President David Vigilante. UAVs are unmanned aerial vehicles.




Read more at: CNN wins go-ahead to test drones for news coverage


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## ScienceRocks

*Carbon nanotube finding could lead to flexible electronics with longer battery life*
*3 hours ago by Adam Malecek *








> University of Wisconsin-Madison materials engineers have made a significant leap toward creating higher-performance electronics with improved battery life—and the ability to flex and stretch.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Led by materials science Associate Professor Michael Arnold and Professor Padma Gopalan, the team has reported the highest-performing carbon nanotube transistors ever demonstrated. In addition to paving the way for improved consumer electronics, this technology could also have specific uses in industrial and military applications.
> 
> In a paper published recently in the journal _ACS Nano_, Arnold, Gopalan and their students reported transistors with an on-off ratio that's 1,000 times better and a conductance that's 100 times better than previous state-of-the-art carbon nanotube transistors.



Read more at: Carbon nanotube finding could lead to flexible electronics with longer battery life
====

*How to create the world’s most complex 3D-motion nanomachines from DNA*


> Mechanical engineers at The Ohio State University have designed and constructed complex nanoscale mechanical parts using “DNA origami” — proving that the same basic design principles that apply to typical full-size machine parts can now also be applied to DNA — and can produce complex, controllable components for future nanorobots.


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## ScienceRocks

*Musk to build Hyperloop track, likely in Texas *


Elon Musk plans to build a test track for a high-speed Hyperloop transportation system, most likely in Texas, he tweeted on Thursday.



> The system would allow passengers to zoom in pods through systems of tubes at speeds of at least 600 miles per hour, which would easily outpace current high-speed rail systems. Companies and students could test out their pods at the test track, Musk said.
> 
> He added that he would consider holding a "pod racer competition" for students at the test track.



Eon Musk rules...The edison of our times!


Elon Musk says will build Hyperloop test track most likely in Texas


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## ScienceRocks

Water-Resistant Takes On Whole New Meaning With This Metal


> You probably haven’t seen something this water-resistant before. A team of scientists at the University of Rochester have created a metal so water-resistant, it bounces off of it.


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## ScienceRocks

* Lasers help create water-repelling, light-absorbing, self-cleaning metals *
By Dario Borghino
January 21, 2015
2 Comments
5 Pictures


 


> With the help of very high-power laser beams, researchers at the University of Rochester have created micro and nanostructures that turn metals black and make their surfaces very easy to keep clean and dry. The advance could help prevent icing and rust, collect heat more effectively and perhaps even translate to other materials, leading to water-repelling electronics.


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## Old Rocks

If the patterning leaves a material transparent, such as glass, eye glasses, wind shields, ect.


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## ScienceRocks

*Navy Slab Solid State Lasers could scale to 300-500 Kilowatts *


The Congressional Research service recently provided a Navy report of Shipboard Lasers for Surface, Air, and Missile Defense: Background and Issues for Congress.


> US laser development has reached the point where lasers capable of countering certain surface and air targets at ranges of about a mile could be made ready for installation on Navy surface ships over the next few years. More powerful shipboard lasers, which could become ready for installation in subsequent years, could provide Navy surface ships with an ability to counter a wider range of surface and air targets at ranges of up to about 10 miles.
> 
> The Navy and DOD have conducted development work on three principal types of lasers for potential use on Navy surface ships—fiber solid state lasers (SSLs), slab SSLs, and free electron lasers (FELs). One fiber SSL prototype demonstrator developed by the Navy is the Laser Weapon System (LaWS). The Navy plans to install a LaWS system on the USS Ponce, a ship operating in the Persian Gulf as an interim Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB_), in the summer of 2014 to conduct continued evaluation of shipboard lasers in an operational setting. The Navy reportedly anticipates moving to a shipboard laser program of record in “the FY2018 time frame” and achieving an initial operational capability (IOC) with a shipboard laser in FY2020 or FY2021._


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## ScienceRocks

* Laser Weapons will be mounted on various US navy ship guns *
Next Big Future Laser Weapons will be mounted on various US navy ship guns


> The Laser Weapon System or LaWS is a directed-energy weapon developed by the United States Navy. The weapon was installed on the USS Ponce for field testing in 2014. In December 2014 the United States Navy reported the LaWS system works perfectly, and that the commander of the USS Ponce is authorized to use the system as a defensive weapon.


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## ScienceRocks

*Scientists slow the speed of light*
BBC News - Scientists slow the speed of light

By Kenneth Macdonald BBC Scotland Science Correspondent


> Photons were shown to reach the "finishing line" at different times
> 
> A team of Scottish scientists has made light travel slower than the speed of light.
> 
> They sent photons - individual particles of light - through a special mask. It changed the photons' shape - and slowed them to less than light speed.
> 
> The photons remained travelling at the lower speed even when they returned to free space.
> 
> The experiment is likely to alter how science looks at light.
> 
> The collaborators - from Glasgow and Heriot-Watt universities - are members of the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance. They have published their results in the journal Science Express.
> 
> The speed of light is regarded as an absolute. It is 186,282 miles per second in free space.


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## ScienceRocks

http://nextbigfuture...ne-will-be.html


> PhD candidate Shou-En Zhu developed a method that could produce high-quality graphene for a fraction of the current price. What’s more, he demonstrated the quality in working devices.
> “Now a single piece of graphene costs about €1,000”, said Zhu. “We expect to reduce the price by a factor of thousand to about €1 per piece in a few years.”


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## ScienceRocks

* Spire plans to use tiny satellites for more accurate weather forecasts *
By Ben Coxworth
January 29, 2015
2 Pictures


 


> Weather forecasting is a notoriously inexact science. According to San Francisco-based tech startup Spire, this is partially because there are currently less than 20 satellites responsible for gathering all of the world's weather data – what's more, some of the older ones are using outdated technology. Spire's solution? Establish a linked network of over 100 shoebox-sized CubeSats, that will use GPS technology to gather 100 times the amount of weather data than is currently possible. The first 20 of those satellites are scheduled to launch later this year.


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## ScienceRocks

Engineering Discovery Brings Invisibility Closer to Reality


> Since the beginning of recorded time, humans have used materials found in nature to improve their lot. Since the turn of this century, scientists have studiedmetamaterials, artificial materials engineered to bend electromagnetic, acoustic and other types of waves in ways not possible in nature.
> 
> Now, Hao Xin, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Arizona, has made a discovery with these synthetic materials that may take engineers one step closer to building microscopes with superlenses that see molecular-level details, or shields that conceal military airplanes and even people.


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## ScienceRocks

*New Advanced Steel Is Stronger and Lighter Than Titanium Alloy*
*Txchnologist*






> Many automobile owners might not have noticed one of the fundamental changes that has happened to their vehicles over the last several years. The amount of iron and steel going into new automobiles decreased by 8 percent between 1995 and 2011, with just over 60 percent of the average car being made of the two metals that final year.
> 
> The increasing use of lighter aluminum and composite materials, along with iron and steel's relatively low strength-to-weight ratio, has been pushing engineers away from the former material workhorses of automotive manufacturing. But the desire to improve steel's mechanical properties by lowering its density while keeping it just as strong has kept metallurgists working hard. They've been able to lower density by doping steel with aluminum, but the alloy suffers from brittleness wherever the two metals meet.


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## ScienceRocks

* Alibaba trials drone delivery service in China *
By Ben Coxworth





> Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd beat Amazon to the punch this Wednesday, by beginning actual deliveries-by-drone. The three-day, three-city test of the system began in Beijing, with deliveries being made from a single merchant operating through Alibaba's Amazon-like Taobao Marketplace website.


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## ScienceRocks

*US Navy’s new ‘Star Wars’-style railgun hits Mach 6*



By  Allison Barrie



> Published February 05, 2015
> FoxNews.com
> Facebook196 Twitter200 livefyre128 Email Print
> 
> 
> 
> 
> EM Railgun (BAE Systems)
> 
> The Navy and Marine Corps’ new ‘Star Wars’-style weapon made its debut in the nation’s capital this week.
> 
> The Electromagnetic Railgun, developed by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) with BAE Systems, has the potential to revolutionize naval warfare.
> 
> The weapon was on display to the public for the first time at the Naval Future Force Science and Technology EXPO at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Wednesday and Thursday. The biennial event showcases the latest advances in power projection and force protection, including this year’s star - the EM Railgun.
> 
> To defend ships, conduct surface warfare against enemy vessels and support U.S. Marines and ground forces, EM Railgun-armed ships will be able to fire hypervelocity projectiles giving US forces even greater reach and lethality.
> 
> The EM Railgun is one immensely powerful weapon.
> 
> *How does it work?*
> 
> The EM Railgun launcher is a long-range weapon that uses electromagnetic energy, instead of conventional chemical propellants, to fire projectiles.
> 
> The ship generates electricity and this electricity is stored over several seconds in the pulsed power system and an electric pulse is sent to the railgun.
> 
> It gets its name from its use of rails. High electrical currents accelerate a sliding metal conductor between two rails and this creates magnetic fields to launch projectiles.
> 
> The electromagnetic force is so powerful that it launches the projectile up to Mach 6, firing projectiles farther and faster than current options. These projectiles reach an amazing 4,500 mph and precisely hit targets more than 100 miles away.
> 
> Mach 6 is more than six times the speed of sound.
> 
> To put how fast that is in context, Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works has built the fastest manned airplane, the Blackbird, and that flies around Mach 3.
> 
> Once launched, the projectile uses its extreme speed, the kinetic energy, rather than conventional explosives to destroy targets on land, at sea or in the air.
> 
> And to put the improved distance in perspective, the current Mk 45 naval gun mount has a range of about 13 nautical miles with conventional ammunition.
> 
> *What does it fire?*
> 
> With ONR, BAE Systems is developing the next-generation HVP, Hyper Velocity Projectile, that can be fired by the EM Railgun and future models of railguns.
> 
> The HVP will also be compatible with current weapons systems like the Navy 5-Inch Mk 45, and Navy, Marine Corps, and Army 155-mm Tube Artillery systems.
> 
> It’s designed to be a guided projectile with low drag for high-velocity, maneuverability and decreased time-to-target. It has advanced guidance electronics and in flight, the HVP will be 24 inches long and weigh 28 pounds. The ammunition will be easy to handle and transport.
> 
> The Navy’s EM Railgun will fire 10 of these rounds per minute. When fired with an Mk 45 the HVP will be 20 rounds per minute and extend range to 50 nautical miles.
> 
> *What are the advantages?*
> 
> Railguns are a smart alternative to current large artillery and this weapon represents significant advances in U.S. Navy and Marine Corps capabilities.
> 
> It also provides additional benefits like enhancing safety aboard surface ships while greatly reducing cost.
> 
> Since this system that does not use gunpowder or propellant to fire the projectile, it reduces the need for high explosives to be carried on ships and the related hazards in doing so.
> 
> Off the ship, the EM Railgun will improve safety as well. Since it uses its extreme speed on impact, the danger of unexploded ordnance on the battlefield will be reduced.
> 
> Another key advantage is cost. Railgun projectiles are a mere fraction of the cost of those currently used in missile engagements – possibly even one percent of the cost of today’s missile systems.
> 
> Achieving this “Star Wars” - style weapon has not been easy. For years, many programs have sought to build such a powerful weapon, but a design that works, and works on a practical level, has been incredibly difficult to crack. Generating the power necessary to accelerate rail gun projectiles and creating materials capable of resisting the extreme temperatures generated are just two of the enormous obstacles a successful railgun needs to overcome.
> 
> Development of ONR’s Electromagnetic Railgun began about ten years ago. Phase I focused on developing the launcher, pulsed power, and risk reduction for the projectile. In 2012, Phase II began further advancing the technology, such as a firing rate of 10 rounds per minute.
> 
> *What’s next?*
> 
> The railgun program continues to perform impressively and is on track for its scheduled at-sea testing next year.


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## ScienceRocks

*Graphene displays clear prospects for flexible electronics*



> Semi-transparent, flexible electronics are no longer just science-fiction thanks to graphene’s unique properties, University of Manchester researchers have found.
> Published in the scientific journal Nature Materials, University of Manchester and University of Sheffield researchers show that new 2D ‘designer materials’ can be produced to create flexible, see-through and more efficient electronic devices.
> 
> The team, led by Nobel Laureate Sir Kostya Novoselov, made the breakthrough by creating LEDs which were engineered on an atomic level.


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## ScienceRocks

*Cheap and abundant chemical outperforms precious metals as a catalyst*



> A team of Caltech chemists has discovered a method for producing a group of silicon-containing organic chemicals without relying on expensive precious metal catalysts. Instead, the new technique uses as a catalyst a cheap, abundant chemical that is commonly found in chemistry labs around the world—potassium tert-butoxide—to help create a host of products ranging from new medicines to advanced materials. And it turns out that the potassium salt is more effective than state-of-the-art precious metal complexes at running very challenging chemical reactions.
> "We have shown for the first time that you can efficiently make carbon-silicon bonds with a safe and inexpensive catalyst based on potassium rather than ultrarare precious metals like platinum, palladium, and iridium," says Anton Toutov, a graduate student working in the laboratory of Bob Grubbs, Caltech's Victor and Elizabeth Atkins Professor of Chemistry. "We're very excited because this new method is not only 'greener' and more efficient, but it is also thousands of times less expensive than what's currently out there for making useful chemical building blocks. This is a technology that the chemical industry could readily adopt."


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## ScienceRocks

http://www.economist...ed/wingsofsteel



> A LOT of tosh is talked about “nanotechnology”, much of it designed to separate unwary investors from their hard-earned cash. This does not mean, though, that controlling the structure of things at the level of nanometres (billionths of a metre) is unimportant. In materials science it is vital, as a paper just published in Nature, by Hansoo Kim and his colleagues at the Pohang University of Science and Technology, in South Korea, demonstrates. By manipulating the structure of steel on a nanometre scale, Dr Kim has produced a material which has the strength and the lightness of titanium alloys but will, when produced at scale, cost a tenth as much.
> 
> Steel is useful because it is strong and cheap. But it is also heavy. It has, therefore, always been useless for applications such as aircraft. In a world that demands the ever-more efficient use of fuel in motor cars and lorries, it is now falling out of favour there, too. According to Dr Kim, the share by weight of steel in an average light vehicle fell from 68.1% in 1995 to 60.1% in 2011.


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## ScienceRocks

* Prototype Railgun firing Mach 7 shots has been installed on a Military Catamaran that can reach 52 mph *
Next Big Future Prototype Railgun firing Mach 7 shots has been installed on a Military Catamaran that can reach 52 mph



> The Navy has installed their prototype railgun on a 1500 ton military catamaran called the joint high speed vessel aka JHSV. Lance M. Bacon reports this development at the Navy Times and Sam LaGrone at UNSI.
> 
> The JHSV has 600 tons of excess payload capacity, but Zumwalt Navy destroyers have 20 tons of excess payload capacity. The railgun will need to be made more compact to be installed on the destroyers. The Destroyers at 14500 tons are bigger than the JHSV. The Destroyers are already filled with other systems.


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## ScienceRocks

* Advanced additive manufacturing could enable planes that are 50% more fuel efficient *
Next Big Future Advanced additive manufacturing could enable planes that are 50 more fuel efficient


> Pratt and Whitney is exploring making airplane engines with fewer parts using additive manufacturing (aka advanced 3D printing). Those parts would need less assembly and be cheaper to make. Frank Preli, chief engineer for materials and process engineering at the company, anticipates the possibility of radical new aircraft designs “like many engines embedded in a wing for ultra-aerodynamic efficiency.
> 
> Such a design could have many benefits, says Mark Drela, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT. Distributing engines along the trailing edge of wings and in the rear of the fuselage can theoretically cut fuel consumption by 20 percent and decrease an aircraft’s weight. These benefits “add up to very large fuel burn reductions,” Drela says. Savings of 50 percent “are not inconceivable.”
> 
> Additive manufacturing techniques need to improve to allow for higher precision. Once researchers understand the fine, molecular-scale physics of how lasers and electron beams interact with powders, he says, “that will lead to the ability to put in finer and finer features, and faster and faster deposition rates.”


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## ScienceRocks

* Robochop robots will carve foam blocks to online users' specs *
By Ben Coxworth
February 10, 2015






> How would you like to get an industrial robot to build something that you designed, which you then get to keep? Well, you'll have your chance next month. That's when Germany's GFT Group will be presenting Robochop, an installation of four foam-carving robots that can be controlled by regular people via the internet.


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## longknife

*Converting Solar Energy to Liquid Fuel*


The potential applications of solar power just got a whole lot wider


Researchers at Harvard have discovered how to convert solar energy into liquid fuel, potentially accelerating our switch to the alternative-energy source, according to an article in this month’s scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).


I can't find where Isopropyl is a good fuel and this is a safety factor:


Isopropyl alcohol vapor is denser than air and is flammable with a flammability range of between 2 and 12.7% in air. It should be kept away from heat and open flame. Isopropyl alcohol has also been reported to form peroxides, which may explode upon concentration. Isopropyl alcohol is a skin irritant.


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## ScienceRocks

*Here is some more news on that.*


*Bionic leaf: Researchers use bacteria to convert solar energy into liquid fuel*
Bionic leaf Researchers use bacteria to convert solar energy into liquid fuel -- ScienceDaily
Harvesting sunlight is a trick plants mastered more than a billion years ago, using solar energy to feed themselves from the air and water around them in the process we know as photosynthesis.



> Scientists have also figured out how to harness solar energy, using electricity from photovoltaic cells to yield hydrogen that can be later used in fuel cells. But hydrogen has failed to catch on as a practical fuel for cars or for power generation in a world designed around liquid fuels.
> 
> Now scientists from a team spanning Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Medical School and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have created a system that uses bacteria to convert solar energy into a liquid fuel. Their work integrates an "artificial leaf," which uses a catalyst to make sunlight split water into hydrogen and oxygen, with a bacterium engineered to convert carbon dioxide plus hydrogen into the liquid fuel isopropanol.
> 
> The findings are published Feb. 9 in _PNAS_. The co-first authors are Joseph Torella, a recent PhD graduate from the HMS Department of Systems Biology, and Christopher Gagliardi, a postdoctoral fellow in the Harvard Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.
> 
> Pamela Silver, the Elliott T. and Onie H. Adams Professor of Biochemistry and Systems Biology at HMS and an author of the paper, calls the system a bionic leaf, a nod to the artificial leaf invented by the paper's senior author, Daniel Nocera, the Patterson Rockwood Professor of Energy at Harvard University.


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## ScienceRocks

*Driverless car beats racing driver for first time*



> Driverless cars now out-perform skilled racing drivers, engineers at Stanford University have shown, after pitting their latest model against a track expert.
> 
> The team has designed a souped-up Audi TTS dubbed ‘Shelley’ which has been programmed to race on its own at speeds above 120 mph at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Northern California.
> 
> When they tested it against David Vodden, the racetrack CEO and amateur touring class champion, Shelley was faster by 0.4 of a second.


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

* FAA floats new rules for commercial drone use *
By Nick Lavars
February 15, 2015
1 Comment





> In welcome news for businesses banking on the commercial potential of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has put forward a proposal for guidelines surrounding commercial drone use. The rules would clear the air for some applications of the technology, though would still leave certain big-name players, such as Amazon, in limbo.


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## longknife

*9 revolutionary projects the military is funding*








Some of these could be quite revolutionary. Worth checking out @ 9 revolutionary projects the military is funding Science Geek.com


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## ScienceRocks

* SkyProwler combines a quadcopter and a fixed-wing airplane in one device *
By Ben Coxworth
February 18, 2015
3 Pictures





> Arizona-based start-up Krossblade is developing a five-passenger "flying car"-type vehicle known as the SkyCruiser. Among other things, plans call for it to take off and land like a quadcopter, while transitioning to faster, more efficient fixed-wing flight while en route. Will you ever be able to buy one? Well, that's hard to say, but if Krossblade's current Kickstarter campaign is a success, you _will_ soon be able to buy a functioning miniature prototype known as the SkyProwler.


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## ScienceRocks

* Limpets sink their teeth into world's strongest natural material crown *
By Darren Quick
February 18, 2015
2 Pictures





> Spider's silk has long been the strongest natural material known to man, prompting researchers to attempt to uncover its secrets so they can replicate its remarkable properties in man-made materials. But scientists now have a new source of inspiration in the form of limpet teeth, which are made of a material researchers say is potentially stronger than spider silk, is comparable in strength to the strongest commercial carbon fibers, and could one day be copied for use in cars, boats and planes.


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## ScienceRocks

How many forces?



> If you've read many of my columns, you know quite a bit about the Standard Model. You know that there are quarks and leptons. You've heard about the gluon, the W and Z bosons, the photon and the graviton. And you know that this means that there are four fundamental forces: the strong and weak nuclear forces, electromagnetism, and gravity. Easy peasy.
> 
> However, the reality is actually a lot murkier: Not all forces are independent. For instance, back in the 1830s, scientists knew of two distinct forces: electricity and magnetism. But when Maxwell wrote down his equations for electric and magnetic forces in the 1860s, it became clear that the two were really one force, electromagnetism.


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## ScienceRocks

*After Thousands of Years, Earth's Frozen Life Forms Are Waking Up*


> What's happening in Siberia's thawing permafrost and Greenland's melting glaciers sounds borderline supernatural. Ancient viruses, bacteria, plants, and even animals have been cryogenically frozen there for millennia—and now, they are waking up.
> 
> Cryofreezing is best known for its appearances in science fiction, but self-styled "resurrection ecologists" are now showing the world just how real it is. In 2012, scientists germinated flowers from a handful of 32,000 year old seeds excavated from the Siberian tundra. Last year, researchers hatched 700-year old eggs from the bottom of a Minnesota lake, while another team resuscitated an Antarctic moss that had been frozen since the time of King Arthur. Bacteria, however, are the uncontested masters of cryogenics—one bug, at least, was alive and kicking after 8 million years of suspended animation.
> 
> Fear not—while awakening a million-year old plague sounds like a great scifi plot, most of these critters are totally harmless. But they're fascinating for another reason: They're a window into Earth's past; one that may offer clues to how species will cope with change in the future. Here's what the emerging field of resurrection ecology—which is as badass as it sounds—may allow scientists to do.


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## ScienceRocks

*Researchers first to observe Higgs boson analogue in superconductors*


> The Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the Higgs boson - the "God particle" believed responsible for all the mass in the universe - took place in 2012 at CERN's Large Hadron Collider, an underground facility where accelerated sub-atomic particles zip around the circumference of a 27-kilometer (16.9-mile) ring-shaped tunnel. But what goes around comes around: more than 50 years ago, the first hint of Higgs was inspired by the study of superconductors - a special class of metals that, when cooled to very low temperatures, allow electrons to move without resistance.


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## ScienceRocks

Confirmation of ultra-high energy molecules with 500 times the bond energy of a triple carbon bond




> Metastable Innershell Molecular State (MIMS), an innershell-bound ultra-high-energy molecule, was previously proposed to explain a ∼40% efficiency of soft-X-ray generation in ∼0.05 keV/amu nanoparticle impact on solids. Here, the MIMS model has been extended and applied to interpreting the experimental K-shell X-ray satellite spectra for more than 40 years in keV-MeV/amu heavy-ion impact on solids. The binding energies of the K-shell MIMS of elements from Al to Ti were determined to be 80–200 eV.The successful extension of the model to the K-shell MIMS confirms that all elements in the periodic table and their combinations are subjected to the MIMS formation. Uranium and gold should have MIMS with bond energies in the range of 4000 eV.


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## ScienceRocks

* California is getting a Hyperloop, but not where you think *
By Eric Mack
February 26, 2015
12 Pictures


 


> Elon Musk's Hyperloop is going to become a reality, but not quite on the grand scale it was originally conceived for just yet. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) has reached an agreement to build a 5-mile (8-km) passenger track for Quay Valley, a proposed "sustainable model town for the 21st century" in California's central valley.


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## ScienceRocks

* Aluminum "superatoms" hint at a new type of superconducting materials *
By Dario Borghino
February 28, 2015






> Scientists at the University of Southern California have made steps toward discovering a new family of superconductor materials that work at relatively high temperatures, with possible applications in physics research, medical imaging and high-performance electronics.


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## ScienceRocks

*A superconductor advance using ‘superatoms’*



> A unique property of size-resolved metal nanocluster particles is their “superatom”-like electronic shell structure. The shell levels are highly degenerate, and it has been predicted that this can enable exceptionally strong superconducting-type electron pair correlations in certain clusters composed of just tens to hundreds of atoms. Here we report on the observation of a possible spectroscopic signature of such an effect. A bulge-like feature appears in the photoionization yield curve of a free cold aluminum cluster and shows a rapid rise as the temperature approaches ≈100 K. This is an unusual effect, not previously reported for clusters. Its characteristics are consistent with an increase in the effective density of states accompanying a pairing transition, which suggests a high-temperature superconducting state with Tc ≳ 100 K. Our results highlight the promise of metal nanoclusters as high-Tc building blocks for materials and networks.


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## ScienceRocks

Let There Be Light! Photo Shows Light As Wave And Particle For First Time



> Quantum mechanics is an incredibly complex field for a simple reason: So much of what it studies can be two different things at the exact same time. Light is a great example since it behaves like both a particle and a wave, but only appears in one state during experiments. Mathematically speaking, we have to treat light as both ways for the universe to make sense but actually confirming it visually has been impossible. Or at least that was the case until scientists from Switzerland's École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne developed their own unique photography method.
> 
> The image was created by shooting a pulse of laser light at a metallic nanowire to make its charged particles vibrate. Next the scientists fired a stream of electrons past the wire holding the trapped light. When the two collided, it created an energy exchange that could be photographed from the electron microscope.


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## ScienceRocks

*Diamond nanothreads predicted to be stronger than carbon nanotubes but not as stiff, and also more resiliant to defects*



> One of the newest carbon allotropes synthesized are diamond nanothreads. Using molecular dynamics, we determine the stiffness (850 GPa), strength (26.4 nN), extension (14.9%), and bending rigidity (5.35 × 10–28 N·m2). The 1D nature of the nanothread results in a tenacity of 4.1 × 107 N·m/kg, exceeding nanotubes and graphene. As the thread consists of repeating Stone–Wales defects, through steered molecular dynamics (SMD), we explore the effect of defect density on the strength, stiffness, and extension of the system.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Laser weapon system stops truck in field test*



> Lockheed Martin's 30-kilowatt fiber laser weapon system successfully disabled the engine of a small truck during a recent field test, demonstrating the rapidly evolving precision capability to protect military forces and critical infrastructure.
> 
> Known as ATHENA, for Advanced Test High Energy Asset, the ground-based prototype system burned through the engine manifold in a matter of seconds from more than a mile away. The truck was mounted on a test platform with its engine and drive train running to simulate an operationally-relevant test scenario.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*US could ramp up military lasers by ten times to 300 kilowatts by 2018*

*




*





> In three years the US military could have a prototype 300 kilowatt laser weapon. This would be ten times the power of the 30 kilowatt laser being tested on the USS Ponce. Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. of Breaking Defense reports this from a Lockheed engineer.
> 
> The Army’s High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator(HEL MD) will improve to a 60 kw system late in 2016. This is up from the current 10 kilowatt laser. Today's technology will enable fiber lasers to scale to 300 kw. Near term improvement to the underlying technology will enable well beyond 500 kw lasers.
> 
> Solid state slab lasers (being developed by the Navy and Northrop) should be able to scale to a total power of 300 kW. This will not require any technological breakthroughs. Supporters of slab SSLs such as Maritime Laser Demonstration (MLD) believe they could eventually be scaled up further, to perhaps 600 kW. Slab SSLs are not generally viewed as easily scalable to megawatt power levels.
> 
> At 30 to 35 percent efficiency — the current cutting edge with fiber-optic lasers — 300 kw of output would require just under a megawatt of electrical power.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Earliest known fossil of the genus Homo dates to 2.8 to 2.75 million years ago


> " The earliest known record of the genus Homo—the human genus—represented by a lower jaw with teeth, recently found in the Afar region of Ethiopia, dates to between 2.8 and 2.75 million years ago, according to an international team of geoscientists and anthropologists. They also dated other fossils to between 2.84 and 2.58 million years ago, which helped reconstruct the environment in which the individual lived.
> 
> "The record of hominin evolution between 3 and 2.5 million years ago is poorly documented in surface outcrops, particularly in Afar, Ethiopia," said Erin N. DiMaggio, research associate in the department of geosciences, Penn State.
> 
> Hominins are the group of primates that include Homo sapiens—humans—and their ancestors. The term is used for the branch of the human evolutionary line that exists after the split from chimpanzees."


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Self-Driving Cars Will Be in 30 U.S. Cities By the End of Next Year*
*There will be driverless buses and pods as well.*



> Finally, we can put up our feet and let computers take the wheel.
> 
> Automated vehicle pilot projects will roll out in the U.K. and in six to 10 U.S. cities this year, with the first unveiling projected to be in Tampa Bay, Florida as soon as late spring. The following year, trial programs will launch in 12 to 20 more U.S. locations, which means driverless cars will be on roads in up to 30 U.S. cities by the end of 2016. The trials will be run by Comet LLC, a consulting firm focused on automated vehicle commercialization.
> 
> “We’re looking at college campuses, theme parks, airports, downtown areas—places like that,” Corey Clothier, a strategist for automated transportation systems who runs the firm told, The Observer.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Monolith electric skateboard has motors in its wheels *
By Ben Coxworth
March 9, 2015
1 Comment
9 Pictures


 


> Although we're now seeing a wide variety of electric skateboards, most of them utilize the same setup – a motor mounted on the underside of the deck, that drives one or two of the wheels via a belt. The designers at California-based Inboard Sports, however, are setting out to change that. Their Monolith is claimed to be the world's first skateboard to feature hub motors in the two rear wheels.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Machine automatically assembles complex molecules at the microscopic level *
By Colin Jeffrey
March 13, 2015
2 Pictures





> The synthesis of complex small molecules in the laboratory is specialized and intricate work that is both difficult and time-consuming. Even highly-trained chemists can take many years to determine how to build each one, let alone discover and describe its functions. In an attempt to improve this situation, a team of chemists at the University of Illinois claim to have created a machine that is able to assemble a vast range of complex molecules at the push of a button.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* 600 million year old animal fossil found in China, 60 million years older than prior oldest *
Next Big Future 600 million year old animal fossil found in China 60 million years older than prior oldest


> Chinese scientists recently discovered a fossil of a primitive sponge animal believed to be 600 million years old, the oldest animal fossil in the world. The finding proves that sponges made their evolutionary debut 60 million years earlier than in the previously confirmed Cambrian Period (541-485.4 million years ago).
> 
> The discovery was published on Tuesday by Zhu Maoyan, a research fellow at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, a branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences known as NIGPAS. The report says that the Weng'an Biota in southwest China's Guizhou Province was the location of the discovery, which would end the academic debate on whether there are in fact animal fossils in the Weng'an Biota.
> 
> The fossil's discovery is the fruit of years of effort -- researchers from NIGPAS have been going to the Weng'an Biota to collect samples since 2008. They found a rice-grain-sized fossil of an adult animal in phosphate ore and confirmed that it was 600 million years old, the first fossil of a so-called "adult animal" unearthed from the region. Zhu added that the fossil's age was determined by radiometric dating.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Engineers create color-changing synthetic 'skin'


> Engineers at the University of California Berkeley have created a thin film, inspired by the skin of chameleons, that changes colors when pulled or stretched.
> 
> According to Berkeley.edu, the "skin," a film of silicon a thousand times thinner than a human hair, could be applied as camouflage or used to show stress on structures, by changing colors when a surface bends or flexes.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Potentially live-saving sensor detects cyanide poisoning in just over a minute *
By Ben Coxworth
March 16, 2015
2 Pictures





> As any classic murder mystery or spy thriller will tell you, cyanide is a poison that acts quickly. Once exposed to it, a person can die within 30 minutes. Unfortunately for people who think they _might_ have encountered it, the standard test for determining exposure takes 24 hours. Now, however, a scientist at South Dakota State University has developed a sensor that detects cyanide within a blood sample in just 70 seconds.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Future soldiers may be wearing fish-inspired body armor *
By Ben Coxworth
March 16, 2015
1 Comment





> On most fish, their hard, overlapping scales provide considerable protection against pokes and cuts. Because those independently-moving scales are each attached to a flexible underlying skin, however, the fish are still able to easily twist and turn their bodies. Scientists from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and MIT are now attempting to copy that structure, to develop flexible-yet-effective armor for humans.


----------



## longknife

Matthew said:


> * Future soldiers may be wearing fish-inspired body armor *
> By Ben Coxworth
> March 16, 2015
> 1 Comment
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On most fish, their hard, overlapping scales provide considerable protection against pokes and cuts. Because those independently-moving scales are each attached to a flexible underlying skin, however, the fish are still able to easily twist and turn their bodies. Scientists from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and MIT are now attempting to copy that structure, to develop flexible-yet-effective armor for humans.
Click to expand...


I can't help but replying to this. Ancient Roman and Medieval armor copied the very same form.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Detection of mini black holes at the LHC could indicate parallel universes in extra dimensions


> (Phys.org)—The possibility that other universes exist beyond our own universe is tantalizing, but seems nearly impossible to test. Now a group of physicists has suggested that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the largest particle collider in the world, may be able to uncover the existence of parallel universes, should they exist.
> 
> In a new paper published in Physics Letters B, Ahmed Farag Ali, Mir Faizal, and Mohammed M. Khalil explain that the key to finding parallel universes may come from detecting miniature black holes at a certain energy level. The detection of the mini black holes would indicate the existence of extra dimensions, which would support string theory and related models that predict the existence of extra dimensions as well as parallel universes.


----------



## longknife

*'Green' batteries made to last: Oxide/carbon composite outperforms expensive platinum *


An oxide/carbon composite outperforms expensive platinum composites in oxygen chemical reactions for green energy devices. Electrochemical devices are crucial to a green energy revolution in which clean alternatives replace carbon-based fuels. This revolution requires conversion systems that produce hydrogen from water or rechargeable batteries that can store clean energy in cars. Now, Singapore-based researchers have developed improved catalysts as electrodes for efficient and more durable green energy devices.


Read story @  Green batteries made to last Oxide carbon composite outperforms expensive platinum composites -- ScienceDaily


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Tesla Model S to go semi-autonomous; Musk foresees a future where human driving is illegal *
By Eric Mack
March 20, 2015
2 Comments
3 Pictures





> Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has a complicated outlook when it comes to the future of "smart" machines. He's warned about the dangers of strong artificial intelligence, but he's all-in on the lesser forms of artificial smarts, like those at the core of Teslas. He's also bullish on self-driving cars, and this week Musk went so far as to declare that they may completely replace the cars we drive today.


----------



## ScienceRocks

Caltech Scientists Develop Cool Process to Make Better Graphene


> A new technique invented at Caltech to produce graphene—a material made up of an atom-thick layer of carbon—at room temperature could help pave the way for commercially feasible graphene-based solar cells and light-emitting diodes, large-panel displays, and flexible electronics.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Neanderthals shape up as globe's first jewellers*
*18 hours ago by Lajla Veselica *




The widely-held vision of Neanderthals as brutes may need a stark rethink after research found they crafted the world's earliest jewellery from eagle talons 130,000 years ago, long before modern humans appeared in Europe


> The widely-held vision of Neanderthals as brutes may need a stark rethink after research found they crafted the world's earliest jewellery from eagle talons 130,000 years ago, long before modern humans appeared in Europe.





Read more at: Neanderthals shape up as globe s first jewellers


----------



## ScienceRocks

*CERN Large Hadron Collider restarts with redoubled energy*
*Deutsche Welle ^ * | 3/12/2015 | Tatiana Ivanova


> At the end of March, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) will be up and running after a remodeling break of over two years. Physicists said on Thursday they hoped it would open the door to an even deeper understanding of our universe, now that the accelerator has twice the energy as before.
> 
> "We are all very excited," CERN director Rolf-Dieter Heuer said at the opening of a press conference on Thursday, adding that the accelator would be reactivated during the final week of March, pending final tests.
> 
> Since its initial launch in 2008, CERN researchers in Geneva have been using the 27-kilometer-long particle accelerator to smash protons together at just under the speed of light. Directly after the collision, the particles break up into their smallest building blocks, like Hadrons and Bosons. One of them is the Higgs-Boson, a particle that was previously only known as a theoretical quantity, but its existence was physically proven just before the LHC was shut down three years ago. The particles are recorded with huge sensors that have a similar function to light-detecting chips in digital cameras.


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## ScienceRocks

*Mathematicians solve 60-year-old problem*
*48 minutes ago *




Graphical representation of the resonance manifold in the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam problem, plotted in Mathematica. Credit: Yuri Lvov


> A team of researchers, led by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute professor Yuri Lvov, has found an elegant explanation for the long-standing Fermi-Pasta-Ulam (FPU) problem, first proposed in 1953, investigated with one of the world's first digital computers, and now considered the foundation of experimental mathematics.
> 
> The research, published today in the _Proceedings of the National Academy of Science_, offers a mathematical explanation for how a level of energy sufficient to produce one complete wave in an idealized chain of masses connected by springs is gradually distributed to thermal equilibrium. In this system, 32 masses (or particles) can move only left or right, and the energy in the system cannot dissipate through friction or heat. This system, famous among mathematicians and physicists, was introduced by Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers Enrico Fermi, John Pasta, Stanislaw Ulam, and Mary Tsingou as a means to study how heat is conducted in solids and metals.





Read more at: Mathematicians solve 60-year-old problem


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## ScienceRocks

*3,000 atoms entangled with a single photon*
*40 minutes ago
3 000 atoms entangled with a single photon
*




Scheme for heralded entanglement generation in a large atomic ensemble by single-photon detection. Credit: _Nature_, DOI: 10.1038/nature14293


> Physicists from MIT and the University of Belgrade have developed a new technique that can successfully entangle 3,000 atoms using only a single photon. The results, published today in the journal _Nature_, represent the largest number of particles that have ever been mutually entangled experimentally.


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## ScienceRocks

*Theory of the strong interaction verified*
*3 hours ago *





Supercomputer JUQUEEN. Credit: Forschungszentrum Jülich


> The fact that the neutron is slightly more massive than the proton is the reason why atomic nuclei have exactly those properties that make our world and ultimately our existence possible. Eighty years after the discovery of the neutron, a team of physicists from France, Germany, and Hungary headed by Zoltán Fodor, a researcher from Wuppertal, has finally calculated the tiny neutron-proton mass difference. The findings, which have been published in the current edition of _Science_, are considered a milestone by many physicists and confirm the theory of the strong interaction. As one of the most powerful computers in the world, JUQUEEN at Forschungszentrum Jülich was decisive for the simulation.





Read more at: Theory of the strong interaction verified


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Europeans Upgrading Already-Superior Weather Model Just to Rub It In*
2,635









> Just months after NOAA upgraded the American global weather model, the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) plans to upgrade their already-superior model so that it wipes the floor with our proud, measly little heap of computer algorithms.
> 
> Bells rang and geeks chortled across the world on Wednesday morning as NOAA pulled the plug on the…  Read more
> 
> If all goes according to schedule, the ECMWF will implement the upgrade on April 14, 2015, at which point all of us on the other side of the pond will be forced to hang our heads in shame. The Euro consistently ranks as the best global weather model when it comes to forecast accuracy, performing better than its competitors, including NOAA's GFS (American) model.
> 
> You can find a whole list of changes at the ECMWF's website if you're into that sort of thing, but the main takeaways are that they've tweaked the model from the bottom-up to make it more accurate. The model will also begin producing forecasts for precipitation type and precipitation rates for various types of sky water (rain, snow, freezing rain, sleet).
> 
> The "money-hungry" American stereotype falls flat when it comes to weather modelling; the Euro is (in)famously behind a hefty paywall, while the American models are free to access. If you want to buy access to the Euro, you have to subscribe to a weather model site like WeatherBELL or F5 Data. Posting images from the model on sites like Facebook and Twitter are against licenses, so in theory, people who don't cough up a pretty penny would never see Euro products that aren't already freely available.
> 
> 
> _[Image: ECMWF]_



Probably 90% of all advance research in meteorology and the infrastructure for it is publicly funded.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Wooly Mammoth Genes Inserted into Elephant Cells*
* Discovery News ^ * | 25 March 2015



> Researchers from Harvard University have successfully inserted genes from a woolly mammoth into living cells from an Asian elephant, the extinct giant's closest remaining relative.
> 
> Harvard geneticist George Church used DNA from Arctic permafrost woolly mammoth samples to copy 14 mammoth genes -- emphasizing those related to its chilly lifestyle.
> 
> "We prioritized genes associated with cold resistance including hairiness, ear size, subcutaneous fat and, especially, hemoglobin," Church told The Sunday Times.
> 
> Then, using a kind of DNA cut/paste system called CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat), Church dropped the genes into Asian elephant skin cells.
> 
> The result? A petri dish of elephant cells functioning normally with mammoth DNA in them, marking the first time mammoth genes have been on the job since the creature went extinct some 4,000 years ago, as Sarah Fecht, from Popular Science, noted.
> 
> Longer term, Church and his team hope to first create hybrid elephant/mammoth embryos, grown in artificial wombs, and then raise hybrid elephants that could be genetically wired to thrive in colder climes -- hopefully expanding their range to live at a greater remove from humans.
> 
> Longer, longer term, if the hybrid elephant can be created and successfully integrated in the wild, then the team might even try to bring back the woolly mammoth itself.



VIDEO: Are We Finally Ready to Clone a Mammoth?


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Boeing patents temporary plasma forcefields that will reduce shockwaves from explosions *
Next Big Future Boeing patents temporary plasma forcefields that will reduce shockwaves from explosions




> Boeing has a patent for temporary "forcefields" against shockwaves.  The blast shockwave would be attenuated by creating a plasma.
> 
> An arc generator may be configured to generate a focused microwave beam or a focused laser beam. The focused beam rapidly heats the air in the selected region and changes its temperature, density and composition, the latter the result of the creation of free electrons.
> 
> The arc generator may be adapted to create a conducting path for the electric current. Accordingly, the arc generator may be configured to generate one or more of a laser-induced plasma channel (LIPC) from converging laser beams, ionizing tracer pellets fired along converging paths, and projectiles trailing fine electrical wires fired along converging paths. In each of these embodiments, an electric arc may be generated to travel along a conducting path created by dielectric breakdown of ionized ambient air at the selected region.


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## ScienceRocks

> MARK POST: Cattle are very inefficient animals in converting vegetable proteins into animal proteins. We lose actually a lot of food by giving it to animals as an intermediate.
> 
> At an environmental scale in methane and other greenhouse gases exhaust, it is also for the environment not a very healthy system.
> 
> DOMINIQUE SCHWARTZ: A year and a half ago the professor of vascular physiology gave the world its first taste of a beef burger he'd grown from stem cells taken from cow muscle.
> 
> It passed the food critics' taste test, but at more than a quarter of a million dollars, the lab quarter-pounder was no threat to the real deal. Now, after further development, Dr Post estimates it's possible to produce lab-beef for $80 a kilo - and that within years it will be a price-competitive alternative.
> 
> MARK POST: From a small piece of muscle you can produce 10,000 kilos of meat.


http://www.abc.net.a...15/s4205857.htm

1st burger was $250,000. Now the guy who served it estimates the cost of this meat at $80/kg.

This is quite possibly the greatest price drop in history. 4 orders of magnitude in two years!


----------



## ScienceRocks

http://www.reddit.co...dropped/cpu189q


Quotes from the article:


> Dr Post: I do think that *in 20, 30 years* from now we will have a viable industry producing alternative beef.
> 
> Dr Post *estimates* it's possible to produce lab-beef for $80 a kilo - and that within years it will be a price-competitive alternative.
> 
> Emphasis mine. The scientist estimates he would be able to produce it for that price. Note that this still isn't a steak or anything like that. It is large scale cell culture, producing thin strands or layers of beef muscle. Thick pieces of muscle currently cannot be created. Fatty tissue currently cannot be created. The price drop may just be accounted to basic problems having been solved and cannot simply be projected into the future, that's why his estimate is in tens of years.
> 
> The tissue is currently cultured by using fetal calf serum, which is produced from bovine fetuses. In that sense, it is still very dependent on conventional agriculture. It is unclear to me if, using fetal calf serum, the process still is calorically beneficial, as it should be in theory. Cultures also need to be kept in very clean conditions and depend on usage of antibiotics which might be a problem in large-scale production. Basic research has been done, but it still is a long way before this goes mainstream. I would guess that 3D printing plant proteins will produce cheaper meat replacements much earlier, as it already is doing a pretty good job and is already accepted by parts of society.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Graphene light bulb is to go on sale later this year*


> *A light bulb made with graphene - said by its UK developers to be the first commercially viable consumer product using the super-strong carbon - is to go on sale later this year.*
> The dimmable bulb contains a filament-shaped LED coated in graphene. It was designed at Manchester University, where the material was discovered.
> It is said to cut energy use by 10% and last longer owing to its conductivity.
> The National Graphene Institute at the university was opened this month.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Photon 'afterglow' could transmit information without transmitting energy*
*15 hours ago by Lisa Zyga feature*




Spacetime diagram of the scientists’ proposed set-up, where the dotted lines indicate the first and last light rays emanating from Alice. Although no energy is transmitted, the receiver (Bob) must provide the energy needed to detect the …more


> (Phys.org)—Physicists have theoretically shown that it is possible to transmit information from one location to another without transmitting energy. Instead of using real photons, which always carry energy, the technique uses a small, newly predicted quantum afterglow of virtual photons that do not need to carry energy. Although no energy is transmitted, the receiver must provide the energy needed to detect the incoming signal—similar to the way that an individual must pay to receive a collect call.



Read more at: Photon afterglow could transmit information without transmitting energy


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Quantum teleportation on a chip*
*5 hours ago *




Experimental set-up. Credit: Centre for Quantum Photonics at the University of Bristol


> The core circuits of quantum teleportation, which generate and detect quantum entanglement, have been successfully integrated into a photonic chip by an international team of scientists from the universities of Bristol, Tokyo, Southampton and NTT Device Technology Laboratories. These results pave the way to developing ultra-high-speed quantum computers and strengthening the security of communication.



Read more at: Quantum teleportation on a chip


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Delphi completes first coast-to-coast automated drive*


> A self-driving car equipped by GM spinoff Delphi Automotive completed today a historic, 3,500-mile journey across the U.S. from San Franscisco to New York.
> The trip demonstrated the full capabilities of its active safety technologies with the longest automated drive ever attempted in North America. The coast-to-coast trip, launched in San Francisco on March 22, covered approximately 3,500 miles.



https://www.youtube....h?v=qeJVFavHVJM


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## ScienceRocks

*New breakthrough in thermoelectric materials*
*4 hours ago *




Generation of dislocation arrays during the liquid-phase compaction process. The Te liquid (red) between theBi0.5Sb1.5Te3 grains flows out during the compacting process and facilitates theformation of dislocation arrays embedded in low-energy …more


> A joint South Korean and American research group has developed a scalable production method for a state of the art alloy for the use in solid state thermoelectric devices. This new alloy is nearly twice as efficient as existing materials and may lead to a new host of applications. Uses include refrigeration, consumer electronics, transportation as well as novel devices which have not been produced yet do to the inefficiencies of existing materials





Read more at: New breakthrough in thermoelectric materials


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Cern's Large Hadron Collider restarts with sights set on dark matter*
Cern s Large Hadron Collider restarts with sights set on dark matter Science The Guardian


> The world’s largest and most powerful atom smasher has been upgraded, raising hopes of a ‘new era for science’
> The world’s largest and most powerful atom smasher is to be restarted after an upgrade that could see it making scientific history for a second time.
> 
> Shortly after 8.30am on Sunday UK time, scientists plan to send two beams of high-energy particles racing through the Large Hadron Collider’s 16.7 miles of circular underground tunnels.
> 
> Two years ago the team operating the £3.74bn machine straddling the Swiss-French border astounded the world with the discovery of the Higgs boson, an elementary particle that gives other particles mass.
> 
> Now they have their sights set on an even more exotic trophy: dark matter, the invisible, undetectable material that makes up 84% of matter in the universe and binds galaxies together yet whose nature is unknown.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*One step ahead*
*Engineers show off a simple way to make walking more efficient*
Biomechanics One step ahead The Economist


> "THE human body is a machine that winds its own springs," wrote Julien Offray de La Mettrie, a French physician-philosopher, in 1748. While La Mettrie's primitive ideas on physiology have long since been supplanted, the idea that the human machinery is particularly finely tuned, particularly when it comes to locomotion, remains. A clever bit of kit described this week, however, suggests that the tuning is not quite perfect.
> 
> People have been engaged in a quest to improve upon the bodies nature gave them for about as long as there have been engineers. Nicolas Yagn, a Russian inventor, got a patent in 1890 for his "Apparatus for facilitating walking, running and jumping", an unwieldy wearable contraption of bendy bow-springs that would in modern parlance be called an exoskeleton.
> 
> The idea was to recoup some of the energy of movement, making walking more efficient and thereby less fatiguing. Any gain would be a great help to those who do lots of walking, such as soldiers. But what Yagn and similarly minded inventors have all discovered is that it is difficult to squeeze any more efficiency out of the human machine.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Magnetic-field detector is 1,000 times more efficient than its predecessors*
*2 hours ago by Larry Hardesty *

In this image, laser light enters a synthetic diamond from a facet at its corner and bounces around inside the diamond until its energy is exhausted. This excites "nitrogen vacancies" that can be used to measure magnetic fields. Credit: H. Clevenson/MIT Lincoln Laboratory


> MIT researchers have developed a new, ultrasensitive magnetic-field detector that is 1,000 times more energy-efficient than its predecessors. It could lead to miniaturized, battery-powered devices for medical and materials imaging, contraband detection, and even geological exploration.
> 
> Magnetic-field detectors, or magnetometers, are already used for all those applications. But existing technologies have drawbacks: Some rely on gas-filled chambers; others work only in narrow frequency bands, limiting their utility.
> 
> Synthetic diamonds with nitrogen vacancies (NVs)—defects that are extremely sensitive to magnetic fields—have long held promise as the basis for efficient, portable magnetometers. A diamond chip about one-twentieth the size of a thumbnail could contain trillions of nitrogen vacancies, each capable of performing its own magnetic-field measurement.
> 
> The problem has been aggregating all those measurements. Probing a nitrogen vacancy requires zapping it with laser light, which it absorbs and re-emits. The intensity of the emitted light carries information about the vacancy's magnetic state.





Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-magnetic-field-detector-efficient-predecessors.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New magnet at Fermilab achieves high-field milestone*



> Last month, a new superconducting magnet developed and fabricated at Fermilab reached its design field of 11.5 Tesla at a temperature nearly as cold as outer space. It is the first successful twin-aperture accelerator magnet made of niobium-3-tin in the world.
> 
> The advancements in niobium-3-tin, or Nb3Sn, magnet technology and the ongoing U.S. collaboration with CERN on the development of these and other Nb3Sn magnets are enabling the use of this innovative technology for future upgrades of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). They may also provide the cornerstone for future circular machines of interest to the worldwide high-energy physics community. Because of the exceptional challenges—Nb3Sn is brittle and requires high-temperature processing—this important milestone was achieved at Fermilab after decades of worldwide R&D efforts both in the Nb3Sn conductor itself and in associated magnet technologies.




Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-magnet-fermilab-high-field-milestone.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Physicists propose method to measure variations in the speed of light*
*14 hours ago by Lisa Zyga feature*



Enlarge
A relation between the angular diameter distance (DA), the Hubble function (H), and the speed of light c at a specific point called the maximum redshift (zM) may allow researchers to detect variations in the speed of light. Credit: Salzano, et al. ©2015 American Physical Society


> (Phys.org)—The speed of light, _c_, is one of the best-known constants, having a value of just under 300,000,000 meters per second in a vacuum. But in some alternative theories of cosmology, the speed of light is not actually constant, but varies throughout time and space. Observational data in support of variations in the speed of light are lacking, but in a new paper, physicists have proposed a way to constrain possible speed-of-light variations and show that future experiments might be able to detect these variations, if large enough.





Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-physicists-method-variations.html#jCp


----------



## percysunshine

Matthew said:


> *Physicists propose method to measure variations in the speed of light*
> *14 hours ago by Lisa Zyga feature*
> 
> 
> 
> Enlarge
> A relation between the angular diameter distance (DA), the Hubble function (H), and the speed of light c at a specific point called the maximum redshift (zM) may allow researchers to detect variations in the speed of light. Credit: Salzano, et al. ©2015 American Physical Society
> 
> 
> 
> (Phys.org)—The speed of light, _c_, is one of the best-known constants, having a value of just under 300,000,000 meters per second in a vacuum. But in some alternative theories of cosmology, the speed of light is not actually constant, but varies throughout time and space. Observational data in support of variations in the speed of light are lacking, but in a new paper, physicists have proposed a way to constrain possible speed-of-light variations and show that future experiments might be able to detect these variations, if large enough.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-physicists-method-variations.html#jCp[URL='http://phys.org/news/2015-04-physicists-method-variations.html#jCp[/QUOTE'][/QUOTE]
> 
> Interesting theory;
> 
> _E_ = _mc** 2.0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001
> 
> ._[/URL]
Click to expand...

http://phys.org/news/2015-04-physicists-method-variations.html#jCp[/QUOTE


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Britain joins laser arms race with up to £100 million high energy combat laser project*



> The Ministry of Defence will begin building an experimental laser weapon later this year as a prototype for Star Wars-type armaments that could one day be used by British forces.
> 
> The project costing up to £100 million aims to create a high-energy laser that can track and hit moving targets in any weather.
> 
> Britain is joining the laser arms race as America has already developed a series of drone-killing and ship-burning lasers and already has one weapon on board a warship in the Gulf.
> 
> The project, known as the Laser Directed Energy Weapon Capability Demonstrator, is worth between £20 million and £100 million according to the MOD.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Is It Time To Resurrect The Brontosaurus?*
*April 07, 2015 4:40 PM ET*

*The Brontosaurus may be back.*


> *Not that it ever really went away, at least not in the minds of generations of people who grew up watching Fred Flintstone devour one of his beloved Brontosaurus burgers.*
> 
> *But if you're a scientist, you have to stick to the rules, and in 1903, the name Brontosaurus was struck from the record. That was when paleontologist Elmer Riggs deemed that the Brontosaurus was really just a different dinosaur, Apatosaurus.*
> 
> *Both were long-necked and long-tailed creatures, among the largest to roam the Earth in their time. But now an extensive study published online in the journal PeerJ, finds that there are considerable differences between the two — enough, the researchers say, to conclude that they belong to separate groups.*
> 
> *A team of paleontologists spent five years researching and analyzing hundreds of different physical features of dinosaur specimens. The study's lead author, Emanuel Tschopp from the New University of Lisbon in Portugal, says, "Generally, the Brontosaurus can be distinguished from Apatosaurus most easily by its neck, which is higher and less wide," according to Scientific American.
> 
> Tschopp tells the magazine that while both dinosaurs are massive and robust animals, Apatosaurus is "even more extreme than Brontosaurus."
> 
> A name change is a normal part of the constant updates and revisions associated with identifying and naming new species, according to The Guardian. The newspaper says evolution doesn't happen in big leaps and it takes time for changes and differences to accumulate, but eventually populations are different enough that they're recognized as separate entities and given a name.
> *





*Is It Time To Resurrect The Brontosaurus The Two-Way NPR*


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Unparticles may provide a new path to superconductivity*



> (Phys.org)—Physicists have proposed that a hypothetical form of matter called "unparticles" may play a key role in mediating superconductivity—the ability of certain materials to conduct electricity with zero resistance.




Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-unparticles-path-superconductivity.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New understanding of electromagnetism could enable 'antennas on a chip'*
*2 hours ago *




Enlarge
Anechoic chamber. Credit: University of Cambridge


> A team of researchers from the University of Cambridge have unravelled one of the mysteries of electromagnetism, which could enable the design of antennas small enough to be integrated into an electronic chip. These ultra-small antennas - the so-called 'last frontier' of semiconductor design - would be a massive leap forward for wireless communications.





Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-electromagnetism-enable-antennas-chip.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Engineers now understand how complex carbon nanostructures form*
*2 hours ago *




On the left is a scanning electron micrograph of a carbon nanotube forest. The figure on the right is a numerically simulated CNT forest. Credit: Matt Maschmann


> Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are microscopic tubular structures that engineers "grow" through a process conducted in a high-temperature furnace. The forces that create the CNT structures known as "forests" often are unpredictable and are mostly left to chance. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has developed a way to predict how these complicated structures are formed. By understanding how CNT arrays are created, designers and engineers can better incorporate the highly adaptable material into devices and products such as baseball bats, aerospace wiring, combat body armor, computer logic components and micro sensors used in biomedical applications.





Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-complex-carbon-nanostructures.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Physicists show 'quantum freezing phenomenon' is universal*
*10 hours ago by Lisa Zyga report*




Figure of the “freezing surface” of quantum discord-type correlations. Credit: Marco Cianciaruso, et al.


> (Phys.org)—Physicists who work on quantum technologies are always looking for ways to manage decoherence, which occurs when a quantum system unavoidably interacts with the surrounding environment. In the past few years, scientists have discovered that some quantum correlations can be "frozen" in a constant state and remain that way in the presence of noise, potentially offering a protective mechanism against decoherence. So far, however, quantum freezing has been shown to exist only on a case-by-case basis and under certain conditions, and its potential protective effect has not been fully exploited.





Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-physicists-quantum-phenomenon-universal.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Panama debate fueled by zircon dating: Americas connected earlier than thought*
*2 hours ago *


> New evidence published in _Science_ by Smithsonian geologists dates the closure of an ancient seaway at 13 to 15 million years ago and challenges accepted theories about the rise of the Isthmus of Panama and its impact on world climate and animal migrations.



Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-smithsonian-panama-debate-fueled-zircon.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Nanoparticle liquid-metal ink allows standard inkjet printers to create flexible circuits*
Nanoparticle liquid-metal ink allows standard inkjet printers to create flexible circuits


> Researchers at Purdue University have shown how standard inkjet-printers can be employed to produce flexible electronic circuits from liquid-metal nanoparticle inks. This simple printing solution promises faster, cheaper, and easier production of stretchable, bendable electronics for clothing, soft robotics, and wearable devices.
> 
> Making circuits elastic means that many rigid platforms could be made pliable, opening up a range of potential new applications for electronic devices. To make this possible, however, new manufacturing techniques are required. Nanoparticle ink-jet printed ductile circuits may well solve this problem.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Measurement of first ionization potential of lawrencium reignites debate over periodic table*
*Apr 09, 2015 by Bob Yirka report*



Enlarge
The periodic table of elements including in the colored block at the bottom the lanthanides (Ln) and actinides (An). The height of each column indicates the relative first ionization potential of the corresponding element. The result obtained …more


> (Phys.org)—A team of researchers with member affiliations from across the globe has succeeded in conducting a measurement of the first ionization potential of lawrencium. In their paper published in the journal _Nature_, the team describes how they achieved the feat and what they believe it means for placement on the Periodic Table of Elements. Andreas Türler of the University of Bern offers a News & Views perspective piece on the work done by the team in the same issue.





Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-ionization-potential-lawrencium-reignites-debate.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New material set to change cooling industry*


> Refrigeration and air conditioning may become more efficient and environmentally friendly thanks to the patent-pending work of LSU physicists. The team of researchers led by LSU Physics Professor Shane Stadler has discovered a breakthrough magnetocaloric material that may change the energy industry, including air conditioning and food refrigeration.
> 
> "The world refrigeration market is expected to increase by about $7-8 billion by 2018," Stadler said. Therefore, his breakthrough has a significant economic impact as well as an impact on the energy industry and environment.





Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-material-cooling-industry.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks




----------



## ScienceRocks

Fermilab's Holometer Extends Limit on Knowable Universe



> Newswise — Imagine an instrument that can measure motions a billion times smaller than an atom that last a millionth of a second. Fermilab's Holometer is currently the only machine with the ability to take these very precise measurements of space and time, and recently collected data has improved the limits on theories about exotic objects from the early universe.
> Our universe is as mysterious as it is vast. According to Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity, anything that accelerates creates gravitational waves, which are disturbances in the fabric of space and time that travel at the speed of light and continue infinitely into space. Scientists are trying to measure these possible sources all the way to the beginning of the universe.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Snowball Earth: New study shows Antarctic climate even gripped the tropics*
*29 minutes ago by David Rothery, The Conversation *




> New details of a nightmare period on Earth with surface conditions as frigid as present-day central Antarctica at the equator have been revealed thanks to the publication of a study of ancient glacier water.
> 
> The research, by an international team led by Daniel Herwartz, is published in the journal _Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences_ and shows that even tropical regions were once covered in snow and ice.
> 
> In the most recent ice age, the last glacial advance (ending about 12,000 years ago) ice sheets extended across Europe at the latitude of southernmost England and reached south of the Great Lakes in North America. Beyond lay tundra, woolly mammoths and so on – but the equatorial belt of tropical rainforest was still there. Much more drastic situations occurred far earlier in Earth's history however, and it is these that are supported by the new study. The periods have been dubbed "Snowball Earth".




Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-snowball-earth-antarctic-climate-thetropics.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

* US Navy goes tubular with autonomous swarming UAV demonstrations *
By Darren Quick
April 15, 2015
2 Pictures


 


> The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has revealed that it has been conducting demonstrations of swarming unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at various locations over the past month. The demonstrations were part of the Low-Cost UAV Swarming Technology (LOCUST) program, which is developing quick launching UAV swarm technology to overwhelm adversaries.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Graphene device makes ultrafast light to energy conversion possible *
By Colin Jeffrey
April 15, 2015






> Converting light to electricity is one of the pillars of modern electronics, with the process essential for the operation of everything from solar cells and TV remote control receivers through to laser communications and astronomical telescopes. These devices rely on the swift and effective operation of this technology, especially in scientific equipment, to ensure the most efficient conversion rates possible. In this vein, researchers from the Institute of Photonic Sciences (Institut de Ciències Fotòniques/ICFO) in Barcelona have demonstrated a graphene-based photodetector they claim converts light into electricity in less than 50 quadrillionths of a second.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* DARPA 2016 Includes 150 kilowatt laser live fire tests *


> DARPA has its 2016 budget.
> 
> *High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System (HELLADS)*
> 
> HELLADS program had funding of 26.6 million in 2014 and 14.1 million in 2015.
> 
> Description: The goal of the HELLADS program is to develop a high-energy laser weapon system that will provide an order of magnitude reduction in weight compared to existing laser systems. HELLADS will enable high-energy lasers (HELs) to be integrated onto tactical aircraft and will significantly increase engagement ranges compared to ground-based systems, in addition to enabling high precision/low collateral damage and rapid engagement of fleeting targets for both offensive and defensive missions. Advancements in beam control and other subsystems that are required for the practical integration of a laser weapon into existing tactical platforms will be explored. With the assistance of the Services, the HELLADS program will pursue the necessary analysis, coordination, and design activity for a prototype laser weapon system incorporating the HELLADS laser system and the ABC turret into air-, ground-, or sea-based tactical vehicles. While the prototype laser weapon system module is in design and development, the HELLADS 150 kilowatt (kW) laser will be made available for demonstration opportunities and transition to the Army, Navy, or Air Force.
> 
> *FY 2014 Accomplishments:*
> - *Completed laboratory checkout and government acceptance of 150 kW laser; packaged laser and shipped for integration into the high power laser demonstrator system.*
> - Continued risk reduction test of tracking systems for dynamic targets, demonstrated aim point accuracy to support lethal power delivery to test targets in representative battlefield environments.
> - Completed high power optics insertion, safety system checkouts, range communications protocol check, and initial high power static operation of laser weapon demonstrator to verify the laser and its subsystems can safely demonstrate lethal effects on mortars and rockets.
> - Commenced live fire tests against rocket and mortar fly-outs to demonstrate lethal laser power at mission-relevant ranges.
> - Completed preliminary design and detailed design of laser weapon module prototype's subsystems for integration on a specific air-, ground-, or sea-based tactical vehicle.
> 
> *FY 2015 Plans:*
> - Complete live fire tests against rocket and mortar fly-outs to demonstrate lethal laser power at mission-relevant ranges.
> - Transport demonstrator laser from Army mission (rocket/mortar) relevant ground test site to mountain peak test site to mimic Air Force missions for precision air-to-ground and airborne self-defense demonstrations.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* General Atomics shows off a combat laser module in the 50 kilowatt range *







> General Atomics has a new third generation combat laser. The technology was originally developed under the High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System (HELLADS, Gen 1) program. The Gen 3 Laser employs a number of upgrades resulting in improved beam quality, increased electrical to optical efficiency, and reduced size and weight.





> General Atomics has a new third generation combat laser. The technology was originally developed under the High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System (HELLADS, Gen 1) program. The Gen 3 Laser employs a number of upgrades resulting in improved beam quality, increased electrical to optical efficiency, and reduced size and weight. The recently certified Gen 3 laser assembly is very compact at only 1.3 x 0.4 x 0.5 meters. The system is powered by a compact Lithium-ion battery supply designed to demonstrate a deployable architecture for tactical platforms.
> 
> The Gen 3 HEL tested is a unit cell for the Tactical Laser Weapon Module (TLWM) currently under development. Featuring a flexible, deployable architecture, the TLWM is designed for use on land, sea, and airborne platforms and will be available in four versions at the 50, 75, 150, and 300 kilowatt laser output levels.
> 
> The GDS was employed by an independent measurement team to evaluate the beam quality of the Gen 3 system over a range of operating power and run time. According to JTO’s Jack Slater, “The system produced the best beam quality from a high energy laser that we have yet measured with the GDS. We were impressed to see that the beam quality remained constant with increasing output power and run-time.”
> 
> With run time limited only by the magazine depth of the battery system, beam quality was constant throughout the entire run at greater than 30 seconds. These measurements confirm that the exceptional beam quality of this new generation of electrically-pumped lasers is maintained above the 50 kilowatt level.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Warrior Web exosuit gets about a 10% net improvement in walking with load *







> Steve Jurvetson had a video and picture of the latest DARPA Warrior Web exosuits from Harvard and SRI at a Feb, 2015 meeting. The Harvard team uses linear actuators on the side of the backpack (instead of twisting filaments with the SRI team) to get a 10% net improvement in walking with load


----------



## ScienceRocks

> On April 16, 2015, NOAA's Satellite Analysis Branch have included more imagery coverage from Meteosat from the usual 6-hourly (00Z, 06Z, 12Z, 18Z) imagery.
> 3-hourly imagery (03Z, 09Z, 15Z, 21Z) has been included.
> 
> This change may be applied to the Meteosat Floater from the Arabian Sea to the Western portion of the Indian Ocean.



Northeast Atlantic Imagery - Satellite Products and Services Division Office of Satellite and Product Operations
East Atlantic Imagery - Satellite Products and Services Division Office of Satellite and Product Operations

Good news for us storm trackers!


----------



## longknife

*Engineers purify sea and wastewater in 2.5 minutes*








An interesting article but it doesn't cite anything about affordability. Read more @ Engineers purify sea and wastewater in 2.5 minutes -- ScienceDaily


----------



## Abishai100

*The Sweet Screen*

The consumer market is now a major realm of science/technology.

The distribution of the new age Internet-connected digital watch for our computer networking era (i.e., eTrade) parallels the distribution of the gear-transparent Swatch (Switzerland) wrist-watch which represented a market demand for 'user-friendly' products.

The masses are more imaginative now than ever.






Doctor Who (Sci-Fi TV)


----------



## ScienceRocks

*New Fossil Evidence Suggests There Have Been 6 Mass Extinctions, Not 5* 

New Fossil Evidence Suggests There Have Been 6 Mass Extinctions Not 5 IFLScience


> University of Leeds, via Science. Brachiopods from Spitsbergen's Kapp Starostin Formation. It has been argued that we are on the brink of the next great extinction, which would be the sixth mass extinction event that our planet has seen so far. Or at least, so we thought. According to new research, another hotly debated mass extinction should be added to the recognized list of mass extinction events. Newly gathered data indicates that a previously observed mass die-off was far more widespread than once thought. - [/QUOTE]
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Although there have been five traditionally recognized mass extinctions, scientists have contemplated the existence of a sixth, occurring in the Middle Permian (262 million years ago), for more than 20 years. This so called “Capitanian extinction” was proposed after scientists discovered fossil evidence for mass die-offs in rock formations in China. However, this event has remained controversial since it was only known from data gathered in tropical latitudes, with scarce evidence from higher latitudes. This led scientists to argue that it may have only been a localized event, or perhaps the start of a trend towards the Permian extinction, which took place ten million years later.
> 
> With the hope of offering some clarity on this issue, scientists from the Universities of Hull and Leeds scrutinized marine fossil ranges in the Kapp Starostin Formation of Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Norwegian archipelago Svalbard. This formation was created in cool, shelf seas of the Boreal Ocean from the skeletons of dead sponges. The researchers were looking at fossils left by brachiopods—invertebrate marine animals that started appearing at the beginning of the Cambrian period, around 570 million years ago.
Click to expand...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*One researcher in India was able to transmit their thoughts to another researcher in France.*








The article





> This is how the brain-to-brain system works. The BCI reads the sender’s thoughts — in this case, the sender thinks about moving his or her hands or feet. Thinking about feet is equivalent to binary 0, while hands is binary 1. With a little time/effort, whole words can be encoded as a stream of ones and zeroes. These encoded words are then transmitted (via the internet or some other network) to the recipient, who is wearing a TMS. The TMS is focused on on the recipient’s visual cortex. When the TMS receives a “1″ from the sender, it stimulates a region in the visual cortex that produces a phosphene — the phenomenon whereby you see flashes of light, without light actually hitting your retina (when you rub your eyes, for example). The recipient “sees” these phosphenes at the bottom of their visual field. By decoding the flashes — phosphene flash = 1, no phosphene = 0 — the recipient can “read” the word being sent.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Nanoscale Bioinspired Metamaterials, breakthrough quantum and laser tech from DARPA Nano and Quantum projects*
                               [url="http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/04/nanoscale-bioinspired-metamaterials.html"]Next Big Future Nanoscale Bioinspired Metamaterials breakthrough quantum and laser tech from DARPA Nano and Quantum projects     [/URL]


> DARPA is and has been spending about$70-80 million per year on nano, quantum and material technology. DARPA is looking at the development and assembly of advanced nanoscale and bio-molecular materials, devices, and electronics for DoD applications that greatly enhance soldier awareness, capability, security, and survivability, such as materials with increased strength-to-weight ratio and ultra-low size, devices with ultra-low energy dissipation and power, novel spectroscopic sources, and electronics with persistent intelligence and improved surveillance capabilities.
> 
> 1. *Nanoscale/Bio-inspired and MetaMaterials*
> 
> The research in this thrust area exploits advances in nano/micro-scale and bio-inspired materials, including computationally based materials science, in order to develop unique microstructures, material properties, and functionalities. This area also includes efforts to develop the underlying science for the behavior of materials whose properties have been engineered at the nano/micro-scale level, including metamaterials, bio-inspired materials for sensing and actuation, and materials that are designed to mimic biological materials from molecular to macroscopic function. Specific examples of areas of interest include materials that can self-repair, adapt, and respond for soldier protection against chemical and biological threats and optical based metamaterial imaging systems capable of detecting objects in cluttered environments and around or through structural obscurants.
> 
> *FY 2014 Accomplishments:*
> - Designed materials with decoupled property combinations (e.g., strength/density, stiffness/thermal expansion) using architecture-to-property trade space capability.
> - Demonstrated fabrication methods amenable to scaling and that permit architectural control capable of maintaining decoupled properties.
> - Demonstrated targeted enhancement to material properties (e.g., tailored coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE)/energy dissipation and load bearing stiffness).
> - Established manufacturability and amenability to scale up and provided fabrication and characterization data package.
> - Initiated development of synthetic methods for preparing large sequence controlled polymer libraries.
> 
> *FY 2015 Plans:*
> - Develop a method for screening non-natural polymer libraries for designed properties such as binding to target molecules. - Develop a method for sequencing non-natural polymers at low concentrations.
> - Explore and develop modeling tools for the physics of scattering in metamaterials and the application of using ultra-short laser pulses to see and detect objects through various obscurants.



What do I mean by r&d? I mean shit like this and the super powerful war lasers being developed above.  Of, course I mean more then this.


----------



## ScienceRocks

> Not all breakthroughs are created equal. Some arrive more or less as usable things; others mainly set the stage for innovations that emerge later, and we have to estimate when that will be. But we’d bet that every one of the milestones on this list will be worth following in the coming years.



10 Breakthrough Technologies 2015 MIT Technology Review

Some cool stuff 


What It s Like to Try Magic Leap s Take on Virtual Reality MIT Technology Review

*Magic Leap*


> A startup is betting more than half a billion dollars that it will dazzle you with its approach to creating 3-D imagery.
> 
> Availability: 1-3 years



Here is one of the list of things...


----------



## ScienceRocks

> Not all breakthroughs are created equal. Some arrive more or less as usable things; others mainly set the stage for innovations that emerge later, and we have to estimate when that will be. But we’d bet that every one of the milestones on this list will be worth following in the coming years.



10 Breakthrough Technologies 2015 MIT Technology Review

Some cool stuff 


What It s Like to Try Magic Leap s Take on Virtual Reality MIT Technology Review

*Magic Leap*


> A startup is betting more than half a billion dollars that it will dazzle you with its approach to creating 3-D imagery.
> 
> Availability: 1-3 years



Cheap Water from the World s Largest Modern Seawater Desalination Plant MIT Technology Review
*Megascale Desalination*
The world’s largest and cheapest reverse-osmosis desalination plant is up and running in Israel.

Availability: now


----------



## ScienceRocks

*600 km/h: Japan's maglev train notches up new world speed record*


> Japan's state-of-the-art maglev train set a world speed record Tuesday in a test run near Mount Fuji, clocking more than 600 kilometres (373 miles) an hour.
> 
> The seven-car maglev—short for "magnetic levitation"—train, hit a top speed of 603 kilometres an hour, and managed nearly 11 seconds over 600kph Central Japan Railway said.
> 
> The new record came less than a week after the company clocked 590kph, by breaking its own 2003 record of 581 kph.
> 
> The maglev hovers 10 centimetres (four inches) above the tracks and is propelled by electrically charged magnets.




 Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-kmh-japan-maglev-notches-world.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

Chevy embraces the future with the FNR autonomous vehicle
By C.C. Weiss
April 21, 2015
17 Pictures





> This is the year that automotive companies will tantalize eyes and minds with full visions of autonomous cars. Mercedes opened up the year with the intriguing F 015 design study, and Italdesign Giugiaro showed its own version of autonomy with the Geneva-debuted GEA. Chevrolet has an equally intriguing self-driving vision, and it calls it the FNR. The "futuristic capsule" is loaded with next-generation styling, technology and ideas.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*his snazzy LED lamp uses magnetic levitation to hover above its power source *


> Recently launched on Kickstarter, Flyte is a wirelessly-powered light that hovers in the air by way of magnetic levitation. It is also completely contactless, and draws power wirelessly from the charger block it hovers above.





Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com#ixzz3Y5GTBpEy 
Follow us: @digitaltrends on Twitter | digitaltrendsftw on Facebook


----------



## longknife

Matthew said:


> *his snazzy LED lamp uses magnetic levitation to hover above its power source *
> 
> 
> 
> Recently launched on Kickstarter, Flyte is a wirelessly-powered light that hovers in the air by way of magnetic levitation. It is also completely contactless, and draws power wirelessly from the charger block it hovers above.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com#ixzz3Y5GTBpEy
> Follow us: @digitaltrends on Twitter | digitaltrendsftw on Facebook
Click to expand...

I clicked on both links and never found the Flyte thingie.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Polymer researchers create a new class of hybrid materials*
*29 minutes ago *



> Polymer science will have to add a new giant molecule to its lexicon thanks to a cutting-edge discovery at The University of Akron. Taking a revolutionary "building blocks" approach, researchers have pioneered a way to create a new class of very large polymer molecules, called macromolecules, which assemble themselves into strong, stable structures. The work has been done in collaboration with researchers at Peking University in China and The University of Tokyo in Japan.





Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-polymer-class-hybrid-materials.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

Scientists fully decode a pair of mammoth DNA genomes



> A team of Harvard Medical School geneticists have deciphered the complete genomes of not one but _two_ individual woolly mammoths. The results, recently published in the journal _Current Biology_, are already providing valuable insights into how the species initially died out.


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Gene manipulation boosts tree growth rate and size *
By Darren Quick
April 23, 2015
4 Pictures





> Trees may be a renewable resource, but the rate of this renewal may not meet the increasing demand for plant biomass. But now researchers at the University of Manchester have potentially found a way to boost tree stocks by using gene manipulation to increase the size and growth rate of trees.


----------



## ScienceRocks

cool!


X-47B completes first ever unmanned refueling exercise
By David Szondy
April 23, 2015
17 Pictures






> The US Navy's X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) aircraft has gone out on a high note (and added yet another acronym to the military lexicon) by conducting the first ever Autonomous Aerial Refueling (AAR) exercise. The autonomous aircraft rendezvoused with an Omega K-707 tanker plane off the coast of Maryland and Virginia, successfully taking on 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) of jet fuel as it completed the project's final test objective.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Researchers build real-time tunable plasmon laser*
*8 hours ago by Bob Yirka report*




Enlarge
Lasing emissions from Au NP arrays tuned in real time. Credit: _Nature Communications_ 6, Article number: 6939 doi:10.1038/ncomms7939


> (Phys.org)—A combined team of researchers from Northwestern and Duke Universities has succeeded in building a plasmon laser that is tunable in real-time. In their paper published in the journal _Nature Communications_, the team describes how they built their device and to what uses it might be put.
> 
> Traditionally, light can only ever be focused down to a point half the size of its frequency—aka the diffraction limit. Scientists have found a way around that limit, however, by building what are known as plasmon lasers, which are lasers that couple their beam with plasmons (oscillating surface electrons) on the surface of metals—gold for example, arranged in an array. But that approach has had its limitations as well, because it has had to rely on a solid bit of material called the gain—such lasers could not be tuned very easily, and not in real-time at all. In this new effort, the researchers report that they have found a way to use a liquid material as the gain, and because of that, are able to tune their laser in real time.




Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-real-time-tunable-plasmon-laser.html#jCp


----------



## ScienceRocks

Williams uses F1 tech to increase refrigerator efficiency
By Chris Wood
April 24, 2015







> A new aerodynamic device has the potential to reduce the energy consumption of supermarket refrigerators by up to 41.5 percent. The product, currently being developed by Williams Advanced Engineering in collaboration with Aerofoil Energy, can be clipped onto existing cabinets, making it easy for companies to upgrade their stores


----------



## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

Good, new weapon systems to fire off!

US plans at sea railgun tests in summer of 2016 and will explore installation on the third Zumwalt Destroyer
 




In 2016, Naval Sea Systems Command will conduct the first at sea test of its electromagnetic railgun, hurling a guided 44 pound projectile and hypersonic speeds off the coast of Florida, NAVSEA officials said on Tuesday. The BAE Systems designed test weapon will be mounted on the newly delivered Joint High Speed Vessel USNS Trenton (JHSV-5)...


Officials expect to fire 20 shots from the EMRG on board Trenton ; the last five are expected to be aimed to hit targets anchored off the coast.








> With the EMRG launcher on the flight deck, the rest of the system comprising the control van and pulsed power - housed in four 20-ft ISO shipping containers - will be placed below deck in Trenton 's mission bay. Cables will be routed from the pulsed power up to the gun via an existing flight deck access point. The containers are those used on the test range at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren in Virginia, Capt Ziv noted.
> The Florida test will place a static floating target at a range of 25 to 50 nautical miles from the test ship and fire five GPS guided hyper velocity projectiles (HVP) at the target as the final part of 20 planned firings for the railgun at the Eglin range.
> 
> “It’s an over the horizon engagement. We’re firing on a ballistic trajectory and guiding into intercepting that target,” he said to reporters following the briefing.
> 
> “Eventually when we have a little bit more advancement in the projectile there will be some ability to communicate with [the round].”
> 
> As the program develops, the Navy is zeroing in on about 10,000-ton sized guided missile cruisers and destroyers as the anticipated platforms to field the weapons.
> NAVSEA is currently conducting an in-depth study of including the railgun on the Zumwalt-class (DDG-1000) guided missile destroyers for the first platform for the weapon.


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## ScienceRocks

*ISS-RapidScat wind data proving valuable for tropical cyclones*
*5 hours ago *




ISS-RapidScat revealed sustained winds over 67 mph (30 mps/108 kph) (in red) were still occurring southeast of Tropical Cyclone Pam's center on March 16, 2015. Credit: NASA JPL/Doug Tyler


> The ISS-RapidScat instrument has been in orbit seven months, and forecasters are already finding this new eye-in-the-sky helpful as they keep watch on major storms around the globe. RapidScat measures Earth's ocean surface wind speed and direction over open waters. The instrument's data on ocean winds provide essential measurements for researchers and scientists to use in weather predictions, including hurricane monitoring. The NASA instrument arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Sept. 23, 2014, providing a new resource for tracking and studying storms ranging from tropical cyclones to nor'easters. RapidScat has kept busy in 2015's already active Southern Hemisphere hurricane season and the Northern Hemisphere's winter storm season.


----------



## ScienceRocks

DARPA tests its self-steering bullets against moving targets
By Chris Wood
April 29, 2015
2 Pictures





> DARPA has conducted a new test of its self-steering bullets, with both experienced and novice shooters successfully hitting moving targets. The testing proves the effectiveness of the projectile, which was developed under the Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO) program, but the agency is still playing its cards close to its chest when it comes to how the technology actually works.


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Affordable Star Trek-like transparent aluminum could protect phones, windows, and lenses*
Affordable Star Trek-like transparent aluminum could protect phones windows and lenses ExtremeTech


> Researchers at the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have announced a breakthrough in the construction of spinel, also known as transparent aluminum. The substance is named after an iconic scene in _Star Trek_, in which Enterprise’s Chief Engineer hands over the chemical formula for an advanced 23rd-century building material to a manufacturing company in 1980s San Francisco.
> 
> Spinel — chemical formula MgAl2O4 is an extremely hard, durable substance with a Mohs Scale rating of 8.0. Sapphire glass, which we’ve previously discussed, has a Mohs rating of 9, just below diamond, with its rating of 10. Spinel’s refractive index can be lower than sapphire’s, depending on the exact characteristics of the material — a trait which could make it better than sapphire for screens.


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## ScienceRocks

*Small Jurassic Dinosaur May Have Flown Without Feathers*

By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
APRIL 29, 2015


> Over the last two decades, scientists in China have paraded one surprising dinosaur discovery after another, enough to rewrite textbooks and even impress dinophile first graders. Some of the smaller newfound creatures, it turns out, had feathers, which shifted expert thinking to the dinosaurian origin of birds.
> 
> Now a discovery of 160-million-year-old fossils in northeastern China, reported Wednesday in the journal Nature, calls attention to a dinosaur species that may have tried to take to the air on featherless wings. It was one of presumably many experiments in early flight that failed the test of time and was eventually abandoned.



http://www.nytimes.c...thers.html?_r=0


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## ScienceRocks

---------------------------------
China's 096 Nuclear Sub has specs comparable to the US Ohio Submarine
 






> There are some reports that China deployed the 096 nuclear submarine. The 096 is reported to be able to carry 24 nuclear missiles and has other specifications that rival the 20 year old US Ohio submarine. U.S. defense officials have stated that it might begin its first sea patrol in 2014. Thomas Spypek analysis "China’s Sea-Based Nuclear...



China is a bigger threat then the USSR ever was. It will have 4 times our population and at least our economy very fast!


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*Ten-engine electric plane takes off*
By David Szondy
May 4, 2015
3 Pictures





> In seeking a compromise between helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, engineers in recent years have opted for tilt rotors, but NASA has dusted off and improved on a tilt wing aircraft design that takes off and lands like a helicopter and flies like an airplane. Called the Greased Lightning, or GL-10, the unmanned prototype made a successful vertical takeoff and transition to horizontal flight at Fort A.P. Hill, not far from NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.


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## ScienceRocks

150 kilowatt Solid State combat laser is ready this year
 






> The General Atomics 150-kw Hellads (high energy laser) will be tested this summer at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico The third generation solid state laser is to be demonstrated in 2018 on the USS Paul Foster, a decommissioned Spruance-class destroyer that now serves as the U.S. Navy’s ship-defense test vessel at Port Hueneme in California.


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## ScienceRocks

*Dinosaur-times cockroach caught in amber, from Myanmar*
*May 01, 2015 by Nancy Owano weblog*




Manipulator modificaputis gen. et sp. n. (Manipulatoridae fam.n.) holotype SMNS Bu-116 (deposited in the Stuttgart Museum of Natural History) from the Cretaceous Myanmar amber. A – left view, B – dorsal view, C – detail on the forewing …more


> _Geologica Carpathica_ has a paper on a new family of predatory cockroaches. Predatory? The authors, Peter Vrsansky and Günter Bechly, from the Slovak Republic and Germany, respectively, said that "unique adaptations such as strongly elongated extremities and freely movable head on a long neck suggest that these animals were pursuit predators."





Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-05-dinosaur-times-cockroach-caught-amber-myanmar.html#jCp


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## ScienceRocks

*Self-driving semi-truck makes debut on Hoover Dam*
*19 minutes ago by By Kimberly Pierceall *




Freightliner unveils its Inspiration self-driving truck during an event at the Hoover Dam Tuesday, May 5, 2015, near Boulder City, Nev. (AP Photo/John Locher)


> Daimler officials rolled out their truck of the future Tuesday night, a driverless big rig that negotiated some very tight turns—but with a driver.
> As the Freightliner navigated switchbacks traveling to the top of the Hoover Dam on the Nevada-Arizona border, Daimler Trucks officials compared their self-driving semi to man's first steps on the moon.
> 
> The company's Freightliner of the future was revealed at a news conference accompanied by videos and images projected onto the massive wall of the dam.
> 
> Company spokesman Florian Martens says the driver had his hands on the wheel the whole time for safety's sake. The turns were just too tight.





Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-05-self-driving-semi-truck-debut-hoover.html#jCp


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## ScienceRocks

*World's biggest hurricane simulator aims to improve forecasts*
*36 minutes ago by Kerry Sheridan *




A miniature house is perched at one end of the world's largest indoor hurricane simulator at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, in Miami, Florida


> The world's largest hurricane simulator is now complete and experts hope it will improve forecasters' ability to predict how strong a storm will get, which has been a key weak spot for science until now.





Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-05-world-biggest-hurricane-simulator-aims.html#jCp


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## ScienceRocks

Silk reinforced carbon nanotubes spun by spiders is 3.5 times stronger than unaltered silk
 






> The protein matrix and hard tissues of insects, worms, ants and spiders naturally incorporates metals, such as zinc, manganese and copper. This leads to mechanical hardening of teeth, jaws, mandibles, ovipositors and to an enhancement of silk toughness. Thus, the artificial incorporation of metals, or even insulating or semiconducting...


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## ScienceRocks

*China has built a prototype for a train that's 3 times faster than a plane*

By utilizing the same design as Elon Musk's Hyperloop, Chinese engineers have developed the prototype of a train that can travel 1,800 miles per hour, three times the speed of a commercial airplane.

According to Chinese officials, the super maglev is the "future of train travel." The concept was put forward by the Applied Superconductivity Laboratory of Southwest Jiaotong University, and runs inside of a vacuum tube so that it is unaffected by wind resistance. The megathermal superconducting maglev loop was first tested in 2013.

If the theoretical speeds are reached, you could travel from Paris to Moscow in an hour.


https://d3ae0shxev0c...152429_7530.jpg

I'd like to build one of these between the west coast of the US to the east.  Maybe have 3 or 4 tubes in which you can go way faster then a plane!


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## Mac1958

I looked up the "smart micro grids".  Wow.

Goddamn, this is an exciting time.  Advances are speeding up, feeding on themselves.

Looks like Musk is going to really be a player on the energy side.  He already is.

.


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## ScienceRocks

Yep, very exciting...But the amish loserterian still doesn't get it and wonders why they lose the youth vote.

*China Preparing For Drone Warfare*



> China’s military plans to produce nearly 42,000 land-based and sea-based unmanned weapons and sensor platforms as part of its continuing, large-scale military buildup, the Pentagon’s annual report on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) disclosed Friday.
> 
> China currently operates several armed and unarmed drone aircraft and is developing long-range range unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for both intelligence gathering and bombing attacks.
> 
> “The acquisition and development of longer-range UAVs will increase China’s ability to conduct long-range reconnaissance and strike operations,” the report said.
> 
> China’s ability to use drones is increasing and the report said China “plans to produce upwards of 41,800 land- and sea-based unmanned systems, worth about $10.5 billion, between 2014 and 2023."


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## ScienceRocks




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## Abishai100

*Pop Atrium*



A *digital clock* is a type of clock that displays the time digitally (i.e. in numerals or other symbols), as opposed to an analog clock, where the time is indicated by the positions of rotating hands.

Digital clocks are often associated with electronic drives, but the "digital" description refers only to the display, not to the drive mechanism. (Both analog and digital clocks can be driven either mechanically or electronically, but "clockwork" mechanisms with digital displays are rare.) The biggest digital clock is the _Lichtzeitpegel_ ("Light Time Level") on the television tower Rheinturm Düsseldorf, Germany.

In 1970, the first digital wristwatch with an LED display was mass-produced. Called the Pulsar, and produced by the Hamilton Watch Company, this watch was hinted at two years prior when the same company created a prototype digital watch for Kubrick's _2001: A Space Odyssey_. Throughout the 1970s, despite the initial hefty cost of digital watches, the popularity of said devices steadily rose.

In Soviet Russia the 7-segment digital clocks were known as Elektronika 7 (source of information from top: Wikipedia).

The analog-to-digital conversion in the modern technology age changed the way we looked at the speed and efficiency of data transmission and presentation.

The digital clock/watch was marketed along with other relevant tech-age gadgets/toys such as the Walkman, the Word Processor, the rechargeable battery, the HDMI cable, etc.

When we want to think about the timeline of scientific achievements as they relate to technological developments, it is profitable to evaluate how marketing affects social demand and hence how culture is related to research funding.

With that in mind, we can understand how modern-era consumer electronics, otherwise considered to be simply user-friendly toys (i.e., iPad) can actually be appreciated as sci-tech achievements.

This is why I consider the eco-friendly (energy-efficient) flashlight to be a real advancement in science and technology.





Digital Clock


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## ScienceRocks

Researches from the University of Georgia, Princeton University and Oxford University report a new method for nanofiber production using a permanent magnet and ferrofluid – *magnetospinning*. Results of this research are published in _Advanced Materials_ journal - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.201500374/abstract



A ferrofluid is a colloidal dispersion of stabilized magnetic nanoparticles that responds to an external magnetic field: above a critical value for a uniform field the surface of the ferrofluid deforms and a liquid spike is formed on the surface. In addition, as a magnet approaches an interface, the field is nonuniform, the interface always deforms, so the spike moves towards the magnet and forms a liquid bridge. This instability was explored in this work in a new method for drawing polymeric nano and microfibers in which the magnetic force generated by a permanent magnet is used to draw fibers with controlled diameters in the 0.05–5 µm range. As the magnet approaches the ferrofluid the magnetic force attracts the droplet towards the magnet and a liquid bridge between the magnet and the needle is formed. The magnet moves away and draws the polymer fiber while the solvent evaporates. The resulting nanofibers are spooled on a reel that is attached to the opposite side of the stage.





Here is an image: https://drive.google...zLW8&authuser=0





The new method provides excellent control over the fiber diameter and is compatible with a range of polymeric materials and polymer composite materials including biopolymers. This research showcases  new technique and demonstrates its advantages to the scientific community. For example, polymers with low dielectric constant  cannot be electrospun without adding high dielectric constant ingredients but can be easily magnetospun, for example Teflon© fluoropolymer fibers that are ideal for the design of superhydrophobic materials. Owing to its simplicity and low costs, magnetospinning set-up could be installed in any non-specialized labs for broader uses of magnetospun nanofibers in different methods and technologies. Electrospinning is the most popular method to produce nanofibers in labs now. The total cost of a laboratory electrospinning system is above ~$10K. In contrast, it is possible to build a magnetospinning set-up, such as we utilize, by just using a $30 rotating motor and a $5 permanent magnet. No special equipment is needed for magnetospinning.

Researches showed that the productivity and scalability in magnetospinning is comparable with electrospinning methods and demonstrated universality of the new method by fabricating several examples of different polymeric fibers, including Teflon© fibers, fibers with aligned carbon nanotubes, silver nanowires, and porous fibers – all obtained with the same experimental set-up





Here is an image: https://drive.google...sSGs&authuser=0


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*Cyborg Russians: Russian army could soon receive exoskeletons for testing*



> The world’s most capable armies, the US, China, and Russia, are constantly trying to improve their strategic and warfare capabilities on the battlefield. This so-called “struggle” often involves improving the equipment of the infantry and other troops that are directly exposed to enemy fire.
> 
> We know that there is a project that has a goal to develop, an exoskeleton that will be commercially used. The Russian army is willing and is planning to find a way to upgrade some of its infantry units with such (exoskeleton) devices. The exoskeletons would allow soldiers improve their warfare abilities: huge jump, power tilting and throwing items, physical protection from bullets and smaller missiles, chemical and biological protection and built-in weapons.
> 
> With this kind of exoskeletons, Russian troops would be able to carry up to 300 kilograms of military equipment. For a comparison at the moment, a vehicle would be needed for that equipment. Additionally, exoskeletons will be controlled by brain impulses, which is significant progress in the field.


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## ScienceRocks

*Physicists stop and store light traveling in an optical fiber*


> Researchers at the Kastler Brossel Laboratory in Paris have managed to store light that propagates in an optical fiber and to release it later on demand. By causing interaction between the traveling light and a few thousand atoms in the vicinity, they demonstrated an all-fibered memory.
> In the May 8th issue of the Physical Review Letters, Prof. Julien Laurat and his colleagues at Pierre and Marie Curie University report that they have devised optical memory integrated into an optical fiber. The team created a way to stop and store the light that usually propagates in a fiber at a speed as fast as 200,000 kilometers per second. This capability represents an important advance in optical communications, as fibers are at the heart of our worldwide telecommunication system, but also for a future quantum Internet, in which quantum information can be transported and synchronized between interconnected nodes.


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## Abishai100

*Organics Ergonomics*



*"A team of amateur science students collect an Oxford study prize from their biophysics professor for designing visionary imaginary models of evolutionary adaptation using DaVinci-esque templates from the speciation well-spring themed Alien science-fiction film franchise."*

How does a modernism avatar such as the sci-fi comic book super-villain Video-Man, a mutant who serves as an _interference_ nemesis of the webbed-wonder Spider-Man (Marvel Comics) and who can move inside electric wires and disrupt computing networks with energy beams, represent society focus on '*social science*?'

Such questions reveal why such a hypothetical news report (noted above) of a science-award would provide yet another *dialogue compass* to analyze 'pedestrianism-friendly sci-tech developments/innovations' such as iPads, mineral nutrition supplements, and artificial insemination.

Why, for example, were the organics-themed see-thru Swatch wrist-watch (known colloquially by designers as the Cell design) models so popular in the consumerism-categorization 1980s-1990s?

Consumerism design is a new pillar of science funding.





Alien Franchise

Biophysics Discovery (Nature.com)


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## ScienceRocks

*America’s navy wants to arm its ships with electrically powered superguns*
http://www.economist.com/news/scien...uperguns-rail?fsrc=scn/tw/te/pe/ed/railstrike


> FOR all the centuries of refinement that separate a modern rifle from a Renaissance arquebus, the basic idea has not changed. That idea is to convert the chemical energy stored in an explosive into kinetic energy stored in a speeding projectile.
> 
> But there is nothing to say that chemicals have to provide the kick. Indeed, the physics of chemical explosions put a limit on what a conventional gun can realistically accomplish. In an attempt to get around those limits, America’s navy is trading explosives for electricity and working on a railgun, a weapon designed to hurl shells at seven times the speed of sound. Prototype systems at the Naval Surface Warfare Centre, in Virginia, have been firing since 2006. If all goes according to plan, the first firing tests on board ship will take place next year.





> Speed kills, cheaply
> 
> The brief given to the companies is to develop a weapon that can fire a 10kg projectile at about 2.5km a second. This is roughly seven times the speed of sound—and about three times the muzzle velocity of a conventional naval gun. At those sorts of speeds, there is no need to give the projectile a warhead. Its momentum is enough to cause destruction. The design has a muzzle energy of 32 megajoules, which is roughly the kinetic energy that would be carried by a small hatchback doing 900kph. The fiery plume, visible in the photograph, that accompanies the projectile out of the gun is not the result of propellant exploding but of the air itself being ionised by the electric current in the barrel.
> 
> The sheer destructive potential of the new weapon, though, is not the main point. Although a railgun’s speed makes plenty of headlines, old-style naval guns—such as the 16-inch monsters found on second-world-war battleships—had muzzle energies ten times as high. Modern ship-launched cruise missiles can deliver large explosive warheads to targets hundreds of nautical miles away.
> 
> Instead, says Commander Jason Fox of Naval Sea Systems Command, the part of the navy responsible for railguns, the weapon offers three other advantages. One is range. The projectile’s speed means ships could attack other vessels, or bombard targets on land, from a distance of 110 nautical miles. That is much farther than existing naval guns can manage, and beyond the range of at least some shore-launched anti-ship missiles.


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## ScienceRocks

*New shield makes certain types of searches for physics beyond Standard Model possible for first time

New shield makes certain types of searches for physics beyond Standard Model possible for first time*



> The Standard Model of particle physics, sometimes called "The Theory of Almost Everything," is the best set of equations to date that describes the universe's fundamental particles and how they interact. Yet the theory has holes—including the absence of an adequate explanation for gravity, the inability to explain the asymmetry between matter and antimatter in the early universe, which gave rise to the stars and galaxies, and the failure to identify fundamental dark matter particles or account for dark energy.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Researchers now have a new tool to aid in the search for physics beyond the good, but yet incomplete Standard Model. An international team of scientists has designed and tested a magnetic shield that is the first to achieve an extremely low magnetic field over a large volume. The device provides more than 10 times better magnetic shielding than previous state-of-the art shields. The record-setting performance makes it possible for scientists to measure certain properties of fundamental particles at higher levels of precision—which in turn could reveal previously hidden physics and set parameters in the search for new particles.
> 
> The researchers describe the new magnetic shield in a paper in the _Journal of Applied Physics_.


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## ScienceRocks

The Large Hadron Collider Just Detected Extremely Rare Particle Decays




> Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider have just announced the detection of a rare particle decay “harder to find than the famous Higgs particle.” The strange B meson is certainly a lot less famous than the Higgs boson, but it also has an important role to play in the Standard Model of particle physics.
> 
> For the past several decades, particle physics has been governed by the Standard Model, which allows physicists to classify all subatomic particles and make predictions about particles and processes still not yet observed. Its predictions are thus far born out—the existence of the Higgs boson being the most famous example.


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## ScienceRocks

*Lab** grown meat thirty thousand times cheaper than 18 months ago*
Next Big Future Lab grown meat thirty thousand times cheaper than 18 months ago
 





Dutch Professor Mark Post, the scientist who made world's first laboratory grown beef burger believes so-called "cultured meat" could spell the end of traditional cattle farming within just a few decades. A year and a half ago the professor of vascular physiology gave the world its first taste of a beef burger he'd grown from stem cells...



> It passed the food critics' taste test, but at more than a quarter of a million dollars, the lab quarter-pounder was no threat to the real deal. Now, after further development, Dr Post estimates it's possible to produce lab-beef for $80 a kilo - and that within years it will be a price-competitive alternative.
> 
> A small piece of muscle you can produce 10,000 kilos of meat.
> In 2013, it cost $325,000 to make lab grown meat for a burger made from cultured muscle tissue cells. Now the cost is $11 for a quarter pound lab grown patty.


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## ScienceRocks

ORNL can make bigger graphene composite fabrication instead of graphene flakes as a step towards commercialization  






> One of the barriers to using graphene at a commercial scale could be overcome using a method demonstrated by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Graphene, a material stronger and stiffer than carbon fiber, has enormous commercial potential but has been impractical to employ on a large scale, with researchers...



Anyone that doubts government does great things for humanity...Well, the Oak Ridge National laboratory along with many more do just that.


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*Invisibility cloak built with common materials can hide macroscopic objects*
By Dario Borghino
May 18, 2015






> A new invisibility cloak developed at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is reportedly able to hide any object that can fit inside a one-inch diameter cylinder. The cloaking device is among the first to rely on common materials like polymers and acrylic paint, and could be used for a practical demonstration of cloaking technology.


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## ScienceRocks

Quantum-mechanical monopoles discovered
 




Researchers at Aalto University and Amherst College, USA, have observed a point-like monopole in a quantum field itself for the first time. This discovery connects to important characteristics of the elusive monopole magnet. The researchers performed an experiment in which they manipulated a gas of rubidium atoms prepared in a nonmagnetic...


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## ScienceRocks

*The Large Hadron Collider smashes energy record with test collisions - 13 TeV is a new regime - nobody's been here before - The best thing that could possibly happen is that we find something that nobody has predicted at all*



> On Wednesday night, two opposing beams of protons were steered into each other at the four collision points spaced around the LHC's tunnel.
> The energy of the collisions was 13 trillion electronvolts - dwarfing the eight trillion reached during the LHC's first run, which ended in early 2013.
> "Physics collisions" commence in June.
> At that point, the beams will contain many more "bunches" of protons: up to 2,800 instead of the one or two currently circulating. And the various experiments will be in full swing, with every possible detector working to try to sniff out all the exotic, unprecedented particles of debris that fly out of proton collisions at these new energies.


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## ScienceRocks

DARPA can non-mechanically sweep a laser back and forth 100,000 times a second will make far cheaper and more powerful laser scanning
 



> A non-mechanical approach could open the door to a new class of miniaturized, extremely low-cost, robust laser-scanning technologies for military and commercial use Many essential military capabilities—including autonomous navigation, chemical-biological sensing, precision targeting and communications—increasingly rely upon laser-


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*Scientists create world's first fully-artificial molecular pump*
By Richard Moss
May 23, 2015
4 Pictures



All living organisms – human, animal, or otherwise – continuously move molecules around their cells. It's a crucial mechanism of life, vital for feeding cells the proteins they need to function. And now scientists at Northwestern University have created a machine that mimics this pumping mechanism. Their molecular pump is the world's first such machine developed entirely through chemical engineering in the laboratory, and it could one day power artificial muscles and other molecular machines.


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## ScienceRocks

*Ricoh develops energy-generating rubber*
By David Szondy
May 22, 2015




As digital technology becomes more ubiquitous and the Internet of Things takes shape, the question of how to power it all becomes more pressing. Japanese technology firm Ricoh is looking at its new "energy-generating rubber" as one solution. According the company, the new piezoelectric polymer converts pressure and vibration into electric energy with high efficiency, yet is extremely flexible and durable.


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## ScienceRocks

*First manned flight for Flike personal tricopter*
By Darren Quick
May 28, 2015
2 Comments
5 Pictures





> Despite always generating plenty of interest, getting a personal flight vehicle off the ground can be a huge undertaking – just ask Malloy Aeronautics, which has been forced to scale its Hoverbike down, selling a one-third-scale drone to raise funds to continue development of the larger, manned Hoverbike. But a Hungarian team is looking onwards and upwards after having achieved the first manned flight of its Flike tricopter concept demonstrator.


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*Engineers have produced an alloy that springs back into shape even after it is bent more than 10 million times*


> "Memory shape alloys" like this have many potential uses, but present incarnations are prone to wearing out.
> The new material - made from nickel, titanium and copper - shatters previous records and is so resilient it could be useful in artificial heart valves, aircraft components or a new generation of solid-state refrigerators.
> The work appears in Science Magazine.
> Memory alloys are already used in some situations, including surgical operations. A stent, for example, might be squashed into a small space and then spring into its designed shape to prop open a blood vessel.
> But the alloys have never entirely fulfilled their promise and entered the world of "high cycle fatigue" applications.








_Small pieces of the alloy were put through 10 million "shape memory" cycles_


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## ScienceRocks

*Lightweight High-Energy Liquid Laser (HELLADS) prepared for live fire tests*
By David Szondy
May 30, 2015
3 Pictures





> A high-power laser weapon light enough to be carried by tactical aircraft has moved out of the laboratory and onto the testing ground. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' High-Energy Liquid Laser Defense System (HELLADS) has finished its US Government Acceptance Test Procedure and is on its way to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico for live-fire tests.




*Audi's R8 e-tron electric sports car now drives itself *
By C.C. Weiss
May 30, 2015
16 Pictures





> Revealed at this year's Geneva Motor Show, the Audi R8 e-tron is already a technological tour de force. Its combination of battery-powered range and speed is equalled only by the Tesla Model S. At the inaugural CES Asia show, Audi made the R8 e-tron even more high-tech, rolling its autonomous driving suite into the electric coupe. The R8 e-tron piloted driving concept can unleash 456-hp worth of performance on the street ... without a driver stepping on the pedal.


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*Elon Musk’s Hyperloop Becomes Reality as Agreements Secured for 5-Mile Track in California*


> Back in August 2013, long before Tesla unveiled its plans to offer autopilot features on every new car via over-the-air updates and even longer before Tesla unveiled its plans for its massive Gigafactory and its range of Tesla Energy static energy storage products, Tesla Motors [NASDAQ:TSLA] CEO Elon Musk introduced the world to the idea of the Hyperloop: a super-fast, brand-new type of mass-transit for the 21st century.
> Unveiling his design in a preliminary technical paper called Hyperloop Alpha, Musk set out the idea for a transport system which used a series of partially-evacuated elevated cylindrical tubes, large enough for a specially-designed capsule to fit inside. Powered by solar panels set on top of the roof of the tube and set in motion by a linear electric motor set into the tube itself the capsules would travel on a cushion of air at speeds of up to 800 miles per hour, he theorised.


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*Theory turns to reality for nonlinear optical metamaterials*



> A research team has realized one of the long-standing theoretical predictions in nonlinear optical metamaterials: creation of a nonlinear material that has opposite refractive indices at the fundamental and harmonic frequencies of light. Such a material, which doesn't exist naturally, had been predicted for nearly a decade.
> 
> Observation of 'backward phase matching' -- a phenomenon also known as the 'nonlinear mirror' -- provided proof that this new type of metamaterial had been created. Demonstration of the phenomenon was reported by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in a paper published June 15 in the journal Nature Materials


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## ScienceRocks

*It's Official: SpaceX Is Building Elon Musk's Hyperloop*

There's a few catches, though



> SpaceX is building a hyperloop, Elon Musk's fantastical, futuristic transport tube capable of moving people and freight at speeds of 760 miles per hour.
> *The company is building a one- to three-mile-long hyperloop test track outside its Hawthorne, California headquarters with plans to test the technology within a year*, according to documents obtained by Motherboard (embedded below). It's the first time that Musk, who conceived of the hyperloop, has been involved with any concrete plans to actually build it.
> "SpaceX will be constructing a sub-scale test track (inner diameter between 4 and 5 feet; length approximately 1 mile) adjacent to its Hawthorne, California headquarters)," an official SpaceX document, called "SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition," said. "In order to accelerate the development of a functional prototype and to encourage student innovation, SpaceX is moving forward with a competition to design and build a half-scale Hyperloop pod."
> "In addition to hosting the competition, SpaceX will likely build a pod for demonstration purposes only," the document said.


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## ScienceRocks

*Researchers predict existence of new quantum matter theoretically*


> Finland's Aalto University researchers have succeeded to predict, in theory, that superconducting surfaces can become topological superconductors when magnetic iron atoms are deposited on the surface in a regular pattern. They used the latest mathematical and physical models to predict the existence of a topological superconducting state on metallic superconducting surfaces and thin films. The results were recently published in the Physics Review Letters science journal ("Topological Superconductivity and High Chern Numbers in 2D Ferromagnetic Shiba Lattices").
> The work examines the properties of superconductors in low temperatures. The results are important in the search for new quantum states and possible use in future electronics applications.


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## ScienceRocks




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## Abishai100

*Bond Bottlecap*

Scientists earlier this year (February) found evidence of *weak-bonds* forming between atoms on their way to becoming stable molecules, an observation that illuminates ideas about polymer stability, polarization-reactivity, and substance solubilities.

The mass distribution of *agarose* (for gel electrophoresis) is but one applied area of such a discovery, since we can find ways to store/preserve/transport polymers more efficiently perhaps.

This news makes me want to watch the element-trampoline Hollywood (USA) movie "Iron Man" (2008) on Netflix.






Pre-Formed Bonds


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## ScienceRocks

China has a tank gun with mach 6 muzzle velocity vs mach 4.6 for the US Abrams
  






> China has a new multipurpose cannon (sy_wsh at lt.cjdby.net via Popular Science). The 127th Ordinance Research Institute's news 125mm tank cannon is the world' largest, with a barrel length over 7.5 meters and highly powerful shells. The multipurpose cannon achieves its high performance through a high length to caliber ratio of at least...


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## ScienceRocks

China high speed rail roundup
 






> This is a China high sped rail roundup. This has significant geopolitical and economic impacts. * Russia and China are moving ahead with the Moscow Kazan high speed rail line which will be followed by a Beijing Moscow line * China completed more internal high speed rail * China's merged high speed rail companies are second to General electric...



Read more »


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## ScienceRocks

About 1000 tons per year of graphene being produced but commercial markets lagging by a decade or more
 






> In a 2014 report, Lux predicted that the global market for graphene would be worth US$349 million by 2025; by comparison, the University of Manchester estimates that graphene has already attracted $2.4 billion for research. There is nearly 1000 tons per year of graphene production. Graphene films still do not beat ITO (Indium Tin Oxide)...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Robo-mate exoskeleton aims to lighten the load for industry*
By David Szondy
June 21, 2015
8 Pictures





> The development of powered exoskeletons has so far been largely restricted to the laboratory, the military, and areas such as rehabilitation therapy. This kind of technology also has obvious potential in industry, where constant heavy lifting is still very much a part of many working lives. Recently in Stuttgart, the Robo-Mate project unveiled an exoskeleton designed specifically for industrial use that can make 10 kilos feel like 1.


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## ScienceRocks

New Superconducting Magnet already at a record 27 Tesla and will reach 32 Tesla in 2016
 






> The USA National MagLab made a magnet that broke the world record for an all-superconducting magnet. Built with both traditional and novel superconducting materials, the magnet reached a field of 27 teslas on June 5 in a test that exceeded designers' expectations. The magnet is a smaller version of an even more powerful magnet due for completion...


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## ScienceRocks

Lawrence Livermore able to scale antimatter production with more powerful lasers
 






> Using ever more energetic lasers, Lawrence Livermore researchers have produced a record high number of electron-positron pairs, opening exciting opportunities to study extreme astrophysical processes, such as black holes and gamma-ray bursts. The current lasers are at 500-1000 joules. The favorable scaling of electron-positron pairs with...


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## ScienceRocks

*Lexus has developed a hoverboard ... seriously*
By C.C. Weiss - June 24, 2015  3 Pictures 





> For years, designers and startups have been attempting to mimic fiction and create a hoverboard like the one famously piloted by Marty McFly in _Back to the Future II_. Those efforts have only accelerated now that it's 2015, the year in the "future" that the famous hoverboard scene was set. We never expected a luxury automaker to throw its hat into the hoverboard ring, but today (that's June 24, not April 1), that's exactly what Lexus did.


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## ScienceRocks

Cold Wall Chemical Vapor Deposition produces graphene at 100 times the speed and 100 times lower cost
 


> A pioneering new technique to produce high-quality, low cost graphene could pave the way for the development of the first truly flexible ‘electronic skin’, that could be used in robots. Researchers from the University of Exeter have discovered an innovative new method to produce the wonder material Graphene significantly cheaper, and easier, than previously possible. The research team, led by Professor Monica Craciun, have used...



Sandia use Z Machine to squeeze Deuterium into Metal
 






> Scientists in the US (Sandia Labs) and Germany (Max Planck Institute for Chemistry) have successfully transformed liquid deuterium into a metal at pressures rivalling those at the center of our own planet. The discovery is another step along the long road to obtaining solid metallic hydrogen, a phase of matter that has eluded scientists for...


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*We've just started work on the technology to power a Star-Trek style replicator*
*19 hours ago by Gianluca Sarri, The Conversation *



Enlarge
Machine to make anything. Credit: Shutterstock


> Who has never dreamt of having a machine that can materialise any object we need out of thin air at the push of a button? Such machines only exist in the minds of science fiction enthusiasts and the film industry. The most obvious example is the "replicator" that Star Trek characters routinely use to generate a diverse range of objects, helping them escape from even the most impossible of plotlines.





Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-06-weve-technology-power-star-trek-style.html#jCp


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## ScienceRocks




----------



## IsaacNewton

You Won t Believe How Accurate GE s New CT Scanner Is

Maybe posted already, but interesting how things are progressing very quickly.


----------



## Abishai100

*Seismology Simulcast*

Seismology is an under-appreciate field, even though it helps us create intricate terrain-shift projection maps.

This is an interesting discovery suggesting that modality experimentation is guiding regular science:

Animals Observed to Understand Earthquakes



Seismology


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*Boeing's New Laser Gun Could Be a Game-Changer for U.S. Soldiers*


> No, not that ray gun you see above -- that was the U.S. Air Force Airborne Laser. And no, we're not talking about Boeing's Advanced Tactical Laser or its Laser Avenger projects, either. Respectively, those weapons systems require anything from the size of a Boeing 747 to a small tank to lug them around.
> Boeing's newest laser weapon system, in contrast, is small enough to be transported by hand.
> 
> Well, by a few hands at least. According to a Boeing representative, the company's new Compact Laser Weapon System (LWS) breaks down into four parts, each transportable by one or two Marines. Boeing says these components include:
> 
> 
> a battery
> a water-cooled chiller
> a commercially available fiber laser
> an upgraded beam director, weighing 40% less than a previous model.
> In total, the system weighs about 650 pounds and would probably be operated by a squad of eight to 12 soldiers or Marines.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _SETTING UP A COMPACT LASER WEAPON SYSTEM AT THE MARINE AVIATION WEAPONS AND TACTICS SQUADRON ONE EXERCISE IN YUMA, ARIZONA. IMAGE SOURCE: USMC._





> _Able to be assembled in just 15 minutes, LWS is capable of generating an energy beam of up to 10 kilowatts that can, depending on the power level, be used to acquire, track, and identify a target -- or even destroy it -- at ranges of at least 22 miles. The weapon is designed specifically to track and attack moving aerial targets such as incoming artillery rounds, and low-flying aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.
> 
> U.S. Special Operations forces are currently testing LWS, with "multiple" branches of the U.S. military expressing interest -- and no wonder.
> 
> According to Boeing, a laser gun such as LWS offers the military a "low cost per shot and an infinite magazine" -- both very attractive attributes. Indeed, in a press release, Boeing observed that "with a steady power supply, the Compact LWS can fire continuously." _


----------



## ScienceRocks

Femtosecond lasers provide control of chemical bonding of molecules
 






> Coherent control is when a molecule is dropped into a light field, the electrons begin to move with the light's electric field. This happens even when the light does not have the right frequency to drive the electron from one state to another. As the electrons rock out to the beat of an intense laser pulse, their movement distorts the shape...


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## ScienceRocks

*Clever cloaks: Unique metamaterials preserve phase while guiding surface waves around ultrasharp corners and bumps*


> (Phys.org)—Today's photonic and plasmonic devices – the latter based on surface plasmons (a coherent delocalized electron oscillations that exist at the interface between metal and dielectric) and combining the small ...


----------



## ScienceRocks

CERN's Large Hadron Collider has discovered the ‪#‎pentaquark‬, a new class of subatomic particle. ‪#‎MindBlown‬ >> http://ow.ly/PB9Bb




CERN's Large Hadron Collider has discovered a new class of particle
Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider have announced the discovery of the pentaquark, a class of subatomic particle consisting of four quarks and...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*ReWalk Robotics announces faster, sleeker exoskeleton*
By Ben Coxworth - July 15, 2015  6 Pictures 





> There are now a number of powered exoskeletons either on the market or in development, all of which allow people who lack the use of their legs to walk in an upright position. The ReWalk device is without doubt the best-known, having been commercially available since 2012. This week, ReWalk Robotics announced the sixth version of the product, which is reportedly better-fitting, faster and less bulky than its predecessors.



*
Researchers successfully combine two different materials to create new hyper-efficient light-emitting crystal
It's snack time: you have a plain oatmeal cookie, and a pile of chocolate chips. Both are delicious on their own, but if you can find a way to combine them smoothly, you get the best of both worlds.
*


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## ScienceRocks

*After 85-year search, massless particle with promise for next-generation electronics found*
* July 16, 2015 *




A detector image (top) signals the existence of Weyl fermions. The plus and minus signs note whether the particle's spin is in the same direction as its motion -- which is known as being right-handed -- or in the opposite direction in which …more

An international team led by Princeton University scientists has discovered Weyl fermions, an elusive massless particle theorized 85 years ago. The particle could give rise to faster and more efficient electronics because of its unusual ability to behave as matter and antimatter inside a crystal, according to new research.



Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-07-year-massless-particle-next-generation-electronics.html#jCp


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## ScienceRocks

*Macroscopic quantum phenomena discovered in ice*
(Phys.org)—Scientists have discovered an anomaly in the properties of ice at very cold temperatures near 20 K, which they believe can be explained by the quantum tunneling of multiple protons simultaneously. The finding ...


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## ScienceRocks

*Metal foams found to excel in shielding X-rays, gamma rays, neutron radiation*
May lead to better shielding for nuclear reactors and space travel
*July 20, 2015*




North Carolina State University researchers have found that lightweight composite metal foams they had developed are effective at blocking X-rays, gamma rays, and neutron radiation, and are capable of absorbing the energy of high-impact collisions. The finding holds promise for use in nuclear power plants, space exploration, and CT-scanner shielding.

“This work means there’s an opportunity to use composite metal foam


===

This blows the shit out of all the losers whining about radiation on the way to mars!


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## ScienceRocks

17 mins



World’s first pocket spectrometer lets you measure the molecular makeup of anything
The SCiO is the world's first spectrometer that fits in a pocket, and it can measure the molecular...


----------



## ScienceRocks

*UT Dallas nanotechnology research leads to super-elastic conducting fibers*



An international research team based at The University of Texas at Dallas has made electrically conducting fibers that can be reversibly stretched to over 14 times their initial length and...


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## ScienceRocks

http://www.militarya...rgy-weapon.html



New Russian directed-energy weapon could complicate U.S. military strategic planning




*THE MIL & AERO BLOG, 7 July 2015.* The Russian defense industry reportedly has developed a directed-energy weapon that can destroy or disable sophisticated electronic guidance and navigation systems in manned and unmanned aircraft and precision-guided missiles.


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## ScienceRocks

*Genes Influence Academic Success Across All Subject Areas, Latest Study Shows*
From the Guardian, an astounding admission:

Genes influence academic ability across all subjects, latest study shows | Science | The Guardian

Sixty percent of all academic ability is inherited and genetic, rather than environmental.


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## longknife

Matthew said:


> *Genes Influence Academic Success Across All Subject Areas, Latest Study Shows*
> From the Guardian, an astounding admission:
> 
> Genes influence academic ability across all subjects, latest study shows | Science | The Guardian
> 
> Sixty percent of all academic ability is inherited and genetic, rather than environmental.



How racist! The left should be up in arms over this. Really? A Super Race whose genes make it more suited for academics.


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## ScienceRocks

longknife said:


> Matthew said:
> 
> 
> 
> *Genes Influence Academic Success Across All Subject Areas, Latest Study Shows*
> From the Guardian, an astounding admission:
> 
> Genes influence academic ability across all subjects, latest study shows | Science | The Guardian
> 
> Sixty percent of all academic ability is inherited and genetic, rather than environmental.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> How racist! The left should be up in arms over this. Really? A Super Race whose genes make it more suited for academics.
Click to expand...



We should be looking at what genes do this and working on ways to gene splice. The entire species would be better off having this.


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## ScienceRocks

*Material with new record melting point predicted*
By Eric Mack - July 27, 2015  2 Pictures 





> New research predicts it is possible to create a material with a new record-setting melting point that would have a good chance of staying intact, even at the insane temperatures in places like the outer edges of Earth's core. Computer simulations run by a team from Brown University find that a precise combination of hafnium, nitrogen and carbon would have a melting point of 4,400 kelvins (7,460 degrees Fahrenheit).


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## ScienceRocks

* US Navy will field 100 kilowatt or stronger lasers and ten shot per minute railguns by 2020 *








> The US Navy is pursuing a multi-pronged approach to fielding energy weapons by the end of the decade, with the hopes of upgrading its 30 kilowatt laser gun to 100 kw or more, and giving its electromagnetic railgun a higher repetition rate. Rear Adm. Bryant Fuller, chief engineer at Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), said in a panel presentation...
> Read more »


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## ScienceRocks

*"Death Star" laser sets new world record in Japan*
By Eric Mack - July 30, 2015  2 Pictures 



Laser engineers in Japan claim to have set a new record for firing the world's most powerful laser, with a peak power equal to a thousand times total world energy consumption. It conjures images of a real-life "Death Star" laser, but could actually help unlock the mysteries of the universe.


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## ScienceRocks

*World's first white lasers demonstrated*
*More luminous, energy efficient than LEDs, white lasers look to be the future in lighting and Li-Fi, or light-based wireless communication*

*http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150729101932.htm*
Date:
July 29, 2015
Source:
Arizona State University
Summary:
Semiconductor lasers are capable of emitting over the full visible color spectrum, which is necessary to produce a white laser, researchers have demonstrated. The technological advance puts lasers one step closer to being a mainstream light source and potential replacement or alternative to light emitting diodes (LEDs). Lasers are brighter, more energy efficient, and can potentially provide more accurate and vivid colors for displays like computer screens and televisions.


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## ScienceRocks

* China plans to build a hybrid fusion fission reactor by 2030 but no real technical details *







> The South China Morning Post and Chinese media are reporting that China will build a new hybrid reactor that can burn nuclear waste via a combined fusion-fission method by 2030. The proposed hybrid reactor will use nuclear fusion to burn u-238 and could in theory recycle the waste from traditional reactors into new fuel. The project is...


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## ScienceRocks

* France funding combat laser for wing mounted pod for French Dassault Rafale fighter *





Quantel Laser (Paris, France) has been awarded a $7-million, multi-year contract by a Tier 1 defense contractor to supply lasers to be built into a wing-mounted fighter aircraft pod, such as on the French Dassault Rafale fighter. The military aircraft lasers will provide critical telemetry as well as target designation functions. Quantel...
Read more »


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## ScienceRocks

Ancient Long-Necked Marine Reptile Discovered in Alaska
Researchers working along the side of a vertical cliff in Alaska’s Talkeetna Mountains have uncovered the 70-million-year-old fossils of a type of plesiosaur...
iflscience.com


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## ScienceRocks

* Navy targets FY2019 for field testing ten shot per minute railgun and FY2018 for 100-150 kw laser tests *





The Navy will shortly ward a development contract for the larger follow-on to USS Ponce laser system. The new laser gun will be 100 to 150 kw instead of 30 kw. That weapon will go out to sea for a demonstration by FY 2018, keeping in line with the goal of transitioning technology from the lab to the warfighter as quickly as possible for operational...
Read more »


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## ScienceRocks

An international team of physicists has used carbon nanotubes to enhance the efficiency of laser-driven particle acceleration. This significant advance brings compact sources of ionizing radiation for medical purposes closer to reality



> An international team of physicists has used carbon nanotubes to enhance the efficiency of laser-driven particle acceleration ("Ion Acceleration Using Relativistic Pulse Shaping in Near-Critical-Density Plasmas"). This significant advance brings compact sources of ionizing radiation for medical purposes closer to reality.
> 
> The interaction of high-intensity laser light with solid targets could someday serve as the basis of table-top sources of high-energy ions for medical applications. An international team led by physicists of the LMU affiliated with the Munich-Centre for Advanced Photonics (MAP), a Cluster of Excellence based in Munich, and in cooperation with scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, has taken another step towards this goal. They have done so by boosting the efficiency of a technique that uses extremely intense pulses of laser light to eject packets of high-energy ions from diamond-like carbon foils.
> 
> tion, the layer acts like a lens to focus and concentrate the light energy on the foil, which results in the production of much more energetic ion beams. This makes experiments with high-energy carbon ions on cells feasible for the first time, and brings light-driven generation of ionizing radiation closer to practical application.


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## ScienceRocks

*A new look at superfluidity*



> MIT physicists have created a superfluid gas, the so-called Bose-Einstein condensate, for the first time in an extremely high magnetic field. The magnetic field is a synthetic magnetic field, generated using laser beams, and is 100 times stronger than that of the world’s strongest magnets. Within this magnetic field, the researchers could keep a gas superfluid for a tenth of a second — just long enough for the team to observe it. The researchers report their results this week in the journal Nature Physics ("Observation of Bose–Einstein condensation in a strong synthetic magnetic field").
> A superfluid is a phase of matter that only certain liquids or gases can assume, if they are cooled to extremely low temperatures. At temperatures approaching absolute zero, atoms cease their individual, energetic trajectories, and start to move collectively as one wave.
> Superfluids are thought to flow endlessly, without losing energy, similar to electrons in a superconductor. Observing the behavior of superfluids therefore may help scientists improve the quality of superconducting magnets and sensors, and develop energy-efficient methods for transporting electricity.
> But superfluids are temperamental, and can disappear in a flash if atoms cannot be kept cold or confined. The MIT team combined several techniques in generating ultracold temperatures, to create and maintain a superfluid gas long enough to observe it at ultrahigh synthetic magnetic fields.


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## ScienceRocks

Researchers generate magnetism in non-magnetic metals - http://gizm.ag/1IxAYOE


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## ScienceRocks

* Magnetic field 100 times strongest magnets made with lasers and Superfluid gas  *





MIT physicists have created a superfluid gas, the so-called Bose-Einstein condensate, for the first time in an extremely high magnetic field. The magnetic field is a synthetic magnetic field, generated using laser beams, and is 100 times stronger than that of the world’s strongest magnets. Within this magnetic field, the researchers could...


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## sealybobo

I just heard a scientist is turning yeast into oxy, pain killers, morphine.  Only small doses but years ago older more conservative scientists said it could never be done and now it is.  

Speeding Up Yeast s Evolution And What It Says About Cancer NPR

Home-Brewed Morphine Is Around The Corner Goats and Soda NPR


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

England is set to begin testing an electric highway. http://bit.ly/1Et6slc

Global extinction rates could be way higher than previously thought. http://bit.ly/1DOqSu7


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## ScienceRocks

*Company in Canada gets U.S. patent for space elevator*
Exploring space while seated on Earth, gazing up on screens in museum theaters or at home via VR headsets. is exciting but the top imagination-grabber is the very idea of finding a way to access space. This is the present-day ...


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## ScienceRocks

*Critically endangered species successfully reproduced using frozen sperm from ferret dead for 20 years*
*Genetic diversity of the species significantly increased providing fresh hope for the future survival of this near-extinct species*
Date:
August 13, 2015
Source:
Lincoln Park Zoo
Summary:
Black-footed ferrets, a critically endangered species native to North America, have renewed hope for future survival thanks to successful efforts by a coalition of conservationists, to reproduce genetically important offspring using frozen semen from a ferret who has been dead for approximately 20 years. The sire, 'Scarface,' as he is affectionately called, was one of the last 18 black-footed ferrets to exist in the world in the 1980s.
Eight kits, including offspring of Scarface, were born recently, significantly increasing the gene diversity of this endangered population that a dedicated team is working to recover in the wild.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150813130242.htm


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## ScienceRocks

Wouldn't that be wonderful if we could change a few genes and make 140, 150 and even 200 iq'ed human beings?


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## ScienceRocks

​
*http://phys.org/news/2015-08-glass-metal-roofs-cool-sunny.html*
*http://phys.org/news/2015-08-glass-metal-roofs-cool-sunny.html*
*http://phys.org/news/2015-08-glass-metal-roofs-cool-sunny.html*
*http://phys.org/news/2015-08-glass-metal-roofs-cool-sunny.html*
*Glass paint could keep metal roofs and other structures cool even on sunny days*
Sunlight can be brutal. It wears down even the strongest structures, including rooftops and naval ships, and it heats up metal slides and bleachers until they're too hot to use. To fend off damage and heat from the sun's .


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## ScienceRocks

*Passive exoskeleton to lighten the load for soldiers*
By Ben Coxworth - August 18, 2015  1 Picture 



Imagine if you were to carry over 100 lb (45 kg) of gear in a backpack, for several hours at a time. Well, that’s just what some soldiers have to do, and it can cause great stress to their torso and legs. That’s why engineers at the Australia’s Department of Defence have developed a new exoskeleton, that diverts two thirds of pack weight directly to the ground.

---


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## ScienceRocks

* Hydrogen sulfide at high pressures 200 GPa (2 million atmospheres) has superconductivity at -70 celsius has sparked renewed mainstream efforts for room temperature superconductivity *







> Hydrogen sulfide — the compound responsible for the smell of rotten eggs — conducts electricity with zero resistance at a record high temperature of 203 kelvin (–70 °C), reports a paper published in Nature. The first results of the work, which represents a historic step towards finding a room-temperature superconductor, were released on...


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## ScienceRocks

* US Army funds Lockheed Combat Laser as an alternative to Boeing HEL-MD Truck Mounted Combat Laser *





The Boeing HEL-MD program currently mounts an off-the-shelf 10-kilowatt laser, but it will be upgraded in 2016 to a custom-built 50-60 kW weapon, with potential for 100 kW and above. It’s already shot down drones and mortar rounds, and the higher power levels should make it capable against rockets and even artillery shells. “There is some...


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## ScienceRocks

*FIRST YEAR NANOSCIENCE STUDENTS ADVANCE TOWARD SELF-ASSEMBLING NANOELECTRONICS*



> "This is a clear step forward towards self-assembling electronics. By mixing solutions of the right substances, we automatically built structures that in principle could have been solar cells or transistors. What is more, is that they were built in the same way that nature builds such things as cell membranes," said Thomas Just Sørensen (in the top picture), an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen. "For us as a university, the big news is obviously that first year students conducted the research. But, we achieved a very significant result in molecular electronics as well."
> 
> The goal of self-assembling molecular electronics research is to use chemistry-based methods to assemble transistors and other electronic components such as resistors, LED screens, and solar cells. This could result in smaller, cheaper and more flexible, as well as more environmentally sustainable electronics. But, while electronic engineers can draw an integrated circuit on silicon, molecular components must self-organize in usable structures.


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## ScienceRocks

*Scientists trap antimatter long enough to study how it works*


> In science fiction stories, antimatter pops up everywhere as a power source for spaceships or the active ingredient in diabolical bombs. In real life, though, this mysterious substance is elusive and scientists have never had much of it to play around with.
> But that is to change: at the Cern particle collider in Geneva, physicists have created and trapped atoms of antihydrogen for more than a thousand seconds, it was announced late on Sunday. It might not sound like long, but it is enough time for experiments that could help answer some of the most fundamental questions in physics.
> The same scientists, based at the Alpha collaboration in Cern, were the first to trap antihydrogen last year when they created and held on to 38 atoms of the stuff for 172 milliseconds in a strong magnetic field. In their latest work,published in this month's edition of Nature Physics, they trapped 309 antihydrogen atoms for varying amounts of time up to 1,000 seconds (just over 16 minutes).


----------



## ScienceRocks

*Physicists Unveil First Quantum Interconnect*
*An international team of physicists has found a way to connect quantum devices in a way that transports entanglement between them.*



> One of the unsung workhorses of modern technology is the humble interconnect. This is essentially a wire or set of wires that link one part of an electronic system to another. In ordinary silicon chips, interconnect can take up most of the area of a chip; and the speed and efficiency with which information can travel along these interconnects, is a major limiting factor in computing performance.
> So it’s no wonder that physicists and engineers are creating new generations of interconnect that will become the backbone of information processing machines of the future.
> One of the most promising forms of number crunching is the quantum computer and its various associate quantum technologies, such as quantum communication, quantum cryptography, quantum metrology, and so on.
> Physicists have made great strides in building proof-of-principle devices that exploit the laws of quantum physics to perform feats that would be impossible with purely classical mechanics. And yet a significant problem remains. These devices must work in isolation since nobody has perfected a way of joining them together effectively.
> Today, that changes thanks to the work of Mark Thompson at the University of Bristol in the U.K. and a few pals around the world. These guys have built and tested a quantum interconnect that links separate silicon photonic chips and carries photons and, crucially, entanglement between them.


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## ScienceRocks

*Ideal nanostructure for hydrophobic surfaces that stay dry for months underwater *
By David Szondy - August 19, 2015  8 Pictures 





> By mimicking nanostructures found in nature in everything from water striders and spiders to lotus leaves, scientists have created hydrophobic surfaces that could prove invaluable for everything from pipes to boats and submarines. Now researchers at Northwestern University have deduced the optimal texture roughness required to achieve this property and keep surfaces dry underwater for months at a time.


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## ScienceRocks

*Elon Musk's Hyperloop Is Actually Getting Kinda Serious*



> *Hyperloop Transportation Technologies announced today that it has signed agreements to work with Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum and *
> 
> THE HYPERLOOP SOUNDS like science fiction, Elon Musk’s pipe dream: leapfrog high speed rail and go right to packing us into capsules that fling us across the country in hours using what are, essentially, pneumatic tubes. It sounds crazy, when you think about it.
> 
> It’s starting to look a little less crazy.
> 
> Hyperloop Transportation Technologies announced today that it has signed agreements to work with Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum and global engineering design firm Aecom. The two companies will lend their expertise in exchange for stock options in the company, joining the army of engineers from the likes of Boeing and SpaceX already lending their time to the effort.
> 
> “It’s a validation of the fact that our model works,” says Dirk Ahlborn, CEO of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies. “It’s the next step.”


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## ScienceRocks

*Scientists grow high-quality graphene from tea tree extract*
* August 21, 2015 by Lisa Zyga feature *



(Left) Tea tree leaf. (Right) Microscope images of graphene grown from tea tree oil for (a) 1 second, (b) 1 minute, (c) 2 minutes, and (d) 4 minutes. Credit: Jacob, et al. ©2015 American Chemical Society


> (Phys.org)—Graphene has been grown from materials as diverse as plastic, cockroaches, Girl Scout cookies, and dog feces, and can theoretically be grown from any carbon source. However, scientists are still looking for a graphene precursor and growth method that is sustainable, scalable, and economically feasible, since these are all requirements for realizing widespread commercialization of graphene-based devices.





Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-08-scientists-high-quality-graphene-tea-tree.html#jCp


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*Construction of next-gen hurricane-hunting satellites begins*
By David Szondy - August 21, 2015  2 Pictures 



What is small enough to fit in an airliner carry-on bin and has the potential to save thousands of lives and millions of dollars worth of property? The answer is the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) – NASA’s next-generation hurricane-observing microsatellites, which are now being assembled at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio, Texas.


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*Magnetic Wormhole Created in Lab*



> Ripped from the pages of a sci-fi novel, physicists have crafted a wormhole that tunnels a magnetic field through space.[/size]
> "This device can transmit the magnetic field from one point in space to another point, through a path that is magnetically invisible," said study co-author Jordi Prat-Camps, a doctoral candidate in physics at the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain. "From a magnetic point of view, this device acts like a wormhole, as if the magnetic field was transferred through an extra special dimension."
> The idea of a wormhole comes from Albert Einstein's theories. In 1935, Einstein and colleague Nathan Rosen realized that the general theory of relativity allowed for the existence of bridges that could link two different points in space-time. Theoretically these Einstein-Rosen bridges, or wormholes, could allow something to tunnel instantly between great distances (though the tunnels in this theory are extremely tiny, so ordinarily wouldn't fit a space traveler). So far, no one has found evidence that space-time wormholes actually exist


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## ScienceRocks

*A brain-computer interface for controlling an exoskeleton*

19 August 2015


> Scientists working at Korea University, Korea, and TU Berlin, Germany have developed a brain-computer control interface for a lower limb exoskeleton by decoding specific signals from within the user's brain.
> 
> Using an electroencephalogram (EEG) cap, the system allows users to move forwards, turn left and right, sit and stand simply by staring at one of five flickering light emitting diodes (LEDs).
> 
> The results are published today (Tuesday 18th August) in the Journal of Neural Engineering.
> 
> Each of the five LEDs flickers at a different frequency, and when the user focuses their attention on a specific LED this frequency is reflected within the EEG readout. This signal is identified and used to control the exoskeleton.





http://www.spacedail...eleton_999.html


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## ScienceRocks

*New record set for high-temperature superconductivity*
New record set for high-temperature superconductivity

By David Szondy - August 24, 2015





> Apparatus used in developing the record high temperature superconductor (Credit: Thomas Hartmann)
> 
> With their zero electrical resistance and remarkable magnetic and thermal conductive properties, superconductors have the potential to revolutionize numerous technologies. The trouble is, they work best at cryogenic temperatures in the neighborhood of absolute zero (-273° C, -460° F). As part of the quest to come up with a room temperature superconductor, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz have developed a new record-high-temperature superconductor – and it smells like rotten eggs.
> 
> Superconductors have all manner of uses, from MRI scanners to fusion reactors, but they're application is limited by the fact that most only work at temperatures below -234º C (-290º F). Ideally, engineers want a superconductor to work at room temperature, but until now, the best available have been copper oxide ceramics or cuprates that superconduct at -140º C (-220º F) at normal pressure and -109º C (310º F) at high pressures.
> 
> The new record holder produced by the Max Planck-led team is hydrogen sulfide (H₂S); a colorless and most definitely not odorless gas that gives rotten eggs their smell. The researchers caused the compound to superconduct by cooling it and subjecting it to high pressures by means of a diamond anvil. This is a super high-pressure chamber made of two flat-faced diamonds. Super-cooled liquid hydrogen sulfide was placed in a one-cubic centimeter cryogenic cell between the diamonds and pressure is applied. As the diamonds squeeze together, the mixture is subjected to a pressure of 1.5 megabars (which is half the pressure found at the Earth's core) at which point is starts to superconduct at a record new high temperature of -70º C (-94º F).


----------



## ScienceRocks

* Progress to Smaller, Cheaper Particle Colliders and efficient antimatter production *





Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the University of California, Los Angeles have demonstrated a new, efficient way to accelerate positrons, the antimatter opposites of electrons. The method may help boost the energy and shrink the size of future linear particle colliders – powerful...


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## ScienceRocks

* Russia shows off supersonic combusting ramjet engine at airshow and expects hypersonic cruise missile around 2021 *






Russia has made and is showing a supersonic combustion ramjet engine that is intended for their hypersonic missies. An operational module of the supersonic combusting ramjet will be shown at the MAKS 2015 airshow. Central Institute of Aviation Motors (CIAM) is one of the world leader’s in developing supersonic combusting ramjets. A...


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## ScienceRocks

Glad to see China investing! It makes the loserterians plan of cut, slash and burn look dumb.

* Reports of improved jet engines in China and development for a mach 5 test plane faster than the SR71 Blackbird *





An Aug. 25 report in Beijing-based newspaper China Aviation News praised the engine division of Xi'an-based aeronautic and aerospace firm AVIC Qingan Group. The report mentions a planned project which would see the development of China's first domestically-made turbofan-ramjet combined cycle engine, designed for an unnamed aircraft. The description...


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## ScienceRocks

*Extreme pressure reveals new phenomenon in atomic nuclei*
By Richard Moss - August 27, 2015  2 Pictures 



Scientists have long believed that while an atom's outer electrons are highly mobile and often behave somewhat chaotically, the inner electrons close to the nucleus are stable. They move steadily around the nucleus and stay out of each other's way. But new research reveals that if the pressure is really extreme, like double that found at the center of the Earth, the innermost electrons of an atom change their behavior.

Read More


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*Spooky At A Distance Is Real*


> *The most rigorous test of quantum theory ever carried out has confirmed that the ‘spooky action at a distance’ that the German physicist famously hated — in which manipulating one object instantaneously seems to affect another, far away one — is an inherent part of the quantum world*
> 
> It’s a bad day both for Albert Einstein and for hackers. The most rigorous test of quantum theory ever carried out has confirmed that the ‘spooky action at a distance’ that the German physicist famously hated — in which manipulating one object instantaneously seems to affect another, far away one — is an inherent part of the quantum world.
> The experiment, performed in the Netherlands, could be the final nail in the coffin for models of the atomic world that are more intuitive than standard quantum mechanics, say some physicists. It could also enable quantum engineers to develop a new suite of ultrasecure cryptographic devices.
> “From a fundamental point of view, this is truly history-making,” says Nicolas Gisin, a quantum physicist at the University of Geneva in Switzerland.




[1508.05949] Experimental loophole-free violation of a Bell inequality using   entangled electron spins separated by 1.3 km


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## ScienceRocks

*Subatomic particles that appear to defy Standard Model points to undiscovered forces*


> Subatomic particles have been found that appear to defy the Standard Model of particle physics. The team working at Cern's Large Hadron Collider have found evidence of leptons decaying at different rates, which could possibly point to some undiscovered forces.
> Publishing their findings in the journal Physical Review Letters, the team from the University of Maryland had been searching for conditions and behaviours that do not fit with the Standard Model. The model explains most known behaviours and interactions of fundamental subatomic particles, but it is incomplete – for example it does not adequately explain gravity, dark matter and neutrino masses.
> Researchers say the discovery of the non-conforming leptons could provide a big lead in the search for non-standard phenomenon. The Standard Model concept of lepton universality assumes leptons are treated equally by fundamental forces.
> They looked at B meson decays including two types of leptons – the tau lepton and the muon, both of which are highly unstable and decay within just a fraction of a second. The tau lepton and muon should decay at the same rate after mass differences are corrected. But the researchers found small but important differences in the predicted rates of decay.
> This suggests there are undiscovered forces or particles interfering in the process. Study co-author Hassan Jawahery said: "The Standard Model says the world interacts with all leptons in the same way. There is a democracy there. But there is no guarantee that this will hold true if we discover new particles or new forces. Lepton universality is truly enshrined in the Standard Model. If this universality is broken, we can say that we've found evidence for non-standard physics."


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## ScienceRocks

*Quantum Entanglement Creates New State of Matter*


> Physicists have used a quantum connection Albert Einstein called “spooky action at a distance” to link 500,000 atoms together so that their fates were entwined. The atoms were connected via “entanglement,” which means an action performed on one atom will reverberate on any atom entangled with it, even if the particles are far apart. The huge cloud of entangled atoms is the first “macroscopic spin singlet,” a new state of matter that was predicted but never before realized.
> 
> Entanglement is a consequence of the strange probabilistic rules of quantum mechanics and seems to permit an eerie instantaneous connection over long distances that defies the laws of our macroscopic world (hence Einstein’s “spooky” remark). A spin singlet is one form of entanglementwhere multiple particles’ spins—their intrinsic angular momentum—add up to 0, meaning the system has zero total angular momentum.
> 
> The experimenters worked with rubidium atoms, which have a constant spin value of 1. (All particles have an unchanging spin value, a quantum characteristic that is always given in numbers without units.) The only way for a group of these atoms to have spins that add up to zero—the requirement for a spin singlet—is if the direction of their spins cancel one another out. And once two or more atoms are entangled in a spin singlet, their spins will always equal zero. That means that, bizarrely, if the direction of one atom’s spin is altered, its entangled fellows will change their spins accordingly, and instantaneously, to preserve the sum of zero total spin.


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## ScienceRocks

* Proposed Armored Nuclear Powered Cruiser Design with a Dozen Railguns *





The Center for International Marine Security considers a battleship style ship design with armor and a dozen railguns. The CARN (cruiser gun armor, nuclear powered) will need to adapt the principles of the ‘armored citadel’ concepts developed a century ago for battleships to the needs of securing the two, possibly three, nuclear reactors...


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## ScienceRocks

* Proposed design for future armored warship with railguns, lasers and drones *





Startpoint brings together the best teams in naval defence systems to tackle the twin challenges of providing advanced technology set against the backdrop of funding constraints. It encompasses the structures, processes, people and policies that exist to deliver equipment and support to the Royal Navy (UK). Patrick Tucker at Defense One...


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## ScienceRocks

Japan to open fully automated lettuce factory in 2017

Japanese factory operator SPREAD Co. has announced it will develop the world's first large-scale vegetable factory that is fully automated from seeding to harvest and capable of producing 30,000 heads of lettuce per day.


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## ScienceRocks

*Magnetic wormhole connecting two regions of space created for the first time*



> "Wormholes" are cosmic tunnels that can connect two distant regions of the universe, and have been popularised by the dissemination of theoretical physics and by works of science fiction like Stargate, Star Trek or, more recently, Interstellar. Using present-day technology it would be impossible to create a gravitational wormhole, as the field would have to be manipulated with huge amounts of gravitational energy, which no-one yet knows how to generate. In electromagnetism, however, advances in metamaterials and invisibility have allowed researchers to put forward several designs to achieve this.
> 
> Scientists in the Department of Physics at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona have designed and created in the laboratory the first experimental wormhole that can connect two regions of space magnetically. This consists of a tunnel that transfers the magnetic field from one point to the other while keeping it undetectable – invisible – all the way (Scientific Reports, "A Magnetic Wormhole").



​
*New law implies thermodynamic time runs backwards inside black holes*


> (Phys.org)—Black holes are known to have many strange properties, such as that they allow nothing—not even light—to escape after falling in. A lesser known but equally bizarre property is that black holes appear to .


..


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## ScienceRocks

*Self-sweeping laser could dramatically shrink 3-D mapping systems*
A new approach that uses light to move mirrors could usher in a new generation of laser technology for a wide range of applications, including remote sensing, self-driving car navigation and 3D biomedical imaging.


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## ScienceRocks

* Kratos gets $20 million railgun contract likely for more railgun fire control work *







> Kratos Defense and Security Solutions a leading National Security Solutions provider, announced today that it has recently received a $20 million electromagnetic railgun program contract award with an approximate two-year period of performance for a United States government customer. DRSS is a leading provider of hardware, products, solutions...



* Phagraphene, a 'relative' of graphene, discovered *







> A group of scientists from Russia, the USA and China, led by Artyom Oganov from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), using computer generated simulation have predicted the existence of a new two-dimensional carbon material, a "patchwork" analogue of graphene called phagraphene. The results of their investigation were recently...


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## ScienceRocks

*Graphene Converts Heat Into Electricity. Starting at room Temperature, currently at 3% efficiency*

Graphene was first isolated at the University of Manchester in 2004 by Sir Andre Geim and Sir Kostya Novoselov. In 2010, they were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics for their discovery. Graphene’s most unique property is that it is only 1 atom thick, making it the first 2-dimensional material. Today, the university remains the home of graphene research, with over 40 industrial partners working on graphene-related projects.
Recently, its scientists, working with European Thermodynamics Ltd, created low-cost thermoelectric materials that could be used to capture heat from automobiles and convert it into electricity. That electricity can then be used to recharge the batteries in hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric cars to give them more range.
The team—led by Prof Ian Kinloch, Prof Robert Freer, and Yue Lin—added a small amount of graphene to strontium titanium oxide. The resulting composite was able to convert heat that would otherwise be wasted into an electric current over a broad temperature range, beginning at room temperature. Previously, thermoelectric materials only functioned at extremely high temperatures around 700 degrees Celsius.


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## ScienceRocks




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## longknife

*A new sensor system enables researchers to know the risk of corrosion in reinforced concrete structures in real time*



Date: September 4, 2015

Source: Asociación RUVID

Summary:

Researchers have developed a new sensor system able to quickly and non-destructively detect the risk of corrosion in the concrete structure of buildings and do so when the first symptoms appear.



More @ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150904121626.htm



Could be very important for our infrastructure


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

* Full invisibility for UAVs and other vehicles might be possible in near future with cloaking progress*






> University of California, San Diego have created a new design for their cloaking device, using a Teflon substrate, studded with cylinders of ceramic, that is thinner than any prior development and does not alter the brightness of light around concealed objects. The Teflon has a low refractive index, while the ceramic’s refractive index is...




* Armed Robotic ground vehicles patrolling Israeli borders *







> Israel has unmanned ground vehicles that can carry remote-controled weapons and sensors for surveillance missions for patroling the Gazan border. The Tomcar-based Guardium, produced by Israeli defense company G-NIUS Autonomous Unmanned Ground Vehicles, has spent the past six years patrolling the Gaza border, carrying out reconnaissance missions....
> Read more »


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## ScienceRocks

* Layered graphene makes fibers 15% stronger and 31-36% better electrical and thermal properties *







> A team of researchers working at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has found a way to create a graphene fiber that is stronger and maintains conductive properties better than prior efforts. Prior research has shown that it is possible to make graphene fibers by creating graphene oxide (GO) sheets in a liquid solution using a wet-spinning...


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## ScienceRocks

*Ultrathin metasurface lenses do things conventional optics can't*

 Colin Jeffrey 
September 8, 2015






> Once, the only way to manipulate light was with the use of a transparent glass or plastic lens whose shape and makeup determined such things as focus, magnification, and polarity. However, to incorporate all of these properties in the one optical system required a large and complex collection of multiple lenses to achieve. Now researchers working at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have created a flat silicon metamaterial lens that manages all of these thing in a microminiaure device that electromagnetically controls the properties of any light passing it.


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## Mr. H.

I went to High School with this guy...

Geneticist Stephen J. Elledge receives Lasker Award


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## ScienceRocks

2 Accelerators Find Particles That May Break Known Laws of Physics


> At the smallest scales, everything in the universe can be broken down into fundamental morsels called particles. The Standard Model of particle physics—the reigning theory of these morsels—describes a small collection of known species that combine in myriad ways to build the matter around us and carry the forces of nature. Yet physicists know that these particles cannot be all there is—they do not account for the dark matter or dark energy that seem to contribute much of the universe’s mass, for example. Now two experiments have observed particles misbehaving in ways not predicted by any known laws of physics, potentially suggesting the existence of some new type of particle beyond the standard zoo. The results are not fully confirmed yet, but the fact that two experiments colliding different types of particles have seen a similar effect, and that hints of this behavior also showed up in 2012 at a third particle collider, has many physicists animated. “It’s really bizarre,” says Mark Wise, a theorist at the California Institute of Technology who was not involved in the experiments. “The discrepancy is large and it seems like it’s on very sound footing. It’s probably the strongest, most enduring deviation we’ve seen from the Standard Model.” Finding such a crack in the Standard Model is exciting because it suggests a potential path toward expanding the model beyond those particles currently known.


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## ScienceRocks

* ‘Molecules’ Made of Light May Be Possible *








> A team including theoretical physicists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has taken another step toward building objects out of photons, and the findings* hint that weightless particles of light can be joined into a sort of “molecule” with its own peculiar force. The findings build on previous research that several...


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## ScienceRocks

* Russia developing underwater drone submarine to deliver megaton nuclear weapon *







> Russia is building a drone submarine to deliver large-scale nuclear weapons against U.S. harbors and coastal cities, according to Pentagon officials. The developmental unmanned underwater vehicle, or UUV, when deployed, will be equipped with megaton-class warheads capable of blowing up key ports used by U.S. nuclear missile submarines, such...



* Ultrathin Optical Devices Shape Light in Exotic Ways *







> Researchers have developed innovative flat, optical lenses as part of a collaboration between NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology, both in Pasadena, California. These optical components are capable of manipulating light in ways that are difficult or impossible to achieve with conventional optical devices. The...


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## ScienceRocks

*New human-like species discovered in S Africa*

Scientists have discovered a new human-like species in a burial chamber deep in a cave system in South Africa.

The discovery of 15 partial skeletons is the largest single discovery of its type in Africa.

The researchers claim that the discovery will change ideas about our human ancestors.

The studies which have been published in the journal Elife also indicate that these individuals were capable of ritual behaviour.

The species which has been named _naledi_ has been classified in the grouping, or genus, _Homo_ to which modern humans belong.



The researchers who made the find have not been able to find out how long ago these creatures lived - but the scientist who led the team, Prof Lee Berger, told BBC News that he believed they could be among the first of our kind (genus _Homo_) and could have lived in Africa up to three million years ago.



http://www.bbc.co.uk...onment-34192447


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## waltky

Cool video...

Sep 9, 2015
*How Scientists Created A Wormhole In A Lab*


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## longknife

*Hybrid solar cell converts both light and heat from sun’s rays into electricity (video)*






Scientists have developed a new hybrid, solar-energy system that harnesses the full spectrum of the sun’s radiation by pairing a photovoltaic cell with polymer films. The films convert the light that goes unused by the solar cell into heat and then converts the heat into electricity. They report on their device, which produces a voltage more than five times higher than other hybrid systems, in the journal ACS Nano.



More @ Hybrid solar cell converts both light and heat from sun’s rays into electricity (video)


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## ScienceRocks

*New Super-Hard Diamond-Like Material Invented*

Although diamonds are the hardest known substances on the planet, one weakness with diamonds is that they can oxidise when cutting certain materials at high temperatures (such as iron or nickel). Researchers have been seeking a way to overcome this problem.

To do this scientists have been looking at cubic boron nitride. This substance does not oxidise at high temperatures but it does not possess the hardness and strength of diamond. Nonetheless, the less reactive properties have provided the basis for a new ‘super-hard’ material.
New Super-Hard Diamond-Like Material Invented - The Latest News


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

Huge prehistoric monument found near Stonehenge: http://on.mash.to/1Qy1OJG


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## ScienceRocks

* B3 bomber will be a stealthy AWACS with a lot of missiles and bombs *







> First and foremost, the new B-3 bomber — will be a stealthy bomb truck built to carry tons of munitions into contested airspace. (What is “contested airspace”? An area guarded by powerful radars and surface-to-air missiles that could easily shoot down today’s non-stealthy B-1 and B-52 bombers. Where does this type of airspace exist? China,...


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## ScienceRocks

* UK funding combat lasers on Navy ships by 2020 and will use formula 1 flywheel technology to store energy for laser shots*






> The UK Ministry of Defence is looking to have a land-based cannon by 2017 and a ship-mounted one by 2020. There were early experiments using lasers to try to blind enemy pilots or to disrupt the electronic systems of planes. But the new types of lasers being developed are intended to destroy, in particular enemy planes, and should be capable...


Read more »

Spreading as more and more nations come to the conclusion that lasers are cheaper ways to fight war.


*New US research shows invisibility cloak nears reality*
_Sat, Sep 19, 2015 - A cloak of invisibility may be common in science fiction, but it is not so easy in the real world. New research suggests such a device may be moving closer to reality._
Scientists on Thursday said they have successfully tested an ultrathin invisibility cloak made of microscopic rectangular gold blocks that, like skin, conform to the shape of an object and can render it undetectable with visible light. They said that while their experiments involved cloaking a miniscule object, they believe the technology could be made to conceal larger objects, with military and other possible applications. The cloak, 80 nanometers in thickness, was wrapped around a 3D object shaped with bumps and dents. The cloak’s surface rerouted light waves scattered from the object to make it invisible to optical detection.

It may take five to 10 years to make the technology practical to use, said Zhang Xiang, director of the Materials Sciences Division of the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. “We do not see fundamental roadblocks, but much more work needs to be done,” said Zhang, whose research was published in the journal Science. The technology involves so-called metamaterials, which possess properties not present in nature. Their surfaces bear features much smaller than the size of a wavelength of light. They redirect incoming light waves, shifting them away from the object being cloaked.







> Light reflects off a cloak (red arrows) as if it were reflecting off a flat mirror in a 3D illustration of a metasurface skin cloak made from an ultrathin layer of nanoantennae (gold blocks) covering an arbitrarily shaped object
> 
> The cloaking “skin” boasts microscopic light-scattering antennae that make light bouncing off an object look as if it were reflected by a flat mirror, rendering the object invisible. “The fact that we can make a curved surface appear flat also means that we can make it look like anything else. We also can make a flat surface appear curved,” said Penn State University electrical engineering professor Ni Xingjie, the study’s lead author. The researchers said they overcame two drawbacks of previous experimental microscopic cloaks that were bulkier and harder to “scale up,” or become usable for larger objects.
> 
> Ni said the technology eventually could be used for military applications, such as making large objects like vehicles or aircraft or even soldiers “invisible.” Ni also mentioned some unconventional applications. How about a cloaking mask for the face?v “All the pimples and wrinkles will no longer be visible,” Ni said. How about fashion design? Ni suggested a cloak that “can be made to hide one’s belly.”



New US research shows invisibility cloak nears reality - Taipei Times


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## ScienceRocks

*Advanced winglet on show as Boeing 737 MAX heads to final assembly*

 David Szondy 


 4 PICTURES 





> In June, Boeing’s new 737 MAX single-aisle airliner began wing assembly in Renton, Washington. Since then, the first fuselage arrived from Wichita, Kansas, and is now undergoing final assembly, which includes installation of a new advanced winglet designed to improve fuel efficiency.




* Zymergen looks to marry synthetic biology, new materials and machine learning to create a million new genomes *







> Dr. Zach Serber, co-founder of Zymergen, explains his company's efforts to marry synthetic biology, machine learning and materials science to endow microbes with new genetic programs for creating impossible materials with novel and valuable properties. He spoke at DARPA's "Wait, What? A Future Technology Forum" on Sept. 9, 2015. Zymergen...


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

​*'Tree of life' for 2.3 million species released*
A first draft of the "tree of life" for the roughly 2.3 million named species of animals, plants, fungi and microbes—from platypuses to puffballs—has been released.


*Most precise test of Lorentz symmetry for the photon finds that the speed of light is indeed constant*
(Phys.org)—The laws of physics are the same no matter which direction you're facing or how fast you're moving—it's such an intuitive concept that most people probably don't know that it has a name: Lorentz symmetry.


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## ScienceRocks

*Researchers create fatigue-free, stretchable conductor*
Researchers have discovered a new stretchable, transparent conductor that can be folded or stretched and released, resulting in a large curvature or a significant strain, at least 10,000 times without showing signs of fatigue.


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## ScienceRocks

* General Heithold wants combat lasers on AC130 gunships by 2020 ahead of previously stated plans *






The head of Air Force Special Operations Command says he wants to put a laser cannon on the nation’s fleet of gunships by 2020. Air Force Special Operations Command boss Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold is in charge of 19,000 air commandos. The Air Force has stated they want the system to weigh less than 5,000 pounds — roughly the weight of a Jeep.

===

Wow, this is fucking cool!


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## ScienceRocks

* DARPA Warrior Web Exosuit is undergoing outdoor Army tests on a 6 mile course *


> Harvard’s Warrior Web exoskeleton prototype is undergoing performance testing by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. Soldiers wear the prototype underneath a full set of battle gear and hike a three mile course, including roadways and moderately rugged, wooded terrain. ARL technicians monitor the soldiers’ stride lengths and frequency, muscle activity, and energy expenditure. The goal...


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## ScienceRocks

*Triple-decker floating farms may address future food issues*

 John Anderson 
September 24, 2015
 4 PICTURES 





> With the world’s population expected to hit 9.1 billion by 2050, coupled with the growing effects of climate change on our ability to grow crops, a company out of Barcelona has proposed a solution to feeding the future world. Forward Thinking Architecture's triple-decker Smart Floating Farms would feature 2.2 million square feet (2.04 sq km) of fish farm, hydroponic garden, and rooftop solar panels to power a floating barge, which could be anchored to the beds of oceans, lakes or rivers. The company estimates that each of its floating farms could produce about 8 tons (7.3 tonnes) of vegetables and 1.7 tons (1.5 tonnes) of fish per year.


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## ScienceRocks

*Cooled down and charged up, a giant magnet is ready for its new mission*
The Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory—or Fermilab—announced that a 680-ton superconducting magnet is secure in its new home and nearly ready for a new era of discovery in particle physics. This achievement follows ..

*New methods to make longer streams of plasma with greater longevity could lead to laser-powered lightning rods*
Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod 250 years ago to protect people and buildings from lightning strikes. Someday, those metal poles may be replaced with lasers.

*Scientists build wrench 1.7 nanometers wide*
Hold up your two hands. They are identical in structure, but mirror opposites. No matter how hard you try, they can't be superimposed onto each other. Or, as chemists would say, they have "chirality," from the Greek word ..


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## ScienceRocks

* German Rheinmetall shows off 80 kilowatt naval combat laser with four 20 kw laser barrels *








> This week at the Defence and Security Equipment Industry in London, German defense contractor Rheinmetall Defence Electronics showcased a new sea-based anti-drone laser system. The system, according to Chinese web site qq.com, features not one but four high energy lasers (HEL) mounted on turret, making it look like some kind of laser gun. The...


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*Skarp Razor shaves with lasers instead of metal blades*

 Stanley Goodner 
September 25, 2015
 2 PICTURES 





> Laser technology has come a long way over the decades, having made leaps from science fiction to science fact within the medical field, manufacturing, and even as a "death star" beam to help unlock the mysteries of the universe. But the latest laser-enabled concept is something the average consumer can more readily appreciate. The Skarp Razor may become the first-ever personal shaving tool powered by a laser.




*Extending life of plasma channels could allow lasers to be used as lightning rods*

 Ben Coxworth 
September 25, 2015






> Today's simple metal lightning rods may be on their way to obsolescence. That's because scientists at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem are developing a high-tech alternative that could potentially reach higher and be more effective – laser lightning rods.


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## ScienceRocks

* Black Phosphorous has great electrical and optical properties *





Since 2014, black phosphorous can be split into layers 10 to 20 atoms thick. Black phosphorous has an inherent bandgap, something that graphene lacks. The bandgap can be tuned from 0.3 to 2.0 electron volts. No other 2D material has this range. It bridges the bandgaps of graphene (0 eV) and of transition-metal dichalcogenides such as molybdenum...


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*Researchers create first entropy-stabilized complex oxide alloys*
Researchers from North Carolina State University have created the first entropy-stabilized alloy that incorporates oxides - and demonstrated conclusively that the crystalline structure of the material can be determined by ...


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## ScienceRocks

*Self-driving truck hits the highway in world first*

 Nick Lavars 
October 4, 2015
 12 PICTURES 



Daimler Trucks has shifted gears in its ongoing effort to develop autonomous vehicles. By fitting its Highway Pilot self-driving system to a Mercedes-Benz Actros truck and steering it down a stretch of Autobahn 8 near Stuttgart, the company has marked the first time an autonomous production semi has been tested out on public roads.


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*The topolariton, a new half-matter, half-light particle*
* October 7, 2015 by Rod Pyle *






> A new type of "quasiparticle" theorized by Caltech's Gil Refael, a professor of theoretical physics and condensed matter theory, could help improve the efficiency of a wide range of photonic devices—technologies, such as optical amplifiers, solar photovoltaic cells, and even barcode scanners, which create, manipulate, or detect light.





Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-10-topolariton-half-matter-half-light-particle.html#jCp


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

* Northrop Grumman all terrain hellhound has 100kw generator and could integrate a 30kw laser in months *





At the Association of the United States Army conference, Northrop Grumman announced that they’re looking to integrate a 10-kilowatt solid-state fiber laser onto their newest tactical dune buggy. The Hellhound is a rear-engine vehicle with seating for six, weighs in at 13,000 pounds, loaded. It can be transported by a CH-47 Chinook helicopter. The...


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## ScienceRocks

A breakthrough on the mathematical understanding of Einstein’s equations


> Proposed 15 years ago, the bounded L2 curvature conjecture has finally been proved by a group of three researchers at the Laboratoire Jacques-Louis Lions (CNRS / UPMC / Université Paris Diderot) and Princeton University. It provides a potentially minimal framework in which it is possible to solve the Einstein equations, which in turn could be a critical step toward the proof of major conjectures, such as Penrose's cosmic censorship conjectures. This work has appeared in Inventiones Mathematicae on October 14.
> 
> Even though this year marks its 100th anniversary, Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity still holds its share of mysteries. This theory of gravitation stipulates that matter curves spacetime in proportion to the mass of the object. This phenomenon is measured using a mathematical tool called the curvature tensor, on which the bounded L2 curvature conjecture focuses to find possible frameworks for making sense of solutions to Einstein's equations. Proposed 15 years ago by Sergiu Klainerman, this conjecture has at last been demonstrated by Sergiu Klainerman, Igor Rodnianski and Jérémie Szeftel.


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*Tesla's live Autopilot upgrades give the Model S parallel parking and lane changes with the push of a button*

 Heidi Hoopes 
October 16, 2015




Following news earlier this week that Tesla would finally be releasing Autopilot upgrades to allow certain semi-autonomous features, the company announced October 14 that Autopilot was now live and detailed some of the changes. Model S vehicles produced after October of last year are now capable of automatic parallel parking, lane changes with the tap of the turn signal, and traffic-aware cruise control, along with some other options. Version 7.0 of the Model S' firmware will also add new apps and a refresh of the UI that provides the bulk of the driver's interaction with the car's features.


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## ScienceRocks

* Elon Musk sees a future of all electrically powered transportation including supersonic passenger jets *





Elon Musk likes the idea of an electric aircraft company. He believes a supersonic, vertical take-off and landing electric passenger jets are possible. He has a design in mind for that. Elon believes that Aircraft and ships, and all other modes of transport, will go fully electric - not half electric, but fully electric. The only mode of...


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## ScienceRocks

*Lockheed Martin completes 60 tests of laser turret for high-speed warplanes*

 David Szondy 
October 17, 2015




Last year, Lockheed Martin began testing a new tactical laser turret for future warplanes. After 60 test flights Lockheed says the 360° capability of the turret system has been verified, moving the technology a step closer to deployment on tactical aircraft flying at near-supersonic speeds.


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## ScienceRocks

* US Navy Lasers, Railgun, and Hypervelocity Projectiles *





Three new weapons that could improve the ability of Navy surface ships to defend themselves against enemy missiles—solid state lasers (SSLs), the electromagnetic railgun (EMRG), and the hypervelocity projectile (HVP). Any one of these new weapon technologies, if successfully developed and deployed, might be regarded as a “game changer” for...


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## ScienceRocks

*3D Printing Used to Make First Real Handheld Railgun, which Fires Plasma Projectiles at 560 mph*
*BGR News ^ * | October 19, 2015 | Zach Epstein 



> If you think the image above looks frightening, you’re right. The crazy contraption pictured in the image is the first portable railgun, a futuristic projectile launcher associated most commonly with the military or NASA. The man in the image above isn’t in the military, and he’s not a NASA engineer. Instead, he’s a civilian who used some engineering smarts, some widely available parts and a 3D printer to create a functioning weapon that can fire graphite, aluminum, tungsten and even plasma projectiles at speeds of more than 560 mph.
> 
> And then there’s the best part: There are videos of this homemade railgun in action.
> 
> Little is known about Imgur user “NSA_Listbot” beyond the fact that he’s just short of being a wizard with AutoCAD and a 3D printer. The man took to Imgur over the weekend to share what may very well be one of the most amazing and terrifying DIY projects that has even been attempted. And he didn’t just attempt it, he built it.


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## ScienceRocks

*Physicists create antimatter in record density*

October 23, 2015

Physicists from Rice University and the University of Texas at Austin have found a new recipe for using intense lasers to create positrons — the antiparticle of electrons — in record numbers and density.

[...]

Although the positrons were annihilated in a fraction of a microsecond, the experiments have implications for new realms of physics and astrophysics research, medical therapy and perhaps even space travel, said Rice physicist Edison Liang, lead author of the study.

“There are many futuristic technologies related to antimatter that people have been dreaming about for the last 50 years,” said Liang, the Andrew Hays Buchanan Professor of Astrophysics. “One is that antimatter is the most efficient form of energy storage. When antimatter annihilates with matter, it becomes pure energy. Nothing is left behind, unlike in fusion or fission or chemical-based reactions.”

Read more at http://www.deepstuff...record-density/


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## ScienceRocks

*China to create world’s biggest super-collider*

10:28pm, Oct 30, 2015

It seems size does matter as China starts work on the world’s largest super-collider – set to be twice the size of Switzerland’s  Large Hadron Collider – which could help scientists answer question about how the universe works.

State-run media _China Daily_ reported that construction of the collider would begin in 2020, in an attempt to increase understanding of the Higgs boson or ‘God particle’.



http://thenewdaily.c...super-collider/

America doesn't do awesome stuff anymore...Thank you conservatives for fucking destroying America as a world power. 


I'd rather join the isis and become a muslim then vote republican.


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*JB-9 jetpack makes spectacular debut flying around Statue of Liberty*

 Loz Blain 
November 8, 2015
 26 PICTURES 





> The dream of personal flight took a great leap forward last week as Jetpack Aviation unveiled its JB-9 jetpack in spectacular fashion. Lifting off from a boat, inventor and aviator David Mayman flew the powerful, agile JB-9 around the Statue of Liberty, pausing to salute and pirouette before touching back down. Running on kerosene and using two vectored jet engines, the JB-9 can reach high speeds and altitudes and offers a flight time over 10 minutes, depending on pilot weight. We spoke at length with Mayman to discover how the JB-9 works and how long it'll be before we can buy one.


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## ScienceRocks

*ORNL's hybrid device combines microscopy and mass spectrometry *

 Colin Jeffrey 
November 9, 2015




As occurs all too often in scientific analysis, if you want to investigate more than one aspect of a sample, then you almost always need a different tool for each examination required. How convenient it would be if a substance could be both microscopically examined and chemically analyzed at the same time. In this vein, researchers from the Department of Energy’s (DOE's) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have created a hybrid optical microscope/mass spectrometry-based imaging system capable of observing and analyzing specimens simultaneously.


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## ScienceRocks

*Layered nanoparticle converts invisible near-infrared light to higher energy*

 Colin Jeffrey 
November 14, 2015
 2 PICTURES 



A new type of nanoparticle has been created by that converts invisible near-infrared light to higher energy blue and UV light with record-high efficiency. The multi-layered layered nanoparticle has potential for use in solar energy harvesting, bio-imaging, and light-based security techniques.


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*New technique may make materials hotter than the Sun's core in 20 quadrillionths of a second*

 David Szondy 
November 15, 2015




If some people get impatient waiting for a soft-boiled egg to cook, that's nothing compared to a group of theoretical physicists at the Imperial College London. They've come up with a new method that could allow lasers to heat certain materials to temperatures hotter than at the Sun's core in 20 quadrillionths of a second. The new technique would reportedly be 100 times faster than the world's most energetic laser system at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California, and may one day have applications in future fusion research.


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## ScienceRocks

*Research team refrigerates liquids with a laser for the first time*
Since the first laser was invented in 1960, they've always given off heat—either as a useful tool, a byproduct or a fictional way to vanquish intergalactic enemies.


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## ScienceRocks

​
*Chemists create adaptable metallic-cage gels*
MIT chemists have created a new material that combines the flexibility of polymer gels with the rigid structure provided by metal-based clusters. The new gels could be well-suited for a range of possible functions, including


*A new symmetry underlies the search for new materials*
A new symmetry operation developed by Penn State researchers has the potential to speed up the search for new advanced materials that range from tougher steels to new types of electronic, magnetic, and thermal materials. ...


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## ScienceRocks

*Research team finds way to produce large-area graphene 100 times cheaper*
Graphene has been hailed as a wonder material since it was first isolated from graphite in 2004. Graphene is just a single atom thick but it is flexible, stronger than steel, and capable of efficiently conducting heat and


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## ScienceRocks

​
*Quantum entanglement achieved at room temperature in semiconductor wafers*
Entanglement is one of the strangest phenomena predicted by quantum mechanics, the theory that underlies most of modern physics. It says that two particles can be so inextricably connected that the state of one particle can ...


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## ScienceRocks

* Generating kilotesla magnetic fields with petawatt lasers *





A group of researchers at the Institute of Laser Engineering of Osaka University, the Graduate School of Engineering of Hiroshima University, the Institute for Laser Technology, the Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences of Kyushu University, and the National Institute for Fusion Science, succeeded in laboratory generation...


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

* China may have made breakthroughs with aircraft carrier electromagnetic launch and railgun technology *







> China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) and Office No. 206 of CASIC’s Second Institute has given priority to the research in electromagnetic launch of missile and phalanx close-in air defense and made unspecified breakthroughs. The 206 Institute's hosted the Seventh Chinese Electromagnetic Technology Conference in Oct 2015,...


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## ScienceRocks

* Scaling Shock Electrodialysis for Desalination *





A team at MIT has come up with an innovative desalination approach that, unlike most traditional desalination systems, does not separate ions or water molecules with filters, which can become clogged, or boiling, which consumes great amounts of energy. Instead, the system uses an electrically driven shockwave within a stream of flowing water,...


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## ScienceRocks

*CERN sets new high-energy collision record*

 David Szondy 
November 26, 2015




The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) recently set a new record, as CERN announced that the world's most powerful accelerator had achieved the highest-energy collisions of heavy atomic nuclei. The Geneva-based laboratory says that on Wednesday at 11:15 am CET, the 27 km (17 mi)-long supercollider fired two counter-circulating beams of lead nuclei at one another and the results were recorded by the ALICE heavy-ion detector.

Read More


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## ScienceRocks

* Stainless magnesium could be mass produced and it would weigh half as much as aluminum *






Researchers led by a team at UNSW Australia have used the Australian Synchrotron to turn the discovery of an ultra-low density and corrosion-resistant magnesium alloy into the first step toward mass-producing ‘stainless magnesium’, a new high-strength, lightweight metal, paving the way for cars, trucks and aeroplanes that can travel further...


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## ScienceRocks

*China to build a particle collider twice the size of the Large Hadron Collider*

 Lynda Delacey 
November 27, 2015





> China is planning to enter the Europe- and US-dominated world of experimental physics with (wait for it …) a bang. It has formally announced that it will begin the first phase of construction of an enormous particle accelerator around 2020, which will be twice the size and seven times more powerful than CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC).




China understands the value of science towards becoming a great world power. Too bad our loserterians don't.



* Fast growing AquAdvantage Atlantic Salmon approved by FDA for human consumption after 20 years of review *







> Genetically engineered AquAdvantage Atlantic salmon grow to twice the size of an normal Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) over the same time. The FDA approved the AquAdvantage as the first genetically engineered animal to be approved for human consumption in the United States. AquaBounty’s driving force is the belief that modern genetics, married...


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## ScienceRocks

* Hyperloop one mile test track targets mid-2016 and hyperloop pod competition *







> SpaceX will construct a one-mile test track adjacent to their Hawthorne, California headquarters. They have invited teams will to test their human-scale pods during a competition weekend at the track, currently targeted for June 2016. The knowledge gained here will continue to be open-sourced. The hyperloop test track will be 1-mile long,...


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*Tesla wants to make fully self-driving cars happen way ahead of schedule*



> A week and a half ago, we learned that Tesla is on a quest to hire more engineers to accelerate the development of its self-driving car technologies.
> Tesla was already no slouch in the autonomous-vehicle world, having released its Autopilot feature into the wild just over a month ago.
> We sampled Autopilot as soon as it hit the streets and were quite impressed, to put it mildly.
> But evidently, Tesla's CEO isn't impressed enough. So he put out a call via Twitter for "hardcore" software engineers to take Autopilot from where it is now — semiautonomous driving under certain circumstances, such as on highways — to the mythical full autonomy of the "Minority Report" type: cars that can drive themselves 100% of the time.
> This is a hugely important development for Tesla and the auto industry. Regardless of how one feels about how Tesla got to where it is now and where it may wind up in the future, the company has provided tremendous leadership for startup automakers, electric vehicles, and autonomous driving.
> But while Tesla was actually a bit late to the game, it has caught up rapidly. It now sits squarely in the middle of an industry consensus about self-driving vehicles. The view is that autonomy will evolve over the next 10 years, with major carmakers gradually adding features to their fleets. Consumers will move slowly and steadily from the "super" cruise-control features that are now appearing in cars to full autonomy.


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## ScienceRocks

*New process allows inkjet printers to produce rainbow holograms *

 Ben Coxworth 
November 30, 2015






> Credit card and banknote-style security holograms are an effective form of anti-counterfeiting technology, as they're very difficult to replicate. Every time a new batch is made, however, a "master hologram" has to be created first, to act as a template. These masters can take days to produce, using complex, expensive equipment. That could be about to change, however, as scientists at Russia's ITMO University have developed a quick-and-easy hologram production method that utilizes a regular inkjet printer.


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## ScienceRocks

* 80 million-year-old dinosaur fossil has original blood vessels*

December 2, 2015 

Woah: 80 million-year-old dinosaur fossil has original blood vessels 

by Susanna Pilny 


> Researchers from North Carolina State University have determined that the structures found within an 80-million-year-old fossil are, in fact, the dinosaur’s preserved blood vessels—findings that add to the growing pile of evidence showing that certain soft tissue structures can actually survive millions of years.
> 
> Molecular paleontologist Tim Cleland was the one who began the experiment, by demineralizing (stripping the bone from) a fossil. This bone came from the leg of a Brachylophosaurus canadensis—a 30-foot-long hadrosaur (duckbilled dinosaur) that pottered about what is now known as Montana.
> According to the paper published in the Journal of Proteome Research, after the bone was stripped away, what was left were structures, which resembled blood vessels in their location, morphology, flexibility, and transparency. However, researchers weren’t certain whether these structures were blood vessels, or something left behind by bacteria, slime molds, or fungi—until they were examined using high resolution mass spectroscopy.
> 
> Using this technology, the scientists discovered the structures contained multiple proteins that are specific to blood vessels, including myosin, or the protein found in the type of muscle within blood vessel walls.


Read more at Woah: 80 million-year-old dinosaur fossil has original blood vessels - Redorbit


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## ScienceRocks

*Hyperloop Technologies to start testing high-speed transport system next month*

 Nick Lavars 
December 8, 2015






> The race to get us racing through near-vacuum tubes close to the speed of sound is heating up. Hyperloop Technologies, one of the startups looking to commercialize Elon Musk's futuristic transport concept, has announced plans to commence testing on an open-air track in Nevada next month, with a view to hitting speeds of 700 mph (1,126 km/h) by the end of 2016.


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## ScienceRocks

*Revolutionary steel treatment paves the way for radically lighter, stronger, cheaper cars*

 Loz Blain 
December 10, 2015
 10 PICTURES 





> Back in 2011, we wrote about a fascinating new way to heat-treat regular, cheap steel to endow it with an almost miraculous blend of characteristics. Radically cheaper, quicker and less energy-intensive to produce, Flash Bainite is stronger than titanium by weight, and ductile enough to be pressed into shape while cold without thinning or cracking. It's now being tested by three of the world's five largest car manufacturers, who are finding they can produce thinner structural car components that are between 30-50 percent lighter and cheaper than the steel they've been using, while maintaining the same performance is crash tests. Those are revolutionary numbers in the auto space.


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## ScienceRocks

*New catalyst paves way for bio-based plastics, chemicals*


> Washington State University researchers have developed a catalyst that easily converts bio-based ethanol to a widely used industrial chemical, paving the way for more environmentally friendly, bio-based plastics and products.



​
*Rocket-powered car steers towards world speed record*
Local speedsters are keen to prove it's possible to become the best—and fastest—in the world with determination, skill, and a whole lot of science.

*Quantum physics problem proved unsolvable: Godel and Turing enter quantum physics*
A mathematical problem underlying fundamental questions in particle and quantum physics is provably unsolvable, according to scientists at UCL, Universidad Complutense de Madrid - ICMAT and Technical University of Munich.

*Using ocean plastic, Adidas concept shows shoe rethink*
In an interesting lemons-to-lemonade development, plastic ocean waste has served as material for a 3D-printed shoe. The makers are Adidas. Together with Parley for the Oceans, a group fighting ocean pollution, the shoe concept ...


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## RWS

Have you ever thought about WHY gravity "attracts"? 

Jus asking! Let's talk some stuff. instead of posting links.


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## ScienceRocks

RWS said:


> Have you ever thought about WHY gravity "attracts"?
> 
> Jus asking! Let's talk some stuff. instead of posting links.



Gravity is most accurately described by the general theory of relativity which describes gravity, not as a force, but as a consequence of the curvature of spacetime caused by the uneven distribution of mass/energy; and resulting in time dilation, where time lapses more slowly in strong gravitation. 

However, for most applications, gravity is well approximated by Newton's law of universal gravitation, which postulates that gravity is a force where two bodies of mass are directly drawn (or 'attracted') to each other according to a mathematical relationship, *where the attractive force is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.* This is considered to occur over an infinite range, such that all bodies (with mass) in the universe are drawn to each other no matter how far they are apart. 

I enjoy posting links


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## RWS

why does it attract? Matter just warps space-time. It does not attract. see the thread i started.


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## ScienceRocks

*Physicists in Europe Find Tantalizing Hints of a Mysterious New Particle*

*Two teams of physicists working independently at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN reported that they had seen traces of what could be a new fundamental particle of nature*


> Does the Higgs boson have a cousin?
> Two teams of physicists working independently at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research,reported on Tuesday that they had seen traces of what could be a new fundamental particle of nature.
> One possibility, out of a gaggle of wild and not-so-wild ideas springing to life as the day went on, is that the particle — assuming it is real — is a heavier version of the Higgs boson, a particle that explains why other particles have mass. Another is that it is a graviton, the supposed quantum carrier of gravity, whose discovery could imply the existence of extra dimensions of space-time.
> At the end of a long chain of “ifs” could be a revolution, the first clues to a theory of nature that goes beyond the so-called Standard Model, which has ruled physics for the last quarter-century.


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## ScienceRocks

*New material is super water-resistant, cheap and safe*

 Eric Mack 
December 16, 2015






> Scientists at Rice University, the University of Swansea, the University of Bristol and the University of Nice - Sophia Antipolis have developed a new class of hydrocarbon-based material that they say could be "greener" substitute for fluorocarbon-based materials currently used to repel water.



*SpaceX selects 124 engineering teams to do battle in Hyperloop pod design competition*

 Nick Lavars 
December 16, 2015
 3 PICTURES 





> SpaceX itself might not be building Elon Musk's Hyperloop, but it is making every effort to push things along. Earlier this year it announced the construction of a 1-mile (1.6-km) test track and it has now invited over 120 engineering teams to show off design concepts for a Hyperloop pod to a panel of judges in January. The most promising will then put their human-scale prototypes through their paces at SpaceX HQ the following US summer.



*New species of 'sail-backed' dinosaur found in Spain*


> Scientists describe a 'sail-backed' dinosaur species named Morelladon beltrani, which inhabited the Iberian landmass ~125 million years ago, according to a study published Dec. 16, 2015 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE ...




*New metamaterial manipulates sound to improve acoustic imaging*


> Researchers from North Carolina State University and Duke University have developed a metamaterial made of paper and aluminum that can manipulate acoustic waves to more than double the resolution of acoustic imaging, focus ...




*Plants crawled onto land earlier than we give them credit, genetic evidence suggests*


> Plant biologists agree that it all began with green algae. At some point in our planet's history, the common ancestor of trees, ferns, and flowers developed an alternating life cycle—presumably allowing their offspring ..


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## ScienceRocks

*Meet Dakotaraptor, The Terrifying New Dinosaur KU Researchers Are Piecing Together*

Meet Dakotaraptor, The Terrifying New Dinosaur KU Researchers Are Piecing Together 

By Jeremy Bernfeld • Dec 17, 2015 







_Dakotaraptor stalked the present-day Dakotas._


> Courtesy Robert DePalma
> 
> While the Tyrannosaurus rex was at the top of the food chain 66 million years ago, a team of researchers linked to the University of Kansas discovered a giant, fearsome raptor that may have given T. rex a run for its money.
> 
> Dakotaraptor, as it’s called, was 17-feet long, six-feet tall at the hips and weighed hundreds of pounds. With a 9.5-inch razor-sharp retractable claw likely used to gut or latch onto prey, it was an unbeatable hunter.
> 
> “For all intents and purposes this was the Ferrari of the predators of its day,” says Robert DePalma, who discovered the Dakotaraptor fossils as a graduate student at KU in 2005 while on an excavation in South Dakota. “It could turn on a dime, run very fast. It could easily jump twice or three times its body height. It could kill any herbivorous dinosaur that it encountered. It was a lethal animal.”
> 
> For the last decade, DePalma and a team of researchers have been piecing together the roughly dozen fossils he excavated. What emerged was the picture of a frightening predator that stalked the present-day Dakotas millions of years ago.



More: 
Meet Dakotaraptor, The Terrifying New Dinosaur KU Researchers Are Piecing Together

way cool


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## ScienceRocks

Recently Discovered Titanosaur Is So Huge, It Barely Fits into a Museum 

Written by 
Becky Ferreira 
Contributor 

19 December 2015 // 07:00 PM CET 

- video at link - 





> A full-size cast of one of the largest animals ever to walk the planet will be unveiled at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) next month. Measuring 122 feet long and weighing in at about 70 tons, this giant titanosaur lived about 100 million years ago in Cretaceous Argentina. A wealth of its remains were discovered in Patagonia last year, so recently that the species hasn’t even been given an official name yet.
> 
> “What they discovered is a cemetery of dinosaurs the likes of which we had never seen in the history of Argentine paleontology," Ruben Cuneo, director of the Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio, told US News in the wake of the find.
> 
> “Given the length and magnitude this animal will bring along when it's reconstructed, there won't be a building that can contain it. I think we're going to need a new home.”
> 
> Indeed, the dinosaur was so colossal that curators couldn’t fit the entire length of its skeleton cast into the fourth floor gallery where it will be on view. The neck actually extends out into the elevator corridor to “greet” visitors, according to the AMNH. This setup should give people an idea of how jaw-droppingly massive this titanosaur was, even when compared to other famous long-necked sauropods, like Brontosaurus and Diplodocus.



Recently Discovered Titanosaur Is So Huge, It Barely Fits into a Museum


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## ScienceRocks

*Move Over, Graphene: Borophene Could Be the Strongest Material Ever*



Jamie Condliffe
Friday 6:22am




1
http://gizmodo.com/move-over-graphene-the-latest-super-material-is-borop-1748663333


> Graphene is the best-known two-dimensional material, with its atom-thick layers proving plenty of fascinating material properties. But now a team of scientists has developed a new material with a similar structure that they’re calling borophene.
> 
> The new two-dimensional sheet, developed by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy, is made up from atoms of boron. While boron is non-metallic semi-conductor in most of its normal three-dimensional arrangements, the researchers have found that it in fact has some metallic properties when it’s stretched out into a two-dimensional sheet.
> 
> But while graphene can be found by simply peeling layers from a stack of graphite, borophene doesn’t seem to appear in nature. Instead, the team has had to manufacture it from scratch, first creating theoretical models of what it should look like, and then synthesizing it in the lab. They did that by vaporizing boron using an intense electron beam, then condensing the gaseous metal onto a thin film of silver. Because the silver and boron don’t react, the team was able to grow a single-atom thick layer of boron. Bingo: borophene.


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## ScienceRocks

*New microscope creates near-real-time videos of nanoscale processes*



> MIT engineers have designed an atomic force microscope (AFM) that scans images 2,000 times faster than existing commercial models. Operating at near-real-time-video speed, it can capture structures as small as a fraction of a nanometer from single strands of DNA down to individual hydrogen bonds.
> Existing AFMs have similar spatial resolution but function at slow speeds.
> In one dramatic demonstration of the instrument’s capabilities (see video), the researchers scanned a 70- by-70-micrometers sample of calcite as it was first immersed in deionized water and later exposed to sulfuric acid. Over a period of several seconds, the team observed the acid eating away at the calcite, expanding existing nanometer-sized pits in the material that quickly merged and led to a layer-by-layer removal of calcite along the material’s crystal pattern.


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## ScienceRocks

*Exceptionally strong and lightweight new metal created*
* December 23, 2015 *



At left, a deformed sample of pure metal; at right, the strong new metal made of magnesium with silicon carbide nanoparticles. Each central micropillar is about 4 micrometers across. Credit: UCLA Scifacturing Laboratory


> A team led by researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has created a super-strong yet light structural metal with extremely high specific strength and modulus, or stiffness-to-weight ratio. The new metal is composed of magnesium infused with a dense and even dispersal of ceramic silicon carbide nanoparticles. It could be used to make lighter airplanes, spacecraft, and cars, helping to improve fuel efficiency, as well as in mobile electronics and biomedical devices.





Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-12-exceptionally-strong-lightweight-metal.html#jCp

===================================
*Researchers found an unconventional phase transition in photonic structures*


> A team of physicists from ITMO University, Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute and Australian National University have researched the phenomenon of phase transition between photonic crystals and metamaterials - two types of ...


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## ScienceRocks

* UCLA creates terahertz lasers with space, military and other applicatins *







> Researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have identified a new way to make a semiconductor laser that operates at terahertz frequencies. The breakthrough could lead to development of a new class of high-quality, powerful lasers for use in space exploration, military and law enforcement efforts and other...


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*Liquid crystal elastomers used to create "rubber lasers"*

 Ben Coxworth 
December 30, 2015
 2 PICTURES 





> We generally picture lasers as being encased within hard housings, much like most other electronics. Thanks to research being conducted at Kent State University and Japan's Kyoto Institute of Technology, however, we could soon see sensors or other devices that incorporate stretchable laser-emitting rubber.


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## ScienceRocks

*Breakthrough achieved in Ceramics 3D Printing Technology*
*HRL Laboratories : Breakthrough achieved in Ceramics 3D Printing Technology*





© 2015 HRL Laboratories. Photo by Dan Little Photography.



> MALIBU, Calif. January 1, 2016 — Researchers at HRL Laboratories, LLC, have achieved a new milestone in 3D printing technology by developing a process that overcomes the limits of traditional ceramic parts and enables the development of high temperature, high strength ceramic components. According to HRL Sensors and Materials Laboratory Senior Scientist Dr. Tobias Schaedler, "Our team surmounted the challenges inherent in ceramics to develop an innovative material that has myriad applications in a variety of industries."
> 
> Schaedler credited HRL’s Senior Chemical Engineer Zak Eckel and Senior Chemist Dr. Chaoyin Zhou with inventing a resin formulation that can be 3D printed into parts of virtually any shape and size. The printed resin can then be fired, converting it into a high strength, fully dense ceramic. "The resulting material can withstand ultrahigh temperatures in excess of 1700°C and exhibits strength ten times higher than similar materials," said Schaedler.
> 
> This innovative process enables additive manufacturing of complex shaped ceramic parts. "Ceramics are much more difficult to process than polymers or metals because they cannot be cast or machined easily," said Schaedler. Traditionally, ceramic parts are consolidated from powders by sintering, which introduces porosity and limits both achievable shapes and final strength. "With our new 3D printing process, we can take full advantage of the many desirable properties of this silicon oxycarbide ceramic, including high hardness, strength and temperature capability, as well as resistance to abrasion and corrosion," said Schaedler.


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## ScienceRocks

*Four elements earn permanent seats on the periodic table *
*Four elements earn permanent seats on the periodic table*
*U.S., Russian and Japanese scientists credited with official discoveries *
By
Andrew Grant
4:58pm, December 31, 2015







> *FEWER U’S*  The official discovery of elements 113, 115, 117 and 118 means that all 118 elements in the periodic table’s first seven rows have been found on Earth or produced in the lab. The four new elements will soon get names replacing the temporary “Uu” placeholder names.
> 
> The seventh row of the periodic table is officially full.
> 
> On December 30, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry announced that a Russian-U.S. collaboration had attained sufficient evidence to claim the discovery of elements 115, 117 and 118. IUPAC awarded credit for the discovery of element 113 to scientists at RIKEN in Wako, Japan (_SN Online: 9/27/12_). Both groups synthesized the elements by slamming lighter nuclei into each other and tracking the decay of the radioactive superheavy elements that followed.


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## ScienceRocks

*Scientists create the elusive form of solid Hydrogen named phase V*



University of Edinburgh - 7th January 2015



> Experiments have given a glimpse of a previously unseen form of hydrogen that exists only at extremely high pressures - more than 3 million times that of Earth’s atmosphere.
> Hydrogen - which is among the most abundant elements in the Universe - is thought to be found in this high-pressure form in the interiors of Jupiter and Saturn. It may also be found in the sun.


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## I amso IR

Yep, and yet most farts still stink. What a contrast! Course most farts are really real while science, well, maybe, maybe not. I'm watching the Redskin/Green Bay playoff game and the ref's microphone is not working. Now that is science for ya. Wobbly like the guy in the animation. OK, OK, I apologize in advance Matthew. Just messing with you. Science does in fact have an upside. Cheers


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## ScienceRocks

*"Metal glue" could replace welding and soldering – in some applications*

 Ben Coxworth 
January 11, 2016
 2 PICTURES 





> Usually, if you want to join two metal objects together, you either weld or solder them – depending on how big they are. Both processes involve the application of heat, however. This can damage the items (in the case of electronics), or even cause explosions (in the case of things like gas pipes). That's why scientists at Boston's Northeastern University created MesoGlue. It's a glue that bonds metal to metal – or to other materials – and it sets at room temperature.


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## ScienceRocks

*Self-adaptive composite heals itself and returns to its original shape*


 David Szondy 
January 13, 2016
 3 PICTURES 





> Self-healing materials that can repair cracks and other damage automatically have been the dream of scientists and engineers for decades, but a team of scientists at Rice University have come up with a new twist. It's a Self-Adaptive Composite (SAC) that is not only self healing, but also has reversible self-stiffening properties that allow it to spring back into shape like a sponge.




*Nano-hybrid materials create magnetic effect*



> Developing novel materials from the atoms up goes faster when some of the trial and error is eliminated. A new Rice University and Montreal Polytechnic study aims to do that for graphene and boron nitride hybrids.




*Twitter reports that Gravitational Waves have been found and LIGO Observatory researchers are writing a paper*




Lawrence Krauss, a cosmologist at Arizona State university, tweeted that he had received independent confirmation of a rumour that has been in circulation for months, adding: “Gravitational waves may have been discovered!!” The excitement centers on a longstanding experiment known as the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave...


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## ScienceRocks

*The first working Hyperloop could arrive by the end of 2016*

*New CEO Rob Lloyd is promising a "Kitty Hawk" moment.*


The first working Hyperloop could arrive by the end of 2016




Daniel Cooper , @danielwcooper
01.13.16 in Transportation


> Rob Lloyd, the recently minted CEO of Hyperloop Technologies, believes that his firm will have a fully working test loop ready for the end of the year. The executive is here at CES to oversee the breaking ground on the facility, which is being constructed on the outskirts of Las Vegas. If things go according to plan, the two-mile track is expected to be ready for passengers to try out before the end of the holidays. We sat down with Lloyd to talk about the past, present and future of Hyperloop in this wide-ranging interview with Engadget.




*That NorCal To SoCal Bullet Is ACTUALLY Happening*

The Hyperloop Is Actually Being Built & We Are Psyched
Photo: Zhang Peng/Getty Images.


> What's faster than a plane, train, or automobile? A Hyperloop. First outlined by Tesla founder Elon Musk in 2013, the mythical, magical, super-speedy mode of transport looks like it's actually becoming a reality.
> 
> The Hyperloop isn't a train. It is a series of tubes that would shoot a pod filled with people from San Francisco to Los Angeles in a matter of 30 minutes. In a car, that trip currently takes five to six hours; on a plane, it's a less-than-90-minute flight.
> 
> The depressurized cylinder would shoot pods along at 700 mph. This sounds pretty crazy, but Hyperloop Technologies CEO Rob Lloyd told CNNMoney the basics are simple: You remove the pressure by creating a closed environment and remove the friction by levitating the pods, which allows them to travel at an "incredible speed."


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*First materials to be woven at the atomic and molecular levels created*



> There are many different ways to make nanomaterials but weaving, the oldest and most enduring method of making fabrics, has not been one of them - until now. An international collaboration led by scientists at the U.S. Department ...


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## ScienceRocks

*Physicists have managed to tie a quantum knot for the first time
Physicists have managed to tie a quantum knot for the first time*
This is nuts.
DAVID NIELD
22 JAN 2016


> An international team of scientists has managed to create a quantum knot for the first time - a fundamental breakthrough in quantum physics that could one day help power the supercomputers of the future. These knots aren't quite the same as the ones you might tie to moor a boat to a jetty - they've been made in a superfluid form of quantum matter called Bose-Einstein Condensate, or BEC, and are more like smoke rings than traditional knots.
> "For decades, physicists have been theoretically predicting that it should be possible to have knots in quantum fields, but nobody else has been able to make one," said lead researcher, Mikko Möttönen. "Now that we have seen these exotic beasts, we are really excited to study their peculiar properties. Importantly, our discovery connects to a diverse set of research fields including cosmology, fusion power, and quantum computers."


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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks




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## ScienceRocks

*Hybrid polymer shows promise in self-repairing materials, smart drug delivery, and artificial muscles*

 David Szondy 
January 30, 2016
 2 PICTURES 



We live in an age of plastics, but even after a century of progress, most polymers still come in a single, homogenous form with basic properties. Now a team of researchers at Northwestern University under the leadership of materials scientist Samuel Stupp have developed a hybrid polymer that combines soft and hard areas like bones and muscles in animals. According to the team, this breakthrough in nanoengineering opens the door to applications ranging from self-repairing materials to artificial muscles.


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## ScienceRocks

* NASA will use laser communication that is up to 100 times faster data rates than todays communication*








> A NASA team has been tapped to build a new type of communications modem that will employ an emerging, potentially revolutionary technology that could transform everything from telecommunications, medical imaging, advanced manufacturing to national defense. NASA's first-ever integrated-photonics modem will be tested aboard the International...


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## ScienceRocks

*World's first 'robot run' farm to open in Japan*
* February 1, 2016 *




A worker checks lettuces at the indoor farm of Spread company in its Kameoka factory in Kameoka city, Kyoto prefecture June 14, 2012
A Japanese firm said Monday it would open the world's first fully automated farm with robots handling almost every step of the process, from watering seedlings to harvesting crops.



Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-02-world-robot-farm-japan.html#jCp


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## longknife

*A New Experimental Fusion Reactor Powers Up in Germany*

The reactor's first test was brief but successful

Here's how the current generators work @ Nuclear Reactors | Nuclear Power Plant | Nuclear Reactor Technology - World Nuclear Association and this story tells how this new one is supposed to work @ History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian


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## longknife

*Cement that Captures Pollution and Turns it Into Harmless Salt*






Wow! What amazing technology. Watch the video @ http://video.dailymail.co.uk/video/...7324952695121/640x360_2268897324952695121.mp4

And read the story @ Cement can clean up air POLLUTION


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## ScienceRocks

*Physicists say they’ve finally confirmed the existence of a 'four neutron-no proton' particle*

Quote

Physicists have found the most convincing signs of a tetraneutron - a four neutron-no proton particle - to date, adding weight to the possibility that the hypothetical particle really does exist. According to theory, this highly elusive particle cluster is impossible, because of how unstable lone neutrons are, but scientists in Japan say they’ve spotted its signature during recent experiments.
While the results need to be replicated independently before we can truly say the fabled tetraneutron exists, if other teams can confirm its existence, we’re going to have to make some serious changes to current understanding of nuclear forces. "It would be something of a sensation," nuclear theorist Peter Schuck from France's National Centre for Scientific Research, who wasn’t involved in the discovery, told Science News.

Physicists have been searching for the tetraneutron for decades, and while this 1965 paper concluded that no evidence could be found and "the existence of tetraneutrons is most unlikely", four separate papers have since reported experimental observations of the particle. 
Most recently, theoretical physicist Francisco-Miguel Marqués and his team at the Ganil accelerator in France used a new technique to observe the particle - by watching the disintegration of beryllium and lithium nuclei. In 2002, they were smashing beryllium-14 particles into carbon particles in an attempt to blow apart beryllium’s cluster of four neutrons. 
As Esther Inglis-Arkell explains over at Gizmodo, when they happened, they should have observed four little flashes, but instead, they got one big flash, signalling that these neutrons broke off in a cluster.
So why is the idea of four neutrons teaming up so impossible?
"Well, the Pauli exclusion principle specifies that particles in the same system cannot be in the same quantum state. As a consequence of this, even two neutrons shouldn't be able to stick together, let alone four," says Inglis-Arkell."However, four neutrons smashing at high speed into a carbon atom, and then reaching a detector at exactly the same place and exactly the same time is nearly as impossible as the idea that a basic tenet of physics needs to be modified."
Marqués’s team found similar evidence in 2004, but no one’s been able to replicate their results, making true confirmation impossible… until now. A team from the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Science also worked with beryllium particles to produce what they’re calling tetraneutron states.
They did this by firing a beam of helium nuclei (which have two protons and six neutrons) at liquid helium (which has two protons and two neutrons), and when the particles collided, four neutrons went missing. Their conspicuous absence lasted around 1 billionth of a trillionth of a second before reappearing as particle decay.






We've just found a theoretical impossibility. Goddamn.


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## ScienceRocks

http://gizmodo.com/holy-shit-scientists-have-confirmed-the-existence-of-g-1755465297

Einstein Was Right: Scientists Make Waves With Gravitational Discovery






Gravitational waves are ripples in the universe caused by some of the most energetic cosmic events, from exploding stars to supermassive black hole mergers. As they propagate through space and time, gravitational waves cause tiny tremors in atoms that make up matter. While Einstein predicted them in his general theory of relativity in 1916, and their existence was indirectly demonstrated in the 1980s, it wasn’t until the LIGO detector came online in 2002 that the hunt for elusive spacetime ripples started to get serious.

The two black holes behind the all the hubbub are 29 and 36 times the mass of the Sun, respectively. During the peak of their cosmic collision, LIGO researchers estimate that their power output was 50 times that of the entire visible universe.


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## ScienceRocks

*Physicists create first photonic Maxwell's demon*


> (Phys.org)—Maxwell's demon, a hypothetical being that appears to violate the second law of thermodynamics, has been widely studied since it was first proposed in 1867 by James Clerk Maxwell. But most of these studies have .


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## ScienceRocks

​
*A new form of frozen water? Scientists reveal new ice with record-low density*
Amid the season known for transforming Nebraska into an outdoor ice rink, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln-led research team has predicted a new molecular form of the slippery stuff that even Mother Nature has never borne.


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