Hasta La Gadget!

Laser tripwire security systems can be expensive propositions that don’t always work as planned — just ask Raytheon, which saw its $100 million Perimeter Intrusion Detection System for JFK International Airport undermined by one wayward jet skier. Taking that as a form of dare, Justin Huynh and teammates at Liquidware have devised a much cheaper (if also much smaller) tripwire of their own. Any interruption of a laser pointer’s beam is caught by an Arduino light sensor that promptly sends the alert to an Android-running BeagleBoard xM; if a toy like Bruce the shark dares cross the line, the BeagleBoard sends a Twitter message to let the authorities, or at least Huynh, clamp down on the trespasser. The invention won’t replace Raytheon’s handiwork anytime soon, although Huynh notes that additional or more powerful sensors could theoretically catch real, muscle-bound sharks and not just their plastic counterparts. The supply checklist and source code are waiting on the company’s project page below, so those who’d like to ward off miniature invasions can get started today.

Continue reading Liquidware team crafts laser tripwire that tweets intruder alerts, keeps fake sharks at bay (video)

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Liquidware team crafts laser tripwire that tweets intruder alerts, keeps fake sharks at bay (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Aug 2012 19:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Masers, or microwave lasers, have rarely been as viable as their regular counterparts; they need temperatures near absolute zero, exotic vacuum chambers or strong magnets just to run at all, which safely rules out carrying a maser as a pocket pointer. The National Physical Laboratory and Imperial College London might put that gap in practicality to bed after developing a maser that can run at room temperatures. Instead of using ruby to boost the microwave strength, the scientists rely on a less pronounceable p-terphenyl crystal treated with pentacene that can handle ordinary amounts of heat. There’s still much work left in refining the technology: it has yet to stay active for sustained periods, only works in a narrow bandwidth and chews through an ample amount of power. Once it’s given the appropriate polish, however, the extra sensitivity of the improved maser could be a boon for medical scanning, bomb disposal or even future space communication that could punch through the atmosphere.

Filed under: Science

NPL, Imperial College create room-temperature maser, promise more sensitive beams originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 23:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The US Department of Energy’s SLAC accelerator lab already has a pretty useful X-ray laser — the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). But, recent modifications to the device have scientists drooling over its new found potential. Using a thin wafer of diamond, the Stanford-run lab filtered the beam to a lone frequency, then amplified it in a process called “self-seeding.” That’s given the world’s most powerful X-ray laser even more punch by tossing out unneeded wavelengths which were reducing its intensity. The tweaks allow scientists across many fields to finesse and image matter at the atomic level, giving them more power to study and change it. According to the lab, researchers who came to observe the experiment from other X-ray laser facilities “were grinning from ear to ear” at the possibility of integrating the tech into their own labs. The SLAC team claims they could still add 10 times more punch to the LCLS with further optimization, putting the laser in a class by itself — X-ray-wise, anyway.

Continue reading Diamond hones DOE X-ray laser howitzer to razor-sharp precision

Filed under: Science

Diamond hones DOE X-ray laser howitzer to razor-sharp precision originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Aug 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer usually graces our pages for its pico projector range, but the company’s taken a leaf out of the high-end book for its latest non-portable model, the K750 LED-laser hybrid. The world’s first combo projector spits out 1080p, just as you would expect, at a contrast ratio of up to 100,000:1. Acer claims the color brightness, saturation and fidelity are significantly better than mercury lamps, and appears to be leaning towards the business and education markets, citing the K750’s instant on / off capability to sway the productive types. If you fancy one of these in your house, however, better start saving your cash — AVForums claims it’ll be available in the UK later this month bearing a price tag of around £1,700 (approximately $2,650).

Continue reading Acer breeds LEDs with lasers, new hybrid projector is born

Filed under: Displays

Acer breeds LEDs with lasers, new hybrid projector is born originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 12:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If Doctor Evil ever lowered his lofty goal of sharks with frickin’ laser beams on their heads to something more manageable, such as lasers on frickin’ tadpoles, the world’s smallest laser might serve him well. Physicists from the University of Texas at Austin working with colleagues in Taiwan and China have created what they claim to be the world’s smallest laser. The laser is so small that it can’t be seen with the naked eye.

The laser is the world’s smallest semiconductor laser and is hailed as a breakthrough in the theoretical miniaturization of photonics technology. The researchers believe that the breakthrough could have applications for a number of real-world uses, including computing and medicine. The laser is made using gallium nitride on a nanoscale. The breakthrough called, subdiffraction nanolaser, based on surface plasmon amplification by stimulated emission of radiation, was detailed in the July 27 issue of Science.

The laser breakthrough has great potential to usher in a new era for electronics, in particular. The miniaturization of the semiconductor laser could lead to the development of faster, smaller, and lower energy photon-based electronics such as incredibly fast computer chips and medical sensors for detecting disease. The laser also has the potential for being used in communications.

“We have developed a nanolaser device that operates well below the 3-D diffraction limit,” says Chih-Kang “Ken” Shih, physics professor at The University of Texas at Austin. “We believe our research could have a large impact on nanoscale technologies.” The researcher’s breakthrough is the first continuous-wave low threshold laser below the 3-D diffraction limit, and the laser emits a green light. The laser is constructed of a gallium nitride nano-rod that is partially filled with indium gallium nitride, which are both alloys commonly used in the production of LEDs.

[via Techfragments]

Gallium nitride nano-scale laser is the world’s smallest is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
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