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Nov 28

Large Hadron Collider may have produced a previously undetected form of matter

Teams at the Large Hadron Collider must be developing a knack for producing tangible evidence of theoretical particles. After orchestrating 2 million collisions between lead nuclei and protons, like the sort you see above, the collider’s Compact Muon Solenoid group and researchers at MIT suspect that stray, linked pairs of gluon particles in the mix were signs of color-glass condensate, a currently theory-only form of matter that sees gluons travel in liquid-like, quantum-entangled waves. The clues aren’t definitive, but they were also caught unexpectedly as part of a more routine collision run; the team is curious enough that it’s looking for more evidence during weeks of similar tests in January. Any conclusive proof of the condensate would have an impact both on how we understand particle production in collisions as well as the ways gluons and quarks are arranged inside protons. If so, the CMS and MIT teams may well answer a raft of questions about subatomic physics while further justifying CERN’s giant underground rings.

Filed under: Science, Alt

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Source: MIT

Nov 20

Nissan Leaf to go farther and cost less in 2013

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Wondering what the coming year will hold for Nissan’s flagship electric car? Well, as expected, there’s a small, but not negligible range boost in store. On a full charge, and with all the other electronics turned off, the 2013 Leaf should be able to eke 228 km (142 miles) out of its lithium ion pack, which is up from the 200 km (124 miles) of last year’s model. There’s also a new battery gauge that tells the driver how much juice is left in percentage points, instead of just miles remaining. The price of entry has also been seriously lowered, putting the EV within the reach of many more consumers. In Japan, the base model will cost just ¥2.5 million (roughly $31,000), significantly less than the 2012 edition which had a starting price of just under ¥3 million (around $37,000). While there’s no guarantee that price drop with carry over stateside, we’d say it’s a pretty good bet that a cheaper Leaf in our future. Sadly, there’s no word about that fancy inductive charger.

Filed under: Transportation

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Via: Japan Daily Press

Source: Associated Press

Oct 04

iPhone 5 chemical study shows a green Apple, leaves room for improvement

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Eventually, that shiny new iPhone 5 will have to meet its untimely end, whether it’s in a landfill or (preferably) a recycling company’s machinery. When it does, you’ll at least be glad to know that Apple has kept the toxin levels down. HealthyStuff and iFixit have dissected the extra skinny smartphone and put it in the same “low concern” category for potential harm that’s normally occupied by phones wearing their green credentials on their sleeves. Lest anyone rush to tell Greenpeace about the feat, just remember that there’s a difference between proficiency at excising dangerous chemicals and getting rid of them completely: HealthyStuff still found small traces of bromine, chlorine, lead and mercury in the iPhone 5’s construction, which could pose risks if the handset is ever broken apart or melted for scrap. Some concern also exists that the x-ray fluorescence spectrometer doesn’t reveal the full extent of any toxic materials. Whether or not these remain sore points for you, the new iPhone is at least easier on the eco-friendly conscience than most of its peers.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple

iPhone 5 chemical study shows a green Apple, leaves room for improvement originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 17:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 18

Vox jams guitar amps into Audio-Technica headphones, dubs them Amphones (ears-on)

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Guitarists and Bassists have many tools at their disposal for practicing fresh news licks without disturbing others around them. One of our favorites is Vox’s AmPlug — a guitar amp-modeling dongle that plugs into your instrument’s 1/4-inch jack, allowing you to connect headphones and an MP3 player to practice privately. Building on the idea, Vox worked with Audio-Technica to simply embed the AmPlug in a new line of headphones, dubbing them Amphones. The company quietly put the cans up on its site recently, and it’s now officially ready to shout out loud about them.

Guitarists can choose from AC-30 (British crunch), Lead (hi-gain) and Twin (clean) variants, and bassists can snag the Bass version, which is based on Vox’s AC100. Just like the AmPlug, each Amphone features volume dials — sadly, these don’t go to 11 — for setting gain, volume and tone, along with a fourth for a built-in effect (compression for the Bass and reverb with the AC30, for example). A duo of triple AAs power the cans and, as you’d expect, the ‘phones have a 3.5mm jack for hooking in external sources as well as a 1/4 adapter to plug into your axe. These Vox-styled units will be available in the US sometime in October for $100 a pop (double the cost of an AmPlug). Hungering for more already? We were able to give a pre-production version of the AC30 model a brief run, and you’ll find our initial impressions after the break.

Gallery: Vox Amphones ears-on