Hasta La Gadget!

Scientists have been studying an exoplanet dubbed HD 189733b as it passes in front of its parent star dubbed HD 189733A. The reason scientists and researchers are scrutinizing this planet and star pair with the Hubble space telescope is because the planet appears to have an atmosphere that is quickly evaporating. The planet and star were first discovered in 2010 and was observed again in 2011 following a large solar flare from the star.

The planet is Jupiter-sized and scientists say that the intense plume of gas coming from the planet as it passes in front of the parent star was triggered by a massive eruption on the surface of the star. Scientists say that there were noted changes in the atmosphere of the planet after was bombarded with intense x-ray radiation from a solar flare emanating from the host star.

Observations made in 2011 showed that the planet’s atmosphere was evaporating and releasing strong bursts of gas at a rate of at least 984 tons per second. Scientists are studying the planet and its parent star to learn more about space weather outside our solar system. Planet HD 189733b is a gas giant that orbits extremely close to the parent star. The planet orbits at 1/30 of the distance between the Earth and the sun and is approximately the size of Jupiter. The parent star is slightly smaller and cooler than our Sun, yet the surface temperature on the alien world is believed to be about 1830°F due to its close orbit.

[via Space.com]

Star eruption likely caused distant planet’s atmosphere to evaporate is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Here’s an age-old problem: you take your butter out of the fridge, attempt to cut it and spread it over your toast, but it’s just too hard. The result is either mangled toast or an inconsistent spread. What’s a tired and hungry blogger to do? Warburtons has the answer. The company has come up with the idea of a heated butter knife: pressing a button on the handle will heat the blade to 41.8C, apparently the perfect temperature to melt butter.

Once you activate the heating mechanism, it’ll be ready to go in around 30 seconds. When you’ve managed to scoop up the necessary amount of butter, Warburtons recommends you evenly spread the substance by starting in the middle of your toast and heading towards the edges. You’ll be wanting to do that at an angle of 24.5 degrees, by the way.

The knife is powered by two AA batteries found in the handle, with the heating elements positioned at the tip of the blade “for optimum spreading technique.” Alas, there’s no word on if this will be a product that will actually make it to market, or how much it will cost, as it exists only as a prototype right now. We’re sure if enough people starting throwing money at their screens Warburtons will find a way to bring it to market.

[via The Guardian]

Toastie Knife will melt your butter and your heart is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Students at Rice University have invented a spray-on lithium-ion battery that could be applied to any surface like Krylon. How does it work? Just spray on each of the different components of a battery in layers. Is it really that easy? Yes, nerds are amazing. More »

Scientists at Rice University in Houston, Texas have developed a spray paint that can store and deliver electrical power. This spray-on battery breaks down the elements of a traditional battery and incorporates them into a liquid that can be spray painted in layers onto almost any surface. This means that most objects can be turned into an electrical storing device, such as the ceramic mug shown below.

The electrical paint layers were airbrushed onto the curved ceramic surface of the mug to see how well they bond. Tests were also done on other surface materials such as glass and stainless steel. The paint layers each represent a different component of a traditional battery, which includes two current collector, a cathode layer, along with an anode and a polymer separator layer in the middle.

However, one limitation of the technology is the requirement of a dry and oxygen-free environment when making a new device. The researchers are currently looking into changing this so that the production process can be more efficient and commercially viable. They also believe that the technology could be integrated with solar technology to allow any surface to capture and store electricity.

[via Reuters]

Scientists develop spray-on battery, turns any object into electrical storage is written by Rue Liu & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

There’s already a large community of old-school photographers who develop their shots using a mix of coffee and vitamin C instead of the usual chemicals found in a darkroom. But over at the Caffenol blog, they’ve started experimenting with a red wine-based developing solution as well. More »