Jun 04
![Click here to read "Do Not Be a Goddamned Liar", from <em>Sh*t My Dad Says</em>: The Book](https://i0.wp.com/cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/06/160x120_wmn_dad.jpg?resize=160%2C120 "Click here to read "Do Not Be a Goddamned Liar", from <em>Sh*t My Dad Says</em>: The Book")
May 28
Pentagon Warns of Space Junk Collisions
Posted in: gps, military, NASA, politics, satellite, science, space, Space Tech, Today's Chili
The Department of Defense has issued a warning in its Interim Space Posture Review that the amount of space junk orbiting the earth has “reached a critical tipping point,” one that could result in a series of chain-reaction collisions that “brings everyday life on Earth to a grinding halt,” according to Popular Science.
That may be overstating the case slightly, but it’s still an important issue. Here’s the situation: there are about 1,100 satellites orbiting the earth right now. Contrast that to about 370,000 pieces of space junk orbiting the earth, ranging from lost nuts and bolts from spacewalks, to entire decommissioned satellites–all speeding around at about 4.8 miles per second, the report said.
The Pentagon warned that a collision–numerically probable at some point–could generate thousands of pieces of additional junk, which could then cause additional crashes, and so on. This has actually happened a few times in the past, notably with a defunct Russian satellite in 2009 and an errant Chinese missile back in 2007.
A collision could cripple communications, along with civilian and military GPS systems, and the resulting debris clouds could seriously inhibit future satellite deployments, according to the article. (Image credit: NASA)
May 27
Scientist: Europas Ice-Covered Oceans Full of Oxygen
Posted in: NASA, science, space, Space Tech, Today's Chili
Europa’s icy waters may contain enough oxygen to support various kinds of lifeforms–including more than just the microbial kind.
We already know that Europa, arguably Jupiter’s most interesting moon, contains a global ocean that runs about 100 miles deep, with an icy crust on top, as Space.com reports. For years, scientists have theorized that the moon could support extraterrestrial life, at least in microbial form.
Richard Greenberg, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at Tucson, and the author of Unmasking Europa: The Search for Life on Jupiter’s Ocean Moon, explained in the article that an oxygen-rich layer of ice at the top could actually extend down much further than thought, and could reach the oceans underneath.
Greenberg found that as the ice on the base of the oxygenated crust melts, even with the most conservative assumptions, “after only a half-million years oxidant levels in the ocean would reach the minimum oxygen concentration seen in Earth’s oceans”–enough to support small crustaceans, according to the article.
“I was surprised at how much oxygen could get down there,” Greenberg said in the report. He added that we wouldn’t necessarily have to land a probe on the planet to detect the oxygen more directly, as telescope-based spectroscopy from Earth could help shed further light on the subject. (Image credit: NASA/JPL)
May 27
USAF Plane Breaks Hypersonic Flight Record
Posted in: military, science, space, Space Tech, Today's Chili
The United States Air Force’s X-51A Waverider, an experimental aircraft, has set a new record for hypersonic flight: Mach 6.
The craft flew at six times the speed of sound for three minutes and 20 seconds, according to the Associated Press. A B-52 Stratofortress released the X-51A Waverider off the southern California coast on Wednesday, whereupon the craft’s scramjet engine accelerated it to Mach 6.
“We are ecstatic to have accomplished many of the X-51A test points during its first hypersonic mission,” said Charlie Brink, an X-51A program manager with the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, in the article. “We equate this leap in engine technology as equivalent to the post-World War II jump from propeller-driven aircraft to jet engines.”
The previous record for a hypersonic scramjet burn was just 12 seconds, according to the report. (Rendered image credit: USAF)
May 26
5nm crystals could lead to vastly larger optical discs, mighty fine time machines
Posted in: blu-ray, nanotechnology, science, storage, Today's Chili
Blu-ray was already looking mighty fine at 25GB of storage per layer — and if Sony manages to make the indigo foil sheets hold 33.4GB each, we certainly won’t complain — but Japanese researchers have discovered a compound that could leapfrog Blu-ray entirely. Scientists at the University of Tokyo discovered that by hitting 5-nanometer titanium pentoxide crystals with a laser, they could get the metal to change color and conduct less electricity, leading to what they believe is an effective new medium for optical data storage. At 5nm, the small black crystals could reportedly hold 1,000 times the data of Blu-ray at the same density, and cost less to boot — the scholars reportedly synthesized the formula simply by adding hydrogen to the common, comparatively cheap titanium dioxide, while heating the compound over a fire. Ahh, nanotechnology — making our lives easier, one microscopic crystal or tube at a time.
5nm crystals could lead to vastly larger optical discs, mighty fine time machines originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 May 2010 03:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
May 25
Earlier this decade, doctors discovered that by shocking the vagus nerve — one of twelve nerves connected directly to the brain — they could attempt to treat chronic hiccups, epilepsy and severe depression. Now, a startup called Microtransponder believes such a device can help reduce tinnitus, too. Technology Review now reports the company’s RFID-like, externally-powered implant could stimulate the vagus nerve while doctors play particular tones for those suffering ringing ears, slowly attuning the patients to frequencies other than the one that ails them. As with all new medical procedures, we don’t expect to see this one on the market anytime soon, but the firm does claim it’s just raised $10 million in funding and will pursue FDA clearance accordingly. Until then, you’ll just have to try less invasive procedures, or simply restrain yourself from turning that volume dial to 11. Ch’yeah right!
VNS implant might fix the ringing in your ears originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 May 2010 23:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
May 17
Scientists at CERN have powered up the Large Hadron Collider‘s high-speed network and downstream data storage, in an effort to begin recording and analyzing streams of data from experiments averaging over a gigabyte per second, according to the UK’s Inquirer.
The LHC Computing Grid, a high-speed network of computer clusters at scientific institutions around the globe, consists of 100,000 processors across 130 organizations in 34 countries. The grid is organized into four tiers, and distributes data over private fiber-optic cable as well as portions of the Internet to researchers, the article said.
A separate BBC News article is reporting that the LHC could begin probing unexplored domains in particle physics by the end of the summer. The machine has already seen half a billion particle collisions since it first crossed the beams in November 2009, Egon. (Image credit: CERN/LHC Atlas)
May 17
Electromagnetically induced transparency could create a quantum internet, quantum memes
Posted in: research, science, Today's Chili
The transistor ushered the modern world of gadgets that we all love, and now optical transistors could help to bring us to the proper next generation of the internet. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics have demonstrated successful electromagnetically induced transparency, or EIT, which is effectively a way of enabling one beam of light to control another. In their experiments, researchers used a rubidium atom to indicate state, blocking a beam of light in one direction but, when a laser hit it at a perpendicular angle, turning it transparent to allow the first beam through. The idea is that this could serve as a sort of optical gate for quantum computers; the building block of a next-gen internet for next-gen devices. There’s reason for excitement about the potential here, but researchers have a long, long way to go before anything like this is ready for reality, so don’t give up those handlinks just yet.
Electromagnetically induced transparency could create a quantum internet, quantum memes originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
May 15
The laser turns 50, we hope to still be that cool at that age (video)
Posted in: laser, science, Today's Chili, video
On May 16, 1960, Theodore Maiman did something totally awesome at Hughes Lab: he fired the first functional laser and sent the future of arena rock and the rave scene well on its way. Hughes Lab has since moved on to become the military skunkworks Raytheon and the laser has moved into history as one of the coolest things to ever come out of a laboratory. Not a week goes by that we don’t see someone doing something amazing with the things, whether it’s blowing up ballistic missiles or just beaming your home movies on the wall. So, to everyone involved in the creation of the laser (including the great Albert Einstein himself), we salute you with this commemorative video embedded below.
Continue reading The laser turns 50, we hope to still be that cool at that age (video)
The laser turns 50, we hope to still be that cool at that age (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 May 2010 18:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | 
Switched | Email this | Comments
May 15
Auto-dimming electrochromic panels reduce glare when driving (video)
Posted in: automobile, car, Cars, diy, hack, Hacks, hands-on, light, mod, mods, science, Today's Chili, Transportation, video
It’s rush hour, and you’re headed due West on your evening commute — the sun burning holes in your eyes. You could flip down a window visor, trading your field of view for visibility. Or, with a prototype shown off at Intel’s 2010 International Science and Engineering Fair, you could simply let the windshield darken on its own. Two San Diego students (both accustomed to copious amounts of sunshine) rigged a Toyota Prius to do just that by stringing up electrochromic panels, which dim when voltage is applied. The trick is figuring out when and where to apply it, because when the sun is shining the panels themselves all receive the same amount of light. So instead of gauging it at the glass, Aaron Schild and Rafael Cosman found that an ultrasonic range finder could track the driver’s position while a VGA webcam measured the light coming through, and darken the sections liable to cause the most eyestrain. We saw a prototype in person, and it most certainly works… albeit slowly. If you’re rearing to roll your own, it seems raw materials are reasonably affordable — Schild told us electrochromic segments cost $0.25 per square inch — but you may not need to DIY. Having won $4,000 in prize money at the Fair, the teens say they intend to commercialize the technology, and envision it natively embedded in window glass in the not-too-distant future. Here’s hoping GM gives them a call. See pics of the Prius below, or check out a video demo of their prototype right after the break.
Continue reading Auto-dimming electrochromic panels reduce glare when driving (video)
Auto-dimming electrochromic panels reduce glare when driving (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 May 2010 12:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Who's in charge here?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.