tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36532434007657631662024-02-18T22:01:54.662-05:00Science & Technology TodaySurinder Dhar's Tech Blog is about Technology,Science,Computing,Software,Telecom and Gadgets from all over the world.Keep abreast with latest news and reveiws on science and technology.Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.comBlogger160125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-84873052579959476942013-01-29T10:15:00.001-05:002013-01-29T10:15:39.787-05:00What, exactly, is a Calabi-Yau manifold?String theory describes one of the smallest things you can possibly imagine — six-dimensional geometric spaces that may be more than a trillion times smaller than an electron — that could be one of the defining features of our universe. The story of these spaces, can be explained by what physicists call “Calabi-Yau manifolds,”<br />
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Superstring theory is a unified theory for all the forces of nature including quantum gravity. In superstring theory, the fundamental building block is an extended object, namely a string, whose vibrations would give rise to the particles encountered in nature. The constraints for the consistency of such a theory are extremely stringent. They require in particular that the theory takes place in a 10-dimensional space-time. To make contact with our 4-dimensional world, it is expected that the 10-dimensional space-time of string theory is locally the product M 4 ×X of a 4-dimensional Minkowski space M 3,1 with a 6-dimensional space X . The 6-dimensional space X would be tiny, which would explain why it has not been detected so far at the existing experimental energy levels. Each choice of the internal space X leads to a different effective theory on the 4-dimensional Minkowski space M 3,1 , which should be the theory describing our world. <br />
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It has long been argued that, in order to solve certain classic problems of unified gauge theories such as the gauge hierarchy problem, the 4-dimensional effective theory should admit an N=1 supersymmetry. In a fundamental paper, Candelas, Horowitz, Strominger and Witten (1985) analyzed what the constraint of that N=1 supersymmetry would mean for the geometry of the internal space X . They found that, for the most basic product models with N=1 supersymmetry, the space X must be a Calabi-Yau manifold of complex dimension 3. Shortly afterwards, Strominger (1986) considered slightly more general models, allowing warped products. For these models, the N=1 supersymmetry constraint results in a modification of the Ricci-flat equation of the earlier model. <br />
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Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-29804533873863654562012-08-03T12:49:00.001-04:002012-08-03T12:49:31.268-04:00Why women live longer?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The answer to the mystery of why women tend to live longer than men was found in the mitochondrial DNA studies of fruit flies.<br />
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Mitochondria are inherited only from mothers, never from fathers, so there is no way to weed out mutations that damage a male's prospects.<br />
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But one ageing expert said there were many factors that explained the gender difference in life expectancy.<br />
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It is not only in human, females outlive males in many other species.<br />
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Mitochondria, which exist in almost all animal cells, convert food into the energy that powers the body.<br />
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Group of scientists from Monash University found numerous mutations within mitochondrial DNA that affect how long males live, and the speed at which they age. Mitochondrial mutations they uncovered will generally cause faster male ageing across the animal kingdom.<br />
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They suggested this is because there is no evolutionary reason for the faults that affect males to be picked up - because mitochondria are passed down by females.<br />
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</div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-33851641833271417852012-07-05T13:30:00.001-04:002012-07-09T09:36:20.603-04:00Higgs Boson- the God particle.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Lot of news is pouring about Higgs Boson- the God particle after European Center for Nuclear Research says its teams have discovered a new particle that is consistent with the Higgs boson -- a subatomic particle considered so significant to the understanding of the universe that it has been called the God particle. <br />
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So what's the Higgs boson?<br />
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The Higgs particle, and its associated field, were hypothesized back in the 1960s by British physicist Peter Higgs and others to fill a weird gap in the Standard Model, one of physics' most successful theories. The model as it stood had no mechanism to explain why some particles are massless (such as the photon, which is the quantum bit for light and other types of electromagnetic radiation), while other particles have varying degrees of mass (such as the W and Z bosons, which play a part in the weak nuclear force). By rights, all particles should be without mass and zipping around freely.<br />
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They suggested that all particles had no mass just after the Big Bang. As the Universe cooled and the temperature fell below a critical value, an invisible force field called the ‘Higgs field’ was formed together with the associated ‘Higgs boson’. The field prevails throughout the cosmos: any particles that interact with it are given a mass via the Higgs boson. The more they interact, the heavier they become, whereas particles that never interact are left with no mass at all. <br />
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This idea provided a satisfactory solution and fitted well with established theories and phenomena. The problem is that no one has ever observed the Higgs boson in an experiment to confirm the theory. Finding this particle would give an insight into why particles have certain mass, and help to develop subsequent physics. The technical problem is that we do not know the mass of the Higgs boson itself, which makes it more difficult to identify. Physicists have to look for it by systematically searching a range of mass within which it is predicted to exist. The yet unexplored range is accessible using the Large Hadron Collider, which will determine the existence of the Higgs boson. If it turns out that we cannot find it, this will leave the field wide open for physicists to develop a completely new theory to explain the origin of particle mass.<br />
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The international effort to find it has used tremendous amounts of energy to crash subatomic particles into one another in giant underground tracks, where they are steered by magnetic fields. Several different experiments have been done by independent teams to ensure accuracy.<br />
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It is believed that Fermilab's atom smasher, called the Tevatron, must have produced thousands of Higgs particles over its life before it was shut down last year after it was overshadowed by CERN's more powerful Large Hadron Collider. <br />
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Two independent teams at CERN, the physics lab in the Alps on the French-Swiss border, have now said that they have "observed" the new boson, or subatomic particle. The CERN teams did not outright say that they have discovered the Higgs boson itself, which has been the focus of a 40-plus year pursuit. <br />
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<br /></div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-44244407676197313022012-03-06T11:01:00.001-05:002012-03-06T11:02:21.059-05:00Asteroid Threat in 2040???<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">There is an asteroid called 2011 AG5, and if it follows the orbit scientists have plotted for it so far, there is a small, small chance that it could hit Earth in February 2040. Astronomers, who have been tracking the asteroid since January 2011, say it is in an elliptical orbit that could bring it somewhere near Earth in 2040. Earth is about 8,000 miles in diameter; the asteroid appears to be about 450 feet across. <br />
The problem is that having watched it for only about half an orbit around the Sun, the scientists cannot say for certain where it will be 28 years from now. So, for the moment, NASA's Near Earth Object Program says the odds are about one in 625 that it could hit us in that still-distant future. <br />
Scientists have discussed all sorts of far-out plans in case a future asteroid truly does turn out to be coming our way. If they have enough lead time, they might send a probe with thruster rockets, or even explosives, to nudge an asteroid into a slightly different orbit. A very small course change, years in advance, could make a big difference by 2040, they say. Even if the asteroid misses Earth by less than a hundred miles, its passing will be a non-event. <br />
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There are asteroids wandering around the inner solar system all the time -- one of them, called 2005 YU55, passed within 201,000 miles of Earth in November, closer than the moon is to us. <br />
But about half a dozen times since the planet formed, there have been major for-real impacts with catastrophic results. The last, 65 million years ago, is believed to have killed off the last of the dinosaurs with the dust and ash that darkened the skies after it hit, though there have been scientists who disagree. <br />
Scientists estimate that the asteroid from back then was about nine miles across at its widest, far larger than 2011 AG5. And they point out that they know very little about 2011 AG5; they cannot say whether it is a solid hunk of rock or a loose jumble of debris flying together in space. All they know is that it's in a long, elliptical orbit that takes it almost twice as far from the sun as we are. </div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-26266355069495250042012-02-15T13:06:00.000-05:002012-02-15T13:06:17.346-05:00All about Curveball<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div>The <b>curveball</b> is a type of pitch in baseball thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball causing it to dive in a downward path as it approaches the plate.<br />
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Generally the Magnus effect describes the laws of physics that make a <b>curveball</b> curve. A fastball travels through the air with backspin, which creates a higher pressure zone in the air ahead of and under the baseball. The baseball's raised seams augment the ball's ability to churn the air and create higher pressure zones. The effect of gravity is partially counteracted as the ball rides on and into energized air. Thus the fastball falls less than a ball thrown without spin (neglecting knuckleball effects) during the 60 feet 6 inches it travels to home plate.<br />
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The <b>Magnus effect</b> is the phenomenon whereby a spinning object flying in a fluid creates a whirlpool of fluid around itself, and experiences a force perpendicular to the line of motion. The overall behaviour is similar to that around an airfoil (see lift force) with a circulation which is generated by the mechanical rotation, rather than by aerofoil action.<br />
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In many ball sports, the <b>Magnus effect</b> is responsible for the curved motion of a spinning ball. The effect also affects spinning missiles, and is used in rotor ships and Flettner aeroplanes.<br />
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In order to watch this science experiment on the basball field go see St. Louis cardinals or the Los Angeles Angels this season. Here are links to buy your ticket through Ticketamerica.com<br />
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<a href="http://www.ticketamerica.com/st_louis_cardinals_tickets.html">st. louis cardinals tickets</a><br />
<a href="http://www.ticketamerica.com/los_angeles_angels_of_anaheim_tickets.html">los angeles angels of anaheim tickets</a><br />
<a href="http://www.ticketamerica.com/minnesota_twins_tickets.html">minnesota twins tickets</a></div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-48518865393216017732012-02-08T11:31:00.001-05:002012-02-08T11:31:14.961-05:00Russia reaches Lake Vostok, about 3.8 kilometers (2.4 miles) beneath the Antarctica Surface<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">After more than two decades of drilling, Russian scientists have reached the surface of a gigantic freshwater lake in Antarctica that had been hidden under miles of ice for 20 million years, potentially holding life from the distant past and a clue to the search for life on other planets.<br />
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Reaching Lake Vostok is a major discovery avidly anticipated by scientists around the world hoping that it may allow a glimpse into microbial life forms that existed before the Ice Age. It may also provide precious material that would help look for life on ice-crust moons of Jupiter and Saturn or under Mars' polar ice caps where conditions could be similar.<br />
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The project, however, has drawn strong fears that 60 metric tons (66 tons) of lubricants and antifreeze used in the drilling may contaminate the pristine lake. The Russian researchers have insisted that the bore would only slightly touch the lake's surface and a surge in pressure will send the water rushing up the shaft where it will freeze, immediately sealing out the toxic chemicals.<br />
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Lukin said in a statement that about 1.5 cubic meters of kerosene and freon poured into tanks on the surface from the boreshaft, proof that the lake water streamed from beneath, froze, and blocked the hole.<br />
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The scientists will later remove the frozen sample for analysis in December when the next Antarctic summer comes.<br />
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Lake Vostok, about 3.8 kilometers (2.4 miles) beneath the surface, is the largest in a web of nearly 400 known subglacial lakes in Antarctica, and scientists in other nations hope to follow up with similar projects. The lake is 250 kilometers (160 miles) long and 50 kilometers (30 miles) across at its widest point, similar in area to Lake Ontario.<br />
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Scientists believe that microbial life may exist in the dark depths of the lake despite high pressure and constant cold — conditions similar to those expected to be found under ice crust on Mars, Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's move Enceladus.<br />
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</div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-42670092646533566302011-12-06T12:54:00.000-05:002011-12-06T12:54:19.343-05:00New Earth-like Planet: Kepler-22b<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">NASA's Kepler space telescope has found a new planet -- the most Earth-like yet -- circling a yellow star similar to Earth's sun and 600 light-years away, according to the space agency. <br />
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The most promising thing about this world, called Kepler-22b for now is that it's in the so-called Goldilocks zone around its host star. Its surface temperature is estimated at an average of 72 degrees, which means liquid water -- considered essential for life as we know it -- would be possible there. <br />
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But just how realistic are the prospects for life on that distant world? Even in their excitement, the researchers caution that they have found no proof that we are not alone. <br />
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The Kepler team has done a prodigious job of detection and mathematical calculation, but Kepler has not actually seen the planet or taken any chemical measurements. They know its host star is slightly smaller and cooler than the sun, and they found that its light dims ever so slightly once every 290 Earth days. That means the dot of the planet is passing in front of it. It's a little closer to its sun than we are to our sun. <br />
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From there, they can extrapolate. For the planet to be in a nice, nearly circular orbit, not too hot and not too cold, they figured out that it's probably 2.4 times the diameter of Earth. <br />
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That makes it among the smallest planets yet found orbiting other stars, but it's a smidgen larger than an ideal candidate for extraterrestrial life would be. <br />
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"That smidgen makes all the difference," said Geoff Marcy of the University of California, Berkeley, who is one of the pioneers of planet-hunting outside Earth's solar system, and a member of the Kepler team. <br />
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Scientists know, from looking at Earth's solar system, that rocky worlds like the Earth's are a precious commodity. If a world is too small (think of Mercury or Earth's moon), any atmosphere will escape into space before life could possibly form. If a world is too large (think of Jupiter or Neptune) it's likely to be all atmosphere, a giant ball of gas or slush that thickens quickly as you plunge beneath its cloud tops, but probably has no solid surface where living things could thrive. <br />
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Kepler-22b might be the right temperature, but it is probably closer in mass to icy Neptune than to Earth. "I would bet my telescope that there is no hard, rocky surface to walk on," Marcy told the Associated Press. <br />
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Still, the discovery sets scientists' minds racing. "This discovery shows that we Homo sapiens are straining our reach into the universe to find planets that remind us of home," Marcy said. "We are almost there." <br />
Thanks to Associated Press for using there new release.<br />
</div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-58756251193751230002011-11-23T13:42:00.001-05:002011-11-23T13:45:12.261-05:00Euphoria for "faster than light" particle didn't last much<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">An international team of scientists in Italy studying the same neutrino particles colleagues say appear to have travelled faster than light rejected the startling finding this weekend, saying their tests had shown it must be wrong.<br />
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The September announcement of the finding, backed up last week after new studies, caused a furor in the scientific world as it seemed to suggest Albert Einstein's ideas on relativity, and much of modern physics, were based on a mistaken premise.<br />
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The first team, members of the OPERA experiment at the Gran Sasso laboratory south of Rome, said they recorded neutrinos beamed to them from the CERN research center in Switzerland as arriving 60 nanoseconds before light would have done.<br />
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But ICARUS, another experiment at Gran Sasso -- which is deep under mountains and run by Italy's National Institute of National Physics -- now argues that their measurements of the neutrinos energy on arrival contradict that reading.<br />
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In a paper posted Saturday on the same website as the OPERA results, arxiv.org/abs/1110.3763v2, the ICARUS team says their findings "refute a superluminal (faster than light) interpretation of the OPERA result."<br />
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They argue, on the basis of recently published studies by two top U.S. physicists, that the neutrinos pumped down from CERN, near Geneva, should have lost most of their energy if they had travelled at even a tiny fraction faster than light.<br />
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But in fact, the ICARUS scientists say, the neutrino beam as tested in their equipment registered an energy spectrum fully corresponding with what it should be for particles traveling at the speed of light and no more.<br />
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Physicist Tomasso Dorigo, who works at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, and the U.S. Fermilab near Chicago, said in a post on the website Scientific Blogging that the ICARUS paper was "very simple and definitive."<br />
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It says, he wrote, "that the difference between the speed of neutrinos and the speed of light cannot be as large as that seen by OPERA, and is certainly smaller than that by three orders of magnitude, and compatible with zero."<br />
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Under Einstein's 1905 theory of special relativity, nothing can travel faster than light. That idea lies at the heart of all current science of the cosmos and of how the vast variety of particles that make it up behave.<br />
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There was widespread skepticism when the OPERA findings were first revealed, and even the leaders of the experiment insisted that they were not announcing a discovery but simply recording measurements they had made and carefully checked.<br />
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However, last Friday they said a new experiment with shorter neutrino beams from CERN and much larger gaps between them had produced the same result. Independent scientists said however this was not conclusive.<br />
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Other experiments are being prepared -- at Fermilab and at the KEK laboratory in Japan -- to try to replicate OPERA's findings. Only confirmation from one of these would open the way for a full scientific discovery to be declared.<br />
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</div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-27237706972872617522011-10-18T10:21:00.000-04:002011-10-18T10:21:16.060-04:00Antimicrobial Sorption Materials-VitaVallis<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Russian scientists have developed a drug-free method of healing wounds that may prove as revolutionary as the discovery of penicillin.<br />
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Antimicrobial sorption materials –VitaVallis is safe alternative to antibiotics and chemicals for healing wounds and wound infections, including antibiotic resistant ones. VitaVallis, created by researchers in Tomsk, Siberia, helps clean up wounds of all known types of toxic bacteria. It does not get stuck to the wound and heals burns, cuts and any septic and infected wounds two to three times faster than traditional methods do. The dressing stops bleeding, ends inflammation, eliminates swellings and stimulates skin regeneration. It also helps kill pain and remove foul wound odour.<br />
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The new method was developed at the junction of physics and medicine. It is based on the long-known fact that pathological bacteria typically carry a negative electric charge. Siberian researchers figured that positively charged material should be able to extract bacteria from wounds.<br />
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The secret of the VitaVallis antiseptic dressing is the positively charged nanosized alumina fibre which drags negatively charged microbes and lock them down in the absorbing layer.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Check out more at http://vitavallis.com/eng/main.html</span></span></div></div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-82492592327953847602011-04-20T11:35:00.000-04:002011-04-20T11:35:17.185-04:00Flip camcorders in sunset<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Not too long ago, it was on the list of must-have gadgets of most tech enthusiasts. But Cisco has announced last week that it is shutting down production of the Flip Camcorder, a company that it acquired as recently as March 2009. The camcorder continues to be quite popular in the U.S. and in the few other markets that it has been present, its USP is its ease of use and “file transfer”. The third generation Flip camcorders that hit the stores last year were capable of shooting videos in HD, image stabilisation, and the advanced models even had options to plug in external microphones. Sadly the growth of Flip coincided with the growth and the growth of smart phones. With the camera functions of smart phones improving vastly, Cisco just did not see reason in continuing with a stand-alone camcorder. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUyAXTLbYZyYIteMXZ86KlTarBrkPTZd8bz02qylJpEUJcBD1kx0ljNB_VZ_5C_YOIXtTCXId7gaVtZUtX6J52LCKPb8x47tEOyzN9QL3_RhTV1v6Dko5XljI3uYTYVeTrTZPXqv4HqSQ3/s1600/21MP_CISCO__554990e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUyAXTLbYZyYIteMXZ86KlTarBrkPTZd8bz02qylJpEUJcBD1kx0ljNB_VZ_5C_YOIXtTCXId7gaVtZUtX6J52LCKPb8x47tEOyzN9QL3_RhTV1v6Dko5XljI3uYTYVeTrTZPXqv4HqSQ3/s320/21MP_CISCO__554990e.jpg" width="213" /></a></div></div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-72637200855141041152011-04-12T13:56:00.003-04:002011-04-16T13:39:29.686-04:00Our Universe-Just huge chucks of emptiness<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Our universe is full of massive empty spaces and if all emptiness in the universe were to be removed, the universe may become as big as our fist.<br />
This is a fascinating excursion. You could say that an atom is more empty than the solar system. The universe is quite empty. The interstellar space contains only about one atom hydrogen per cubic centimeter. In the intergalactic space, this is one hundred thousand times smaller. Yet, it is enough to ensure that the universe is relatively stable and relatively flat. <br />
Even our hydrogen atom is quite empty. The size of an atom is small but the size of the nucleus inside is a hundred thousand times smaller. A peculiar happening, but this is the only way it works. <br />
The reason is that the so-called empty space is nothing; it carries the influence of every thing around. Also, whatever is not present physically has a potential existence that can transition to reality of the kind we can touch and feel through a quantum fluctuation. <br />
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</div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-34883927036791961112011-03-29T13:52:00.000-04:002011-03-29T13:52:57.695-04:00Hunt to find the Neutrino the "small neutral one" in South Pole<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The world’s largest detector for high-energy neutrinos was completed December 18 2010, when scientists lowered the last of 5,160 sensors more than a mile beneath the ice of the Antarctic plateau.<br />
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The electron neutrino (a lepton) was first postulated in 1930 by Wolfgang Pauli to explain why the electrons in beta decay were not emitted with the full reaction energy of the nuclear transition. The apparent violation of conservation of energy and momentum was most easily avoided by postulating another particle. Enrico Fermi called the particle a neutrino and developed a theory of beta decay based on it, but it was not experimentally observed until 1956. <br />
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Wolfgang Pauli introduced the neutrino to the world of physics in 1930 with a famous letter to "Liebe Radioacktive Damen und Herren" (Dear radioactive ladies and gentlemen) at the Tubingen meeting of radioactivity researchers. Pauli's first public discussion of the neutrino was at the 7th Solvay Conference in Brussels in 1933. <br />
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The first experimental observation of the neutrino interacting with matter was made by Frederick Reines, Clyde Cowan, Jr, and collaborators in 1956 at the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina. Their neutrino source was a nuclear reactor (it actually produced antineutrinos from beta decay). <br />
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Modern neutrino detectors at IMB in Ohio and Kamiokande in Japan detected neutrinos from Supernova 1987A. A new neutrino detector at Sudbury, Ontario began collecting data in October of 1999. Another Japanese neutrino detector called Super Kamiokande became operational in April 1996. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlFRtj8B621NsLn0GDe1FhNbV2Ki8MbG42B60UNJiSlNbr5Xudw5ttEipOPtgAdXxIH0AtQclv1g35CLS654-nQDg1svtRwImwI4ttpVEYdZi-iC7aEXBrrtcZQQDS7pMO99Y8el0Oetx/s1600/1.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlFRtj8B621NsLn0GDe1FhNbV2Ki8MbG42B60UNJiSlNbr5Xudw5ttEipOPtgAdXxIH0AtQclv1g35CLS654-nQDg1svtRwImwI4ttpVEYdZi-iC7aEXBrrtcZQQDS7pMO99Y8el0Oetx/s320/1.bmp" width="320" /></a></div><br />
An early set of experiments with a facility called the solar neutrino telescope, measured the rate of neutrino emission from the sun at only one third of the expected flux. Often referred to as the Solar Neutrino Problem, this deficiency of neutrinos has been difficult to explain. Recent results from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory suggest that a fraction of the electron neutrinos produced by the sun are transformed into muon neutrinos on the way to the earth. The observations at Sudbury are consistent with the solar models of neutrino flux assuming that this "neutrino oscillation" is responsible for observation of neutrinos other than electron neutrinos.<br />
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The IceCube Neutrino Observatory will hunt for tiny particles that are common in the universe, but rarely interact with other matter. In fact, trillions of neutrinos pass through a person’s body each second. They rain down onto Earth as cosmic rays strike the upper atmosphere. Neutrinos also shoot out of the violent insides of stellar explosions, churn regularly from the sun and may even arise from the ambient leftovers of the Big Bang.<br />
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IceCube is tuned to find high-energy neutrinos like the ones bursting from active galactic nuclei, which are bright sources that are likely the radiation from a black hole gobbling the mass around it, and gamma ray bursts, intense beams of light from a star collapsing into a black hole. The $279 million observatory is a full cubic kilometer in volume, or 1,000 times bigger than the Super-Kamiokande neutrino detector in Japan. While IceCube is less sensitive than the Super-K, scientists will need the huge volume to see long streaks of muons, exotic leftovers from collisions between neutrinos and water nuclei.<br />
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IceCube’s sensors are designed to detect a flash of blue light when neutrinos collide with a water molecule. Ice at the South Pole is remarkably pure, so impinging neutrinos will almost certainly interact with water, not a different molecule. And because each new snowfall adds weight, packing down the ice below, there are a lot of molecules for a neutrino to hit.<br />
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Unlike most physics experiments, IceCube began taking data while under construction. Since 2005, it has already seen neutrinos with energies as high as 100 trillion electron-volts, seven times the maximum power that will be produced by collisions between protons at the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland.<br />
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Astrophysicists have a long list of scientific questions for IceCube to investigate during its planned 15-year life. For example, physicists believe that supernovas accelerate protons, but evidence is circumstantial. Seeing high-energy neutrinos, which should spew out of the bursting stars along with protons, would confirm theories of how stars explode.<br />
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“People have known for a long time it must be there, but to see it, and measure the right number, is an important thing to do,” says project spokesperson Tom Gaisser, a physicist at the University of Delaware in Newark.<br />
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Also on the wish list for scientists: finding neutrinos produced when hypothesized dark matter particles annihilate in the sun. Dark matter is thought to be much more abundant than ordinary matter in the universe, but has not yet been detected.<br />
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</div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-17826980559922719452011-03-24T15:15:00.001-04:002011-03-24T15:16:54.335-04:00Side Effects of Watching 3D TV<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">While searching for a 3D TV, I cam across this health warning about the possibly dangerous effects of watching 3D television that was released by Samsung.<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"> Photosensitive Seizure Warning and Other Health Risks</div>•Some viewers may experience an epileptic seizure or stroke when exposed to certain flashing images or lights contained in certain television pictures or video games. If you or any of your family has a history of epilepsy or stroke, please consult with a medical specialist before using the 3D function. <br />
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•If you experience any of the following symptoms, immediately stop watching 3D pictures and consult a medical specialist: (1) altered vision; (2) lightheadedness; (3) dizziness; (4) involuntary movements such as eye or muscle twitching; (5) confusion; (6) nausea; (7) loss of awareness; (8) convulsions; (9) cramps; and/or (10) disorientation. Parents should monitor and ask their children about the above symptoms as children and teenagers may be more likely to experience these symptoms than adults. <br />
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•Viewing in 3D mode may also cause motion sickness, perceptual after effects, disorientation, eye strain, and decreased postural stability. It is recommended that users take frequent breaks to lessen the likelihood of these effects. If you have any of the above symptoms, immediately discontinue use of this device and do not resume until the symptoms have subsided. <br />
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•We do not recommend watching 3D if you are in bad physical condition, need sleep or have been drinking alcohol. <br />
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•Watching TV while sitting too close to the screen for an extended period of time may damage your eyesight. The ideal viewing distance should be at least three times the height of the TV screen. It is recommended that the viewer’s eyes are level with the screen. <br />
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•Watching TV while wearing 3D Active Glasses for an extended period of time may cause headaches or fatigue. If you experience a headache, fatigue or dizziness, stop watching TV and rest. <br />
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•Do not use the 3D Active Glasses for any purpose other than viewing 3D television. Wearing the 3DActive Glasses for any other purpose (as general spectacles, sunglasses, protective goggles, etc.) may physically harm you or weaken your eyesight. <br />
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•Viewing in 3D mode may cause disorientation for some viewers. DO NOT place your television near open stairwells, cables, balconies or other objects that may cause you to injure yourself. <br />
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Source: Samsung<br />
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</div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-7722923020846540172011-03-21T13:09:00.003-04:002011-03-21T13:11:34.422-04:00'Supermoon' of March 19th @ Saturday Night<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">On Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. EST, the moon was at its closest point to the Earth in 2011: a distance of 221,565 miles away. <br />
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At its peak, the supermoon of March was 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than lesser full moons (when the moon is at its farthest from Earth). But to the casual observer, it may be hard to tell the difference.<br />
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The moon has not been in a position to appear this large since March 1993.<br />
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In December 2008, there was a near-supermoon when the moon turned full four hours away from its perigee – the point in its orbit that is closest to Earth. But this month, the full moon and perigee are just under one hour apart, promising spectacular views, depending on local conditions. <br />
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Although a full moon theoretically lasts just a moment, that moment is imperceptible to ordinary observation.<br />
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During the day or so before and after, most will speak of seeing the nearly full moon as "full," with the actual shaded area of the lunar surface being so narrow – and changing in apparent width so slowly – that it is hard for the naked eye to tell whether it's present, or which side it is.<br />
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Supermoon making waves<br />
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In addition, the near coincidence of Saturday’s full moon with perigee will result in a dramatically large range of high and low ocean tides.<br />
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The highest tides will not, however, coincide with the perigee moon but will actually lag by up to a few days depending on the specific coastal location. For example, in Wilmington, N.C., the highest tide (5.3 feet) will be attained at 11:21 p.m. EDT on March 20.<br />
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In New York City, high water (5.9 feet) at The Battery comes at 10:49 p.m. EDT on March 21, while at Boston Harbor, a peak tide height of 12.2 feet comes at 1:31 a.m. EDT on March 22, almost 2 1/2 after perigee.<br />
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But then, to those living on the shores near the Bay of Fundy in eastern Canada, the 10- to 20-foot (3- to 6-meter) increase in the vertical tidal range makes it obvious when the Moon lies near perigee, clear skies or cloudy.<br />
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Any coastal storm at sea around this time will almost certainly aggravate coastal flooding problems.<br />
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Such an extreme tide is known as a perigean spring tide, the word spring being derived from the German springen – to "spring up," and is not, as is often mistaken, a reference to the spring season.<br />
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</div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-45924819656822122772011-03-14T19:33:00.002-04:002011-03-14T19:38:03.477-04:00Understanding Hydrogen Explosions at Fukushima nuclear complex in Japan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The Hydrogen Explosions at Fukushima nuclear complex in Japan was result of the effort to prevent the meltdown of the core. <br />
The core which contains fuel rods is inside a 6 inches thick stainless steel vessel. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzI6oscmUxtwj0vMUPriYs7Q3_WyhLu1e8VAoNs9wYF4Tsa7U-eSPplqjmiQO8XxmW_T1ghfLUbMP58D4aRSgi2r8U3XxQYUVIdu_ipMaCSDAqDUMIr1g5RRgmoMDvpNW91q81XzKQiGlY/s1600/j1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzI6oscmUxtwj0vMUPriYs7Q3_WyhLu1e8VAoNs9wYF4Tsa7U-eSPplqjmiQO8XxmW_T1ghfLUbMP58D4aRSgi2r8U3XxQYUVIdu_ipMaCSDAqDUMIr1g5RRgmoMDvpNW91q81XzKQiGlY/s320/j1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Water is being injected into the vessel to keep the temperature for rising to the level were it will melt down. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhjopNEoUaeh5lA-2W57g79t4mO9dVA2KdouX-_vClvZlwybO_ckRcbuMp4JCrzmWMeWDwRRJXaMXu-nXF0SVpQ6LZPo2CpWn4DlF5B35BKnRVasAWih8dKNu0aIwVjqeU4r3yhuDNnBho/s1600/j2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhjopNEoUaeh5lA-2W57g79t4mO9dVA2KdouX-_vClvZlwybO_ckRcbuMp4JCrzmWMeWDwRRJXaMXu-nXF0SVpQ6LZPo2CpWn4DlF5B35BKnRVasAWih8dKNu0aIwVjqeU4r3yhuDNnBho/s320/j2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This process results in generation for steam and hydrogen and in order to release the pressure inside the vessel it released in to atmosphere.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAdsje_1pVOCPxIpLe-4gYZqqE_5DDdXNJmnZyOXhKTPhzM_9XxXAQFNJeQ6GlSEk66PVGDsAiPD90LWGjnMTIBfBZFYw7ULvWc11epzW_20QdwKuxCOfJb9T-01BoTab4TrBYNoSFuiIC/s1600/j3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAdsje_1pVOCPxIpLe-4gYZqqE_5DDdXNJmnZyOXhKTPhzM_9XxXAQFNJeQ6GlSEk66PVGDsAiPD90LWGjnMTIBfBZFYw7ULvWc11epzW_20QdwKuxCOfJb9T-01BoTab4TrBYNoSFuiIC/s320/j3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The hydrogen combines with atmospheric oxygen resulting in big explosions. </span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKKgmwbdge6kdBmQ1am9fJMQrQX_07-MSN3xtf8SWoomQ_4TvqdWboxyc_9gL1yGI2yt1czUw6usiUwRVfOZqpPXAuN3EItYtYvNuWRLWu6g8rlxFXPb3LhMZF84it2e0ikh6KzPXtyKyL/s1600/j4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKKgmwbdge6kdBmQ1am9fJMQrQX_07-MSN3xtf8SWoomQ_4TvqdWboxyc_9gL1yGI2yt1czUw6usiUwRVfOZqpPXAuN3EItYtYvNuWRLWu6g8rlxFXPb3LhMZF84it2e0ikh6KzPXtyKyL/s320/j4.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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The blast actually lessened pressure building inside the troubled reactor, and officials said the all-important containment shell - thick concrete armor around the reactor - had not been damaged.<br />
In that case, the uranium core can melt through the outer containment shell, releasing radioactive byproducts like iodine and cesium. That endangers the environment and people nearby.</div></div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-54560957392026059352011-03-11T12:45:00.002-05:002011-03-11T12:58:01.754-05:00Apple iPad-2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">iPad 2 features an entirely new design that is 33% thinner and up to 15% lighter than the original iPad while maintaining the same 9.7-inch LED-backlit LCD screen. iPad 2 is available in black or white, and introduces the innovative iPad 2 Smart Cover in a range of vibrant polyurethane and rich leather colors.<br />
<div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhELZ-F9TaCq_WmCPNaRtSZp78B9GLsN0o_dV4TyBvR-LOLVS_LLnd7B4FKPrTw4JPWwrdLtDEqFdwlIgluEQw3NEEstasHiHJyGxpI8HEWI4_uZ9zbHj81zyCcqvNymSmZirdEhK4fD0/s1600/iPad2_Black_PF_WiFi_3G.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhELZ-F9TaCq_WmCPNaRtSZp78B9GLsN0o_dV4TyBvR-LOLVS_LLnd7B4FKPrTw4JPWwrdLtDEqFdwlIgluEQw3NEEstasHiHJyGxpI8HEWI4_uZ9zbHj81zyCcqvNymSmZirdEhK4fD0/s1600/iPad2_Black_PF_WiFi_3G.jpg" /></a></div><div></div>Thinner. Lighter. Faster. 10-hour battery<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Dual-core Apple A5 chip for faster performance </li>
<li>Up to nine times the graphics horsepower </li>
<li>Two cameras for FaceTime video calling, HD recording, and PhotoBooth </li>
<li>Same great 10-hour battery life, with an even thinner and lighter design </li>
<li>Video Mirroring allows the iPad screen to be displayed on a TV, projector, or other HDMI device with the new Apple </li>
<li>Digital AV Adapter (sold separately) </li>
</ol><strong>Key Features - iOS</strong><br />
iPad 2 comes with iOS 4.3, the latest version of the world's most advanced mobile operating system, with new features, including faster Safari mobile browsing performance, iTunes Home Sharing, enhancements to AirPlay, the choice to use the iPad side switch to either lock the screen rotation or mute audio, and AT&T Mobile Hotspot (Personal Hotspot) to share an iPhone 4 cellular data connection over Wi-Fi.<br />
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<div> <strong>Amazing new apps and iOS</strong></div><br />
<ol style="text-align: left;"><li>FaceTime video calling over Wi-Fi to iPad 2, iPhone 4, new iPod touch, and Intel-based Macs. </li>
<li>Use Photo Booth to capture snapshots and apply eight fun effects using Multi-Touch gestures. </li>
<li>Capture and edit HD video and then share through Mail or YouTube. </li>
<li>New iMovie and GarageBand apps for iPad coming soon on the App Store for $4.99 each. </li>
<li>iPad 2 ships with iOS 4.3, the world's most advanced mobile operating system. </li>
</ol><br />
<div></div></div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-1336821689764956752011-03-10T13:05:00.001-05:002011-03-10T13:07:21.626-05:00Bioluminescence of Noctiluca scintillans<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Recent floods in Australia has result in abundant proliferation of Noctiluca scintillans, commonly known as the Sea Sparkle resulting some breath taking Bioluminescent spectacle. For a cluster of lakes in Australia's eastern Victoria, the combination of the fire and then the rain washed ash and nitrogen-rich soil into the water. The Gippsland Lakes experienced a rise in sea level. That caused the lakes to mix with sea water, which also raised the salinity.<br />
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As you can see blow the bioluminescent brew has gaven the water a nocturnal glow. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGadlfCBegs8FSbOIcLUR4VgE5hplFtMvz51ptTtPQzPLT0_mjTrqCB4yEG8VsIY-Ip-H7ASg3OLo_FJnT-msSsAZvhyphenhypheniZ2Dy54vndnS-gQ89FQgNxyO_zra-zPqudtbrE0uZHGofyXuYV/s1600/philhart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGadlfCBegs8FSbOIcLUR4VgE5hplFtMvz51ptTtPQzPLT0_mjTrqCB4yEG8VsIY-Ip-H7ASg3OLo_FJnT-msSsAZvhyphenhypheniZ2Dy54vndnS-gQ89FQgNxyO_zra-zPqudtbrE0uZHGofyXuYV/s320/philhart.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;"><cite><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Courtecy:Phil Hart/ <a href="http://www.philhart.com/">http://www.philhart.com/</a></span></cite></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
Noctiluca scintillans a species of algae , also called Noctiluca miliaris, is a free-living non-parasitic marine-dwelling species of dinoflagellate that exhibits bioluminescence. The bioluminescent characteristic of N. scintillans is produced by a luciferin-luciferase system located in thousands of spherically shaped organelles, or “microsources”, located throughout the cytoplasm of this single-celled protist. Nonluminescent populations within the genus Noctiluca lack these microsources.</div></div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-62444242698572649092011-03-07T17:12:00.002-05:002011-03-07T17:12:47.618-05:00Technological way to attain Immortality-Mind Uploading<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">One of the futuristic ways to achieve immortality may be to consider the prospect of ‘mind-uploading’, that is, the transfer of the mind’s information to a machine. Hence, even if the organic brain dies, the mind could continue to exist once it is uploaded in a silicon-based machine.<br />
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Some scientists think that even if it were not possible to indefinitely suspend the body’s death, it would at least be possible to emulate the brain with artificial intelligence (Kurzweil, 1993; Moravec, 2003).<br />
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Two crucial philosophical issues are raised by this prospect. First, the field of philosophy of artificial intelligence raises the question: could a machine ever really be conscious? Philosophers who adhere to a functionalist understanding of the mind would agree; but other philosophers would not (Consider Searle’s Chinese Room Argument in Searle, 1998).<br />
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Even if we were to claim that a machine could in fact be conscious, the technological prospect of mind uploading raises a second philosophical issue: would an emulation of the brain preserve personal identity? If we adhere to a soul or body criterion of personal identity, we should answer negatively. If we adhere to a psychological criterion of personal identity, then we should answer affirmatively, for the artificial brain would indeed be psychologically continuous with the original person. <br />
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</div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-83722621140519198212011-03-04T12:14:00.002-05:002011-03-04T12:14:56.277-05:00Stuxnet<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">If you don’t know it already, Stuxnet is a worm that could take control of industrial equipment. It is widely believed that its target was machinery used to enrich uranium.<br />
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Stuxnet first came to light in July 2010. Nearly 60% of reported infections were inside Iran.<br />
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The worm targets industrial control systems, known as programmable logic controllers (PLCs), made by Siemens.<br />
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While PLCs are used to control a wide variety of automated systems, it is believed that it was those inside Iran's nuclear facilities that were the intended target.<br />
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Analysts who have examined the Stuxnet code say it could have been used to damage centrifuges which play a crucial role in the process of enriching uranium for both nuclear power and weapons.<br />
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In a recent report on Stuxnet, the security firm Symantec said that it would have taken a team of between five and 10 developers, six months to create the worm.<br />
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</div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-57060136898011540522011-02-28T10:51:00.003-05:002011-02-28T10:57:00.119-05:00Motorola’s Xoom Tablet<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Motorola’s Xoom tablet computer went on sale last Thursday and looks like this device is the most powerful rival yet to Apple’s iPad.<br />
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Though companies like Samsung and Dell have tried to respond with tablets of their own based on Google’s Android operating system, the Xoom is the first tablet to feature the latest Android version, Honeycomb, which is optimised for tablets as opposed to smartphones.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaIi0KDYtDp1q4bdW41uojF8oh0WSP4UQxcYKMWsSM_i5uivGL64mjUwas-i3kXH1kRRbO8TBNVpxpGgPPhFMPL3m9OEJzPrq7RbPJOox3OfRTwJAOI25mLdgYw4Id7qBO13-cWEwOytSm/s1600/IN24_XOOM_487146f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaIi0KDYtDp1q4bdW41uojF8oh0WSP4UQxcYKMWsSM_i5uivGL64mjUwas-i3kXH1kRRbO8TBNVpxpGgPPhFMPL3m9OEJzPrq7RbPJOox3OfRTwJAOI25mLdgYw4Id7qBO13-cWEwOytSm/s320/IN24_XOOM_487146f.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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The Xoom is roughly the same size as the iPad, and costs about the same for a similarly spec’d version, though buyers who opt for an iPad with limited memory and restricted to wi-fi connections can save hundreds of dollars.<br />
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The Xoom has slightly higher screen resolution than the iPad, and boasts front and rear facing cameras for picture-taking and video conferencing. Powering the device is a dual core 1GHZ processed with 1GB of RAM, and battery life is assessed at 10 hours.<br />
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This device seems to be a worthy competitor to the iPad<br />
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</div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-62591396912698951562011-02-22T11:09:00.003-05:002011-02-22T11:19:01.069-05:00Now we have world's first anti-laser<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">A team of Physicist at Yale University, have built the world's first device that can cancel out a laser beam - a so-called anti-laser which is capable of absorbing an incoming laser beam entirely. Their device focuses two lasers beams of a specific frequency into a specially designed optical cavity made from silicon, which traps the incoming beams of light and forces them to bounce around until all their energy is dissipated.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM22-UzY4lmNb6StLXRqAeiAO_lduNhhdhxjax2Uko1U6eV9IEkkM7oMuZQZi_PEyefThZ2nqXbs6pnP1hBTXMyLgn-FqMBClwUfdn4aAYDEX5L-9iIT2oQ1nQY6ANX1aKvG2kZq9vhUag/s1600/antilaser.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM22-UzY4lmNb6StLXRqAeiAO_lduNhhdhxjax2Uko1U6eV9IEkkM7oMuZQZi_PEyefThZ2nqXbs6pnP1hBTXMyLgn-FqMBClwUfdn4aAYDEX5L-9iIT2oQ1nQY6ANX1aKvG2kZq9vhUag/s1600/antilaser.bmp" /></a></div><br />
In a paper published in the journal Science they demonstrated that the anti-laser could adsorb 99.4 per cent of incoming light, for a specific wavelength.<br />
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Altering the wavelength of the incoming light means that the anti-laser can effectively be turned on and off - and that could be used in optical switches.<br />
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The anti-laser's big advantage is that it is built using silicon, which is already widely used in computing.<br />
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</div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-47663902859335018842011-02-18T10:02:00.002-05:002011-02-18T10:02:55.038-05:00Large Hadron Collider -Update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Large Hadron Collider experiment is on track to discover new physics. On 31 January 2011. CERN announced that the LHC will run through to the end of 2012 with a short technical stop at the end of 2011. The beam energy for 2011 will be 3.5 TeV. LHC’s experiments a good chance of finding new physics in the next two years, before the LHC goes into a long shutdown to prepare for higher energy running starting 2014.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMtRx7Kdx4U9A4-aagCNyuEHrWca1bhxH5LYzva_UzRtcFH8_4cpeyN6dqt1sO_fq_xE694TZXPk-wea5_iI7ueexv8WIpuIJiQ_SjeRXO_WFfN2mS1_HRfuWtOqutk00Q_XYbg9ap5BYa/s1600/1101007_01-A5-at-72-dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMtRx7Kdx4U9A4-aagCNyuEHrWca1bhxH5LYzva_UzRtcFH8_4cpeyN6dqt1sO_fq_xE694TZXPk-wea5_iI7ueexv8WIpuIJiQ_SjeRXO_WFfN2mS1_HRfuWtOqutk00Q_XYbg9ap5BYa/s320/1101007_01-A5-at-72-dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The LHC was previously scheduled to run to the end 2011 before going into a long technical stop necessary to prepare it for running at its full design energy of 7 TeV per beam. However, the machine’s excellent performance in its first full year of operation forced a rethink. Expected performance improvements in 2011 should increase the rate that the experiments can collect data by at least a factor of three compared to 2010. That would lead to enough data being collected this year to bring tantalising hints of new physics, if there is new physics currently within reach of the LHC operating at its current energy. However, to turn those hints into a discovery would require more data than can be delivered in one year, hence the decision to postpone the long shutdown. If there is no new physics in the energy range currently being explored by the LHC, running through 2012 will give the LHC experiments the data needed to fully explore this energy range before moving up to higher energy.<br />
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</div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-5054546320068862752011-02-16T17:07:00.000-05:002011-02-16T17:07:38.686-05:00Sun is sputtering X-flare<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The Sun has unleashed its strongest flare in four years the so-called X-flare, the strongest type; such flares can affect communications on Earth<br />
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The eruptions are expected to hit the Earth's magnetic field field over the next couple of days, causing an increase in geomagnetic activity.<br />
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The monster flare was recorded at 0156 GMT on 15 February and directed at the Earth. According to the US space agency, the source of this activity - sunspot 1158 - is growing rapidly.<br />
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Solar flares are caused by the sudden release of magnetic energy stored in the Sun's atmosphere.<br />
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Preliminary data from the Stereo-B and Soho spacecraft suggest that the explosion produced a fast but not particularly bright coronal mass ejection (CME) - a burst of charged particles released into space.<br />
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The unpredictable activity on the Sun can interfere with modern technology on Earth, such as electrical power grids, communications systems and satellites - including the satellite navigation (or sat-nav) signals used on Earth.<br />
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In 1972, geomagnetic storm provoked by a solar flare knocked out long-distance telephone communication across the US state of Illinois. <br />
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And in 1989, another storm plunged six million people into darkness across the Canadian province of Quebec.<br />
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Displays of the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) have already been seen further south than usual in Northern Ireland and elsewhere in the UK. And further activity is expected over the next few days.<br />
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Researchers say the Sun has been awakening after a period of several years of low activity.<br />
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</div>Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-13618648722211107662010-07-30T13:39:00.001-04:002010-07-30T13:43:23.917-04:00how much Arctic Ice has melted in 30 years?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeVgn581PoycvTn5z5VWm_Wzih3jvFef8NTNQa_O9QTR4BqtXL1o6aA18_CcomoCWDSc1idV-u3s8dHD54EXaV2CnEA8wQ1mCenD2YpybEAtT7H-lnVA_Zj27rcVkjaCKQDUtYUgINsvKY/s1600/r1385958311.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeVgn581PoycvTn5z5VWm_Wzih3jvFef8NTNQa_O9QTR4BqtXL1o6aA18_CcomoCWDSc1idV-u3s8dHD54EXaV2CnEA8wQ1mCenD2YpybEAtT7H-lnVA_Zj27rcVkjaCKQDUtYUgINsvKY/s320/r1385958311.jpg" /></a></div>A combination of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) images show September Arctic sea ice in 1979, the first year these data were available, and 2009 in this image from a report released on July 28, 2010. The areas of ice coverage range from 15 percent coverage (darker shades of medium blue) to complete coverage (lightest blue). The light circles over the pole indicate areas where there are no data from this satellite instrument. Dark blue is open ocean. September Arctic sea ice is one of the 10 key indicators of a warming planet. Melting glaciers, more humid air and eight other key indicators show that global warming is undeniable, scientists said on Wednesday, citing a new comprehensive review of the last decade of climate data.Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653243400765763166.post-17114312501474541892010-04-28T10:52:00.001-04:002010-04-28T10:54:57.810-04:00Metals That Heal ThemselvesA nuclear reactor is a grueling place for the metals there—all the wear-and-tear caused by neutron activities inside the reactor can make them swell and become brittle over time.<br />
Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico have shown that by altering the microstructure of metals, metallurgists may be able to make reactor parts that are self healing. <br />
Blas P. Uberuaga, Xian-Ming Bai and colleagues conducted computer simulations of the long-term impact of neutron emissions on copper — not because much copper is used in nuclear plants, but because it is a relatively well-modeled metal. Their findings are published in Science. <br />
When a neutron hits metal, it displaces atoms within the crystal lattice. In a metal with a largely uniform structure, these atoms move to the surface, eventually causing the metal to swell, and the vacancies they leave behind can lead to voids that further weaken the material. <br />
But it is possible to fabricate metals that have a nonuniform structure, with very small crystal grains, or regions of different phase or orientation. When atoms are displaced in this nanocrystalline material, rather than traveling to the surface they migrate to the boundaries between the grains. In their simulations, the researchers found that these atoms can then travel back away from the boundary and, if they find a vacancy, fill it, in effect healing the defect.Surinder Dharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106349233090368054noreply@blogger.com0