Gravity satellite yields 'Potato Earth' view
It looks like a giant potato in space.
And yet, the information in this model is the sharpest view we have of how gravity varies across the Earth.
The globe has been released by the team working on Europe's Goce satellite.
It is a highly exaggerated rendering, but it neatly illustrates how the tug we feel from the mass of rock under our feet is not the same in every location.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12911806
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Sir Richard Branson may have already branded his Necker Nymph aero submarine with the "Virgin Oceanic" moniker, but he's now finally taken things to the next logical (and ambitious) step. He's just announced a new, full-fledged venture of the same name, which promises to do to nothing short of dive to the deepest part of each of the Earth's five oceans -- all within the next two years, no less.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/05/richard-branson-launches-virgin-oceanic-to-explore-the-oceans-d/
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Friday, June 10, 2011
Trying on the headsets that can read your mind
"Burn, burn!" I think, as I glare at the laptop in front of me. "Hurry up and burn!" No, I've not had a tech-support meltdown – I'm trying out MindWave, the latest device from brain-computer interface (BCI) firm NeuroSky, based in San Jose, California. On screen is a virtual barrel of gunpowder that I'm attempting to ignite by concentrating my attention, but I'm finding it hard to link my thoughts to fanning the animated flames.
"I sing a song in my head," suggests Tansy Brook, head of communications at NeuroSky – thinking of the lyrics helps her concentrate. She explains that it can take some time to train your thoughts to the system, but I really have no idea what I should be thinking about.
The device reading my thoughts is a lightweight headset with a band that reaches halfway across my forehead, at the end of which is a single electroencephalogram (EEG) sensor that Brook says is nearly as accurate as medical-grade devices, but at a fraction of the cost. It detects the strength of my beta and alpha brainwaves, which correspond to my attention and relaxation levels, and transmits them wirelessly to the laptop.
Interesting? Read more...
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20375-trying-on-the-headsets-that-can-read-your-mind.html
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Retired shuttles find new homes
http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/science/space/retired-shuttles-find-new-homes-1.1055981
Dark matter could make planets habitable
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20320-dark-matter-could-make-planets-habitable.html
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"I sing a song in my head," suggests Tansy Brook, head of communications at NeuroSky – thinking of the lyrics helps her concentrate. She explains that it can take some time to train your thoughts to the system, but I really have no idea what I should be thinking about.
The device reading my thoughts is a lightweight headset with a band that reaches halfway across my forehead, at the end of which is a single electroencephalogram (EEG) sensor that Brook says is nearly as accurate as medical-grade devices, but at a fraction of the cost. It detects the strength of my beta and alpha brainwaves, which correspond to my attention and relaxation levels, and transmits them wirelessly to the laptop.
Interesting? Read more...
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20375-trying-on-the-headsets-that-can-read-your-mind.html
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Retired shuttles find new homes
http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/science/space/retired-shuttles-find-new-homes-1.1055981
Dark matter could make planets habitable
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20320-dark-matter-could-make-planets-habitable.html
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Researchers Succeed in Quantum Teleportation of Light Waves
In a real-life use of Schrödinger's theoretical paradoxical cat, researchers report that they were able to quickly transfer a complex set of quantum information while preserving its integrity. The information, in the form of light, was manipulated in such a way that it existed in two states at the same time, and it was destroyed in one spot and recreated in another. The new breakthrough is a major step toward building safe, effective quantum computers.
No felines were harmed in the making of this experiment, which actually studied wave packets of light that existed in a state of quantum superposition, meaning they existed in two different phases simultaneously. This phenomenon is described in Erwin Schrodinger’s quantum mechanics thought experiment, in which a cat is simultaneously dead and alive, depending on the state of a subatomic particle.
In this experiment, researchers in Australia and Japan were able to....
Read the rest at http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-04/quantum-teleportation-breakthrough-could-lead-instantanous-computing
No felines were harmed in the making of this experiment, which actually studied wave packets of light that existed in a state of quantum superposition, meaning they existed in two different phases simultaneously. This phenomenon is described in Erwin Schrodinger’s quantum mechanics thought experiment, in which a cat is simultaneously dead and alive, depending on the state of a subatomic particle.
In this experiment, researchers in Australia and Japan were able to....
Read the rest at http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-04/quantum-teleportation-breakthrough-could-lead-instantanous-computing
EARTH DAY!!!
Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. Earth Day was founded by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in first held on April 22, 1970. While this first Earth Day was focused on the United States, an organization launched by Denis Hayes, who was the original national coordinator in 1970, took it international in 1990 and organized events in 141 nations. Earth Day is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network, and is celebrated in more than 175 countries every year.Numerous communities celebrate Earth Week, an entire week of activities focused on environmental issues. In 2009, the United Nations designated April 22 International Mother Earth Day.
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THIS YEAR, Earth Day's theme is themed after A Billion Acts of Green: our people-powered campaign to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy before Rio +20. Check out the cool new Billion Acts of Green Facebook app on
http://apps.facebook.com/billionactsofgreen
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And see what 2011 Earth Day is about and what you can do to inspire the community
http://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2011
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CELEBRATE EARTH DAY AT THE MOVIES!
Be the first to see the breathtaking new animated adventure, Mia and the Migoo, and help us plant trees! GKIDS is donating 100% of Earth Day weekend ticket proceeds to The Canopy Project to plant trees in deforested areas around the globe.
Goto http://www.gkids.tv/earthday/ and check when the show is about to hit your city.
Created from an astonishing 500,000 hand-painted frames of animation, MIA AND THE MIGOO is a beautiful and thrilling family adventure, with stunning backgrounds inspired by Van Gogh, Monet, and Cezanne. The film is a man-against-nature fable, pitting wild-haired young heroine Mia against the forces of destruction, with the future of life on Earth in the balance.
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THIS YEAR, Earth Day's theme is themed after A Billion Acts of Green: our people-powered campaign to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy before Rio +20. Check out the cool new Billion Acts of Green Facebook app on
http://apps.facebook.com/billionactsofgreen
---------------------------------------------------------
And see what 2011 Earth Day is about and what you can do to inspire the community
http://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2011
---------------------------------------------------------
CELEBRATE EARTH DAY AT THE MOVIES!
Be the first to see the breathtaking new animated adventure, Mia and the Migoo, and help us plant trees! GKIDS is donating 100% of Earth Day weekend ticket proceeds to The Canopy Project to plant trees in deforested areas around the globe.
Goto http://www.gkids.tv/earthday/ and check when the show is about to hit your city.
Created from an astonishing 500,000 hand-painted frames of animation, MIA AND THE MIGOO is a beautiful and thrilling family adventure, with stunning backgrounds inspired by Van Gogh, Monet, and Cezanne. The film is a man-against-nature fable, pitting wild-haired young heroine Mia against the forces of destruction, with the future of life on Earth in the balance.
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Friday, June 3, 2011
The First New Home For Humans
The world -- located 20 light-years from Earth -- might sustain liquid water, but it would be a very alien place to visit.
A rocky world orbiting a nearby star has been confirmed as the first planet outside our solar system to meet key requirements for sustaining life, scientists said on Monday.
Modeling of planet Gliese 581d shows it has the potential to be warm and wet enough to nurture Earth-like life, they said.
It orbits a red dwarf star called Gliese 581, located around 20 light years from Earth, which makes it one of our closest neighbors.
Gliese 581d orbits on the outer fringes of the star's "Goldilocks zone", where it is not so hot that water boils away, nor so cold that water is perpetually frozen. Instead, the temperature is just right for water to exist in liquid form.
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http://news.discovery.com/space/exoplanet-gliese-581d-human-habitation-110516.html
A rocky world orbiting a nearby star has been confirmed as the first planet outside our solar system to meet key requirements for sustaining life, scientists said on Monday.
Modeling of planet Gliese 581d shows it has the potential to be warm and wet enough to nurture Earth-like life, they said.
It orbits a red dwarf star called Gliese 581, located around 20 light years from Earth, which makes it one of our closest neighbors.
Gliese 581d orbits on the outer fringes of the star's "Goldilocks zone", where it is not so hot that water boils away, nor so cold that water is perpetually frozen. Instead, the temperature is just right for water to exist in liquid form.
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http://news.discovery.com/space/exoplanet-gliese-581d-human-habitation-110516.html
First Commercial Quantum Computer
Whether or not D-Wave has actually built a quantum computer is still a matter of debate (though, a study authored by the company and published in Nature claims to prove its success) but, whatever it is these crafty Canadians have created, you can order one now and start crunching qubits with abandon. The D-Wave One is the first commercially available quantum computer and, while its 128-qubit processor can only handle very specific tasks and is easily outperformed by traditional CPUs, it could represent a revolution in the field of supercomputing. As D-Wave scales up to thousands or tens-of-thousands of qubits, complex number theory problems and advanced cryptographic systems could crumble before the mighty power of quantum annealing... or at least give us faster Google searches.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/18/d-wave-one-claims-mantle-of-first-commercial-quantum-computer/
http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/18/d-wave-one-claims-mantle-of-first-commercial-quantum-computer/
First solar-powered international flight
Solar Impulse completes first solar-powered international flight, Captain Piccard returns to earth...
We're big fans of charming, ungainly Solar Impulse, and of Captain Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg's quest to circumnavigate the globe in a solar-powered plane. In case you missed the live stream: the Swiss flier just got a little closer to that goal by completing its first international flight, taking off near Berne, Switzerland and landing in Brussels, Belgium, just under 13 hours later. That's half the flight time of an earlier test, in which the craft's 200-foot wingspan, covered with 12,000 photovoltaic solar cells, kept it aloft for 26 hours. Of course, a controlled test flight is one thing -- making solar-powered flight commercially viable means proving your plane can successfully navigate busy airspace.
Video available too. Click on the following link...
http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/14/solar-impulse-completes-first-solar-powered-international-flight/
We're big fans of charming, ungainly Solar Impulse, and of Captain Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg's quest to circumnavigate the globe in a solar-powered plane. In case you missed the live stream: the Swiss flier just got a little closer to that goal by completing its first international flight, taking off near Berne, Switzerland and landing in Brussels, Belgium, just under 13 hours later. That's half the flight time of an earlier test, in which the craft's 200-foot wingspan, covered with 12,000 photovoltaic solar cells, kept it aloft for 26 hours. Of course, a controlled test flight is one thing -- making solar-powered flight commercially viable means proving your plane can successfully navigate busy airspace.
Video available too. Click on the following link...
http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/14/solar-impulse-completes-first-solar-powered-international-flight/
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