Archive for January, 2008
Probing The Cosmic Web Of The Universe: New Light On Dark Energy
Astronomers have used ESO’s Very Large Telescope to measure the distribution and motions of thousands of galaxies in the distant Universe.
Weird “Spider,” Volcanism Discovered on Mercury
The photos reveal widespread volcanic activity, asteroid assaults, and a spider-shaped formation the likes of which have never before been seen in the solar system.
50 Years Later: First U.S. Satellite’s Souvenirs Still Circle the Earth
Fifty years ago today, the 70-foot (21-meter) tall Juno 1 rocket, a modified Redstone missile, launched the Explorer I satellite, marking the first U.S. built payload to enter Earth orbit.
The key to a more efficient nanolaser?
There are some discussions about the recent applications on photonic nanolasers and photonic integrated circuits based on photonic crystals.
Screen-printed Solar Cells In Many Colors And Designs, Even Used In Windows
Newly designed solar cells can be screen-printed in a wide array of colors and patterns to allow them to be attractively incorporated into building design.
A2: The Hydrogen-Powered Hypersonic Airliner
The A2 is designed to carry up to 300 passengers from Brussels to Sydney in under 4 hours. The speedy airliner will benefit from a 2-mode engine ? turbojet and ramjet propulsion systems ? that will make it both extremely efficient at slow speeds and able to reach top speeds with great ease.
Satellite could plummet to Earth
A large US spy satellite has gone out of control and is expected to crash to Earth some time in late February or March. Officials said the satellite had lost power and propulsion, and could contain hazardous materials.
Smash! The Search for Sparticles
Squarks, selectrons, neutralinos. A few types of supersymmetric particles, a special particle that may be created when the world’s most powerful atom smasher goes online this spring.
The world’s lowest noise laser: Researchers outsmart quantum physics
Researchers have produced a laser beam of especially high quality. In doing so, they have achieved a new world record in the control of photons by precisely placing the photons in a specific order.
Giant Particle Accelerator Discovered In The Sky
ESA?s orbiting gamma-ray observatory, Integral, has made the first unambiguous discovery of highly energetic X-rays coming from a galaxy cluster.
Parallelism allows industry to keep up with Moore?s Law
Currently, chip speeds have topped out at a little under 4 gigahertz (4 billion cycles per second) because they get hotter as they run faster, and at higher speeds they fry themselves.
NASA Remembers Three Space Tragedies
The end of January marks a somber time for NASA with the anniversary of the three major tragedies in the history of U.S. spaceflight.
Lab-made genome gives new life to ethics debate
The feat marks an historic, and controversial, milestone in the fledgling field known as synthetic biology. It uses chunks of synthetic DNA like Lego blocks, with an aim to creating life forms that can be genetically programmed to perform useful tasks.
Theory of Global Warming Well Established
The world’s largest society of Earth and space scientists has released a new statement on climate change that unequivocally names human activity as the cause of global warming.
Giant Storms Erupt on Jupiter
Two giant plumes erupted recently on Jupiter, moving faster than any other Jovian feature and leaving global streaks of red cloud particles in their wake.
Microchips Everywhere: a Future Vision
Microchips with antennas will be embedded in virtually everything you buy, wear, drive and read, allowing retailers and law enforcement to track consumer items – and, by extension, consumers – wherever they go, from a distance.
