Jeremy Hsu

A Mariner's Tool Could Help Astronauts Navigate Alien Worlds

Popular Science - March 20, 2010 - 2:16am

Like GPS for marstronauts

It will probably take another decade to perfect the sophisticated rocket and life-support technology needed to put a human on Mars. But once we're there, NASA may use centuries-old technology to keep us from getting lost during a stroll.

Apollo crews never left sight of their capsule, but explorers will be expected to roam farther on the Red Planet. Mars, however, like the moon, lacks a strong magnetic field to point a compass needle north. This conundrum inspired Richard Speck, the founder of space-tech company Micro-Space, to design a camera system that tracks celestial bodies for personal navigation cues. It uses the same principle as the sextant, the sun-mapping tool invented in 1731 for sailors to plot their course. Read more »

From Malaysian Architects, a Parallel Prison World in the Sky

Popular Science - March 19, 2010 - 7:19am

The designers were inspired by the idea of prisoner rehabilitation

Prisoners pose an age-old dilemma for societies: try to keep them separated from the good citizenry while possibly easing some of the black sheep back into the fold. Now Malaysian architecture students have hit upon the solution of a sky prison city that allows prisoners to work in farms and factories to contribute to the host city below, CNET reports.

Convicted criminals, prison employees, and cargo would shuttle back and forth to the great big prison in the sky on pods that travel on the prison's supporting structural legs. Different pod types include a heavy lift cargo pod, a medevac pod, and an armored riot control pod that drops police on lines, commando-style. Read more »

Australian Study Finds Possible Treatment to Make Smoking Healthier for Lungs

Popular Science - March 19, 2010 - 5:28am

But scientists warn that the treatment does nothing to prevent cancer risks, and that it's thus far limited to mice who smoke

Smokers might get a future reprieve on the damage that cigarettes do to their lungs. Australian scientists have successfully protected mice lungs against the inflammatory effects of smoking, which can lead to health problems such as emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). But the researchers still gave stern warning that this does nothing to alleviate cancer risks, The Register reports. Read more »

Lightweight Ceramic Coatings Based on Abalone Shells Could Form Tough Armor for Airplanes

Popular Science - March 19, 2010 - 2:44am

Buildings or commercial jetliners could soon get a protective coating of shatter-resistant armor similar to the material lining abalone shells. Finnish researchers have developed the lightweight reinforcement so that people can simply paint it on whatever structure, reports Technology Review.

The nacre material that protects abalone shells uses interconnected plates of very hard material that is prone to shattering, but combines that with softer yet durable material to create the shatterproof finish. Researchers have long sought to mimic that enviable combo with synthetic materials. Read more »

Planck Satellite Illuminates Filaments of Cold Interstellar Dust

Popular Science - March 18, 2010 - 7:34am

Gosh, look at all those dark materials ... I mean dust

Huge filaments or threads of interstellar dust link to our Milky Way galaxy, seen as a bright pink horizontal in a new image taken by the European Space Agency's Planck satellite.

Planck is the first European mission to study leftover radiation from the time of the theoretical Big Bang, or the beginning of the universe. The satellite launched alongside the Herschel Space Observatory in 2009, and has since helped astronomers understand both the origins of the universe and the formation of galaxies. Read more »

Most Flawless Diamonds Ever Are Meant for Lasers, Not Rings

Popular Science - March 19, 2010 - 8:45am

Scientists need the diamonds to build the next generation of X-ray lasers

Powerful X-ray lasers may allow scientists to image tiny drug molecules or even precisely target cancer cells, but the lasers require extremely high-quality mirrors to function well. Now researchers have created a nearly-flawless diamond that can do the job, according to Discovery News.

One X-ray laser already exists in an underground facility at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Laboratory, where it spans several football fields in length. A backlog of experiments in biology, physics and chemistry has already formed, which led to the need for more X-ray lasers.

Most lasers use silicon mirrors to bounce light wavelengths back and forth, but silicon can't reflect powerful X-rays. That's where diamond mirrors entered the picture. Read more »

Bluetooth-Enabled 'Smart Hip' Monitors Joint Implants from Within the Body

Popular Science - March 19, 2010 - 6:21am

A network of sensors and actuators can turn you into a more fully actualized cyborg

Measuring sensors and actuators can turn any old hip implant into a smart network that helps patients avoid implant problems and may even actively regenerate bone. This "smart hip" system has already been demonstrated successfully on animals.

A current prototype allows physicians to activate the "smart hip" via wireless Bluetooth and a computer. The network of actuators which help stimulate bone growth at the implant's surface has also undergone tests in cell studies as well as animals. Read more »

GM Turning Car Windshields into Augmented-Reality Navigation Displays

Popular Science - March 19, 2010 - 3:44am

Still doesn't excuse driving one-handed while texting

Distracted drivers may soon get some warnings from their windshield displays about road hazards such as children playing in the street or vehicles in the driver's blind spot. General Motors has teamed up with university researchers to bring the concept to market around 2016, the New York Times reports.

The enhanced vision system would monitor a driver's eye and head movements via sensors located both inside and outside the vehicle. The display would then overlay enhanced views of the road on top of the actual scene visible through the windshield. GM hopes that the augmented reality (AR) windshield display can allow drivers to view GPS directions without looking away from the road, and cope with difficult driving conditions in fog or at night. Read more »

Video: Fastest Book Scanner Ever Captures Flipping Pages with High-Speed Camera

Popular Science - March 19, 2010 - 12:53am

The technology blows away the competition by scanning 200 pages a minute

A new super-fast book-scanning technology could make publishers cringe even more than when they heard about Google Book Search. A University of Tokyo researcher has developed a "book flipping scanning" method that does exactly what it sounds like, digitizing 200 pages per minute, according to IEEE Spectrum. The Japanese researchers hope to enable a digital library for Japanese manga comics. Read more »

Shortage of Rare Earth Minerals May Cripple U.S. High-Tech, Scientists Warn Congress

Popular Science - March 18, 2010 - 6:47am

On the sunnier side, rare earths could power a future generation of clean tech

All those hybrid and electric cars, wind turbines and similar clean tech innovations may count for nothing if the U.S. cannot secure a supply of rare earth minerals. Ditto for other advanced telecommunications or defense technologies, scientists told a U.S. House subcommittee.

China has supplied 91 percent of U.S. consumption of rare earths between 2005 and 2008, and continues to represent the world's largest rare earth exporter. But the Chinese have warned that their own domestic industry appetite for rare earths may eventually force them to stop exporting -- an action that would leave the U.S. high-tech industries crippled without other readily available supplies. Read more »