Technology

Nanoribbons Moved by Light: Could Propel Cell-Sized Submarines, Create Cloaking Devices, New Microchips

Popular Science - March 20, 2010 - 8:36am

The ability of matter to move light underpins such common phenomena as transparency, refraction, and reflection. But light moving matter? That's a bit rarer. So rare, in fact, that University of Michigan researchers refused to believe the results of their experiments for almost four years. As reported in the latest Science, they had discovered special nanoribbons so sensitive that light actually caused them to move. These ribbons are the largest pieces of matter ever moved by light, and their unique properties make them prime candidates for building nanomachines or light-reactive fabrics. Read more »

A Naked Engine For Cleaner Flights

Popular Science - March 20, 2010 - 5:15am

A jet engine shelved in the '80s could improve airplane fuel economy today

In 1983, engineers at General Electric experimented with an "unducted fan" engine. Without the external casing, airflow through the blades increased, delivering more power for the same amount of fuel. The thing was loud, but the company pressed on because the trick could reduce fuel consumption by as much as 26 percent. Then fuel prices dropped, gas guzzling became acceptable, and GE mothballed the project. Now that airlines are again conscious of fuel costs and carbon, the idea is back, and new tech is making it feasible. Read more »

Video: F-35 Performs Its First Fully Vertical Landing

Popular Science - March 20, 2010 - 3:47am

After cost overruns, a series of delays, and almost a decade of hype, the F-35 Lighting finally performed a vertical landing for the first time. Yesterday at 1 P.M., after descending from a 150-foot-high hover, the test plane touched down on the tarmac at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station. This is a significant step forward for the F-35, as its vertical takeoff and landing capability are crucial to the fighter's role as a replacement for the aging Harrier jet.

The test began with a short runway takeoff at 93 miles per hour, after which the pilot swung around, positioned the plane over the runway, and lowered it down. The test pilot, a former Royal Air Force aviator with experience piloting VSTOL planes, said he found landing the F-35 vertically far easier than landing older planes, like the Harrier, the same way. Read more »

At 3.5 Teraelectronvolts, LHC Sets All-Time Energy Record

Popular Science - March 20, 2010 - 1:50am

This morning in Switzerland, the Large Hadron Collider successfully ramped its twin proton beams up to 3.5 TeV for the first time. This is the highest energy a particle accelerator has ever achieved. The next step: collide the two beams, at a combined energy of 7 TeV.

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 »

British Crimefighting Drone Collars Its First Perp

Popular Science - March 20, 2010 - 5:58am

Law and Order: UAV

Members of the British law enforcement community who think UAVs should be used to help stop crimes just got some new evidence to back up their argument, courtesy of the Merseyside PD. Yesterday, the Merseyside Police announced the first ever arrest assisted by a UAV, in this case a quad-rotor chopper-bot that helped track down a car thief.

The Merseyside police deployed the UAV, which they nicknamed the flying saucepan, after a car thief ditched his getaway ride to hide in some bushes. Using the thermal imaging power of the UAV, the bobbies managed to track the 16-year-old perp through the underbrush, and eventually find his hiding spot. Read more »

To Explain the Broadcast Spectrum, FCC Unveils Cool Interactive Tools

Popular Science - March 20, 2010 - 4:27am

The agency may also open up parts of the spectrum for private experimentation

As part of its grand new plan, the FCC is making a major push to involve and inform the public. RSS feeds, a blog, and a Twitter account have all made relatively recent appearances, along with a home broadband speed test. To better help the public understand the current frequency allocations, the FCC has also rolled out several great new interactive tools on their website for "reviewing how spectrum bands are allocated and for what uses, and who holds licenses and in what areas."

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 »

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 »