Micro stories - small news bits too small to have their own thread

[SvenSvensonov]

Stanford Built a New Kind of Computer That Uses Water Drops

Dunking your laptop in a bucket of water while it’s running is just about the worst thing you can do to it. But researchers at Stanford University, led by assistant professor Manu Prakash, have developed a new type of computer processor that’s actually built around moving water drops, instead of electrons.

What’s especially interesting about this research is that this new kind of computer isn’t designed to replace the processor that’s currently powering your computer or mobile device. It can reproduce mathematical logic operations, but the researchers instead see their creation being used as an advanced way to control and manipulate physical matter.

Stanford’s computer is made up of a series of tiny T and I-shaped pieces of metal strategically arranged to affect the shape of a magnetic field generated by electromagnetic coils surrounding the machine. The tiny drops of liquid you see moving around actually have a similar make-up to the animated black goo you’ll find in a ferrofluid toy, which is how they can be manipulated and moved by a magnetic field.

Depending on how those tiny pieces of metal are arranged, the ferrofluid drops will move in a specific pattern. And since water droplets can actually be a mixture of different materials (in this case they’re full of tiny iron particles) this new type of computer could be used as a way to sort or arrange droplets of different chemicals. In other words, it’s best to think of it as a tiny factory, or even a kind of miniature 3D printer, that could one day be small enough to swallow and allow everything from custom medications to be produced on the fly, to even help repairing the human body.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

Regular Old Sewing Thread Can Be Woven Into Strong Artificial Muscles

Given Disney’s amusement parks are packed full of audio-animatronic characters, it only makes sense that the company’s research division would be hard at work finding ways to make them even more lifelike. Researchers may have found a cheap solution to making artificial muscles,using conductive sewing thread you can find in any fabric store.

Synthetic muscles have long been kind of a holy grail in robotics research. They allow robots to move more fluidly, faster, and with greater strength than actuators and servos can. There’s a reason our own bodies are filled with them. But finding materials that can continuously expand and contract without stretching out and weakening over time has been very difficult. But Disney may have moved one step closer using store-bought materials.

The team at Disney Research starts with conductive sewing thread that’s then twisted repeatedly until it forms thicker strands of coils, not unlike a guitar string, just a little cruder. As these strands are heated and cooled (notice the three cooling fans on the forearm there?) the cables contract and expand just like a human muscle, which in turns pulls the fingers causing the artificial hand to close.

The researchers initially set out to find a low-cost way to make artificial muscles, but their creations were also able to generate controlled forces in less than 30 milliseconds which actually outperforms what human muscles are capable of. Which means that one day the robots in Disneyland’s Hall of Presidents won’t only be even more lifelike, they’ll actually be faster and stronger than you.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

This Animated Explanation Of The Fermi Paradox Is Fantastic

The Great Silence is a vexing problem we all love to speculate and argue about, but it’s not the most intuitive concept. This wonderful animated video by Kurz Gesagt explains the problem that is the Fermi Paradox and why our apparent isolation in the galaxy is so damned weird.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

75 Million-Year-Old Blood Cells Found in Dinosaur Fossils

Dinosaurs fossils, we’ve all been taught, consist of bone—their flesh, skin, and organs having decayed long ago. But a new discovery might upend that assumption: Scientists have found evidence of blood cells with the protein intact in eight fossils which were not even particularly well-preserved.

Soft-tissues have been discovered in dinosaurs before, but the results were controversial. In fact, some experts still believe it’s contamination. But a new study publishedin Nature Communications uses a high-tech tool to peer more clearly at fossils than ever before. Robert F. Service describes the technique for Science:

[Sergio] Bertazzo, an expert on how living bones incorporate minerals, uses a tool called a focused ion beam to slice through samples, leaving pristine surfaces that are ideal for high-resolution imaging studies. He teamed up with Maidment to apply the technique to eight chunks of dinosaur toe, rib, hip, leg, and claw.

What they found shocked them. Imaging the fresh-cut surfaces with scanning and transmission electron microscopes, “we didn’t see bone crystallites” as expected, Maidment says. “What we saw instead was soft tissue. It was completely unexpected. My initial response was these results are not real.”

The team found round structures resembling red blood cells and strands resembling the protein collagen. When they ran a chemical analysis, the blood cells were similar to that of emus’ (a relative of dinosaurs) and the collagen seemed to be made up of amino acids known to be common in the protein. This isn’t necessary slam-dunk proof yet, but it’s tantalizing.

The discovery is so exciting because the fossils in this study were utterly unremarkable. If the results hold up, it could mean soft tissues may be preserved in many run-of-the-mill fossils. But no—I know what you’re thinking—DNA is still more fragile than proteins, so don’t expect Jurassic Park yet.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

Bird's eye view time lapse shows off Apple's new spaceship campus

Apple’s new campus is in the process of being built right now and it truly does look like a space ship is being constructed in sleepy Cupertino. Here’s the state of things so far, from August 2014 to May 2015, a pile of Mars-colored dirt is being transformed into a closed circle from the future. Pretty cool. And the GIF will look even cooler when it’s all done.

The pictures were provided by Nearmap, a geospatial mapping and visual analytics company. You can see more photos here. Here it is in August 2014:

And the state of things just last month in May 2015:

The Three Seismic Shifts That Are Shaking Up the World of Energy

The Three Seismic Shifts That Are Shaking Up the World of Energy - Bloomberg Business

BP Plc released its yearly Statistical Review of World Energy on Wednesday. Used for decades as an industry benchmark, this year's edition laid bare the seismic shifts taking place in global energy markets.

1) The rise and rise of U.S. oil production

The rise in U.S. crude output has simply been explosive. America added 1.6 million barrels a day in 2014, taking production past its previous peak in 1970. It also made the U.S. the world's largest crude producer, knocking Saudi Arabia off its perch.

While there are signs shale production will fall back slightly this year because of the slump in oil prices it's marginal compared with the longer-term trend. Energy independence is getting closer: U.S. energy production met almost 90 percent of consumption last year, the most since the Reagan administration.

2) China's energy slowdown

China -- the motor of global energy demand since the turn of the century -- is trying to change course. A slowing economy and shift away from heavy industry meant 2014 saw energy consumption grow just 2.6 percent, less than half its recent average and the smallest increase since the Asian crisis of 1998. The country's energy intensity -- the amount of fuel it needs to consume to generate each dollar of GDP -- is getting closer to U.S. and European levels.

If, and BP says it's quite a big if, China keeps a lid on new steel mills and cement factories, it'll have a big impact on global demand in the years ahead.

3) The global solar boom

Renewable energy is now a force to be reckoned with. Last year non-fossil fuels, including nuclear, accounted for more of the increase in global energy consumption than oil, gas and coal combined. Particularly notable are record installations of solar panels.

The combination of slower energy demand growth and more renewable power meant global emissions expanded just 0.5 percent in 2014, the slowest pace since the financial crisis. increasing just 0.5 percent.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

Here's a Glimpse at What the Hyperloop Might Actually Be Like

What we know about the Hyperloop thus far can be summed up in a few exclamatory phrases: It’s visionary! It’s crazy! It’s impossible! But we haven’t really understood much about how Elon Musk’s totally tubular transportation system might actually work—until now.

These Hyperloop imaginings come to us as the final project of Suprastudio, a masters-level studio at UCLA’s architecture school, and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, a startup based in Downtown LA—which isn’t technically related to Tesla or Space X because Musk said,hey world, here’s an idea, run with it people, I have to go work on batteries and getting to Mars.

A document was released by the school this week to coincide with end-of-semester presentations. And in addition to some pretty renderings, there is some very good thinking here (and, regrettably, some typos).

The research includes some historical food for thought like comparing travel times before and after revolutionary transportation infrastructure like the Transcontinental Railroad and the Panama Canal. Then, to decide which cities might get Hyperloop priority, 50 metropolitan areas were ranked by criteria like population, jobs, existing public transit, freight needs, etc. A variety of strategies are proposed, from connecting cities into giant mega-regions to focusing first on capturing tourism dollars. One proposed alignment travels the route of the proposed California high-speed rail network, with a spur off to Las Vegas.

There’s an idea for Urban Loops, which would travel within cities like subways. And, since these are architects, they’ve given some real thought to the design of the stations and “capsules” travelers will ride in. They even tried to tackle the loading and unloading of passengers—something that trains or airplanes probably will never nail.

Here are some images that caught my eye; only low-res imagery is available at the moment so they’re a bit fuzzy. But, like I said, smart and engaging. I’d ride this thing.

LA to NY in about 2 hours 45 minutes, compared to 6.5+ flying

50 metropolitan areas ranked by 9 criteria for Hyperloop-readiness

A comparison of how far from LA’s Union Station one can get in 30 minutes before and after Hyperloop

Structural diagram for the tube itself

Integration with subway-like Urban Loops found in cities

Instead of windows, passengers are treated to VR experiences

Read through the entire document and see if you find any more gems I missed.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

An Aluminum Plate After a 6,700 mph Collision With a Grain of Sand

According to Gravity, space debris causes untold damage to spacecraft—and space agencies do indeed spend a lot of time testing materials they put into orbit. This image shows what happens when a sand grain-sized piece of aluminium oxide strikes aluminum sheet at hypervelocity. Ouch.

At high speeds, even a small mass can cause untold damage. So researchers at the European Space Agency test materials, like this sheet aluminum, by firing samples towards them at extremely high speeds. Satellites normally get bombard with space debris and meteoroids at speeds of over 21,600mph. Tests in ESA labs mimic those collisions by firing very small projectiles at hypervelocities, which are over 6,700 mph. For some context, the main hole in the image is 28x12 millimeters across. Eek.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

He’s Probably Just Playing a Subway Simulator

Subway simulator... right

 

[SvenSvensonov]

Watch a Boeing 787 Dreamliner takeoff almost perpendicular to the ground

Wow. Watch the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner pull off an amazing aerial display in preparation for the 2015 Air Show. You can see the big bodied jet pretend it’s like a stunt plane and basically do tricks in the air. The most impressive has to be the take off though, the jet almost immediately goes nearly perpendicular to the ground once it starts flying.

I almost thought it was going to do a backflip.

Amazing airplane take-off almost perpendicular to the ground - YouTube

 

[Indus Falcon]

Watch a Boeing 787 Dreamliner takeoff almost perpendicular to the ground

Wow. Watch the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner pull off an amazing aerial display in preparation for the 2015 Air Show. You can see the big bodied jet pretend it’s like a stunt plane and basically do tricks in the air. The most impressive has to be the take off though, the jet almost immediately goes nearly perpendicular to the ground once it starts flying.

I almost thought it was going to do a backflip.

Amazing airplane take-off almost perpendicular to the ground - YouTube

It's called going vertical. Amazing for a passenger jet!

 

[SvenSvensonov]

A Rare Glimpse Of Rapidly Pulsating Aurorae Over Iceland

Aurorae are rare. Pulsating aurorae, whose structures fade in and out of existence, are rarer, still. But rapidly pulsating aurorae, like that featured in this video by French astrophotographer Stéphane Vetter (previously), are among the least common of all. This footage is not a time-lapse; the colors in this video are flickering in real-time.

Vetter captured the footage in March, while shooting in Svínafellsjökull GlacierIceland:

The 48-second video shown is not time-lapse. The real-time pulsations are exemplified by sequences where the astrophotographer is visible moving about in the foreground. A close inspection of the enigmatic flickering sky colors reveals that some structures appear to repeat, while others do not. The quick rapidity of the pulsations seen here is somewhat unusual — more common are aurora with pulsations that last several seconds. Recent research shows that pulsations are more common in electron-generated aurora, rather than proton aurora, and that the Earth’s local magnetic field may fluctuate in unison.

 

[WAJsal]

This Devastating New Bullet Is The “World’s Deadliest Bullet Ever Made”




Read more: This Devastating New Bullet Is The "World's Deadliest Bullet Ever Made"
Bullets used in pistols have retained pretty much the same form and shape since their inception many decades back. The end of a pistol bullet, in particular, is meant to hit the target and neutralize the enemy upon impact. It has not undergone any significant changes over all these years. However, G2 systems have introduced a Radically Invasive Projectile (RIP) bullet that changes that perspective quite significantly.



RIP is known to be an avid weapon that has a number of lethal jaws protruding on its end. Besides the deadly looks, it is equally effective at causing significant amount of damage to the opponent. It was first introduced in order for gun-wielding women to keep away predators that attempted to approach them. The corporation behind this effort believes that it would be the last bullet someone requires.



There is good reason to fear its impact, folks. It can account for spiral wounds around the entry point that can reach far into the skin. The pain that is inflicted is not just limited to that; it can rip right through one’s internal organs to cause fatal wounds. This way the shrapnel can accumulate in various parts of the body which multiplies the extent of damage.



This explains how lethal a bullet such as this can actually prove to be. That places even more importance on its production and controlled use. There is already a lot of violence going on with hundreds of people getting injured in public shootings incidents. Though, it could prove to be mighty effective in hostage rescue and covert ops. Law enforcement agencies could put this lethal weapon to great use in this manner.




What is your take on this sophisticated but deadly weapon? Enlighten us with our thoughts on the matter here in the comments section provided below.



Read more: This Devastating New Bullet Is The "World's Deadliest Bullet Ever Made"

 

[indiatester]

This Devastating New Bullet Is The “World’s Deadliest Bullet Ever Made”




Read more: This Devastating New Bullet Is The "World's Deadliest Bullet Ever Made"
Bullets used in pistols have retained pretty much the same form and shape since their inception many decades back. The end of a pistol bullet, in particular, is meant to hit the target and neutralize the enemy upon impact. It has not undergone any significant changes over all these years. However, G2 systems have introduced a Radically Invasive Projectile (RIP) bullet that changes that perspective quite significantly.



RIP is known to be an avid weapon that has a number of lethal jaws protruding on its end. Besides the deadly looks, it is equally effective at causing significant amount of damage to the opponent. It was first introduced in order for gun-wielding women to keep away predators that attempted to approach them. The corporation behind this effort believes that it would be the last bullet someone requires.



There is good reason to fear its impact, folks. It can account for spiral wounds around the entry point that can reach far into the skin. The pain that is inflicted is not just limited to that; it can rip right through one’s internal organs to cause fatal wounds. This way the shrapnel can accumulate in various parts of the body which multiplies the extent of damage.



This explains how lethal a bullet such as this can actually prove to be. That places even more importance on its production and controlled use. There is already a lot of violence going on with hundreds of people getting injured in public shootings incidents. Though, it could prove to be mighty effective in hostage rescue and covert ops. Law enforcement agencies could put this lethal weapon to great use in this manner.




What is your take on this sophisticated but deadly weapon? Enlighten us with our thoughts on the matter here in the comments section provided below.



Read more: This Devastating New Bullet Is The "World's Deadliest Bullet Ever Made"

During 1800's (and later) there was also this bullet that had a charge which would explode on impact. Their use is banned in warfare. Lookup Expanding bullets.

 

[WAJsal]

During 1800's (and later) there was also this bullet that had a charge which would explode on impact. Their use is banned in warfare. Lookup Expanding bullets.

There are no rules in a war. Use whatever you like.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

This Incredible Wheelchair Can Climb Stairs Like a Tank

Technology has been making wheelchairs more convenient and easier to use, but this crazy amazing model that actually scales staircases is a metaphorical mic drop.

This prototype, called the Scalevo, has rubber, tank-like treads mounted to the bottom of the chair. The user approaches a set of steps backwards with his or her back facing the steps. The treads sprout out, lifting the chair up at an angle, allowing it to crawl up the steps. The user is kept level at all times. The headlight-and-taillight-equipped chair has two extra sets of wheels that pop out at the last step to provide smoother transition back to flat ground.

It began as a student project last summer, and now ten electrical engineering and industrial design students from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the Zurich University of the Arts are working on it. They say the Segway was an inspiration. I guess there’s a first time for everything.

The team wants it ready by next year’s Cybathlon, a race for people with physical disabilities that use assisting robotic tech, like exoskeletons and electrically stimulated muscles.