NIST shows ultrasonically propelled nanorods spin dizzyingly fast
Washington DC (SPX) Jul 23, 2014 -
Vibrate a solution of rod-shaped metal nanoparticles in water with ultrasound and they'll spin around their long axes like tiny drill bits. Why? No one yet knows exactly. But researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have clocked their speed-and it's fast. At up to 150,000 revolutions per minute, these nanomotors rotate 10 times faster than any nanoscale object sub ...
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Self-cooling solar cells boost power, last longer
Washington DC (SPX) Jul 23, 2014 -
Scientists may have overcome one of the major hurdles in developing high-efficiency, long-lasting solar cells-keeping them cool, even in the blistering heat of the noonday Sun. By adding a specially patterned layer of silica glass to the surface of ordinary solar cells, a team of researchers led by Shanhui Fan, an electrical engineering professor at Stanford University in California has found a ...
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'Take your clothes off, be like me!' says wise-cracking robot
Tokyo (AFP) July 16, 2014 -
A wise-cracking humanoid robot called Pepper whose makers claim can read people's emotions was unveiled in Tokyo last month.
Mobile carrier Softbank, which created the robot, says Pepper can understand 70 to 80 percent of spontaneous conversations - although it also answers from a set number of pre-programmed responses.
AFP caught up with the pint-sized chatterbox, who took time out fro ...
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SSERVI: Serving NASA's Mission to the Moon and Beyond, Part 2
Moffet Field CA (NASA) Jul 22, 2014 -
Humanity has plans to expand into space: to the Moon, to Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs), and to the moons of Mars. Like any trip to anywhere, we need to know certain things before we go. We need to know about the climate and about the resources we can expect to find when we get there.
We need to know about the places to avoid and the places where it's safe to stay. Who is working on finding t ...
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Japanese androids take us closer to 'Blade Runner' future
Tokyo (AFP) July 16, 2014 -
A future in which it is difficult to tell man and machine apart could soon become reality, scientists say, after recent robotic breakthroughs in Japan.
But as the once-fantastical idea of wise-cracking android sidekicks takes form in laboratories - and the gap between humans and robots narrows - society faces ethical and legal complications as yet undreamed of, they warn.
"Already com ...
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New UAV for background radiation monitoring
Izhevsk, Russia (SPX) Jul 22, 2014 -
UAV systems has developed background radiation monitoring system for Russian meteorology and ecological monitoring corporation Rosgidromet. The base of the system is serially produced scintillational wide-range intellectual x-ray and gamma emission detection module and UAV Supercam S-350 by UAV systems, LLC. Both devices were modified during development.
The new UAV is able to perform the ...
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Researchers crush diamond with biggest laser in world
Livermore, Calif. (UPI) Jul 17, 2013 -
Scientists wanted to better understand what conditions are like deep inside giant, carbon-rich planets. To find out, they blasted a diamond with the world's biggest laser.
"The goal of the shots is to try and create planetary core conditions on Earth," explained Ray Smith, a physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. "And by that I mean very high pressure and rel ...
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