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The first computer network in the world protected by an “unbreakable” security system based on quantum encryption has been unveiled at a Viennese scientific conference.The network handles the connection of six Siemens offices in Vienna and the neighboring Sankt Pölten town in Austria through 200 km o... |
10 October 2008
09:27 GMT |
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The Hubble telescope continues its series of amazing pictures with one that ensured the most accurate analysis of a far galaxy ever performed. The image embedded in this article presents the photography taken by the device, which resembles an eye, or, more precisely, a stylized image of the eye of Ra, the Egyptian go... |
9 October 2008
11:03 GMT |
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The old radio waves' supremacy in the communication technology field is drawing to its end, as the newly-discovered replacing technology offers increased speed and security via light.The threat to the radio wave communication comes from using visible light. Researchers from Boston University's College of En... |
8 October 2008
11:23 GMT |
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In a recent book, physicist Joao Magueijo explains the principles of his varying-speed-of-light (VSL) theory, claiming that light can outrun itself. This idea of velocities beyond that of light has been discussed before, as two German scientists claim their quantum tunneling experiments proved it was possible. ... |
17 September 2008
04:13 GMT |
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Flexible, low cost, lightweight solar panels may soon become a viable new source of mainstream electric energy with the help of a new type of solar cell invented recently at the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, incorporating org... |
2 August 2008
07:29 GMT |
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Unlike typical cathode ray displays that produce images on a screen by bombarding electrons into a layer of phosphorous, liquid crystal displays can't actually produce their light while functioning. This is because the pixels on an LCD are basically like little shutters that vary their opacity accordingly to the... |
28 July 2008
08:53 GMT |
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Humans have been fascinated for centuries by the capability of migratory animals to navigate the globe, sometimes even returning to exactly the same spot from which they left, after retracing more than 15,000 kilometers. The markers that guide them in their voyage are a mystery even today, although most researchers b... |
23 July 2008
10:52 GMT |
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The Crookes radiometer is a light mill consisting of a set of fins placed on a spindle that rotates inside a partially vacuumed glass bulb when exposed to light. The rotation speed is directly related with the intensity of the electromagnetic radiation, while the rotation direction depends on the temperature of the e... |
19 July 2008
07:08 GMT |
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Solar cells are currently viewed as the star of alternative energy sources, being able to produce electric energy without the disadvantage of releasing greenhouse gases and other pollutants into the Earth's atmosphere as burning fossil fuels does. Sunlight provides an incredible amount of energy per square meter... |
11 July 2008
02:56 GMT |
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The next generation of powerful computers is just around the corner, claims a team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has recently developed a new technique that would allow semiconductor manufacturers to integrate even more transistors on silicon chips. By using light with a wavelength... |
10 July 2008
09:54 GMT |
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Some of the sun-worshipers out there believe that the use of sunscreens immediately guarantees protection against the most harmful rays. An investigation carried out by the Environmental Working Group showed recently that up to 80 percent of sunscreen lotions available on the market provide little or no protection at... |
8 July 2008
09:32 GMT |
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While the summertime brings us a lot of pleasures, especially in terms of weather, it also comes with a large variety of annoying insects, amongst which the mosquito, a never-ending source of discomfort and ultimately pain. Most of the time, a pesticide will do just fine in keeping these hungry bugs at a distance, al... |
8 July 2008
08:43 GMT |
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Well, today we have a great deal of electrically powered devices acting as light sources, but what if we didn't have electricity or if you were to go on a camping trip, what then? As far as I know, not many trees in the woods come with an outlet. One could use a gas lantern to light up one's path in the dar... |
13 June 2008
08:54 GMT |
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The new metamaterial developed at Duke University and Boston College presents tiny geometric features that are able to absorb both the electric and the magnetic components of electromagnetic radiation, in specific frequencies of the microwave spectrum. "Three things can happen to light when it hits a material. It ca... |
30 May 2008
10:12 GMT |
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When talking about solar cell efficiency, even a rise of 1 percent, which to some may appear modest, is reason for researchers to celebrate. The previous solar cell conversion efficiency was averaging 21.9 percent. A new world record for solar cell efficiency has been set on Wednesday by a team of researchers from th... |
17 May 2008
05:04 GMT |
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Interstellar dust and gas permeates the whole interstellar and intergalactic space, blocking significant amounts of light along the way. But until now, it was unknown exactly how much light was shielded by dust and gas, mostly because most astronomers believe that the effect is irrelevant. New calculations reveal tha... |
16 May 2008
02:40 GMT |
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A one-way mirror is basically just like any other mirror, just that it has the ability of reflecting light on one side while on the other, it is transparent. Typical mirrors achieve a high degree of reflectiveness on one side, leaving the reverse opaque to optical light. This is done by covering the glass layer with ... |
10 May 2008
05:12 GMT |
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One might imagine that light can basically pass through any hole no matter how small, but the truth is that when presented with a hole smaller than its own wavelength, light finds it especially difficult to penetrate to the other side, but it will nonetheless. Researchers Dr. Aurele Adam and Professor Paul Plancken f... |
9 May 2008
03:05 GMT |
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Sunglasses are defined as an ophthalmologic medical article made of frames and lenses, meant to diminish the amount of sunlight; however, they do not accomplish any sort of optical correction. Their main goal is to protect the wearer against excessive sunlight. In many cases, we pay exaggerated amounts of money for t... |
8 May 2008
08:39 GMT |
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Nik Software has announced the release of Viveza for Apple Aperture 2.1, a plug-in for Aperture 2.1 that aids photographers in making localized enhancements to brightness, contrast, or color without having to swap between applications. Everything can be done from within Aperture now, and since two of the most importa... |
8 May 2008
03:58 GMT |
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Ultraviolet light is known to be harmful for most organisms if it is in excess, but some creatures are turned on by it; we could literally say they do not reach orgasm in its absence. People and mammals in general can't detect ultraviolet light, but for a bizarre type of spiders it is essential for mating, as re... |
6 May 2008
04:30 GMT |
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The analysis of the largest colossal squid ever caught (and largest invertebrate ever captured) has provided some first spectacular results - this is also the largest invertebrate species known to have ever existed. In February 2007, a New Zealand fishing crew off the coast of Antarctica (in the northern Ross Sea), t... |
5 May 2008
14:06 GMT |
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The water, sea water in particular, is the realm of the algae. Algae represent the generic name for several groups of inferior aquatic plants that make photosynthesis. Thus, they require light in order to live. Part of the sunlight is reflected on the surface of the water. As we go deeper, the intensity of sunlight d... |
29 April 2008
11:14 GMT |
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Plants may not have complex tissues and a nervous system, but they still "feel". If they sprout, develop and flower at the right time and place, that's because they are sensitive to environmental factors. The vegetation boom during each spring shows they obey precise rhythms, which come encoded in their genes. P... |
29 April 2008
09:34 GMT |
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Scientists have often wondered why the universe appears to be so 'quiet'. We're not yet sure if intelligent alien life exists in our galaxy, although our math puts it very simple and clear. We're not alone in the universe. So where is everybody then? There are two possible answers for this questio... |
29 April 2008
09:19 GMT |
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What's better than having a light source that uses neither batteries nor light bulbs, gives off an intense light emission, lights up no matter if it's held underwater or in plain air and can be carried wherever you may go? If I were to answer this question I would say nothing. Light sticks have been put on ... |
29 April 2008
08:44 GMT |
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Aurora Borealis, most commonly known as the Northern Lights, is created when cosmic rays - solar wind in special - interact with the Earth's magnetic field and the atmosphere in order to determine light emissions in the gas atoms located in the upper layers of the atmosphere. In the middle of the 20th century, R... |
26 April 2008
01:48 GMT |
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The terahertz frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum are just now beginning to be explored by humans. Terahertz devices have already been developed and used to create security scanners, able to view through solid materials much in the same way X-rays do; however, US researchers believe they would have better app... |
17 April 2008
05:48 GMT |
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It's not big deal when a light bulb breaks. Albeit while talking about tubular fluorescent light bulbs, things can take a very serious turn, mostly because these types of light sources contain small amounts of mercury. If the glass tube is broken, then the mercury can contaminate the environment, not a very good... |
11 April 2008
05:09 GMT |
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Light emitting diodes, or most commonly known as LEDs, are solid-state electronic devices used to produce light. Practically LEDs are a special type of diodes encased into tiny transparent plastic bulbs, which emit light when powered. Unlike traditional light bulbs and fluorescent tubes, LEDs do not use metal filamen... |
9 April 2008
10:48 GMT |
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Take a patch of the sky with an area four times that of the apparent size of the Moon, study it over a period of three years and you may obtain the most sensitive infrared map of the distant universe. By doing so, researchers from the University of Nottingham obtained the image of more than 100,000 galaxies, as they ... |
9 April 2008
04:11 GMT |
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Metamaterials have the unique capability of experiencing negative refractive indexes, thus literally refracting light through themselves without reflecting any to the source, therefore making any object hidden behind it invisible. This is not available only for light, acoustic waves can be also manipulated in similar... |
1 April 2008
11:09 GMT |
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How about a rug that can guide you to your bedroom during night time without ever turning on the lights, protect your toes during a fast trip to the bathroom or maybe even as a replacement for the night light in your child's room? Well, you could buy the next best thing, the Footlume rug which lights up while yo... |
25 March 2008
10:50 GMT |
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In an already random quantum world, parasite signals could spell disaster for quantum information systems. Take the example of the quantum computers. Even the slightest noise signal could bring it to a complete halt. However, parasite signals may not be as bad as previously thought, according to Seth Lloyd from the M... |
25 March 2008
07:54 GMT |
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There are various types of vision, from the one detecting visible light to the others detecting ultraviolet light and linear polarized light. A new research published in the journal "Current Biology" describes a fourth type of vision never seen before in any animal: mantis shrimps (Stomatopods), a type of sea crustac... |
21 March 2008
03:54 GMT |
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Or at least that's what U.S. researchers say. Night drivers often lose their alertness because of fatigue, however blue lights, or blue light-emitting diodes, are believed to fool the brain into believing that it is morning, when in fact it is the middle of the night, thus resetting the body's natural clock... |
18 March 2008
11:55 GMT |
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Optical fibers have usage in a broad range of applications that involve the transmission and processing of light signals, starting with telecommunications, computing, all the way to remote sensing and medical devices. But optical fibers are not perfect, at least not in the way we would like them to be. On top of the ... |
17 March 2008
06:03 GMT |
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The new neutron detector developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology is able to measure individual neutrons and their intensities with a sensitivity at least a hundred times higher than that of the traditional neutron detectors. The detector works on the basis of a physical interaction known in th... |
11 March 2008
11:07 GMT |
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It looks like scientists have finally cracked it! They argue that, by creating a solar cell out of differently sized quantum dots, solar cells could become much more efficient than they currently are. This so-called 'rainbow' design involves arranging quantum dots according to size, so that each one acts on... |
10 March 2008
07:38 GMT |
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We don't need no guns! Why kill somebody with a riffle, when you could starve him to death? That's right, consider the options. Remember the myth of the brown note? It was saying something like this: a particular low frequency note - below 20 Hz - can make you crap your pants. Well, it was proven by the Myt... |
8 March 2008
06:00 GMT |
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Some of you might think that creating a void is something easily achievable with today's technology, but the truth is far from reality. Not even the vacuum of space is completely empty. For example, vacuum is routinely used by physicists while undertaking studies related to quantum physics. But these vacuums are... |
6 March 2008
06:28 GMT |
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We have extremely powerful electronic computers these days and it's great, but scientists fear that we might not be so fortunate in the near future, as microchip minimization cannot go forever in order to supply the required computing power. Photonic crystals are just one of the solutions we could imply to creat... |
4 March 2008
06:01 GMT |
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The last lunar eclipse that took place on February 20th-21st, ranking 3 on the brightness scale of lunar eclipses which ranges from 0 to 4, seems to confirm that Earth's atmosphere contains light-blocking volcanic ash that could contribute to the acceleration of global warming on our planet. During the span of t... |
3 March 2008
02:43 GMT |
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How can something exist in two distinct forms at the same time? Physics clearly states that light experiences particle-wave duality, while common sense tells us this is impossible. However, all objects no matter how massive behave in a particle-wave manner. And why is the speed of light the maximum possible speed in ... |
27 February 2008
08:48 GMT |
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This is exactly what plants do during the photosynthesis: stealing the hydrogen of the water using light. Hydrogen would be a very clean fuel, and a recent Penn State research has made a step further towards this direction. "This is a proof-of-concept system that is very inefficient. But ultimately, catalytic systems... |
18 February 2008
04:15 GMT |
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The biggest problem with computer chip minimization today is that the fabrication process of semiconductor chips only allows components larger than the laser light wavelength used in the photoresist process. Any attempts to create smaller structures than the light's wavelengths will ultimately result in the use ... |
14 February 2008
07:07 GMT |
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Black holes are some of the most mysterious objects in the whole universe. Except a handful of properties, almost nothing is known about what lies beyond their event horizon, whether it's a wormhole, a ultra-dense singularity or some other structure we have no knowledge about. And here is the worst part of the p... |
14 February 2008
05:31 GMT |
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Some of you might say: well, you have just answered your own question, X-ray is a form of radiation. However, nothing is always as simple as it seems. Any type of elementary particle emission is called radiation, while X-ray is a type of electromagnetic radiation, meaning photon emission, namely light. Optical light ... |
12 February 2008
02:56 GMT |
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Wow, talking of the devil!... Why are we even funding the SETI institute in the first place? I mean just look, we have all the flying saucers and aliens right here on Earth. Only in the last year, more than 135 events were reported by people in the UK, claiming to have spotted Unidentified Flying Objects, while two y... |
8 February 2008
10:37 GMT |
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Colors have various physical and psychical influences on the body, and they can manipulate our mood. A common rule says an individual prefers the light wavelength (colors are nothing more than different values of the light wavelengths) retrieved in its energetic structure. Different energetic structure are impacted d... |
5 February 2008
14:06 GMT |
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