World's most powerful X-ray laser recreates conditions at the center of a star

SLAC's LCLS is the world's most powerful X-ray laser (Photo: University of Oxford/Sam Vinko)

To say things are really heating up at the US Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory isn't just a bad pun, it's one hell (sorry) of an understatement. An Oxford-led team used the Stanford-based facility that houses the world's most powerful X-ray laser to create and probe a 2-million-degree Celsius (or about 3.6 million degrees Fahrenheit) piece of matter. The experiment allowed the scientists the closest look yet at what conditions might be like in the heart of the Sun, other stars and

Silkworms may help repair damaged hearts

Disks made from cocoons of the tasar silkworm may find use as patches for regrowing cardiac tissue in heart attack victims

Although people do regularly recover from heart attacks, the heart itself never entirely "gets better." This is because cardiac muscle tissue doesn't regenerate - any that dies in the event of a heart attack will only be replaced with inactive scar tissue, and the heart's performance will be permanently compromised as a result. Scientists have responded by trying to develop heart patches made of

Urban Cultivator automatically grows greens indoors

The Urban Cultivator is a computer-controlled hydroponic growing system for herbs and vegetables

There's no question that fresh herbs taste better than their dried counterparts, nor is there any denying that garden-fresh veggies are preferable to ones that have spent the past several days in a truck or on a supermarket shelf. People who are lucky enough to live in warmer climates can keep the fresh greens coming year-round, if they plant a garden. For those of us in colder regions, however, things get a

Is ultrasound the future of male contraception?

Scientists have successfully reduced the sperm counts of male rats to zero using widely-available ultrasound equipment

Using commercially-available ultrasound technology, scientists have successfully reduced sperm count in rats to a level that would cause infertility in men. Researchers managed to reduce motile sperm to 3 million per cauda epididymis (where sperm are stored), which equates to a Sperm Count Index of

Graphene reveals yet another extraordinary property

Dr Nair shows his one micron thick graphene oxide film research sample (Photo: University of Manchester)

Ever since University of Manchester scientists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov first isolated flakes of graphene in 2004 using that most high-tech pieces of equipment - adhesive tape - the one-atom sheet of carbon has continued to astound researchers with its remarkable properties. Now Professor Sir Andre Geim, (he's now not only a Nobel Prize winner but also a Knight Bachelor), has led a team that has added superpermeability with respect to water to graphene's ever lengthening list of extraordinary characteristics.
Graphene has already proven to be the thinnest known material in the universe, strongest material ever measured, the best-known conductor of heat and electricity, and the stiffest known

Recon Instruments brings action camera viewing into your goggles

The Contour app is the latest Recon Instruments function

Skiers and snowboarders of the future are going to be pretty close to cyborgs. Over the years, we've seen such wearable electronics as heated clothing, cell phone-compatible ski gloves and camera-equipped goggles. We've also seen the Recon Instruments goggles, which use a

Perfectly secure cloud computing possible thanks to quantum physics

Researchers have demonstrated a process relying on quantum physics they claim enables perfectly secure cloud computing (Image: Shutterstock)

As numerous companies continue their push to get us to entrust our data to the cloud, there are many still justifiably concerned about the security of cloud computing-based services. Now an international team of scientists have demonstrated that perfectly secure cloud computing is possible by combining the power of quantum computing with the security of quantum cryptography. They carried out what they claim is the first demonstration of "blind quantum computing," in which a quantum computation was carried out with the input, computation, and output all remaining unknown to the

Virtual Projection emulates laws of physics for screen sharing between devices

A team of researchers have come up with a novel take on screen sharing inspired by traditional projectors

Researchers are investigating a means of virtually projecting images from handheld devices onto computer screens. Beyond simply being a means of screen sharing across devices, the research looks at traditional projection - physically shining a still or moving image onto a flat service - as a metaphor for multi-device interaction. In a video demo, researchers

Secret agents can create a Wi-Fi network and hide important files with these cufflinks

The end of one of the cufflinks pops out, and when plugged into the USB port on your computer creates a hotspot that can be used by other devices

Life as a secret agent means you need to have access to the internet when you need it, as well as have the ability to carry around important files in locations where your adversaries won't think to look. These secret agent-worthy Wi-Fi cufflinks let you wear your mobile hotspot on one

HyperSolar harnesses sunlight to produce cleaner-than-clean hydrogen fuel

If HyperSolar has its way, solar hydrogen farms like that imagined here may not be so very far away (Image: HyperSolar)

HyperSolar claims it is developing a zero carbon method of producing hydrogen gas from wastewater by harnessing solar energy. Hydrogen gas is a clean source of fuel in that, theoretically at least, the only waste product is water. But hydrogen gas does not occur naturally on Earth, and requires energy to create. Typically that energy comes from traditional, carbon dioxide-emitting sources, rendering hydrogen fuel rather less environmentally friendly than it has the potential to be. HyperSolar's work may mean truly clean, renewable hydrogen fuel could be a commercial reality sooner than

Wear-resistant surfaces inspired by scorpions

Scientists have unlocked the secret to scorpions' ability to withstand sand-blasting, and applied it to man-made materials (Photo: Quartl)

As any graffiti-removal specialist will tell you, sand-blasting is definitely an effective method of removing substances that have bonded onto hard surfaces. Unfortunately, sand or other abrasive particles suspended in air or liquid also have a way of eroding not just spray paint, but pretty much anything they encounter. As a result, items such as helicopter rotor blades, airplane propellers, rocket motor nozzles and

Novatiq enters robotics market with SCORP throwable robot

The SCORP Micro Unmanned Ground Vehicle (MUGV) is the first offering from Novatiq

After 15 months of development, privately-owned Swiss company Novatiq is set to enter the robotics market with its first offering, SCORP. Designed for scouting and surveillance applications, SCORP is a

Quick 3D motion-capture system developed for imaging muscles

New technology is able to capture 3D images of muscle contractions in less time and more detail than was previously possible (Muscle Man image via Shutterstock)

Current medical imaging technology misses important data regarding muscle contraction, including the ways in which a muscle's shape changes when it contracts, how the muscle bulges, and how its internal fibers become more curved ... or at least, so Simon Fraser University (SFU)'s associate professor James Wakeling tells us. In order to remedy that situation, he has developed a new method of imaging contracting muscles, that he claims should allow researchers to observe never-before-seen details of

Philips soundbar streams content via Android

Philips Soundbar CSS5123

There's something to be said about streaming content from your PC on the TV. The question is how do you get that content from the PC - and now tablets and phones - to your TV. The latest option from Philips is the Soundbar CSS5123, an Android-powered surround sound speaker that lets you stream content from any DLNA-enabled device.
The soundbar is a single speaker, with companion wireless subwoofer, that provides virtual surround sound for a room. This is designed to replace the need for a 5.1 system, meaning

Play harmonica on your iPhone with the iMonica app

The iMonica app digitally recreates a diatonic harmonica on an iPhone screen, which can be played using a combination of mouth position and raising or lowering the smartphone

There's no denying the popularity of music creation apps for the iPhone. Just about every instrument you want to play is available as a digital simulation - from guitars to pianos to drums, and even DJ decks - but what about wind instruments? The iMonica app for iPhone from DigitarWorld most definitely fits into this category and turns your iPhone into a digital diatonic harmonica. So, do

How Will Google's New Privacy Policy Affect You?

If you were hanging around the internet yesterday afternoon, you probably noticed some hubbub around Google's new, unified Terms of Service Agreement. But what's it actually going to mean for you? Well, this:

How Will Sharing My Data Google-Wide Affect Me?

One of the chief gripes about the change is that Google will "track" you across all of its services. Just to clarify: Google has always stored user data. Have you noticed how in Google Maps sometimes an address you searched for a year ago will auto-fill in? Well, now one Google application can see what you searched for in another, so if you searched for "Furbies" on Google's homepage (for some freaky reason) and then later went to YouTube, you might see Furbies videos pop up. That's new. Previously data was compartmentalized between applications.
That could be a bad thing if Google were changing its policies on the data it shares with third parties, after all Google+ knows your real name, right? Fortunately, that isn't the

Leaping lizards inspire new robot design

An African Agama lizard, and Tailbot

For some time now, scientists have assumed that dinosaurs' tails didn't simply drag on the group behind them, but were instead held out to serve as a counterweight for the giant reptiles' heavy front ends when running. More recently, however, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, have discovered that modern-day lizards also use their tails to control the orientation of their bodies when leaping through the air. It's a discovery that could be applied to devices such as search-and-rescue robots, and in fact already has been. Based on their observations, the UC Berkeley team created a small, tailed robot known as Tailbot.
The initial experiments, carried out by staff and students of the university's biology and engineering departments, involved getting red-headed African Agama lizards to run along a short track, launch themselves off of a platform, then land on a vertical surface. They then climbed to the top of that surface, where a shelter awaited.
In some cases, the platform had a surface that the lizard's claws could grip on, whereas in other instances the surface was slick, causing the lizard to slip as it jumped. By viewing slow-motion video of both types of jumps, it was observed that the lizard was able to adjust its body position in mid-air, by throwing up its tail to varying degrees. This allowed it to always land on the vertical surface feet-first, instead of nosing into it on the slip-jumps.

Using the lizard footage, the researchers came up with a mathematical model that determined how much tail swing would be necessary to compensate for a given amount of angular momentum of the body. They also created Tailbot - a small radio-controlled car equipped with a motor-controlled tail, and a gyroscopic sensor.
At first, they had the car/robot make several jumps using a small ramp, with its tail extended but the sensor not running. The result was a series of nose-dives into the floor. Once the sensor was turned on, however, it was able to sense the car's "body" position in mid-jump. It then used the lizard-tail model to adjust the angle of its own tail, resulting in proper wheels-down landings. Even when held in the air and dropped nose first, Tailbot was still able to right itself within a drop space of less than one foot (30.5 cm).
The technology could end up finding use in practical robots. "Inspiration from lizard tails will likely lead to far more agile search-and-rescue robots, as well as ones having greater capability to more rapidly detect chemical, biological or nuclear hazards" said team leader Robert J. Full, professor of integrative biology.
A paper on the UC Berkeley research was recently published in the journal Nature.
The video below illustrates how both the lizards and the robot were able to control their body orientation using their tails.

LED-based sky ceiling recreates natural lighting conditions indoors

The dynamic luminous ceiling by Fraunhofer IAO recreates natural lighting conditions indoors (Photo: Fraunhofer IAO)

The privilege of working under the open sky is reserved for just a few lucky professions. For the less fortunate majority, spending their working hours surrounded by gloomy office landscapes, the soothing sight of clouds drifting through the sky is unattainable. Setting up office cubicles in the open would do the trick but it's hardly a practical option, especially in places where the weather cannot be trusted. Fortunately, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (IAO), based in Stuttgart, Germany, know what else can be done to bring a little outdoor comfort to the office-bound. They built a dynamic luminous ceiling which allows office dwellers to gaze at clouds without ever leaving their desks.
As clouds shift shapes and move through the sky, the intensity of sunlight we experience on the ground is in constant flux. When replicated indoors, such lighting conditions could help entice the feeling of freedom and spaciousness that we associate with being outdoors. However, it takes more than attaching a set of your regular LCD TVs to a ceiling and playing footage of a cloudy sky to pull this off. The IAO researchers teamed up with LEiDs GmbH, an LED technology company, to make sure their ceiling simulates natural light conditions on a partially-cloudy day as accurately as possible.
The ceiling consists of square tiles, with each 50 by 50 cm (19.6 x 19.6 inch) tile holding 288 light emitting diodes (LEDs). "A diffuser film in matte white is attached approximately 30 cm [11.8 inches] beneath the LEDs and ensures that the individual points of light are not perceived as such. This diffuser film creates homogenous lighting that illuminates the room throughout" says Dr. Matthias Bues, head of the project at the IAO. A combination of red, blue, green and white diodes is used to produce the full light spectrum, which translates into over 16 million possible hues. This means the set-up is able to simulate dynamic changes in lighting conditions that are not immediately obvious to the naked eye. They may, however, influence your effectiveness at work.
For the simulation to be faithful, the researchers had to measure exactly how the light fluctuates throughout the day, such as how fast the changes in light spectrum take place and how intensive they are. The goal is to make the lighting dynamic enough to improve the office workers' concentration and heighten their alertness, but not any more dynamic than that - otherwise, the whole thing would end up being just an unnecessary distraction.
A preliminary study shows that this dynamic lighting is indeed perceived as very pleasant. A group of volunteers carried out their office duties for four days subjected to light from a 30 by 60 cm set-up (that's 12 by 24 inches). On the first day the light was static, on the second it fluctuated gently, and on the third the changes in lighting conditions were more rapid. On the fourth day, when the volunteers got to decide which lighting they'd like to continue working with, 80 percent went with the rapidly fluctuating light.
For now, the prototype sky takes up 34 square meters (366 square feet) of ceiling real estate and uses 32,560 LEDs to provide light with the intensity of over 3,000 lux (500 to 1000 lux is already enough to create comfortable lighting conditions). A small section of this virtual sky is going to be exhibited at the beginning of March in Hanover, Germany, during the CeBIT tradeshow, so you still have some time to talk your bosses into buying one of these. At the moment, the sky comes at 1000 euros (US$1,290) per square meter (10.76 square feet), but the price is likely to come down with the solution growing in popularity.
A somewhat similar existing product known as REVEAL simulates the sun-cast shadows of a window frame and swaying tree branches on indoor walls, to create the impression of a window in a windowless room.

PumPing Tap concept literally ejects power cords to save energy

If a device uses no energy for ten minutes, the PumPing Tap's spring-loaded mechanism pops the plug out of the socket like a projectile from a toy dart gun

For years, environmentalists have warned that keeping electronics plugged in all the time wastes energy, even when a device is switched off. Even for less green-conscious consumers this lost energy can add up on the electric bill each month, so disconnecting unused devices or switching them off at the wall is really a good habit for anyone to get into. But let's be honest, it's hard to remember to unplug each gadget every single time it's used. To help with this, designers have created the PumPing Tap, a concept electrical socket that can detect an unused power cord and physically eject it from the wall.
The PumPing Tap is actually pretty simple in design. Sensors in the circuit detect whether the plug is actively using electricity, and, if it isn't, the light on the outside turns from blue to red. Ten minutes later, if the device is still switched off, a spring-loaded mechanism pops the plug out of the socket like a projectile from a toy dart gun. As far as methods for cutting down on power consumption go, this one is very direct. The PumPing Tap was even one of the winners of the Red Dot Design Concept award.

Of course there are some obvious drawbacks to this method of energy conservation. For one, most people have at least a handful of outlets hidden behind furniture specifically to keep them out of the way, so plugging an electrical cord back in could mean rearranging the living room. Plus there's the lingering question of how much energy needs to be used for the cord to stay plugged in. It's too easy to imagine a fully charged mobile phone's power cord being ejected from the wall, leaving the phone's battery to slowly drain.
Source: Yanko Design

Snapkeys aims to replace QWERTY keyboards on mobile devices

Snapkeys 2i is a four-key typing system app for mobile devices, that is said to be much more efficient than the standard QWERTY virtual keyboard

At next month's Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2012) in Las Vegas, tech start-up Snapkeys will be attempting to break the Guinness World Record for fastest typing speed. The company will be making its record attempt using volunteers (who it is currently in the process of recruiting), and its new 2i typing system for mobile devices. Unlike traditional systems that utilize a full QWERTY virtual keyboard that takes up much of the screen, 2i incorporates just four onscreen keys ... and they're all invisible.
The system divides up the letters of the alphabet between the four keys - or Snapkeys, specifically - based on their shape. These groupings consist of letters that stand on one point (such as F and I), letters that stand on two points (N, A, etc.), letters that stand on a wide base (L, E, etc.) and letters that include a complete circle in their shape (R, O, etc.). Basic punctuation marks and shapes are also included.

To use the 2i system, users simply thumb the spots on their device's touchscreen that correspond to the regions where the different letters are located within each Snapkey. Although the keys themselves aren't displayed onscreen, a translucent outline of each one does flash up when it's touched, to help guide users.
According to its designers, 2i not only frees up the screen from the clutter of a visual QWERTY keyboard, but it also allows for faster, more intuitive typing. To that end, they have put out an invitation for interested parties to download a trial version of the app from the company website - those people who demonstrate the fastest Snapkeys typing speeds will be invited on an all-expenses paid trip to CES, to make an attempt at the world record.
A commercial version of Snapkeys 2i should be available "soon," via the App Store and Android Market. It will work in a number of different languages, with US English as its default setting.
The first video below shows how the system groups letters, while the second shows it being put into practice.

Apple files patents for hydrogen fuel cell technology to power mobile devices

Technical diagram from Apple's patent application for a hydrogen fuel cell system to power portable computing devices

Two recent patent applications by Apple indicate the company is looking at developing a hydrogen fuel cell system to complement the rechargeable batteries in a "portable computing device" - which could refer to Apple's range of mobile iDevices, its MacBook range of notebooks - or both. The applications say the technology could potentially power portable electronic devices for "days or even weeks," which would be sure to silence critics and users who have long complained about the poor battery life of not just Apple's, but all mobile computing devices.
Despite improvements in battery technology in recent years, as well as more energy efficient chips, poor battery life continues to be the bane of the mobile gadget lover's existence. The idea of using hydrogen fuel cells to power portable devices isn't new. Horizon's MINIPAK and Toshiba's Dynario that extend the power of portable devices have been on the market for a couple of years now. But despite being portable, they aren't exactly small enough to be integrated into a mobile phone unless a return to the days of the 80s-style "brick" is on the cards.

One of Apple's patent applications says its fuel cell design would be capable of both providing power to and receiving power from a rechargeable battery, which "eliminates the need for a bulky and heavy battery within the fuel cell system, which can significantly reduce the size, weight and cost of the fuel cell system." Such a system could also offer instant refueling by swapping in a full fuel cartridge instead of waiting by an electrical outlet until a battery recharges.
Both patent applications were published by the US Patent & Trademark Office on December 22, but the first, entitled, "Fuel Cell System to Power a Portable Computing Device," was filed in August 2010, while the second, "Fuel Cell System Coupled to a Portable Computing Device," which was a continuation-in-part to the first, was filed in April 2011. This suggests Apple has been working on a replacement battery technology for some time - and they definitely aren't the only ones.
If and when hydrogen fuel cell technology makes it into mobile devices is still anyone's guess. But those salivating at the thought of a mobile phone or notebook computer that can operate for days or weeks without a recharge and can be refueled in seconds will be hoping it is sooner rather than later.

Microsoft's Windows 8 Certification Requirements Revealed

Remember the 'Vista Capable' lawsuit from a few years back? Microsoft appeared to have learned its lesson and enjoyed a much smoother roll out with Windows 7, and looking ahead, the Redmond software giant has already determined what will be required on the hardware side to run Windows 8. Microsoft actually released its "Windows 8 Hardware Certification Requirements" documents last month, but for the most part, it went largely unnoticed, by us included.

In any event, there are quite a few interesting tidbits included in the documents that have nothing do with the recent happenings with ARM. For example, Microsoft requires that Windows 8 PCs joined to a domain and without keyboards implement a new CTRL + ALT + DEL combination, which will be Windows Key + Power.

Steven Sinofsky holds a first generation Lenovo netbook with an Atom CPU and 1GB of RAM running Win 8

Microsoft is also requiring a 2-second resume (except for ARM), driver upgrades without needing to reboot, digitizers supporting a minimum of five touch points for Windows 8 touch PCs, and calls for Windows 8 tablets and convertible PCs to have exactly five buttons:

1. Power
2. Rotation lock
3. Windows Key
4. Volume up
5. Volume down

Speaking of which, tablet and convertible PCs will have to sport at least 10GB of free space, UEFI firmware, WLAN and Bluetooth 4.0 + LE (low energy), a minimum resolution of 1366x768, a 720p camera, a various other hardware requirements.
You can check out the documents in more detail here.

Apple Plans Education Announcement, Are iPad Textbooks Coming Soon

you all know about the growth of digital textbooks. It appears Apple agrees there is a big future in digital textbook sales. According to various reports, Apple is planning to reveal a new product at a press conference this Thursday that will change the way students use textbooks.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting Apple's plans to reveal a new digital textbook product on Thursday and has cited unnamed sources familiar with the plans. This product is expected to give publishers a platform where they can create educational materials optimized for Apple's iPad tablet. The announcement is also expected to include information about partnerships with some of the well-known publishing companies such as McGraw-Hill.

Walter Isaacsson’s authorized biography of Steve Jobs gave us a hint that such a product could be in the works: In the biography, Isaacsson says Jobs had met with a number of publishers and believed all textbooks should be digital and interactive. Given Apple's stronghold in the tablet market, the move into digital textbooks makes sense as it would provide additional revenue for the company.
Of course, Apple isn't the first company to introduce digital textbooks. However, Apple wasn't the first company to introduce portable MP3 players or tablet computers, either, and we all know how successful the iPod and iPad have been.

electronicbrains.blogspot.com in 2011

Watch this video below it recaps the best gadgets and science inventions in 2011.

electronicbrains.blogspot.com