Latest Scientific Breakthroughs

Hi Guys,

The reason for this thread is that I am a regualar reader of New Scientist and at work I like to check out the latest articles (on my dinner break). It has been nearly two weeks since I last checked, so I went on today and there were literally loads of articles I would like to discuss and share with you guys.

Instead of creating an individual thread for each though, I have decided to lump a few of them together. The reason for this is that many threads soon get swamped out on these boards by the same old theme, and I for one think that many good threads get missed because of this. Hopefully this will interest some people, and I will continue to add further Scientific Articles in the future and would encourage you to do so.


Out-of-ThisWorld Proposal for Solar Wind Power

Forget wind power or conventional solar power, the world's energy needs could be met 100 billion times over using a satellite to harness the solar wind and beam the energy to Earth – though focussing the beam could be tricky.

New Scientist

I found this really interesting. Ok, if you read the article there is a slight problem that would need to be overcome (like there always is) but it is a huge step in the right direction in my opinion.

Deceptive Robots Hint at Machine Self-Awareness

A robot that tricks its opponent in a game of hide and seek is a step towards machines that can intuit our thoughts, intentions and feelings

New Scientist

There is a video to check out on this page. Anyone interested in Robotics will always be thinking of this scenario actually happening in reality, and this experiment seems to be indicating that it can and will happen. This raises very serious questions on what Robots will be used for. I, Robot anyone?

There are plenty more and I will continue to add to the list. Anyone interested should have a look at the website and post something they would like to discuss. There is a very interesting article about the STUXNET worm, but I didn't thin kthat was that appropriate here as it is already being discussed on the site, but fro ma technological point of view it gives an interesting perspective.

New Scientist Home Page

Sound Can Leap Across a Vacuum After All

NS Link

IN SPACE, no one can hear you scream. That's according to physics textbooks and the tagline of the movie Alien. But it seems that in some circumstances, sound can jump between objects in a vacuum after all. Sound waves are travelling vibrations of particles in media such as air, water or metal. So it stands to reason that they cannot travel through empty space, where there are no atoms or molecules to vibrate. Now a theoretical analysis by Mika Prunnila and Johanna Meltaus, both of the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland in Espoo, suggests that sound may be able to leap across a vacuum separating two objects made of piezoelectric crystals. These crystals generate an electric field when squeezed or stretched by sound waves or other forces, and deform in an electric field.

This just goes to show that we don't know everything about natural phenomana. I find this article interesting because piezoelectric crystals and cells are being investigated for the next generation energy devices and in naotechnology. See my post here:

Post

Also I have always found sound fascinating (harmonics, frequencies etc.) and the way that the ancients were aware of them and used them.

This could be a big breakthrough in many fields.

Charge Your Phone With a Beach Towel

NS Link

YOU'RE lying on the beach listening to music, and the battery in your MP3 player is running low. Not to worry: you can simply plug it into your towel for some extra juice. That scenario might not be far off thanks to inexpensive spray-on solar cells that can be applied to almost any surface, from plastic to fabrics. Conventional solar cells are expensive to make. One type, for example, is made using a technique called vapour deposition, in which a photovoltaic material is laid down on a surface at very high temperatures, and often in a vacuum. With a view to bringing costs down, Brian Korgel and colleagues at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a light-harvesting ink containing nanocrystals of copper indium diselenide. This can be sprayed onto a range of surfaces at room temperature using an airbrush. "It's essentially how you might paint your wall, except the pigment has a purpose," says Korgel.

Another breakthrough in Energy Production, notice a pattern emerging here? I am slightly bias because this is one of my favourite subjects, I mean who dosn't want FREE energy for all, right?

Not that this would probably be free, but the more breakthroughs we have and the more this technology gets out there, the better chance we have.

Random Numbers out of Nothing

NS Link

t's something from nothing. A random number generator that harnesses the quantum fluctuations in empty space could soon sit inside your computer. A device that creates truly random numbers is vital for a number of applications, including cryptography. Algorithms can generate numbers that pass statistical tests for randomness, but they're useless for secure cryptography if the algorithm falls into the wrong hands. Other methods using entangled ions to generate random numbers are more reliable, but tend to be slower and more expensive. Now Christian Gabriel's team at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Erlangen, Germany, has built a prototype that draws on a vacuum's random quantum fluctuations. These impart random noise to laser beams in the device, which converts it into numbers. "It's an easy method, and it's good value," says Gabriel.

My main reason for posting this one, is because if you look at the last three articles all of them include the use of Vaccuums. Now, for how long now have people been claiming they can create free energy and anti-gravity devices from vacuums?

Its something to consider as this is a conspiracy site after all, not just a tech forum.

Indian neutrino lab to boast world's biggest magnet

NS Link

A major neutrino observatory set to be built in India cleared a major hurdle this week, when the Ministry of Environment and Forests formally approved the project.

The $250 million underground laboratory, called the Indian Neutrino Observatory (INO), will be built in the Bodi West Hills Reserved Forest in the state of Tamil Nadu.

The hills there rise very steeply, so workers will have to tunnel only about 2 kilometres horizontally to provide the laboratory with about 1300 metres of high-quality granite cover above. The rock cover is needed to shield the neutrino detector from particles called muons that form when cosmic rays hit the atmosphere.

I know there are a couple of these Neutrino detectors in Antartica, but this is obviously a big experiment for the science community. My main reason for posting however is from a more 'conspiracy' orientated approach.

Have you guys seen 2012 the disaster blockbuster? The film (and the end of the world) started with a Neutrino detector in India detecting changes in the suns activity.

What has been siad before about certain groups disclosing their plans and such before hand? Kind of freaked me out slightly.

Smallest electric engine could power nanomachines

NS Link

A blueprint has been sketched out for the smallest ever electric motor, which could eventually be used to drive tiny conveyor belts or pumps in future nanomachines.

The motor's rotor is a long, coal-derived molecule called anthracene, which spins around an axle composed of two ethynyl units. Each end of this axle is connected to an electrode, and a third electrode – called the gate – is located slightly below the axle.

Applying an alternating current to this gate electrode sets up an oscillating electric field that surrounds the molecular motor and, according to the researchers' calculations, should cause the anthracene rotor to turn.

More up and coming nanotechnology. Tesla had some of the most brilliant ideas I have ever come across, but I doubt even he could have foreseen machines such as this.