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Tekanan Semakin Besar, Rupiah Melemah ke 13.787 per Dolar AS

2015-11-19T13:00:00.000+07:00

Tahukah Anda kalau ada beberapa perbedaan fisik antara uang kertas Rupiah dan Dolar AS?

Nilai tukar rupiah kembali melemah terhadap dolar Amerika Serikat (AS) pada perdagangan Kamis pekan ini. Dolar AS menguat karena semakin tingginya rencana kenaikan suku bunga acuan Bank Sentral AS (the Fed).

Mengutip Bloomberg, Kamis (19/11/2015), rupiah berada di level 13.772 per dolar AS pada pukul 10.55 WIB. level tersebut tak banyak berubah jika dibanding dengan pembukaan yang ada di angka 13.773 per dolar AS.

Namun nilai tukar rupiah tersebut menguat jika dibandingkan dengan penutupan sehari sebelumnya yang ada di level 13.819 per dolar AS.

Dari pagi hingga siang ini, rupiah diperdagangkan di antara 13.758 per dolar AS hinga 13.799 per dolar AS. Jika dihitung dari awal tahun, rupiah telah melemah 11,16 persen.

Sedangkan berdasarkan Kurs Referensi Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate (Jisdor) Bank Indonesia (BI), rupiah pada 19 november 2015 di level 13.787 per dolar AS, melemah jika dibandingkan dengan periode sehari sebelumnya atau pada 18 November 2015 tercatat 13.763 per dolar AS.

Head of Reseach and Analysis Divison PT Monex Investindo Futures, Ariston Tjendra menjelaskan, dolar AS menguat setelah semalam Bank Sentral AS mengeluarkan ringkasan hasil rapat yang dilakukan pada Oktober lalu yang ditangkap oleh pelaku pasar bahwa mereka akan menaikkan suku bunga acuan pada Desember nanti.

Ekonom PT Samuel Sekuritas, Rangga Cipta menambahkan, sentimen kenaikan suku bunga AS menekan mayoritas kurs di Asia. "Rupiah hingga menjelang FOMC meeting di akhir tahun berpeluang terus melemah," jelasnya.

Menurutnya, paket kebijakan yang rencananya akan dikeluarkan oleh pemerintah kemungkinan besar menahan pelemahan rupiah lebih dalam.

Sega Resmikan Valkyria: Revolution dan Valkyria Chronicles Remaster untuk PS4

2015-11-19T12:46:00.006+07:00

Sega baru saja memberi kejutan dengan memperkenalkan “Valkyria: Azure Revolution” (Judul Jepang:Aoki Kakumei no Valkyria) yang akan hadir di PlayStation 4. Game RPG ini adalah spinoff dari seriValkyria Chronicles dengan tema fantasi yang lebih kuat. Selain itu, mereka juga menyiapkan “Valkyria Chronicles Remaster” untuk PlayStation 4 juga.

Sebelum membahas detil tentang Valkyria: Azure Revolution, mari kita lihat detil Valkyria Chronicles Remaster terlebih dahulu. Game tactical RPG tersebut akan dirilis di Jepang ada tanggal 10 Februari 2016 untuk PS4. Remaster-nya akan menawarkan kualitas grafis yang ditingkatkan, semua DLC yang telah dirilis, dan juga fitur trophy. Yang paling menarik dari remaster ini adalah dilengkapi demo untukValkyria: Azure Revolution. Sega akan mengumpulkan feedback dari orang-orang yang memainkan demo-nya.

Valkyria: Azure Revelation akan dirilis di Jepang pada musim dingin 2016 untuk PlayStation 4. Detil perdana dari Famitsu juga mengungkapkan banyak informasi.

Prologue

Dengan ditemukannya mineral Ragnite, Rus Empire yang jaya berkembang cepat dalam bidang industri dan memperluas wilayahnya. Jutland, sebuah negara kecil yang ekonominya tertahan oleh negara-negara besar dan memiliki konsep “bebas dari aturan kolonial,” menyerang markas tentara milik Rus Empire.

Character

Amleth: Tokoh utama. Komandan dari pasukan elit Anti-Valkyria Unit di Jutland Kingdom.
Ophelia: Heroine. Putri dari Jutland Kingdom.
Byrnhildr: Valkyria yang berpihak dengan Rus Empire yang menghadang para tokoh utama.

System

“Gouache” Drawing Engine: Melalui warna yang detil dan terang, game-nya tampil seperti lukisan.
“LeGION” Battle System: Real-time battle system yang ditambah dengan elemen dari game strategi. Detil belum ada, tetapi screenshot-nya memperlihatkan seluruh anggota party menyerang secara bersamaan.

Staff

Developer: Media.Vision (seri Wild Arms, Shining Resonance, Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth)
Character Model: Flight Unit (God Eater, seri Atelier, Shining Resonance)
Chief Producer: Youichi Shimosato
Producer: Katsura Mikami
Director: Takeshi Ozawa (Valkyria Chronicles)
Character Design: Hiro Kiyohara, Takayama Toshiaki

Berikut adalah hasil wawancara antara Famitsu dengan sutradara Takeshi Ozawa dan chief producerYouichi Simosato:

Bagaimana pengerjaan game Valkyria baru ini dimulai…

Ozawa: “Kami ingin melakukan sesuatu yang baru dengan menggunakan Valkyria, dan salah satu yang ingin kami lakukan adalah menggunakan real-time battle system. Awalnya, kami mempertimbangkan untuk membuat real-time strategy, tetapi kami akhirnya memilih RPG karena kami merasa itu yang kebanyakan gamer ingin memainkannya.”

Hubungan game ini dengan Valkyria Chronicles…

Ozawa: “Kali ini kami memilih RPG. Konsep sistem pertarungan dan sensasi pertarungannya masih sama, tetapi karena ini adalah RPG dengan elemen strategi, kalian akan merasakan area pertarungan dengan perspektif yang berbeda.”

Mengenai alur game-nya…

Ozawa: “Kalian akan merasakan perasaan yang memuaskan ketika merebut wilayah dari negara yang kuat dan memperluas cangkupan kalian. Kalian akan mempersiapkan diri di markas, pergi ke tempat misi, selesaikan misi, dan kembali ke markas. Game ini serupa dengan RPG yang kalian pergi kedungeon.”

Mengenai dunianya…

Ozawa: “Ini benar-benar berbeda (dengan Valkyria Chronicles). Kali ini, fokus utama yang dikenal sebagai Ragnite bukan hanya digunakan sebagai sumber energi saja, tetapi juga memiliki aspek sihir. Valkyria adalah supernatural jika dibandingkan dengan manusia, makhluk yang dianggap dekat dengan dewa.”

Shimosato: “Saya ingin Valkyria terbagi menjadi seri Senjou dan seri Kakumei.” (Penjelasan: Ini artinya adalah seri “Battlefield” dan seri “Revolution.” Di Jepang, Valkyria Chronicles dikenal sebagai “Senjou no Valkyria” atau “Valkyria of the Battlefield.” Sedangkan game baru ini adalah “Aoki Kakumei no Valkyria” atau “Valkyria of the Azure Revolution.”)

Mengenai pertarungan…

Ozawa: “Akan ada symbol encounter (musuh terlihat di peta), tetapi simbolnya ditampilkan sebagai unit. Kalian akan bisa berinteraksi dengan simbolnya sebelum encounter. Kalian bisa sniping simbol musuh dari jauh, menggunakan smokescreen untuk menghalau mereka, atau menembak dengan senapan untuk memancing mereka. Sniping sangat kuat, tetapi di pertarungan berfungsi seperti item, jadi ada batas jumlah pengunaan.

“Pertarungan dilakukan dengan menaruh perintah di tombol. Pertarungannya penuh aksi dan tampilannya serupa dengan RPG kini. Jumlah maksimal anggota party adalah lima orang. Kalian akan mengendalikan salah satu di antara mereka, dan sisanya akan bergerak berdasarkan alur perintah yang sudah diatur.”

Shimosato: “Karena ada makhluk yang berubah jadi tank, ada juga senjata yang seperti makhluk hidup.”

Pesan untuk fans…

Shimosato: “Kami masih belum mengumumkannya, tetapi kami memilih komposer ternama untuk musiknya.”

Ozawa: “Ada bagian yang serupa dengan Valkyria Chronicles, tetapi karena secara keseluruhan ini adalah game yang berbeda, kami harap kalian bisa menikmati game ini sebagai seri baru.”

Sumber: Gematsu

Bushiroad Akan Merilis Anime dan TCG Baru, ‘Luck and Logic’

2015-11-19T12:39:00.004+07:00

Kabar baik (mungkin buruk) bagi para penggemar permainan Trading Card Game karena Bushiroad, perusahaan tempat larinya slip gaji kamu akan merilis anime dan set TCG baru berjudul Luck and Logic! Berikut adalah PV pertama seri tersebut.

Tentu saja, dalam PV tersebut diumumkan para staf dan pemeran yang akan mengerjakan seri ini, mereka adalah:

Staf

Original: Septpia
Penulis Naskah: Takahashi Yuuya (Queen-B)
Sutradara: Chigira Kouichi
Asisten sutradara: Naoya Takashi
Desainer karakter/konsep: Shimazaki Mari
Desainer karakter: Aoi Rei
Desainer sub-karakter: Kumagai Katsuhiro
Desainer creature: Andou Kenji
Desainer mekanik: Tani Hiroshi, Kobayashi Makoto
Sutradara seni: Kakoi Hirotsugu (Totonyan)
Desainer warna: Ishiguro Kei
Sutradara pengambilan gambar: Kuwano Takayuki
Sutradara 3D: Inomoto Eiji
Editor: Hida Aya
Pengatur setting: Kaihou Norimitsu (Nitro+)
Musik: Katou Tatsuya
Produksi musik: Lantis
Pengarah musik: Gouda Hozumi
Studio animasi: Douga Koubou
Produksi: Project Luck & Logic

Seiyuu

Tsurugi Yoshichika: Ono Kenshou
Athena: Uehara Sumire
Yurine Tamaki: Taneda Risa
Venus: Touyama Nao
Chloe Maxwell: Tokui Sora
Valkyrie: Omigawa Chiaki
Asuha Mana: Minase Inori
Artemis: Orikasa Fumiko
Veronika Ananko: Mizuno Risa
Nemesis: Kitta Izumi
Nanahoshi Yukari: Aimi
Orga Brakechild: Matsuoka Yoshitsugu
Yaruno Genno: Gouda Hozumi
Tsurugi Shiori: Kayano Ai
Pieri: Ueda Kana
Quetzalcoatl: Nakatani Ryuu
Logigraph: Mimori Suzuko

Proyek ini dijadwalkan untuk tayang pada bulan Januari 2016, dan ditayangkan pada stasiun-stasiun televisi seperti Tokyo MX, Sunterebi, BS11, dan KBS sekitar pukul 10.30 malam waktu Jepang. Karena masih cukup lama, masih ada waktu untuk mempersiapkan amunisi sebelum anime dan TCGnya mulai dijual.

sumber: Yaraon!

Inilah 10 Besar Karakter Dengan Rambut Tergila Versi Charapedia

2015-11-19T12:34:00.000+07:00

Rambut adalah salah satu yang akan menentukan semenarik apakah suatu karakter dalam sebuah seri. Terutama bila kita berbicara seri shonen, pastinya mereka harus membuat karakter dengan visualisasi yang mudah diingat oleh anak muda. Saat Gintoki berbicara mengenai parodi Gintaman pun dia berkata kalau seorang pemeran utama harus bisa dibedakan lewat siluetnya saja, dan saat itulah rambut jadi berperan penting.

Kali ini, Charapedia berusaha untuk menemukan karakter manakah yang paling gila rambutnya, dengan bertanya kepada 10,000 orang responden. 54,8% responden berjenis kelamin pria, dan 45,2% responden berjenis kelamin wanita menjamin jajak pendapat yang cukup seimbang. Siapakah karakter dengan rambut tergila versi Charapedia? Berikut adalah hasilnya.

10. Giorno Giovana (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)

9. Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo (Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo)

8. Namihei Isono (Sazae-san)

7. Suneo Honekawa (Doraemon)

6. Kenpachi Zaraki (Bleach)

5. Gon (Hunter x Hunter)

4. Jean Pierre Polnareff (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)

3. Ran Mouri (Detective Conan)

2. Son Goku (Dragon Ball)

1. Yugi Mutou (Yu-Gi-Oh!)

Mungkin hampir sudah dipastikan kalau Yugi Mutou akan menempati peringkat pertamanya. Apalagi mengingat rambutnya yang memiliki kehendak sendiri tiba-tiba berubah saat kepribadiannya berganti dengan Atem. 10 besar daftar ini dipenuhi oleh karakter-karakter dengan rambut jigrak yang sepertinya dapat memotong layaknya pisau.

Son Goku menempati peringkat kedua, mungkin karena selain rambutnya yang boros gel, dia juga bisa memanjangkannya semaunya dengan Super Saiya 3 dan mewarnainya dengan Super Saiya God. Peringkat ketiga ditempati Ran yang walaupun nyaris semua dari gadis ini normal, ada misteri rambutnya yang mencuat di depannya. Misteri yang mungkin jauh lebih menarik daripada organisasi yang sedang Conan kejar.

Dalam 20 besar pun beberapa nama menarik juga keluar, seperti Kakyoin dari Jojo’s Bizarre Adventuredan Franky dari One Piece. Kotori Minami dengan rambut uniknya menempati posisi ke 11, dan yang paling mengherankan Saitama dari One Punch Man berada di posisi ke 13. Really now? Saitama kan tidak punya rambut?

sumber: Charapedia

Iklan Season Kedua ‘Ansatsu Kyoushitsu’ Ditayangkan

2015-11-19T12:28:00.001+07:00

Situs resmi bagi season kedua anime Ansatsu Kyoushitsu baru saja menayangkan iklan terbaru untuk mempromosikan season barunya. Iklan tersebut ditayangkan pada hari Selasa lalu dan dijadwalkan seri tersebut akan tayang pada bulan Januari tahun 2016.

Staf utama dari seri sebelumnya kembali untuk mengerjakan sekuel bulan Januari nanti. Seiji Kishi (Persona 4 the Animation) akan menyutradarai film tersebut di studio Lerche. Kazuaki Morita (Persona 4 the Animation) akan menangani desain karakternya. Makoto Uezu (Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio, School Days) akan menulis naskah untuk seri anime ini.

22 episode pertamanya sudah ditayangkan di Jepang pada tanggal 9 Januari lalu dan adaptasi film live-actionnya juga ditayangkan pada tanggal 21 Maret. Di Indonesia sendiri, film live-actionnya ditayangkan pada bulan Oktober lalu. Film live-action keduanya dijadwalkan untuk tayang pada musim semi tahun 2016.

sumber: ANN

Anime “GATE” Umumkan Arc Untuk Season Baru Dan Penyanyi Lagu Tema

2015-11-19T12:24:00.002+07:00

Dalam jeda menuju season 2 dari anime militer-fantasi GATE, seri itu mengumumkan beberapa informasi baru terkait season 2 yang baru akan ditayangkan tahun depan nanti.

Dilaporkan bahwa penyanyi lagu opening season 1, Kishida Kyodan & Akeboshi Rockets akan kembali untuk menyanyikan lagu season 2 GATE yang akan bertajuk “GATE II ~Sekai o Koete~”. Sementara untuk endingnya, para pengisi suara dari 3 heroine Lelei, Tuka dan Rory akan menyanyikan lagu baru.

Arc yang akan diadapasi di season 2 nanti adalah Arc “Flame Dragon“. Bagi yang sudah baca manga ataunovel-nya pasti cukup familiar dengan arc yang akan jadi cukup intens ini. Silahkan tunggu season 2GATE yang akan mulai tayang Januari tahun depan nanti.

Sumber: ANN

Bukan ISPA Lagi, Bayi 3 Bulan Alami Bronchopneumonia Akibat Asap

2015-10-22T14:26:00.003+07:00

Kabut asap juga melanda Kota Jambi, yang mengakibatkan jadwal penerbangan di Bandara Sultan Thaha terganggu.

Jambi - Ratih, bayi berusia 3 bulan, terpaksa harus dilarikan ke RSUD Abdul Manap Kota Jambi. Sudah cukup lama bayi malang itu mengalami gangguan pernafasan diduga akibat kabut asap.

"Sebelumnya sudah kita bawa ke Puskesmas dan diberikan obat. Namun kondisinya tidak kunjung membaik," ujar Rita, ibu dari bayi Ratih, Kamis (22/10/2015).

Paman Ratih, Andi mengatakan, ia dan orangtua Ratih sempat panik kala bertemu dokter. Ini karena dokter menyebut keponakannya menderita penyakit yang lebih parah dari Infeksi Saluran Pernafasan Akut (ISPA). "Ia kata dokternya lebih parah dari ISPA," kata Andi.

Oleh dokter, kata Andi, Ratih disarankan menjalani rawat inap. Usai dibawa ke RSUD Abdul Manap, Ratih langsung dibawa ke ruang IGD kemudian diberi oksigen.

Lebih lanjut Andi mengatakan, dari keterangan dokter di RSUD Abdul Manap, Ratih menderita Bronchopneumonia akut yang diakibatkan dari asap. "Saya kurang tahu itu penyakit apa, tapi kata dokter itu karena asap," ujar Andi lagi.

Terpisah, Kepala Dinas Kesehatan (Dinkes) Kota Jambi Ida Yuliati mengatakan, tidak ada alasan bagi anak yang sakit untuk tidak mendapatkan perawatan. "Jangan sampai ada pasien yang tidak mendapatkan perawatan," kata dia.

Menurut Ida, jika pasien dari keluarga tidak mampu, bisa mendapatkan Surat Keterangan Tidak Mampu (SKTM). Namun harus benar-benar dibuktikan dengan surat pengantar dari instansi berwenang. Selain itu, dalam mendapatkan rujukan juga harus sesuai prosedur.

Jambi menjadi satu daerah yang menyatakan darurat kabut asap. Kondisi udara selama sepekan terakhir masuk kategori berbahaya dengan level Indeks Standar Pencemaran Udara (ISPU) sudah mencapai angka di atas 600.

Kabut asap yang menyelimuti Kota Jambi terpantau sudah bercampur partikel bahan yang terbakar. Warna kabut asap juga sudah berubah warna menjadi kekuningan.

Bandara SSK II Pekanbaru Kembali Lumpuh Akibat Kabut Asap

2015-10-22T14:25:00.000+07:00

Lintasan bandara Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau diselimuti asap

Pekanbaru - Otoritas Bandara Internasional Sultan Syarif Kasim (SSK) II Pekanbaru menyatakan aktivitas penerbangan baik rute domestik dan internasional kembali lumpuh setelah 78 jadwal dibatalkan maskapai akibat kabut asap.

"Sampai jam 21.00 WIB malam ini, sudah batal total 78 penerbangan dengan jarak pandang terakhir sekitar 300 meter," papar Airport Duty Manager Bandara Internasional SSK II, Ongah Hasnan di Pekanbaru, Rabu (21/10/2015).

Ongah berujar, kondisi lumpuhnya bandara setempat juga dialami pada Senin 19 Oktober lalu, setelah maskapai terpaksa membatalkan 78 penerbangan baik menuju atau dari Kota Pekanbaru, Provinsi Riau.

Ia menambahkan, kemarin atau Selasa 20 Oktober 2015, dari 70 penerbangan sesuai jadwal, 4 penerbangan di antaranya terbang karena kondisi cuaca cukup baik atau berada 1.000 meter pada siang hari, sedangkan 66 penerbangan lain dinyatakan batal oleh maskapai.

"Jarak pandang malam ini sangat buruk, mulai dari tadi pagi, sehingga tidak terdapat 1 pesawat pun yang berani terbang dari bandara asal," terang Ongah.

Sebelumnya, Ongah menjelaskan, saat ini tinggal 1 penerbangan terakhir yang belum memutuskan untuk membatalkan penerbangan yakni Lion Air dengan nomor penerbangan JT-296 rute Jakarta-Pekanbaru pada pukul 22.15 WIB mendarat.

Terakhir pihaknya mendapat pemberitahuan pembatalan keberangkatan dari maskapai Lion bahwa JT-296 dari Bandara Internasional Soekarno-Hatta, Tangerang, Banten, batal diberangkatkan.

"Pesawat JT-296 untuk nginap di Pekanbaru, tapi terakhir batal, sehingga penerbangan untuk besok pagi dari Pekanbaru ditiadakan," ucap Ongah Hasnan.

Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika (BMKG) Stasiun Pekanbaru menyatakan sebagian daerah di Provinsi Riau, Rabu ini, diselimuti kabut asap pekat dengan jarak pandang berkisar 200 meter hingga 900 meter akibat asap kiriman di Sumatera.

Data BMKG pada sore tadi pukul 16.00 WIB kabut asap akibat kebakaran hutan dan lahan terparah terpantau di Pelalawan dan Kota Rengat, Kabupaten Indragiri Hulu yang menyebabkan jarak pandang berkisar 200 meter.

"Selanjutnya di Dumai dan Pekanbaru jarak pandang berkisar 300 meter," beber Kepala BMKG Pekanbaru Sugarin.

Light Novel Fantasi “Hai to Gensou no Grimgar” Umumkan Adaptasi Anime

2015-10-22T13:58:00.000+07:00

Dosis adaptasi anime dari light novel fantasi berikutnya sudah diumumkan, dan kali ini akan mengambil seri yang berjudul “Hai to Gensou no Grimgar“.

Seri ini bercerita tentang Haruhito, seorang pemuda yang tampaknya berasal dari dunia lain dan tiba-tiba terlempar ke dunia fantasi bernama “Grimgar” bersama beberapa anak muda lainnya. Tanpa ingatan apa-apa mengenai masa lalu mereka, mereka harus berjuang untuk dapat hidup di dunia yang asing yang penuh bahaya.

Perbedaan seri ini adalah para karakter utamanya memulai petualangan sebagai manusia biasa tanpa kekuatan khusus atau sudah IMBA seperti protagonis di beberapa adaptasi sebelumnya. Mereka lemah, miskin, dan harus berkumpul dengan yang lain untuk dapat membunuh satu monster kecil supaya bisa dapat uang demi sesuap nasi.

Ryosuke Nakamura menyutradarai anime ini di studio A-1 Pictures dengan Mieko Hosoi mendesain karakternya. Grimgar akan mulai tayang bulan Januari tahun depan.

Sumber: ANN

“Isshukan Friends” Akan Dapatkan Adaptasi Film Live Action

2015-10-22T13:50:00.001+07:00

Belum lama setelah manga dan anime-nya tamat, Isshukan Friends sudah mengumumkan proyek adaptasi berikutnya. Tidak tanggung-tanggung, seri ini akan jadi film live action!

Hal ini diumumkan di majalah Gangan Joker edisi terbaru yang memuat manga baru sang pengarang,Matcha Hazuki yang baru menamatkan Isshukan Friends Januari lalu. Sayang belum ada info lain dimuat mengenai hal ini selain bahwa proyek film live action yang sudah dikonfirmasi.

Manga Isshukan Friends sendiri baru tamat Januari lalu, dengan anime-nya tayang di tahun 2014 dan sekarang sang mangaka mengerjakan manga baru berjudul “Boku ga Boku de Aru Tame ni”. Siap nge-FEELS lagi?

Sumber: Cruncyhroll

What happens when your brain can't tell which way is up?

2015-10-16T22:33:00.003+07:00

This illustration shows the configuration for conducting neurocognitive assessments for the Neuromapping study aboard the International Space Station.

Credit: Credits: NASA

In space, there is no "up" or "down." That can mess with the human brain and affect the way people move and think in space. An investigation on the International Space Station seeks to understand how the brain changes in space and ways to deal with those changes.

Previous research and first-hand reports suggest that humans have a harder time controlling physical movement and completing mental tasks in microgravity. Astronauts have experienced problems with balance and perceptual illusions -- feeling as if, for example, they are switching back and forth between right-side-up and upside down.
The Spaceflight Effects on Neurocognitive Performance: Extent, Longevity, and Neural Bases (NeuroMapping) study is examining changes in both brain structure and function and determining how long it takes to recover after returning from space.
Researchers are using both behavioral assessments and brain imaging. Astronauts complete timed obstacle courses and tests of their spatial memory, or the ability to mentally picture and manipulate a three-dimensional shape, before and after spaceflight. The spatial memory test also is performed aboard the station, along with sensory motor adaptation tests and computerized exercises requiring them to move and think simultaneously. Astronauts are tested shortly after arriving aboard the station, mid-way through and near the end of a six-month flight.
Structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain are done pre-flight and post-flight.
"We are looking at the volume of different structures in the brain and whether they change in size or shape during spaceflight," said principal investigator Rachael D. Seidler, director of the University of Michigan's Neuromotor Behavior Laboratory.
Functional MRIs involve astronauts completing a task during the imaging, which will show researchers which parts of the brain they rely on to do so.
According to Seidler, both the behavioral assessment and brain imaging are important to help identify the relationship between physical changes in the brain and those in behavior.
"On Earth, your vestibular -- or balance -- system tells you how your head moves relative to gravity, but in space, the gravity reference is gone," Seidler said. "That causes these perceptual illusions, as well as difficulty coordinating movement of the eyes and head."
These difficulties could have serious consequences for astronauts, especially when changing between gravitational environments, such as landing on Mars. In those cases, astronauts will need to be able to perform tasks such as using tools and driving a rover, and they must be capable of escape in a landing emergency.
Identifying the physical mechanisms behind changes in behavior and how much time it takes to adapt will help researchers determine how best to help space explorers compensate. The study results could also reveal whether astronauts return to "normal" post-flight because the brain changes back, or if the brain instead learns to compensate for the changes that happened in space.
Scientists know that brain changes and adaptations happen here on Earth as well. As people age, for example, they use more brain networks than a younger person does to perform the same task. Chemotherapy, injury and illness also can trigger such adaptation. Co-investigator Patricia A. Reuter-Lorenz, chair of psychology at the University of Michigan, said a major benefit of this study is that the subjects are fit, healthy astronauts. That will make it possible to apply the findings across a range of causes.
Learning more about how the human brain changes in space will help scientists better understand the ways it can recover and adapt in space, and on Earth.
At least here on Earth, people can usually tell which way is up.

Story Source:
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Johnson Space Center. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

A cosmic sackful of black coal

2015-10-16T21:53:00.000+07:00

This image from the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope shows part of the huge cloud of dust and gas known as the Coalsack Nebula. The dust in this nebula absorbs and scatters the light from background stars.

Credit: ESO

The Coalsack Nebula is located about 600 light-years away in the constellation of Crux. This huge, dusky object forms a conspicuous silhouette against the bright, starry band of the Milky Way and for this reason the nebula has been known to people in the southern hemisphere for as long as our species has existed.

The Spanish explorer Vicente Yáñez Pinzón first reported the existence of the Coalsack Nebula to Europe in 1499. The Coalsack later garnered the nickname of the Black Magellanic Cloud, a play on its dark appearance compared to the bright glow of the two Magellanic Clouds, which are in fact satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. These two bright galaxies are clearly visible in the southern sky and came to the attention of Europeans during Ferdinand Magellan's explorations in the 16th century. However, the Coalsack is not a galaxy. Like other dark nebulae, it is actually an interstellar cloud of dust so thick that it prevents most of the background starlight from reaching observers.
A significant number of the dust particles in dark nebulae have coats of frozen water, nitrogen, carbon monoxide and other simple organic molecules. The resulting grains largely prevent visible light from passing through the cosmic cloud. To get a sense of how truly dark the Coalsack is, back in 1970, the Finnish astronomer Kalevi Mattila published a study estimating that the Coalsack has only about 10 percent of the brightness of the encompassing Milky Way. A little bit of background starlight, however, still manages to get through the Coalsack, as is evident in the new ESO image and in other observations made by modern telescopes.
The little light that does make it through the nebula does not come out the other side unchanged. The light we see in this image looks redder than it ordinarily would. This is because the dust in dark nebulae absorbs and scatters blue light from stars more than red light, tinting the stars several shades more crimson than they would otherwise be.
Millions of years in the future the Coalsack's dark days will come to an end. Thick interstellar clouds like the Coalsack contain lots of dust and gas -- the fuel for new stars. As the stray material in the Coalsack coalesces under the mutual attraction of gravity, stars will eventually light up, and the coal "nuggets" in the Coalsack will "combust," almost as if touched by a flame.

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The above post is reprinted from materials provided by ESO. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Hubble's planetary portrait captures changes in Jupiter's Great Red Spot

2015-10-16T21:44:00.003+07:00

This new image from the largest planet in the Solar System, Jupiter, was made during the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) programme. The images from this programme make it possible to determine the speeds of Jupiter's winds, to identify different phenomena in its atmosphere and to track changes in its most famous features.

Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Simon (GSFC), M. Wong (UC Berkeley), and G. Orton (JPL-Caltech)

Scientists using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have produced new maps of Jupiter that show the continuing changes in its famous Great Red Spot. The images also reveal a rare wave structure in the planet's atmosphere that has not been seen for decades. The new image is the first in a series of annual portraits of the Solar System's outer planets, which will give us new glimpses of these remote worlds, and help scientists to study how they change over time.

In this new image of Jupiter a broad range of features has been captured, including winds, clouds and storms. The scientists behind the new images took pictures of Jupiter using Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 over a ten-hour period and have produced two maps of the entire planet from the observations. These maps make it possible to determine the speeds of Jupiter's winds, to identify different phenomena in its atmosphere and to track changes in its most famous features.
The new images confirm that the huge storm, which has raged on Jupiter's surface for at least three hundred years, continues to shrink, but that it may not go out without a fight. The storm, known as the Great Red Spot, is seen here swirling at the centre of the image of the planet. It has been decreasing in size at a noticeably faster rate from year to year for some time. But now, the rate of shrinkage seems to be slowing again, even though the spot is still about 240 kilometres smaller than it was in 2014.
The spot's size is not the only change that has been captured by Hubble. At the centre of the spot, which is less intense in colour than it once was, an unusual wispy filament can be seen spanning almost the entire width of the vortex. This filamentary streamer rotates and twists throughout the ten-hour span of the Great Red Spot image sequence, distorted by winds that are blowing at 540 kilometres per hour.
There is another feature of interest in this new view of our giant neighbour. Just north of the planet's equator, researchers have found a rare wave structure, of a type that has been spotted on the planet only once before, decades ago by the Voyager 2 mission, which was launched in 1977. In the Voyager 2 images the wave was barely visible and astronomers began to think its appearance was a fluke, as nothing like it has been seen since, until now.
The current wave was found in a region dotted with cyclones and anticyclones. Similar waves -- called baroclinic waves -- sometimes appear in Earth's atmosphere where cyclones are forming. The wave may originate in a clear layer beneath the clouds, only becoming visible when it propagates up into the cloud deck, according to the researchers.
The observations of Jupiter form part of the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) programme, which will allow Hubble to dedicate time each year to observing the outer planets. In addition to Jupiter,Neptune and Uranus have already been observed as part of the programme and maps of these planets will be placed in the public archive. Saturn will be added to the series later. The collection of maps that will be built up over time will help scientists not only to understand the atmospheres of giant planets in the Solar System, but also the atmospheres of our own planet and of the planets that are being discovered around other stars.

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The above post is reprinted from materials provided by ESA/Hubble Information Centre. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Dirt-cheap catalyst may lower fuel costs for hydrogen-powered cars

2015-10-16T21:27:00.003+07:00

Sandia National Laboratories post-doctoral fellow Stan Chou demonstrates a dye excited by light providing electrons for catalyst molybdenum disulfide.

Credit: Randy Montoya, Sandia National Laboratories

Sandia National Laboratories researchers seeking to make hydrogen a less expensive fuel for cars have upgraded a catalyst nearly as cheap as dirt -- molybdenum disulfide, "molly" for short -- to stand in for platinum, a rare element with the moonlike price of $1,500 a gram.

Sandia-induced changes elevate the plentiful, 37-cents-a-gram molly from being a welterweight outsider in the energy-catalyst field -- put crudely, a lazy bum that never amounted to much -- to a possible contender with the heavyweight champ.
The improved catalyst, expected to be the subject of an Oct. 7 Nature Communications paper, has already released four times the amount of hydrogen ever produced by molly from water.
To Sandia postdoctoral fellow and lead author Stan Chou, this is just the beginning: "We should get far more output as we learn to better integrate molly with, for example, fuel-cell systems," he said.
An additional benefit is that molly's action can be triggered by sunlight, a feature which eventually may provide users an off-the-grid means of securing hydrogen fuel.
Hydrogen fuel is desirable because, unlike gasoline, it doesn't release carbon into the atmosphere when burned. The combustion of hydrogen with oxygen produces an exhaust of only water.
In Chou's measured words, "The idea was to understand the changes in the molecular structure of molybdenum disulfide (MOS?), so that it can be a better catalyst for hydrogen production: closer to platinum in efficiency, but earth-abundant and cheap. We did this by investigating the structural transformations of MOS? at the atomic scale, so that all of the materials parts that were 'dead' can now work to make H? [hydrogen]."
The rind of an orange
in what sense were the parts "dead," one might ask?
Visualize an orange slice where only the rind of the orange is useful; the rest -- the edible bulk of the orange -- must be thrown away. Molly exists as a stack of flat nanostructures, like a pile of orange slices. These layers are not molecularly bolted together like a metal but instead are loose enough to slide over one another -- a kind of grease, similar to the structure of graphene, and with huge internal surface areas.
But here's the rub: While the edges of these nanostructures match platinum in their ability to catalyze hydrogen, the relative immense surface area of their sliding interiors are useless because their molecular arrangements are different from their edges. Because of this excess baggage, a commercial catalyst would require a huge amount of molly. The slender edges would work hard like Cinderella, but the stepsister interiors would just hang out, doing nothing.
Chou, who works on two-dimensional materials and their properties, thought the intent should be to get these stepsisters jobs.
Empowering the center
"There are many ways to do this," said co-author Bryan Kaehr, "but the most scalable way is to separate the nanosheets in solution using lithium. With this method, as you pull the material apart, its molecular lattice changes into different forms; the end product, as it turns out, is catalytically active like the edge structure."
To determine what was happening, and the best way to make it happen, the Sandia team used computer simulations generated by coauthor Na Sai from the University of Texas at Austin that suggested which molecular changes to look for. The team also observed changes with the most advanced microscopes at Sandia. including the FEI Titan, an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope able to view atoms normally too small to see on most scopes.
"The extended test period made possible by the combined skills of our group allowed the reactions to be observed with the amount of detail needed," said Chou.
Lacking these tools, researchers at other labs had ended their tests before the reaction could complete itself, like a cook taking sugar and water off the stove before syrup is produced, resulting in a variety of conflicting intermediate results.
Ending confusion
"Why Stan's work is impactful is that there was so much confusion as to how this process works and what structures are actually formed," said Kaehr. "He unambiguously showed that this desirable catalytic form is the end result of the completed reaction."
Said Sandia Fellow and University of New Mexico professor Jeff Brinker, another paper author, "People want a non-platinum catalyst. Molly is dirt cheap and abundant. By making these relatively enormous surface areas catalytically active, Stan established understanding of the structural relation of these two-dimensional materials that will determine how they will be used in the long run. You have to basically understand the material before you can move forward in changing industrial use."
Kaehr cautions that what's been established is a fundamental proof of principle, not an industrial process. "Water splitting is a challenging reaction. It can be poisoned, stopping the molly reaction after some time period. Then you can restart it with acid. There are many intricacies to be worked out.
"But getting inexpensive molly to work this much more efficiently could drive hydrogen production costs way down."
'Green' inorganic photosynthesis
Not requiring electricity to prompt the reaction may be convenient in some circumstances and also keep costs down.
"A molly catalyst is essentially a 'green' technology," said Chou. "We used sunlight for the experiment's motive power. The light is processed through a dye, which harvests the light. A photocatalytic process stores that energy in the chemical bonds of the liberated hydrogen molecule.
"It's a kind of photosynthesis, but using inorganic materials rather than plants," Chou continued. "Plants use enzymes powered by sunlight to break up water into hydrogen and oxygen in a delicate process. We're proposing a similar thing here, but in a more rapid reaction and with sturdier components."
Kaehr said, "You could generate hydrogen and use it whenever. Hydrogen doesn't lose charge over time or suffer from conversion inefficiencies as do batteries in a solar car."
Other paper authors were Ping Lu, Eric Coker, Sheng Liu and Ting Luk, all from Sandia Labs, and Kateryna Artyushkova from the University of New Mexico.
The work was supported by the Department of Energy's Office of Science, and through its user facilities at the Sandia/Los Alamos-run Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies and National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center. The Texas Advanced Computing Center also added value.

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The above post is reprinted from materials provided by DOE/Sandia National Laboratories. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Mysterious ripples found racing through planet-forming disc

2015-10-09T15:19:00.002+07:00

Using images from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and ESO's Very Large Telescope, astronomers have discovered fast-moving wave-like features in the dusty disc around the nearby star AU Microscopii. These odd structures are unlike anything ever observed, or even predicted, before now.

Credit: ESO, NASA & ESA

Using images from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and ESO's Very Large Telescope, astronomers have discovered never-before-seen structures within a dusty disc surrounding a nearby star. The fast-moving wave-like features in the disc of the star AU Microscopii are unlike anything ever observed, or even predicted, before now. The origin and nature of these features present a new mystery for astronomers to explore. The results are published in the journal Nature on 8 October 2015.

AU Microscopii, or AU Mic for short, is a young, nearby star surrounded by a large disc of dust [1]. Studies of such debris discs can provide valuable clues about how planets, which form from these discs, are created.
Astronomers have been searching AU Mic's disc for any signs of clumpy or warped features, as such signs might give away the location of possible planets. And in 2014 they used the powerful high-contrast imaging capabilities of ESO's newly installed SPHERE instrument, mounted on the Very Large Telescope for their search -- and discovered something very unusual.
"Our observations have shown something unexpected," explains Anthony Boccaletti of the Observatoire de Paris, France, lead author on the paper. "The images from SPHERE show a set of unexplained features in the disc which have an arch-like, or wave-like, structure, unlike anything that has ever been observed before."
Five wave-like arches at different distances from the star show up in the new images, reminiscent of ripples in water. After spotting the features in the SPHERE data the team turned to earlier images of the disc taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in 2010 and 2011 to see whether the features were also visible in these [2]. They were not only able to identify the features on the earlier Hubble images -- but they also discovered that they had changed over time. It turns out that these ripples are moving -- and very fast!
"We reprocessed images from the Hubble data and ended up with enough information to track the movement of these strange features over a four-year period," explains team member Christian Thalmann (ETH Zürich, Switzerland). "By doing this, we found that the arches are racing away from the star at speeds of up to about 40,000 kilometres/hour!"
The features further away from the star seem to be moving faster than those closer to it. At least three of the features are moving so fast that they could well be escaping from the gravitational attraction of the star. Such high speeds rule out the possibility that these are conventional disc features caused by objects -- like planets -- disturbing material in the disc while orbiting the star. There must have been something else involved to speed up the ripples and make them move so quickly, meaning that they are a sign of something truly unusual [3].
"Everything about this find was pretty surprising!" comments co-author Carol Grady of Eureka Scientific, USA. "And because nothing like this has been observed or predicted in theory we can only hypothesise when it comes to what we are seeing and how it came about."
The team cannot say for sure what caused these mysterious ripples around the star. But they have considered and ruled out a series of phenomena as explanations, including the collision of two massive and rare asteroid-like objects releasing large quantities of dust, and spiral waves triggered by instabilities in the system's gravity.
But other ideas that they have considered look more promising.
"One explanation for the strange structure links them to the star's flares. AU Mic is a star with high flaring activity -- it often lets off huge and sudden bursts of energy from on or near its surface," explains co-author Glenn Schneider of Steward Observatory, USA. "One of these flares could perhaps have triggered something on one of the planets -- if there are planets -- like a violent stripping of material which could now be propagating through the disc, propelled by the flare's force."
"It is very satisfying that SPHERE has proved to be very capable at studying discs like this in its first year of operation," adds Jean-Luc Beuzit, who is both a co-author of the new study and also led the development of SPHERE itself.
The team plans to continue to observe the AU Mic system with SPHERE and other facilities, including ALMA, to try to understand what is happening. But, for now, these curious features remain an unsolved mystery.
Notes
[1] AU Microscopii lies just 32 light-years away from Earth. The disc essentially comprises asteroids that have collided with such vigour that they have been ground to dust.
[2] The data were gathered by Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS).
[3] The edge-on view of the disc complicates the interpretation of its three-dimensional structure.

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The above post is reprinted from materials provided by ESA/Hubble Information Centre. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Perfectly accurate clocks turn out to be impossible

2015-10-09T15:06:00.001+07:00

Building a clock that would precisely measure the passage of time is impossible for fundamental reasons.

Can the passage of time be measured precisely, always and everywhere? The answer will upset many watchmakers. A team of physicists from the universities of Warsaw and Nottingham have just shown that when we are dealing with very large accelerations, no clock will actually be able to show the real passage of time, known as "proper time."

The ideal clock is merely a convenient fiction, as theorists from the University of Warsaw (UW) and University of Nottingham (UN) have shown. In a study published in the journal Classical and Quantum Gravity they demonstrate that in systems moving with enormous accelerations, building a clock that would precisely measure the passage of time is impossible for fundamental reasons.
"In both theories of relativity, special and general, it is tacitly assumed that it is always possible to construct an ideal clock -- one that will accurately measure the time elapsed in the system, regardless of whether the system is at rest, moving at a uniform speed, or accelerating. It turns out, however, that when we talk about really fast accelerations, this postulate simply cannot apply," says Dr. Andrzej Dragan from the Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw.
The simplest clocks are unstable elementary particles, for example muons (particles with similar properties to electrons but 200 times more massive). Usually, muons decay into an electron, muon neutrino, and an electron antineutrino. By measuring the decay times and averaging the results for muons moving slowly and those moving at nearly the speed of light, we can observe the famous slowing down of the passage of time: the faster the muons are moving, the less likely the experimenter is to see them decay. Velocity therefore affects the clocks' observed tempo.
What about acceleration? Experiments were performed at CERN in the late 1970s, measuring the decay time of muons undergoing circular motion accelerations even as great as billions of billions of times the acceleration of Earth's gravity (10^18 g). Such acceleration was found to have no impact on the disintegration times.
The Polish-British group of theorists from the universities of Warsaw and Nottingham, on the other hand, were looking at the description of unstable particles moving in accelerating motion in a straight line. The key point for their analysis turned out to be a fascinating effect predicted in 1976 by the Canadian physicist William Unruh.
"Contrary to intuition, the concept of a particle is not completely independent of the observer. We all know the Doppler Effect, for example, which causes a photon emitted by a moving source to appear bluer to an observer toward which the source is approaching, but redder to one it is receding from. The Unruh effect is somewhat similar, except that the results are more spectacular: in an certain area of space, a non-accelerating observer sees a quantum field vacuum, whereas an accelerating observer sees many particles," explains Dr. Dragan.
The equation describing the Unruh effect says that the number of particles visible within a quantum field varies depending on the acceleration experienced by an observer: the greater the acceleration, the more of them there are. These non-inertial effects may be due to the movement of the observer, but their source can also be a gravitational field. Interestingly, the Unruh effect is very akin to the famous Hawking radiation emitted by black holes.
The unstable particles which the physicists from the universities of Warsaw and Nottingham treated as a fundamental clocks in their analysis decay as a result of interactions with other quantum fields. The theory says that if such a particle remains in a space filled with a vacuum it decays at a different pace than when in the vicinity of many other particles interacting with it. Thus if in a system of extreme acceleration more particles can be seen as a result of the Unruh effect, the average decay times of particles such as muons should change.
"Our calculations showed that above certain very large accelerations there simply must be time disorders in the decay of elementary particles. And if the disturbances affect fundamental clocks such as muons, then any other device built on the principles of quantum field theory will also be disrupted. Therefore, perfectly precise measurements of proper time are no longer possible. This fact has further consequences, because losing the ability to accurately measure the passage of time also means problems with the measurements of distance," explains Dr. Dragan.
Until now it has been assumed that the concepts of time and space may lose their traditional senses only when certain phenomena predicted by hypothetical theories of quantum gravity begin to play a vital role. It is believed that the necessary conditions prevailed in the vicinity of the Big Bang.
"In our paper, we show that for problems with the measurements of space-time to arise, such extreme conditions are not needed at all. Time, and therefore space, most likely cease to be accurately measurable even in today's Universe, provided that we try to carry out the measurements in systems moving with great acceleration," notes Dr. Dragan.
The results from the physicists from Warsaw and Nottingham mean that at sufficiently high accelerations, the operational capabilities of any theory built on the notion of time, and thus also space, will be disrupted. This raises interesting questions. If in extremely accelerating systems we cannot build a clock that measures time accurately, is this exclusively a fundamental flaw in our measurement methods? Or maybe something is happening directly to time itself? And do properties which cannot be measured accurately even make physical sense?
Modern accelerators can accelerate particles with accelerations several orders of magnitude higher than in the experiments of the 70s. Thus today we can carry out experiments in which the Unruh effect should be visible -- and so changes in the decay time of particles triggered by acceleration should be observable, too. The conclusions of the Polish-British group of physicists on ideal clocks will thus soon be verified.
"If our predictions are confirmed experimentally, many things related to our understanding of space-time, the passage of time, and its measurement methods will have to be rethought from scratch. It could be... interesting," concludes Dr. Dragan with a smile.

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The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Faculty of Physics University of Warsaw. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

cara membuat label blog menjadi 3D

2015-10-09T15:04:00.001+07:00

nih saya punya Script Membuat Label 3 Dimensi ,,,,
lasngsung aja Gen yah ,,, saya Cape .....

1.masuk Ke Bloger
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4.setelah dapat pastekan Kode di bawah ini tepat di bawah Kode di atas ,,,,

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5.simpan Template

Laser-wielding physicists seize control of atoms' behavior

2015-10-09T15:01:00.002+07:00

This image shows how a laser (yellow) can affect collisions between atoms (red spheres). The blue spheres depict a molecule. The laser leaves the energy of single atoms unaffected, as represented by the red surface. But the laser lowers the energy of the molecules, leading to the cup-shape of the blue surface. The stronger the laser, the more the two atoms attract each other if they collide inside the laser beam.

Credit: Chin Group, University of Chicago

Physicists have wondered in recent years if they could control how atoms interact using light. Now they know that they can, by demonstrating games of quantum billiards with unusual new rules.

In an article published in the Oct. 5 issue of Physical Review Letters, a team of University of Chicago physicists explains how to tune a laser to make atoms attract or repel each other in an exotic state of matter called a Bose-Einstein condensate.
"This realizes a goal that has been pursued for the past 20 years," said Cheng Chin, professor in physics at the University of Chicago, who led the team. "This exquisite control over interactions in a many-body system has great potential for the exploration of exotic quantum phenomena and engineering of novel quantum devices."
Many research groups in the United States and Europe have tried various ideas over the last decade. It was Logan Clark, a graduate student in Chin's group, who came up with the first practical solution. He has now demonstrated the idea in the lab with cesium atoms chilled to temperatures just billionths of a degree above absolute zero, and the technique can be widely applied to other atomic species.
Clark compared the process to a billiards game, when one ball encounters another. "Normally, as soon as the surfaces touch, the balls repel each other and bounce away," Clark said. In Chin's lab, cesium atoms replace the billiard balls, and ordinarily they repel each other when they collide. But by turning up the laser while operating at a "magic" wavelength, Clark showed that the repulsion between atoms can be converted into attraction.
"The atoms exhibit fascinating behavior in this system," he said. By exposing different parts of the sample to different laser intensities, "We can choose to make the atoms attract or repel each other, or pass right through each other without colliding."
Alternatively, by oscillating their interactions, analogous to making the billiard balls rapidly grow and shrink while they roll, the atoms stick to each other in pairs.
The researchers explained two fundamental ways that lasers influence the atomic motion. One is to create potentials, like a bump or valley on the billiard table, proportional to laser intensity. The new way is to alter how billiard balls collide.
"We want our laser to control collisions, but we don't want it to create any hills or valleys," Clark said. When the laser is tuned to a "magic wavelength," the beam creates no hills or valleys, but only affects collisions.
"This is because the magic wavelength happens to be in between two excited states of the atom, so they 'magically' cancel each other out," he said.
Magic is a concept that has no place in science, though the word does enjoy fairly common use among atomic physicists. "Generally it is used to refer to a wavelength at which two effects cancel or are equal, in particular when this cancellation or equality is useful for some technological goal," Clark said.

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The above post is reprinted from materials provided by University of Chicago. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

World's largest atom smashers produce world's smallest droplets

2015-10-09T15:00:00.001+07:00

This is a aiagram of a proton-lead collision in the Large Hadron Collider that produced a drop of quark-gluon plasma about one-tenth the size of those produced in previous experiments.

Credit: Large Hadron Collider/CMS

How small can a droplet shrink and remain a liquid?

This existential question has been raised by a series of experiments conducted recently at the Large Hadron Collider and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider that smash various atomic particles together at nearly the speed of light in order to create tiny drops of primordial soup: the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) that cosmologists are convinced dominated the universe microseconds after the Big Bang before the universe cooled down enough for atoms to form. In fact, the flow characteristic of these droplets is a major topic at a scientific conference, Quark Matter 2015, taking place this week in Kobe, Japan.
As part of the Large Hadron Collider's CMS detector team, Professor of Physics Julia Velkovska, post-doctoral fellow Shenguan Tuo and assistant research professor Shengli Huang at Vanderbilt University have been at the middle of these discoveries.
In 2010, the LHC successfully created sub-atomic blobs of QGP by colliding lead ions together. Smashing these two massive ions -- each containing hundreds of protons and neutrons -- had generated the tremendous temperatures, more than 250,000 times hotter than the core of the sun, that are required for the primordial state of matter to form.
(Unfortunately, the physicists don't have a direct way to measure the number of particles in the quark-gluon plasma, so they use the number of subatomic particles that are created when the plasma evaporates as a measure of their size.)
"Lead ions are very large, each containing hundreds of protons and neutrons. When you smash them together at very high speed, they generate blobs of plasma that produce thousands of particles when they cool down," said Velkovska. "But when the LHC switched to proton-lead ion collisions, we didn't think the collisions would contain enough energy to produce the plasma."
However, Tuo, as part of his doctoral thesis, made detailed measurements of the behavior of the particles produced by these smaller proton-lead collisions and discovered that they were in fact producing liquid droplets that were about one tenth the size of those produced in the lead-lead collisions.
"Everyone was surprised when we began finding evidence for liquid behavior," said Tuo. "It caused some very intense debates."
One of the key properties of a liquid is the ability to flow. Looked at from the point of view of the individual particles in a liquid, the ability to flow means that each particle is exerting an attractive force on its neighbors that is strong enough to effect their movement but not strong enough to lock them together like they are in a solid. So their movements are coordinated and, when released from a container, they retain information about the container's shape. Tuo's measurements showed that small numbers of particles produced in the proton-lead collisions originated on the ellipsoidal surfaces of small QGP droplets.
Because of the computational difficulty involved, physicists normally look for these correlations between pairs of particles, but Velkovska, Tuo and their CMS collaborators took it several steps further. They searched for correlations between groups of four, six and eight particles. In some cases, they went to the extraordinary length of computing the correlations between all the particles in a given collision.
"These measurements confirmed that we were seeing this coherent behavior even in droplets producing as few as 100 to 200 particles," Tuo said. The results were published in Physical Review Letters in June. But that wasn't the end of the story.
The recreation of the quark gluon plasma (QGP) dates back to 2005. Velkovska and her Vanderbilt colleagues -- physics professors Victoria Greene and Charlie Maguire -- were members of the PHENIX science team at RHIC, located at Brookhaven National Laboratory, when they announced that they had created this new state of matter by colliding gold ions together at relativistic velocities. The big surprise was that this primordial material behaved like a liquid, rather than a gas.
To see what happened at even higher energies, the Vanderbilt group joined the CMS science team at the LHC located at the European Laboratory for Nuclear and Particle Physics in Geneva. The more powerful particle collider succeeded in duplicating the RHIC results, first as expected, by smashing lead ions together and then, unexpectedly, in the proton-lead collisions.
The proton-lead results prompted the scientists in the PHENIX team to re-analyze data that had been collected at RHIC in 2000, when the collider had smashed deuterium ions (proton-neutron pairs) and gold ions together at much lower energies than those in the LHC. The re-analysis, led by Shengli Huang, found that the proton-neutron pairs formed two hot spots in the gold ion when they collided which then merged into an elongated drop of QGP.
The RHIC researchers decided to test this further by adding a new run that collided helium ions (two protons and a neutron) with gold ions, and found that the same thing happened, except that three hot spots formed and merged into the QGP droplet. The results were just published in Physical Review Letters.
"Although the LHC collisions release 25 times more energy than the RHIC collisions, we don't see much difference in the droplet-formation process: Once you have reached the threshold, adding more energy doesn't seem to have much effect," said Velkovska. "I guess you can't get more perfect than perfect!"
Not only have the physicists found that the quark-gluon plasma is a liquid, the physicists have also established that it is nearly a perfect liquid: That is a liquid with zero viscosity that flows without any resistance. If you swish a perfect liquid in a glass and set the glass down, then the liquid will continue to swirl around as long as it is not disrupted.
Curiously, the phenomenon that most closely resembles the properties of the hottest known liquid is one of the coldest known liquids: lithium atoms that have been cooled to temperatures one-billionth of a degree above absolute zero using a device called a laser trap. When released from the trap these ultra-cold atoms also behave as a perfect liquid with near-zero viscosity.
"These are both strongly coupled systems. This appears to be an emergent property of such systems," Velkovska has concluded.

Story Source:
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Vanderbilt University. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Badan `Melebar` Setelah Lebaran? Coba 5 Aplikasi Diet Ini

2015-07-22T07:51:00.000+07:00

Lima (5) aplikasi ini mampu bantu Anda menurunkan berat badan setelah `melebar` di hari Lebaran

Kalap. Itulah kata yang sangat identik bagi Anda yang tidak bisa mengontrol diri ketika hendak memakan semua jenis makanan dalam kurun waktu yang begitu singkat pada momen Lebaran.

Tak heran, banyak orang yang mengalami peningkatan berat badan setelah beberapa hari Lebaran berlalu lantaran mengkonsumsi makanan dengan lemak dan kalori berlebih.

Sebenarnya, jika bisa dikontrol dengan baik, maka kenaikan berat badan tidak akan terjadi. Namun, jika sudah terlanjur terjadi, mau bagaimana lagi?

Inilah 5 Aplikasi nya :

Noom Coach

1. Noom Coach: Weight Loss
Noom Coach: Weight Loss adalah aplikasi besutan Noom Inc, yang banyak menciptakan aplikasi untuk menjaga berat badan secara ideal.

Aplikasi ini memiliki berbagai fitur untuk mengetahui jumlah kalori dalam tiap makanan (tentunya beragam jenis makanan sudah terdapat di dalam daftar), mengukur banyak langkah per harinya, dan menyusun target penurunan berat badan pengguna.

Tampilan interface-nya sangat sederhana dan bebas dari iklan. Selain itu, beragam jenis makanan yang terdapat di dalamnya dapat membuat Anda mudah menghitung kalori yang masuk, baik saat sarapan, makan siang, makan malam, maupun camilan di tengah waktu makan.

Aplikasi ini bisa dibilang menjadi sebuah jurnal makanan Anda agar Anda dapat mengontrol asupan makanan secara terperinci. Noom Couch tersedia di App Store dan Google Play Store secara gratis.

Calorie Counter

2. Calorie Counter – MyFitness PalAplikasi ini sangat sederhana dan mudah digunakan. Calorie Counter memiliki daftar menu makanan beserta kalori yang cukup lengkap, sehingga penggunanya bisa mengetahui total kalori dalam asupan makanan sehari-hari.

Selain itu, terdapat pula sekitar 350 gerakan fitness untuk mempercepat proses penurunan berat badan yang patut dicoba. Anda juga dapat menyusun target berat badan ideal yang diinginkan melalui aplikasi ini.

Fitur lainnya yang hadir adalah menampilkan teman yang juga sedang berada dalam program diet, sehingga akan lebih memotivasi Anda untuk menurunkan berat badan. Anda bisa mengunduh Calorie Counter secara gratis di App Store dan Google Play Store.

Lose It

3. Lose It!Lose It! memiliki berbagai fitur yang bisa membantu Anda untuk meraih berat badan yang diinginkan. Di antaranya ada database makanan dan aktivitas yang telah dilakukan, resep makanan sehat, dan memeriksa kecukupan nutrisi. Selain itu, Lose It! juga bisa digunakan tanpa koneksi internet.

Layaknya jurnal makanan yang dikonsumsi sehari-hari, aplikasi ini mengelompokkan apa yang dikonsumsi dan dilakukan. Terdapat grafik perkembangan target yang Anda tentukan dan juga fitur Friends untuk melihat perkembangan teman Anda yang juga menggunakan aplikasi ini.

Lose It! bisa didapatkan secara gratis di App Store dan Google Play Store.

Fooducate Healthy Weight Loss

4. Fooducate Healthy Weight LossAnda memiliki kesulitan memilih makanan yang akan dikonsumsi ketika berbelanja? aplikasi ini tentu jawabannya. Lewat aplikasi ini, Anda dapat men-scan setiap kemasan makanan dan memutuskan mana yang cocok diambil untuk membuat diet berhasil.

Dengan ini, Anda lebih cermat dan teredukasi untuk memilih makanan yang siap diasup saat diet. Sama dengan aplikasi diet lainnya, Fooducate juga dapat melacak total kalori yang dikonsumsi dan kegiatan olahraga harian yang dilaksanakan.

Anda bahkan juga dapat melihat perkembangan diet dengan fitur grafik waktu yang telah ditentukan sebelumnya. Aplikasi ini tersedia secara gratis untuk iOS dan Android.

Healthy Recipe

5. Healthy Recipes – By SparkRecipesJika Anda tetap ingin mengkonsumsi makanan enak selama melaksanakan diet, maka Anda bisa menggunakan panduan dari aplikasi ini.

Aplikasi yang digarap oleh Spark People Inc ini menyediakan berbagai resep masakan yang dapat menjadi menu Anda selama melaksanakan program penurunan berat badan.

Setiap resep yang ada di aplikasi ini dilengkapi dengan total kalori, lama waktu memasak yang dibutuhkan, dan Anda pun dapat menyimpannya ke dalam halaman Favorites.

Fallout Shelter Raup Untung Rp 66 Miliar

2015-07-22T07:34:00.001+07:00

Baru dirilis dua minggu, seri Fallout Shelter mampu meraup untung sebesar Rp 66 miliar

Peruntungan Bethesda Softwork di ranah game mobile bisa dibilang sukses. Pasalnya, salah satu seri game Fallout anyarnya – Fallout Shelter, yang baru saja dirilis di perangkat iOS dalam dua minggu sudah mengantongi keuntungan US$ 5 juta atau sekitar Rp 66 miliar.

Angka tersebut justru terbilang fantastis. Karena seri Fallout Shelter baru hanya dirilis untuk perangkat iOS.

Namun bagi Anda para pengguna Android yang sudah tidak sabar ingin memainkan game ini, tenang saja, karena developer asal Maryland, AS tersebut rencananya memang akan merilis game simulasi ini di dua perangkat.

Pihak Bethesda mengungkap, versi Android dipastikan akan diluncurkan dalam beberapa bulan ke depan. Demikian dilansir laman Softpedia, Sabtu (18/7/2015).

"Ya, kami juga sedang menggarap Fallout Shelter untuk Android. Kami pastikan seri Fallout Shelter Android akan dirilis dalam beberapa bulan ke depan," ujar Bethesda melalui kicauannya di Twitter beberapa waktu lalu.

Jika dihitung dalam dua minggu Fallout Shelter mampu meraup untung sebesar US$ 5 juta dalam dua minggu, bisa saja dalam waktu sebulan game ini diperkirakan dapat meraup keuntungan dua kali lipat sebesar US$ 10 juta atau sekitar Rp 133 miliar.

Ini baru hanya pemasukan dari perangkat iOS, belom lagi jika nanti game ini hadir di perangkat yang menguasai 75% pangsa pasar, maka dipastikan Bethesda akan untung besar-besaran.

Tak hanya mencetak rekor dari segi penjualan, game ini nyatanya mampu menggeser posisi Candy Crush yang selama ini bertengger manis di posisi top 3 di kategori Grossing Apple App Store. Hal ini tersebut diungkap langsung oleh Vice President of Public Relation Bethesda, Pete Hines.

"Kami merasa sangat senang. Fallout Shelter mampu menarik banyak peminat dengan luar biasa, tanpa promosi yang berlebihan," ujarnya.

Jika Anda penasaran gameplay dari Fallout Shelter seperti apa, Anda bisa langsung unduh game ini di App Store secara cuma-cuma.

Bandai Namco Umumkan Game Taiko Khusus Lagu Idolm@ster

2015-07-19T07:26:00.003+07:00

Untuk merayakan 10 tahun seri The Idolm@ster, Bandai Namco akan merilis game Taiko no Tatsujin yang khusus berisikan semua lagu-lagu Idolm@ster untuk handheld PS Vita.

Game ini berjudul “The iDOLM@STER MUST SONGS presented by Taiko no Tatsujin”, yang akan dibagi menjadi dua versi, yaitu red disc (akaban) dan blue disc (aoban).

Game Taiko no Tatsujin ini akan berisikan lagu-lagu mulai dari “The iDOLM@STER”, lagu pertama seri ini, sampai lagu terbaru, “Ai MUST GO!”. Untuk list lagunya sendiri, belum diungkapkan sama sekali, tetapi akan membuat lagu-lagu terbaik dari seri iDOLM@STER selama 10 tahun ini.

Game ini sendiri rencananya akan dirilis pada musim dingin tahun ini. Jadi, sudah siapkah dompet kalian untuk membeli 2 versi dari game ini? (setelah sebelumnya membeli Taiko no Tatsujin versi PS Vita yang baru saja dirilis awal bulan ini)

Sumber: JURNOT

Detil Perdana Untuk Movie Dari ‘WIXOSS’ Ditampilkan

2015-07-19T07:23:00.001+07:00

Website resmi dari Selector Infected Wixoss, memberikan detail perdana untuk movie terbarunya, dalam website tersebut dikonfirmasikan movie tersebut akan berjudul “Selector Destructed Wixoss”
Selain itu di website yang sama juga mengkonfirmasikan movie tersebut akan mulai tayang dijepang pada 13 Februari 2016.

penjualan tiket perdana untuk movie ini akan dibuka 1 agustus nanti seharga 1500 yen dimana anda akan mendapatkan tiket bergambar khusus dan juga dapat mendapatkan kartu promo gratis untuk versi Trading Card Game dari Wixoss seperti gambar dibawah ini. Perlu dicatat tiket tersebut disediakan secara terbatas.

Jika anda kehabisan tiket tersebut anda dapat memesan juga di comiket 88 pada bulan agustus nanti dengan gambar tiket yang berbeda dan bonus yang akan diumumkan nanti.

WIXOSS pertama kali diluncurkan oleh Takara Tomy pada April 2014 dalam format Trading Card Game, dan disaat yang bersamaan juga seri ini mendapatkan adaptasi anime dengan judul Selector Infected Wixoss sebanyak 12 episode. Pada bulan oktober ditahun yang sama musim kedua anime tersebut ditayangkan dengan judul Selector Spread Wixoss juga berjumlah 12 episode. Versi movie ini merupakan sekuel dari anime tersebut.
Sumber: Website Resmi Wixoss

Terinspirasi Gakkou Gurashi, Air Suci Yang Dapat Mengusir Zombie Muncul di Akiba

2015-07-19T07:20:00.002+07:00

Jadi sudah berapa orang dari kamu yang ‘terjebak’ dengan keimutan desain karakter Gakkou Gurashi? Mungkin ada beberapa dari kamu yang berharap anime ini akan menjadi anime damai yang memperlihatkan kehidupan sekolah sehari-hari gadis-gadis imut tersebut. Well, tidak sepenuhnya salah sih, namun tidak sepenuhnya damai juga.
Bila kamu sempat terjebak dengan openingnya, bagaimana kalau kamu terjebak sekali lagi dengan air minum ini.

Kembali sebuah kapitalisasi besar-besaran terjadi di Akiba, toko
~~favorit Ryuukikun~~Rashinban terlihat mencoba menjual air minum kemasan botol dengan harga 500 yen! Bersama dengan air botolan yang labelnya telah dicopot tersebut, terdapat gambar Yuki Takeya yang menjelaskan kepentingan dari air tersebut.

Namun, tidak jauh berbeda dengan kapitalisasi pita Hestia, air-air tersebut dapat dengan mudah kamu temukan dimanapun di Jepang. ‘I Lohas‘ adalah merek dari air tersebut, dan dengan menjamurnya vending machine di jalanan Jepang, kamu dapat menemukan air-air tersebut dengan harga rata-rata 130 yen.

Namun itu semua kembali kepada dirimu, apakah kamu rela membayar 360 yen ekstra demi cintamu pada seri Gakkou Gurashi? Atau kamu adalah orang yang simpel dan membeli air botolan dengan harga 130 yen di luar toko? Bisa juga kamu tipe yang
~~pelit~~hemat dan mengisi air minummu dari keran saja.
sumber: Yaraon!

Video Teaser Untuk ‘Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions’ Ditayangkan

2015-07-19T07:18:00.003+07:00

Siapa yang sudah tidak sabar untuk sekali lagi melihat aksi King of Duelist, Yugi Mutou beradu kartu melawan rival terkuatnya, Kaiba Seto. Saya yakin penggemar seri Yu-Gi-Oh! sudah menantikan tayangnya film Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions yang akan ditayangkan pada tahun 2016 mendatang. Namun, untuk sementara ini puaskanlah hasratmu dengan melihat Yugi dan Kaiba dalam teaser terbarunya.

Situs resmi untuk film Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions baru saja mengunggah sebuah teaser berdurasi 50 detik yang akan memperlihatkan para karakter utama. Selain Yugi dan Kaiba, kamu juga bisa melihat penampakan Jounouchi, Anzu, Ryo, Honda, dan seorang pria misterius yang ditampilkan di poster visualnya.
Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions akan menceritakan sebuah “after episode” dari cerita originalnya yang akan ditayangkan pada minggu Golden Week. KazukiTakahashi menyumbangkan desain karakter, mengatur screenplay, serta bekerja sebagai produser eksekutif. Satoshi Kuwahara yang juga menyutradarai Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal akan menyutradarai film ini.

Entah kenapa saya merasa musuhnya kali ini sangat mirip dengan Johan saat dirasuki Yubel dalam seri Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, namun hal ini hanyalah cocoklogi saya saja dan tidak ada sangkut pautnya dengan cerita film terbarunya.
sumber: Crunchyroll