Sam's Blog

Mathematicians Extend Einstein's Special Relativity Beyond Speed of Light

2012-10-11T02:38:00.001-07:00

Mathematicians Extend Einstein's Special Relativity Beyond Speed of Light:

Hugh Pickens writes writes "The Christian Science Monitor reports that despite an apparent prohibition on faster-than-light travel by Einstein's theory of special relativity, applied mathematician James Hill and his colleague Barry Cox say the theory actually lends itself easily to a description of velocities that exceed the speed of light. 'The actual business of going through the speed of light is not defined,' says Hill whose research has been published in the prestigious Proceedings of the Royal Society A. 'The theory we've come up with is simply for velocities greater than the speed of light.' In effect, the singularity at the speed of light divides the universe into two: a world where everything moves slower than the speed of light, and a world where everything moves faster. The laws of physics in these two realms could turn out to be quite different. In some ways, the hidden world beyond the speed of light looks to be a strange one. Hill and Cox's equations suggest, for example, that as a spaceship traveling at super-light speeds accelerated faster and faster, it would lose more and more mass, until at infinite velocity, its mass became zero. 'We are mathematicians, not physicists, so we've approached this problem from a theoretical mathematical perspective,' says Dr Cox. 'Should it, however, be proven that motion faster than light is possible, then that would be game changing. Our paper doesn't try and explain how this could be achieved, just how equations of motion might operate in such regimes.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Delta Six controller brings fragging to life, worries your friends

2012-10-04T03:59:00.001-07:00

Delta Six controller brings fragging to life, worries your friends:

Chances are you know someone who takes their CoD a little too seriously -- well, this peripheral is for them. The Delta Six controller is the latest brainchild of Avenger inventor David Kotkin, made to please hardcore FPS gamers with immersive and responsive input. A built-in accelerometer is used for aiming, while the faux recoil and acting out a reload will put you closer to real combat than an appearance on Stars Earn Stripes. The hardware also features a scattering of pressure sensors -- allowing you, for example, to bring up the sights by meeting cheek with gun body, or if you're feeling lazy, squeezing the side of it instead. Depending on your class bias, you can add and retract plastic from the main frame for an SMG, assault or sniper rifle form factor (see below for the gist). There's no word on availability, or if it will actually improve your game, but the price is slated as $89 at launch. After the break is a short product demo in video form, although we suggest you skip straight to 1:30 to avoid the awkward live-action CTF scene.
Continue reading Delta Six controller brings fragging to life, worries your friends
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Delta Six controller brings fragging to life, worries your friends originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 04:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Add an Automatic Cooling System to Your Entertainment Center [Video]

2012-10-04T00:56:00.001-07:00

Add an Automatic Cooling System to Your Entertainment Center [Video]:

Heat is one of the worst enemies of electronics. That's a big issue if you've got a game system, audio equipment, TV set top box, and other gear tucked away in an enclosed cabinet where there's little airflow. The solution? Build an automatic cooling system into your entertainment center. More »

Nippon Electric Glass demos liquid crystal lens and 'invisible glass' at CEATEC (video)

2012-10-04T00:44:00.001-07:00

Nippon Electric Glass demos liquid crystal lens and 'invisible glass' at CEATEC (video):

How about some glass from CEATEC, eh? The folks at Nippon Electric Glass were showing off its still-in-development liquid lens technology, as well as its already-available "invisible glass." The latter, as pictured above, is very much what it says on the tin albeit with some exaggeration, obviously, but we were still very impressed by how little reflection we saw on it. While it's already being used in art galleries and inside cameras (as sensor covers), Nippon Electric Glass is pushing hard to get its invisible glass featured on mobile devices -- the selling point here is simply to achieve the effect of somewhere in between glossy glass and matte glass, so that you'd get the best color vibrancy with minimal reflection. Do check out the video after the break.
As for the liquid lens, Nippon Electric Glass' version uses low-power electric field to control its liquid crystal molecular orientation, thus changing the focal point. You'll also see that the lens is also small enough to be integrated into phones and webcams. While the demo response was pretty quick, we were told that it'll be at least another year before the technology becomes available for us mere mortals. For now, you can see our hands-on demo after the break.

Gallery: Nippon Electric Glass demos liquid crystal lens and 'invisible glass' at CEATEC

Continue reading Nippon Electric Glass demos liquid crystal lens and 'invisible glass' at CEATEC (video)

Nippon Electric Glass demos liquid crystal lens and 'invisible glass' at CEATEC (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 03:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The weird, black, spidery things of Mars

2012-10-04T00:38:00.001-07:00

The weird, black, spidery things of Mars:

See those weird, black, spidery things dotting the dunes in this colorized photo taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2010? Yeah. Nobody knows what the hell those things are.

What we do know about them just underlines how incredibly unfamiliar Mars really is to us. First spotted by humans in 1998, these splotches pop up every Martian spring, and disappear in winter. Usually, they appear in the same places as the previous year, and they tend to congregate on the sunny sides of sand dunes — all but shunning flat ground. There's nothing on Earth that looks like this that we can compare them to. It's a for real-real mystery, writes Robert Krulwich at NPR. But there are theories:

Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, from Hungary, from the European Space Agency have all proposed explanations; the leading one is so weird, it's transformed my idea of what it's like to be on Mars. For 20 years, I've thought the planet to be magnificently desolate, a dead zone, painted rouge. But imagine this: Every spring, the sun beats down on a southern region of Mars, morning light melts the surface, warms up the ground below, and a thin, underground layer of frozen CO2 turns suddenly into a roaring gas, expands, and carrying rock and ice, rushes up through breaks in the rock, exploding into the Martian air. Geysers shoot up in odd places. It feels random, like being surprise attacked by an monstrous, underground fountain.

"If you were there," says Phil Christensen of Arizona State University, "you'd be standing on a slab of carbon dioxide ice. All around you, roaring jets of carbon dioxide gas are throwing sand and dust a couple hundred feet into the air." The ground below would be rumbling. You'd feel it in your spaceboots.

Read the rest of Robert Krulwich's post — and check out some spectacular photos of the things — at NPR

Solar-powered dowel-sawing machine is a perfect desktop distraction

2012-10-03T02:21:00.001-07:00

Solar-powered dowel-sawing machine is a perfect desktop distraction:

Alex's Almost Useless Machine is a solar-powered desktop amusement that slowly saws through dowels whenever the light is bright enough to power its motor. It's mesmerizing.

This little machine uses a so called solar engine to drive the motor. This solar engine is able to collect tiny amounts of energy over time and stores it in large capacitors. When the voltage reaches a certain level, it opens up and uses all the stored energy at once to drive a motor. These engines were used to drive tiny BEAM-bots and were quite popular a while ago. A lot of information can be found at beam-wiki.org on how to build them and how they work.

The Almost Useless Machine

(via Wired)

Hexaflexagons! The miracle of the inside-out hexagon with many, many sides

2012-10-03T01:53:00.001-07:00

Hexaflexagons! The miracle of the inside-out hexagon with many, many sides:

The incomparably great Vihart continues her Doodling in Math Class video series with a history and demonstration of the miraculous Hexaflexagon, a simple-to-fold paper hexagon that contains several iterations of itself, which can be found by turning it inside-out over and over again. Sure to delight, inform, entertain, and mystify!

Historical Note: This video is based on a true story. Arthur H. Stone really did invent the hexaflexagon after playing with the paper strips he'd cut off his too-wide British paper, and really did start a flexagon committee (which we'll hear more about in the next video). The details and dialogue, however, are my own invention.

Hexaflexagons

(Thanks, Fipi Lele!)

Super Bacteria Create Gold

2012-10-03T01:25:00.001-07:00

Super Bacteria Create Gold:

SchrodingerZ writes "With the price of gold skyrocketing in today's market, Michigan State University researchers have discovered a bacterium that can withstand high toxicity levels that are necessary to create natural gold. '"Microbial alchemy is what we're doing — transforming gold from something that has no value into a solid, precious metal that's valuable," said Kazem Kashefi, assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics.' The bacteria is Cupriavidus metallidurans, which is conditioned to be tolerant to heavy, toxic metals and to be 25 times stronger than most bacteria. When put into gold-chloride (a natural forming toxic liquid), the bacteria reproduces and converts the liquid into a gold nugget. The complete process takes about a week to perform. This experiment is currently on tour as an art exhibit called 'The Great Work of the Metal Lover.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Smartphones for audiophiles: is the iPhone 5 more musical than its rivals?

2012-10-02T08:07:00.001-07:00

Smartphones for audiophiles: is the iPhone 5 more musical than its rivals?:

The love of audio. It's a dangerous condition, because every minute spent obsessing over headphones or specs or conflicting opinions is a minute not spent enjoying your favorite tracks or discovering new ones. That's why a review like this, which compares the iPhone 5 with rival phones based largely on acoustic qualities, runs a high risk of time-wastage -- no one really needs a cacophony of flowery words with no concrete conclusions.
How to steer clear of the technological equivalent of a wine-tasting? By trying our damnedest to focus only on the more practical pros and cons of these top handsets, specifically from the POV of someone who listens to a lot of music on their phone. We're talking about someone who likely prefers high-bitrate recordings and who is ready to spend money on something better than the earbuds (or EarPods) that come in the box.
In addition to testing Apple's new flagship we'll also look at the iPhone 4S, which is now a ton cheaper than it was a few weeks ago, as well as the Galaxy S III (both the global and the Sprint US version) plus the HTC One X (global and AT&T), and run them all through an audiophile obstacle course that goes right from purely subjective observations through to slightly more scientific tests as well as storage, OS and battery comparisons. There'll also be some consideration of the iPhone 4, Nokia Lumia 800 and PureView 808, although it'll be more condensed.

Related reviews

And yes, we'll end up with an overall winner, but the research here is about more than that. Different phones may suit different people, depending on their priorities. Moreover, new handsets are just around the corner -- the Lumia 920, the Note II, the LG Optimus G and whatever other goodies the future undoubtedly holds -- and so it makes sense to have a bed of knowledge against which new entrants can be judged. Interested? Then let's get started.
Continue reading Smartphones for audiophiles: is the iPhone 5 more musical than its rivals?
Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio/Video, Mobile

Smartphones for audiophiles: is the iPhone 5 more musical than its rivals? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Oct 2012 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ten One ships $80 Pogo Connect, a pressure-sensitive Bluetooth 4.0 stylus for iPad

2012-10-01T23:59:00.001-07:00

Ten One ships $80 Pogo Connect, a pressure-sensitive Bluetooth 4.0 stylus for iPad:

While there are many third-party capacitive pens for the iPad on the market, none are as precise as pressure-sensitive models like the ones Samsung Galaxy Note aficionados have enjoyed for some time. Enter the Pogo Connect, which is described as the world's first pressure-sensitive Bluetooth 4.0 iPad stylus. Brought to you by Ten One Design, the Pogo Connect was originally codenamed "Project Blue Tiger" back in March. The benefits of Bluetooth seem to be key here, as it offers full pressure sensitivity thanks to a "Crescendo Sensor" technology that works at multiple angles and without calibration. You also get palm rejection capabilities so the page doesn't get smudged from your hand resting on the surface. The pen has a removable magnetic tip, leaving room for interchangeable tips in the future.
There's also an LED status light, an integrated radio transmitter to let you know its location in case you lose it, and it runs on a single AAA battery. Be aware that the Connect is only compatible with around 16 apps for now -- they include Brushes, SketchBook Pro, Paper by FiftyThree, and PDFPen -- but Ten One hopes to add to the list over time. You can pre-order one now for $79.95, and if you're one of the first 2,000 to do so, you'll get a special edition pen with a laser-engraved tiger. Those intrigued can get a peek at the company's promo video as well as the PR after the break.
Continue reading Ten One ships $80 Pogo Connect, a pressure-sensitive Bluetooth 4.0 stylus for iPad
Filed under: Peripherals, Tablets

Ten One ships $80 Pogo Connect, a pressure-sensitive Bluetooth 4.0 stylus for iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Oct 2012 18:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TypeScript: Microsoft's Replacement For JavaScript

2012-10-01T23:57:00.001-07:00

TypeScript: Microsoft's Replacement For JavaScript:

mikejuk writes "Everyone seems to have a replacement for JavaScript — Google even has two. Now Microsoft has revealed that Anders Hejlsberg, the father of C# among other languages, has been working on a replacement and it has released a preview of TypeScript. The good news is that it is compatible with JavaScript — you can simply load JavaScript code and run it. JavaScript programs are TypeScript programs.To improve on JavaScript, TypeScript lets you include annotations that allow the compiler to understand what objects and functions support. The annotations are removed by the compiler, making it a zero overhead facility. It also adds a full class construct to make it more like traditional object oriented languages. Not every JavaScript programmer will be pleased about the shift in emphasis, but the way it compiles to a JavaScript constructor is fairly transparent. At this early stage it is difficult to see the development as good. It isn't particularly good for JavaScript developers who already have alternatives, and it isn't good for C# developers who now have confirmation that Ander Hejlsberg is looking elsewhere for his future."

Update: 10/01 20:34 GMT by U L : It's also freely available under under the Apache 2.0 license, and there's a language specification available. It looks pretty interesting: it even has ML-style type inference (including e.g. deducing the types of higher order functions).

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Images to make perfectionists suffer

2012-10-01T23:10:00.001-07:00

Images to make perfectionists suffer:

Are you a perfectionist? Do you like everything "just so"? Do you pick lint from others' clothes? Do you alphabetize your spice rack? Are you a masochist? If you answered yes to that last question and any of the previous ones, this Imgur blog is for you! (via @arielwaldman)

Google adds mouse lock to stable Chrome 22 for 3D shooter mavens

2012-09-26T23:23:00.001-07:00

Google adds mouse lock to stable Chrome 22 for 3D shooter mavens:

Google's fast-track approach to updating Chrome gives a different theme to each update: last time, it was all about visual acuity. For the just launched Chrome 22 stable version, the focus swings to gaming. Web apps can now lock in the mouse control for first-person shooters, simulations and other 3D content that needs the full attention of the pointer during play. Not keen on action games through the browser? There's still some fine-tuning in place for those who live on the cutting edge, including Windows 8 users and Retina MacBook Pro owners. The update may already be sitting on your computer if you're running Chrome; if not, you can get your gaming-friendly fix (and the security notes) through the source links.
Filed under: Gaming, Internet, Software

Google adds mouse lock to stable Chrome 22 for 3D shooter mavens originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 12:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fruit salad trees with six different fruit-bearing branches grafted on them

2012-09-25T23:58:00.001-07:00

Fruit salad trees with six different fruit-bearing branches grafted on them:

The Fruit Salad Tree Company of Emmaville, NSW, Australia sells trees that have up to six different fruit-bearing branches grafted on them.

* Stone fruits which grows peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots and peachcots

* Citrus which grows a winter and summer orange, mandarins, lemons, limes, grapefruits, tangelos and pomelos

* Multi-apples only

* Multi-nashi fruit only

The Fruit Salad Tree can be grown in the ground as for normal fruit trees, or in pots for those people with very limited space. Instead of having numerous different trees with more fruit than your household can consume there is only one tree with all of the fruits ripening naturally over a period of months. There can be more than one variety of an individual fruit on a tree, thus extending the picking time.

Fruit Salad Tree Company

(via Kottke)

Apple A6 investigation shows highly customized dual-core, triple-GPU layout

2012-09-25T23:38:00.001-07:00

Apple A6 investigation shows highly customized dual-core, triple-GPU layout:

There's been a significant mystery lingering around the A6 processor found in the iPhone 5, even as it became clearer that Apple was veering further than usual from the basic ARM formula. A microscope-level inspection by Chipworks and iFixit is at last identifying the key elements of the 32nm, Samsung-assembled chip and revealing just how far it strays from the beaten path. The examination confirms earlier suspicions of a dual-core design with triple-core graphics -- it's how that design is shaped that makes the difference. Apple chose to lay out the two processor cores by hand rather than let a computer do the work, as most ARM partners do. The procedure is expensive and slow, but also gives the A6 a better-optimized design; it explains why the chip is noticeably faster than much of its competition without needing the brute force approaches of higher clock speeds or extra cores. Some mysteries remain, such as the exact PowerVR graphics that are at work, but it's evident Apple now has the design talent and resources to speed up mobile devices on its own terms rather than wait for off-the-shelf layouts like the Cortex-A15.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Apple A6 investigation shows highly customized dual-core, triple-GPU layout originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Sep 2012 11:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Keep Debates Productive with "Plussing" [Communication]

2012-09-25T06:36:00.001-07:00

Keep Debates Productive with "Plussing" [Communication]:

Keeping a debate or argument productive isn't easy. Often when emotions are running high and you're defending (or attacking) an idea it's easy to get off track. It's not impossible to manage, and as 99u points out, the film studio Pixar uses a structured conflict technique they call "plussing" to keep things on the level. More »

Mechanical Donkey Kong game tests your barrel-jumping skills, patience

2012-09-25T00:00:00.001-07:00

Mechanical Donkey Kong game tests your barrel-jumping skills, patience:

We've seen quite a few NES mods in our day, but we can't say we've ever seen one hooked up to anything quite like this. Built by DIY-er Martin Raynsford, this contraption / work-of-art makes use of an Arduino (naturally) to relay signals from the NES controller to the Donkey Kong screen brought to life above, which was constructed with near pixel-perfect accuracy out of laser-cut parts. As Raynsford points out, though, things are still a bit limited in the game's V1 state. There isn't much of an actual "game," for starters -- just Mario stuck in the middle with a never-ending loop of barrels / ball bearings that you can jump over. A second version is planned with a greater degree of control, but we're guessing the video for it won't be quite as hypnotic as the one after the break.
Continue reading Mechanical Donkey Kong game tests your barrel-jumping skills, patience
Filed under: Misc, Gaming, Alt

Mechanical Donkey Kong game tests your barrel-jumping skills, patience originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 19:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 5 camera gets tested in Iceland, panorama and low-light comparison with iPhone 4S included

2012-09-24T23:40:00.001-07:00

iPhone 5 camera gets tested in Iceland, panorama and low-light comparison with iPhone 4S included:

Sure, we tested the iPhone 5's camera in the well-lit streets of New York City, but if you're wondering how Apple's latest functions when used primarily as a shooter, TREK has a pretty remarkable look. Photog Austin Mann and a few of his closest pals took a pair of iPhone 5s to Iceland following launch weekend in a bid to test the unit's durability, capability and image quality next to the 4S. After two days of geyser spray and admitted "drops in mud," the uncovered 5 seemed to be a-okay, and when it comes to output from the sensor, that's worthy of praise as well.
The low-light capabilities of the 5 are perhaps the most impressive upgrade compared to the 4S, with much less noise seen in shots from the former. He also gushed over the panorama mode, which admittedly churned out some pretty seamless results of the Icelandic countryside. As for shutter speed? That too has been "significantly" improved over the 4S. He interestingly noted that Snapseed was acting a bit wonky with iOS 6, but one has to wonder how much smoothing will be done by the Nik team now that Google's calling the shots. Hit the source link below for the full rundown, comparisons included, and a video that shows how the iPhone 5 reacts after sunset.

Gallery: iPhone 5 shooting landscapes in Iceland

Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Mobile

iPhone 5 camera gets tested in Iceland, panorama and low-light comparison with iPhone 4S included originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | TREK, Gallery of iPhone 5 images | Email this | Comments

Designer spends 600 hours creating jaw-dropping Lego masterpiece

2012-09-20T02:15:00.001-07:00

Designer spends 600 hours creating jaw-dropping Lego masterpiece:

Taking more than 600 hours to create over two years, this mind-blowing contraption has been dubbed 'the most insane Lego machine ever built.'

The astonishing contraption took 600 hours to build (Picture: YouTube/ akiyuky)

Created by brick-building genius Akiyuki, the visionary has taken Lego construction to another dimension.
The machine, put together in the construction fanatic's living room, has been designed simply (or pointlessly) to transport miniature balls across over 101ft at a rate of one ball per second.
Section one: The ball factory (Picture: YouTube/ akiyuky)

Simply named the Lego Great Ball Contraption, its design and construction are of a rather more complicated nature.
The magnificent Lego device features 17 unbelievably detailed modules all linked together to effortlessly guide the mixture of footballs and basketballs around the course.
The machine has been built to transport 500 balls across 101ft (Picture: YouTube/ akiyuky)

Beginning in the ball factory, two items at a time are placed in plastic pots before being sent to the zigzag stair section of the gadget.
Other sections of the course include the balls being fired into mini basketball nets, riding along a train track, sent zooming around various fairground attractions and being transported in a digger.
The video has attracted 70,000 hits online (Picture: YouTube/ akiyuky)

While the machine took two years to build, it took the just two days for the video of the finished product to go viral.
It has already racked up over 70,000 hits on video-sharing website YouTube receiving thousands of likes.
One amused user joked: 'This is how the lottery should work'
While another added: 'Completely useless. I love it.'

VIDEO: Watch the jaw-dropping Lego masterpiece in action

Apple EarPods review: A $29 revolution in earbuds or another set for the recycling bin?

2012-09-18T23:08:00.003-07:00

Apple EarPods review: A $29 revolution in earbuds or another set for the recycling bin?:

Whether you think they're infamous or merely a signature piece of Apple design, there's no doubt most of us have been exposed the company's iconic white earbuds. Along with the latest batch of iPods and the iPhone 5, Apple announced the replacement for those dreaded earphones, a pair of 'buds called the EarPods. Given that these are bundled with new iDevices (also sold as a standalone for $29), it's hard not to think that the folks at Cupertino are drinking some sort of spiked Kool-Aid, claiming these rival headphones that cost hundreds more. While reviewing the likes of the iPhone 5, we also gave the EarPods a listen to find out whether or not they're just an over-engineered set of 'buds. You'll find our detailed verdict after the break.

Gallery: Apple EarPods review

Continue reading Apple EarPods review: A $29 revolution in earbuds or another set for the recycling bin?
Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Mobile

Apple EarPods review: A $29 revolution in earbuds or another set for the recycling bin? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 5 review

2012-09-18T23:08:00.001-07:00

iPhone 5 review:

Thinner. Lighter. Faster. Simpler. The moment the iPhone 5 was unveiled we knew that it was checking off all the right boxes, folding in all the improvements and refinements people have been demanding over the past year -- yet plenty of folks still went to their respective social networks to type out their bitter disappointment. iPhone upgrade ennui seemed to be sweeping the nation, a sentiment that appeared to quickly dissipate when it came time for people to vote with their wallets.
The iPhone 5 is here -- or will be soon, anyway -- and it's every bit the device that people were asking for when the iPhone 4S came out. Its new design has less mass yet leaves room for a larger display and LTE wireless, all while increasing battery life. In nearly every respect, this is an upgrade over the 4S that came before, though it arrives almost a year later than many had hoped. Is it too late to keep pace with the rapidly iterating Android offerings, or is it so good it was worth waiting for? The answer lies below.

Gallery: iPhone 5 review

Continue reading iPhone 5 review
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

iPhone 5 review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fusion Power Breakthrough Near At Sandia Labs?

2012-09-18T23:03:00.001-07:00

Fusion Power Breakthrough Near At Sandia Labs?:
An anonymous reader writes "An achievement that would have extraordinary energy and defense implications might be near at Sandia National Laboratories. The lab is testing a concept called MagLIF (Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion), which uses magnetic fields and laser pre-heating in the quest for energetic fusion. A paper by Sandia researchers that was accepted for publication states that the Z-pinch driven MagLIF fusion could reach 'high-gain' fusion conditions, where the fusion energy released greatly exceeds (by more than 1,000 times) the energy supplied to the fuel."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Lensbaby Spark delivers selective focus for 80 bucks, we go hands-on (sample images)

2012-09-18T08:03:00.001-07:00

Lensbaby Spark delivers selective focus for 80 bucks, we go hands-on (sample images):

What do you see when you look through a Lensbaby? Well, take a gander for yourself -- that image just above was shot with the company's new Spark. The $80 selective-focus optic is available for Canon and Nikon mounts, and brings f/5.6 shooting with a 50mm focal length, and, of course, that trademark Lensbaby bokeh. We caught up with the new lens at Photokina, and unlike many of the cameras we've seen so far, we were permitted to shoot some sample images.
Snapping with any Lensbaby takes a fair amount of practice and patience, but the Spark is designed to simplify the process somewhat, with an interior barrel that prevents you from venturing too far past the focal plane, along with a more straightforward design -- simply frame your shot, focus and bend the lens towards your subject to blur out any other elements in the scene. Calculating exposure with the Spark can take some work, so we tweaked and cropped our sample images just a bit -- besides that, what you see is what you get, so click through our gallery below to see the Spark, shot by another Spark. So meta.

Gallery: Lensbaby Spark hands-on and sample images

Filed under: Cameras, Peripherals

Lensbaby Spark delivers selective focus for 80 bucks, we go hands-on (sample images) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 09:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Warp Drive Might Be Less Impossible Than Previously Thought

2012-09-17T23:20:00.001-07:00

Warp Drive Might Be Less Impossible Than Previously Thought:

runner_one writes "Harold 'Sonny' White of NASA's Johnson Space Center said Friday (Sept. 14) at the 100 Year Starship Symposium that warp drive might be easier to achieve than earlier thought. The first concept for a real-life warp drive was suggested in 1994 by Mexican physicist Miguel Alcubierre, however subsequent calculations found that such a device would require prohibitive amounts of energy, studies estimated the warp drive would require a minimum amount of energy about equal to the mass-energy of the planet Jupiter. But recent calculations showed that if the shape of the ring encircling the spacecraft was adjusted into more of a rounded donut, as opposed to a flat ring the warp drive could be powered by the energy of a mass as small as 500 kg. Furthermore, if the intensity of the space warps can be oscillated over time, the energy required is reduced even more."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Fleet of Ferraris break world record for most expensive traffic jam

2012-09-17T04:49:00.001-07:00

Fleet of Ferraris break world record for most expensive traffic jam:

For supercar fans, this is what you call the ultimate beauty parade... a fleet of 964 record-breaking Ferraris worth £100million.

On your marques: Drivers stand by their cars in the pit lane (Picture: Sportsphoto)

Snaking around Silverstone, 964 Ferrari owners have set a new world record for the biggest ever supercar parade.
The most expensive traffic jam of all-time is led by Formula 1 Ferrari driver
Felipe Massa at the wheel of a black Ferrari 458 Spider.
Petrolheads gathered at Silverstone race circuit in Northamptonshire to see the record of 490 set in Japan four years ago comprehensively smashed.
Bumper to bumper: F1 ace Felipe Massa leads the line of cars (Picture: SWNS)

Featuring models from the last 40 years, the total fleet boasted more than 500,000 horsepower. So many Ferraris took part there was only 250m of road free on the 5.8km track.
Dave Whiteley, 61, from Birmingham, who drove his 1983 Ferrari 308, said: ‘I've never seen so many Ferraris in one place and I've been a member of the Ferrari Owner's Club for 14 years.
'It's incredible, a lot of people appreciate Ferraris and this has made a lot of people's day. I took part in the 2007 record and then the Japanese beat it.
He added: 'Hopefully today has made it impossible for them to beat. It has been exceptional.'
VIDEO:
World's biggest supercar parade