Sep 17, 2014 By Abraham 13
Here’s a really interesting and surprisingly simple breakdown of the Russian alphabet from writer Peter Starr Northrop and cartoonist Ryan Estrada. Give it a few minutes of your time and you’ll be confidently sounding out Russian words by the end.
Next up: Learning what those words mean.
See more from Northrop and Estrada.
source of this post . www.twentytwowords.com
Optical table at the Photonics Institute.
X-rays are widely used in medicine and in materials science. To take a picture of a broken bone, it is enough to create a continuous flux of X-ray photons, but in order to study time-dependent phenomena on very short timescales, short X-ray pulses are required. One possibility to create short hard X-ray pulses is hitting a metal target with laser pulses. The laser rips electrons out of the atoms and makes them emit X-ray radiation. Electrical engineers at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) together with researchers from Berlin have drastically increased the flux of X-ray photons using a newly developed mid-infrared laser system. This new table-top X-ray source will allow more accurate measurements in many fields of research.
Long Waves and Short Waves
Hard x-ray radiation is light with a wavelength in the range of picometers -- much shorter than the wavelength of visible light. But in order to create this extremely short wave radiation, Professor Andrius Baltuska's team (Photonics Institute, Electrical Engineering, TU Wien) starts out with a quite different kind of light. They created a high-intensity infrared laser system with a wavelength of 4 micrometers -- which is a wavelength much longer than visible light.
The mid-infrared light emitted by the laser hits a copper plate. The intensity of the laser light is so high that electrons are ripped out of the atoms. The laser field turns them around, accelerates them and eventually makes them hit the copper again at very high energies. During this impact of the electrons returning to the copper plate, X-ray radiation is emitted.
"The flux of the x-ray radiation depends on the wavelength of the laser," says Skirmantas Alisauskas (TU Wien). "If the laser wavelength is long, then every electron spends a lot of time in the laser field before it returns to the copper atoms. It has more time to gain energy and hits the copper plate even harder."
Building a New Kind of Laser
This is why the scientists have focussed their attention on building long-wavelenth laser systems. "Previously, this experiment was done with a common 0.8 micrometer laser. The wavelength of our laser pulses is five times as long, which translates into a 25 times higher x-ray flux," says Skirmantas Alisauskas. Each laser pulse leads to one billion x-ray photons, emitted into all directions.
Creating this laser light was a big technological challenge. "Building lasers with such long wavelengths is hard, but the main problem was making the laser light intense enough," says Alisauskas. "At this wavelength, this is the most intense laser light in the world. But we want to go even further in the near future."
More Pulses per Second The team is planning to go to even longer wavelengths, and they are trying to increase the rate at which the laser can produce light pulses. "At the moment, we have a repetition rate of 20 laser pulses per second. That is perfectly fine for a proof of principle, but for technological applications we need to increase that -- and we already have a few good ideas of how to do this," says Prof. Andrius Baltuska.
X-rays are used whenever the atomic structure of materials has to be investigated. As the new x-ray source does not produce a continuous beam but short pulses, it can be used for time-resolved measurements.
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The above story is based on materials provided by Vienna University of Technology. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
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a) Electonic inks for printing. (b) Inkjet printed shift register circuit. (c) Printed flexible imager.
New technology allows you to print electronic devices in the same way your inkjet printer prints a document or photo. Now researchers at Palo Alto Research Center have used this technique to build a portable X-ray imager and small mechanical devices.
"It's a demonstration of how far this technology can go," said Tina Ng of the Palo Alto Research Center. She will describe these devices at the AVS 61st International Symposium & Exhibition, being held Nov. 9-14, 2014, in Baltimore, Md.
Making electronics on conventional silicon wafers can be costly and time consuming. Traditional photolithography methods, Ng explained, are complex. You first have to deposit layers of material, place a stencil-like mask on it, and then shine ultraviolet light to etch away the exposed material. You then repeat the process to create the patterns needed to form electronic circuits and devices.
But in the last ten years, researchers have been developing ways to deposit patterns of metals, semiconductors and other material directly, just like how a printer deposits patterns of ink. The materials are dissolved in a liquid solution, which can then be printed on a variety of substrates, such as plastic, paper and even fabric. When the "ink" dries, the material remains.
As a demonstration of this technology, Ng and her colleagues built a digital X-ray sensor. Using printing techniques, the researchers fabricated flexible X-ray imager arrays on plastic films that are much more portable than the behemoths at your dentist's office. Such a device could be used by doctors in the field, serve as small security scanners or even help soldiers identify bombs in battle.
The researchers are also working on printing an actuator, a simple mechanical device. Unlike typical silicon actuators, the printable actuator is based on solution-processed organic materials and behaves like "artificial muscles." While they haven't developed specific applications for such an actuator, Ng said, it could be used in conjunction with photo imagers to make adaptive optical parts that tune focal distance, or to make moving mirrors that redirect light beams.
This printing technique won't work for producing the high-end silicon chips in your computers and phones, Ng said. Instead, "we're going for more high-volume, simple but useful systems." In the future, for example, you might be able to print sensors onto clothing or some other device attached to the skin to monitor vital signs -- and alert a doctor in case of emergency. Some researchers have also been printing devices to make flexible solar cells; imagine wearing a jacket that doubles as a solar panel. Another possibility, Ng said, is to print flexible antennae for wireless communication.
Authors of this presentation are affiliated with Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), a Xerox Company, in California; Simon Fraser University in Canada; and Soonchunhyang University in South Korea.
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The above story is based on materials provided by AVS: Science & Technology of Materials, Interfaces, and Processing. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Schematic figure of the present experiment. Reactive molecules produced in a supersonic jet come into the microwave cavity placed inside a vacuum chamber, where microwave radiation excites the molecules. Induced microwave radiation from the excited molecules is detected.
Silicon, which is one of the most common elements in Earth's crust, is also sprinkled abundantly throughout interstellar space. The only way to identify silicon-containing molecules in the far corners of the cosmos -- and to understand the chemistry that created them -- is to observe through telescopes the electromagnetic radiation the molecules emit.
Scientists from the University of Tokyo, in Japan, have now determined the unique electromagnetic emission spectrums of two new, highly-reactive silicon compounds. The research, which is published in The Journal of Chemical Physics from AIP Publishing, will help astronomers look for the molecules in the interstellar medium.
"Like human fingerprints and DNA sequences are the markers of human identity, we can identify molecules from the frequencies of the electromagnetic waves emitted by them," said Yasuki Endo, a researcher in the Department of Basic Science at the University of Tokyo.
Using spectroscopic techniques, scientists have already detected silicon-containing molecules in the gaseous clouds that envelop some stars and in the sparsely populated space between stars. In space, silicon is often found in dust grains containing stable compounds called silicates. However, highly reactive molecules, such as SiCN, have also been detected in the gas phase in the interstellar medium.
Searching for More Reactive Silicon Compounds
Endo and his colleagues wondered if compounds in the same family as SiCN, but with longer carbon chains, also existed in the interstellar medium. But there was big obstacle to answering the question: Researchers had not yet performed any laboratory experiments to determine the spectroscopic signatures of reactive, silicon and nitrogen-terminated carbon chain molecules.
To fill the knowledge gap, Endo and his team created molecules of SiC2N and SiC3N by mixing precursor gases in a supersonic jet and zapping the mixture with electric pulses. The researchers then measured the electromagnetic emissions of the molecules in a Fourier transform microwave spectrometer. To find the peaks in the emission spectrum, the researchers were guided by theoretical calculations.
"Our experiment now makes it possible to search for SiC2N and SiC3N in the interstellar medium," Endo said.
Space Chemistry Insights
Endo and his colleagues plan to use their new results to look for silicon and nitrogen-terminated carbon chain molecules in the gaseous cloud surrounding a giant infrared star called IRC+10216. Scientists had previously detected the single carbon SiCN surrounding this star.
"If [SiC2N and SiC3N] molecules are identified in astronomical objects and their abundances are determined, we will be able to obtain valuable information on the mechanisms for the formations of these molecules," Endo said. "In addition, the information may provide clues to understand formation pathways of other silicon-bearing molecules." The new information could give scientists clues about the chemical composition of the universe and the conditions that birth stars and planets.
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The above story is based on materials provided by American Institute of Physics (AIP). Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
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Fri, 10/31/2014 - 12:34pm
Xylene is well known as an excellent solvent, often used in the printing, paint, rubber and leather industries since it has high solvency power, as demonstrated by its high Kauri-Butanol (k-B) value of 98. However, xylene is known to be a potential occupational hazard due to numerous health and safety concerns. Consequently, an alternative for xylene has been frequently researched.
Necotek Solutions has developed Necosolv XB to address this situation, providing a strong solvent that is safer as well as non-flammable/non-combustible. Necosolv is a non-HAP (hazardous air pollutant), has low toxicity and has low or no global warming potential or ozone depletion potential.
Compared to xylene, Necosolv XB has a K-B value of 115 (vs. 98), a boiling point of 134 C (vs. 139 C) and a flash point of 102 C (vs. 77 C).
The effects of atmospheric carbon linger for centuries, so historical emissions totals are relevant context for the global climate policy debate.
Nations will need to cooperate on climate policy if global emissions reduction targets are to be met.
The newly published synthesis of the Fifth Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is yet another reminder that to maintain a legitimate shot at avoiding warming of greater than 2 °C, greenhouse-gas emissions must be cut 40 to 70 percent by midcentury and reduced to zero by 2100.
How exactly to achieve this is the subject of ongoing geopolitical debate. The United States points to its annual emissions, which have been gradually trending downward, and argues that China, now the world’s leading annual emitter, bears equal responsibility, along with other high-emitting nations like India. China, meanwhile, argues that because the U.S. and other wealthy nations have contributed a disproportionate share of the greenhouse gases already accumulated in the atmosphere, they should be held more accountable for emissions cuts over the next several decades.
Since the effects of atmospheric carbon dioxide linger for centuries (See “Climate Change: The Moral Choices”), that’s a fair point. In the fifth assessment report, the IPCC has for the first time embraced the concept of a carbon budget. According to the panel, ensuring that warming remains below 2 °C will require keeping the total of human-caused emissions, from the beginning of the industrial era through the end of this century, below about a trillion tons of carbon. Over half of that total had already been emitted into the atmosphere by 2011.
At the very least, an accounting of cumulative historical emissions by individual countries is relevant context for today’s geopolitical gridlock. For example, according to the World Resources Institute, the United States has emitted some 10 times as much as India, whose population is nearly four times larger.
source – www.technologyreview.com
YouTube has launched an invite-only beta of a subscription music service
YouTube's long-rumored music service will soon be a reality, Google announced Wednesday. Dubbed YouTube Music Key, the monthly subscription service launched an invite-only beta with minimal details.
For a promotional price of US$7.99 per month (discounted from the normal $9.99 per month fee), subscribers will get ad-free music videos that will continue to play even if your mobile screen locks or you switch to another app. You can also download videos for offline viewing and get a subscription to the audio-only Google Play Music service.
That's about all we know for sure. It would seem that the basic idea here is for Google to offer yet another competitor to the likes of Spotify, but with the interesting addition of a music video component through YouTube.
As part of the launch, YouTube's website and app is getting a new official music section that recommends playlists and provides better access to full artist albums and discographies for the first time.
A big part of the pitch for YouTube Music Key revolves around how users have long gone on YouTube not just to listen to music, but to remix, parody and mashup music, too. It's not immediately clear what, if any role user-generated music videos will occupy in the new subscription service.
The move finally gives YouTube an official way to serve the huge demand for online music video viewing without having to worry about copyright concerns.
Source:YouTube
Individuals who express negative reactions to positive news were able to moderate intense emotions more quickly, scientists found. They also found people who are most likely to cry at their child's graduation are most likely to want to pinch a cute baby's cheeks.
The phrase "tears of joy" never made much sense to Yale psychologist Oriana Aragon. But after conducting a series of studies of such seemingly incongruous expressions, she now understands better why people cry when they are happy.
"People may be restoring emotional equilibrium with these expressions," said Aragon, lead author of work to be published in the journal Psychological Science. "They seem to take place when people are overwhelmed with strong positive emotions, and people who do this seem to recover better from those strong emotions."
There are many examples of responding to a positive experience with a negative emotion. A crying spouse is reunited with a soldier returning from war. Teen girls scream at a Justin Bieber concert and so do soccer players as they score a winning goal. The baseball player who hits a winning home run is pounded at home plate by teammates. And when introduced to babies "too cute for words," some can't resist pinching their cheeks.
"I was surprised no one ever asked why that is," she said.
Aragon and her colleagues at Yale ran subjects through some of these scenarios and measured their responses to cute babies or happy reunions. They found that individuals who express negative reactions to positive news were able to moderate intense emotions more quickly. They also found people who are most likely to cry at their child's graduation are most likely to want to pinch a cute baby's cheeks.
There is also some evidence that strong negative feelings may provoke positive expressions; for example nervous laughter appears when people are confronted with a difficult or frightening situations, and smiles have been found by other psychologists to occur during extreme sadness.
These new discoveries begin to explain common things that many people do but don't even understand themselves, Aragon said.
"These insights advance our understanding of how people express and control their emotions, which is importantly related to mental and physical health, the quality of relationships with others, and even how well people work together," she said.
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The above story is based on materials provided by Yale University. The original article was written by Bill Hathaway. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
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In the United States, more than 62% of residents have a family pet, 83.3 million of these people have a dog. That means a whole lot of kids get the chance to grow up with an awesome friend by their side: a dog.
Dogs and children are among the most beautiful, innocent creatures on earth. Dogs love and care for their pack members (aka your family) unconditionally, and they also help teach us some of the more important lessons in life, like never take anything too seriously. And when it comes to babies and children, many dogs will prove you don’t have to be from the same species to fall in love.
These 22 kids are sure to look back on their first furry canine friend with love, appreciation, and nostalgia. Until then, enjoy how cute they look hanging out with their caring best bud, the loyal family dog.
Dogs and children make the best of friends for so many reasons. For one, dogs and children share the same playful qualities, offering them endless fun to partake in together. While dogs can make almost all adults at least crack a giggle, they can make all children howl with laughter and joy.
As kids get older they can start helping to take care of the dog to gain immense responsibility. If you grew up with a dog you know how special the connection was you shared. They become an engrained part of your childhood, without them nothing would have been the same.
I still remember my first dog, she was not big like the dogs featured in this post, and instead she was a tiny American Eskimo. I named her Nala and adored her to bits. Sometimes we would run through the yard jumping over obstacles I would set up (I was pretending she was a horse of course), and other times I would just sit and squeeze her tight. She didn’t care what we did, she was my best friend on 4-legs.
That’s what animals do for us; they provide a friendship unlike any other. Well-trained and obedient dogs are full of respect and incredibly intelligent. Some even act like mommy’s little helper when the new baby arrives, conjuring up the natural maternal instinct within each canine.
Forget about the baby, check out the legs and tush on that dog!
Seriously, whose decision was it to have this kid?! And can one of you parents help me out over here?!
“But..but… what is it!?”
Despite the adorable quality dogs and children have when they are together, it’s important to note how careful you must be when combining dogs and kids. Not all dogs react to babies the same way, careful supervision is always recommended!
This baby has found the perfect bed, I wonder if the dog knows how to get up without harming the sleeping infant.
Such a beautiful image!
There is nothing like a Golden Retriever, hands down one of the best breeds out there–but with 2 of my own I am admittedly biased.
Dog moms are very dedicated, for the first 8 weeks after delivering her puppies, she will spend all of her time feeding, tending to, and cleaning up after them.
Are you Team Dog or Team Cat? If your vote is for the barking crew, you will enjoy these 20 Reasons Dogs Are Better Than Cats.
Cuteness overload: See MORE little kids hanging out with their big dogs!
Photo Credits: Viktoria Haack, Elena Shumilova, Jen Hendricks, wallpaperscraft.com, Elena Shumilova, Hanna Mac, imgur, src.lol24.com, littlebloomstudio.com, Jean Philippe Matz, Caroline Ghetes, Amanda Patrice, Cathy Murai, Nicole Polk, Erin Vey, Katia Davidova, Marisa Matluck, grin660, theblaze.com, Anonymous Panda, Cathy Murai, Orlando| Hulton Archive
The Hush2 shelter is designed for use in disaster relief areas and can withstand category 5 hurricanes
Ensuring that people have shelter is a critical part of disaster relief. But what happens if the disaster is ongoing? Or if another disaster hits? A humanitarian shelter from Extremis Technology is designed with just that thinking. The Hush2 can be erected in two hours and can withstand hurricanes.
Two hours is by no means the quickest of assembly times as emergency shelters go. The Rapid Deployment Module from Visible Good, for example, can be assembled without any tools in 25 minutes. Alastair Pryor's Compact Shelter, meanwhile, can be erected in just two minutes, albeit as a much more rudimentary facility. Whilst not as quick to deploy as these examples, the Hush2 is designed to afford more protection to those inside and is transitional to long-term use after a disaster.
The shelter is designed to be highly portable so that it can be transported quickly and easily to disaster relief areas. It is built from marine plywood and can be repaired or enhanced using local materials. It is also designed so that it can be easily repurposed after being used.
Once constructed, the Hush2 measures 4.3 x 4.4 x 2.4 m (14.1 x 14.4 x 7.9 ft). It is split into two compartments which can be used, for example, as separate living and sleeping spaces. The shelter is also modular and can be deployed in groups to form larger buildings. It is built using noise reduction materials and has a heat deflection coating to help control temperature. It is also possible to install water purification and solar cooking facilities.
Although it looks like a traditional rectangular shelter, the Hush2 has a special party trick. In the event of strong winds or a hurricane, the shelter can be quickly reconfigured into a more sturdy shape to provide extra protection. To adopt the shelter's "storm-safe position," the two sides of each end are folded diagonally inwards and the shelter's sides are also folded inwards to create a triangular shape.
This formation means that the Hush2 maintains a solid base, but reduces wind resistance. It also reinforces parts of the structure and covers the door and windows. Internal space is naturally reduced, although floor space remains the same. According to Extremis Technology, the process of converting the shelter takes just seven minutes and, once complete, the shelter can withstand hurricanes with category 5 winds of up to 200 mph (322 km/h).
Source: Hush2
