What Jamie Found » Science

Eye of Sauron found by Hubble Telescope

Jamie Barrows — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:53:14 +0000

The above is a picture of Fomalhaut, a star that offers the best evidence of a star system with a complex planetary group orbiting it. The picture was taken using the Hubble telescope.

What makes it interesting, is the strong resemblance to the Eye of Sauron from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I’m a huge Lord of the Rings fan, so this is pretty cool.

Via New Scientist: Hubble spies lord of the stellar rings

Self healing rubber

Jamie Barrows — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 14:46:23 +0000

An inventor working at the Industrial Physics and Chemistry Higher Educational Institution (ESPCI) in Paris, France, has come up with a new type of synthetic rubber. The rubber can be cut, torn, or ripped, and then pressed back together to form a bond as strong as if it had never been torn in the first place.
The potential uses of this new material are numerous. Self healing bicycle tires, bags that reseal, and gloves that repair tears.
Check out the article at New Scientist: Smart rubber promises self-mending products

A gravity powered lamp

Jamie Barrows — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 14:08:33 +0000

A U.S. graduate student, Clay Moulton, created a gravity powered lamp as part of his Masters thesis. The entire lamp is only 4 feet high. To light it, a user moves the weights from the bottom to the top of the lamp and into a mass sled. As the sled slowly drops down, it turns a rotor that powers the LEDs that provide the light.
The light output is roughly equivalent to a 40watt bulb, and it will stay lit for up to four hours before the weights need to be moved again.

I could easily see something like this being used in locations where electricity is very expensive or unreliable. It would also be a great tool for emergency workers or for outdoor camping. And best of all, is that the device is completely green. That is it doesn’t use any fuel at all to power it. Just gravity.

Outlets anywhere on your wall

Jamie Barrows — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:21:23 +0000

PhysOrg has an article about a new type of wallpaper developed by Philips. The idea is to have the wallpaper contain conducting strips that could be used to power electronics. Everything from TVs to room lights and even general purpose outlets.

Since the strips are embedded in the wallpaper, the outlets could be positioned anywhere on the wall, without having to run cables inside the wall. With the prevalence of flat panel TVs that are often hung on the wall, this could be a really good way to eliminate unsightly cables.

The article also made me wonder if this same type of wallpaper might be adapted to other types of cabling. Perhaps speaker wires or network connections.

Read the original article at PhyOrg: Wired Wallpaper Offers Alternative to Outlets

Modern Alchemy

Jamie Barrows — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:40:54 +0000

Well, it’s not quite alchemy, but it’s pretty close. Dr. Chunlei Guo of the University of Rochester, has found a way to etch metal with a high powered laser, in a way that causes it to turn nearly any color you can think of.

What he does is etch the metal in such a way that it only reflects certain light wavelengths. Causing the metal to turn color. Unlike paints or dies, the colors won’t fade or peel with age. And the process works on every metal tested so far.

Just imagine, cars with paint jobs that are literally part of the body. Metal appliances and jewelry in any color imaginable. The potential applications are too numerous to count.

Read all about it at PhysOrg: Researchers create gold aluminum, black platinum, blue silver

Waterproof sand

Jamie Barrows — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:36:33 +0000

The video above is showing a special type of sand, that never gets wet. It can be completely submerged in water, and yet it will remain dry. Remove it from the water and it will be as dry as it was before it was submerged.

The sand was originally developed for cleaning up oil spills. Because the sand is waterproof, it could soak up the oil that would normally float on the top of the water. At which point it would sink to the bottom and take the oil with it.

Unfortunately, the sand is too expensive to be used for large scale cleanups. So today it is mostly sold as a novelty toy for children.
Via DVICE: Miracles of Science: Watch Sand that Never Gets Wet

The Kaye Effect

Jamie Barrows — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 14:11:33 +0000

I found this very interesting video that demonstrates the Kaye effect using a high speed camera and a bottle of shampoo.

The Kaye effect was first described by the British engineer Alan Kaye in 1963. Hence the name. The best description I could find, was from the rather sparse wikipedia article on it.

“While pouring one viscous mixture of an organic liquid onto a surface, the surface suddenly spouted an upcoming jet of liquid which merged with the down going one.” Wikipedia: Kaye effect

It’s a pretty cool effect, and one that we have all probably seen before, but just didn’t really notice because it happens so fast.

Fasting could help reduce heart disease

Jamie Barrows — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:20:20 +0000

PhysOrg has very interesting article on the potential health benefits of Fasting. The practice of fasting, that is abstaining from two or more meals in a row, is common to many different religious and mystic groups. But until recently was not considered to have any health benefits.

Now research is showing that fasting once a month may lead to a reduced risk of heart disease and other cardiovascular ailments.

Kind of makes you wonder what other religious practices may have unknown health benefits.

Via PhysOrg: People who skip meals: are they better off?

Velociraptors were just big birds?

Jamie Barrows — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 16:19:08 +0000

Paleontologists at the American Museum of Natural History and the Field Museum of Natural History have conclusively identified Quill knobs on velociraptor bones. Proving that velociraptors had feathers. Scintists have suspected that raptors had feathers for some time, but have never been able to prove it. Now with the discovery of quill knobs they know for sure.

So I guess the old Jurassic park movies will start to look even more dated. I remember how scary the raptors were in that movie. Trying to picture them with feathers just doesn’t quite cut it. Instead of the dangerous lizard look, we get the big ostrich look. Probably still just as dangerous, but it doesn’t quite have that same instinctive fear that the big lizard does. LOL

Via PhysOrg: Velociraptor had feathers

Thought Controlled Wheelchair

Jamie Barrows — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 17:14:25 +0000

NewScientist has an article about a new wheelchair that is controlled via a person’s thoughts. It works by intercepting signals sent from their brain to the larynx. No sound actually needs to be produced. So as long as the user thinks the word and sub vocalizes it, he/she can control the machine. Watch the video above to see it in action. Then read the article for more detail.

New Scientist – Thinking of words can guide your wheelchair