Brian Dodson
Solid when wet and liquid when dry – Cornell's new DNA hydrogel seems confused
Every now and again, Cornell University Professor Dan Luo gets a surprise. His research team has discovered a new variety of hydrogel – like Jello, except made with DNA instead of gelatin. When full of water, it is a soft, elastic solid. But when the water is removed, the hydrogel collapses, losing its shape. The resulting material pours like a liquid, and conforms to the shape of its container. The most interesting part, however, is that the liquid hydrogel remembers its shape. Add water and you get back the original Jello-like shape. Terminator T-1000, anyone? Read More
LG and Sony have both introduced Ultra high definition (UHD) TVs with 84-inch screens within the past three months and both are priced at US$20K or more. These monster televisions have 16:9 aspect ratio UHD screens (3840 x 2160 pixels). There are no more than a few hundred sets available worldwide, but even if a Christmas miracle happens and an 84-inch UHDTV makes its way under your tree, finding a video source to match the screen resolution could prove to be the real challenge. Read More
Astronomers find infant solar system in our stellar neighborhood
The Sun is a bit over 4.5 billion years old, leading many to think of all stars as billions of years in age. Astronomers have now demonstrated that isn't always the case. Using high-resolution millimeter and submillimeter imaging telescope arrays, John Tobin of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and his collaborators have now discovered an infant star whose age is measured in thousands, rather than billions, of years. While at present the protostar has only about a fifth of the Sun's mass, projections point to the eventual formation of a stellar system broadly similar to our Sun and its planets. Read More
Perfect optical absorber invented at Harvard University
Harvard Professor of Applied Physics Federico Capasso and his collaborators have invented a nearly perfect optical absorber. By coating a piece of sapphire with an exceedingly thin (180 nm) layer of vanadium dioxide (VO2), a surface is created that absorbs 99.75 percent of infrared light with a wavelength of 11.6 micron wavelength. Such optical absorbers can be tailored to enable a wide range of applications. Read More
Left to its own ways, light will follow the same path through an optical system whether the system is being used as a camera lens or as a projector. This is called time-reversal symmetry, or reciprocity. As many new applications and methods would be enabled by access to a non-reciprocal optical system, it is unfortunate that they have been so difficult to come by. But now researchers at Stanford University have discovered how to make such non-reciprocal systems by generating an effective magnetic field for photons. Read More
Curiosity's soil sample analysis reveals no surprises
NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has used its Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) and Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instruments to analyze its first scoop of Martian soil. These instruments allowed Curiosity to perform a wide range of chemical and structural tests which found signs of a complex and active soil chemistry – but no sign of life. Read More
TrackingPoint, Inc., a new precision guided rifle development company operating out of Austin, Texas, has developed breakthrough technology that claims to put jet fighter lock-and-launch technology onto a combat rifle, making sniper-level accuracy available to the average shooter. Read More
The 58-key mini piano with which Dooley Wilson performed As Time Goes By in the classic movie Casablanca is going on the auction block on December 14, 2012, at Sotheby's in New York. Last sold at auction to a Japanese collector in 1988 for US$154,000, the auction estimate now ranges from $800,000 to $1.2 million. Read More
Bookshelves have a basic design flaw. When books are neatly arranged for storage and display, they tend to tip over and lay on the shelf in confused disarray. This vexing problem has been solved by the Korea-based design group monocomplex, whose Lean/Bookshelf uses the force of gravity to keep things in order – no bookends required. Read More
World's oldest digital computer restored to life at age 60
The Harwell Dekatron computer is a 1950s computer having roughly the weight and size of a Hummer H3 and the computing power of a four-function pocket calculator. Having been restored to its original operating condition using 95 percent original parts, it is now the oldest functioning programmable digital computer in the world. Guinness might have been onto something, when, in 1973, they named the Dekatron the Most Durable Computer in the World. Read More
