Smivs - Slashdot User

Submission + - Oldest working British T.V. found

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Smivs

on Tuesday July 21, 2009 @06:25AM

Smivs writes: "Britain's oldest working television has been uncovered in a house in London. The 1936 Marconiphone, thought to have been made in the months that Britain's first television service began, was tracked down after a competition. The set belongs to Jeffrey Borinsky, an electrical engineer and collector of antique television and radio sets.
He bought the set, which has a 12-inch (30cm) screen from another collector 10 years ago and is still working on restoring it to its original state. The screen is mounted inside a wooden cabinet. The image from the cathode ray tube, mounted vertically inside the cabinet, is reflected onto a mirror. The few controls include volume and vertical hold, but there is no channel changer, as there was only one channel when it was made: the BBC.
But the Marconiphone 702 still works as a modern television. It has been hooked up to a Freeview box so that it can show digital channels, although Mr Borinsky has had to install a standards converter so that a modern television signal can be seen."

Submission + - Spider builds life-size decoy of itself

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Smivs

on Tuesday July 07, 2009 @08:04AM

Smivs writes: "The BBC are reporting on a species of spider that makes life size relicas of itself, possibly to distract predators.The arachnid's behaviour also offers one explanation for why many spiders like to decorate their webs with strange-looking ornaments. Many animals try to divert the attentions of predators by becoming masters of disguise. Some try to avoid being seen altogether by using camouflage to blend in against a background, such as the peppered moth evolving motley wings that blend into tree bark, or stick insects that look like sticks.The spider may be the first example of an animal building a life-size replica of its own body."

Submission + - Earth could collide with other planets

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Smivs

on Thursday June 11, 2009 @06:23AM

Smivs writes: "The BBC are reporting an article in Nature magazine in which Astronomers calculate there is a tiny chance that Mars or Venus could collide with Earth — though it would not happen for at least a billion years. The finding comes from simulations to show how orbits of planets might evolve billions of years into the future. But the calculated chances of such events occurring are tiny. Writing in the journal Nature, a team led by Jacques Laskar shows there is also a chance Mercury could strike Venus and merge into a larger planet. Professor Laskar of the Paris Observatory and his colleagues also report that Mars might experience a close encounter with Jupiter — whose massive gravity could hurl the Red Planet out of our Solar System."

Submission + - Slashdot as a "A Sustainable Digital Ecosyste

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Smivs

on Saturday May 16, 2009 @09:19AM

Smivs writes: "A chinese researcher, Lily Liu, of USTC-CityU Joint Research Center, Suzhou, China, has based her Thesis on an examination of Slashdot as a "Sustainable Digital Ecosystem for Idea Sharing". Online surveys were emailed to 310 active Slashdot participants selected randomly. 42 responded, for a response rate of 13.5% which was deemed very reasonable for an unsolicited survey without rewards for contribution.
I was one of those approached, and was happy to participate, and I have just received a copy of the paper, which makes interesting reading. From the paper:- "Overall, our survey results indicate that Slashdot meets five of the six criteria specified for a sustainable digital ecosystem for idea sharing. Distributed resources, suggested by Preece [8] to avoid site failure in case of outages, was not found. However, the technological infrastructure behind Slashdot is transparent to the users, and is likely only to be observed in case of failure. At Slashdots level of success and the technology infrastructure backing it, resource availability is equally as expected as with large commercial sites, and any cases of failure would be widely reported in the online media such as CNET or Netcraft. In fact, outages for Slashdot are very rare and only very few occurrences have been reported. Hence we might conclude that the last criterion, while not reported by respondents, can also be viewed as a success factor for Slashdot."
If you would like to see the entire paper, I have posted the paper online. This is on my Homesite, so please don't all go there at once...I don't need to be slashdotted! It'll be there for a while."

Submission + - suggested poll

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Smivs

on Sunday May 10, 2009 @12:12PM

Smivs writes: "Suggestion for a SLASHDOT POLL:
What is your favorite electrical componant?
1) resistor
2) capacitor
3) transistor
4) bus-bar
5) valve
6) wire
7) cowboynealistor"

Submission + - Hobbits 'are a separate species' 1

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Smivs

on Thursday May 07, 2009 @06:18AM

Smivs writes: "The BBC are reporting that Scientists have found more evidence that the Indonesian "Hobbit" skeletons belong to a new species of human — and not modern pygmies. The 3ft (one metre) tall, 30kg (65lbs) humans roamed the Indonesian island of Flores, perhaps up to 8,000 years ago. Since the discovery, researchers have argued vehemently as to the identity of these diminutive people. Two papers in the journal Nature now support the idea they were an entirely new species of human. The team, which discovered the tiny remains in Liang Bua cave on Flores, contends that the population belongs to the species Homo floresiensis — separate from our own grouping Homo sapiens . They argue that the "Hobbits" are descended from a prehistoric species of human — perhaps Homo erectus — which reached island South-East Asia more than a million years ago."

Submission + - 'Theoretical' molecule has been made

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Smivs

on Friday April 24, 2009 @06:19AM

Smivs writes: "A molecule that until now existed only in theory has finally been made, according to this BBC report. Known as a Rydberg molecule, it is formed through an elusive and extremely weak chemical bond between two atoms. A Rydberg atom is special because it has one electron alone in an outermost orbit — very far, in atomic terms, from its nucleus. Unimaginably cold temperatures are needed to create the molecules, as Vera Bendkowsky from the University of Stuttgart who led the research explained. "The nuclei of the atoms have to be at the correct distance from each other for the electron fields to find each other and interact," she said. "We use an ultracold cloud of rubidium — as you cool it, the atoms in the gas move closer together." The researchers excite an atom to the "Rydberg state" using a laser When one is a Rydberg atom, the two atoms form a Rydberg molecule."

Submission + - Cow genome sequenced

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Smivs

on Friday April 24, 2009 @06:11AM

Smivs writes: "The BBC are reporting that the genome of a female Hereford cow has been sequenced, which could be a starting point for major improvements in the agricultural industry. The information is likely to have a major impact on livestock breeding. The study, published in the journal Science, was a six-year effort by more than 300 scientists in 25 countries. Cattle now join an elite group of animals to have had their genome sequenced — a group that includes humans, other primates and rodents."

Submission + - e-Merlin 'Super-telescope' switched on

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Smivs

on Monday April 20, 2009 @10:04AM

Smivs writes: "The BBC are reporting on the successful switch-on of one of the world's most powerful telescope arrays. Seven radio telescopes (around the UK) have been linked with optical fibres. The new data-link upgrade has replaced the older microwave technology that once connected the telescopes and was only able to return a fraction of the data that was being recorded.
Over the past six years, a huge project has been underway to swap the older microwave links for hundreds of kilometres of optical fibre cables, which are buried beneath the ground.
Tim O'Brien, from the e-Merlin project, said: "It will be a revolution in terms of what we can do with our astronomy. It is like moving from a dial-up connection on the internet to a broadband one. It means we will now be able to get all of the signal back from the telescopes. We'll be able to do in one day what would have previously taken us three years to do."
This extra data will allow astronomers to see objects in the Universe in much finer detail than was previously possible, and it will also enable them to study parts of the cosmos that have never been seen before."

Submission + - Wafer-thin speakers for 'talking billboards'. 1

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Smivs

on Thursday April 02, 2009 @06:18AM

Smivs writes: "The BBC are reporting on paper-thin speakers which could revolutionise advertising and P.A. systems. Engineers claim their new ultra-thin speakers, as well as looking good and being easy to conceal, will also deliver clearer, crisper sound. The loudspeakers could replace public address systems in passenger terminals and shopping centres. They could also be used as speaking posters to deliver adverts. The system, dubbed flat, flexible loudspeaker (FFL), started life as a piece of tin foil and some baking paper. These materials were first used to produce sound by Warwick University professor Dr Duncan Billson. "The sound produced by FFLs can be directed straight at its intended audience. The sound, volume and quality does not deteriorate as it does in conventional speakers which means that public announcements in passenger terminals could be clearer, crisper and easier to hear.""

Submission + - Satellite News

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Smivs

on Tuesday February 03, 2009 @10:17AM

Smivs writes: "The BBC are covering two satellite related news items today. The first is regarding a planned U.K. launch system possibly using Virgin Galactic's White Knight Two lifter. The second, and perhaps more worrying is concerning the launch of Iran's first home-grown satellite. From the article:-TV commentary said Monday's night-time launch on a Safir-2 rocket was "another achievement for Iranian scientists under sanctions". The satellite was designed for research and telecommunications purposes, the television report said. Iran is subject to UN sanctions as some Western powers think it is trying to build a nuclear bomb, which it denies. Tehran says its nuclear ambitions are limited to the production of energy, and has emphasised its satellite project is entirely peaceful. The launch of the Omid (Hope) satellite had been expected and was clearly timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Iranian revolution, says the BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran.Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the satellite was launched to spread "monotheism, peace and justice" in the world."

Submission + - Pollution causing rise in China birth defects

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Smivs

on Monday February 02, 2009 @07:32AM

Smivs writes: "The BBC are reporting that a senior family planning official in China has noted an alarming rise in the number of babies with birth defects. Jiang Fan, from China's National Population and Family Planning Commission, said environmental pollution was a cause of the increase. The coal-mining heartland of Shanxi province had the biggest problem. A 2007 commission report said the rate of defects had risen 40% since 2001, from 104.9 per 10,000 births to 145.5 in 2006. Officials blame emissions from Shanxi's large coal and chemical industry for the problems there. "The problem of birth defects is related to environmental pollution, especially in eight main coal zones," said An Huanxiao, the director of Shanxi provincial family planning agency. Mr Jiang said a child was born with physical defects every 30 seconds because of the degrading environment."

Submission + - Nano-motors for Microbots

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Smivs

on Wednesday January 21, 2009 @06:17AM

Smivs writes: "The BBC are reporting on the development of tiny motors the size of a grain of salt which could power surgical Microbots. Some surgical procedures are hindered by the size or inflexibility of current instruments. For example, the labyrinthine network of blood vessels in the brain prevents the use of catheters threaded through larger blood vessels. Researchers have long envisioned that trends of miniaturisation would lead to tiny robots that could get around easily in the body. The problem until now has been powering them. Conventional electric motors do not perform as well as they are scaled down in size. As they approach millimetre dimensions, they barely have the power to overcome the resistance in their bearings. Now, research reported in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering has demonstrated a motor about 1/4mm wide, about the width of two human hairs."

Submission + - Rare venomous mammal filmed

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Smivs

on Friday January 09, 2009 @07:17AM

Smivs writes: "The BBC are reporting that footage of one of the world's most strange and elusive mammals has been captured by scientists. Large, and with a long, thin snout, the Hispaniolan solenodon resembles an overgrown shrew. It can inject passing prey with a venom-loaded bite. Dr Sam Turvey, a ZSL (Zoological Society of London) researcher involved with the programme, told BBC News: "It is an amazing creature — it is one of the most evolutionary distinct mammals in the world. "Along with the other species of solenodon, which is found in Cuba (Solenodon cubanus), it is the only living mammal that can actually inject venom into their prey through specialised teeth. Little is known about the creature, which is found in the Caribbean, but it is under threat from deforestation, hunting and introduced species. Researchers say conservation efforts are now needed. The mammal was filmed in the summer of 2008 during a month-long expedition to the Dominican Republic — one of only two countries where this nocturnal, insect-eating animal (Solenodon paradoxus) can be found (the other is Haiti). The researchers from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Ornithological Society of Hispaniola were able to take measurements and DNA from the creature before it was released."

Submission + - Hawaii driles hit magma chamber 1

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Smivs

on Wednesday December 17, 2008 @07:11AM

Smivs writes: "The BBC are reporting that drillers looking for geothermal energy in Hawaii have inadvertently put a well right into a magma chamber. Molten rock pushed back up the borehole several metres before solidifying, making it perfectly safe to study. Magma specialist Bruce Marsh says it will allow scientists to observe directly how granites are made. "This is unprecedented; this is the first time a magma has been found in its natural habitat," the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, professor told BBC News. "Before, all we had to deal with were lava flows; but they are the end of a magma's life. They're lying there on the surface, they've de-gassed. It's not the natural habitat. It is hoped the site can now become a laboratory, with a series of cores drilled around the chamber to better characterise the crystallisation changes occurring in the rock as it loses temperature."

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