vinlud - Slashdot User

NASA Probe Validates Einstein Within 1% 188

Posted by kdawson on Monday April 16, 2007 @11:48PM from the kind-of-a-drag dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Gravity Probe B uses four ultra-precise gyroscopes to measure two effects of Einstein's general relativity theory — the geodetic effect and frame dragging. According to the mission's principal investigator, the data from Gravity Probe B's gyroscopes confirm the Einstein theory's value for the geodetic effect to better than 1%. In a common analogy, the geodetic effect is similar to the shape of the dip created when the ball is placed on to a rubber sheet. If the ball is then rotated, it will start to drag the rubber sheet around with it. In a similar way, the Earth drags local space and time around with it — ever so slightly — as it rotates. Over time, these effects cause the angle of spin of the satellite's gyroscopes to shift by tiny amounts." The investigators will be doing further data analysis over the coming months and expect to release final results late this year.

Submission + - NASA Aims for 4 Shuttle Flights in 2007

Submitted by SpacePeanut on Monday April 16, 2007 @08:07PM

SpacePeanut writes: NASA will try to launch four space shuttle flights in 2007 to continue building the international space station, managers for the U.S. space agency said Monday. The targeted launch dates in 2007 will be June 8 for Atlantis; Aug. 9 for Endeavour; Oct. 20 for Discovery and Dec. 6 for Atlantis.

Submission + - Do-it-yourself quantum eraser

Submitted by aeoneal on Monday April 16, 2007 @06:41PM

aeoneal writes: Observe the essential strangeness of quantum behavior up close and personal, in the privacy of your own home. Scientific American provides a useful guide on making your own quantum eraser, allowing you to replicate the classic experimental demonstration of the wave-particle nature of light. They provide a slide show, along with details on equipment, troubleshooting, and notes on the physics involved.

Brain Tumor Vaccine Shows Promising Results 62

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday April 16, 2007 @02:53PM from the getting-a-head-of-cancer dept.

ScienceDaily is reporting that a new vaccine used in the treatment of a cancer found primarliy in the brain is showing promising results after an initial trial at the University of California. "Of the 12 patients being treated, eight can currently be evaluated for overall survival, while four are still receiving treatment. Seven out of the eight patients have exceeded the historical median benchmark of 6.5 months survival from time of recurrence. The investigators will continue to follow the patients for overall survival. Based on these results, a larger, multi-center phase 2 study is planned for late 2007."

Submission + - Swedish chickens challenge evolutionary theory

Submitted by paulraps on Monday April 16, 2007 @01:30PM

paulraps writes: ...or at least the bit where Darwin says that behaviour cannot be inherited. Researchers from Sweden and Norway have found that offspring of domestic hens that were exposed to high levels of stress displayed similar behavioral anomalies as their parents — despite growing up in a stress free environment. Of course, this doesn't mean evolution is out the window, but it's a major new twist in the tale.

Record High Frequency Achieved 141

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday April 16, 2007 @12:45PM from the music-to-their-ears dept.

eldavojohn writes "Researchers at UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science managed to push our control of frequencies to another level when they hit a submillimeter 324 gigahertz frequency. As any signal geek out there might tell you, this is a non-trivial task. 'With traditional 90-nanometer CMOS circuit approaches, it is virtually impossible to generate usable submillimeter signals with a frequency higher than about 190 GHz. That's because conventional oscillator circuits are nonlinear systems in which increases in frequency are accompanied by a corresponding loss in gain or efficiency and an increase in noise, making them unsuitable for practical applications.' The article also talks about the surprising applications this new technology may evolve into."

Slashdot Top Deals