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NASA

NASA Solar Probe Blasts Toward Rendezvous With Sun 90

Posted by CmdrTaco from the bring-me-danny-boyle dept.
coondoggie writes "NASA this morning used a United Launch Alliance Atlas rocket to blast its 6,800lb Solar Dynamics Observatory into an orbit 22,300 miles above Earth. The $808 million spacecraft will ultimately study the Sun and send back what NASA called a prodigious rush of pictures about sunspots, solar flares and a variety of other never-before-seen solar events. The idea is to get a better idea of how the Sun works and let scientists better forecast the space weather to offer earlier warnings to protect astronauts and satellites, NASA said."

Comment Re:Lol... netherlands (Score 1) 97

by ben2umbc (#25775343) Attached to: "Heat Wheel" Could Lower Data Center Power Bills
Hahaha! The Netherlands!

The Netherlands has a maritime climate, with cool summers and mild winters. The average temperature is 2C (36F) in January and 19C (66F) in July, with an annual average of about 10C (50F). Clouds generally appear every day, and in the winter months fog often abounds, while rainfall occurs frequently. Average annual rainfall is about 76.5 cm (30 in). The mild, damp climate is ideal for dairying and livestock raising, but the limited sunshine restricts the growing of food crops.

Yeah, 11 hot days in July. Well, I suppose there is a good reason not to build your data center in Dallas 28 days in July above 90F.
Power

Silicon Nanowires Used to Turn Heat into Electricity 3

Posted by Soulskill from the onboard-recycling dept.
An anonymous reader alerts us to a report that scientists have developed silicon nanowires which convert heat into electricity at a rate 100 times greater than that of typical silicon. The developers are hopeful that this technology will allow the harvesting of waste heat as a power source, improving the efficiency of various computer chips and appliances. Quoting IEEE Spectrum: "Research teams found that they could decrease silicon's thermal conductivity--and therefore increase the conversion efficiency--by fashioning the material into nanowires with diameters of 10 to 100 nanometers and introducing defects in the silicon that slowed the flow of phonons--the acoustic vibrations in the crystal lattice of a material that carry heat. 'Defects are important here,' says Peidong Yang, a materials scientist at Berkeley. 'They can block the phonon transport from one end to the other end, so the thermal conductivity can be drastically reduced.'"
Space

Corkscrew Cups Could Keep Space Drinks Flowing 181

Posted by Soulskill from the shaken-not-stirred dept.
holy_calamity writes "A Canadian chemical engineer has a novel solution to containing liquids in space. He has been experimenting with corkscrews of ribbon-like material that keep liquids suspended in their center while in microgravity. This effect is caused by the surface tension of the liquids. The helical containers allow the fluid to be sucked out of the coil in one go. In more conventional shapes, such as coffee cups, interaction between the container and the liquid's internal pressure makes the beverage break into annoying globules you have to chase with a straw."
Hardware Hacking

14-Year-Old Turns Tram System Into Personal Train Set 380

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the no-volume-control-on-this-tv dept.
F-3582 writes "By modifying a TV remote a 14-year-old boy from Lodz, Poland, managed to gain control over the junctions of the tracks. According to The Register the boy had 'trespassed in tram depots to gather information needed to build the device. [...] Transport command and control systems are commonly designed by engineers with little exposure or knowledge about security using commodity electronics and a little native wit.' Four trams derailed in the process injuring a number of passengers. The boy is now looking at 'charges at a special juvenile court of endangering public safety.'"

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