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Comment Re:How fast was that galaxy moving? (Score 2, Interesting) 196

Good question! I think it has something to do with the stretching of space-time. The galaxy was there 600 million years after the big bang, 13 billion light years from where we were going to be, but space-time (the universe) was smaller. In a way, the light-year was smaller than it is now, but that galaxy was still moving away from our location at nearly light speed.
What is interesting to me is that a galaxy could be formed at all in 600 million years!

Comment Re:STEREOSCOPIC (Score 1) 261

You make a good point, but I don't quite agree. 3D is where there are three dimensions. A picture with a z-map (z-buffer) also has depth, but it is still a set of 2D pictures. A true (in mathematical sense) 3D image has infinitely more information stored in it than a set of 2D images. A discretised 3D image therefore has 3 resolution values, e.g. 2048*1080*512. Each pixel in a hologram, for example, has a color value for each direction in which it sends light, separately.

What I meant with "This" in your quote is the fact that people not sitting in the 'sweet spot' are getting the wrong perspective sent to their eyes, which has nothing to do with movement. The brain has trouble with things that don't match up, something similar to car sickness etc. The mismatch between focal distance and stereoscopic distance that you mention must also be an important part of it, I agree!

Comment STEREOSCOPIC (Score 5, Insightful) 261

Using the term 3D for stereoscopic video is probably already so entrenched in the media that it's useless to try and correct them, but it irritates the hell out of me...
There's a huge difference though. A 3D image (the closest we have is a hologram) is one where you can change your viewpoint by moving your head. The perspective changes when you move away or closer. This means that no matter where you are relative to the image, the stereoscopic image that your eyes register is always correct. The fixed images of stereoscopic video don't change, and the perspective is only correct for one position relative to the image. This is what gives people headaches.
I'm holding out for holographic (worthy of the term 3D) displays!

Comment Android makes it (nearly) perfect (Score 1) 544

The phone has very good specs. It's fast, the screen is fantastic, and its dimensions are perfect for carrying in you pants' pockets. The only thing I'm disappointed in is the camera, in particular making movies (framerate).
The thing is, Android is what makes it incredible. You get so used to just about everything working perfectly, and to the fact that almost anything is possible, that when something isn't possible, it bugs you a lot!
Have to wait and see how HTC handles software updates...
Transportation

Lotus Teases With a Fuel-Agnostic Two-Stroke Engine 269

JohnnyBGod writes "Lotus claim to have invented a new, more efficient engine design. The two-stroke, flex-fuel engine can achieve, according to the surprisingly technical press release, 'approximately 10% better [fuel consumption] than current spray-guided direct injection, spark ignition engines.' The engine has a sliding puck arrangement to control its compression ratio, and has direct injection and a wet sump, to eliminate fuel leakage to the exhaust and the need to mix oil with the fuel, two common problems with two-stroke engines. Lotus engineering have released a video explaining the engine's operation."
Wireless Networking

How Terahertz Waves Tear Apart DNA 279

KentuckyFC writes "Great things are expected of terahertz waves, the radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum between microwaves and the infrared. Terahertz waves pass through non-conducting materials such as clothes, paper, wood and brick and so cameras sensitive to them can peer inside envelopes, into living rooms and 'frisk' people at distance. That's not to mention the great potential they have in medical imaging. Because terahertz photons are not energetic enough to break chemical bonds or ionize electrons, it's easy to dismiss fears over their health effects. And yet the evidence is mixed: some studies have reported significant genetic damage while others, although similar, have reported none. Now a team led by Los Alamos National Labs thinks it knows why. They say that although the forces that terahertz waves exert on double-stranded DNA are tiny, in certain circumstances resonant effects can unzip the DNA strands, tearing them apart. This creates bubbles in the strands that can significantly interfere with processes such as gene expression and DNA replication. With terahertz scanners already appearing in airports and hospitals, the question that now urgently needs answering is what level of exposure is safe."
Games

Games Fail To Portray Gender and Ethnic Diversity 590

eldavojohn writes "A new study has found that game characters tend not to reflect cultural diversity. According to the paper from researchers across four universities (PDF): 'A large-scale content analysis of characters in video games was employed to answer questions about their representations of gender, race and age in comparison to the US population. The sample included 150 games from a year across nine platforms, with the results weighted according to game sales. ... The results show a systematic over-representation of males, white and adults and a systematic under-representation of females, Hispanics, Native Americans, children and the elderly.' The researchers also note that games 'function as crucial gatekeepers for interest in science, technology, engineering and math,' and that without these groups represented properly, 'it may place underrepresented groups behind the curve.'"

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