universe520 - Slashdot User

Submission + - Gravitational waves detected for the first time (economist.com)

Submitted by universe520 on Thursday February 11, 2016 @11:34AM

universe520 writes: It is 1.3 billion years after two black holes merged and sent out gravitational waves. On Earth in September 2015, the faintest slice of those waves was caught. That slice, called GW150914 and announced to the world on February 11th, is the first gravitational wave to be detected directly by human scientists. It is a triumph that has been a century in the making, opening a new window onto the universe and giving researchers a means to peer at hitherto inaccessible happenings, perhaps as far back in time as the Big Bang.

Submission + - Y Combinator, the X Factor of tech (economist.com)

Submitted by universe520 on Thursday November 05, 2015 @01:55PM

universe520 writes: Since 2005 YC has taken on batches of promising founders, and this month will celebrate the funding of its 1,000th startup. Though about half of its startups have failed, which is typical of early-stage investing, it has had a head-turning record of success. In addition to Airbnb, YC has had a hand in Dropbox, a cloud-storage firm, and Stripe, a payments company (see table). Eight of its firms have become what Valley folk call “unicorns”, valued at $1 billion or more. Combined, the companies it has invested in are worth around $65 billion (based on their most recent funding round), although YC’s share is only a small fraction of that total—perhaps $1 billion-$2 billion. It is because of this record that YC has become a juggernaut in Silicon Valley.

Submission + - Quantum weirdness that puzzled Einstein—solved (economist.com)

Submitted by universe520 on Wednesday October 21, 2015 @12:59PM

universe520 writes: Albert Einstein was troubled by how two particles can communicate with each other even if they are on opposite sides of the galaxy. Could it be true? Yes, scientists have now shown. Today researchers in the Netherlands have closed the final two loopholes in how quantum entanglement works.

Submission + - Scientists have spotted the signs of flowing water on Mars (economist.com)

Submitted by universe520 on Monday September 28, 2015 @11:01AM

universe520 writes: Using neat imaging technology that allows them to determine the chemical compound of a substance by looking at the light reflected from it, scientists have spotted the traces of flowing water on Mars. By looking at the dark streaks on some photos of Mars, Lujendra Ojha from Georgia Tech has found compounds that are made in liquid water—meaning that water may be trickling down those streaks when the climate is just right.

Comment Politics of homeopathy (Score 3, Interesting) 414

by universe520 on Tuesday September 15, 2015 @05:30AM (#50523765) Attached to: UK Labour Party's Support For Homeopathy Grows

This is an interesting development. Senior Conservatives (in government) have expressed similar views, including Jeremy Hunt I think. Corbyn's not necessary anti science - here was his pitch on science to scientists who support Labour http://www.scientistsforlabour... homeopathy is still a controversial issue in the UK, with many politicians keen to show support for it because their constituents probably come to them with compelling stories of its success in their cases...

Submission + - India mulls using nuclear power for its Chandrayaan-2 mission to the moon (examiner.com)

Submitted by MarkWhittington on Monday September 14, 2015 @06:36PM

MarkWhittington writes: India is preparing its second mission to the moon, the Chandrayaan-2, as Space Insider noted. The mission will consist or an orbiter, a lander, and a rover. It will be launched on an Indian-built Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) in late 2017 or early 2017. Defense Daily reported that officials at the Indian Space Research Organization are mulling making the lunar mission nuclear powered, presumably with plutonium-fueled radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). RTGs use the heat of the decaying fuel to create electricity. Both the American and the Soviet space programs have used RTGs in their various spacecraft, the most recent one being the New Horizons space probe that recently flew past Pluto.

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