SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

3D Printer

3D printing is a form of additive manufacturing technology where a three dimensional object is created by laying down successive layers of material. 3D printers are generally faster, more affordable and easier to use than other additive manufacturing technologies. 3D printers offer product developers the ability to print parts and assemblies made of several materials with different mechanical and physical properties in a single build process. Advanced 3D printing technologies yield models that can serve as product prototypes.

MIT spinout unveils new more powerful direct-diode laser

TeraDiode, a spinout company from MIT and located nearby in Littleton, MA, has unveiled, a new powerful direct-diode laser capable of cutting all the way through steel up to half an inch thick at various speeds. The laser is based on technology developed by company co-founders Dr. Bien Chann and Dr. Robin Huang while still at MIT.

The new laser system is based on semiconductor technology, which means it uses electricity, rather than chemicals, and employs an optical system that directs multiple individual beams into one single stronger one, and, according to the company website, the laser has “revolutionary TeraDrive technology” that has “coupled 1000 watts into a 200 um, 0.18 NA fiber.” Which means, it is assumed, that they believe they have succeeded in creating the most powerful direct-diode laser ever; one that is also brighter and more focused than those that came before it.
The bottom line here appears to be that the company has put together laser technology that when deployed, will be smaller than others that have similar strength, and will be both more compact, and more efficient; making it perhaps, at last, suitable for creating laser guns like we’ve been seeing in science-fiction movies for years.

Company CEO David Sossen says that the new laser breaks through the limiting factors that have held back the use of truly powerful lasers in all but manufacturing pursuits; namely, the inefficiencies and huge power appetites normally associated with powerful lasers, and can “output between several hundred and several thousand watts, and in principle up to 100 kilowatts,” all in a package that is smaller than other laser systems currently available.
The company makes clear it sees its new technology as not just a new tool for manufacturing, but as a future weapon that could be placed aboard a tank or ship in perhaps as few as five years. In the meantime, the company says it will be focusing on testing the new technology to see if it might be used in missile defense, such as connecting it to the back of a fighter plane to stymie the technology in heat-seeking weapons currently used in anti-aircraft missiles, or better yet, to simply destroy them.

More info at: http://teradiode.com/

German lab generates strongest magnetic field ever

Call it another victory for German design. Researchers in Dresden have set a new world record for the strongest magnetic field ever manufactured at the High Magnetic Field Laboratory Dresden (HZDR). Using a two-layer, 440-pound copper coil the size of a water bucket, they managed to coax 91.4 teslas from their creation for just a few milliseconds, surpassing the previous record of 89 teslas.

That’s a lot of teslas. Your standard high-power copper coil would be torn apart at something like 25 teslas, the researchers say. That’s because the magnetic field and the electric current that creates it work at cross purposes at higher energies. The current running through the coil generates the magnetic field, but the magnetic field pushes back against the electrons flowing through the coil. The stronger the current, the more the magnetic field pushes back, and once the current crosses a certain threshold the magnet will quite literally tear itself apart.

Source: popsci.com

Humans May Have ’Magnetic’ Sixth Sense

Humans may have a sixth sense after all, suggests a new study finding that a protein in the human retina, when placed into fruit flies, has the ability to detect magnetic fields.
The researchers caution that the results suggest this human protein has the capability to work as a magnetosensor; however, whether or not humans use it in that way is not known.
“It poses the question, ’maybe we should rethink about this sixth sense,’” Steven Reppert, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, told LiveScience. “It is thought to be very important for how animals migrate. Perhaps this protein is also fulfilling an important function for sensing magnetic fields in humans.”

Article from: Live Science /By Jeanna Bryner

How will they keep the bugs off the windscreen? Airbus unveil the transparent plane we’ll be flying around in come 2050 (but maybe not those with a fear of flying)

With its see-through aircraft cabin, passengers of the future will get a get a window on the world as they fly through the sky.

For this plane with it’s ‘intelligent’ cabin wall membrane and interactive games, may be everyday air transport in 2050.

The futuristic concept for travel in 40 years’ time was yesterday unveiled in London by Airbus – and it’ll terrify those who already have a fear of flying. Read More.

Why we are all X-men: Scientists discover 60 new genetic mutations in EVERY person.

It might be one fantastical work of science fiction – but researchers have discovered we have more in common with the characters of the X-Men films than we first believe.

Scientists have found that each human being has around 60 different mutations in their genes.

And although you might lack the superpowers of a character like Wolverine, the results are startling. Read more.

Scientists genetically engineer female ‘Frankenstein’ goats in male bodies to create ‘human’ breast milk.

Genetic engineers are deliberately breeding transgender goats to see if their milk is similar to that produced by humans.

The goats being created are effectively a female trapped in a male’s body, complete with the full male anatomy.

The company behind them wants to see if their milk contains the same proteins as human breast milk – with a view to one day possibly selling it in stores. See More.

The Diwheel unveiled: The gravity-defying electric vehicle that places the driver BETWEEN two giant wheels!

When an evil henchmen flees from Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith he hops into a futuristic wheelbike to escape.

Now this strange-looking vehicle, which places the rider between two giant wheels, has moved from science fiction to reality.

A team of students from the University of Adelaide have created their own version called the Diwheel. Read More.

Are human beings extinction proof? Evolution expert makes startling claim after Doomsday clock moves another minute further from midnight..

The theory that human beings may be extinction-proof has been put forward by a leading anthropologist.Darren Curnoe, a senior Lecturer at University of New South Wales, made the argument in an article published on academic website on The Conversation. He advances the theory that comparing historical extinction rates among humans and animals shows how the advent of mass farming some 8,000 years ago fundamentally altered our evolution. Read more here.

Full Face Transplant Patient Appears In Public For The First Time

America’s first full face transplant patient, Dallas Wiens, appeared in public for the first time after his 15-hour operation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, alongside the medical team that carried out the procedure. When asked how his face feels, he answered that it “feels natural”

Wiens’ face was literally burnt off in a power line accident while he was painting a church in November 2008 – the accident also left him blind. Unfortunately, it was not possible to restore his eyesight. See link for more info.