Solar cells, or photovoltaic cells, are used to convert sunlight into electrical power. As traditional power sources grow scarce, other forms of producing electrical power are gaining firm footing in the power supply mix. Solar cells are already widely used in a variety of applications - from spacecraft, to small portable devices, to farm installations, to roadway signs. As energy prices increase, public demand for solar power has surged. In order to meet the longevity, yield, and price requirements of consumers and industry, public and private sector research has increased dramatically. While traditional tools are helpful to investigate and improve solar cells, AFM/SPM offers metrology, topography and roughness analysis at much higher resolution than with optical techniques.
Successful atomic-level visualization of chemical reactions
Scientists in Japan have jointly succeeded in the atomic level analysis of the reactivity and selectivity of the dimerization reaction of fullerene molecules.
Asylum Research Offers AFM in Biology Class in April
The class is open to all Atomic Force Microscopy users that want to increase their knowledge of AFM in biology and life sciences. This world-renowned class, now in its 11th session, combines lecture with hands-on sessions for personal instruction and interaction with the Asylum technical staff.
All-in-one diagnostic test for point-of-care deployment in effort to fight infectious diseases
Researchers from A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics (IME) join efforts to fight emerging infectious diseases with their breakthrough total analysis solution that combines sample extraction, ribonucleic acid amplification and detection into one set-up.
Carbon nanotube thermocells could convert heat waste to energy
A new study reveals that thermocells based on carbon nanotube electrodes might eventually be used for generating electrical energy from heat discarded by chemical plants, automobiles and solar cell farms.
Tegal to Present at the Chiba University Fourth International Symposium on Acoustic Wave Devices
Dr. Valery Felmetsger will speak on Tegal's latest AlN PVD process advances for electro-acoustic device fabrication and for other piezoelectric MEMS applications.
Cyber Sex on Google Wave: Proceed With Caution [Humor]
All this time I thought people weren't using Google Wave because it was generally unwieldy. But after watching this I finally understand: people don't use Google Wave because it's specifically unwieldy, for cyber sex. [College Humor]
Is This Steve Ballmer’s Secret Twitter Account? [Twitter]
Steve Ballmer recently revealed that he has a secret Twitter account which he uses to "blast out the scores of his kid's high school basketball games." We did a few quick searches and we think we may have found it.
Based on a few old stories we know that Steve's son, Sam, attends Lakeside School in Seattle, so we searched for Twitter accounts announcing scores for that school's basketball games.
There were some accounts which tweeted scores here and there, but there was one which was simply dedicated to one thing and one thing only: LakesideBball.
This particular Twitter account doesn't appear to be affiliated with the school itself, so it would make sense that an athlete's proud parent was behind it.
Possibly Steve himself?
While LakesideBball doesn't follow anyone, it does have a fellow by the name of Sam Ballmer among its followers. I didn't discover any other Sam Ballmer's mentioned on any of Lakeside's sports teams, and this particular one is rather excited about his school winning a game:
He also mentions playing on a team several times:
So, it's pretty reasonable to think that this particular Twitter user is Steve Ballmer's son. (Heck, even Fake Steve Ballmer thinks so and follows him.)
Anyway, between that family connection and the fitting tweets, we're led to believe that LakesideBball is very likely the secret Twitter account Steve Ballmer says he has. Either way, I'm sorry if anyone feels that this spoils a little mystery, but c'mon! Steve teased us with a secret.
Photo by Dot Photo
The Mother of all Rube Goldberg Machines! | Discoblog
You’ve probably seen a Rube Goldberg machine in a science museum sometime, and watched with amusement while balls rolled down tracks or balloons inflated, triggering other mechanical events in a complicated chain reaction. But we guarantee you’ve never seen a Rube Goldberg machine quite like this.
When the rock band OK Go, justly famous for its treadmill dancing video, decided to make a new music video for its song “This Too Shall Pass,” the rockers tapped the artsy engineers at Syyn Labs to do something really special. The result was this 4-minute Rube Goldberg machine that plays part of the song, synchronizes with the beat, and involves the band members getting very messy. It runs the length of a two-story warehouse, and the action was filmed in a single shot. With no further ado, we give you: The mother of all Rube Goldberg machines.
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Video: OK Go / Synn Labs
IEC Standards
I was looking for an IEC Standard and found the same standard with various prefix.
For example:
BSI BS IEC 60092-306 DS DS/IEC 60092-306 DS DSF/IEC 60092-306 IEC 60092-306 NEK NEK IEC 60092-306 Please explain what are the pre-fix are and what are the differennce.
Cellphones Become Our Comfort Objects During Disaster [Image Cache]
Two days after a 8.8 magnitude earthquake displaced them from their homes and separated them from dear ones, people gathered at a fire-station in Concepcion, Chile to charge their cellphones—their comfort objects during this disaster.
Chile was becoming a trending topic on Twitter before even the fastest newscasters got a chance to talk about Saturday's earthquake, thanks to many hastily posted Tweets—most of which likely came from mobile devices. Tweets, text messages, emails, calls, voicemails—everything flew across the networks, draining phones and granting people some comfort and peace. Just hearing a familiar voice or reading words of assurance—knowing that your mobile device links you to the world, to family, and to much needed aid—makes one heck of a difference.
We need food. We need medication. We need a hand to pull us out of the rubble. But we also need a little gadget that lets us cry out to the world so that everyone else has a chance to tell us that it'll be ok. [Boston]
Picture by EVARISTO SA/AFP/Getty Images
Chiropocalypse, Book 2 | Bad Astronomy
If you’ve been paying attention here the past few months, you already know that the British Chiropractic Association is suing Simon Singh because he dared tell the truth about them in a newspaper article.
After the BCA aimed, cocked, and shot themselves in the foot, a lot of collateral damage has taken place as well. You may remember what I called Chiropocalypse, where a lot of other UK chiropractors suddenly found themselves in hot water, making claims on their websites they couldn’t back up… and instead of backing up their claims with evidence, chose instead to take their sites down.
Well, it looks like those chickens have come home to roost. According to an article in the Guardian, one out of every four chiropractors in Britain is under investigation for false claims.
Let’s see, what are the words I’m looking for? Ah yes: this.
Even better, it looks like this happened because skeptics stepped up the pressure in direct response to the BCA suing Simon. This is basically a case of The Streisand Effect, and a happier outcome is hard to imagine. Unless, of course, that ratio rises to 100% of all chiropractors making false claims.
Tip o’ the herniated disk to Nigel Gomm.
Tons of Water Ice at the Moon’s North Pole Could Sustain a Lunar Base | 80beats
Water, water, everywhere! Radar results from a lunar probe have revealed that the moon’s north pole could be holding millions of tons of water in the form of thick ice, raising the possibility that human life could be sustained on Earth’s silvery satellite, NASA scientists said.
A NASA radar aboard India’s Chandrayaan-I lunar orbiter found 40 craters, ranging in size from 1 to 9 miles across, with pockets of ice. Scientists estimate at least 600 million tons of ice could be entombed in these craters [Wired].
Scientists estimate that this amount of water could easily sustain a moon base, or, if the oxygen in the ice was converted to fuel, could fire one space shuttle per day for 2,200 years. Last year, scientists found almost 26 gallons of water ice on the moon’s south pole, by crashing a rocket hull into a cold, dark crater. The crash produced a plume of material that provided evidence of water ice on the moon’s surface.
The craters which house the water deposits at both the north and south poles of the moon are extremely dark, cold, and most never catch any sunlight. Temperatures in some of these permanently darkened craters can drop as low as 25 Kelvin (-248C; -415F) — colder than the surface of Pluto — allowing water-ice to remain stable [BBC]. Presenting the findings at a major planetary science conference in Texas, Paul Spudis of Houston’s Lunar and Planetary Institute said the ice at the north pole could be buried under a layer of lunar soil, which may have prevented it from being vaporized even in crater regions that are exposed to sunlight.
The findings, which will be published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, are the strongest indication yet that the moon could sustain a human outpost. Says Spurdis: “Now we can say with a fair degree of confidence that a sustainable human presence on the Moon is possible. It’s possible using the resources we find there” [BBC]. But what a case of bad timing. The findings come just one month after the Obama administration proposed that NASA give up on its mission of returning to the moon by 2020.
So how does lunar water form? Scientists suggest that chemical reactions triggered by the solar wind, the fast-moving stream of particles that blows away from the sun, could be the source. In this method, the radiation would cause oxygen molecules already in the soil to acquire hydrogen. This means that there might not be obvious skating rinks of ice in the lunar craters, but instead so-called “adsorbed” water may be present as a fine film that coats soil particles. Other researchers have suggested that ice was delivered to the moon in comet and asteroid impacts.
But the findings are literally the tip of the iceberg, and lead to a host of further questions: How does the water move around? What percentage of the water is adsorbed molecules? What percentage is ice filling pore space? And what portion of it is the solid chunks that could nourish human exploration? [Nature blog] Researchers will have to keep investigating to find out.
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Image: NASA
The Internet By the Numbers: Facebook Pretty Much Owns the Internet [Stats]
This video infographic (vinfografic?) by Jesse Thomas runs through a boatload of stats on the internet and just how much happens on it every day. And man, Facebook is huge, guys. [Vimeo via The Daily What]
Apple’s Trying To Store Your Video in the Cloud [Itunes Cloud]
Apple's plans for cloud computing go beyond music.
The company's representatives have recently spoken with some of the major film studios about enabling iTunes users to store their content on the company's servers, two people familiar with the discussions told CNET. That's in addition to streaming them television shows and music.
Apple has told the studios that under the plan, iTunes users will access video from various Internet-connected devices. Apple would of course prefer that users access video from the iPad, the company's upcoming tablet computer, the sources said. Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr said Apple doesn't comment on rumors or speculation.
The news comes a month after Apple spoke to the major record companies about a similar plan involving music. Apple's vision is to build proverbial digital shelves where iTunes users store their media, said one of the sources. "Basically, they want to eliminate the hard drive," the source said.
By cramming digital songs, videos, and all manner of software applications on computers and handheld devices, there's some indication that consumers are maxing out hard drives, particularly on smaller mobile devices. That's led to speculation among Apple watchers that some consumers might slow their purchasing of new content if they have nowhere to easily put it.
It's a bit of leap to reach that conclusion, certainly when a stagnant economy might be hampering sales, but there are some worrisome signs. The NPD Group reported last week that the number of people who legally downloaded songs dropped by nearly a million, from 35.2 million in 2008 to 34.6 million last year. Screen Digest, a research firm that focuses on the entertainment industry said Monday that growth in movie downloads slowed dramatically in 2009 following sharp increases in the two prior years. Screen Digest had projected that total U.S. online movie sales for 2009 would come in at about $360 million, but the total only reached $291 million, the company said.
Before iTunes users can store their movies and TV shows in Apple's cloud, the company must get the studios to sign on. This may not be easy. The studios want to make sure that whatever Apple plans are friendly to other non-Apple devices and services.
Hollywood isn't interested in any walled gardens, said James McQuivey, a media analyst with Forrester Research.
"The studios are very concerned that they're going to get roped into somebody's proprietary platform," McQuivey said. "They want a world where consumers have a relationship with the content and not with the device or the service. They are in a position to force Apple to go along and make sure that if content bought from iTunes will play on a Nokia phone. That is very un-Apple like.
"Apple would prefer not to do this," McQuivey continued. "But it just doesn't have the leverage it once did. Apple can't dictate terms or position itself as a digital savior."
The reason that Apple doesn't wield the same power over the film and TV industries that it did with music is that there's more players that are willing to give the studios what they want.
The Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE) is a consortum of heaving-hitting media stakeholders lining up to create standards for file formats, digital rights management, and authentication technologies. The group includes Adobe, Best Buy, Cisco, Comcast, Intel, HP, Lionsgate, Fox, Microsoft, Netflix, Panasonic, the four largest recording companies, Samsung, Sony, and Warner Bros. Entertainment.
DECE's goal is to make sure that a movie or TV show bought from Comcast's video service will play on Samsung devices or on Netflix's service.
Not all the studios have joined. Disney has create a DECE-like service called KeyChest, which is supposed to be DECE compatible.
Applying more pressure on Apple is Google, one of its main rivals. Google, obviously, has YouTube. It's also eyeing some start-ups with cloud technology to beef up its streaming services.
Two weeks ago, sources told CNET that Google had informal acquisition talks with Catch Media, a Los Angeles company that wants to become a clearinghouse of sorts, where consumers move media around the Web and Catch handles the permissions and licensing.
So what's Apple's answer to the Google threat? Apple is building a new data center in North Carolina that, according to reports, will be the backbone of its streaming offerings. In December, Apple bought Lala, a struggling music service with an expertise in cloud computing. Google was also trying to acquire the company but Apple outbid them.
The one thing that could help Apple pull away from Google and give it some clout with the studios and TV networks is if iPad catches on with consumers.
The Web-enabled computer tablet, which is due to hit store shelves later this month, features a 9.7-inch display screen and can playback video in up to 720p, the sources said. If consumers start buying video to watch on the iPad, Hollywood could soften its stance on standards. But McQuivey says Apple can't create any proprietary formats at this point.
"Apple can't suddenly make the iPad a closed environment," he said. "Netflix, and Amazon have built apps (for the iPhone) and Apple is not any position to refuse to limit its customers' choices. By pioneering (the apps), Apple is stuck doing what's right for consumers."
G2C2, finally a tool for genomic education!
Has anyone visited or registered for G2C2 at UVA? I have been championing for years, the addition of Physicians' Assistants and Nurses into the field of Medical Genetics.
Why? Well, for one, unlike genetic counselors, PAs and Nurses have rigorous physiology courses. Now with PGx, they also are important players because they actually prescribe medications and have pharmacology knowledge. Unlike Genetic Counselors.....
But most importantly, there are thousands of them. No, not 3000, hundreds of thousands in total.
According to GenomeWeb
The center provides cross-mapped learning activities and assessments, outcome indicators and professional competencies, such as Genomics Nursing: Competencies, Curricula Guidelines, and Outcome Indicators.
These are key things for measuring educational outcomes and this will likely be a source of educational research. Something that is near and dear to my heart!
The Sherpa Says: We must educate to move this field forward en masse.
Remainders – The Things We Didn’t Post: Gone In the Blink of an Eye Edition [Remainders]
In today's Remainders: disappearing acts. TigerText, a new iPhone app, makes your illicit text messages vanish; an official HTC video shows you how to disassemble an HD2; Intel's new Convertible Classroom netbook makes its keyboard go "Poof!" and more.
Grrrr
Incriminating text messages, as a thing, aren't going away any time soon. That is, unless they do go away, which is the whole point of TigerText, a new messaging app for the iPhone and iPod Touch that lets illicit texters set a expiration for date for their messages. After that time texts disappear—Poof!—and your affair continues without a trace. A fine idea for iPhone-wielding slimeballs, but there's one jungle cat-sized catch: both phones need to have TigerText installed for it to function. So while you don't want your spouse to come across naughty texts on your phone, you don't really want them coming across an app designed explicitly for hiding naughty texts either, do you? [Wired]
Colorful
Here's a video showing some nifty (but only nifty) hacks for the Nexus One, and they both involve colors. The first adds a "sexy colors" setting for the little zooming pixels on the phone's default live wallpaper. The other allows you to set the LED notification button to different colors. It definitely looks pretty glowing blue or purple, but it's sort of a one trick pony—let us know when you can set different colors for different notifications. There's no explanation for how to implement the hacks yourself, but if you really want to color in your drab life, you might be able to snag the Twitter names from the video and work backwards to the original Tweets. [Make]
Disassembly
Here we have an "official" video showing you how to disassemble an HD2 step by step (earlier today Apple showed us how to disassemble an HTC step by step). But this official video comes to your computer unofficially, probably by way of some third party repair shop. So it's not the most exciting leak, and it's not the most exciting phone, but it's a nice curiosity nonetheless. [CrunchGear]
Classmates.com
Today Intel showed off its new Convertible Classmate netbook, which lets you swivel its screen to turn the underperforming netbook into a slightly less noticeably underperforming tablet. Folding over the 10.1" touch screen will make it easier to flick through e-books, which are an emphasis in this newest iteration of the machine (Intel released another transforming tablet/netbook combo back in 2008). Intel has their sights set on classrooms in developing countries, hoping the device can serve as both an e-reader and a more fully functioning computer for those students. Whereas the last One Laptop Per Child update showed off a fantasy slate, Intel's new device has a physical keyboard and, you know, the benefit of being real. [PC World]
Hella…yes! | Cosmic Variance
A physics student here at UC Davis, Austin Sendek, has launched a campaign to add another designator to the list of numeric SI prefixes such as kilo-, mega-, etc. to cover 1027: hella. For example, 1 hellagram would be 1027 grams, or 1000 yottagrams.
The term “hella” is one I first heard my sister-in-law utter in the context “that ski run was hella fun!”, which I immediately took as a shorthand for “a hell of a lot of”. I’ve since learned that it originated, reportedly, in San Francisco to mean just that, or “very” in general, as in “that tee shirt is hella awesome” – it’s not an uncommon utterance to hear here in northern California.
And, 1027 is hella big, to be sure. A hellasecond is ten billion times the age of the universe, and the mass of the earth is about 6 hellagrams.
It seems that hella is poised to go viral…there are nearly 24,000 fans of the facebook petition, and it even made the local news last night in Sacramento.
Who decides such things? The International Bureau of Weights and Measures, that’s who. They added yotta in 1991. Sign the petition to them at the facebook site!
CAN InfoTech: A Tech Trade Show, Third World-Style [Image Cache]
286 booths, and nary an iPhone in sight. In fact, a lot of the gadgets on display here were first released in 2007. Welcome to CAN InfoTech: the CES of Nepal.
BoingBoing's photo tour of the January conference, held in a country with a near-50% unemployment rate and a per-capita GDP of $1,200, paints a picture of a sort of proto-CES, in which Apple is a new and novel brand, many of the attendees don't have mobile phones, and electric generators are a prime attraction.
I'm not sure why, but I assumed a trade show like this would be inflected with a different feeling. Instead of complaining about ebook reader overload or a crowded trade floor, attendees would glimpse a technological future that a lot of the world lives in, and that they too could one day enjoy. But no: A trade show is a trade show, all the way down the economic scale. It's a way for innovators and hucksters alike to get the word out, for better or for worse, about the thing they're trying to sell right then.
Head over to the source for the full photo set, because it's utterly fascinating, from the 2008-vintage Sony catalog on display to the cellophane-wrapped display laptops. I'll never complain about CES again. (This is a lie.) [BoingBoing]
Phobos ahoy! | Bad Astronomy
Over the next few weeks, the European probe Mars Express will be making a series of close passes to the Martian moon Phobos, a wrecked potato that has had an extensively battered history. In January, ME got this shot (among others):
 |
You can see that this little moon has been kicked around quite a bit. Those parallel grooves are still a bit of a mystery; they are most likely cracks that formed when Phobos got whacked, creating the 10-km-wide crater Stickney on one end, but that matter is not 100% settled. Maybe these new observations will help end the debate.
And as nice as this image is, we’ll be getting lots better ones soon! So this is a heads-up: closest approach is on March 3, so stayed tuned for more pictures. I’ll post ‘em as I see ‘em.
