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278,927 articles from PhysOrg

Chinese space debris collides with Russian satellite

According to Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI), the Center for Space Standards and Innovation (CSSI) has determined that on January 22, 2013 debris from the Chinese FENGYUN 1C collided with Russia's BLITS satellite. The FENGYUAN 1C is the satellite that was destroyed by China on January 11, 2007 in a test of an anti-satellite missile. The collision changed the orbit of the Russian satellite, along...

Cloud-computing platform for robots launched

(Phys.org) —Researchers of five European universities have developed a cloud-computing platform for robots. The platform allows robots connected to the Internet to directly access the powerful computational, storage, and communications infrastructure of modern data centers - the giant server farms behind the likes of Google, Facebook, and Amazon - for robotics tasks and robot learning.

Crickethair sensor is 'highlight' of bio-inspired technology

One of the top ten highlights of the past year, in terms of technology that is inspired by nature. That was how the journal Bioinspiration & Biomimetics described a paper by researchers from the University of Twente's MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology. The publication describes new technology involving the use of sensors to measure flow patterns. Source of inspiration: the hairs on cricket...

Extreme work clothes for the Artic

Roughnecks working on oil and gas installations in the Arctic need clothes that monitor the health. Research scientists at SINTEF are developing a jacket with built-in sensors. It will monitor both body temperature and workers' activity, and may become a useful tool for supporting decision-making.

From a devastating earthquake, a blueprint for recovery

In 2009, a massive earthquake struck L'Aquila, Italy, a town two hours north of Rome where generations of families have lived for thousands of years. The quake devastated the community so much that its citizens have not been able to return; anyone crossing into the city must wear protective gear and be accompanied by emergency personnel.

Graphene researchers create 'superheated' water that can corrode diamonds

A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) led by Professor Loh Kian Ping, Head of the Department of Chemistry at the NUS Faculty of Science, has successfully altered the properties of water, making it corrosive enough to etch diamonds. This was achieved by attaching a layer of graphene on diamond and heated to high temperatures. Water molecules trapped between them...

Gun retailers take a hard line on illegal firearm sales, survey finds

A scientific survey of more than 9,700 gun retailers in the U.S. has found that gun buyers frequently try to make illegal purchases and that gun retailers take a dim view of fellow sellers who engage in illegal activity—regardless of whether they are actively breaking the law or simply looking the other way.

Hide and seek with a quantum compass

How would you look for something that can be in two 'places' at once? The answer, according to Oxford University research into a quantum phenomenon called superposition, seems to be to ask where it isn't rather than where it is.

Manure spills: Detailing the damage, finding a fix

A manure spill that reaches a nearby creek or river can create a serious environmental hazard because it significantly boosts phosphorus loads in the water. Now scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and their research partners have determined how channel sediments capture and release manure phosphorus, and have identified strategies for reducing phosphorus loads from manure...

Orange flour for gluten-free bread

During the processing of fruit and vegetables one third is discarded as 'waste'. The waste or by-product can be described as the core, pips and peel of the fruit or vegetable. This waste can be costly for the manufacturer to dispose of and it may also have hazardous effects on the environment.

Re-examination indicating large blade technology in China appears earlier than previously thought

The blade technology is no longer accepted as a marker of modern humans, while the presence of different varieties of systematic blade production in transitional and Initial Upper Paleolithic industries remains a topic of considerable scientific interest. Dr. GAO Xing, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, and his team re-examine the...

Researchers solve riddle of what has been holding two unlikely materials together

For years, researchers have developed thin films of bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) – which converts heat into electricity or electricity to cooling – on top of gallium arsenide (GaAs) to create cooling devices for electronics. But while they knew it could be done, it was not clear how – because the atomic structures of those unlikely pair of materials do not appear to be compatible. Now...

Small differences in how a technology is defined can make a big difference in how the public feels about it

(Phys.org) —Even small tweaks in how scientists describe scientific breakthroughs can significantly change how the public perceives their work, a new study indicates. Researchers found that showing individuals different definitions of nanotechnology led to differences in how strongly the subjects supported this emerging area of science and in their motivation to learn more about it.

Solar wind energy source discovered

Using data from an aging NASA spacecraft, researchers have found signs of an energy source in the solar wind that has caught the attention of fusion researchers. NASA will be able to test the theory later this decade when it sends a new probe into the sun for a closer look.

Study finds iron from glacial melting could help reduce global warming

(Phys.org) —A team of researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the US has found significant amounts of particulate iron in runoff from glacial melting in Greenland. In their paper published in Nature Geoscience, the team notes that such iron could possibly spur the growth of algae, which absorb carbon dioxide.

Temperature changes effect growth of dengue mosquito

(Phys.org) —A significant field discovery analyzing how natural temperature fluctuations affect the growth rate of the dengue mosquito could lead to crucial control-and-prevention strategies, according to newly published research from Thomas Scott's Mosquito Research Laboratory and the Center for Vectorborne Diseases (CVEC), University of California, Davis.

Water supply and demand: Scenarios to project global demand water use over the 21st century

Water is an essential resource. Future demands for drinking water, energy production, and manufacturing prompted researchers working at the Joint Global Change Research Institute (JGCRI) and University of Alberta to develop global domestic water use projections through the 21st century. They linked water price information through the Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM), an integrated model of...