Applied Physics

Study: Ballistics Database Of Limited Value But Microstamping Is Worth Considering

A national database containing images of ballistic markings from all new and imported guns sold in the U.S. should not be created at this time, says a new report from the National Research Council. Such a database has been proposed to help investigators li ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 5 2008 - 11:45am

Using Hydropyrolysis From Oil Exploration For Better Steroid Testing

What do oil exploration and steroid testing have in common? Quite a bit, say researchers at The University of Nottingham. Their new process — which uses high pressure environments to investigate the chemical structure and make-up of a sample — has been ref ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 5 2008 - 11:50am

'Bio-Inspired' Morphing-Wing RoboSwift Makes Its First Flight

The RoboSwift micro-aircraft has made its first flight. The small, quiet plane is equipped with observation cameras that can be used in the future to study birds or to conduct surveillance of groups of people or vehicles. The RoboSwift is characterised by ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 5 2008 - 5:59pm

EPIC: Ending Integrated Circuit Piracy With Switches That Act Like Locks

Hardware piracy- making knock-off microchips based on stolen blueprints- has long been a chronic problem in the electronics industry. Computer engineers at the University of Michigan and Rice University have devised a comprehensive way to head off this cos ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 5 2008 - 7:32pm

Alchemy Software Development Merges With Translations.com

NEW YORK and DUBLIN, Ireland, March 6 /PRNewswire/--- Transaction Joins the World's Largest Provider of Visual Localisation Software with Global Leader in Software Localisation Services and Technology ...

Article - Anna Ohlden - Mar 6 2008 - 1:32pm

New Take On Invisibility- 'Shrinking' Nanoparticles Visible Size Without Reducing Physical Dimensions

In a recent edition of Advanced Materials Magazine, Michael Bockstaller and Krzysztof Matyjaszewski demonstrate that controlling the structure of nanoparticles can “shrink” their visible size by a factor of thousands without affecting a particle’s actual p ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 6 2008 - 4:44pm

Renewable Electricity From... Paint?

Researchers at Swansea University are developing a new, eco-friendly technology that could generate as much electricity as 50 wind farms. Dr Dave Worsley, a Reader in the Materials Research Centre at the University’s School of Engineering, is investigating ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 6 2008 - 6:55pm

Numerical Models Unravel Quasicrystal Madness

The method to the madness of quasicrystals has been a mystery to scientists. Quasicrystals are solids whose atoms aren't arranged in a repeating pattern, as they are in ordinary crystals. Yet they form intricate patterns that are technologically usefu ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 6 2008 - 7:14pm

Mind-Bending Science In Thomas Pynchon's Mind-Bending Novel Against The Day: Part II- The Quaternion Wars

Interested in the strange, turn-of-the-century science and math in Thomas Pynchon's novel Against The Day? In part 2 of my primer on Pynchon's science read about the obscure conflict among mathematicians over quaternions, before modern vector ana ...

Article - Michael White - Mar 8 2008 - 2:29pm

Bunkspeed Launches Automotive And Transportation Division

LOS ANGELES, March 7 /PRNewswire/--- New Detroit-based division to expand Bunkspeed's 3D rendering into local US, Europe, and Asia markets Bunkspeed, Inc., the provider of groundbreaking 3D rendering solutions, announced today it has created an Autom ...

Article - Anna Ohlden - Mar 7 2008 - 8:30am