Applied Physics

Strong/Easy to Use Crypto the Next Killer App?

Excerpt from “The Terrorism Delusion” by Meuller and Stewart: We have argued that terrorism is a limited problem with limited consequences and that the reaction to it has been excessive, and even delusional. Some degree of effort to deal with the terrorism ...

Blog Post - Steve Schuler - Dec 10 2014 - 2:54pm

Charles Hatchett- Tribologist to the Royal Mint

Charles Hatchett- Tribologist to the Royal Mint ...

Blog Post - Patrick Lockerby - Dec 12 2014 - 7:00pm

Foldscope: A Microscope You Can Carry In Your Pocket

I finally received a Foldscope beta test kit. “Foldscope is an origami-based print-and-fold optical microscope that can be assembled from a flat sheet of paper,” according to the website. The Foldscope “can provide over 2,000X magnification with sub-micron ...

Article - Steve Schuler - Dec 18 2014 - 7:23pm

Finally, We May Get Instant-On Computers

Computers don't really boot up any faster than they have in decades and that is due to limitations in electric currents (and ignoring the bloated software rolled out after every new chip), which are also a significant power drain. The solution may be ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 18 2014 - 5:02pm

New Metamaterials 'Moonwalk'

Metamaterials have long held promise for extraordinary properties when it comes to diverting and controlling waves, especially sound and light: for instance, at the right optical frequency, they can make an object invisible, or increase the resolving power ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 23 2014 - 9:00am

How Flying Snakes Fly

We don't often think of snakes as flying creatures- a lack of wings does not lend itself to flying imagery- but some snakes can glide as far as 100 feet through the air, jumping off tree branches and rotating their ribs to flatten their bodies and mo ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 30 2014 - 12:32pm

Engineering Isn't Just Functional, It's Beautiful

Asteroidea Electrica, first prize winner by Adrianus Indrat Aria. Cambridge University, CC BY By Allan McRobie, University of Cambridge ...

Article - The Conversation - Dec 28 2014 - 9:00am

Liquid-Liquid Extraction: High Value Metals Without Hurting The Environment

Researchers at the University of Guanajuato (UGTO), in middle Mexico, developed an extraction column which recovers metals companies use in their production processes; and thus avoid environmental pollution and lessen economic losses. Using the principles ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 27 2014 - 4:00pm

Acoustic Levitation Using A Non-Resonant Device

Acoustic levitation has been done in the past but it required a precise setup where the sound source and reflector were at fixed "resonant" distances. This made controlling the levitating objects difficult and isn't really proof-of-concept ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 6 2015 - 3:39pm

Splash Form Tektites- Cosmic Donuts Recreated By Levitation

Splash form tektites are tiny shards of natural glass created from spinning drops of molten rock flung from the earth during an extra-terrestrial impact, such as when the earth is hit by asteroids or comets. They come in many shapes, from dumbbells to doug ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 7 2015 - 1:20pm