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Fastest cooling! 0

Researchers found a way to cool something really, really fast using lasers. This interesting idea was suggested almost 30 years ago, but has not been effectively applied until now. Scientists in the food industry have been using lasers to cool down material goods for the effect it has on certain products. Helps in the distillation process of alcohol, making an extra pure vodka for example.

According to German researchers, the collision of highly pressurized gasses with the right frequency of laser creates a temperature drop of 66 degrees Celsius, or 119 degrees Fahrenheit in just a few seconds. The laser excites the electron of the gas molecules, causing them to enter a higher orbit around the nuclei. While in the higher orbit the electron needs more energy to stay in the higher orbit so it draws energy from its surroundings, in this case its thermal energy. As the electrons absorb all the energy, the gas particles slow down causing the temperature to drop very, very fast! Almost rendering absolute zero depending on the enclosure and psi of the gasses, higher psi means quicker cooling.

Given the right gas and laser this process is relatively simple. According to Martin Weitz from University of Bonn, "In this process electron orbit of the particles 'bends' at the time of collision, you therefore need less energy than normal in order to vault the electron into high orbit." This means that due to the low energy requirements and simplicity, this process can be applied to countless situations on a budget.

One idea was to create a mini refrigerator that requires very little energy and due to the fast, adjustable cooling you wouldn't get that liquid build up which would be prominent in any conventional refrigerator. Furthermore, this process can be used to super cool super computers, servers, vehicle engines, turbines, welded metal, frozen art or even you leftover takeaway. Can you think of any other applications?

Here is some frozen art

It's time to pic something off theme! 0

This time the Off Theme pic is...

Legendary Musical Artists

This Suggestion was pic'ed by...

Anonymous
Chicago, Illinois, USA

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Good luck and please enjoy the show!

Try to name all of these legends. Can you name them all?

Sometimes in the world of music it is easy to forget that what we listen to today was crafted by the people before us. We would not have such a range of music today if it wasn't for experimentation, dedication and most importantly, soul. Because of the legends of yesterday the path is now paved for all of us to use and enjoy, may we use this gift to pave another for our future generations. Here is a tribute to some of the musical legends who gave it all, may they rest in peace.

UMG! be a friend to music, protect it but don't censor it.

Fastest camera! 0

Fastest camera ever made by scientists can take 6.1 million pic's in one second, nearly freeze framing light using a shutter that can operate at the speed of 440 trillionths of a second. Keisuke Goda an optoelectrician scientist from University of California says, "Its the worlds fastest camera"

The system used is called STEAM, which means Serial Time Encoded Amplified Microscopy. This system is used to amplify the light per pixel. At the speed of the camera, light cannot travel fast enough, in turn, there is not enough light to magnify. STEAM system was used to compensate for this issue.

STEAM works by illuminating the subject using infrared lasers that cycle through various wavelengths of infrared light at a breakneck rate. The sensors pic up the wavelengths amplifying the original signal that would normally be very dim.

At the moment STEAM can only produce just 3,000 pixels per pic, in comparison to conventional camera that can do millions of pixels per pic. There is talk going around about a new project led by Keisuke Goda's team. The plan is to procure a device that can take multi-megapixel pic's at one trillionth of a second producing around 100 million pic's per second, now that is fast!

The good news is that one of the biggest investments in our modern world, apart from natural resources and food goods, is making consumer electronics faster and smaller than they already are. This means that in the not so distant future we might be using enthusiast grade technology similar to STEAM but by then it might be the norm. For example, imagine STEAM systems integrated onto the backside of your iPhone 20Gsi.

Water drops using a conventional fast shutter camera

Lightning using a conventional fast shutter camera

Concept iPhone with possible nano light sensor for camera

It's time to pic something fast! 0

The Chinese car industry is the worlds largest and fastest growing in 2011. Due to economic influence the American car industries are struggling to keep up with less than half of the sales compared to China.

This years Shanghai motor show is a taste as to (whats to come). For some of Shanghais concept cars no expense is spared as they roll out in their new body styles. Makes one wonder what might be lurking beneath the bonnet.

Most importantly, apart from the numerous Chinese makes and models, the demand for expensive foreign cars in the Chinese market means that brands such as Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Bentley, Ferrari (just to name a few) will have something special for us by the end of next year, early 2013.

So the futuristic cars that were concept just a few years back are stepping down and becoming cars that any middle class Joe can buy in the next 5 years. Happy days.

Shanghai Concepts......