A project to produce detailed maps of all the land on Earth through laser scanning has been revealed by researchers who say action is needed now to preserve a record of the world’s cultural, environmental and geological treasures. From a report: Prof Chris Fisher, an archaeologist from Colorado State University, said he founded the Earth Archive as a response to the…
Tag: laser
Laser Cutters Sold On Amazon and Elsewhere Are Cheap, Fun — and Dangerous
harrymcc writes: Go to Amazon, Walmart.com, and eBay, and you can find an array of companies selling laser cutters and engravers for a few hundred dollars — dramatically less than you’ll pay for a brand name such as Glowforge. But these budget models lack the safety features required to keep lasers safe, and may even have ignored the required FDA paperwork…
America’s CIA Reportedly Spied on Julian Assange In the Ecuador Embassy
A Spanish private security firm spied on Wikileaks founder Julian Assange on behalf of the CIA while he was inside Ecuador’s embassy in London, according to the Spanish newspaper El Pais. An anonymous reader quotes AFP:
Citing unspecified documents and statements, the paper said Undercover Global Ltd, which was responsible for security at the embassy while Assange was staying there, sent the…
Found: 3 black holes due to collide
Take one minute to watch a video of a system of 3 galaxies – called SDSS J0849+1114 – all orbiting each other a billion light years from Earth. Each galaxy contains a supermassive black hole, which are circling each other, about to collide. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/sdss-j08491114-3-black-holes-due-to-collide…
Research Finds Black Carbon Breathed By Mothers Can Cross Into Unborn Children
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Air pollution particles have been found on the fetal side of placentas, indicating that unborn babies are directly exposed to the black carbon produced by motor traffic and fuel burning. The research is the first study to show the placental barrier can be penetrated by particles breathed in by the mother. It…
Placentas Are Caked in Soot from Car Exhaust. Could It Reach the Fetus?
Tissue samples probed with laser light reveal thousands of particles of black carbon in the fetal placenta. Source: https://www.livescience.com/black-carbon-reaches-placenta.html
New hunt for dark matter: Physicists theorize a novel way to explore the nature of dark matter with lasers
Dark matter is only known by its effect on massive astronomical bodies, but has yet to be directly observed or even identified. A theory about what dark matter might be suggests that it could be a particle called an axion and that these could be detectable with laser-based experiments that already exist. These laser experiments are gravitational-wave observatories. …
JILA’s novel atomic clock design offers ‘tweezer’ control
JILA physicists have demonstrated a novel atomic clock design that combines near-continuous operation with strong signals and high stability, features not previously found together in a single type of next-generation atomic clock. The new clock, which uses laser “tweezers” to trap, control and isolate the atoms, also offers unique possibilities for enhancing clock performance using the tricks of quantum physics. …
Gravitational wave detectors might be able to detect dark matter particles colliding with their mirrors
The field of astronomy has been revolutionized, thanks to the first-ever detection of gravitational waves (GWs). Since the initial detection was made in February of 2016 by scientists at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), multiple gravitational events have been detected. These have provided insight into a phenomenon that was predicted over a century ago by Albert Einstein. Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-09-gravitational-detectors-dark-particles-colliding.html…
Sensor used at CERN could help gravitational wave hunters
It started with a relatively simple goal: create a prototype for a new kind of device to monitor the motion of underground structures at CERN. But the project—the result of a collaboration between CERN and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia—quickly evolved. The prototype turned into several full-blown devices that can potentially serve as early warning systems…