LINES IN THE SAND: Recently released Google Maps imagery revealed
puzzling patterns in the Gobi Desert in China. A researcher at the Mars Space Flight Facility at Arizona State University says they're used for calibrating spy satellites, helping to orient them in space.
So maybe that's what the Nazca lines were too! Life's LittleMysteries.
CLOUDY PHOTOS: CloudFTP is a nifty idea for a gadget: it gives your
camera, external hard drive or other device its own wireless connection. Connect it via USB to your digital camera, for example, and it can create its own wireless network to share photos with your smartphone. Or it can hook in to an existing WiFi network and upload your photos to an internet service such as Dropbox, if a connection is
available. It uses a 2600mAh li-ion rechargeable battery.
It sounds like a good way to retrofit WiFi to DSLR cameras. KickStarter.
Video here.
ELASTIC METAL: US scientists produced an ultralight metallic
microlattice by shining ultraviolet light through a pattern onto a liquid photopolymer to create a lattice-work scaffold. Then they coated the lattice with nickel-phosphorous. The result is a 3D hollow lattice of metal that is incredibly lightweight because it's mainly
air.
The metal can also be compressed to almost nothing and then expands again with very little damage. Since the metal is mainly air it weighs only 1 mg per cubic centimetre. The metal could be used forthermal insulation, dampening vibrations, absorbing energy, or electronic parts. Perhaps we need a new phrase: 'lighter than metal'.
io9. Video here.
CHECK: How many cores does your computer have? Not as many as Intel's new 50-core 1 teraflop Knights Corner processor, I bet. It may not be showing up in your laptop for a while, but expect it in a supercomputer near you soon. The Seattle Times.
EYES RIGHT: Eyedrops are a nuisance, and their effect wears off within
a few minutes. So if you have an eye condition that needs regular medication it's quite a bother. Researchers at Auburn University inthe USA have created contact lenses — corrective or not — that a person can wear continuously for up to 30 days.
The lenses release a controlled amount of a drug through a memory effect in the lens structure. I hope this can extend beyond just eye medication. Auburn University.Video here:
Miraz Jordan, knowit.co.nz