Diamond light, brighter than the sun Imagine that the only thing limiting you is your imagination – that the physical means of achieving what you see in your mind’s eye is right in front of you. That, according to Professor Mark Hodson, is how it is for scientists at the Diamond synchrotron in Oxfordshire. With its curving walls, lined with walkways, pipes and colourful, clunky-looking machines and gadgets, it’s a sight that wouldn’t seem out of place in an early episode of ‘Doctor Who’. Diamond light, brighter than the sun From a birds-eye view, Diamond looks like a massive ring doughnut or a spaceship half a kilometre in circumference (roughly the size of five football pitches). As the name suggests, Diamond is a source of intensely bright light, which can be up to 10 billion times brighter than the sun. Researchers go to the synchrotron to use that brilliantly intense light in much the same way as they use visible light in a microscope or X-rays: to reveal things we can’t see.
Le Blog de Jerry Frissen - derniers billets Pour mon retour aux affaires, voici un livre de Sergio Macedo, dont je n’avais pas encore parlé, VOYAGE INTEMPOREL, paru chez GLÉNAT en 1982. On pourrait balayer ce genre d’album d’un revers de la main en le considérant comme une espèce de daube absolue, mais comme les autres travaux de Macedo, c’est bien au delà du bien et du mal. Cette fois-ci, il est aidé au scénario par Appel Guery qui devait visiblement être une sorte de gourou. C’est en tout cas ce qui transpire de l’histoire puisque c’est en gros le texte fondateur d’une nouvelle religion, dont les dieux sont des extraterrestres. De loin, ça ressemble un peu à ce que je sais de la Scientologie.
AlphaKnowledge : The joy of innocence and complete... How to Build a Tiny, Off-Grid House for $2500 (Video) Paul Wheaton/Video screen capture From life inside a tiny, 7'x12' portable house to touring an infamous roundhouse, we've been pretty fascinated by the DIY tiny house movement. Here's a great video on how to build your own tiny, cordwood, off-grid roundhouse—including some detailed tips and ideas on both the drawbacks and strengths of this particular approach. Uploaded by Paul Wheaton—the same chap who brought us videos on how to build "hugelkultur" raised beds, and making organic lawn fertilizer from moldy hay—what I like about this video is not just the tour of an awesome, unique dwelling. It's refreshing to also see full and frank discussion of the drawbacks and difficulties encountered on any particular project. The search for truly sustainable living is a journey, and nobody has it all figured out yet. For more information on the venue of this video, check out this blog post by Mr Kraft Does Life on Feral Farm's off grid way of life.
AlphaKnowledge: Christopher Donohue: A sweet lesson on patience. This post falls outside of my normal business oriented content. Yet this is a lovely story that should be shared, which falls within my core philosophies: be kind, be loyal, be helpful and contribute. There is so much niceness in the world, but it goes unreported usually. A sweet lesson on patience. A NYC Taxi driver wrote: I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After a long pause, the door opened. By her side was a small nylon suitcase. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. 'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. 'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly.. 'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. I looked in the rear-view mirror. 'What route would you like me to take?' For the next two hours, we drove through the city. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. 'How much do I owe you?' 'Nothing,' I said
Why Piracy Is Indispensable For The Survival Of Our Culture Last Year Techdirt wrote about the case of the huge collection of historic jazz recordings that had been acquired by the US National Jazz Museum. The central problem is that even if the recordings can be digitized before they deteriorate, very few people will hear them because of their complicated copyright status. But as this eye-opening article from Benj Edwards explains, bad as that situation is, it's even worse for the entire category of software creations. For example, consider the earlier generation of floppy-based programs: Floppy disks, which were once used as the medium du jour for personal computers, have a decidedly finite lifespan: estimates for the data retention abilities of a floppy range anywhere from one year to 30 years under optimal conditions. That's great, apart from one slight problem: under today's copyright laws, all these wonderful backups that will probably ensure the programs' survival while civilization itself is still around, are illegal.
Alpha Knowledge: Christopher Donohue: How long will it take to make sustainable change? This is a deviation from my usual type of posts, but the way we treat Earth and the biodiversity is a growing passion and concern of mine. How long will it take for governments, organisations, farmers and individuals to move away from elements that are harmful to our ecosystem? The authors, led by Chensheng (Alex) Lu, associate professor of environmental exposure biology in the Department of Environmental Health (Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)), writes that the new research provides “convincing evidence” of the link between imidacloprid and CCD. The impact to Earth's ecosystem with the continued use of imidacloprid has the potential to be severe, especially with the flow on effects in the food chain. My question is how long will it take governments and organisations to either ban or limit usage then phase out the offending insecticide. Have you seen great examples of governments or organisations making great, yet swift change that has been beneficial to the environment?
MIT creates solar cell from grass clippings A researcher at MIT, Andreas Mershin, has created solar panels from agricultural waste such as cut grass and dead leaves. In a few years, Mershin says it’ll be possible to stir some grass clippings into a bag of cheap chemicals, paint the mixture on your roof, and immediately start producing electricity. If you remember high school biology classes, you will hopefully remember a process called photosynthesis, whereby plants turn sunlight into energy. Mershin has found a process which extracts the photosynthesizing molecules, called photosystem I, from plant matter. Photosystem I contains chlorophyll, the protein that actually converts photons into a flow of electrons. These molecules are then stabilized and spread on a glass substrate that’s covered in a forest of zinc oxide nanowires and titanium dioxide “sponges.” So far so good — now time for the reality check. Read more at MIT