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Domain: scifitoday.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to scifitoday.com.
Stories · 3
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More on Lenses with a Negative Index of Refraction
Roland Piquepaille writes "A University of Toronto researcher has developed a flat lens that doesn't respect the "normal" laws of nature and could significantly enhance the resolution of imaged objects. "The creation of an unusual flat lens may finally resolve a long-running controversy about the existence of materials that have metaphysical qualities -- so-called "metamaterials" -- that transcend the laws of nature. The lens could lead to amplified antennas, smaller cell phones and increased data storage on CD-ROMs. As says George Eleftheriades, the Toronto professor, "This is new physics." Check this column for more details and other references to metamaterials." -
The Lazarus Zoo: Resurrecting Extinct Species
An anonymous reader writes "The Australian Museum is attempting to resurrect the extinct Tasmanian tiger, using pup cells harvested from storage jars in alcohol from 70 years ago. The tiger was hunted to extinction, and has the ironic distinction of receiving legal protection the same year that the last of its kind (named Benjamin) died at the Hobart Zoo on September 7, 1936. Other cloning attempts at conserving endangered species include the South Asian banteng on an Ohio farm, the world's last burcado (a Spanish mountain goat), a wild Asian ox called the gaur, and even a woolly mammoth." They're hoping for a live birth in 2010. -
Stopping Killer Asteroids
Drog writes "Earth has had a few near misses with asteroids recently (although "near hits" would be more accurate). It's just a matter of time, though, before we detect one with our name on it. In this New York Times article, experts discuss the various ways that we might go about saving our planet. Remarkably, nuclear detonations are not a good option, as they would break the asteroid into many pieces and merely increase our odds of being hit. And a detonation some distance away may simply be absorbed by the asteroid with virtually no effect. Instead, say scientists who study asteroid hazards, a gentle sustained push is what's needed (slow and steady wins the race). Some of the approaches have been discussed in science fiction for years--a mass driver, an electromagnetic machine which hurls dirt from the surface, an orbiting parabolic mirror to heat up the surface and create a plume of vaporized material. All of these methods require one thing, however. Time. At least several decades warning."