I'm editing Black Sun this morning while the fog is rolling in. I'm putting together a section on all the astronomers we met in Cairns. They are the high end eclipse chasers! They know more about the mechanics of the eclipse and what science can be done during the eclipse than everyone else. At the same time, many were not there to do science they were there to simply enjoy the eclipse! If you ever have a chance to view a total solar eclipse, make it happen. The next eclipse is this November in Africa. Photo: Jarita Holbrook & Kelvin Phillips Co-Directors in Cairns, Australia.
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Afro-Futuristic Vision #33 - Say Goodbye to Miss Laura – Django Unchained
Why do I always do things after all the hoopla and hype has everyone plugged in when they should be giving all their energy to early day physical exercises and spiritual work. I don’t know. Could be that when anyone jumps on a trend I look to go the opposite direction.
DJANGO UNCHAINED – SHANGO UNCHAINED
Quentin Tarratino’s film style has always been interesting to me, a homage to the old 42nd Street Movie theatres that showed 3-4 Kung-Fu Features and Street Vigilante Flicks while thick billowy clouds of Marijuana entered the lungs of the old and young. Who can say, if most attendees actually enjoyed these flicks or were just zoning in another world.
Quentin always had an interesting way of casting unsuspecting individuals who eventually take the lead in the course of the movie. Django was no different.
You can tell that he would eventually go the Western route since his cameo appearance in Sukiyaki Western Django, which was directed by Takashi Miike. Quentin played Piringo who ‘edifies a group of bandits about an old rivalry between two bitter Japanese clans, before dispatching the bandits in a brief, but violent shootout.’ http://www.metacafe.com/watch/mv-nvyQc/sukiyaki_western_django_piringos_story/
My review of Django will be based solely on my perspective as an Afro-Futurist (who is somewhat reclusive) and views the world from a dynamic of Tao and Nubian principles of energy progression. Keeping in mind, that Tarratino can only produce films from his own point of view on life and cannot be held responsible to give a full accurate perspective of our world. Although, I thought Django was very close to my AF standards.
While a majority of movie-goers were outraged with the racial slurs and epithets within the movie, there was not a surge of abandoning any form of current activity which may reflect what Europeans have labeled as slavery. Folks still went to Whole-Foods, Mickey D’s, Duane Reade, called themselves Vegan or Vegetarian, used I-Phones, voted, downloaded on Kindle, watched YouTube and more importantly watch the modern form of Mandigo Fighting (Football, Basketball and so forth). There was no dramatic drop in sports gambling, purchase of merchandise/ paraphernalia and tailgate parties.
No one abandoned the American Way of Life over the 100x Nigger was called out in Django, which would have been a bigger testament to opposing the use of the word. Nor was there a sudden increase in sales and downloads of Spike Lee’s Movies since he was the one that really bought it to our attention.
But hey, External Science is a helluva drug….
Now we got that out the way, Django…
Opening images of men in bondage walking on a chain-gang through all manner of weather. Powerful image. Since most of the world is genetically mixing in with each other physically and language-wise. We are currently in an age where that time in the Life-Story of Europeans and respectively Afrikans/Nubians, has been wiped out with elections and over-the-top episodes of Family Guy. But for me, the image of Django and the men walking in bondage, caused me to recognize that we never went through Slavery. At least not according to our own words. We were and still are used to refine mental and physical commodities by a group of individuals whose spiritual maturity is lacking. And somewhere along the line we believed and adapted the word, slavery, that was used by these individuals to describe our experience. SLAVERY IS THEIR TERMINOLOGY.
I don’t know how you watch a film, but I always watch a film as it relates to me as DjaDja, my culture and my place in this universe. I do not look for politics, economics, pop-culture or any of the other things that fill this Life-Bubble with random expressions of bottled repressed energy.
At this point, watching the film became an experience of my senses and AF reasoning plugged into the experience of Django. Most of the dialogue at this point was at a minimum and when we did here a voice, it was from one of the ‘slavers’, and his energy immediately opened the theme for others characters who shared his views…that energy being ignorance. It allowed us to see into the mentality of those certain people at that time period. At this point, it would appear that the men in captivity were surrounded by alien beings who knew little to nothing about the spirit of the land around them and less about the function of language and its overall energy. With the exception of Dr. Schultz, every time a European in this movie spoke, it came from the space of a very warlike energy; regardless if the manner of speech was with eloquent words and mannerism.
When Django was given the opportunity for mercenary work, he accepted as a way out of his current plight. Mercenary work is an age-old career, however, it may have been under different names dependant on the culture, the underlying energy of it is still the same. Django’s ‘freedom’ was accomplished by barter and trade hastened by the blood splattering of horse and man alike.Django tosses off the clothes of what the Europeans called Slavery; almost naked true to his essence for a split second. The most real and connected a man can be. Once the paperwork was accomplished, Django took the clothes of one of the men who held him in bondage since that man’s contract with this world was rapidly expired by Dr. Shultz’ gun. Taking of the clothes can be seen as taking on the identity in rouse while remaining true to oneself. It you noticed, the wind special-effect chimed in when Django removed his rags, the wind representing Shango…this was the time of Django’s transformation within the night-air, receiving Shango.
Throughout the movie, all 2 hours and 45 minutes of it, we are given over to unsanitary conditions, not so much in dealing with the Nubians in bondage, but more so within the world of Europeans living in this area of the world. Although dressed with frou frou material possessions, we get an undercurrent feeling of stench and uncleanliness.
I will not speak for others, nor force my opinions on them, but for me, clearly two worlds were running parallel, one of European Slavery Concept and the other of Django view of being thrust into a world of treachery, greed and lust. Too often, a film is based on the views of a Euro-centric nature when dealing with African-Americans (Afrikan/Nubian Descendents/Ascendents) storylines, although this was no exception…it was. In my opinion, saying that we were slaves is taking on the European view to explain our condition, rather than just using the Euro-Verb ‘Enslavement’ the actual action and not the word ‘Slave’ which is the identity.
As things progressed, it was apparent that the true savages were those who used the word Nigger like a second breath, or maybe that was the point…to be like the Nigger they could never be…
It is interesting that even German, Dr. King Schultz, was offended by his slack-jawed country backward cousins. Possibly his role represents the Europeans looking to remove themselves from that mentality or maybe they are just playing along…
I can go on and on about all the metaphysical symbolism and the cast of spells throughout the film but I won’t...
I will however, point out the areas that were of particular interest to me.
Clothing – Django’s clothing constantly evolved through the course of film. From rags to the powder blue satin colonial Mason suit to the rugged western land baron suit. Not only did the material change but it also reflected his attitude. While remaining true to his mission and his essence, the uniform changed in order to infiltrate and be taken seriously (in the context of how one expresses oneself for clarity as well as maintaining one’s camouflage—not for the purpose of changing someone’s mind so that they will respect you). At the end, his attire was well-managed and orderly, this reflected his ability to master the language of the people in this land as well as their mannerisms and customs...still remaining true to himself.
Finally at the end of the film, we see Django dressed in the colors of Shango and his mannerism enhanced by the spirit that dwells within him. “I didn’t know Burgundy was my color.”
Whipping – By far, the whipping scene was so realistic to me.
If you are going to submit your torturer to the same hostility he imposed on you and there is no one with a sutra or Buddha chant around…by all means…make sure to put your whole body into it and get out all your frustration…purify your liver and toss the whip like a mic at the end of it. Make sure to spread your fingers of your free hand for balance and supreme cocking mechanism. Do not think of Indy at all. Do it right next to the tree that your brethren were whipped on and change the course of energy for that area. This scene reminded me of the Nasuwt (Ruler) Narmer from Kemet (Egypt) when he took the heads of the Hyksos/Haribus. Also, the scene seemed to symbolize the taking back of sacred teachings that’s been coveted by certain groups…the reclaiming of self from self. Dressed in a colonial suit and whipping on the colonizer shows a role reversal. One can only be a servant by giving yourself over. Towards the end of this scene we clearly see the Ka position (which is the position of the spiritual self and the utilization of space for creativity) held by Django when he and Dr. Shultz hold their hands up. This happens once more towards the end when Django gives up and throws off his coat (once again the wind special effect follows in; showing the exit of Shango’s spirit) then places his hands in the Ka position. Although it can be seen as surrender, actually it was Django manipulating the space and shedding a role of Shango in order to throw off his enemies. Now that they seen no threat because of the absence of Shango they lowered their guards.
StoryTime – In the scene where Dr. Shultz explains the explaination of Broomhilde’s name, we see Django sitting holding his knees listening and curious about the tale the way a child would be. This same position is down throughout the world during storyteller time and is also a meditative posture to enter the unconscious.
This was another way for Django to build the energy within himself to commit to his mission. Another way to bring forth the Shango essence as well Heru consciousness.
It takes place again when Django sat in the akimbo posture and explained to his transporters from Le Quint about a bounty they could partake in exchange for his freedom. He uses the gift of speech to lull them into lowering their guard. Then they ‘cut-him-loose’ (Django Unchained). And gave him a firearm…iron. Once that happened, Shango (related to metal weaponry) was re-kindled and it was on. Bringing thundering sound from the pistols and explosive Dynamite, Django appears from out a cloud
of smoke, cleans himself with water (a conduit to the spirit world) and is about his way. At the appearance of Metal…Django became Shango.
Visions of BroohHilde as Orishas – Throughout the film, Broomhilde appears as a many different Orishas before Django got to her. One time between within the woods as Oshun dressed in all Yellow. And another time as Yemaya (Orisha of Sea and Rivers) 
when Django was bathing, this was another initiation into the spirit world and preparation for battle.
More importantly, this is one of the only movies where a Nubian couple were re-united and supported one another. Where a Nubian Man held a woman in his arms. This was a film about remembering our internal technology and how that ability works with the unification of man and woman. They destroyed the house that symbolized control and left out the Pylons never to return. Pylon or gateways in front of buildings hold the program of the residence.
Django proceeded to draw a new sphere of life with his horse and then walked slowly out its shell, symbolizing new life…it you see it this way…otherwise…this was a period slavery film to those that accept slavery is the correct way to explain that condition.
“NOW ALL YOU BLACK FOLKS, I SUGGEST THAT YOU GET AWAY FROM ALL THESE WHITE FOLKS.”
Meaning move back into your own perspective of thought.
“BYE MISS LAURA.”
Say GoodBye to your trained way of thinking which breeds the imaginary view of dichotomy.
And as we know from Dr. Shultz…Bye is Bye….not see you later….
Return to Internal Technology….
Rise in Excellence,
DjaDja N Medjay
With working organs and a realistic face, the world’s most high-tech humanoid made his debut in London yesterday and will be a one-man show at the city’s London Science Museum starting tomorrow.
The robot goes by Rex (short for robotic exoskeleton) or Million-Dollar Man (because that’s how much it cost to build him). Rex looks somewhat lifelike in that he has prosthetic hands, feet and a face modeled after a real man. That man is Swiss social psychologist Bertolt Meyer, who himself has a prosthetic hand. Such technology is now becoming more widely available to the general public.
But where Rex really breaks new ground is his suite of working organs. The team of roboticists, called Shadow, that created Rex incorporated various individual body parts built in labs all over the globe. He acts as a sort of showcase to demonstrate the human organs that are currently being built in the lab and what they can do.
Rex has a heart that beats with the help of a battery, and eyes that actually kind of see: Rex’s glasses send images to a microchip is his retina, which in turn sends electrical pulses to the brain, forming shapes and patterns. But the roboticists didn’t even try to tackle the complexity of the human brain this time.
Rex’s fist-sized dialysis unit works like a real kidney, and his mock spleen can filter infections from his “blood.” This filtering function could eventually be extremely helpful in a human, but Rex’s mock-circulatory system pumps a synthetic blood that is immune to infection.
Rex’s creators say he is the most complete bionic man to date.
Discovery Magazine: Bionic Man Has Fully Functional Mechanical Organs
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Sixty-five African-American middle-school girls from the Dallas Independent School District will visit the UT Dallas campus this Saturday to walk on a liquid and solve a “whodunit” using fingerprint analysis.
The activities are part of a STEM academy called “Passport to STEM,” a half-day workshop aimed at fostering girls’ interests in science, engineering, technology and math (STEM).
Held at UT Dallas and sponsored by the Dallas Chapter of The Links Inc., the STEM academy session includes an experiment using a mixture of cornstarch and water, which forms a so-called “non-Newtonian” fluid. It pours like a liquid, but behaves like a solid when force acts upon it, such as stepping on it. The girls also will meet with professional women in STEM-related careers, as well as network with female graduate students who are pursuing STEM degrees.
“This is a great opportunity for these girls to gain exposure to both academic and professional opportunities in STEM fields,” said Felecia Pittman, professional development associate with UT Dallas’ Center for STEM Education and Research. The center is partnering with The Links and coordinating the curriculum for the event.
“We hope that the girls will develop connections with some of our female students who could serve as mentors or role models,” she said.
Photo: A STEM academy session allows girls to meet with professional women in STEM-related careers, as well as female graduate students who are pursuing STEM degrees.
UT Dallas: Middle-School Girls to Get Taste of Science at STEM Academy
Been working on my character design chops a bit. What do yall think?
Got a few more here: Character Design portfolio
Robert Glasper Experiment on the instrumentals/ King on the vocals
Courtesy: Essence
Ronald E. McNair was born October 21, 1950, in Lake City, South Carolina. Died January 28, 1986. Survived by wife Cheryl, & two children. Was 5th degree black belt Karate instructor & performing jazz saxophonist. Enjoyed running, boxing, football, playing cards, & cooking.
Ronald E. McNair graduated from Carver High School, Lake City, South Carolina, in 1967; received BS in Physics from North Carolina A&T State University in 1971 and Ph.D. in Physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1976; received honorary doctorate of Laws from NC A&T State University in 1978, an honorary doctorate of Science from Morris College in 1980, & an honorary doctorate of science from the University of South Carolina in 1984.
SPECIAL HONORS:
Graduated magna cum laude from North Carolina A&T (‘71) - named Presidential Scholar (‘67-’71), Ford Foundation Fellow (‘71-’74), National Fellowship Fund Fellow (‘74-’75), NATO Fellow (‘75) - winner of Omega Psi Phi Scholar of Year Award (‘75), Los Angeles Public School System’s Service Commendation (‘79), Distinguished Alumni Award (‘79), National Society of Black Professional Engineers Distinguished National Scientist Award (‘79), Friend of Freedom Award (‘81), Who’s Who Among Black Americans (‘80), an AAU Karate Gold Medal (‘76), 5 Regional Blackbelt Karate Championships.
About: Ronald E. McNair, PhD
TEST DRIVE THE MOST POWERFUL POPULATION PLUGIN FOR 3DS MAX, MAYA AND CINEMA4DJanuary 30, 2013. Beaverton, Oregon: e-on software, the leader in Digital Nature technologies, today announced the immediate availability of the Carbon Scatter 2 trial version for Autodesk 3ds Max and Maya, and Maxon Cinema4D. Derived from e-on software's acclaimed EcoSystem™ technology, Carbon Scatter 2 is the easiest and most straightforward solution for creating complex and detailed populations using the native instancing technologies of the host application. "Carbon Scatter 2 is perfect, it has all the tools to build a complete scene quickly. I considered several other products prior to choosing Carbon Scatter, but Carbon Scatter gave me the best library of quickly renderable plants. I love this product!", said Roger Barnes. New features in Carbon Scatter 2 include:
Industry Recognition In less than a month, Carbon Scatter 2 has already received a tremendous amount of positive feedback from the industry: "Carbon Scatter 2 does what it says and it does it very well!" Darren Capner "I am very happy with Carbon Scatter 2. Absolutely amazing software!", M.J. van Soldt "Carbon Scatter 2 takes what seems to be a complex task, and makes it simple. The Carbon Botanica extension is a no-brainer, worth every cent!", Paul Crumrine "I really love Carbon Scatter and often use it for my productions. The new features like 360° population, the lean out feature on low density or the edge of population, or Eco-stacking are really nice additions, and the result looks natural." Christoph Schindelar "It's great to find the Vue EcoSystem™ technology inside the host application. I really feel "at-home".", Laurent Rodriguez  Carbon Scatter 2 Trial Version The Carbon Scatter Trial Version will install in all supported applications on the end user’s system and will allow the rendering of EcoSystem™ populations in all supported renderers. The Trial Version is a fully functional version of Carbon Scatter 2, aside from the following limitations:
The Carbon Scatter 2 Trial Version cannot be used for commercial work. Once installed, the Trial Version will work for 30 days. Supported Renderers Rendering of the Carbon Scatter 2 scene elements is entirely done by the host application's renderer.
The Carbon Scatter 2 Trial version is available as a free download from www.carbonscatter.com/download. More information about Carbon Scatter can be found at www.carbonscatter.com. *Disclaimer: e-on software cannot guarantee the smooth operation of Carbon Scatter 2 with the plethora of commercial renderers compatible with Cinema4D. E-on software recommends that users download the Carbon Scatter 2 Trial Version to test with their preferred renderer before placing their order. About e-on software E-on software is the leading developer of solutions for the creation, animation, rendering and integration of natural 3D environments (Vue, Ozone and Carbon Scatter), as well as real-time immersive visualization tools for Architecture (LumenRT). Offering a wide array of Digital Nature products and applications, e-on software provides solutions adapted to every project and budget. E-on software products are used worldwide by the film, television, architecture, game, science, educational and entertainment industries. E-on software products were used in feature films such as as as "Hunger Games", "Hugo", "Tintin", "Super 8", "Thor", "Avatar", "Clash of the Titans", "Sucker Punch", "Despicable Me", "The Wolf Man", "2012", "Lovely Bones", "GI Joe – The Rise of the Cobra", "Land of the Lost", "Terminator 4, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", "Indiana Jones 4", "Monster Vs Aliens", "Australia", "The Spiderwick Chronicles", "KungFu Panda", "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" and TV series such as "Smallville", "Battlestar Gallactica", "Caprica", "Stargate Atlantis", "Stargate Continuum", and more. Read more on these stories in e-on software's Spotlights section: www.e-onsoftware.com/spotlight. E-on software was founded on the premise that powerful graphics tools should never get in the way of the designer's creativity. By investing significant resources into research and development, e-on software is able to deliver cutting-edge, user friendly technologies that produce stunning Digital Nature scenery. E-on software is based in Beaverton, Oregon with an European office in Paris, France. Visit their website at http://www.e-onsoftware.com. Follow us: Facebook: www.facebook.com/Lumenrt and www.facebook.com/eonsoftware Twitter: www.twitter.com/e_onsoftware LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/e-on-software Please note: If you find the color of the text hard to read, please click on "Printer-friendly" and black text will appear on a white background.
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- Wednesday, February 6Want to see what's happening currently at Renderosity? Check out our"Daily Deals Page"
At 7 years old, Zora Ball has become the youngest person to create a mobile video game.
The app was unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania's Bootstrap Expo last month, the Philadelphia Tribune reports.
Ball developed the game using programming language Bootstrap, which is usually taught to students between the ages of 12 and 16, to help them learn concepts of algebra via video game development.
According to Mashable, Ball also successfully reconfigured the app when asked to do so at the Expo, silencing anyone who may have thought that her older brother -- a STEM scholar of the year -- helped her program the game.
Staff at Harambee Institute of Science and Technology, where Ball attends first grade and an after-school program, anticipate she'll do great things.
"I am proud of all my students," Tariq Al-Nasir, who heads the STEMnasium Learning Academy, told the Courier. "Their dedication to this program is phenomenal, and they come to class every Saturday, including holiday breaks."
Last year, the Huffington Post wrote about Kelvin Doe, a 13-year-old from Sierra Leone who created batteries and generators using materials he picked up around the house. Three years later, he became the youngest person to be invited to MIT's
Growing up on characters that represented high adventure
was a constant thing that inspired me as an artist and
gave me extreme satisfaction in a cool entertaining way.
Now, with the prominence of Sword and Soul literature, I just
had to come up with a logo to connect my brand or
imprint of the genre, which I deeply love. Of course,
I think of this as the official but unofficial logo for Sword
and Soul, and definitely for all my titles that deal with sorcery
like my flagship heroine - Little Miss Strange or Kotas, the
Dragon who is featured in Immortal Fantasy, a pet project
that became my own version of Heavy Metal magazine.
Upcoming heroes will carry this logo on the back of their books
to let people know that Blakelyworks Studio is doing its
best to promote the growing genre of Sword and Soul.
After completing the assignment of Leopard's Moon-
Illustrated Tales of Sword and Soul, its only fitting
that this movement should be the next step for my
self-publishing ventures in all graphic forms that
would fall under this premiere logo. I hope that all will
enjoy this upward endeavor and remember that a
new shade of adventure awaits.
Because of Diola Bagayoko's (pictured left) expertise in educational theory and physics, his wife thought that he would be the perfect person to help undergraduates, especially African-Americans and other underrepresented minorities at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, start their careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Established in 1990 with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Louisiana Board of Regents, the Timbuktu Academy is an award-winning mentoring program for underrepresented minorities in STEM fields. The program's pre-college to graduate curricula includes the Undergraduate Research Program (URP), which provides students with the educational support they need to succeed in graduate school. Bagayoko, a solid-state physicist and native of Mali, named the academy after the medieval Malian city of Timbuktu, which was renowned for its scholarship.
In the beginning, Timbuktu Academy provided mentoring only for physics undergraduates and a handful of pre-college students, but with the help of additional funding from the Department of the Navy and the Office of Naval Research (ONR), in 1993 the academy added chemistry and engineering majors and 100 to 200 pre-college students. To date, the academy's URP has sent 74 students -- 47 in physics -- to science and engineering graduate programs throughout the country, including the University of Michigan, Stanford, and Cal Tech. Moreover, 19 have earned M.S. degrees and 8 have earned Ph.D.s with many others nearing completion.
MySciNet: Timbuktu Academy: Mentoring Future Scientists
Site: Timbuktu Academy of Science and Technology
1996 Presidential Award Recipient
2002 Presidential Award Recipient
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| Lecture from University of Oregon - "The Beginning of Time" |
TECHNOLOGY REVIEW: Metamaterials are synthetic substances with nanoscale structures that manipulate light. This ability to steer photons makes them the enabling technology behind invisibility cloaks and has generated intense interest from researchers.
The ability to guide light has more profound consequences, however. Various theoreticians have pointed out that there is a formal mathematical analogy between the way certain metamaterials bend light and the way spacetime does the same thing in general relativity. In fact, it ought to be possible to make metamaterials that mimic the behaviour of not only our own spacetime but also many others that cosmologist merely dream about.
Indeed, a couple of years ago we looked at a suggestion by Igor Smolyaninov at the University of Maryland in College Park that it ought to be possible to use metamaterials to create a multiverse in which different regions of the material corresponded to universes with different properties.
Today, Smolyaninov and a couple of buddies announce the extraordinary news that they have done exactly this. They’ve created a metamaterial containing many “universes” that are mathematically analogous to our own, albeit in the three dimensions rather than four.
The experiment is relatively straightforward. Metamaterials are usually hard to engineer because they are based on nanoscale structures. However, Smolyaninov and pals have instead exploited the self-assembling nature of cobalt nanoparticles suspended in kerosene.
Cobalt is ferromagnetic so the nanoparticles tend to become aligned in a magnetic field. In fact, if the density of nanoparticles is high enough, the field causes them to line up in columns. When this happens, the nanocolumns form a metamaterial which is mathematically equivalent to a 2+1 Minkowski spacetime.
So light passing through behaves as if this region has one dimension of time, aligned with the nanocolumns, and two dimensions of space, perpendicular to the nanocolumns.
That creates a single Minkowski universe. The trick that Smolyaninov and pals have pulled off is to create a multiverse containing many Minkowski spacetimes.
Wolfram Mathworld: Minkowski Space
Physics arXiv:
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| The single-photon detector is characterized by five convincing factors: 91% detection efficiency; direct integration on chip; counting rates on a Gigahertz scale; high timing resolution and negligible dark counting rates. Source: KIT/CFN. |
Ultrafast, efficient, and reliable single-photon detectors are among the most sought-after components in photonics and quantum communication, which have not yet reached maturity for practical application. Physicist Dr. Wolfram Pernice of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), in cooperation with colleagues at Yale University, Boston University, and Moscow State Pedagogical University, achieved the decisive breakthrough by integrating single-photon detectors with nanophotonic chips. The detector combines near-unity detection efficiency with high timing resolution and has a very low error rate. The results have been published by Nature Communications (doi:10.1038/ncomms2307).
Without reliable detection of single photons, it is impossible to make real use of the latest advances in optical data transmission or quantum computation; it is like having no analog-digital converter in a conventional computer to determine whether the applied voltage stands for 0 or 1. Although a number of different single-photon detector models have been developed over the past few years, thus far, none have provided satisfactory performance.
Several new ideas and advanced developments went into the prototype developed within the “Integrated Quantum Photonics” project at the DFG Center of Functional Nanostructures (CFN). The new single-photon detector, tested in the telecommunications wavelength range, achieves a previously unattained detection efficiency of 91%.
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology:
Quantum Communication: Each Photon Counts, Press Release
Polite Stewart, Jr. received his degree in physics Friday at the ripe old age of 18.
Stewart entered Southern four years ago to enormous fanfare. He was under a microscope as his classmates learned of the student on campus who was too young to get a driver’s license and actually too young to live on campus alone.
He had offers from colleges across the country. Who didn’t want a child prodigy on their campus? But, it would have been difficult for his parents to send him across the country at such a young age.
Instead, he enrolled at Southern where he was familiar with the campus, where he had taken high school-level courses at the school’s famous Timbuktu Academy, and more importantly, he would only be a 10-minute drive from campus.
But with all of the local media tracing his first steps on campus, Stewart was an unwilling celebrity. He just wanted to get down to doing his schoolwork and getting to fit in with his classmates. “The attention I got died down pretty quickly,” he said.
He traces his love for academics to the dinosaur books his father bought him as a young child. Later, as a toddler, Stewart said he began watching scientific documentaries where his interest in herpetology, entomology and paleontology grew. “I was pretty much interested in all the sciences,” he said.
Now, barely an adult, Stewart has set his sights on a career in biological and physical engineering. He spent last summer doing research at North Carolina State University, where he worked on developing self-cleaning, anti-glare glass coated with anti-reflective material and designed to repel oils and water.
After continuing his research in a post-grad program next summer, Stewart said he will start graduate school at one of a number of colleges that have shown interest.
His mother, Ava Stewart, isn’t surprised by her son’s success.
“His father and I could tell early on that he wanted information. There was an intensity in his focus. He started reading when he was three,” she said.
Southern University: Polite Stewart, Jr. to receive physics degree at 18 years old
Across a wide terrain of both era, genre and just out and out adventure, comes these stories of heroines and villains, bold swordsmen, and horrors of the Dark Realms. The Leopard's Moon anthology is ripe with these juicy bits of derring do, determination, and being deadly to the last fatal drop! Arisen on Amazon.com, CreateSpace ebooks, and Tah Dah! Over the peaks of the Kindle range!
I received this email and thought it would be of interest to some of you! It is a call that takes place this afternoon!
Want to see your book, story or manuscript become a
movie or TV show?
If you answered "yes" then you're invited to join
my friend Steve Harrison today, Thursday, January 31st for a
free telephone seminar on How To Sell Your Book To
Hollywood As A Movie Or TV Show... Even If It's
Self-Published.
On the call Steve is interviewing a true Hollywood
insider who helps hundreds of published and
unpublished authors and screenwriters bring
their projects to the screen.
https://m164.infusionsoft.com/go/SYBTH0113/A10077/
Steve's guest has worked with some of the biggest
producers and movie studios in Hollywood to get
movies made, including Paramount pictures, Universal
Music, Jerry Bruckheimer, the Hughes Brothers who've
produced 6 major studio films (including The Book Of
Eli starring Denzel Washington) and many more.
Right now Hollywood producers are looking for more books
and stories they can turn into movies and TV shows.
That's because today there are more broadcast channels,
thousands of cable channels, a growing number of independent
film companies, movies and videos on demand, online movies
and MORE media outlets now than at any other time in history.
And guess what all these media companies need?
They all need fresh content.
And books (both fiction and non fiction... and everything
from novels to how-to books) are the perfect source material
for new movies and TV shows.
If you've ever dreamed of seeing your "name up in lights"...
If you have a message you think can be turned into a movie
or TV series...
Or if you're just plain fed up with the quality of shows on TV
today and know your story would make for better viewing...
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The day of battle arrived like a storm everyone knew was coming but could not avoid. Annan and his Squad mates climbed into their ITSVs, powered up systems as they had been trained, and joined over 375 other ITSVs that were waiting in a part of the vessel called Launch Bay.
Nestled in the firm embrace of his cockpit chair, Annan stared out of his window, taking in the wall-to-wall grayness of the Launch Bay. He tried to empty his head of any and everything not related to the upcoming combat. Nervousness clawed at him as it always did before a battle. But this time, his trepidation was amplified by a dread-filled sense of the unknown. Annan tried to shake off the feeling.
The floor beneath the machines retracted swiftly, and with heart-stopping suddenness, the ITSVs were yanked out into a black void.
Annan’s first reaction, had he been allowed to give in to it, was panic. Being in this perpetual vastness called space should have paralyzed him with terror. Indeed, as he dropped toward the planet below, a fright like none he had ever before felt smothered him in a cruel grip. He shouldn’t have been able to function, yet while he quailed internally, outwardly, his body remained calm.
He sat composed and focused while his piloting computer guided his vehicle’s descent. Suddenly, the blackness of space blended into the swirling whites of cloud cover. The sprawling surface rushed at him with breakneck fury, air friction shaking his craft, wrapping the forward section in a thermal blanket. He should have been pissing in the one-piece garment he wore. Instead, a crucial part of him remained strangely tranquil.
It must have been the liquid the Gray Armor healer squirted into his arm. The healer said the liquid would help humans keep their wits in the tumult of battle.
An expanding ball of light and smoke consumed the ITSV flying in front of Annan. A second craft to his left fragmented to superheated splinters when a shaft of brilliance pierced it like a sword thrusting through flesh. The sky blazed with those blinding shafts. The liquid was obviously working. Otherwise, Annan and the other humans would have been unable to cope with the frenetic pace of this type of warfare.
Large, diamond-shaped craft brushed past the ITSVs, scarlet iridescence flickering from their top and bottom mounted ejectors. Wherever those beams struck, enemy defensive positions went up in shrouds of fire. The preponderance of ground-to-air flak lessened as the Conglomerate fighters cleared the way for ITSVs to land.
When Annan’s vehicle set down on a soft grassy plain, the computer granted him manual control. ITSVs dropped around him, until all except the two destroyed in flight were present and accounted for. Annan surveyed the plain, noting with fascination the gold coloring of the tall feather-fringed grass.
Low winds brushed the field and the swaying of the grass presented the illusion of a golden ocean. The sky was amber, bright and clear…clearer than the crispest blue skies of home. The Asante commander would have taken a moment to digest his surroundings, acclimate himself to the fact that he was on another world. On a different occasion, he would have absorbed the sights and sounds of this strange and captivating milieu. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the occasion and Annan had to reconcile himself to the grim possibility that this tranquil valley might become his grave.
Annan’s front view screen scanned the distance for threats. A ridge rose twenty miles ahead. One second, the ridge was barren. The next, it came alive. Thousands of forms poured over the slope, spilling onto the flat plain.
“Here they come,” Kofu’s voice whispered over the Squad channel.
Annan silently concurred. The Gray Armors had briefed the humans on the enemy they would be facing. The humans were shown pictures. But the visuals displayed on Annan’s screen did little to capture the full horror of the live horde stampeding across the plain.
The Gray Armors called these things Otruls…their cyborg variants to be exact.
Annan had no idea why they were fighting these creatures. All he knew was that he had to kill them before they killed him.
They were huge, lumbering, two-legged beasts fashioned from an unholy fusion of flesh and metal. Their metal legs operated like the hind legs of horses. Most of their wide man-like torsos were encased in mottled green metal, as were their bulky forearms and sections of their broad shoulders. The fleshy parts were covered with wavy patches of bluish hair, sprouting out of olive colored skin. Their faces were flat and blocky with severely overlapping ridges almost completely obscuring the dark smoldering pits of their eyes. They had no visible noses. Where noses should have been were marked by moist slits that quivered with exertion. Their wide snarling mouths were filled with metal teeth that glazed razor sharpness. They were armed with wide-barreled projectile-firing tubes, along with an intimidating assortment of blunt and edged weapons. A single blow from one of those bludgeoning weapons would surely have quashed a man as easily as a rock mulching a berry.
The computer ordered Annan to stand his ground, wait for the Otruls to come within terminal range of the ejectors.
Every human had obviously received the same instructions from his or her computer. The ITSVs assembled in a wide formation extending like a chain across the rolling grassland.
A string of calculations which Annan could not comprehend formulated on his status screen. Of course, it wasn’t Annan’s place to know what those flashing glyphs meant. His only function, as the Gray Armors repeatedly insisted, was to obey the computer.
Discharge ejectors, the computer commanded.
Annan thumbed the weapons control, sending a particle blast into a cluster of Otruls. The beams stabbed through fifteen of them, rending flesh and metal. A torrent of particle fire erupted from the ITSVs.
A method for laser-cooling magnetically trapped antihydrogen atoms to temperatures of about 20 millikelvin has been proposed by a team of researchers from Canada and the US.
The team claims that cooling the antihydrogen would make it much more stable and so easier to study in experiments. In particular, it could lead to better spectroscopic analysis of antihydrogen, so that its properties can be compared with those of hydrogen.
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| An artist's concept showing a trapped anithydrogen atom being released after 1000 seconds. The new proposal allows for such trapped antimatter to be laser cooled and then studied. (Courtesy: Chukman So/CERN) |
Antihydrogen is an atomic bound state of a positron and antiproton that was first produced at CERN in 1995. Over the past few years, physicists working on the ALPHA experiment at the Geneva lab became the first to capture and store a significant amount of the stuff, holding a total of 309 antihydrogen atoms for 1000 seconds in 2011. In early 2012 the team then showed that it is possible to probe the internal structure of an antihydrogen atom by carrying out the first tentative measurements of the antihydrogen spectrum. By improving such measurements, researchers hope to determine what structural differences, if any, antimatter has compared with ordinary matter.
This, they hope, could eventually explain why the universe currently contains much more matter than antimatter.
Physics World: Lasers could chill antihydrogen
I saw this briefly, and juxtapose my commentary between Sports Science and Mr. Hayes' Saturday morning commentary.
As someone who loved playing sandlot football, high school football and a sports fan, this is concerning. I present it with no agenda, but post a question: in 2113, will we still be playing football?
Up With Chris Hayes: Is Football Responsible for Junior Seau's Death
