3D cloak for microwave invisibility is first to work in free space

Physicists in the US claim to have created the first 3D invisibility cloak that can operate alone in free space. The cloak, based on a “plasmonic” shell, can hide a cigar-sized cylinder from microwaves – although it currently only operates for one microwave polarization. Arxiv – Experimental 3D Plasmonic Cloaking in Free Space We report …

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New LED bulb has the same color light as an incandescent bulb but uses about 5 times less electricity

SLATE – Compact-fluorescent bulbs, are awful. They’ve got three main shortcomings: * They’re ugly; * they contain mercury, * they put out harsh, white light that many people find unbearable. Light from an incandescent bulb matches the light from a new Switch LED bulb. With our unique City of Light™ Technology, Switch delivers the best …

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Japan Industry Minister Kaieda calls for local permission to restart 20 nuclear reactors to enable the recovery of the Japanese economy

Banri Kaieda, minister for economy, trade and industry, has now said that for nuclear to remain one of Japan’s key energy sources, “It is indispensible to obtain lessons we should learn from the accident in order to present a general image of nuclear safety measures and to put such measures into practice.” He added that …

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Stanford researchers use river water and salty ocean water to generate electricity

Stanford researchers have developed a rechargeable battery that uses freshwater and seawater to create electricity. Aided by nanotechnology, the battery employs the difference in salinity between fresh and saltwater to generate a current. A power station might be built wherever a river flows into the ocean. Stanford researchers have developed a battery that takes advantage …

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Minimag for near term interstellar transportation

The full “Use of Mini-Mag Orion and superconducting coils for near-term interstellar transportation” paper is available for free online (2007, 9 pages) I had previously suggested avoiding the 1000 Terawatt laser of the interstellar minimag by predeploying the fuel along the path of the minimag. Pacman gobbling up dots Interstellar transportation to nearby star systems …

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