An important step towards next-generation ultra-compact photonic and optoelectronic devices has been taken with the realization of a two-dimensional excitonic laser. Scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) embedded a monolayer of tungsten disulfide into a special microdisk resonator to achieve bright excitonic lasing at visible light wavelengths. …
This mosaic of Pluto’s largest moon Charon was taken by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on New Horizons shortly before closest approach on July 14, 2015; it resolves details as small as 340 yards (310 meters). The scene at bottom is about 125 miles (200 kilometers) across. Credit: NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI The …
Pierre Trudeau was Canada’s Prime Minister from April 20, 1968, to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980, to June 30, 1984. Pierre Trudeau, who died in 2000, was in power for 15 years. Pierre Trudeau came to power in 1968 on a wave of popular support dubbed “Trudeaumania”. Justin Trudeau is the …
The world is experiencing growth in global air traffic and in order to cater for the growing market, the aviation industry is seeking to expand major airports, allowing for the development of bigger, faster, and more efficient aircraft. However, concerns over environmental degradation and noise pollution pose a barrier to the expansion of many already …
Widespread adoption of self driving cars could prevent 90% of the 1.3 million deaths each year from car accidents. This would be a great thing but it would not be the greatest health achievement of the 21st century. As recently as 2000, malaria killed around 850,000 people a year; likewise, since 2000 deaths from measles …
Large amounts of oil have been found on the Golan Heights. Estimates are that the amount of oil discovered will make Israel self sufficient for very many years to come. Three drilling sites on the Golan have uncovered what is potentially billions of barrels of oil, enough to fulfill the Israeli market’s 270,000-barrel-per-day consumption for …
NREL finds that capacity factor of wind energy doubles when wind turbines go from 80 meters tall for most commercial turbines in the USA today to 140 meters tall. Germany’s wind industry already averages 120 meters for new wind turbines, with some as tall as 140 meters. Wind power technology that reaches higher altitude gets …
Russia expects serious export potential for the Armata platform, including the T-14 MBT (Main Battle Tank). Russia is planning to mass produce the T-14 and cut its price in half. Russia is following the path to replicating the export success of its T-72 tank. The T-72 was widely exported and saw service in 40 countries …
Following an exhaustive, ten-year effort, scientists at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and the University of Washington have identified 238 genes that, when removed, increase the replicative lifespan of S. cerevisiae yeast cells. This is the first time 189 of these genes have been linked to aging. These results provide new genomic targets …
The Transpacific Partnership is mainly about adding Japan to the decades old North American Free Trade Agreement. Tariff levels in developed countries are at about 1.5% or less. China’s average tariff is about 3.5%. Undeveloped countries typically have tariffs of about 8-15%. The US is trying negotiate a trade agreement with Europe. The Transatlantic Trade …
The first color images of Pluto’s atmospheric hazes, returned by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft last week, reveal that the hazes are blue. “Who would have expected a blue sky in the Kuiper Belt? It’s gorgeous,” said Alan Stern, New Horizons principal investigator from Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), Boulder, Colorado. The haze particles themselves are likely …