© CC0 / geralt
The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department for New Challenges and Threats, Ilya Rogachev, announced that Russia has the necessary capabilities to create an alternative to the Internet, Russian media reports.
Science & Technology
The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department for New Challenges and Threats, Ilya Rogachev, announced that Russia has the necessary capabilities to create an alternative to the Internet, Russian media reports.
© Reuters
Chinese armed police and Russian national guards take part in a joint counter-terrorism drill.
Chinese armed police and Russian national guards take part in a joint counter-terrorism drill.
Although classified as "non-lethal," the infrared laser projector can "burn through clothes in a split second ... If the fabric is flammable, the whole person will be set on fire," according to a South China Post report. The device is called ZKZM-500 and has been prototyped by the Xian Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shaanxi province.
It weighs about 3kg, has an effective range of 800 meters and is powered by a lithium battery pack. It fires in bursts of no more than two seconds and lasts for over 1,000 'shots' before requiring recharge.
© AP Photo/ Cai Yang/Xinhua via AP
In this photo provided by China's official Xinhua News Agency, a Long March-4C rocket carrying a relay satellite, named Queqiao (Magpie Bridge), is launched from southwest China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Monday, MAY 21, 2018
In this photo provided by China's official Xinhua News Agency, a Long March-4C rocket carrying a relay satellite, named Queqiao (Magpie Bridge), is launched from southwest China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Monday, MAY 21, 2018
By 2030, the Chinese Long March-9 rocket will be capable of carrying 140 tonnes into low-Earth orbit, which extend out to 1,200 miles above the Earth's surface, according to Long Lehao, a senior official at the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
In comparison, Europe's Ariane 5 rocket can deliver 20 tonnes into low-orbit while Elon Musk's Falcon Heavy can catapult 64 tonnes. The Long-March 9 would also outstrip the 130 tonnes that will be delivered by NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), which is currently under development and expected to become operational in 2020.
© ESO/A. Müller et al
The planet was caught in the act of formation amid a disk of gas and dust surrounding a young dwarf star, known as PDS 70.
The stunning snapshot, considered the first robust detection of a young planet, was captured by the SPHERE instrument on the ESO's' Very Large Telescope and stands out clearly as a bright point to the right of the blackened center of the image.
The unique photo was made possible thanks to the use of a filter, known as a coronagraph, which blocks the light from the central star and allows the detection of the much fainter disc and planetary companion, the ESO explained.
© Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images / AFP
"The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) and the US Air Force completed two non-nuclear system qualification flight tests of the B61-12 gravity bomb on June 9 at Tonopah Test Range in Nevada," the Department of Energy announced last week. "These tests are the first such end-to-end qualification tests on a B-2A Spirit Bomber for the B61-12."
The experiments included running trials on "NNSA designed bomb assembly and US Air Force acquired tail-kit," as part of the effort to evaluate the "aircraft's capability to deliver the weapon and the weapon's non-nuclear function."
"Our work represents a breakthrough in the quest for invisibility cloaking."
Researchers from Montreal's National Institute of Scientific Research (INRS) just published a study in Optica detailing a new approach to invisibility cloaking.
Their device, called a spectral invisibility cloak, is the first to manipulate the color (or frequency) of the light waves that interact with an object, rendering it invisible.
© J.K. Rowling/Warner Bros
Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Their device, called a spectral invisibility cloak, is the first to manipulate the color (or frequency) of the light waves that interact with an object, rendering it invisible.
© NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle / NASA
Kepler-186f is an exoplanet, meaning it's located outside our solar system, 500 light years away. Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology used simulations to analyze and identify the exoplanet's spin-axis dynamics, which determine to what extent a planet tilts on its axis and how this changes over time.
The study shows Kepler-186f's axial tilt appears to be stable, like Earth's. A planet's axial tilt creates seasons and climates because of how it affects the sunlight hitting the surface, so the research suggests it may have regular seasons.
© Robert Daly/Getty
The idea of an infinite multitude of universes is forced on us by physics. But the multiverse takes many forms - and we're still finding our place within it
The idea of an infinite multitude of universes is forced on us by physics. But the multiverse takes many forms - and we're still finding our place within it
The idea that the already vast universe we can see is just one of perhaps infinitely many we can't is certainly a lot to swallow. And it doesn't stop there. The multiverse itself comes in many guises.
Get your head around the most mind-bending concepts in science From black holes to blockchains, from consciousness to the multiverse, we explain it all in this 13-part special
Take the cosmological multiverses. This concept sprouts from eternal inflation, our best explanation for why the universe looks as it does. In the split second after the big bang, the idea goes, space-time expanded exponentially. Random quantum effects brought this inflation to an end in small regions, and these became more sedately expanding bubble universes - like ours - inside a continually ballooning container, budding off more and more bubbles.
Comment: See also:
- A scientific theory and the multiverse madness
- Panpsychism: The idea that everything from spoons to stones are conscious is gaining academic credibility
- Cosmopsychism: Is the universe a conscious mind?
- Atheist Stephen Hawking's final paper actually strengthened the case for God
- Brazilian scientist proposes alternate cosmic theory: 'There was no Big Bang' - the universe is cyclical
© Sur Lab
A dendrite with round processes or spines, expresses a red fluorescent protein together with a green tag for the protein Arc, obtained with two-photon microscopy.
A dendrite with round processes or spines, expresses a red fluorescent protein together with a green tag for the protein Arc, obtained with two-photon microscopy.
Senior author Mriganka Sur said he was excited but not surprised that his team discovered a simple, fundamental rule at the core of such a complex system as the brain, where 100 billion neurons each have thousands of ever-changing synapses. He likens it to how a massive school of fish can suddenly change direction, en masse, so long as the lead fish turns and every other fish obeys the simple rule of following the fish right in front of it.
Comment: For a fascinating discussion about the brain, see: The Health & Wellness Show: Interview With Dr. Valdeane Brown - Nonlinear Dynamic Thinking With NeurOptimal Neurofeedback
See also:
- Study: Psychedelic drugs promote neural plasticity in rats and flies
- Many older brains have plasticity, but in a different place
- Synaptic plasticity: The key to your brain's future
- Astrocytes and Synaptic Plasticity
- Scientists Identify Two Molecules that Affect Brain Plasticity in Mice
- "Lazy Eye" Treatments Provide New Insight on Brain Plasticity
© AFP/Getty Images
Stargazers can enjoy the longest lunar eclipse this century next month. The event will be visible to most people in the Eastern hemisphere and will last for an incredible 103 minutes (file photo)
Stargazers can enjoy the longest lunar eclipse this century next month. The event will be visible to most people in the Eastern hemisphere and will last for an incredible 103 minutes (file photo)
The lunar event, which takes place on July 27, will be visible to most people living in the Eastern hemisphere and will last for 103 minutes - four minutes short of the longest possible duration an eclipse could last.
Blood moon in Australia: July 28thThe rare celestial event is the result of several astronomical events aligning, which will prolong the phenomenon.
According to EarthSky, here's when you'll be able to enjoy the show in Australia on July 28th (times in AEST):
3.14am: Eclipse begins
5.30am: The moon can be seen at is reddest
6.21am: Maximum eclipse
7.13am: Total eclipse ends
During the eclipse, the moon will pass through Earth's darkest shadow, known as umbra, causing it to take on a red sheen, giving rise to the 'blood moon' name.
No equipment is needed to view the event, with the naked eye more than enough to watch the century's most impressive eclipse.
Unlike a solar eclipse, where the moon crosses the path of the sun, it is perfectly safe to look directly at the lunar eclipse.
People hoping to enjoy the 'blood moon' need only to hope for clear skies.
Comment: Western sanctions: Russia ready to be cut off from internet with its own web