New Nanospheres are the Stiffest Biological Materials Ever Created, Surpassing Kevlar

Published on Saturday, October 23rd, 2010 at 6:02 am

Protein tougher than metal could be used to print out body armor
Printable body armor, better bulletproof glass, and tougher steel are just a few of the applications for a new materials technology developed by Israeli researchers. A team of scientists there have developed a transparent material made of self-assembling nanospheres that is the stiffest organic material ever created, surpassing the properties of stainless steel and even Kevlar.
Developed by researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science and Tel Aviv University, the nanospheres are similar to the beta-amyloid proteins that make up the plaques found in the brains of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. But the new nanospheres are reinforced with an additional protective layer that makes them really, really strong.
And really, really small. They range in size from about 30 nanometers down to just two microns (by comparison, human hair averages something like 80 microns in diameter). But when assembled the material is extremely tough. In tests, only a diamond-tipped probe was able to dent the material, and then only by applying considerably more force that it takes to damage Kevlar.
Naturally, such a thin, strong material could lead to revolutionary improvements in body armor, and one of the researchers even told Discovery News that in principle you might be able to print custom body armor from the material. But it also could be used for a variety of other purposes, like strengthening existing metals and composites, creating medical implants, or improving the mechanical properties of ceramics and glasses. The researchers even think it might push forward technologically sci-fi projects like a space elevator.
But there’s still a lot of work to be done in the lab before the material sees mainstream usage. Patents are pending, but don’t expect to see printable, nanosphere body armor hitting the market anytime soon. Or diamond-tipped ammunition for that matter. For those who wish to comb through the nano-particulars, the paper is here.

Pirate Parties International

Pirate Parties International (abbreviated PPI) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that exists to help establish, to support and promote, and to maintain communication and co-operation between pirate parties around the world. It was officially founded in 2010 during the Brussels conference from April 16th to 18th.

n 22 and 23 20:30 October in Munich in Muffathalle © oPirates a party will take place by Richard Siegal. ©oPirates is an artistic experiment that deals with issues of our society that touches the Pirate Parties as well:
In what way does the body inhabit the community? How does the body react to politics? Which language does the body create when it comes in contact with the others? How is the longing for community expressed in everyday life, and what form will it take in the mastered performances of physically highly sensitized dancers? What are the limits of exchange and sharing? Is it possible to be oneself and to share oneself at the same time?

http://www.pp-international.net/

When Is A Yo-Yo Not A Yo-Yo? When It Costs $US5,000

That’s not even a joke. Not only will it set you back the price of a car, but you’ll have to wait six months for it to land on your doorstep, too. I guess they are hand-made in Japan, but still…
Shinobu Konmoto is an ex-world champion yo-yo builder who’s made his name by winning many modding competitions, where he fashions his yo-yos out of unusual materials. In this case, the ‘Nostalgia’ yo-yo has been modeled after his winning 2007 design, so I guess if you have the requisite skillz but just need the right medium, then this is probably it.
Though really, in my eyes a yo-yo should be something that cost two bucks max, and came from a gas station. [Nostalgia via SPGRA via OhGizmo]

Fujifilm’s 3D W3 Gets An Australian Release

 The 3D bandwagon keeps on keeping on, and now it has added hardware. Fujifilm has just announced an Aussie release of their 3D video shooting W3 camera.
With an RRP of $599, the W3 isn’t the cheapest compact on the market, but it is one of the cheapest (if not only) 3D cameras on the market, so you don’t have too much of a choice there. But given its 3D, parallax barrier screen that allows you to see the third dimension effect, plus the ability to take 10MP 2D photos as well, it could be one of the best ways to actually create your own 3D content for viewing on that 3D-capable TV you just dumped thousands of dollars on…

Wearing An Invisible Airbag Helmet

She’s wearing an invisible airbag helmet which will keep her safe on bike rides. Don’t believe me? Watch this video.

The helmet design is dubbed Hövding and while consistently described as “invisible” is just really cleverly hidden:

Hövding is a discreet collar that the cyclist is wearing around his neck. The collar contains a folded airbag which is visible only at a collision. The airbag is designed as a hood that in case of an accident will enclose and protect the cyclist’s head. Release mechanism is controlled by sensors that register abnormal movements of the rider in an accident.

A device like this is certainly appealing and would keep helmet-hair away, but I do wonder whether it could cause injuries in the same manner as an airbag in a car.

A Prototype Greenhouse Demonstrates the Future of Farming on the Moon

Published on Wednesday, October 20th, 2010 at 2:15 am

A portable, collapsible greenhouse inspired in part by a crop-producing system at a South Pole research station could someday provide fresh vegetables and other foods in future manned lunar or Martian outposts. Working in conjunction with private industry, the University of Arizona’s Controlled Environment Agriculture Center (CEAC) has set up a demo lunar greenhouse to demonstrate how a hydroponic system could grow peanuts, potatoes, tomatoes and other crops for colonists on other planets. The 18-foot, membrane-sheathed system collapses into a 4-foot wide disk for easy packing on an interplanetary mission. When extended, it is fitted with water-cooled lamps and seed packets prepped to sprout without soil. They hydroponic system needs little oversight, relying on automated systems and control algorithms to analyze data gathered by embedded sensors that optimize the controlled ecosystem. The whole system takes just ten minutes to set up and produces vegetables within a month.
The design is similar to that of a greenhouse housed at the U.S. South Pole Station in Antarctica, which was built by the same company that is collaborating with the CEAC on the lunar greenhouse. But the lunar greenhouse would possess some interesting technical twists that would make it even more sustainable. Water for the system would be derived from the attending astronauts’ urine, CO₂ produced by their breathing, and fiber optics could pipe sunlight into the chamber from outside, dispensing with the need for power for the sodium vapor lamps (ostensibly a future lunar base would be built underground to shield it and its inhabitants from solar weather, cosmic radiation, and small meteorites).
But while designed for use hundreds of thousands of miles away, the technology could also have applications here on the ground. Engineers working on the project think the tech could enhance urban farming techniques, bringing food production out of the fields and into population centers. The emphasis on self-contained, self-sustaining systems in space could also inform efforts to make agriculture as efficient and sustainable as possible.

In New Attempt to Build a Practical Military Laser Weapon, Lockheed Inverts a Prism

Published on Wednesday, October 13th, 2010 at 12:57 am

Lasers can be powerful weapons – they can take down an aircraft at long ranges and in unstable conditions, for instance. But they are hampered by power and size limits, so they’re not widely used by the military (yet). Lockheed Martin has a solution: a fiber laser that basically works like a backward prism.
Lockheed is among three firms recently awarded contracts to develop a laser for the military’s Robust Electric Laser Initiative, which seeks to improve the power of electric lasers. Fiber lasers are efficient and compact, but until now they have been weaker than other types, like chemical lasers. The RELI program seeks to improve laser strength while reducing power and cooling, so systems can be small enough to install on ships or airplanes.
A Lockheed subsidiary developed a first-of-its-kind high-powered fiber laser capable of producing 100 kilowatts or more, according to Lockheed. It uses fiber optics to produce near-perfect beams. The method also confines the laser light to the fiber’s glass structure without using mirrors or other optics.
John Wojnar, director of business development for the laser systems business, said in a September issue of Aviation Week that it works like a inverse prism: lasers with slightly different wavelengths enter a combiner, and the result is a single, focused beam. It’s called Spectral Beam Combining.
Lockheed won an initial $14 million contract from the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command to develop the system. Along with General Atomics and Raytheon, the firm must demonstrate a 25 kW system that can be scaled up to 100 kW within five years.
General Atomics will improve its Hellads distributed-gain laser approach to improve efficiency, while Raytheon will pursue a planar waveguide laser, according to Aviation Week.
Northrop Grumman is also expected to obtain a RELI contract.

http://www.popsci.com.au/2010/10/in-new-attempt-to-build-a-practical-military-laser-weapon-lockheed-inverts-a-prism/