Laser image aimed at achieving 85 percent reduction in costs

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ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – An innovative laser imaging technique, developed with funding from the Office of Naval Research (ONR), could cut more than 7,700 man hours from the manufacturing cycle of the VIRGINA-Class Submarine (VCS).

Per submarine, the savings could reach $500K per hull, translating in a projected savings of $15.5M over a 31-hull construction program.

A police woman fights quantum hacking and cracking

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The first desktop computers changed the way we managed data forever. Three decades after their introduction, we rely on them to manage our time, social life and finances ― and to keep this information safe from prying eyes and online predators.

Model predicts evolution of Mediterranean landscape following fires

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An international research team has developed a mathematical and cartographical model that make it possible to view how Mediterranean landscapes evolve in the aftermath of forest fires. In order to carry out this research study, published recently in the journal Environmental Modelling & Software, the authors studied a Special Protection Area for Birds to the south west of Madrid.

Map and satellite hybrid technology developed for AF

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Researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) and Geosemble Technologies are improving Air Force situational awareness with software that presents vast amounts of map data in a more manageable format

Using funding from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), Dr. Craig Knoblock and his team developed a computerized method for aligning maps with satellite imagery. The result combined the visual appeal of photographs with the attribution information found on maps.

New nanotubes promise large scale production

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In a paper published this month in Nano Research, Rice University chemist Bob Hauge's team describes a method for making "odako," bundles of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT). Named for the traditional Japanese kites they resemble, they may lead to the production of meter-long strands of nanotubes, no wider than a piece of DNA.

Suspected breakdown of Planck’'s law finally proven

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A well-established physical law describes the transfer of heat between two objects, but some physicists have long predicted that the law should break down when the objects are very close together. Scientists had never been able to confirm, or measure, this breakdown in practice. However, MIT researchers have now achieved this feat, and determined that the heat transfer can be 1,000 times greater than the law predicts.

Physicists show electron division into spinons and holons

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A team of physicists from the Universities of Cambridge and Birmingham have shown that electrons in narrow wires can divide into two new particles called spinons and a holons.

The electron is a fundamental building block of nature and is indivisible in isolation, yet a new experiment has shown that electrons, if crowded into narrow wires, are seen to split apart.

Sun exposure may trigger certain autoimmune diseases in women

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Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight may be associated with the development of certain autoimmune diseases, particularly in women, according to a study by researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Robot's have three new written rules

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"When you think about it, our cultural view of robots has always been anti-people, pro-robot," explained David Woods, professor of integrated systems engineering at Ohio State University. "The philosophy has been, 'sure, people make mistakes, but robots will be better -- a perfect version of ourselves.' We wanted to write three new laws to get people thinking about the human-robot relationship in more realistic, grounded ways."

In the current issue of journal IEEE Intelligent Systems, two engineers propose alternative laws to rewrite our future with robots.

NYU physicists show way to count sweets in a jar -- from inside the jar

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How many sweets fit into a jar? This question depends on the shapes and sizes of the sweets, the size of the jar, and how it is filled. Surprisingly, this ancient question remains unanswered because of the complex geometry of sweet-packing. Moreover, as any contestant knows, guessing the number of sweets in the jar is difficult because the sweets located at the center of the jar are hidden from view and can't be counted. Researchers at New York University have now determined how sweets pack from inside the jar, making it easier to more accurately count them.