Large Hadron Collider: Round Two
Remember a few years ago when they turned the Large Hadron Collider at CERN on for the first time and half the population seemed to fear that a global catastrophe was imminent? We all just, kind of forgot about it when the worst didn't happen and we all got on with our lives, to the extent that many of us outside of the scientific community probably didn't even realise the gigantic proton smasher (a much better name don't you think?) has been out of operation for two years for servicing and upgrades. That's all set to change this week, however, with Run Two of the collider set to be initiated at some point this week, though “Not before Wednesday.” Restarting a machine of this complexity is a slow and gradual process, with the 27km circular device not expected to fire off its first proton until at least March 25, actually collisions, meanwhile, are not expected for at least another couple of months.
CERN hope to make contact with a parallel universe
Of course, they already managed to find the elusive Higgs Boson particle last time, so what are they up to with round two? Rather excitingly for science fiction buffs everywhere, it appears one of the things scientists at CERN hope to achieve this time around is to make contact with a parallel universe! The hope is that through creation of a miniature black hole, the assembled geniuses at CERN will be able to literally smash through into another universe, rewriting the laws of physics in the process. Mir Faizal, one of the physicists behind the game-changing experiment, said “Just as many parallel sheets of paper, which are two dimensional objects can exist in a third dimension, parallel universes can also exist in higher dimensions.” They predict that “Gravity can leak into extra dimensions, and if it does, then miniature black holes can be produced at the LHC.” Exciting stuff, but also quite worrying. Then again. I won't even pretend that my brain has the capacity understand the science behind it so I'm happy to put my trust in those that do.
Apple TV Upgrade
Whilst the vast majority of Apple's resources this year have been out behind the upcoming Apple Watch, it's thought that the company might be ready to unveil a new version of its Apple TV hardware as early as June. It would make sense considering Apple recent signed an exclusivity agreement with the on-demand HBO service HBO NOW, and it's been a long time since Apple has done much of anything with its set-top box. Of course, in the years since Apple TV debuted, numerous devices have followed in its wake, almost all of them more affordable and flexible. So Apple will really need to pull something impressive out of the bag if they want to reclaim this particular market.
Tesla rev their Engines (quietly)
At a press conference last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company's autodrive features will be available within the next 6 months. After an upcoming firmware update, the Tesla Model S will supposedly be able to travel all the way from Seattle to San Francisco without the driving needing to touch the controls even once. The car can even be “Summoned” to its owner via a bespoke app, though this feature will only work on private property, for obvious reasons. Of course, the feature is pretty basic (it basically keeps the car within its lane at an appropriate speed) and whether or not this self-driving cars will be completely road legal is another story altogether.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company's autodrive features will be available within the next 6 months
The Model S update also includes improves “Range Assurance,” which monitors how much charge you're using and how far away you are from a potential charging station every 30 seconds. The program will use this information to tell you when you need to charge and guide you to the nearest useable charge point, cutting down significantly on the possibility of everyone's primary electric car worry; running out of charge in the middle of nowhere!
Get fit with Atari
Atari, the game company behind the classic, wood panelled 2600 console and games like Pong, Space Invaders and Super Breakout, has created a new app that rewards fitness progress with arcade games. The app tracks the development of your health through various programs, and awards results with classic games , there's even a multiplayer mode allowing users to workout and unlock more games together. Atari Fit is a free download available now on iOS and Android devices.
3D printing inspired by Terminator 2
Carbon3D's Super Fast 3D Printer Printing an Eiffel Tower
A new 3D printing technology from Carbon3D that greatly increases speed, was inspired by a scene from Terminator 2 (one of my personal favourite films as it happens). The scene in question sees the liquid metal form of the T-1000 (played by Robert Patrick) emerge from a puddle of metallic alloys, and the new printer from Carbon3D mimics that famous scene, only with plastic resin. Their innovative machines creates objects from a pool of resin between 25% and 100% faster than current tech on the market. They company has said that the tech could be used for industrial applications sometime in the next year, although specific applications have yet to be announced.
A new 3D printing technology was inspired by a scene from Terminator 2
Carbon3D co-founder Joseph DeSimon, said he thinks that “Popular 3-D printing is actually misnamed, it's really just 2-D printing over and over again.” He fees that “The strides in that area have mostly been driven by mechanical engineers figuring out how to make things layer by layer to precisely create an object.” Their company, however, is run by “Two chemists and a physicist,” so they were able to come at it from a different angle. The machine works through a highly nuanced system, with sources underneath the resin pool emitting light to harden the resin and oxygen to prevent it from hardening. By emitting specific amounts of both, Carbon3D's device can form a 3D object much faster than competing companies.
NASA help public hunt for Asteroids
At a SXSW last week, NASA announced a free new desktop app that lets the public identify new asteroids from telescope photography. The app was developed by NASA and asteroid mining company Planetary Resources, and uses a special asteroid hunting algorithm that allows users to automatically check images for potential asteroids using their computers. Chris Lewicki, president and chief engineer at Planetary Resources, said they are “Extremely encouraged by the algorithm created,” and said it’s “Already making a difference.” He hopes that “This increase in knowledge will help assess more quickly which asteroids are potential threats, human destinations or resource rich.” Exciting stuff, especially for stargazers!
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and struggling musician from Kidderminster in the UK.
