04/02/2005

Satellite-Based System Charges Tolls Based on Time of Day

In the state of Washington, Siemens has started operating a satellite-based toll system that charges variable fees. A total of 500 drivers will be taking part in the pilot phase in the Seattle area. As is the case with the ...

Pocket Projectors Possible Thanks to New LED

Although it’s smaller than a pack of cigarettes, Ostar — the latest high-performance light-emitting diode from Osram — is 50 times brighter than comparable predecessor models. Because of its small size (3 cm x 1 cm) ...

Tiny superconductors withstand stronger magnetic fields

Ultrathin superconducting wires can withstand stronger magnetic fields than larger wires made from the same material, researchers now report. This finding may be useful for technologies that employ superconducting magnets, ...

Lasers to give early-warning of volcanic eruptions

Laser-based instruments could soon become a convenient tool to warn scientists of impending volcanic eruptions according to research reported today on the Institute of Physics website Optics.org. Researchers in Italy have ...

Airbags will become more secure

"Despite the fact that motorcars of established companies have long ago been equipped with airbags, gas generating compositions in them are still far from perfect, says David Lempert, Ph.D. (Chemistry), one of the development ...

Siberian Fires Most Common Near People

While Siberia may be one of the last expanses on Earth where human presence is relatively scarce, scientists are finding some surprising connections between humans and fires in these frigid, northern forests. Until now, most ...

Towards a truly clever Artificial Intelligence

A pioneering new way of creating computer programs could be used in the future to design and build robots with minds that function like that of a human being, according to a leading researcher at The University of Reading. ...

Saturn's Hot Spot

NASA astronomers using the Keck I telescope in Hawaii are learning much more about a strange, thermal "hot spot" on the tip of Saturn's south pole. In the most precise reading of Saturn's temperatures ever taken from Earth, ...