Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/13/japanese-doctor-turns-hot-toddy-into-superconductor-catalyst/
Japanese doctor turns hot toddy into superconductor catalyst originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 08:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Superconductors behave like most metals; they conduct electricity. They do so, however, with a twist. All metal has some resistance to the flow of electricity. But when the temperature drops, superconductors get less and less resistant (and therefore more conductive). When they reach very low temperatures, their resistance drops to zero.
Yoshihiko Takano and other researchers at the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan were in the process of creating a certain kind of superconductor by putting a compound in hot water and soaking it for hours. They also soaked the compound in a mixture of water and ethanol. It appears the process was going well, because the scientists decided to have a little party. The party included sake, whisky, various wines, shochu, and beer. At a certain point, the researchers decided to try soaking the compound in the many, many liquors they had on hand and seeing how they compared to the more conventional soaking liquids.
When they tested the resulting materials for superconductivity, they found that the ones soaked in commercial booze came out ahead. About 15 percent of the material became a superconductor for the water mixed with ethanol, and less for the pure water. By comparison, Shochu jacked up conductivity by 23 percent and red wine managed to supercharge over 62 percent of the material. The scientists were pleased, if bemused with their results.
So, a little sip of something turns out to make potential superconductors much better at their jobs. And, perhaps, scientists better at their jobs as well.
Via Cornell.
A new feature built into Google Translate for Android, Conversation Mode is a little rough around the edges, but it's basically your own personal Babel Fish. It does what Wordlens does but in real-time speech, translating English and Spanish.
It's as easy as pressing a key when the language is being spoken—let's say you're trying to order some food in Spanish. It translates what you say into the phone on the fly, and then reads the Spanish version out loud, so the waiter can understand. They can then respond in Spanish, and the phone will convert it to English, speaking it out loud.
You can imagine how crucial this would be to travellers—and while it can only compute English and Spanish for now, I'm betting Google's working on all manner of other languages. Check out a preview video of the app above, from a few months ago, or a user video below.
Android users with 2.1 or higher can download the new Google Translate now, which has a few other improvements built-in as well. [Google Blog]
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/12/asus-eee-pad-transformer-and-slider-another-look/
ASUS Eee Pad Transformer and Slider: another look originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/12/ios-4-3-beta-arrives-for-devs-brings-airplay-video-support-to-a/
iOS 4.3 beta arrives for devs, brings AirPlay video support to apps, personal hotspot and customizable iPad side switch (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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