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Live From The International Space Station

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Some pretty amazing software that sticks new objects into photographs so seamlessly that testers couldn't tell: http://bit.ly/uvs6S9


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US's most powerful nuclear bomb being dismantled


US's most powerful nuclear bomb being dismantled

 
Tuesday - 10/25/2011, 12:48pm  ET
This undated handout photo provided by the National Nuclear Security Administration shows the United States' last B53 nuclear bomb. The 10,000-pound bomb is scheduled to be dismantled Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011 at the Pantex Plant just outside Amarillo, Texas. It’s a milestone in President Barack Obama's efforts to reduce the number of nuclear weapons and their role in the U.S. (AP Photo/National Nuclear Security Administration)
    By BETSY BLANEY
    Associated Press
    AMARILLO, Texas (AP) - The last of the nation's most powerful nuclear bombs _ a weapon hundreds of times stronger than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima _ is being disassembled nearly half a century after it was put into service at the height of the Cold War.
    The final components of the B53 bomb will be broken down Tuesday at the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, the nation's only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility. The completion of the dismantling program is a year ahead of schedule, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, and aligns with President Barack Obama's goal of reducing the number of nuclear weapons.
    Thomas D'Agostino, the nuclear administration's chief, called the bomb's elimination a "significant milestone."
    Put into service in 1962, when Cold War tensions peaked during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the B53 weighed 10,000 pounds and was the size of a minivan. According to the American Federation of Scientists, it was 600 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, killing as many as 140,000 people and helping end World War II.
    The B53 was designed to destroy facilities deep underground, and it was carried by B-52 bombers.
    With its destruction, the next largest bomb in operation will be the B83, said Hans Kristensen, a spokesman for the Federation of American Scientists. It's 1.2 megatons, while the B53 was 9 megatons.
    The B53's disassembly ends the era of big megaton bombs, he said. The bombs' size helped compensate for their lack of accuracy. Today's bombs are smaller but more precise, reducing the amount of collateral damage, Kristensen said.
    Since the B53 was made using older technology by engineers who have since retired or died, developing a disassembly process took time. Engineers had to develop complex tools and new procedures to ensure safety.
    "We knew going in that this was going to be a challenging project, and we put together an outstanding team with all of our partners to develop a way to achieve this objective safely and efficiently," said John Woolery, the plant's general manager.
    Many of the B53s were disassembled in the 1980s, but a significant number remained in the U.S. arsenal until they were retired from the stockpile in 1997. Pantex spokesman Greg Cunningham said he couldn't comment on how many of the bombs have been disassembled at the Texas plant.
    The weapon is considered dismantled when the roughly 300 pounds of high explosives inside are separated from the special nuclear material, known as the pit. The uranium pits from bombs dismantled at Pantex will be stored on an interim basis at the plant, Cunningham said.
    The non-nuclear material and components are then processed, which includes sanitizing, recycling and disposal, the National Nuclear Security Administration said last fall when it announced the Texas plant's role in the B53 dismantling.
    The plant will play a large role in similar projects as older weapons are retired from the U.S.'s nuclear arsenal.

    (Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

    Thursday, October 20, 2011

    Hawaii astronomer captures image of forming planet


    Hawaii astronomer captures image of forming planet

    HONOLULU (AP) — Astronomers have captured the first direct image of a planet being born.
    Adam Kraus, of the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy, said the planet is being formed out of dust and gas circling a 2-milion-year-old star about 450 light years from Earth.
    The planet itself, based on scientific models of how planets form, is estimated to have started taking shape about 50,000 to 100,000 years ago.
    Called LkCa 15 b, it's the youngest planet ever observed. The previous record holder was about five times older.
    Kraus and his colleague, Michael Ireland from Macquarie University and the Australian Astronomical Observatory, used Keck telescopes on Mauna Kea to find the planet.
    "We're catching this object at the perfect time. We see this young star, it has a disc around it that planets are probably forming out of and we see something right in the middle of a gap in the disc," Kraus said in a telephone interview.
    Kraus presented the discovery Wednesday at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Kraus and Ireland's research paper on the discovery is due to appear in The Astrophysical Journal.
    Observing planets while they're forming can help scientists answer questions like whether planets form early in the life of a star or later, and whether they form relatively close to stars or farther away.
    Planets can change orbits after forming, so it's difficult to answer such questions by studying older planets.
    "These very basic questions of when and where are best answered when you can actually see the planet forming, as the process is happening right now," Kraus said.
    Other planets may also be forming around the same star. Kraus said he'll continue to observe the star and hopefully will see other planets if there are in fact more.
    Scientists hadn't been able to see such young planets before because the bright light of the stars they're orbiting outshines them.
    Kraus and Ireland used two techniques to overcome this obstacle.
    One method, which is also used by other astronomers, was to change the shape of their mirror to remove light distortions created by the Earth's atmosphere.
    The other, unique method they used was to put masks over most of the telescope mirror. The combination of these two techniques allowed the astronomers to obtain high-resolution images that let them see the faint planet next to the bright star.
    The astronomers found the planet while surveying 150 young dusty stars. This led to a more concentrated study of a dozen stars.
    The star LkCa 15 — the planet is named after its star — was the team's second target. They immediately knew they were seeing something new, so they gathered more data on the star a year later.

    Man orders size 14.5 slipper and gets size 1,450 after 'mistranslation in China'


    Man orders size 14.5 slipper and gets size 1,450 after 'mistranslation in China'

    A man who ordered a special size 14.5 slipper to fit his oversized foot was sent a size 1,450 after the Chinese manufacturers failed to spot a decimal point in his order.

    Tom Boddingham who ordered a special slipper to fit his oversized foot was sent a size 1,450 - after manufacturers failed to spot a decimal point in his order.
    Tom Boddingham who ordered a special slipper to fit his oversized foot was sent a size 1,450 - after manufacturers failed to spot a decimal point in his order.  Photo: Caters
    Tom Boddingham, 27, has a size 13 right foot while his left is slightly bigger measuring a size 14 and a half.
    When he ordered his custom slipper, the manufacturers in China misread "size 14.5" and instead built a size 1,450 measuring 7ft long.
    Mr Boddingham, who has always worn custom made shoes, said he now plans to sell the giant slipper on eBay.
    He said: "It was sent directly from Hong Kong and measures 210 x 130 x 65cms - the same length as a grizzly bear or a family car.
    "I reckon I must be the owner of the biggest slipper in the world.
    "I'm going to sell it online and if I can make a few quid out of it then all the better."
    A company spokesman for Monster Slippers apologised to Tom, from Ilford, in east London, and said the mistake occurred because of a translation error.
    The spokesman said: "We have apologised to Mr Boddingham and are making him a replacement slipper of the right dimensions."
    A spokesman for the factory said they thought the slipper was for a shop window display.

    The PC is dying, but very, very slowly


    The PC is dying, but very, very slowly

     @CNNMoneyTech October 19, 2011: 12:59 PM ET
    mac-pc.ju.top.jpg
    NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The trend is clear: Personal computer sales are slumping, and smartphone and tablet sales are booming. But Intel proved late Tuesday that the PC isn't going away anytime soon.
    Semiconductor sales in Intel's (INTCFortune 500) PC division rose 22% last quarter, driving Intel's overall revenue to its sixth consecutive quarterly record. That comes despite a lackluster PC sales environment: Overall PC shipments grew just 3.2% globally last quarter, which is well below seasonal averages, according to Gartner.
    Zeroing in on different regions and segments of the world provides a fuller picture of why the PC isn't yet dead, and why Intel has been so successful lately.
    Consumer demand for PCs in the United States, Canada and Europe is slumping badly, but consumers in emerging markets can't get enough of them, Intel said. Sales in China were up 12%, India 21%, Turkey 14% and Indonesia 23%. China has become the world's No. 1 PC market, and fast-growing Brazil is now right behind the United States at No. 3.
    "The global PC landscape is being reshaped," Paul Otellini, Intel's CEO, said during a conference call with analysts Tuesday. "We were very pleased with the momentum."
    In its most recent survey of third-quarter PC shipments, Gartner found that the computer industry is thriving in other regions as well. In the Asia/Pacific region, PC shipments doubled the global average by growing 6% from the same period last year. Many former desktop PC owners in that region are now buying their first laptops, Gartner said.
    The PC market in Latin America is the fastest growing, soaring 20% last quarter. Like Asia/Pacific, sales were buoyed by laptops, which grew 31% year over year. But even desktop shipments were up 6.5%.
    Meanwhile, corporations around the world continue to buy up PCs -- even in Western countries where consumers are tightening their purse strings. Businesses are still in the midst of what's known as a "refresh cycle," purchasing new PCs to replace outdated ones that were never replaced due to the Great Recession and concerns about Microsoft's (MSFT,Fortune 500) Windows Vista operating system.
    Intel said its overall sales for the quarter rose 28% to $14.2 billion, and profit grew 17% to $3.5 billion. Both set records and far surpassed analysts' expectations, sending shares up more than 4% Wednesday.
    "Just an all-around solid execution," said Vijay Rakesh, analyst at Sterne Agee. "Intel continues to show a technology lead."
    At the same time, analysts are keeping a close eye on Intel's transition to the mobile space. Sales of the company's Atom processors, which fuel netbooks and mobile devices, fell 30% year over year.
    Meanwhile, the iPad has begun to eat into PC sales. When Hewlett-Packard (HPQFortune 500) decided to exit the PC business, then-CEO Leo Apotheker cited as a prime reason that "the tablet effect is real."
    Intel, however, remained upbeat. It said its "Ivy Bridge" 32-nanometer chips that will debut next year have made significant improvements in power consumption, and that will help the company take a lead in the new "ultrabook" segment. Ultrabooks are extremely light-weight notebook PCs that have long battery life and almost as much power as a full-sized laptop.
    The chipmaker has has also partnered with Google (GOOGFortune 500) to build Android tablets on Intel's architecture, and it will powerMicrosoft Windows 8 tablets when they go on sale -- probably sometime next year.
    Intel and its longtime partner Microsoft have been left for dead many times over. What Intel's past quarter proves is that whether or not the chipmaker has the right mobile strategy in place for the future, riding on the back of the still-alive PC will give Intel significant lead time to figure the problem out. To top of page