chemistry
Latest
Atomic force microscope takes a closer look at individual atoms
Hot on the heels of Purdue's Mini 10 chemical analyzer comes a (somewhat) similar creature from the other side of the globe, as Osaka University's Yoshiaki Sugimoto and colleagues have "found a way to use the atomic force microscope to produce images that reveal the chemical identity of individual atoms on a surface." Essentially, this new discovery allows scientists to look at a mixed material and "pick out individual atoms of different elements on its surface, such as tin or silicon." The microscopes themselves are quite common in this realm, but until now, they have not been capable of distinguishing between atoms of different chemical elements. The atomic fingerprint, as it's so aptly named, is what the crew scrutinized in order to distinguish between varying atoms on a sample surface, as they witnessed that the relationship between force and distance is "slightly different for atoms of different elements." Of course, we have to look for the practical use in all this hubbub, and a non-participating scientist from the UK has insinuated that the discovery could be useful for nanotechnology researchers trying to design devices at the molecular level -- and who wouldn't be down a little nanotech garb or a snazzy new water-repelling umbrella?
P-Kara brings karaoke to the Japanese masses
At Tokyo Game Show, Sony unveiled a game called P-Kara, a karaoke game that's supposed to give users access to thousands of songs. The game is now available in Japan, and although it looks to feature some really great songs, it's also a little pricey: the game retails for 6980 yen. Granted, this includes the cost of a SOCOM headset and 20 songs on the UMD. The game becomes considerably more expensive when you consider the monthly subscription fees the game charges: 840 yen (~$7US) a month for "all you can sing" access. If you want to download songs for offline play, that'll cost you an additional 105 yen (~$1US).P-Kara will rank your performance against other P-Kara users so you can be sure how awful you sing. Regardless, with songs like ?????????? from CHEMISTRY, * ?????????????????????? from ORANGE RANGE, and more [full song list], I want to get it now. Unfortunately, a gaijin like myself can't register for the service (So-Net requires a Japanese mailing address when registering!) Considering how unlikely a game like this will ever leave Japan, that blows big time.[Via Pocket Gamer, Siliconera & PSP GadgetZ]
Cheat on your chemistry test with your PSP [Update 1]
You may think the PSP is only for really cool people like Samuel L. Jackson and the Marlboro Man, but don't worry--this homebrew is made for people like you and me ... y'know, losers. When we're not busy adjusting our pocket protectors and tightening our suspenders, we bust out the PSP for some good ol' fashioned periodic table-ing. Yes, a programmer named access_denied has made a libtiff version of the periodic table. You know what to do: put the image file in the PSP's PHOTO folder, and run it on your PSP.[Via DCemu][Update 1: Fixed link.]
