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Black hole detection is becoming much easier
It's still relatively difficult to spot black holes (after all, they trap light), but it may be relatively commonplace in the near future. An international team of researchers has developed a detection technique that should identify a more frequent 10 black holes per year. By using radio telescopes to capture multiple snapshots of gravitational microlensing events (where objects like black holes bend light), you can obtain details like distance, mass and velocity for subjects you can't easily study using visible light.
Physicists create a 'quantum ruler' to measure the universe
A group of physicists from the Russian Quantum Center and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology have come up with a new method of creating a special entangled quantum state, one that could be used as "a high-precision ruler" for measuring large distances with subatomic precision. The technique, described in a new study in the journal Nature Communications, could be used to increase the sensitivity of optical interferometers like the ones used by the LIGO project to detect gravitational waves.
Caltech laser accelerometer research may bring fine-tuned position tracking, grocery ads
One way that sensors can track your position without using an array of satellites is by measuring your acceleration as you move around -- but unless you're piloting a jumbo jet, current devices aren't very accurate. Researchers at Caltech hope to change all that with a new, ultra-sensitive accelerometer they developed, which uses laser light to detect motion changes. The scientists managed to shrink a so-called large-scale interferometer down to micro-scale sizes, creating a device "thousands of times faster than the most sensitive sensors used today." That could allow a smartphone with such a micro-sensor to detect your exact position even while inside a grocery store, and flash "ads and coupons for hot dog buns" while you're in the bread aisle, according to Caltech. All that sounds good, but we can perhaps think of more inspiring uses for the new tech.
Mac Pro takes a bullet, brings justice
This piece isn't about shooting Mac Pros, but it is about how the Mac Pro is helping forensics professionals solve cases faster and more accurately. Pyramidal Technologies produces a system called ALIAS (Advanced balLIstics Analysis System), a replacement for standard ballistic investigation systems that offers faster ramp-up times, increases data accuracy in ballistics investigations, and lowers operator error. Pyramidal's tagline, "Solve more crimes, Convict more criminals, Save more lives" sums up their mission pretty succinctly. ALIAS will help to convict more criminals with more accuracy, and should even solve some previously-unsolvable cold cases. Helping to proactively build a civil society by identifying wrongdoers and exposing them to justice is among the many socially conscious goals of Pyramidal Technologies. I found this story of interest because, in my limited experience, the world of law enforcement does not lean very heavily toward the Apple side of the computing spectrum. I assume that this is for the same primary reason that any agency, organization or company tends to stick with Windows: the software they depend on is Windows-based and often proprietary. What intrigued me here was the fact that the benefits of various systems, both hardware and operating system, were weighed in an OS-agnostic fashion, and the Mac won. Here's what I learned about the reasons why ... Share
