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The creation of the magical technology has been the subject of intense research ever since Victorian author HG Wells captivated readers with his tales of a scientist who becomes invisible after consuming a cocktail of drugs. Now scientists at the University of California in Berkeley have developed a material that can bend light around three dimensional objects making them "disappear", according to an article on Nature magazine's website. The research, funded by the American military, paves the way for stealth tanks, aircraft and even warships that can disappear from enemy soldiers' sights. The technology works like water flowing around a...

An animated butterfly’s flight to a rainbow and children sing and praise our one and only all mighty God.

The story of Western architecture is one of darkness giving way to light. Europe's dour medieval fortresses were replaced by airy Gothic structures and for the modernists, light was an end in itself. Has this tale run its course? From the beginning, architecture has been embarked on a journey to the light. That we have arrived is something we now take for granted. But it wasn't always thus. Indeed, of all the elements that comprise architecture, light was historically the most elusive. For millennia, we lived in shadow. Anyone who has wandered through those 1,000-year-old Romanesque churches around Barcelona in...

Laser creates brightest light on Earth By Roger Highfield, Science Editor Last Updated: 3:01pm BST 08/04/2008 The brightest light on Earth now shines in a laboratory in Texas, one which will enable scientists to create a tabletop star. The $14m Texas Petawatt laser reached greater than one petawatt - one thousand million million watts - of laser power in the past few days, making it the highest powered laser in the world, says Prof Todd Ditmire, a physicist at The University of Texas at Austin. The laser in action in the lab, the blue glass amplifiers can also be seen...

Light may not seem very interesting in our everyday lives. But to scientists, light’s properties are a constant source of intrigue. The nature of light as both wave and particle, light as the universal speed limit, and the way light interacts with magnetic fields in the atmosphere to form auroras are a just a few examples of light’s fascinating behavior. Recently, researchers from the University of Glasgow and the University of Bristol in the UK have discovered another unusual property of light – or, more accurately, the darkness within light. As the researchers explain, natural light fields are threaded by...

“See the Light, Be the Light” (Matt. 4:12-25; 5:14-16)This year, because Easter will be falling on March 23, the earliest date in any of our lifetimes, we are having the shortest possible Epiphany season we can have. As a result, some of the Gospel readings we would normally hear on the Sundays after the Epiphany are being cut out. One of those readings would be from Matthew 5, and I’ve printed a few verses of it in your bulletin for today. Matthew 5:14-16, where Jesus tells his disciples: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2008 – About 60 percent of the Air Force’s F-15 Eagle fighter fleet has been found fit and ready to again defend the skies over the homeland or perform overseas missions, senior U.S. military officers said here today. An F-15A Eagle lands at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii Jan. 9, 2008. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo, USAF   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. About 260 F-15s were returned to full operational duty Jan. 8 after receiving nose-to-tail inspections following the Nov. 2 midair breakup of a Missouri Air National Guard jet as it...

Brighter LED Lights Could Replace Household Light Bulbs Within Three Years ScienceDaily (Jan. 10, 2008) — Researchers are developing new technology that could replace the household light-bulb within three years. Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), already used in electrical equipment such as computers and mobile phones, are several times more energy efficient than standard light-bulbs. However, because of their structure and material, much of the light in standard LEDs becomes trapped, reducing the brightness of the light and making them unsuitable as the main lighting source in the home. Now researchers believe they have found a way of introducing a new...

A company called MPK is designing a light source that will glow continuously for more than 12 years without any additional energy. The material, dubbed "Litrosphere," can cover a standard sheet of paper for a cost of about 35 cents, and comes in a variety of colors. It´s also flexible, and can take the form of either paint or injection-molded plastic. The material is not affected by the heat or cold, can withstand 5,000 pounds, and stays on constantly. According to the company's patent, the material is based on betavoltaics and uses the radioactive gas tritium as the power...

Litroenergy is a patent pending designed light source material that emits light for 12 plus years- without electricity or sun exposure! Our development/design of long-life, self-luminous micro particles called Litrospheres (non-toxic) emit light continuously for 12 plus years (half-life point) without any exposure to a light or other energy (not effected by cold or heat). This extremely low cost material offers 24/7 light, which can be injection molded or added to paint. It is 5,000lb crush resistant, stable and constant light source (gives off no U.V. rays). It is designed to give off almost any color of light desired. Our...

LONDON - It was once scientific heresy to suggest that smoking contributed to lung cancer. Now, another idea initially dismissed as nutty is gaining acceptance: the graveyard shift might increase your cancer risk. Next month, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the cancer arm of the World Health Organization, will classify shift work as a "probable" carcinogen. That will put shift work in the same category as cancer-causing agents like anabolic steroids, ultraviolet radiation, and diesel engine exhaust. If the shift work theory proves correct, millions of people worldwide could be affected. Experts estimate that nearly 20 percent of...

If U.S. lawmakers have their way, the lights may soon go out on Thomas Edison's greatest invention -- the incandescent light bulb. The 19th-century inventor brought illumination to the world's fingertips, but according to Congress, his invention isn't efficient enough for an age anxious about energy supplies. "Only 10% of the power used by today's incandescent bulbs is emitted as light, while the other 90% is released as heat," Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., said when she introduced her legislation to ban standard light bulbs. To eliminate this waste, Harman has proposed legislation that would effectively eliminate incandescent light bulbs from...

A pair of German physicists claim to have broken the speed of light - an achievement that would undermine our entire understanding of space and time. According to Einstein's special theory of relativity, it would require an infinite amount of energy to propel an object at more than 186,000 miles per second. However, Dr Gunter Nimtz and Dr Alfons Stahlhofen, of the University of Koblenz, say they may have breached a key tenet of that theory. The pair say they have conducted an experiment in which microwave photons - energetic packets of light - travelled "instantaneously" between a pair of...

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Manipulating light waves, or electromagnetic radiation, has led to many technologies, ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Manipulating light waves, or electromagnetic radiation, has led to many technologies, from cameras to lasers to medical imaging machines that can see inside the human body. Scientists at the University of Michigan have developed a way to make a lens-like device that focuses electromagnetic waves down to the tiniest of points. The breakthrough opens the door to the next generation of technology, said Roberto Merlin, professor of physics at U-M. His research on the discovery will be published online July 12 in Science Express. Everywhere...

Increasingly, physicists are constructing materials that bend light the “wrong” way, an optical trick that could lead to sharper-than-ever lenses or maybe even make objects disappear. Last October, scientists at Duke demonstrated a working cloaking device, hiding whatever was placed inside, although it worked only for microwaves. In the experiment, a beam of microwave light split in two as it flowed around a specially designed cylinder and then almost seamlessly merged back together on the other side. That meant that an object placed inside the cylinder was effectively invisible. No light waves bounced off the object, and someone looking at...

As deadlines loom in California's landmark law to curb greenhouse-gas emissions, the Senate hopes to write into the state budget a rule that forces Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Market Advisory Committee to eschew closed-door meetings and allow the public to view its deliberations. The committee is charged with proposing the heart of the carbon-emissions law--the system of rewards and penalties that will actually make the statute work. The confidential nature of the committee is well known in the Capitol but has been largely ignored outside the state, where the focus has been as much on Schwarzenegger, an actor-turned-politician with a huge...

A group of scientists have found a way to bend and direct liquid using only the force of light, according to a study that will be published Friday. The French and American physicists used a laser beam to produce a surprisingly long and steady jet of soapy liquid that was narrower than a human hair. When directed at a different angle, it pushed the liquid into a hump-like shape. It is believed to be the first time a laser had been used to generate bulk flow in fluids. The discovery could lead to advances in biomedical and biotechnological research by...

Work completed by physics professors at Rowan University shows that light is made of particles and waves, a finding that refutes a common belief held for about 80 years. Shahriar S. Afshar, the visiting professor who is currently at Boston's Institute for Radiation-Induced Mass Studies (IRIMS), led a team, including Rowan physics professors Drs. Eduardo Flores and Ernst Knoesel and student Keith McDonald, that proved Afshar’s original claims, which were based on a series of experiments he had conducted several years ago. An article on the work titled "Paradox in Wave-Particle Duality" recently published in Foundations of Physics, a prestigious,...

Alien Light: Taking the spectra of extrasolar planets Ron Cowen Astronomers have for the first time recorded the spectra of light emitted by two extrasolar planets. This achievement provides a new, direct way to analyze the atmosphere of alien worlds light-years from Earth. OBSCURED ORB. Clouds may sheathe the atmosphere of some extrasolar planets, masking the presence of water vapor at lower altitudes, as in this artist's depiction. JPL-Caltech/NASA Obtained by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, the infrared spectra represent a milestone in the study of distant planets, says David Charbonneau of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. Both...

A bionic eye implant that could help restore the sight of millions of blind people could be available to patients within two years. US researchers have been given the go-ahead to implant the prototype device in 50 to 75 patients. The Argus II system uses a spectacle-mounted camera to feed visual information to electrodes in the eye. Patients who tested less-advanced versions of the retinal implant were able to see light, shapes and movement. "What we are trying to do is take real-time images from a camera and convert them into tiny electrical pulses that would jump-start the otherwise...

Long-lasting near-infrared LEDs could be used to make cheap, flexible night-vision displays and sensors.Universal Display Corporation’s phosphorescent organic LED display can be built on a flexible plastic substrate. The company, working with researchers at the University of Southern California and Princeton University, has now made near-infrared emitting LEDs and plans to make a near-infrared version of the flexible display. The display would be invisible to the naked eye but visible through night-vision goggles for covert military operations. Credit: Julie Brown, Universal Display Corporation Researchers at the University of Southern California have designed a phosphorescent dye molecule that emits near-infrared light...

White beetle dazzles scientists The researchers looked at the beetle close up A dazzling insect could help the development of brilliant white, ultra-thin materials, a study suggests.The finger-tip sized Cyphochilus beetle, found in south-east Asia, had a shell whiter than most other materials found in nature, UK researchers said. Close inspection reveals a unique surface structure covered with scales 10 times thinner than human hair. A report in Science magazine claims mimicking these scales could provide a range of applications for industry. When I put them under the electron microscope, it was like another world had opened up Dr...

New Solar Cell Breaks the “40 Percent Efficient” Sunlight-to-Electricity Barrier WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Alexander Karsner today announced that with DOE funding, a concentrator solar cell produced by Boeing-Spectrolab has recently achieved a world-record conversion efficiency of 40.7 percent, establishing a new milestone in sunlight-to-electricity performance. This breakthrough may lead to systems with an installation cost of only $3 per watt, producing electricity at a cost of 8-10 cents per kilowatt/hour, making solar electricity a more cost-competitive and integral part of our nation’s energy mix. “Reaching this milestone...

Just a question to ponder over during lunch... Are we still the hope of the people of the world... Can we still fight the evil of this world and win? We have fought communism and facisim and won. Can we win against the present evil of today? Sometimes I wonder. We the people are divided. If we are divided, how can we fight together and win? Your comments and thoughts...

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region South District Outdated and non-functional transformers fill the electrical maintenance yard of the Ministry of Electricity in An-Nasiriyah, awaiting disposal. Recent efforts by the U.S. Army's Gulf Region South District helped to provide 50 new transformers on short notice. Department of Defense photo by Tim Salthouse. Reconstruction in Iraq is not without its challenges, as members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region Division, learn everyday. Many are aware of the media criticism concerning IraqÂ’s recurring problems of electrical power outages and rationing throughout the country. But seldom is the overall...

At dusk on Monday, the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, residents across the Tucson valley will be able to look up and see two pillars of light streaking toward the sky from "A" Mountain. The beams of light that will flank the red, white and blue "A" on the mountain are intended to mimic the "Tribute in Light" that occurs annually on Sept. 11 in Lower Manhattan. It was all supposed to be a secret until Monday night. "Our original goal was to turn on the lights and not tell anyone," said Tucson developer Jim Campbell, who...

by John Paul Shimek Other Articles by John Paul Shimek You Are the Light of the World 08/26/06 Buried in the age-old pages of Judaism’s medieval Talmud, there is a rabbinical tale of particular meaning to Christians. While it has been recounted in innumerable versions, the main action of the tale has remained the same. In This Article...Come Inside!The World’s NightShow People Who They Are! Come Inside! One can imagine the action unfolding along the cobbled streets of Europe. A man is walking along in the darkness of the Slavic night, traveling the road that will lead him home. It is...

16th of June DEFEATING DEPRESSION PART 1 “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad” Proverbs 12:25 Depression- from Webster’s New Unabridged Dictionary Low spirits, gloominess, dejection, sadness, a decrease in force, or activity, or amount, a decrease in functional activity. An emotional condition either normal or pathological characterized by discouragement, a feeling of inadequacy, the act of humbling abasement as a depression of pride. Abasement, reduction, sinking, fall, humiliation, dejection, melancholy. Major Depression Facts Major depression is the No.1 psychological disorder in the western world.(1) It is growing in all age groups,...

Þanlýurfa to shed more light on history of civilization Saturday, June 24, 2006 Þanlýurfa to shed more light on history of civilization ANKARA - Turkish Daily News The southeastern Anatolian province of Þanlýurfa, considered to be the cradle of agriculture as well as hosting numerous examples of ancient architecture, promises new discoveries to shed light on the history of human evolution in the region. Harran University Assistant Professor Cihan Kürkçüoðlu noted that every archaeological excavation to be carried out in Þanlýurfa would provide new information on the history of civilization in the region. Kürkçüoðlu reminded the Anatolia news agency that...

Ancient stone tablets could shed light on Surtepe excavations Wednesday, May 31, 2006 Results are being presented this week at the 28th International Congress on Excavations, Surveys and Research in Turkey, which started on Monday in Çanakkale, a western province that is also home to the ruins of ancient Troy ANKARA - Turkish Daily News Ancient stone tablets and seals unearthed during archaeological excavations at the Surtepe tumulus, seven kilometers north of Birecik in the southeastern province of Þanlýurfa, could shed light on other ancient structures discovered in the area. A team of experts headed by project director Jesus Gil...

Ancient tomb sheds new light on Egyptian colonialismSkeletal remains suggest conquered Nubians participated in governance of colonized state New evidence from ancient grave site reveals that Egyptian colonialists shared administrative responsibilities with conquered Nubians. In approximately 1550 B.C., Egypt conquered its southern neighbor, ancient Nubia, and secured control of valuable trade routes. But rather than excluding the colonized people from management of the region, new evidence from an archaeological site on the Nile reveals that Egyptian immigrants shared administrative responsibilities for ruling this large province with native Nubians. "The study of culture contact in the past has conventionally used ideas...

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2006 – The intelligence community has a far more complicated job now, during the global war on terror, than ever before, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said yesterday on the "Brian and the Judge Show" on Fox News Radio. Rumsfeld told interviewers Brian Kilmeade and Andrew Napolitano that threats faced in the 21st century pose tremendous challenges for intelligence professionals. Gone are the days when the United States faced a superpower enemy and tracked big armies, navies and air forces around the world. "We're worried about non-state actors getting their hands on & increasingly lethal weapons (and)...

In the past few years, scientists have found ways to make light go both faster and slower than its usual speed limit, but now researchers at the University of Rochester have published a paper today in Science on how they've gone one step further: pushing light into reverse. As if to defy common sense, the backward-moving pulse of light travels faster than light. Confused? You're not alone. "I've had some of the world's experts scratching their heads over this one," says Robert Boyd, the M. Parker Givens Professor of Optics at the University of Rochester. "Theory predicted that we could...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, May 1, 2006 – Iraq once supplied roughly 30 percent of the world's dates, an estimated 600,000 tons. But with fewer than 15 million date palm trees left in Iraq, production has dropped to only about 250,000 tons of the fruit annually. To control the progressive loss of the crop and regenerate the industry, the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture and coalition forces have teamed up to combat the problem by conducting aerial spraying in April and May. Officials from the Najaf, Karbala and Babil provincial agriculture departments met with coalition forces representatives April 27 at...

Charles Darwin: None. But if it could be shown that the bulb entered the socket without a series of clockwise turns, my theory would absolutely break down. ACLU: None! We have separation of church and state in this country. Eugenie Scott: None. To say a Darwinist did it is not a scientific explanation. Panda’s Thumb: None. To say that light bulbs don’t screw themselves in is not a testable proposition. You can’t prove they don’t. That would be an argument from incredulity. You are committing a ‘Darwinist Of The Gaps’ fallacy. Generic 1: None. Time and chance are sufficient. Eventually...

BOSTON --A new telescope at an observatory outside Boston will become a key tool in the search for extraterrestrials as scientists try to detect light signals from distant civilizations. An optical telescope dedicated Tuesday at the Oak Ridge Observatory, about 35 miles west of Boston, is the first to be used exclusively for a project called the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

The disciplinary arm of the N.C. State Bar dropped charges of felonious misconduct against two former Union County prosecutors Friday because of a 1999 clerical error at the state Supreme Court. The State Bar had charged Kenneth Honeycutt and Scott Brewer with lying, cheating and withholding evidence in a 1996 death penalty case. The ruling Friday marks the second time that Honeycutt and Brewer won on procedural grounds before the bar's Disciplinary Hearing Commission, which sits as judge and jury in disciplinary cases. . . . Prosecutors around the state are concerned that the case is damaging their reputation and...

Because Chanukah usually occurs in December, it is sometimes thought of as the "Jewish Christmas." It isn't, of course. And yet it is fair to say that the reason for Chanukah's popularity -- especially in America, where it is the most widely observed Jewish holiday after Passover and Yom Kippur -- is precisely its proximity to Christmas. Chanukah used to be regarded as a minor half-holiday, cheerful but low-key. It has become something bigger and brighter in response to Christmas, which transforms each December into a brilliant winter festival of parties, decorations, and music. Attracted by the joy of the...

(IsraelNN.com) Gush Katif refugees, many of whom are still dwelling in hotels awaiting permanent housing, lit a unique menorah tonight, one made of mortar shells fired by Arab terrorists into the heart of N’vei Dekalim, the largest community of Gush Katif. That special menorah commemorates the miracle of Jewish survival throughout the ages, and reminds us of the symbolic role Gush Katif has played in the saga of Jewish history: a community standing victorious despite constant attempts by Arab terrorists to wipe it out. 5000 mortars rained down on Gush Katif, from the onset of the Oslo War in September...

2,800-year-old treasures brought to light Great archaeological progress has been made in the excavation of the large-scale ruins and the tombs of noble lords of the Zhou Dynasty (771-221 BC) in Liangdai Village of Hancheng, Shaanxi Province as learned from the Shaanxi Research Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology on Sunday in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province, reports the overseas edition of People's Daily on December 19. Great quantities of various treasures with a history of more than 2,800 years have been discovered through the initial excavation of the three large graves and one chariot and horse pit. They include...

Study sheds light on early migrationSkulls raise questions on first Americans By MIKE TONER The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 12/13/05 A 10-year study of ancient human skulls from Brazil provides new evidence that two distinct populations of prehistoric people settled the Americas more than 12,000 years ago — a finding that raises new questions about the identity and origins of the first Americans. Brazilian researchers say physical features of the skulls excavated from several limestone caves near Lagoa Santa in central Brazil differ sharply from the ancestors of today's Native Americans, who are thought to have migrated from Siberia to...

Physicists in the US have generated extra-bright beams of infrared light from single-walled carbon nanotubes. The new technique is more efficient than many existing methods for producing light and could have applications in optoelectronics (Science 310 1171).Phaedon Avouris of IBM Research, Jie Liu of Duke University and co-workers began by laying down nanotubes with diameters of 2-3 nanometres by chemical vapour deposition. The nanotubes spanned trenches in a silica coating on a silicon substrate. Palladium source and drain electrodes were then added to the nanotubes. Suspended nanotubes The IBM-Duke team found that when certain voltages were applied, the nanotubes...

BLURRY snaps could be a thing of the past with the development of a digital camera that refocuses photos after they have been taken. The camera could be useful for action shots taken by sports photographers or for CCTV surveillance cameras, which often produce fuzzy shots due to poor lighting. In an ordinary digital camera, a sensor behind the lens records the light level that hits each pixel on its surface. If the light rays reaching the sensor are not in focus, the image will appear blurry. Now, Pat Hanrahan and his team at Stanford University have figured out how...

Scientists are over the moon at the W.M. Keck Observatory and the California Institute of Technology over a new discovery of a satellite orbiting the Solar System's 10th planet (2003 UB313). The newly discovered moon orbits the farthest object ever seen in the Solar System. The existence of the moon will help astronomers resolve the question of whether 2003 UB313, temporarily nicknamed "Xena," is more massive than Pluto and hence the 10th planet. A paper describing the discovery was submitted to the Astrophysical Journal Letters on October 3, 2005. "We were surprised because this is a completely different type of...

WASHINGTON - Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's CIA-leak inquiry is focusing attention on what long has been a Bush White House tactic: slash-and-burn assaults on its critics, particularly those opposed to the president's Iraq war policies. If top officials are indicted, it could seriously erode the administration's credibility and prove yet another embarrassment to President Bush on the larger issue of how he and his national security team marshaled information — much of it later shown to be inaccurate — to support their case for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. The grand jury is concluding a 22-month investigation...

Release Date: Aug. 31, 2005 Contact: Will Dube (585) 475-4954 or wjduns@rit.edu Groundbreaking Research Sheds Light on Ancient Mystery RIT researcher creates new population model to help predict and prevent societal collapse A researcher at Rochester Institute of Technology is unraveling a mystery surrounding Easter Island. William Basener, assistant professor of mathematics, has created the first mathematical formula to accurately model the island’s monumental societal collapse. Between 1200 and 1500 A.D., the small, remote island, 2,000 miles off the coast of Chile, was inhabited by over 10,000 people and had a relatively sophisticated and technologically advanced society. During this time,...

COLUMBIA, Tenn. — A malfunctioning light bulb in an elementary school gym exposed more than 100 people to short-wave radiation for an hour, sending 18 to the hospital with severe sunburns and swollen eyes. The incident occurred during a 9/11 memorial service held Friday afternoon at the Baker Elementary School in Columbia. Attendees, many of whom were veterans, said that they started to feel symptoms soon after the event began. "While I was sitting in the auditorium, my forehead started itching real bad," said Fred Young, 73. "When I got home I looked into the mirror and my face looked...

RED DEVIL, Alaska, Aug. 22, 2005 – Air Force engineers brought a gift of light to this remote Alaskan village last week. In the small village of Red Devil, 250 air miles west of Anchorage, air travel is the sole means to enter and leave the town. The 4,750-foot gravel airstrip lined with orange cones is essentially the town's lifeline to the rest of the state. This lifeline was significantly strengthened Aug. 17 when airmen from the 611th Civil Engineer Squadron, based at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, installed a runway lighting system. Red Devil, along with 62 other communities,...

Former police chief Haulk files to run for CIty Council By PETER J. HOVANEC -- MONROE (Aug. 5, 2005) With about three hours left in the municipal filing period, the races keep getting more interesting. On the last full day of filing, former Monroe Police Chief Bobby Haulk joined the race for Monroe City Council. Haulk retired in June from after being ousted by the former city manager and many of the council members he is looking to join. Haulk first retired Oct. 28, reportedly after being given an ultimatum by the council to resign or be fired. He was...

Few e-mails have ever stopped me as cold as the one I am about to describe. In it, the author, a former university professor who wishes to remain anonymous, claims to know the actual mechanism behind intelligent design. That is the mechanism by which God created the universe, our world and all biological life within it. This is especially intriguing as Darwin's theory of evolution is now hotly contested by arguments of intelligent design. One weakness of ID is its failure to offer a mechanism to counter evolution's bogus explanation of diversity through macro-mutation. As a result, ID has failed...