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Enlarge Image Flipping brilliant! Using only light, scientists can switch this little bridge of silicon between its "bowed up" configuration (top) and its "bowed down" configuration. Credit: M. Bagheri et al., Nature Nanotechnology, Advance Online Publication (2011) The feeble force of light alone can flip a nanometer-sized mechanical switch one way or the other, a team of electrical engineers reports. The little gizmo holds its position without power and at room temperature, so it might someday make a memory bit for an optical computer. Other researchers say it also introduces a promising new twist into the hot field of...

Legislation that could let Michigan escape the federal phaseout and ban on traditional light bulbs is now in the Senate Regulatory Reform Committee. As widely expected, House Bill 4815 was passed on a 62-46 mostly party-line vote in the GOP-controlled House last week. Rep. Matthew Lori, R-Constantine, was the lone Republican to vote against the legislation, while Rep. Richard LeBlanc, D-Westland, was the lone Democrat to vote in favor of it. Rep. Kurt Damrow, R-Port Austin, was not present. Now that the measure has moved over to the Senate, its fate is uncertain. Not only is it unclear what the...

An independent experiment confirms that subatomic particles have wrong energy spectrum for superluminal travel. The claim that neutrinos can travel faster than light has been given a knock by an independent experiment. On 17 October, the Imaging Cosmic and Rare Underground Signals (ICARUS) collaboration submitted a paper1 to the preprint server arXiv.org, in which it offered a rebuttal of claims2 to have clocked subatomic particles called neutrinos travelling faster than the speed of light. The original results were published on 22 September by the Oscillation Project with Emulsion-Tracking Apparatus (OPERA) experiment. Both experiments are based at Gran Sasso National Laboratory...

Finding could lead to new photodetectors or energy-harvesting devices.Graphene, an exotic form of carbon consisting of sheets a single atom thick, exhibits a novel reaction to light, MIT researchers have found: Sparked by light’s energy, the material can produce electric current in unusual ways. The finding could lead to improvements in photodetectors and night-vision systems, and possibly to a new approach to generating electricity from sunlight. This current-generating effect had been observed before, but researchers had incorrectly assumed it was due to a photovoltaic effect, says Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, an assistant professor of physics at MIT and senior author of a...

The likes of George Monbiot and Al Gore get pretty hysterical about global warming / cooling / dimming or whatever current theory is in vogue. “The science is settled” they scream in an attempt to block any debate. In reality physicists, as a sub-section of the scientific community, are a lot less keen on the whole carbon and climate scare racket. Scientists are not usually unanimous on any subject which is complex.

ScienceDaily (Aug. 26, 2011) — Physicists with the Institute of Ultrafast Spectroscopy and Lasers (IUSL) at The City College of New York have presented a new way to map spiraling light that could help harness untapped data channels in optical fibers. Increased bandwidth would ease the burden on fiber-optic telecommunications networks taxed by an ever-growing demand for audio, video and digital media. The new model, developed by graduate student Giovanni Milione, Professor Robert Alfano and colleagues, could even spur enhancements in quantum computing and other applications. "People now can detect (light in) the ground channel, but this gives us a...

The new squiggly fluorescent bulbs 51% The old incandescent bulbs I've used for years 48% Total votes: 427 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A congressional panel grilled NASA chief Charlie Bolden today (July 12) on Capitol Hill, repeatedly asking him why the space agency has yet to choose a design for its next-generation heavy-lift rocket. Last year Congress gave NASA until mid-January 2011 to pick a design for the rocket, known as the Space Launch System, that will carry astronauts on deep space missions. NASA still has not made an official decision, and members of the House of Representatives' Committee on Science, Space and Technology took Bolden to task. "We've waited for answers that have not come. We've pleaded for answers that have...

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.( I John 1:5-7)In John’s epistle, which concerns itself with the true Knowledge of God as opposed to the false, there are...

Lightbulb Rules Spark Political FightHowever, new legislation may not change what manufacturers are doing in creating more efficient bulbs that use halogen, LED or other new technology. By Rob Lever, Agence France-Presse June 27, 2011 With a January deadline looming on a U.S. law mandating energy efficiency standards for lightbulbs, some political forces don't want to turn out the lights. More than a dozen Republican lawmakers are backing efforts to repeal the 2007 law that requires bulbs to consume less energy. Meanwhile Texas has enacted a law that would exempt itself from the federal requirement, and other states are debating...

(PhysOrg.com) -- A group of physicists working out of Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, have succeeded in proving what was until now, just theory; and that is, that visible photons could be produced from the virtual particles that have been thought to exist in a quantum vacuum. In a paper published on arXiv, the team describes how they used a specially created circuit called a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) to modulate a bit of wire length at a roughly five percent of the speed of light, to produce visible "sparks" from the nothingness of a vacuum. The...

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.(I John 1:5)The Apostle John’s ministry is one of restoration. The faith of the saints had been confused, distorted, tangled and blurred by the pseudo spirituality of those who claim a mystical, direct knowledge of God, which is above and beyond the experience of “normal” christians. These “gnostics”, ie “knowing Ones“, undermined the simple faith of christians, causing them to doubt the integrity and depth of their own experience. Therefore John sets out to...

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.(I John 1:5)As we noted earlier, John’s ministry is a ministry of restoration. The faith has been frayed, tangled and torn to the point where the believers whom John addressed were confused as to who knew God genuinely and who didn’t. What does it mean to “know him who is from the beginning”? To “be strong and have the Word of God abiding in you”? Most importantly, who is the God and Father of...

My children you have done well to pursue My vigil for I am seeking after righteousness , virtue and truth , not from man but from Vessels filled with this drink for I am their Melchizedek and Lord . So come to Me that I may feed your soul and allow you to drink Me in for "I AM THAT I AM" your Eternal Sustainer and Guiding Light, The Lord of Hosts to all that will have Me as their wine, and drink in only me for I Am their complete inheritance . The name Melchizedek means king of righteousness...

You have done well to hide ( rest ) from the forces of darkness in My love .(Deut 33:12) Now I shall raise you up into the Majesty of My Fullness by placing you as a lampstand for others , for I have hammered you out of one talent and shaped and formed you into the Mennorah of My manifold witness , bathed in My Glory yet this oil shall not lack or perish for "I AM" The Oil Of Gladness in you that no longer drips but now pours ~ for you are My Honey Comb of Cornucopia (...

A compact fluorescent light (CFL) on the ceiling burst and started a fire in a home in Hornell, N.Y. December 23, 2010. "Those are the lights everybody's been telling us to use," said Joe Gerych, Steuben County Fire Inspector. "It blew up like a bomb. It spattered all over." Fire Chief Mike Robbins said the blaze destroyed the room where the fire started and everything in it, and the rest of the house suffered smoke and water damage. The Arkport Village Fire Department as well as the North Hornell Fire Department required about 15 minutes to put out the fire....

You can’t blame Americans for feeling as though the government is increasingly crossing boundaries and reaching into their daily lives. The Obama administration and regulatory authorities such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) appear to be coming at us on all fronts. The Republican-led Congress has been steadfast in its efforts to beat back the EPA. Recent committee hearings have exposed the adverse consequences that the EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gas emissions will have on the job market. Unfortunately for hardworking Americans, the cost of the EPA’s action will make energy prices higher, drive jobs overseas and force more citizens...

In Preparation for the Feast of Candlemas… January 22, 2009 by Kimberly If Candlemas be fair and bright,Come winter, have another flight;If Candlemas bring clouds and rain,Go winter, and come not again.The Christmas tree is lying upon the brush pile, the decorations are packed away.  The wreath on the mailbox and the large one beside the front door are yet to be put away, but come rising temperatures will be taken down tomorrow…The sole reminders of Christmas past, other than our memories, are the two nativities still prominently displayed in the living room and dining room.  Like the Trapp Family,...

Hello All, I just wanted to drop you all a note to let you know that we will be having our official announcement entering the race for the 38th District State Senate seat at 10:30am on 7 Feb 11 at SVCC. Congressman Griffith will be there for the announcement, and it would mean a lot to me if all you could be there as well. Please be discrete with this info, since we want plenty of media coverage. Please take note of this new email address, and feel free to contact me on it with regard to political matters. Of...

Jewish community raises concerns with US diplomats in Caracas regarding the hostile environment created by the Chavez government. Venezuelan Jews raised concerns with US diplomats regarding the increasingly hostile environment against them created by the government of President Hugo Chavez, saying they see a "dark horizon" for their community, according to a document released by WikiLeaks Thursday morning. The document dated November 2009 and labeled confidential, the third highest level of classification, was the first of its kind that focused on Jewish communities in the Diaspora since WikiLeaks unleashed an avalanche of US diplomatic documents to the Web earlier this...