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Scientists say they have created an experimental new high-tech window coating that works similarly to polarized lenses on sunglasses by allowing all of the visible light through while also reflecting unwanted heat. If added to existing buildings and car windows, the new coating could reduce internal temperatures in hotter climates without sacrificing any of the visible light while also reducing energy usage for indoor air conditioning by as much as 30%. The new coating was developed by researchers from Notre Dame University who were looking for a cheap yet viable way to reduce the use of air conditioning in cars...

See Youtube video at link. Links and references: Cardiopulmonary and hematological effects of infrared LED photobiomodulation in the treatment of SARS-COV2 (Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology) | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1011134422002342 Severe Glutathione Deficiency, Oxidative Stress and Oxidant Damage in Adults Hospitalized with COVID-19: Implications for GlyNAC (Antioxidants) | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35052554/ Relationship between ABO blood group and von Willebrand factor levels: from biology to clinical implications (Thrombosis Journal) | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2042969/ Severe COVID-19 infection associated with endothelial activation (Thrombosis Research) | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7156948/ Melatonin and the Optics of the Human Body (Melatonin Research) | https://www.melatonin-research.net/index.php/MR/article/view/19 Autumn COVID‐19 surge dates in Europe correlated to latitudes, not to...

Andromeda galaxy in far-infrared. Astronomy has a blind spot in the area of far-infrared radiation compared to most other wavelengths. A far-infrared space telescope can only utilize its full sensitivity with an actively cooled mirror at temperatures below 4 Kelvin (-269 ℃). Such a telescope doesn't exist yet, which is why there has been little worldwide investment in the development of corresponding detectors.In 2004, SRON decided to break this cycle and invest in the development of Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KIDs). Now, researchers from SRON and TU Delft have achieved the highest possible sensitivity, comparable to feeling the warmth of...

Schematic diagram of the newly discovered Ross 508 planetary system. The green region represents the habitable zone where liquid water can exist on the planetary surface. The planetary orbit is shown as a blue line. A Planet has Been Found That Shifts In and Out of the Habitable Zone A super-Earth planet has been found orbiting a red dwarf star, only 37 light-years from the Earth. Named Ross 508 b, the newly found world has an unusual elliptical orbit that causes it to shift in and out of the habitable zone. Therefore, part of the time conditions would be...

NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) will jointly release the James Webb Space Telescope’s first full-color images and spectroscopic data during a live broadcast on July 12 at 10:40 AM EDT.The trio of space agencies plans to release the images one by one and the broadcast will serve to kick off the scientific operations of the largest and most powerful space telescope the world has ever launched.The photos will not be available to anyone prior to the live unveiling, allowing the entire world to enjoy the photos together unspoiled.Live coverage of the image release...

The James Webb Space Telescope continues to cool down out at its location at Lagrange Point 2, about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. Since JWST is an infrared telescope, it needs to operate at extremely low temperatures, less than 40 K (-223 degrees Celsius, -369.4 degrees Fahrenheit). But one instrument needs to be even colder. To operate at peak efficiency, Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) must be cooled to a chilly 7 K (-266 C, -447 F). And it will need a little help to reach those frigid temps.Most of the telescope and its instruments rely on JWST’s massive sunshield as...

It is well known that dogs boast an incredible sense of smell, but new research has uncovered another way our four-legged friends use their famous noses to find their way around. Scientists have discovered what they describe as an "entirely new sense" in dogs, observing how their wet nose tips can be used to sense heat from nearby objects, much like a thermal infrared sensor. The research was carried out by scientists at Sweden's Lund University, along with a team from Hungary's Eötvös Loránd University, who conducted a pair of experiments that uncovered this surprising new canine skill. The Lund...

The coating flouts the typical trend of hotter objects radiating more lightHotter objects typically glow brighter than cooler ones, making them stand out in infrared images. But a newly designed coating bucks the rule that hotter equals brighter. For certain wavelengths of infrared light, the material’s brightness doesn’t change as it warms, researchers report December 17 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Made of samarium nickel oxide, the thin coating “hides temperature information of surfaces from infrared cameras,” and could therefore be used as a privacy shield, says applied physicist Mikhail Kats of the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

By injecting specialized light-tweaking nanoparticles into a mouse’s retina, that mouse is suddenly and clearly able to perceive near-infrared light — suggesting the same could be possible for us, assuming you don’t mind a needle in the eye. The advance involves what the researchers, from the University of Science and Technology in China, call “ocular injectable photoreceptor-binding upconversion nanoparticles.” In fact, it turns out that these researchers had already created the necessary trickery for a different reason, namely as a molecule for optogenetic triggers that would absorb infrared light (which conveniently penetrates many tissues) and emit visible spectrum light instead....

Explanation: Cosmic dust clouds ripple across this infrared portrait of our Milky Way's satellite galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud. In fact, the remarkable composite image from the Herschel Space Observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope show that dust clouds fill this neighboring dwarf galaxy, much like dust along the plane of the Milky Way itself. The dust temperatures tend to trace star forming activity. Spitzer data in blue hues indicate warm dust heated by young stars. Herschel's instruments contributed the image data shown in red and green, revealing dust emission from cooler and intermediate regions where star formation is just...

In 1921, according to the history books, an newly-blind Englishman named James Biggs was feeling threatened by the amount of traffic in his neighborhood. In order to be more visible to motorists, Biggs reportedly painted his cane white. If true, it means the white cane as an aid to the blind is approaching its 100th birthday. Which explains why, in true Silicon Valley fashion, Raghav Ganesh thought the world was overdue for the white cane, 2.0. "There's an old device here that needed an upgrade," Raghav says, "and I thought I could make that better." Raghav Ganesh, a San Jose...

Lockheed has a new modular sensor system for combat aircraft dubbed the "Legion Pod" that aims at plugging a major hole in US air warfare capability. It provides a bolt-on Infrared Search and Track (IRST) system for optically hunting down enemy aircraft, especially stealthy ones, that our radars have trouble detecting. The Legion Pod is pitched as a plug-and-play system that can be rapidly adapted to suit different aircraft and customers needs. Presumably, different sensors could end up being carried in the 18 inch thick pod system, not just the IRST and the data-link alone that the pod was unveiled...

When we look out at the Universe, our view is pretty consistently dominated by the stars within our own galaxy. Although we know that many interesting things lie beyond — globular clusters, individual galaxies, and rich clusters and superclusters of galaxies — being in the Milky Way makes it very hard to see a great many of them. This is because our own galaxy, from our vantage point within it, dominates a huge fraction of the sky overhead. Image credit: Richard Payne, of Arizona Astrophotography.The plane of the Milky Way itself obscures about a total of 20% of our night sky. What appears...

SETIÂ’s Colossus by Paul Gilster on May 31, 2013 For the most part, the focus of SETI since Project Ozma has been directed at intercepting signals deliberately sent our way. It doesnÂ’t have to be so, of course, because extraneous signals from a civilization going about its business would also be profoundly interesting, and even a civilization not much more advanced than ours might be throwing off powerful evidence of its existence through the planetary radars it uses to detect potential impactors in its own system. Whether or not the Ohio State WOW! signal was a SETI detection remains unresolved,...

Finding ET in the Data by Paul Gilster on April 17, 2013 As we saw yesterday, the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) has been the source of data for a number of searches for unusual infrared signatures. The idea is to look for the artifacts of advanced extraterrestrial civilizations, under the assumption that a sufficiently advanced culture will be capable of engineering projects that could be detected from light years away. A Dyson sphere, existing either as a completely enclosed star or as a swarm of artifacts around a star, is but one example of such engineering, but it’s a sensible...

Wilsonville, OR) Drawing heavily on technology developed in support of America’s warfighters by its defense division, Crimson Trace is proud to introduce a line of InfraRed (IR) laser sights for the civilian market. Observable only through night vision equipment, these laser sights offer the user the ability to mark a target invisibly, which is a boon for predator control, security personnel or anyone involved in the growing sport of hog hunting. Due to ITAR restrictions, these new IR sights are available through select distributors, online retailers and direct from www.crimsontrace.com and are the most cost-effective solution for anyone who seeks...

IRST, the Super Hornet’s Future ‘EO Radar’ Cleared for Development Air/Air by Tamir Eshel | on July 21st, 2011 The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Infrared Search and Track (IRST) program has been authorized to proceed to the engineering and manufacturing development phase, clearing Milestone B Acquisition Decision Memorandum from the U.S. Navy last week. The pod-mounted IRST system is developed for the Boeing Super Hornet by Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control business unit. IRST is a critical element of the Navy’s F/A-18E/F Block II Super Hornet Flight Plan, a series of planned capability enhancements planned to maintain the Super...

Seventeen lost pyramids are among the buildings identified in a new satellite survey of Egypt. More than 1,000 tombs and 3,000 ancient settlements were also revealed by looking at infra-red images which show up underground buildings. Initial excavations have already confirmed some of the findings, including two suspected pyramids. The work has been pioneered at the University of Alabama at Birmingham by US Egyptologist Dr Sarah Parcak. satellite image of pyramid An infra-red satellite image shows a buried pyramid, located in the centre of the highlight box. She says she was amazed at how much she and her team has...

NASA has unveiled a flood of photos showing millions galaxies, stars and asteroids photographed by a prolific sky-mapping telescope that ended its mission earlier this year. For the first time, the space agency publicly released more than half of the 2.7 million images taken by its Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) telescope during its mission to map the entire sky. WISE launched in December 2009 and spent 14 months scanning the heavens in infrared light before shutting down this past February. The $320 million space telescope hunted for asteroids and comets, as well as more distant cosmic objects revealed by...

The seven hundred gallons of propane we pre-bought last summer is almost used up and this means buying more (at these prices!) to last the rest of the winter. I've heard about these infrared heaters that allegedly pay for themselves in the money they save. Do any FReepers use them? Could anyone give me any advice on the advisability of buying an infrared heater instead of more propane? Will a portable heater be sufficient? Is it better to get an electrical or a gas/propane heater? And what about all these "sales" one reads about so often in the papers and...