On March 8th 2017, researchers at IBM's Almaden Lab in San Jose, California, announced that they had succeeded in storing one bit of data on a single atom. This was made possible by creating single atom magnets. The new process of storing data atomically could change all of our computing devices radically. IBM says that it's new technique could make it possible to store Apple's entire 26 million song catalog on a single area.
The process involved placing a single atom of the element holmium on the surface of magnesium oxide. A small amount of electric current was used to flip the atom one way or the other. Each flip corresponded to either a 1 or a 0. The researchers then read the data by measuring the electromagnetic properties of that atom. They were also able to demonstrate that two magnetic atoms only one nano meter apart could each be read or written to independently.
IBM's breakthrough could revolutionize the development of quantum computers and PCs, and further increase the miniaturization of smart phones and other devices. IBM says that magnetic storage could also make it possible to store 1,000 times more data in the same area used today. However, they say that for now this project remains as pure research.
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Chuck Berry Dies At Age 90
Rock n Roll legend Chuck Berry died Saturday March 18th 2017. He was 90 years old. Police were called to his home in St Charles County Missouri at 12:40pm local time. He was found lying on the floor unresponsive. Efforts to revive him failed and he was pronounced dead at 1:26pm local time. While Elvis was known as the King of Rock n Roll, and Alan Freed gave Rock n Roll it's name, it was Chuck Berry who literally created the genre.
He began his life as Charles Edward Anderson Berry, born October 18th 1926 in St Louis Missouri. He was the third of six children. His father was a contractor, while his mother was a school teacher. His first exposure to music came as a member of his church choir and his school's glee club. In junior high school he began to teach himself how to play guitar. However, before he was able to finish high school, a failed robbery attempt landed him in reform school for three years.
In 1952 Mr Berry got a call from Johnnie Johnson, who played piano, to come play at the Cosmopolitan Club in St Louis. Mr Berry's influence and musical style caused the house band to change their name to the Chuck Berry Trio. The band played the club for three years. Then in 1955, recognizing Mr Berry's potential, the legendary Blues singer Muddy Waters told Mr Berry that he should contact Lenard and Phil Chess at Chess Records in Chicago.
Not really being a Blues man and wanting to impress the Chess brothers, Mr Berry worked out a song called "Ida Red," which was based on an old Country song. Mr Berry kept the 2/4 Country back beat, but added a 12 bar Blues progression and wrote a lyric that featured a guy chasing a girl in a car. He increased the tempo and made the song swing a little. The Chess brothers liked the song, but wouldn't release it unless Mr Berry changed the name, so he changed the songs title to "Maybellene."
Mr Berry went on to have a string of top ten hits that went on into the mid sixties, that included "Roll Over Beethoven," "Sweet Little Sixteen," Reelin' and Rockin,'" and his signature track, "Johnny B Goode." While he was big on the R&B charts, Mr Berry didn't get his first and only number one pop hit until 1972, when he scored with the song, "My Ding-A-Ling." The song was based on double entendre and sold over a million copies.
Mr Berry's music was much emulated by his contemporaries and his style eventually inspired rock artists such as the Beatles, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix. He received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1985 and was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. In 1995, Mr Berry performed at the Rock Hall's inaugural event. In October 2016 he announced that he was working on the release of his first album in 38 years.
Mr Berry is survived by his wife, Themetta Suggs and his four children, Ingrid, Chuck jr, Aloha, and Melody.
He began his life as Charles Edward Anderson Berry, born October 18th 1926 in St Louis Missouri. He was the third of six children. His father was a contractor, while his mother was a school teacher. His first exposure to music came as a member of his church choir and his school's glee club. In junior high school he began to teach himself how to play guitar. However, before he was able to finish high school, a failed robbery attempt landed him in reform school for three years.
In 1952 Mr Berry got a call from Johnnie Johnson, who played piano, to come play at the Cosmopolitan Club in St Louis. Mr Berry's influence and musical style caused the house band to change their name to the Chuck Berry Trio. The band played the club for three years. Then in 1955, recognizing Mr Berry's potential, the legendary Blues singer Muddy Waters told Mr Berry that he should contact Lenard and Phil Chess at Chess Records in Chicago.
Not really being a Blues man and wanting to impress the Chess brothers, Mr Berry worked out a song called "Ida Red," which was based on an old Country song. Mr Berry kept the 2/4 Country back beat, but added a 12 bar Blues progression and wrote a lyric that featured a guy chasing a girl in a car. He increased the tempo and made the song swing a little. The Chess brothers liked the song, but wouldn't release it unless Mr Berry changed the name, so he changed the songs title to "Maybellene."
Mr Berry went on to have a string of top ten hits that went on into the mid sixties, that included "Roll Over Beethoven," "Sweet Little Sixteen," Reelin' and Rockin,'" and his signature track, "Johnny B Goode." While he was big on the R&B charts, Mr Berry didn't get his first and only number one pop hit until 1972, when he scored with the song, "My Ding-A-Ling." The song was based on double entendre and sold over a million copies.
Mr Berry's music was much emulated by his contemporaries and his style eventually inspired rock artists such as the Beatles, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix. He received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1985 and was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. In 1995, Mr Berry performed at the Rock Hall's inaugural event. In October 2016 he announced that he was working on the release of his first album in 38 years.
Mr Berry is survived by his wife, Themetta Suggs and his four children, Ingrid, Chuck jr, Aloha, and Melody.
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Sony Introduces A Touch Screen Projector
On February 27th 2017, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Sony announced the forth coming release of its touch screen projector, the Xperia Touch. Sony's new projector can turn a simple table top into a 23 inch, 720p touch screen surface or a screen of up to 80 inches on a wall. The Xperia Touch runs on the Android operating system and Sony expects to offer it to the public in the spring of 2017
The Xperia Touch is a 5.3 x 5.6 x 2.7 inch rectangular box that's set up like a smart phone. The difference here, is that the Xperia Touch doesn't have a screen. It has instead an LCoS laser projector with auto focus. An IR array coupled with a 60fps camera allows the Xperia Touch to make use of touch controls. It also dose this through the use of a GPS and ambient light sensor, and temperature, barometer, humidity, and human detection sensors.
The Xperia Touch has a battery and built in speakers, and its small size makes it very portable. The interface is fluid and easy to use. It can easily pick up your finger and shadows don't appear to cause any problems. The Xperia Touch can even respond to multiple touches at a time, and it also supports swiping. The Xperia Touch is expected to retail for $1,587 and will go on sale in Japan and Europe before making its way to the US.
The Xperia Touch is a 5.3 x 5.6 x 2.7 inch rectangular box that's set up like a smart phone. The difference here, is that the Xperia Touch doesn't have a screen. It has instead an LCoS laser projector with auto focus. An IR array coupled with a 60fps camera allows the Xperia Touch to make use of touch controls. It also dose this through the use of a GPS and ambient light sensor, and temperature, barometer, humidity, and human detection sensors.
The Xperia Touch has a battery and built in speakers, and its small size makes it very portable. The interface is fluid and easy to use. It can easily pick up your finger and shadows don't appear to cause any problems. The Xperia Touch can even respond to multiple touches at a time, and it also supports swiping. The Xperia Touch is expected to retail for $1,587 and will go on sale in Japan and Europe before making its way to the US.
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Scientists Create A Solid State Battery
On February 28th 2017, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin announced that they had created a solid state rechargeable battery that could replace those made with lithium. The team was led by John Goodenough, who is one of the co creators of the lithium ion battery, which is currently used in most portable devices such as cell phones and laptops. Goodenough says that the new solid state battery can charge in minutes instead of hours and will not explode.
The reason that the new solid state battery is better than the lithium ion battery is because it doesn't use a liquid. Instead the solid state battery uses glass electrolytes, which is a chemical structure that can allow electricity to pass between a positive and a negative electrode. This gives the new battery a density that is three times greater than a lithium ion battery, and allows it to perform better at low temperatures.
Tests of the solid state battery revealed that it can be charged and run down for over 1,200 cycles with low cell resistance. The battery has also proven to operate at -4 degrees Fahrenheit, which would make it an ideal choice for some automobiles. And, the solid state battery uses sodium as opposed to lithium, which also makes the solid state battery very cost effective
The reason that the new solid state battery is better than the lithium ion battery is because it doesn't use a liquid. Instead the solid state battery uses glass electrolytes, which is a chemical structure that can allow electricity to pass between a positive and a negative electrode. This gives the new battery a density that is three times greater than a lithium ion battery, and allows it to perform better at low temperatures.
Tests of the solid state battery revealed that it can be charged and run down for over 1,200 cycles with low cell resistance. The battery has also proven to operate at -4 degrees Fahrenheit, which would make it an ideal choice for some automobiles. And, the solid state battery uses sodium as opposed to lithium, which also makes the solid state battery very cost effective
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Amazing New Exoplanet Find
On February 22nd 2017, researchers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope announced that they had discovered a solar system with seven Earth like exoplanets. The star system is being called TRAPIST-1 which stands for Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope. It was named after an earth based telescope in Chile, which initially discovered three of the exoplanets in May of 2016. The planets are said to be earth like because they are within the habitable zone of their star.
The seven planets of TRAPIST-1 orbit an ultra cool or red dwarf star that is located 40 light years away in the constellation Aquarius. The data from Spitzer was used to determine the sizes of each of the planets. The researchers were then able to use that data to determine the masses of six of the planets, which also led to determining their densities. All of the TRAPIST-1 planets are believed to be rocky like earth, and may possibly be rich with liquid water.
The TRAPIST-1 planets have been named for the letters of the alphabet from b to h. The orbit of the closest planet to the star is just 1.5 days, while the one farthest away takes twenty days. The planets of TRAPIST-1 orbit their star very close to each other. The inner six planets appear to orbit in sync or what is know as orbital resonance. Since these planets are in the habitable zone of their star, it's possible that some or all of them may possess an atmosphere.
Researchers intend to use the Spitzer, Hubble, and Kelper telescopes to further study the planets in an effort to determine if they are suitable for life.
The seven planets of TRAPIST-1 orbit an ultra cool or red dwarf star that is located 40 light years away in the constellation Aquarius. The data from Spitzer was used to determine the sizes of each of the planets. The researchers were then able to use that data to determine the masses of six of the planets, which also led to determining their densities. All of the TRAPIST-1 planets are believed to be rocky like earth, and may possibly be rich with liquid water.
The TRAPIST-1 planets have been named for the letters of the alphabet from b to h. The orbit of the closest planet to the star is just 1.5 days, while the one farthest away takes twenty days. The planets of TRAPIST-1 orbit their star very close to each other. The inner six planets appear to orbit in sync or what is know as orbital resonance. Since these planets are in the habitable zone of their star, it's possible that some or all of them may possess an atmosphere.
Researchers intend to use the Spitzer, Hubble, and Kelper telescopes to further study the planets in an effort to determine if they are suitable for life.
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