Random links
- 'Twisted' waves could boost capacity of wi-fi and TV
- "The technique exploits what is called the "orbital angular momentum" of the waves - imparting them with a "twist". Varying this twist permits many data streams to fit in the frequency spread currently used for just one." The actual paper mentions "an infinite number of channels in a given, fixed bandwidth." Perhaps finally a solution to the spectrum shortage?
- Markus Kayser’s 3D Solar Sinter Prints on Sand – Could Replace Concrete
- Will the Sahara be the next base of the manufacturing industry? Still seems cool that this can be made to work. I wonder if this could be used to create photovoltaic cells in a sort of self-cloning process to transform portions of the Sahara into giant solar panels. (Don't laugh too hard... tying large solar arrays in the Sahara to the power grid via long-distance transmission lines is a proposal I've heard a fair bit about before).
- Toothbrush can chip teeth?
- "Health Canada and the manufacturer of the Arm & Hammer Spinbrush are warning Canadians after U.S. officials said users reported facial injuries and chipped teeth while using the powered toothbrushes." - apparently these you might want to be sure to replace every few months as the manufacturer suggests.
- 1 in 8 Chance of Catastrophic Solar Megastorm by 2020
- This is like the whole EMP thing - Last time this happened was in 1859: "At the time of the Carrington Event, telegraph stations caught on fire, their networks experienced major outages and magnetic observatories recorded disturbances in the Earth’s field that were literally off the scale."