Aliens Living Among Us, Bulgarian Scientists Claim

clipped from www.telegraph.co.uk Aliens 'already exist on earth', Bulgarian scientists claim Aliens from outer space are already among us on earth, say Bulgarian government scientists who claim they are already in contact with extraterrestrial life. Work on deciphering a complex set of symbols sent to them is underway, scientists from the country's Space Research Institute said. They claim aliens are currently answering 30 questions posed to them. clipped from www.novinite.com Bulgarian Academy Scientists Reported to Be in Touch with Aliens Scientists from the Space Research Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) have been reported to be in touch with extraterrestrial beings. The Bulgarian Novinar Daily has reported that the Bulgarian scientists are currently working on deciphering pictograms which are said to have come in the form of the so called “crop circles” with which the aliens answered 30 questions posed by the BAS researchers. clipped from www.novinite.com Bulgaria: We Are in Contact with Aliens Lachezar Filipov believes crop circles contain the answers to questions his team have posed to extra-terrestrials. Photo by metro.co.uk clipped from www.dailymail.co.uk The dragonfly crop circle which appeared in Yatesbury, Wiltshire, this year In all, his team are analysing 150 crop circles from around the world which they believe answer questions beamed into outer space.

Sources:

1. Aliens 'already exist on earth', Bulgarian scientists claim - Telegraph
2. Bulgaria: Bulgarian Academy Scientists Reported to Be in Touch with Aliens - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency
3. Bulgaria: Bulgaria: We Are in Contact with Aliens - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency
4. Aliens? They're already living among us, claim Bulgarian government scientists | Mail Online

Related:

1. Bulgarian Academy Scientists Reported to Be in Touch with Aliens - UFO Casebook Files
2. 'Alien spies live among us' says Bulgarian gov space boffin • The Register
3. http://www.space.bas.bg/astro/eng.html
4. Dr. Lachezar Filipov

Superhydrophobic Materials

clipped from en.wikipedia.org Superhydrophobe Superhydrophobic surfaces such as the leaves of the lotus plant have surfaces that are highly hydrophobic, i.e., extremely difficult to wet. The contact angles of a water droplet exceeds 150° and the roll-off angle is less than 10°.[1] This is referred to as the Lotus effect. clipped from lotus-shower.isunet.edu The Physical Basis To understand the physics behind the Lotus-Effect, one has to take a look the forces that act upon a drop of liquid on a surface. A droplet on a hydrophilic rough surface seems to sink into the gaps A droplet on a rough hydrophobic surface sitting on the spikes Self-Cleaning Properties clipped from www.ornl.gov Left to right: Water on a lotus leaf; Surface microstructure of the lotus leaf; ORNL "Nano- Cones" on glass. clipped from www.youtube.com Super hydrophobic substances clipped from video.google.com Axisymmetric droplet impinging on a hydrophobic surface clipped from www.youtube.com Hydration Shell Dynamics of a Hydrophobic Particle clipped from medtechinsider.com Some insect wings, for example, are superhydrophobic, which is the combined result of their chemistry and the detailed nanoscale structures on their surface.

Sources:

1. Superhydrophobe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2. The Lotus Effect
3. Advanced Materials: Superhydrophobic Materials
4. YouTube - Super hydrophobic substances
5. Axisymmetric droplet impinging on a hydrophobic surface
6. YouTube - Hydration Shell Dynamics of a Hydrophobic Particle
7. medtechinsider » Blog Archive » Self-Cleaning Silicone Gel Could Open New Possibilities for Medical Diagnostics

Related:

1. Science Centric | News | Self-cleaning silicone gel insect wings
2. Super Water Repellent, Superhydrophobic, Material from ORNL Easy to Fabricate and Uses Inexpensive Base Materials
3. New Super-Hydrophobic Material Could Revolutionize the Water Repellent Market - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

The Ostendo CRVD Curved Display

clipped from www.popsci.com Ostendo CDM43 This 41-inch-wide curved display can replace several computer screens or create wraparound views for gaming. Software inside splits data from your PC into four images, which are emitted by four miniature projectors and blended into one. (As eye-popping as the view: the price.) clipped from www.ostendotech.com Ostendo Technologies, Inc. Home CRVD™ About clipped from www.ostendotech.com It's easy on the eyes. The CRVD eliminates eye fatigue because the screen is curved and the user's focal distance remains constant across the screen. Learn more » Increase productivity and reduce frustration. With its 2880-by-900 resolution, the CRVD will expand your desktop and give you extra space to be more productive. Learn more » Works with existing graphics cards and games. CRVD displays work with existing graphics cards, drivers, and games, so there is no need for special hardware or software. Learn more » clipped from www.youtube.com Car racing on 3 CRVDs clipped from www.youtube.com CRVD on San Diego CW6 News

Sources:

1. MegaGoods 2009 Gallery: The Year's Hottest Products In One Place | Popular Science
2. www.ostendo.com
3. Ostendo CRVD™
4. YouTube - Car racing on 3 CRVDs
5. YouTube - CRVD on San Diego CW6 News

Related:

1. UltimateAVmag.com: Curvilicious
2. Display Daily » Blog Archive » If Thin is In, Then Curved is Cool
3. OSRAM Opto Semiconductors|Applications|_SubApp_Showroom|Showroom

News at Seven Virtual Newscast

clipped from www.popsci.com

A.I. Anchors Replace Human Reporters In Newsroom of the Future

A.I. Anchors Engineers at Northwestern have created an entire newsroom operation using artificial intelligence, even using avatars to anchor the evening news.

clipped from infolab.northwestern.edu

Projects News At Seven

News At Seven is a system that automatically generates a virtual news show.

Totally autonomous, it collects, parses, edits and organizes news stories and then passes the formatted content to artificial anchors for presentation. Using the resources present on the web, the system goes beyond the straight text of the news stories to also retrieve relevant images and blogs with commentary on the topics to be presented.

Once it has assembled and edited its material, News At Seven presents the content to its audience using avatars and text-to-speech (TTS) technology in a manner similar to the nightly news watched regularly by millions of Americans. The result is a cohesive, compelling performance that successfully combines techniques of modern news programming with features made by possible only by the fact that the system is, at its core, completely virtual.

clipped from www.youtube.com

News at Seven

Kris Hammond, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, and his research group have developed a new automated newscast, called News at Seven.

clipped from www.youtube.com

Virtual Newscast: News at Seven

Sources:

1. A.I. Anchors Replace Human Reporters In Newsroom of the Future | Popular Science
2. Intelligent Information Laboratory @ Northwestern University - Projects - News At Seven
3. YouTube - News at Seven
4. YouTube - Virtual Newscast: News at Seven

Related:

1. Virtual News Cast – Are Any Journalists Safe From Automation? (videos) | Singularity Hub
2. nsf.gov - Special Report - Science Nation
3. YouTube - NewsAtSeven's Channel
4. Watch coverage of EECS project “News at Seven” from WTTW
5. New newscast offers virtual anchor, personalized content
6. YouTube - Movie Review

World's First Osmotic Power Plant

clipped from news.bbc.co.uk

Norway's Statkraft opens first osmotic power plant

The world's first power project that generates energy by mixing fresh water with sea water has opened in Norway.

The Norwegian renewable power company Statkraft has built a prototype osmotic power plant on the Oslo fiord.

clipped from www.google.com

New Norway power plant uses salt to make electricity

TOFTE, Norway — Norway unveiled the world's first osmotic power plant on Tuesday, harnessing the energy-unleashing encounter of freshwater and seawater to make clean electricity.

"While salt might not save the world alone, we believe osmotic power will be an important part of the global energy portfolio," the head of state-owned power group Statkraft, Baard Mikkelsen, told reporters.

Statkraft, which claims to be the biggest renewable energy company in Europe, is running the osmotic power plant prototype in a former chlorine factory on the banks of the Oslo fjord, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of the Norwegian capital.

clipped from www.google.com

Statkraft claims to be the biggest renewable energy company in Europe

clipped from www.google.com

Statkraft hopes to start building the first commercial osmotic power plant in 2015

clipped from news.cnet.com

The plant is driven by osmosis that naturally draws fresh water across a membrane and toward the seawater side. This creates higher pressure on the sea water side, driving a turbine and producing electricity.

Once new membrane "architecture" is solved, Statkraft believes the global production capacity for osmotic energy could amount to 1,600 to 1,700 terawatt hours annually, or about half of the European Union's total electricity demand.

clipped from www.statkraft.com

HRH Crown Princess Mette-Marit arriving for the opening at Tofte.

Read more about Osmotic Power and the new plant

The oil- and energyminister's speech for the opening of the plant.

The Norwegian Government's article on osmotic power.

Statkraft's pages on osmotic power.

clipped from www.youtube.com

Statkraft - Osmotic Power Plant

clipped from www.youtube.com

Sources:

1. BBC News - Norway's Statkraft opens first osmotic power plant
2. AFP: New Norway power plant uses salt to make electricity
3. AFP: New Norway power plant uses salt to make electricity
4. AFP: New Norway power plant uses salt to make electricity
5. Norway opens world's first osmotic power plant | Green Tech - CNET News
6. The world's first osmotic power plant opened
7. YouTube - Statkraft - Osmotic Power Plant
8. YouTube - The World's First Osmotic Power Prototype Opens Today

Related:

1. Statkraft is Europe's largest renewable energy company - Statkraft
2. Harnessing the power of sea water, Norway unveils world's first salt power generator | Mail Online
3. Osmotic Power Debuts in Norway - Green Inc. Blog - NYTimes.com
4. World's First Osmotic Power Plant Opens | Green Business | Reuters