An international research team has found an exoplanet made entirely of diamonds. Although this may seem glamorous, researchers think it is only the desolate remains of a star, robbed of its mass by its companion.
Some time ago, a radio telescope picked up the repeated signal of a pulsar. A pulsar is a rapidly-spinning star with a rotation that emits radio waves in strong pulses outwards. This pulsar lay in the plane of the Milky Way, not particularly distinguishing itself from any other pulsar out there. That is, until the astronomers analyzed the spin of the pulsar and found that it was modulated in a certain way. It was almost as if the star was being tugged one way or another via gravity. The only thing that could be making that particular spin was an orbiting planet.
This planet was orbiting fast and close. It was circling the pulsar once every two hours and ten minutes, at a distance just about the radius of Earth’s sun. It was about five times the size of earth, a relatively small planet, but it had the mass of Jupiter. This planet should not have gathered so much mass and packed it so tightly when it was so close to a high-gravity star.
Scientists think that it didn’t. Actually, the planet is the remains of a star. The pulsar and the newly-discovered planet were once a binary system. As they burnt through their fuel and came closer to one another, one star starting siphoning off the matter of the other. When it was done, it left only a cold, fusion-less planet.
Gonna try and do one of these monthly for about a year or so. Will mostly be Nanotech oriented, may leak over into neuroscience developments from time to time.
So, How close are we to grey-gooing ourselves? Let’s try to find out together, shall we?
Digging deep into diamonds – “The new device offers a bright, stable source of single photons at room temperature, an essential element in making fast and secure computing with light practical.
The finding could lead to a new class of nanostructured diamond devices suitable for quantum communication and computing, as well as advance areas ranging from biological and chemical sensing to scientific imaging.”
A Stellar, Metal-Free Way to Make Carbon Nanotubes – Meteorite’s containing naturally formed space-Carbon Nanotubes could help us in their design and possibly shed a bit of light on the way carbon is seeded on planets
You live in a very unhealthy world and probably don’t take steps to reduce your risk of health problems, but have no fear – Medibots could be fixing your damaged equipment before you know it.
“Peratech makes an electrically conductive material called quantum tunneling composite (QTC). When the material is compressed electrons jump between two conductors separated by polymer insulating layer covered with metallic nanoparticles.
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QTC robot skin could perhaps let a robot know precisely where it has been touched, and with how much pressure. It could also be helpful in designing machines that have better grasping capabilities, and for developing more natural ways for machines to interact with humans.”
Organic Transistor Paves Way for New Generations of Neuro-Inspired Computers – “For the first time, CNRS and CEA researchers have developed a transistor that can mimic the main functionality of a synapse. This organic transistor, based on pentacene and gold nanoparticles and known as a NOMFET (Nanoparticle Organic Memory Field-Effect Transistor), has opened the way to new generations of neuro-inspired computers, capable of responding in a manner similar to the nervous system.”
Them gold nanoparticles sure have been worth all the years of failed alchemist looking for their philospher’s stone. See:NanoGold used in Cancer Treatment.
The Self-Assembling Nanoparticles into Complex Nanostructures article over at H+ Magazine discusses the issue: “These parts, in turn, can be assembled by positioning mechanisms of assorted sizes to build macroscopic (visible) but still atomically-precise products. The concept is that a functioning nanofactory will create virtually any product at the cost of only the input raw material and energy.”
Phase III is powered by Spacial Ain Nanobot clusters operating on military grade Harpocrates Cloaking EMF circuits relayed through post-Athielic databases.
