Letters: A world in desperate need Nov 19, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009. To President Obama: How many voices must cry out before you act to address the climate crisis. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Opinion)
One ring around them all Nov 14, 2009
infrared The range of invisible radiation with wavelengths from about 750 nanometers (just longer than red in the visible spectrum) to 1 millimeter, on the border of the microwave region. telescope An arrangement of lenses or mirrors or both that gathers visible light, permitting direct observation or photographic recording of distant objects. (Science News for Kids)
Scientists Build First 'Frequency Comb' To Display Visible 'Teeth' Oct 31, 2009
Each visible line or "tooth" is an individual frequency in the comb, which spans the visible spectrum from red to blue. More than 1,500 such photos would need to be lined up to show the entire comb. (Science Daily)
Polarized Peepers: Crustacean's Eyes Surpass Man-Made Optical Devices in Manipulating Light Oct 28, 2009
But unlike wave retarders available commercially, which are tuned for specific wavelengths (and hence colors) of visible light, the wave plate in the O. scyllarus eye performs almost identically across the visible spectrum. The mantis shrimp's eye, Cronin explains, "works on a principle that is not used currently but could be used in manufacturing systems" balancing the optical properties of the eye structure with those of the lipid molecules that fill the structure. (Scientific American)
Shrimp Eyes May Lead to Ultra-Quality DVDs Oct 27, 2009
Manmade devices do a similar thing in DVD and CD players, but they work well for only one color, while the shrimp's eye operates almost perfectly across the whole visible spectrum from near ultra-violet to infra-red. Transferring the same multi-color ability into a DVD player would result in a machine capable of handling far more information than a conventional one. (Fox News)
Seeking better lighting Oct 27, 2009
White light is made up of all the colors in the visible spectrum, so the color of light can be changed by how much power goes into what part of the spectrum ... If the entire visible spectrum is present, it's easy to see the richness of a green bowl full of luscious blueberries and glistening strawberries. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Technology)
Galaxies far, far, far away Oct 1, 2009
ultraviolet radiation: The range of invisible radiation wavelengths from about 4 nanometers, on the border of the x-ray region, to about 380 nanometers, just beyond the violet in the visible spectrum. telescope: An arrangement of lenses or mirrors or both that gathers visible light, permitting direct observation or photographic recording of distant objects. (Science News for Kids)
Solar System Dwarf Planet "Haumea" Has a Mystery Spot Sep 17, 2009
What is more, the spot reflects more red light than blue light, meaning it has a reddish tint in the visible spectrum. That tint could result from a local concentration of red-reflecting organic compounds or blue-absorbing minerals on Haumea's icy surface. (Scientific American)
How Do Space Pictures Get So Pretty? Sep 10, 2009
Sometimes the team assigns new colors even when the original pictures were taken in the visible spectrum. An object that would in real life comprise several indistinguishable might be represented to the public as the composite of three pictures in red, green, and blue. (Slate)
High in sodium: Highly charged tungsten ions may diagnose fusion energy reactors Sep 10, 2009
Sodium-like tungsten ions emit intense light in analogous "D" spectral lines, but they are at far higher energy levels than sodium, and so are shifted out of the visible spectrum to the extreme ultraviolet. Measuring the wavelengths and relative intensities of lines in the spectrum of light released by a population of tungsten ions in the plasma can provide information about the fusion plasma conditions, such as its temperature, density and magnetic fields. (EurekAlert!)
SPACE PHOTOS THIS WEEK: Mount Wilson Fire, Nebula, More Sep 2, 2009
The lobe at upper left is a so-called reflection nebula, which is illuminated by reflected light from nearby stars, the largest of which shines most brightly in the blue part of the visible spectrum. The pink heart of the assemblage is an emission nebula full of fierce young stars heating hydrogen gas, while the crisscrossing tendrils, known as dark nebulae, show where gravity is causing the remnants of star birth to coalesce. (National Geographic)
Trifid Nebula's triple treat Aug 28, 2009
The largest of these stars shines like a beacon in the hot blue portion of the visible spectrum. Since dust grains and molecules scatter blue light more efficiently than red light, this portion of the Trifid Nebula is permeated with an azure hue. (Astronomy Now Online)
Rare New Image Shows Smoldering Star Factory at Work Aug 27, 2009
The largest of these stars shines most brightly in the hot, blue portion of the visible spectrum. This, along with the fact that dust grains and molecules scatter blue light more efficiently than red light a property also responsible for our blue skies and red sunsets imbues this portion of the Trifid Nebula with an azure hue. (Fox News)
Now, colour printing in an instant! Aug 26, 2009
Now, a team in South Korea has developed the M-Ink which can be used to produce any colour in visible spectrum and could lead to a new method of cheap and fast full-colour printing, the 'New Scientist' reported. According to the scientists, M-Ink contains three ingredients- magnetic nanoparticles 100 to 200 nanometres across, a solvation liquid, and a resin. (India Times)
UGA, UPR grant license for long-persistence glow materials, in any color Aug 18, 2009
The University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. (UGARF) and the University of Puerto Rico have granted an international, non-exclusive license for a portfolio of glow-in-the-dark pigments that can be designed to emit light in any color of the visible spectrum for nearly a day ... The glow-in-the-dark pigments emit light in any color of the visible spectrum for nearly a day. (EurekAlert! -- Business News)
Device Guides Light Around Corners Aug 1, 2009
(May 21, 2009) Researchers have created a new type of invisibility cloak that is simpler than previous designs and works for all colors of the visible spectrum, making it possible to cloak larger objects than. (Apr. (Science Daily)
All S&T News Blogs Jul 5, 2009
Since the light from these galaxies was still in the visible spectrum, there had to be another explanation for the bursts' weak visible component. The culprit appears to be dust around the burst, which absorbs visible light but not gamma rays. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
Russian Academy of Science Selects Zecotek Lasers for New Areas of Research Jul 2, 2009
"Our lasers give researchers and manufacturers an important new tool in biomedical instrumentation and in particular flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. By removing the present dependence on a single specific wavelength, our Green Fiber Laser allows for arbitrary wavelengths in the green spectrum with significantly improved sensitivity of detection, and it is better suited to a wider range of preferred biological markers. Our unique patented designs have created a new class of laser devices,... (CCNMatthews Press Releases)
K-State's fast laser research and theory building on Einsten's work by timing electrons emissions May 22, 2009
Einstein showed that only light above a certain minimal frequency -- in the blue end of the visible spectrum -- could make metals emit electrons ... Today, physicists have lasers that provide light at such high intensities that electrons can be emitted at lower frequencies, toward the red end of the visible spectrum. (EurekAlert!)
New 'Broadband' Cloaking Technology May 21, 2009
ScienceDaily (May 21, 2009) Researchers have created a new type of invisibility cloak that is simpler than previous designs and works for all colors of the visible spectrum, making it possible to cloak larger objects than before and possibly leading to practical applications in "transformation optics." ... This image shows the design of a new type of invisibility cloak that is simpler than previous designs and works for all colors of the visible spectrum, making it possible to cloak larger... (Science Daily)
Spitzer Warms, Its Discoveries May Cool May 20, 2009
Comparison of cosmic cloud BHR 71 in the visible spectrum (left), through Spitzer's IRAC camera (center), and combined (right) NASA/JPL-Caltech/Harvard-Smithsonian CfA Spitzers many successes to date include of planets of other stars for the first time. Astronomers have even on one of them this way. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
Expression Of Infrared Fluorescence Engineered In Mammals May 17, 2009
A phytochrome is a photoreceptor a pigment that plants and bacteria use to detect light which is sensitive to light in the red and far-red region of the visible spectrum. "IFPs express well in mammalian cells and spontaneously incorporate biliverdin, a green pigment that is present in humans and other mammals," said Tsien. (Science Daily)
Carbon Nanotube Device That Can Detect Colors Of The Rainbow Constructed May 5, 2009
ScienceDaily (May 4, 2009) Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have created the first carbon nanotube device that can detect the entire visible spectrum of light, a feat that could soon allow scientists to probe single molecule transformations, study how those molecules respond to light, observe how the molecules change shapes, and understand other fundamental interactions between molecules and nanotubes ... The final piece came from Vance and Zifer, who synthesized molecules to create... (Science Daily)
• COLUMN: The largest space telescope you've never heard about Apr 30, 2009
(Herschel's wavelength range stops just short of Hubble's, which extends into the near-infrared, just beyond the red end of the visible spectrum. Unfortunately, telescopes operating outside the visible spectrum don't seem to command the attention that optical telescopes do, despite spectacular images returned by Hubble's space borne cousins, the Spitzer infrared telescope and the Chandra x-ray observatory. (Burley South Idaho Press, ID)
Discovery Of An Unexpected Boost For Solar Water-splitting Cells Apr 28, 2009
They also were interested in how best to incorporate carbon into the nanotubes, because carbon helps titania absorb light in the visible spectrum. (Pure titania absorbs in the ultraviolet region, and much of the ultraviolet is filtered by the atmosphere. (Science Daily)
Green Lasers: The Next Innovation in Chip-Based Beams Apr 7, 2009
These achievements would fill a gaping void in the visible spectrum where has trained our eyes to be most sensitive, plugging the "green gap" in the red-green-blue triad needed for full-color laser projection and displays. They should help speed the introduction of laser projectors for televisions and movie theaters which will display much richer colors than other systems and of tiny, handheld "pico projectors" to be used, for example, in cell phones. (Scientific American)
'Invisibility cloak' directs light away from eye Mar 7, 2009
Since then scientists have tried to create ever-smaller structures to manipulate ever-smaller wavelengths of light, with the goal of creating a true that would hide objects in the visible spectrum of light. According to Halas, this is the world's first truly 3D metamaterial -- a metamaterial being something that gets its trademark properties from its structure rather than its makeup. (MSNBC -- Technology)
Artificial Vision Used To Improve Recycling Of Electronic Scrap Metal Feb 13, 2009
Investigating the possibilities of classification of different materials, such as iron, lead, stainless steel, aluminium, plastic or brass, it can be observed that, in some cases, it is possible to find a way of identifying them in the visible spectrum ... These solutions can be based on the fact that each pure metal has a spectral reflectivity response which is unique to the element, some of the metals can be identified in the 380-740 nm visible spectrum (as in the case of lead and copper) and... (Science Daily)
'Infrared Larry's' green 'gun' Feb 12, 2009
Infrared pertains to those rays which lie just beyond the red end of the visible spectrum, such as are emitted by a hot non-incandescent body. They are invisible, detected only by their thermal effect. (Dowagiac News, MI)
