physical

Every now and again we encounter highly specialized software that offers unusual value. RRR's Data Master 2003 is such a program. It's a comprehensive scientific and technical graphics package for the automization of testing, measuring, and data-acquisition systems. Its data visualization tools include a graphics editor, a plot digitizer, a base line subtractor, and various numeric and symbolic calculators. Data Master does more than acquire and visualize data, though. It will also analyze data, including linear and nonlinear NLSF (Levenberg-Marquardt) regression analysis. It's completely programmable, too, from a customizable user interface to the capability to add new … Read more

A 32-year-old nuclear physicist, part of the Large Hadron Collider project on the Swiss-French border, has been arrested by French police on suspicion of involvement with al-Qaeda.

According to The Independent, the arrest was made after anti-terrorist police had followed his movements for more than a year. Le Figaro newspaper suggested that the man's name had originally come to light in connection with the "Afghan network" of terrorist groups based in Europe.

Of Algerian origin, he was arrested together with his brother, who was not working on the Collider.

Sources told The Independent that the scientist was … Read more

The 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded for "two revolutionary optical technologies."

Charles K. Kao, who discovered how to transmit light through fiber optics, and the team of Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith, who designed the first digital-imaging sensor, split the Nobel Prize, announced by the Nobel Foundation on Tuesday.

Born in Shanghai, Charles K. Kao made a discovery in 1966 that would lead to today's fiber optics. A man ahead of this time, Kao calculated how it would be possible to transmit light over 100 kilometers (62 miles), compared to only 20 … Read more

The world's largest particle accelerator is on course for a November restart. Six out of eight superconducting sectors are down to working cryogenic temperatures, according to CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

James Gillies, head of communications for CERN, told ZDNet UK on Monday that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) would probably be ready to collide beams of particles by mid-November.

"Things are going well," said Gillies. "We hesitate to say 'hurray' just yet, but things are going smoothly."

Gillies said CERN plans to restart the giant experiment in incremental stages.

Read more of … Read more

Amount of steps you took today: 3,451. Miles traveled: 1.4. Calories burned: 348. Calories consumed: 625. Then you went to bed at 12:05 a.m. Time to fall asleep: 23 minutes. Times awakened: 25. You were in bed for 8 hours 2 minutes. Actual sleep time: 7 hours 42 minutes.

The math is easy, sure. But never before has a device tracked so many aspects of an individual's physical movements to measure overall wellness. From caloric intake to activity levels (sedentary, lightly active, fairly active, and very active), Fitbit clips onto clothing or straps around one'… Read more

Two weeks after the console launch, PC gamers finally got their version of Eidos Interactive's Batman: Arkham Asylum last week. Originally slated to launch with the console versions, Batman was delayed three weeks for the PC, presumably to give both developer Rocksteady Studios and partner Nvidia time to polish the integration of Nvidia's PhysX game physics acceleration technology.

After spending a weekend with the game, we can report that we were pleasantly surprised at how much the PhysX effects enhanced the atmosphere of the game's gloomy setting. Our last outing with a PhysX-enabled AAA PC game, Mirror's Edge back in January, was much clunkier.

In Batman, sheets of paper scattered on the floor move convincingly as characters walk over them. Bricks, glass, and tiles shatter and break apart realistically. Fog, smoke, and spider webs waft and curl around characters realistically (the slideshow at the bottom of this post shows off some Nvidia-provided screenshots). With PhysX off you get none of those effects, and a less interesting environment as a result. Compared to the tacked on PhysX-effects in Mirror's Edge, the effects in Batman noticeably improve the atmosphere.

Not every effect in Batman is a winner. The banners draped over various rafters and arches throughout the game, presumably to show off realistic cloth behavior, seem more appropriate for an athletic facility than an asylum for criminals. The PhysX effects also provide no benefit to the in-game mechanics, but given that only a subset of PC gamers have PhysX-enabled PCs, we can't blame the Batman development team for not using PhysX to full advantage.… Read more

If you're an iPhone owner who just hates typing on the device's virtual keyboard, Mobile Mechatronics has something for you: the iTwinge, a $30 BlackBerry-style, slide-on keyboard that mounts right on the iPhone.

Now iPhone purists are probably thinking this should be called the iCringe, but if you're heavy into texting and e-mailing and aren't proficient with the virtual keyboard, I can see some merit to using this device. However, it obviously covers up a good 40 percent of the iPhone's screen, which would seem problematic.

According to Mobile Mechatronics, the iTwinge Keyboard is a … Read more

MB Biorhythm Chart Software lets users view their biorhythm charts over a 28-day period. Whether the charts have any validity, we can't say, but the program does perform as described.

As with other programs from Mystic Board, Biorhythm Chart's first screen is a jumble of advertisements from Mystic Board, and it's not entirely obvious how to continue. Once on the second screen, users enter their birth date and the date that's in the middle of the time period they wish to analyze. The program then provides a chart with three different-colored parabolas representing physical, intellectual, and … Read more

University researchers in England and the Ukraine have built a laser that emits high-frequency sound waves instead of light beams.

Called simply the "saser," the acoustic laser uses packets of sonic vibrations called "phonons" much like a regular laser uses photons.

Specifically, the acoustic laser device consists of a sonic beam traveling through a "superlattice" constructed of 50 sheets of material each only atoms thick that are alternately made of gallium arsenide and aluminium arsenide, two materials found in semiconductors.

Sasers could have "significant and useful applications in the worlds of computing, imaging, … Read more