# 7: Spooky Entanglement
One of the strangest predictions of the theory of quantum mechanics is that particles can become “entangled” so that even after they are separated in space, when an action is performed on one particle, the other particle responds immediately.
In June 2009 scientists announced they had measured entanglement in a new kind of system – two separated pairs of vibrating particles. Previous experiments had entangled the internal properties of particles, such as spin states, but this was the first time scientists had entangled the particles’ pattern of …

Earth’s north magnetic pole is racing toward Russia at almost 40 miles (64 kilometers) a year due to magnetic changes in the planet’s core, new research says.
The core is too deep for scientists to directly detect its magnetic field. But researchers can infer the field’s movements by tracking how Earth’s magnetic field has been changing at the surface and in space.
Now, newly analyzed data suggest that there’s a region of rapidly changing magnetism on the core’s surface, possibly being created by a mysterious “plume” of magnetism arising from deeper …

Model of the brain-machine interface for real-time synthetic speech production. The stroke-induced lesion (red X) disables speech output, but speech motor planning in the cerebral cortex remains intact. Signals collected from an electrode in the speech motor cortex are amplified and sent wirelessly across the scalp as FM radio signals. The Neuralynx System amplifies, converts, and sorts the signals. The neural decoder then translates the signals into speech commands for the speech synthesizer.

By implanting an electrode into the brain of a person with locked-in syndrome, scientists have demonstrated how …

Service-now.com has raised $41M of a $66M funding round, the company disclosed in an SEC filing today. The company was founded by Fred Luddy in 2004 to provide on-demand Enterprise IT services and 2009 has been a boom year for the company. Service-now.com specializes in cloud-based Software as a Service (Saas) IT service management solutions. They cover everything from licensing compliance to the service desk all with a built in analytics system.
On July 21 of this year a company press release detailed some of the company’s accomplishments including: recurring …

MIT students build a high-altitude, photo-snapping balloon using off-the-shelf components

Scientists and students alike have previously launched low-budget balloons that rise to the upper reaches of Earth’s atmosphere, snapping unbelievable photos from near-space. But MIT’s Icarus team managed the same feat using only off-the-shelf items, and for a measly cost of $150. Here’s how they did it.
The MIT students list everything that they used to assemble the launch vehicle, including a prepaid Motorola i290 phone with GPS, a cell phone charger and disposable hand warmers to keep everything operable at …

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/5966251/The-weirdest-animals-on-Planet-Earth.html
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{Photography by wallyg}

After a factory had found a 40-million-year-old whale fossil in a limestone kitchen counter, researchers investigated the stone’s fossil-packed Egyptian quarry, which could shed light on the origins of African wildlife. (Read the transcript at: National Geographic)

Hotel Everland Paris

The Propeller Island City Lodge Hotel in Berlin
Read the complete list and great photos at: Radar Online
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{Photography by Manuel MC, and Slideshow Bob}

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated entanglement—a phenomenon peculiar to the atomic-scale quantum world—in a mechanical system similar to those in the macroscopic everyday world. The work extends the boundaries of the arena where quantum behavior can be observed and shows how laboratory technology might be scaled up to build a functional quantum computer.
The research, described in the June 4 issue of Nature, involves a bizarre intertwining between two pairs of vibrating ions (charged atoms) such that the pairs vibrate in unison, even …

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station noticed two mysterious dark circles in the ice of Lake Baikal in April. Though the cause is more likely aqueous than alien, some aspects of the odd blemishes defy explanation.
The two circles are the focal points for ice break-up and may be caused by upwelling of warmer water in the lake. The dark color of the circles is due to thinning of the ice, which usually hangs around into June. Upwelling wouldn’t be strange in some relatively shallow areas of the lake where …

How Silicon Chips Are Made:

Converting sand into silicon
Creating cylindrical crystals
Slicing the crystals into wafers (so far so good)
Making a patterned oxide layer (this is getting tricky)
Creating n-type and p-type regions
Adding gates to complete the MOSFETs
Connecting the MOSFETs with copper tracks
Completing the circuit
Sorting the good chips from the bad
Packing to survive the real world

Read more about this excellent how-to article at PCPlus.co.uk .
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{Photography by J Pockele}

IF the last 18 months have taught Americans anything, it’s that market collapses don’t discriminate. Even the most sophisticated and affluent investors lost big chunks of their fortunes. Access to the most exclusive hedge funds did not always limit the damage, as many participants had hoped it would.
As a result, a new mentality has emerged among some investors, who are rethinking the traditional approach to asset allocation. The upheaval in the markets and in the broader economy has led them to question long-honored principles of investing and to sound …

Secrets of the Deep
What lies beneath the surface of New York Harbor? For starters, a 350-foot steamship, 1,600 bars of silver, a freight train, and four-foot-long cement-eating worms. New York Magazine
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{Photography by Vin Crosbie}

Russia Stockpiles Diamonds, Awaiting the Return of Demand
MOSCOW — The global recession sapped demand for all kinds of commodities — like steel and grain — yet small burlap bags are still arriving by the planeload at Russia’s state-owned diamond company.
Each day, the contents of the bags spill into the stainless steel hoppers of the receiving room. The diamonds are washed and sorted by size, clarity, shape and quality; then, rather than being sent to be sold around the world, they are wrapped in paper and whisked away to a …

The mission, which is costing Nasa $1.4 billion and is launched from Florida today, is considered so perilous that it was once cancelled by space agency chiefs who feared that it could cost the astronauts their lives.
It was resurrected only after they agreed to place a second shuttle and crew on emergency standby, ready to blast into space to save their colleagues should a catastrophe occur. (more at dailymail.co.uk)
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{Photography courtesy of NASA.gov}

Whatever gave birth to this monster can be real proud. The biggest black hole in the universe weighs in with a respectable mass of 18 billion Suns, and is about the size of an entire galaxy. Just like in the Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito flick “Twins”, the massive black hole has a puny twin hovering nearby. By observing the orbit of the smaller black hole, astronomers are able to test Einstein’s theory of general relativity with stronger gravitational fields than ever before. (dailygalaxy.com )
Read more:

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2009/05/18-billion-suns.html
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13166
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/080109-aas-massive-black-holes.html

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{Photography by The Bad …