First Room Temperature Superconductor

Superconductors.ORG herein reports the 28C room-temperature superconductor discovered in December 2011 has been successfully reformulated to produce a critical transition temperature (Tc) above 30 Celsius (86F, 303K). This new material has a nominal formula of Tl₅Pb₂Ba₂Mg_2.5Cu_8.5O₁₇₊ and a Tc near 30.5C. See Also: New Support for Phonon Mediation in High Temperature Superconductors

Superconductivity is a phenomenon of exactly zero electrical resistance and expulsion of magnetic fields occurring in certain materials when cooled below a characteristic critical temperature. It was discovered by Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes on April 8, 1911 in Leiden. Like ferromagnetism and atomic spectral lines, superconductivity is a quantum mechanical phenomenon. It is characterized by the Meissner effect, the complete ejection of magnetic field lines from the interior of the superconductor as it transitions into the superconducting state. The occurrence of the Meissner effect indicates that superconductivity cannot be understood simply as the idealization of perfect conductivity in classical physics.

Visible Earth

http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/ (Click on Image for Larger Viewing)

See Also:

• Blue Marble Navigator
• Spaceship Earth: Who Is In Control?
•  http://www.overviewinstitute.org/
•  http://www.overviewthemovie.com/

Experiments at Cern

A candidate event in the search for the Higgs boson, showing two electrons and two muons (Image: CMS/CERN)

• ACE
• AEGIS
• ALICE
• ALPHA
• AMS
• ASACUSA
• ATLAS
• ATRAP
• CAST
• CLOUD
• CMS
• COMPASS
• DIRAC
• ISOLDE
• LHCb
• LHCf
• MoEDAL
• NA61/SHINE
• NA62
• nTOF
• OSQAR
• ">TOTEM

Experiments in the Past

• ALEPH
• DELPHI
• L3
• OPAL

ScienceCasts: Dark Lightning

 

Click on Image for Larger Viewing

See Also:

• NASA's Fermi Catches Thunderstorms Hurling Antimatter into Space

Weber Bars

The following detectors participate into the IGEC. Click on a name to connect to the experiment web site.
In the picture below the detectors locations on earth are represented. It happens that there is a great circle passing near each site (red line on the picture below) This allows for parallel orientation of the bars.

See: How many Possibilities Exist in the Now? 

Resonant Gravitational Wave Detectors

I do need to clarify my mistake on the spelling of Joseph Weber and the double bb I had given his last name.

Weber Bar

A simple device to detect the expected wave motion is called a Weber bar – a large, solid bar of metal isolated from outside vibrations. This type of instrument was the first type of gravitational-wave detector. Strains in space due to an incident gravitational wave excite the bar's resonant frequency and could thus be amplified to detectable levels. Conceivably, a nearby supernova might be strong enough to be seen without resonant amplification. Modern forms of the Weber bar are still operated, cryogenically cooled, with superconducting quantum interference devices to detect vibration (see for example, ALLEGRO). Weber bars are not sensitive enough to detect anything but extremely powerful gravitational waves.^[1]

The MiniGRAIL detector is a cryogenic 68 cm diameter spherical gravitational wave antenna made of CuAl(6%) alloy with a mass of 1400 Kg, a resonance frequency of 2.9 kHz and a bandwidth around 230 Hz, possibly higher. The quantum-limited strain sensitivity dL/L would be ~4x10^-21.

MiniGRAIL is a spherical gravitational-wave antenna using this principle. It is based at Leiden University, consisting of an exactingly machined 1150 kg sphere cryogenically cooled to 20 mK.^[2] The spherical configuration allows for equal sensitivity in all directions, and is somewhat experimentally simpler than larger linear devices requiring high vacuum. Events are detected by measuring deformation of the detector sphere. MiniGRAIL is highly sensitive in the 2–4 kHz range, suitable for detecting gravitational waves from rotating neutron star instabilities or small black hole mergers.^[3]

AURIGA is an ultracryogenic resonant bar gravitational wave detector based at INFN in Italy. It is based on a cylindrical bar detector. The AURIGA and LIGO teams have collaborated in joint observations.^[4]

1. Side view of the AURIGA suspension for run2. The columns and the bar are clearly visible. Also the liquid Helium vessel and the thermal shields, which come unchanged from run1.

List of Resonant Detectors

NAUTILUS (Rome, Italy)

	ALLEGRO (Louisiana State University)
	AURIGA (Padova, Italy)
	EXPLORER (Geneva, Switzerland)
	Mario Schenberg (Gravitational Wave Detector)
	MiniGRAIL (Leiden, The Netherlands)
	NIOBE (Perth, Australia)

 

See Also:

• Einstein@Home all-sky search for periodic gravitational waves in LIGO S5 data
• Gravitational bar detectors set limits to Planck-scale physics - Really?

AURIGA RUN2- The Bar and Resonances

1. Side view of the AURIGA suspension for run2. The columns and the bar are clearly visible. Also the liquid Helium vessel and the thermal shields, which come unchanged from run1.

See: The AURIGA photo album: RUN2

The Transducer Test Facility

See Also:

• Gravitational Wave Detectors are Best Described as "Sounds."  

• Gravity Wave Spectrum 

 

Radar echos from Titan's surface

This recording was produced by converting into audible sounds some of the radar echoes received by Huygens during the last few kilometres of its descent onto Titan. As the probe approaches the ground, both the pitch and intensity increase. Scientists will use intensity of the echoes to speculate about the nature of the surface.

Eric Giler demos wireless electricity

Early visions of wireless power actually were thought of by Nikola Tesla basically about 100 years ago. The thought that you wouldn't want to transfer electric power wirelessly, no one ever thought of that. They thought, "Who would use it if you didn't?" And so, in fact, he actually set about doing a variety of things. Built the Tesla coil. This tower was built on Long Island back at the beginning of the 1900s. And the idea was, it was supposed to be able to transfer power anywhere on Earth. We'll never know if this stuff worked. Actually, I think the Federal Bureau of Investigation took it down for security purposes, sometime in the early 1900s.See: http://www.ted.com/talks/eric_giler_demos_wireless_electricity.html

Nikola Tesla - Wardenclyffe Tower

Nikola Tesla - Wardenclyffe Tower With financial support from J.P. Morgan, Tesla designed and erected a unique electric magnifying tower known as Wardenclyffe on Long Island, New York as means to transmit free energy and communications without wires. It was based on a successful smaller model that was built in Colorado Springs. The Wardenclyffe team tested their tower a handful of times during construction, and the results were very encouraging; however construction came to an abrupt halt in 1906 when J.P. Morgan withdrew his funding, when he discovered Tesla's Plan of using the Wardenclyffe to supply free electrical energy. "How can we get money from the electricity which Tesla is supplying to every part of the world." J.P. Morgan. Morgan purposefully scuttled any future ways Tesla could raise money. See: 1st place winner of 2010 History Channel Student Video Competition

As well,Saving Nikola Tesla's Laboratory - Special Report VVH-TV News

 

See Also:

• General Thoughts About Schuman Response

• Putting the Pieces Together  

• Binaural beats by Wiki

Software Programs for Lucid Dreaming

• Lightened Dream is available for Windows as freeware. It can be used as a dream journal and a dream-sign list. One of its more notable features is that you can have it play a voice or song each time you enter a REM sleep period.
• DreamDoze A web application for Social Dream interpretation and dreams journal management
• Gnaural is a multi-platform programmable binaural-beat generator. Gnaural is released as free software under the GNU General Public License. (For a browser based demo, see Gnaural Java))
• Brainwave Generator is available for Windows. It works by playing binaural beats into your ears, changing your brainstate.
• Reality Check is available for Windows. It works by appearing on your computer screen at random times to remind you to do a reality check.
• SBaGen is available for Windows, MacOS X, and Linux. It works by playing binaural beats into your ears, changing your brainstate.
• Neuro-Programmer is available for Windows. This is powerful software that creates binaural beats and can work in conjunction with special goggles to induce certain mental states.
• LucidWeaver is available for mobile phones and PDA that support Java (J2ME). It includes a Dream alarm with sound cue which can be adjusted to a personal REM-sleep cycle for improving dream recall and lucidity training. Randomized reality tests can be set and it can be used as regular alarm clock.
• Lucille 2.0 is an application to assist with doing reality checks.
• You Are Dreaming
• Daldom a cross platform audio lucid dream induction software.
• Lucid Dreaming Assistant DOS software (no home page)
• Unexplainable Store Lucid Dreaming Brainwave Entrainment MP3
• Sleep Check Reminder for Android.
• Sleep Stage is a powerful dream journaling and analysis software, especially designed for lucid dreamers. There is a free version available.

Happy New Year 2013