Superfluid Turbulence Analyzed with Holography and Black Holes
Interesting phenomena can occur at extremes, whether it be extremely high energies or extremely low. One example is superfluids, which will flow as though there is no resistance on them, allowing their movement to continue for years. Researchers have been trying to understand how atoms and molecules move within superfluids, such as liquid helium, for years, and finally those at MIT have had some success with a, perhaps, less than obvious approach.
Holograms are rather interesting images as they can present you with 3D information, while only being 2D. In 1997 it was proposed that this linking of information between a 2D surface and a 3D space could be used to study certain phenomena. More specifically the theory of holographic duality considers a 2D surface which does not experience any gravity and a 3D space which does. Recognizing that 2D superfluids, like those on a flat surface flow without being affected by gravity, the MIT researchers started looking for a 3D space which does experience gravity. They settled on a particular kind of black hole, which has already been extensively studied by others.
After applying holographic duality to translate the black hole's physics to a superfluid, the researchers made the surprising discovery that the internal flows of the 2D fluid, the turbulence, behave in the opposite way normal 2D fluids do. Instead of having small forces eventually gather into larger ones, within a 2D superfluid a larger structure initially exists, which over time breaks apart into smaller ones. This is similar to how cigarette smoke behaves as it disperses into the air.
Source: MIT
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Hardware Roundup: Friday Edition
Have five interesting articles here for you today. First up is a review of three different motherboards optimized for Intel's Haswell architecture. The motherboards are from ASRock, Gigabyte, and MSI. Next is a review of OCZ's Vertex 450 SSD, with 240 GB of space. Two mice reviews after that looking at the Mionix Naos 8200 and the Razer Ouroboros. Finally the people at Benchmark Reviews take a look at Lenovo's ThinkVision LT3053 IPS LED-Backlit LCD monitor.
Motherboards
Trio of Z87 OC Motherboards Tested @ Madshrimps
SSDs
240GB OCZ Vertex 450 Solid State Drive Review @ Benchmark Reviews
Mice
Mionix Naos 8200 Gaming Mouse @ techPowerUp
Razer Ouroboros Gaming Mouse Review @ Madshrimps
Monitors
Lenovo ThinkVision LT3053p IPS LED-Backlit LCD Monitor Review @ Benchmark Reviews
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Graphene Nanoribbons Grown Bottom-Up for First Time
In general there are two ways to build structures; adding together smaller pieces from the bottom up, or removing pieces from a large structure. The two distinct methods also have distinct advantages, with additive techniques often being less wasteful, and subtractive methods sometimes being easier to accomplish. For the first time ever, researchers at Rice University have created graphene nanoribbons using an additive method.
Typically producing nanoribbons requires growing nanotubes that were then split open and flattened. While this approach works, it is hard to control the edge properties of the ribbons, which determine their electrical properties. The Rice researchers however have discovered a way to grow graphene sheets that also cause ribbons to form. Growing graphene usually requires depositing atoms of carbon on a flaw in a substrate, but by adding hydrogen to the environment, carbon atoms will collect along the entire edge of a graphene sheet. This causes the atoms to collect in two layers, one above the other, but the top layer grows more quickly and eventually prevents the bottom layer from growing further. Before long though, a new bottom layer will form, creating concentric rings of graphene nanoribbons.
Currently the rings vary in width from 10 to 450 nanometers, which can affect their electronic properties. The researchers are hoping they can find a way to control that though, as they should be able to create logic gates with 10 nm ribbons, and ultimately low-voltage transistors.
Source: Rice University
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PowerColor Adds HD7730 Series
PowerColor is adding a trio of graphics cards to its lineup with the release of the HD7730 series, targeted at general home computer users. The new line of cards offers cost effective performance for everyday use while still packing enough punch to use for gaming. All cards will have a core speed of 800MHz, DirectX 11.1, software CrossFire support, and a multitude of connection options. However, the cards lack support for Eyefinity. Each card will be differentiated by the type and amount of memory included on the card. Models will be available with 1GB of GDDR5, 2GB of DDR3, or 1GB of DDR3.
Source: Press Release
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Capturing Terahertz Radiation for Improved Performance
When envisioning a special ability to peer through materials, most probably think of X-rays, which are high energy photons with the potential to damage molecules. Researchers around the world however are looking to T-rays, or terahertz radiation, to look beneath the surface. Those at the University of Adelaide have recently developed a metamaterial device with the potential to improve scanners that would use terahertz radiation, making them more accurate and efficient.
Terahertz radiation occupies the region of the electromagnetic spectrum between microwaves and infrared, making its photons less energetic than even visible light. What makes that frequency of light special is that it strongly reacts with water molecules and those reactions can be observed. To improve terahertz scanners, the Adelaide researchers have crafted a metamaterial device with microstructures to trap the photons in a space much smaller than their wavelength. This confinement then leads to the improved efficiency of accuracy of other terahertz devices, such as security scanners to detect explosives, and medical scanners for finding cancer.
The metamaterial device is actually made of a conducting silicon, which differs from the semiconducting silicon used in electronics. Fabricating the device however utilizes the same techniques used in the semiconductor industry.
Source: University of Adelaide
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Hardware Roundup: Thursday Edition
A pair of motherboards open our roundup for today, with the Intel DZ87KLT-75K up first. Intel is planning to get out of the desktop motherboard market in the near future and this could be one of the last boards to be released. The Z87X-UD4H is the latest offering from Gigabyte for the Z87 chipset and has a number of interesting features including a headphone amplifier and new heatsink design. The InWin G7 is a black mid tower case that doesn't let its size prevent it from packing in plenty of features. The team at Tech Spot rounds out the news for the day by showing you how to pack a powerful Haswell based gaming PC into the small form factor Silverstone Sugo SG10.
Motherboards
Intel DZ87KLT-75K LGA1150 Desktop Motherboard Review @ Benchmark Reviews
Gigabyte Z87X-UD4H @ Bjorn3D
Cases
InWin G7 @ LanOC Reviews
Guides
Building a Small Form Factor Gaming PC @ Tech Spot
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