Tech Universe: Tuesday 31 May

BIG SHOTS: The Hasselblad H4D-200MS DSLR is not your each day digital camera, unless you need 200 megapixels, that is. The camera actually uses a 50 megapixel sensor, mounted on a frame which moves the sensor 1.5 pixels at a time while 6 shots are captured. The 6 shots are then combined into a single image. The sensor holds more and bigger pixels than a standard 35mm DSLR. The camera also includes other high-end features you’d anticipate for this kind of device. All the detail you could ever want – at Hasselblad.

A PERFECT SPHERE: Scientists at Imperial College London spent the last decade studying the shape of Ytterbium Fluoride electrons. It turns out they are spherical – perfectly spherical. The researcherssay: “if the electron was magnified to the size of the solar system, it would still appear spherical to within the width of a human hair.” They figured this out by using very precise lasers to measure the motion of the electrons. Results will help them work out the differences between matter and antimatter. Yes, antimatter matters. Details here.

CODE BREAKER: The Tunny machine was used in World War II at Bletchley Park to break German codes by turning encrypted messages into cleartext. Three people spent three years building it but after the war it was broken up and the original circuit diagrams were destroyed or hidden. Now it’s been rebuilt from remaining scraps of the plans and from recollections of the people originally involved. The rebuilt machine is housed at the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park. Now that is dedication. Details at zdnet.co.uk.

SOLAR SAILOR: The Turanor Planetsolar is sailing around the world and has now arrived in Brisbane. The boat is driven by a silent, pollution-free electrical engine powered exclusively by solar energy.
537 square metres of solar panels cover the boat, providing 93.5 kW of power, of which the engines use 20 kW on average. 6 crew work the 31 metre long vessel, though 40 can go aboard. It’s a shame it’s not
stopping here on its world tour. More info Planetsolar.org and video here.

- Miraz Jordan knowit.co.nz

By Miraz Jordan

source : www.nzherald.co.nz

Tech Universe: Tuesday 31 May

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