| JPL’s NuStar satellite is a low-weight, high-energy complement to Chandra Astronomers have floated X-ray detectors on balloons, launched them on sounding rockets and put them on satellites since the late 1950s to sweep the sky. The goal is to unravel the story of a violent universe, where black holes swallow light, neutron stars are born and stars the size of the Sun puff up as red giants only to collapse in death as white dwarfs. Since Earth’s atmosphere absorbs X-rays, astronomers wanting to use them need to rise above it. Their work so far has concentrated on detecting low-energy X-rays; Continue reading X-Ray Focus Quad-core Xolo Q700 was tested to see how well the camera fares in terms of image quality. Lava International is one phone manufacturer that has been offering quad core processor smartphones under and around the price range of Rs. 10,000. The company’s latest launch is Xolo Q700 with a 1.2 GHz processor. Let’s look at what the phone has to offer at it’s affordable price. Features in Hand The Xolo Q700 features a 5 MP camera that allows manual control in terms of adjusting White Balance, ISO (100-1600) and Exposure Compensation. But then, one has to tap three times into Continue reading Xolo Q700. Is Speed Everything? How Well Does Honda’s ADV Scheme Scale? Honda’s latest X bike, the CB500X, is a machine we know borrows a lot of CB500F/CBR500R architecture—so much so that you wonder how different these three motorcycles could possibly be. Different wrappers on the same bike? That in mind, we thought a more interesting exploration would be to see how the CB-X stacks up against its very similarly styled cousin: the slightly older and slightly more expensive NC700X. Even though the CB500X and the NC share basic styling themes and are close in displacement (471cc and 640cc), they appear to approach the common Continue reading X-FACTOR It’s OK, I know this one from Scorsese films. As in “HeyLarry, why’d ya eat all the freakin’ meatballs, ya freakin’ Mooc!” That’s ‘mook’. A MOOC is a Massively Online Open Course. Sort of like a Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMO), except instead of meeting up with your fellow nerds and wizarding about in a poisonous troll-dungeon, you meet up with your fellow nerds and level yourselves up by absorbing knowledge, or learning’. Alrightalready! Howsdo I gets one? American universities have led the charge, opening their digital doors to students from across the globe via companies such as edX, Udacity Continue reading WTF IS A MOOC Chris Howlet No, gravity is influenced very much by the mass of the object in question. This means that, in order for the gravity of Mars to be affected, we would somehow have to either add mass to the Red Planet or take it away. Terraforming Mars – that’s making it more hospitable for human habitation – does neither of these things. Instead, terraforming Mars involves the incredible feat of building up its atmosphere, keeping the globe warm and keeping that atmosphere from being lost to outer space. Mars’s gravity (which is 38% that of Earth’s) combined with its questionable Continue reading Would terraforming Mars affect its gravity? New US Open champion Webb Simpson has had a remarkable last 12 months in golf! Webb Simpson has had one of the most spectacular rises to fame in world golf. Two years ago he was a struggling player on the PGA Tour. At the end of 2010 he was 213th on the World Ranking and had only just secured his tour card for 2011 with a T-4 at Las Vegas, the penultimate event of the season. He finished 94th on the money-list. He hadn’t yet played in a major championship, and wasn’t eligible for and. A year later, at age Continue reading Worldwide Webb. That newspaper article was never written, but it could have been. The reason for its non-appearance at the height of the Second World War can be summarized in one word: Mustangs. In the two decades before the war, the Army Air Corps developed the theory and practice of strategic bombing. Because there were no long-range fighters, the necessary concept arose around the self-defending bomber, a flying fortress, so to speak, that would escort itself. Thus, the lack of a technology drove the emerging doctrine: the technological tail wagging the doctrinal doggie. The concept didn’t work. It was demonstrated in Spain Continue reading WORLD WAR II WITHOUT MUSTANGS One of the first pieces of advice you hear when you buy a bandsaw is to ditch the blade that comes with it and purchase a decent one. That rings true in many instances, as the supplied blade can be inferior and be detrimental to the machine, making you believe the saw isn’t all it should be. The same can be said of other tools that reiy on peripherals to achieve their best, and with a jigsaw there seems to be more blades and configurations than you can shake a stick at, let alone cut. A trip to a car Continue reading Working with jigsaws When it gets steamy on the homefront. Just in case you have been reading these columns of mine, and you might have come to the conclusion that I live in a different world than you do, I thought this time I would prove to you that we live in the very same world, and that it does get steamy on the homefront. Meaning, life can be a troublesome when you run a business, or even worse, when your business runs you. That’s when I’ve found most often that working on it becomes impossible to do. Thinking strategically becomes warped by Continue reading Working On It! The Remodeler as Entrepreneur. Vox populi History had a key part to play in getting the message across in BioShock Infinite Since its release earlier this year, we’ve been in love with the sheer beauty of Irrational Games’ BioShock Infinite. One of our favourite visual aspects is the representation of social ideals through propaganda. The task of bringing The Prophet’s words to life fell to West Studios, who after researching posters from the turn of the 20th century, wanted to strike a balance between the visual languages of religion and war. «Propaganda-art and religious imagery share a similar purpose,» says West Studios’ head honcho Continue reading Words of the prophet | Survival videos Videos on survival in extreme situations. Lessons and Instruction survival in emergency situations. watch...
|
