April 9, 2012

Good Morning,

Here's an app you science and technology junkies won't want to pass up. The first article describes a new iPhone app being developed at the University of California that will provide information on thousands of planetary systems not of our own.

Until Next Time,
Erin

Questions? Comments? Email me at: mailto:gizmo@gophercentral.com
Email your comments

P.S. You can discuss this issue or any other topic in the new Gizmorama forum. Check it out here...
http://gizmorama.gophercentral.com
------------------------------------------------------------

New app brings users alien planets

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - A new app for iPhones and iPads allows users to interactively view information on thousands of alien planets discovered in a cosmic survey, its developers say. Developed at the University of California, Santa Cruz, the free Kepler Explorer app lets users study displays of the 2,300 alien planet candidates detected to date by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope. Kepler Explorer displays data on nearly 1,800 Kepler-discovered planetary systems plus our own solar system, SPACE.com reported Wednesday. Users can select a system and are then presented a view of the planet or planets in orbit around their host star, and can click on an individual planet for information about it. "I have pretty good intuition for what the likely composition of a planet is based on its size, but the app allows anyone to explore the properties of many different planets very quickly," said UCSC astrophysicist Jonathan Fortney, a Kepler mission scientist who helped develop the app with UCSC astronomers, artists and designers. The Kepler Explorer app will be automatically updated to add planet candidates as they are discovered, its developers said.


Boeing: Crew space capsule aces drop test

SEATTLE - Boeing Co. says its proposed crew space capsule has successfully completed a parachute-aided drop test from 11,00 feet over a Nevada desert. The Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 capsule will be able to ferry as many as seven crew members, or a mix of crew and cargo, to the International Space Station and other destinations in low-Earth orbit atop a variety of rockets, the company said. In Tuesday's test, a helicopter lifted the CST-100 test capsule to about 11,000 feet above the Delamar Dry Lake Bed near Alamo, Nev., and released it. Three main parachutes slowed its descent before six airbags inflated, "providing a smooth ground landing," Boeing said. "This successful test is a tremendous milestone that brings Boeing one step closer to completing development of a system that will provide safe, reliable and affordable crewed access to space," John Mulholland, vice president and program manager at Boeing Commercial Programs, said in a statement. Boeing will conduct a second drop test this month, followed by landing air bag tests in May, and a forward heat shield jettison test and an orbital maneuvering/attitude control engine hot fire test in June, the Seattle Post Intelligencer reported.


High-tech wallpaper resists earthquakes

KARLSRUHE, Germany - German researchers say they've developed "seismic" wallpaper that can hold a masonry wall together to keep it from crumbling or falling in an earthquake. Scientists at the Institute of Solid Construction and Construction Material Technology at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology used stiff, high-strength glass fibers woven together to form a strong elastic covering, with the fibers running in four directions to distribute energy evenly when the walls are shaking, Deutsche Welle reported. The special wallpaper is adhered to walls with a flexible, soft adhesive made from water and a large amount of polyurethane beads. After the adhesive penetrates the masonry the water evaporates and the beads strongly anchor the material to the wall, the researchers said. The seismic material was tested on a replica house in an earthquake simulator. "Because of the earthquake wallpaper, we were unable to make the building collapse," researcher Mortiz Urban said. The wallpaper will start going into commercial production this year, researchers said.


Apple said looking at iPad WiFi problem

CUPERTINO, Calif. - Apple is investigating reports its newest iPad is having problems with WiFi connectivity, an Apple internal document obtained by a tech Web site suggests. The document mentions symptoms including "intermittent connectivity, slow WiFi speeds" and "WiFi network not seen," the MacRumors Web site reported Thursday. Postings to Apple's online support forum suggest the problem is significant, with over 700 replies from owners of new iPads, Mashable reported. Apple is reportedly attempting to "capture" and replace iPads demonstrating WiFi problems. Postings on the support forum indicate the problems affect only the WiFi version of the new iPad and not the 3G model. Apple has not made an official statement on the matter, Mashable said.

------------------------------------------------------------
Check out Viral Videos on the Net at EVTV1.com
http://www.evtv1.com/
EVTV1.com