Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Trillion-frame-per-second video
By using optical equipment in a totally unexpected way, MIT researchers have created an imaging system that makes light look slow.
Dec 13, 2011 |
4.8 / 5 (41) |
30
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A step toward fusion power: MIT advance helps remove contaminants that slow fusion reactions
The long-sought goal of a practical fusion-power reactor has inched closer to reality with new experiments from MIT’s experimental Alcator C-Mod reactor, the highest-performance university-based fusion ...
Dec 02, 2010 |
4.8 / 5 (39) |
34
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The faster-than-fast Fourier transform
The Fourier transform is one of the most fundamental concepts in the information sciences. It’s a method for representing an irregular signal — such as the voltage fluctuations in the wire that conne ...
Jan 18, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (30) |
20
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Biologists discover how yeast cells reverse aging
Human cells have a finite lifespan: They can only divide a certain number of times before they die. However, that lifespan is reset when reproductive cells are formed, which is why the children of a 20-year-old ...
Jun 24, 2011 |
5 / 5 (29) |
15
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A novel way to concentrate sun's heat
Most technologies for harnessing the sun’s energy capture the light itself, which is turned into electricity using photovoltaic materials. Others use the sun’s thermal energy, usually concentrating ...
Technology / Energy & Green Tech
Dec 02, 2011 |
4.6 / 5 (29) |
31
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Study reveals the subtle dynamics underpinning how cats drink (w/ Video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- Cat fanciers everywhere appreciate the gravity-defying grace and exquisite balance of their feline friends. But do they know those traits extend even to the way cats lap milk?
Nov 11, 2010 |
4.3 / 5 (29) |
13
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Turning windows into powerplants
If a new development from labs at MIT pans out as expected, someday the entire surface area of a building’s windows could be used to generate electricity — without interfering with the ability to ...
Apr 15, 2011 |
4.8 / 5 (25) |
14
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Scientists decipher 3 billion-year-old genomic fossils
(PhysOrg.com) -- About 580 million years ago, life on Earth began a rapid period of change called the Cambrian Explosion, a period defined by the birth of new life forms over many millions of years that ultimately ...
Dec 19, 2010 |
4.8 / 5 (24) |
30
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Explained: Sigma
It's a question that arises with virtually every major new finding in science or medicine: What makes a result reliable enough to be taken seriously? The answer has to do with statistical significance -- but ...
Feb 09, 2012 |
5 / 5 (22) |
93
After almost 20 years, math problem falls
Mathematicians and engineers are often concerned with finding the minimum value of a particular mathematical function. That minimum could represent the optimal trade-off between competing criteria — between ...
Technology / Computer Sciences
Jul 18, 2011 |
5 / 5 (22) |
3
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The surprising usefulness of sloppy arithmetic
Ask a computer to add 100 and 100, and its answer will be 200. But what if it sometimes answered 202, and sometimes 199, or any other number within about 1 percent of the correct answer?
Technology / Computer Sciences
Jan 04, 2011 |
4.7 / 5 (23) |
14
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Rare Earth element tellurium detected for the first time in ancient stars
Nearly 13.7 billion years ago, the universe was made of only hydrogen, helium and traces of lithium — byproducts of the Big Bang. Some 300 million years later, the very first stars emerged, creating ...
Feb 17, 2012 |
4.7 / 5 (22) |
119
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Are you a Martian? We all could be, scientists say -- and new instrument might provide proof
Are we all Martians? According to many planetary scientists, it's conceivable that all life on Earth is descended from organisms that originated on Mars and were carried here aboard meteorites. If that's the ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Mar 23, 2011 |
3.8 / 5 (27) |
95
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Solar power goes viral: Modified virus improves solar-cell efficiency by one-third
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at MIT have found a way to make significant improvements to the power-conversion efficiency of solar cells by enlisting the services of tiny viruses to perform detailed assembly ...
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Apr 25, 2011 |
4.8 / 5 (21) |
6
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First carbon-rich exoplanet discovered
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team led by a former postdoctoral researcher in MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences and the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics, recently measured the first-ever ...
Dec 08, 2010 |
4.8 / 5 (21) |
6
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