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Physicists ‘trick’ photons into behaving like electrons using a ‘synthetic’ magnetic field

Scientists have discovered an elegant way of manipulating light using a ‘synthetic’ Lorentz force—which in nature is responsible for many fascinating phenomena including the Aurora Borealis.

A team of theoretical physicists from the University of Exeter has pioneered a new technique to create tuneable artificial magnetic fields, which enable photons to mimic the dynamics of charged particles in real magnetic fields.

The team believe the new research, published in leading journal Nature Photonics, could have important implications for future photonic devices as it provides a novel way of manipulating light below the diffraction limit.

Turns Out There’s Another Ocean Creature That Scares The Hell Out of Great White Sharks

O,.o.


Just when you think orcas couldn’t possible be any more awesome, they get even better. A study in 2019 showed these whales are really good at scaring off the most feared beast in the sea. Yep. Orcas have toppled the great white shark off their ‘apex predator’ throne.

A team of marine scientists found that great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) will make themselves extremely scarce whenever they detect the presence of orcas (Orcinus orca).

“When confronted by orcas, white sharks will immediately vacate their preferred hunting ground and will not return for up to a year, even though the orcas are only passing through,” said marine ecologist Salvador Jorgensen of Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Hubble: Time Machines [Eye in the Sky Video Miniseries]

Episode 3: Time Machines – Hubble has looked back billions of years in time to see some of the earliest galaxies in their infancy, and it has fundamentally changed what we know about the universe itself. Find out from Nobel Laureate John Mather and Hubble Senior Project Scientist Jennifer Wiseman how Hubble will work with the future James Webb Space Telescope to revolutionize our understanding of the universe even further.

Watch Episode 1: Driving the Hubble Space Telescope.

#SpaceWatchGL Column: ESPI Brief 43 – The new U.S. Defense Space Strategy

« The Strategy also calls for greater cooperation, both with private actors and with international allies and partners, in particular for future capability development and operations. The DSS makes clear that part of the rationale behind this call for cooperation is ”burden-sharing”, but the United States is also interested in collaborating to benefit from its allies’ space programmes. Moreover, these collaborative efforts will be given significant attention in the short-term, therefore, the place that Europe wants to take in this framework should be raised now. »

#SpaceWatchGL

Concept mega-yacht would let owner swan around in luxury

The Jet Capsule isn’t an ugly duckling by any means, but designer Pierpaolo Lazzarini imagines a beautiful swan with his latest creation, the Avanguardia. The mega-yacht would feature a small watercraft that would serve as a removable cockpit in this ambitious conceptual project.

The Avanguardia (Vanguard in English) is inspired by an unspecified Japanese Manga from the 1970s and its defining feature is that long “neck.” The idea is that the neck would serve as a crane and could be used to safely deposit a smaller craft in the water when anchor’s dropped, allowing it to be used to reach shore, for example. Interestingly, the neck would actually be placed in a lowered back position while sailing – so presumably the raised position depicted above would end up mostly being used for showing off at port.

“Due to an extendable crane/bridge located in the bow (front) in this case named ‘neck,’ the head can be dropped off and used as an auxiliary 16-meter [52-ft] boat,” explains Lazzarini Design Studio. “During the sailing, the head ‘control tower cockpit’ adjusts its position by lowering in the middle of the mega-yacht body (like a swan, the neck goes in the middle of the wings).”

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