Ultra-efficient LED puts out more power than is pumped in (Wired UK)

MIT physicists have managed to build a light-emitting diode that has an electrical efficiency of more than 100 percent. You may ask, "Wouldn't that mean it breaks the first law of thermodynamics?" The answer, happily, is no.

The LED produces 69 picowatts of light using 30 picowatts of power, giving it an efficiency of 230 percent. That means it operates above "unity efficiency" -- putting it into a category normally occupied by perpetual motion machines.

However, while MIT's diode puts out more than twice as much energy in photons as it's fed in electrons, it doesn't violate the conservation of energy because it appears to draw in heat energy from its surroundings instead. When it gets more than 100 percent electrically-efficient, it begins to cool down, stealing energy from its environment to convert into more photons.

More from Wired UK

Mercedes Benz Invisible Car!

Mercedes Benz Invisible Car! - YouTube:

LightRadio Cube Improves Wireless Broadband

Alcatel-Lucent has developed a cheaper alternative to cell phone towers with its broadband boostinglightRadio Cube. The company says the device will keep providers ahead of the growing demand of network bandwidth: “The Alcatel-Lucent lightRadio™ Network does what traditional cellular networks can no longer do: put you ahead of your customers’ thirst for mobile bandwidth.”

The device is about the size of a Rubik’s cube and looks to replace large, expensive cell towers. Due to its small size the device can be mounted just about anywhere, turning buildings, light poles, any structure with a power source into cell phone towers. The device is said to be 35-50% less expensive than standard cell towers, and aside from being much easier to maintain, the new technology reduces energy consumption of current mobile networks up to 50%.

More @ tech.li

Kony 2012 film: schoolchildren's verdict - video

Children from London aged 14 and 15 give their opinions of Kony 2012, the 30-minute documentary on guerrilla leader Joseph Rao Kony, which has gone viral on YouTube and Vimeo websites. The Kony video on the Ugandan warlord was uploaded by a non-profit group called Invisible Children, which seeks to expose Kony and depose him

From World news | guardian.co.uk

How to Build a Speech-Jamming Gun - Technology Review

The drone of speakers who won't stop is an inevitable experience at conferences, meetings, cinemas, and public libraries.

Today, Kazutaka Kurihara at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tskuba and Koji Tsukada at Ochanomizu University, both in Japan, present a radical solution: a speech-jamming device that forces recalcitrant speakers into submission.

The idea is simple. Psychologists have known for some years that it is almost impossible to speak when your words are replayed to you with a delay of a fraction of a second.

Kurihara and Tsukada have simply built a handheld device consisting of a microphone and a speaker that does just that: it records a person's voice and replays it to them with a delay of about 0.2 seconds. The microphone and speaker are directional so the device can be aimed at a speaker from a distance, like a gun.

More @ Technology Review

Future Technology in Present Day

Future Technology in Present Day - YouTube

'Cash Mobs' profit locally owned stores | PRI.ORG

Steve Shutts, left, and Rob Schwind tally the day’s receipts, Steve’s niece Megan Johnson and brother Jack Shutts celebrate the final sale at the Chagrin Hardware in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Hundreds of supporters of the family-owned business flocked

You’ve heard of flash mobs, where people appear to randomly gather and break into elaborate song and dance routines.

But now, a new phenomenon, called “Cash Mobs,” is spreading.

Instead of breaking into song, members of cash mobs break open their wallets to spend money at locally owned businesses.

More @ PRI.ORG

Riusuke Fukahori Paints Three-Dimensional Goldfish Embedded in Layers of Resin | Colossal

Japanese artist Riusuke Fukahori paints three-dimensional goldfish using a complex process of poured resin. The fish are painted meticulously, layer by layer, the sandwiched slices revealing slightly more about each creature, similar to the function of a 3D printer. I really enjoy the rich depth of the pieces and the optical illusion aspect, it’s such an odd process that results in something that’s both a painting and sculptural. Wonderful.

More @ Colossal

Synesthesia: Can You Taste the Difference Between Sounds? | PRI's The World

Oxford University psychologist Charles Spence studies human senses and how they interact. In recent studies, he had people smell wines and sample chocolate, and then match the different aromas and flavors to different musical sounds.

He found that people tend to associate sweet tastes with high-pitched notes and the sounds of a piano. People match bitter flavors with low notes and brass instruments.

Spence wondered if he could put this finding to use. Could he use music to influence what people smell or taste?

To find out, he conducted another study. He had volunteers eat several pieces of toffee while listening to music. One soundscape was composed of “sweet” sounds, the other of “bitter” sounds.

Spence then asked the volunteers to rate the sweetness or bitterness of each piece of toffee. All of the toffee was the same, but the volunteers perceived the pieces differently.

“We were significantly able to change the rating of the bitterness and sweetness of the food depending on the sound they were listening to,” says Spence.

More @ PRI's The World

Why programmers work at night

"I think it boils down to three things: the maker’s schedule, the sleepy brain and bright computer screens.

"Paul Graham wrote about the maker’s schedule (...) a schedule for those of us who produce stuff. Working on large abstract systems involves fitting the whole thing into your mind – somebody once likened this to constructing a house out of expensive crystal glassand as soon as someone distracts you, it all comes barreling down and shatters into a thousand pieces. (...) This is why programmers are so annoyed when you distract them.

The sleepy brain (...) Why then do we perform our most mentally complex work work when the brain wants to sleep and we do simpler tasks when our brain is at its sharpest and brightest?

Because being tired makes us better coders.

Similar to the ballmer peak, being tired can make us focus better simply because when your brain is tired it has to focus! There isn’t enough left-over brainpower to afford losing concentration.

Bright computer screens (...) This one is pretty simple. Keep staring at a bright source of light in the evening and your sleep cycle gets delayed. You forget to be tired until 3am. Then you wake up at 11am and when the evening rolls around you simply aren’t tired because hey, you’ve only been up since 11am! "


More @ Swizec.com