Super-Kamiokande set to resume neutrino detection work

10 Apr 2006

Super-KamiokandeLast week, the University of Tokyo's Institute for Cosmic Ray Research (ICRR) announced the near completion of full-scale reconstruction work on its giant Super-Kamiokande underground neutrino detection facility, which was severely damaged in a 2001 accident. Super-Kamiokande, the world?s largest facility of its kind, detects neutrinos as they pass through the 50,000 tons of water held in its cylindrical water tank, which measures 39 meters (128 feet) in diameter and 42 meters (138 feet) in depth and is located 1 km underground. Solar neutrino measurements will resume when the tank is refilled with water at the end of June.

About 7,000 of the facility?s 11,000 neutrino-detecting photomultiplier tubes, which are shaped like 50-centimeter diameter light bulbs, were destroyed in 2001 when a chain reaction of implosions occurred after one of the tubes failed.

(Further reading: Wikipedia, Info About Super-K)

[Source: Mainichi Shimbun]

Robo Garage unveils FT mini-fembot

07 Apr 2006

FT, the feminine robotOn April 7, Robo Garage, a venture company of Kyoto University, unveiled a slender and agile biped female robot.

Named FT (short for "Female Type"), the robot has a plastic and carbon fiber body, weighs 800 grams (1.8 lbs.), and stands 35 centimeters (13 inches) tall. Her 23 joints enable her to perform a range of fashion model type moves, like arching her back and swinging her hips as she walks, as well as runway-style turns. FT's components were designed and arranged to create a feminine body line.

Robo Garage, who spent about one year working to realize its dream of creating a feminine robot, has not yet determined whether FT will be made commercially available.

"In developing FT, we also sought the advice of pro models," says Tomotaka Takahashi, head of Robo Garage. "I hope that by evoking a sense of familiarity and comfort, FT can expand the potential of robots."

[Source: Nishinippon Shimbun]

Through the (zero-reflection) looking glass

07 Apr 2006

MetamaterialWhen light passes through material such as glass, a portion of its energy is lost as it reflects off the material's surface. Researchers at Japan's Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Riken) have come up with a theoretical design for preventing this phenomenon from occurring.

The researchers have designed a prism of engineered material -- metamaterial comprised of an arrangement of nano-coils of precious metals such as gold or silver -- embedded in a solid glass-like material. The prism structure has a negative refractive index, which makes it truly transparent to light, allowing it to pass freely through with no reflection.

In the future, this type of metamaterial prism could lead to improvements in low-loss fiber optic communications, the development of telescopes and cameras well-suited for dark subjects, and the emergence of optical equipment we have never seen before.

[Sources: Jiji, Riken press release]

Japan Railways to test world’s first fuel cell-powered train

05 Apr 2006

On April 4, the East Japan Railway Company reported progress in the development of the world's first fuel cell-powered train. With the prototype nearing completion, the company announced plans to begin trial runs in order to collect data before putting the train into commercial service.

According to officials, the test train consists of one car and is powered by two 65kW fuel cells that enable speeds of up to 100 kph (60 mph). The train is an upgraded version of JR's New Energy (NE) train -- an experimental diesel-electric hybrid developed in 2003 -- whose diesel generator has been replaced with fuel cells. The new fuel cell-powered NE train is scheduled to begin service in the summer of 2007 on the rural, non-electrified Koumi Line in Nagano and Yamanashi prefectures.

Hydrogen stored in a tank aboard the train is supplied to the fuel cells, where it reacts with oxygen to produce electricity. Unused electricity and electricity generated during braking is stored in a secondary battery, which is used as an auxiliary power source. In addition to being energy-efficient, hydrogen fuel cells emit no carbon dioxide (a contributor to global warming), only water.

[Source: Fuji Sankei]

ITR robot seeks place in the home

04 Apr 2006

ITRRobot developer Speecys Corporation has unveiled its ITR ("Internet Renaissance") robot, a compact droid capable of downloading Internet content via wireless LAN. The company announced plans to begin selling developer evaluation kits (limited to 300 sets) to content developers at the end of May. The consumer version of ITR is scheduled to hit shelves at the beginning of September with a price tag of 190,000 yen (US$1,600).

ITR, which Speecys is billing as the world's first humanoid robot to be integrated into the family, connects to a dedicated server via the Internet to download "robot content" that it presents to the user with its voice and movements. ITR uses Speecys' own Robot Transaction Markup Language (RTML) as a protocol, and the company appears to be moving forward with plans to establish RTML as the standard protocol for robot communication. With an adaptor, the IEEE 802.11g compatible bot will be able to download content from a mobile phone web browser.

Initial plans call for 12 channels of content ranging from news and weather to children's programming, variety and music programs. Features such as a "motion browser" and a library function for storing emotional expression motion data enable ITR to use sound and motion to communicate the content to the user.

ITR's hardware includes an RPU-50 CPU manufactured by Futaba Corporation, Speecys' own NetBSD-based OS (Speecys OS Rev. 2.0), and Futaba's RS301CR servo motors. ITR is outfitted with a pair of speakers and a total of 168 LEDs in its chest and hands. The robot is powered by a built-in rechargeable lithium polymer battery, and is equipped with USB and serial ports, a Mini SD slot and audio connection port. ITR is 30 cm (12 inches) tall and weighs 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs).

With dreams of seeing ITR enjoy widespread adoption in the general household, Speecys hopes ITR will follow in the footsteps of radio, TV, PC, and mobile phone to become the fifth major form of household media.

[Source: Impress Watch]

Soccer ball-shaped safe homes

03 Apr 2006

BarrierAn assortment of model "safe" homes shaped like soccer balls are on display at a home exhibition in suburban Gifu. The homes -- named "Barier" by manufacturer Kimidori Kenchiku -- are 32-sided polyhedrons encased in stainless steel. According to the company website, Barier's bulletproof construction is resistant to earthquake, typhoon, fire, and terrorist attack, and its ability to float in water makes it floodproof. When buried underground, Barier can be used as a tornado or bomb shelter. The price tag includes a mini-kitchen, a bed and two 15-inch LCD TVs, so you can be sure to catch all the World Cup action no matter what transpires outside.

[Source: Jiji, Kimidori Kenchiku]

Panasonic develops bamboo speakers

30 Mar 2006

Bamboo speakerPanasonic Electronic Devices (subsidary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.) announced on March 29 that it has teamed up with Doshisha University to develop speaker diaphragms using paper made from bamboo. Compared to speakers with conventional diaphragms that use paper made from softwood, bamboo speakers have a wider sound range and crisper treble.

Bamboo is lighter and harder than softwood, making it a suitable material for speaker diaphragms. To maintain the ideal properties of bamboo, high-speed grindstones are used instead of chemicals (which can cause some properties to be lost) to break the bamboo down into fiber.

Panasonic hopes to put the speakers on the market at the end of 2007. The speakers are expected to cost double that of conventional speakers, but the company claims that using bamboo can play a role in resource conservation because it grows faster than softwood. The company hopes to establish bamboo as a mainstream material for speakers.

[Source: Asahi Shimbun]

Countdown begins for space yogurt project

29 Mar 2006

Space yogurtFinal preparations are being made for the launch of a project to develop space yogurt. The plan is a follow-up to the Tosa Space Sake (Tosa Uchu-shu) project, in which a number of Kochi prefecture sake brewers organized a 10-day space journey for a batch of yeast that was later used to produce sake (due to go on sale in Japan on April 1). Himawari Dairy, a Kochi-area dairy manufacturer, has reserved a seat aboard a Soyuz rocket for a payload of lactic acid bacteria that they hope to use to produce the world's first space yogurt after it returns to Earth. "We are deeply interested in seeing how the bacteria will change in space," says Himawari Dairy President Bunjiro Yoshizawa. "We hope it will undergo some interesting changes."

The space yogurt project is the result of cooperation between the key players in the space sake project -- a group of Kochi prefecture business leaders promoting the use of space travel to stimulate the local industry, along with the Japan Manned Space Systems Corporation (JAMSS), which handles the logistical affairs. After tasting some success with the promotion of the space sake project, the groups decided to turn their attention to developing space yogurt.

The ingredients to hitch a ride on the Soyuz include Himawari Dairy's unique lactic acid bacteria cultured from pickles preserved in sake lees (sediment that occurs during sake brewing) and lactic acid bacteria used in commercially available yogurt. Live bacteria cultures and dormant freeze-dried bacteria will be on board. The payload also includes a sample of chlorella (green algae) for research purposes, which was provided by the Kochi University School of Agriculture.

On March 22, the ingredients were loaded into special containers in Kochi City and shipped to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. After spending about 10 days aboard the Soyuz, which is scheduled to launch March 31, the bacteria will be returned to Himawari Dairy, who will study the mutations and safety of the bacteria before beginning work on yogurt production. They hope to have the world?s first space yogurt on shelves sometime this autumn.

Cosmic radiation is expected to have an effect on the bacteria. "Lactic acid bacteria is delicate, so we are looking forward to seeing what happens," says Yoshizawa. "It will be nice if space travel improves the yogurt's flavor and boosts its immunity-enhancing properties."

[Sources: Kochi News, Mainichi Shimbun]

3D image of Milky Way shows deformed galaxy

28 Mar 2006

Researchers from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) and Tokyo University have created a three-dimensional image of the Milky Way -- reportedly the first of its kind. The image depicts a disk-shaped galaxy with a large deformity in one area, and it indicates the presence of five spiral arms as opposed to the six commonly believed to exist. The results of the research were presented at a meeting of the Astronomical Society of Japan in Wakayama City on March 28.

3D image of Milky Way

(The area on the bottom-left is deformed. The red area represents neutral hydrogen gas, the green represents hydrogen molecular gas, and the area at bottom is blank due to a lack of data.)

Because interstellar dust interferes with attempts to observe the galaxy?s visible light, the researchers focused on studying radio waves emitted by hydrogen, which is abundant in our galaxy. A variety of existing observation data from radio telescopes in Europe, the Americas, and Australia was collected, and after 6 years of analyzing the quantities and movement of hydrogen gas, an image of the three-dimensional structure of the galaxy emerged.

Gas quantities were calculated from the strength of radio waves emitted by hydrogen gas, and gas locations were obtained from calculations based on the galaxy?s rotational speed. Using the resulting distribution map of gas density, a computer was able to recreate the shape of the galaxy.

"The image can help provide a visual understanding of the cosmos that we live in," says NAOJ Nobeyama Radio Observatory researcher Hiroyuki Nakanishi. "I hope it can play a role in education."

The Milky Way is estimated to be roughly 65,000 light years in radius and 10,000 light years thick.

[Sources: Mainichi Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun, NRO press release (with high-resolution images)]

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