The Matrix genre transmits new skills and knowledge to the brain
In the trilogy of the American Hollywood science fiction film The Matrix, you can master new knowledge and skills or form new memories in the virtual world or in your sleep. At present, a new research experiment shows that scientists can instill new skills or knowledge into people who are awake one day, and even people will learn these skills without knowing it.
Whether practicing basketball skills or playing the piano, the traditional learning process always requires memorization effect and repeated practice, so repeated physical or mental exercises are necessary to transform it into some kind of brain active memory. However, a cooperative study by American and Japanese scientists found that people can master and improve certain skills only by circularly stimulating brain activity. This latest research shows that recipients can acquire new knowledge, skills or memories, and may also recover the memory loss caused by accidents, diseases or aging.
genetically modified bacteria release biological laser for the first time
Some cells can resist diseases, while others come from hair and bones. At present, scientists can make kidney cells emit biological laser beams for the first time through some strange genetic improvement methods and a set of tiny mirrors.
By controlling the green fluorescent protein (GFP), scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States have successfully produced this kind of biological laser, which proves the feasibility of this experimental theory. This research means that there will be the possibility of self-healing laser without battery in the future. This breakthrough research will enable doctors and scientists to observe the internal working conditions of individual cells without using a microscope.
Malte Gather, a physicist at Massachusetts General Hospital and co-author of the successful establishment of laser cells, said: "The initial motivation was genuine scientific curiosity. When we started this research project, it was the fiftieth anniversary of the first demonstration of lasers. Everyone thought that lasers were inanimate substances, and it was generally believed that lasers would not appear in nature. We want to confirm the truth of this theory and whether we can make a biological laser. "
NASA plans to use 3D printers to manufacture the components of the International Space Station
Up to now, the space station components worth $1 billion have been sent to the International Space Station, and the space station can still be located in the Earth orbit outpost in the next decade. By sending some 3D printer devices, people will be able to build any object in space as needed-space station components, astronaut tools, satellites and even spacecraft.
the first stage of the "space factory" is that NASA recently started to build a 3D printer suitable for the International Space Station. The printer technology like this can build a large number of objects and print them layer by layer based on the design model of mission control. Astronauts only need to provide "raw materials", such as plastic or metal, to make new tools and components used in the space station. Zhan Jason Dunn, co-founder and chief technology officer of space manufacturing company * * *, said: "If a component or tool of the space station is damaged, it will be the worst thing, but if you have a 3D printer, it will be very easy! The staff of the space station called the Houston Center and asked the staff to upload the CAD drawings of the component or tool to the space station. With a 3D printer, it only takes one day for us to completely design the same structure as the prototype. "
Space Manufacturing Company is a subsidiary of Singularity University in the United States. This university is located in the central area of Silicon Valley, California, inside the Ames Research Center of NASA. It is an institution jointly established by NASA and Google, which is dedicated to cultivating future scientists, with a view to solving the most difficult scientific problems in the world. The company's Dunn estimates that printing space station components in space will reduce the mass of the target object by at least 3%, because such objects do not need to be maintained by the gravity of the earth or the acceleration of gravity when they are launched by rockets.
Dunn said in an interview with reporters: "The long-term goal of our 3D printer is to truly build a fully functional spacecraft. In the next few years, the' CubeSat (Mini Satellite)' can be designed and built by the 3D printer of the International Space Station." First of all, the space manufacturing company must create a 3D printer, which can well adapt to the zero-gravity environment in space and test and print the world's earliest and simplest tool-the small wrench. The final printer test will enable Dunn and the research team members to determine the customized printer mode, focus on printing plastic polymers, and build a large number of space station components.
The lightest solid material in the world
At present, scientists have recently developed a metal lattice tube, the wall of which is thinner than hair, and it is the lightest solid material in the world so far. This complex material structure will bring about an innovative revolution in materials with unique strength and brightness, including the manufacture of diamonds.
ultra-lightweight objects such as foam are widely used as thermal insulators to suppress sound, vibration, ringing and impact. It can also be used as scaffolding for battery electrodes and contact systems. Previously, the lightest substance in the world was aerogel, which was also called "frozen smoke" by scientists because of its unique properties. The density of aerogels is only 1 mg per cubic centimeter, which is lower than that of air at room temperature and sea level. However, low-density materials such as aerogels and metal foams have great defects, and their structures are randomly arranged. At present, the latest metal lattice tube designed by scientists not only has ultra-light weight, but also has very low density. More importantly, it is made of ordered structure. Tobias Schard, chief scientist of HRL Laboratory in Malibu, California, USA, said: "The design of this innovative ultra-light material originated from the French Eiffel Tower, which has a light weight but an extremely hard structure because of its unique structure. Compared with the pyramids, the Eiffel Tower is taller and lighter. It is this design that sprouted our idea of designing metal lattice tubes. "
researchers first used liquid photopolymer, a molecule that can change its properties when exposed to light. They irradiated this photopolymer with ultraviolet rays to produce a three-dimensional lattice shape, and then coated the structure with a thin metal layer, usually a nickel-phosphorus alloy. Next, the researchers etched the photopolymer layer by layer to form a hollow Ni-P alloy lattice structure, each with a width of 1-5 microns, or one-fifth of the diameter of human hair. The thickness of the lattice wall is 1-5 nanometers, which is less than one thousandth of the diameter of human hair. Its density is .9 mg per cubic centimeter, which is 2 times lighter than that of foamed polyethylene.
Brain-reading instruments will replace traditional input devices such as keyboards.
The standard keyboard has occupied the dominant position in computer input devices for nearly 4 years. At present, a device newly developed by scientists may replace the disk-releasing and touch screen technology, and the latest breakthrough technology can directly convert human thinking into digital form. The first stage of this brain reading instrument is to use brain scanning to identify some thoughts expressed in words.
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scanning shows that brain activity will be ignited by thinking about some physical objects, such as horses or houses. The brain reading instrument based on functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning is likely to replace the keyboard, but scientists point out that it may be the first time that the brain reading instrument will help paralyzed patients, and it will still take many years to realize this technology. At present, the problem of realizing the portability of brain reading instrument has not been effectively solved.
the U.S. military launches a supersonic aircraft, which can strike any region in the world within one hour.
At present, the latest supersonic aircraft developed by the U.S. military can strike military targets in any region in the world within one hour. On November 18th, the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon—AHW), which can reach five times the speed of sound, was successfully tested.
if the U.S. military starts to fully deploy this advanced supersonic aircraft, it will mean that the United States will no longer rely on foreign positioning missile bases. At present, the Pentagon has not announced that this supersonic aircraft can reach a specific speed, which is not as easy to mobilize and launch as traditional intercontinental missiles. Lieutenant Colonel Melinda Morgan, a US military spokesman, said that the supersonic aircraft test aims to collect information about aerodynamics, navigation, guidance and control, and thermal protection technology.
The US Army's advanced supersonic weapon research project is part of the "Global Instant Strike" program, which aims to deliver conventional weapons to any part of the world for the US military within one hour. Scientists estimate that the speed of this supersonic aircraft exceeds Mach 5-five times the speed of sound, and the speed can reach 3,728 miles per hour.
aluminum alloy material can generate hydrogen and heat when it meets water
aluminum is the most common metal material on the earth, which can be used to make carbonated drinks cans or baseball bats. At present, scientists have synthesized an aluminum material, which is expected to solve the energy crisis in the world. Jerry Woodall, an engineer at Purdue University in the United States, has successfully developed an aluminum alloy material, which can generate hydrogen and heat when it reacts with water. Now he is actively seeking cooperative investors to design a new device-collecting hydrogen as fuel and purifying water by using the heat generated when it meets water.
Woodall said: "The earth's crust contains a lot of aluminum metal, which can supply the global energy demand." In order to determine the special use of aluminum, Woodall melted aluminum together with gallium, indium and tin, and finally these three metals were mixed with aluminum at room temperature to form aluminum alloy particles. In this state, water can react with this aluminum alloy material. When an aluminum alloy ball is put into water, it will naturally decompose water, accompanied by the generation of heat and hydrogen. After that, the released hydrogen is collected and used to drive equipment, or charged into a fuel cell to generate electricity.
It is calculated that only 1kg of this aluminum alloy material can generate 12.9 kWh of electricity when it contacts with water, compared with 6.7 kWh of electricity generated by coal with the same quality. Woodall said: "This aluminum alloy material will not completely disappear after reacting with water, and it will not be finally discharged as tail gas like gasoline."
At present, the effectiveness of the new system developed with this aluminum alloy material needs further verification. It will take at least five years to improve the properties of aluminum alloy material, and it implies that the popularization and use of this material will reduce the global dependence on oil and coal in the future.
Invisible materials can hide objects
In recent years, some scientists have developed various "invisibility cloaks" one after another, and proved that everything from winter clothes to tanks can be invisible, but the effect of these invisibility cloaks is not ideal. In October this year, scientists at the University of Dallas in the United States recently developed an invisible material, which showed magical invisibility through demonstration videos. This stealth device is a phenomenon of "light bending" formed by heating carbon nano-filament, and its principle is similar to the well-known mirage phenomenon.
This phenomenon is called "photothermal deflection", which means that the "bent beam" deviates from the surface of the object towards the observer's eyes. This is similar to when the hot air on the ground reflects a water wave image to the sky, instead of letting the light beam reflect from the ground. This process forms the illusion of "mirage" when thirsty pedestrians walk through the desert.
Carbon nanotubes can be heated quickly, and the "thermal gradient" established by scientists at the University of Dallas is similar to a layer of hot air on the ground. The heat transfer ability of these transparent carbon nanotube sheets can realize high-frequency temperature adjustment in a large temperature range. Scientists at the University of Dallas say that the unique properties of carbon nanotube sheets suggest that they may be applied to stealth devices that can be switched on and off. At present, it can be realized not only in air, but also in water. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are a kind of artificial carbon materials. As slender as hair, CNTs can make their length reach millions of times their diameter. They are sometimes used in bicycle parts or high-strength resin materials. They also have heat conduction ability and can now be used to build "invisible switches".
Super sticky tape realizes the realistic version of "Spider-Man"
Inspired by the feet of insects, a newly developed adhesive tape is very sticky, which can support "flying over the eaves" like Spider-Man and can be reused for thousands of times.
The surface of this super adhesive tape is covered with millions of siliceous mushroom-like structures, which are invisible to the naked eye, simulating the dense micro hairs on the feet of insects. Scientists from the Zoological Society of Kiel University in Germany found that insects can climb the wall smoothly with tiny hairs on their feet. Based on this principle, they developed an adhesive tape. This kind of adhesive tape is silicone with a micro-hair structure, which is very sticky enough for a researcher to hang from the ceiling. The key to the unique climbing ability of insects is that they have thousands of hair structures whose ends can be flattened, thus maximizing the contact area. Stanislav Gorb, the head of this research, explained that this super-strong adhesive tape can make maximum contact with the surface of an object, and it can achieve perfect contact with any surface due to various contact points.
The adhesive tape developed by Golber's research team is twice as sticky as ordinary tape on the surface of the same substance. At the same time, this tape can also be used in water without leaving any adhesive residue. This bio-inspired tape also has many potential commercial applications, from wall climbing search robots to industrial mounters. At present, the research team has not stopped exploring and searching for new inspiration from nature. At present, the research team is investigating other biological structure surface characteristics, including: beetle body covering, snake skin and anti-adhesive plants.
Centennial Starship Plan
At present, the Pentagon of the United States has put the Centennial Starship Plan on the agenda, and plans to ensure the actual interstellar travel of mankind within a hundred years. Now it has begun to recruit science fiction writers, ethicists and scientists to participate in the Centennial Starship Plan.
The Centennial Starship Plan requires the development of new space science and technology that can sustain life faster than the speed of light. If aliens attack the earth in the future, or the end of the earth comes, humans can take refuge in other planets by starship spacecraft.