What would happen if the Earth stops spinning?

Had you ever thought of it.If not then think now.Of course the likelihood for this actually happening in the next few hundred millions years is just about zero. But we can still speculate on what would happen anyway.
Earth is rotating at a speed of about 1100 miles per hour. If our planet suddenly stopped rotating, the atmosphere would still be in motion at that speed. The atmosphere would be moving so fast it would literally sweep the land masses clear of anything not anchored to bedrock, this would mean rocks, soil, trees, buildings, people and animals. All would be swept up into the atmosphere.
If the Earth's rotation slowed down gradually over millions of years, and this is the most likely scenario, it would be a very different story. If the Earth slowed down to one rotation every year, called synchronous rotation, every area on Earth would be in either sunlight or darkness for one year. This would be similar to what the Moon goes through where for two weeks the front side of the Moon is illuminated by the Sun followed by the front side being in darkness for two weeks.
But what if the Earth stopped rotating completely? In that case, one half the Earth would be in daylight for half the year while the other side would be in darkness. The second half of the year it would be reversed. Temperature variations would be far more extreme then they are now. The temperature gradient would affect the wind circulation also. Air would move from the equator to the poles rather then in wind systems parallel to the equator as they are now.
Even stranger would be the change in the Sun's position in the sky. In the above scenario, Sun would just have a seasonal motion up and down the sky towards the south due to the orbit of the Earth and its axial tilt. You would see the elevation of the Sun increase or decrease in the sky just as we now see the elevation of the Sun change from a single point on the Earth due to the Earth's daily rotation.
As an example, say we live at 30 degrees North latitude. In the Summer, at a longitude where the Sun was exactly overhead, it would slide gradually to the horizon as Fall approached, but since the Sun has moved 90 degrees in its orbit, it would now be due west. As Winter approached, you would now be located on the dark side of the Earth. You would have to move to a longitude 180 degrees around the Earth to see the Sun 1/2 way up the sky because in the Winter, the Sun is 50 degrees south of its summer location in the sky.
There would be other effects of the Earth's rotation slowing also. The magnetic field of the Earth is generated by a dynamo effect that involves its rotation. If the Earth stopped rotating, the magnetic field would no longer be regenerated and it would decay away to some low, residual value due to the very small component which is 'fossilized' in its iron-rich rocks. There would be no more 'northern lights' and the Van Allen radiation belts would probably vanish, as would our protection from cosmic rays and other high-energy particles. Losing this protection would cause serious health issues.
Be glad for our Earthly rotation, without it we would be much worse off!

Robot Fish to Detect Ocean Pollution

If it looks like a fish and swims like a fish, it usually is a fish. But not this new, lifelike robot fish developed by U.K. scientists.The prototype robot fish, modeled after carp,have been swimming around the London Aquarium as they await their release off northern Spain in 2011.

Equipped with tiny chemical sensors, the fish will collect data on pollution in the port of Gijón and wirelessly transmit the information back to the port's control center.

"It's a little lab onboard the fish," said Rory Doyle, a senior research scientist at BMT Group, the independent engineering company that is coordinating the rollout of the robots with funding from the European Commission. The robots were designed, and are being built, by professor Huosheng Hu and his team at the University of Essex, U.K.

The sensors will detect hazards such as chemical spills and fertilizer runoff and will allow officials to map in real time the sources and impacts of pollution, Doyle said.

He and his colleagues chose a fish design because hundreds of millions of years of evolution have yielded an energy-efficient creature, he said. "Nature has done it very, very well."

But mimicking such a successful design comes at a cost: 20,000 British pounds (nearly 29,000 U.S. dollars) per robot, to be precise.

The roughly seal-size fish, therefore, will be built "robust" enough to handle any eventuality, Doyle said. They can't get caught in nets easily, for instance, and their internal tracking systems can help the robot fish avoid collisions with boats and other obstacles.So far, it also seems unlikely the robot fish will be mistaken for prey: At the London Aquarium, sharks steer clear of the fake fish, possibly because the predators find the robots' electromagnetic fields unpleasant, Doyle said.

At the same time, scientists are working to ensure that the sounds of the robots and other factors don't disrupt the natural environment, he added.

Imagine Being Able To Touch and Feel a Holographic Image - It's Now a Reality

Holographic technology has been around for a while now - and the moment anyone mentions the word 'holograph' it may conjure up images and memories from your favorite star trek, or other sci-fi movie.

However, holographic technology seems to be taking on a life of is own now - Imagine being able to not only see a hologram, but also being able to touch it. Yes you read it correctly - touch it.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have recently a few technologies which not only make it possible to 'feel' a hologram, but also to interact with it. Imagine having a ball in your hand. Now imagine bouncing that ball up and down in your hand. Roughly the same can now be done with this new holographic technology.

By combining a series of movement tracking and visual technologies, as well as what is now known as the 'Airborne Ultrasound Tactile Display' holographic images can now be 'felt' by humans.

The hand tracking part of the technology makes use of existing technology found in the Nintendo Wiimote, by using its infrared camera and a retroflective marker placed on a users hand or finger.

This is then combined with the previously mentioned 'Airborne Ultrasound Tactile Display' - which is something a little more new. It works by using what is known as 'acoustic radiation pressure' - a technology that allows force to be generated by emitting ultrasound from the tactile display, and then felt physically at the focal point - wherever that may be. In the case of holographic projections, the focal point would obviously follow the exact position of the holographic image - thereby creating a sense of interaction with the image.

For instance - using this technology, they are able to simulate and project falling raindrops, which, if you hold your hand below the holographic raindrops, you would feel the actual point of impact on your hand, and not only that - the raindrop would also 'bounce' or splatter on your hand, just like a normal raindrop would behave in similar conditions.

Applications for this technology will most likely take us to where our imaginations can stretch, and possibly even further - but it certainly is an exciting next step in holographic technology. We won't even try to list the possible applications here, because at this point the possibilities seem almost endless for this type of application.

Interesting stuff, and we'll certainly keep an eye on it as it develops and eventually finds its way into consumer products. Pardon the pun but - watch this space :)

New Technology To Create Unbreakable Glass - (Almost)

The glass now is used as also security

Ever wished your glassware could be stronger? Less breakable?
Even unbreakable?
At some point in time everybody hears the unmistakable 'cling-clang' of glass falling and breaking, sometimes shattering into thousands of little pieces, or simply splitting into two or more chunks. It happens.
However, the familiar sound of breaking glass may eventually become something of a less familiar sound in the near future. The reason for this: an Alfred University researcher...

Dr. William LacCourse, a professor of Glass Science at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University has developed a process which produces the highest strength glassware available today. Now the question is: is it affordable? Apparently, yes.
Dr LacCourse has been researching glass strengthening processes for more than 30 years.
He was quoted as saying: “No glass is unbreakable, but our process produces the highest strength glassware available today, and at price that makes it affordable. It has the potential to save restaurants, catering services and families up to 80 percent, and perhaps more, on their glassware costs. We have dropped glass bottles from 10 feet high onto a concrete floor, and the glass simply bounces.”
The strengthened-glass products can be poduced at a cost that will be competitive with other non-strengthened glass products.
Despite advances in new technology and materials, glass seem to have an endearing quality. Glass seems to remain a popular choice for many applications, and now that strengthened glass is becoming more accessable due to more cost effective manufacturing processes, mankind's love-affair with glass products seems likely to continue.
source: click the link

'Iris Recognition Biometric Technology' benefit children

The iris in the human eye is one of the most unique features in the human body, and Bonneville County in the US has now introduced the technology to help locate missing children and elderly people.

The iris scanner is the first to be used by law enforcement in Idaho in the US, but the sheriff's office will however share it with additional departments throughout the state.

Someone who signs up for the system may be identified by simply having their eyes scanned by the device, which looks much like binoculars.

If a child is ever missing, their identification can be digitally sent around the entire country.

Some young children may not know their names or phone numbers if and when they're found missing, but can be identified by a quick iris scan. This technology works alongside fingerprinting, but is much quicker and easier to use.

MyKey

Car manufacuturing company Ford has introduced a new technology named "Mykey".

Which will be be used in all the future cars in 2010 and it will not only be present in the new cars it will be implemented in the new cars also.

Mykey does 3 basic things it gives the parents control the speed of the car and makes sure that the speed of the car doesnot exceed 130 kmph.

And it does not allow the volume of steros doesnot exceed 43%.And if the ceat belts or not kept it continue chime untill they are kept.

The main idea or the company is the keep the teens safe.The did a experiment how many would like it and how may don't like it.

Most of the teenagers don't like it.

67% of the people didnot agree with it and they are all teens and

36% liked it well they are all parents.

The MyKey system uses off-the-shelf technology from Ford,in particular the SecuriLock passive anti-Theft system, and identifies which keys are in teh ignition, therefore which driving mode to enable.Other things the MyKey system can do is to permanently enable the traction control system and set chimes for when the car reaches 70,90 or 110 kph.This technology could increase sales of the Focus Coupe to parents who see the MyKey as very useful option

source: latest-technologies

Who invented worms virus?

If you know nothing of a computer,but you might have heard about virus "worms" something like that."worms" is very destructive and very dangerous causing the systems to slow down.

You have to blame Robert Tappan Morris for this all.

Don't blame him much because he did it not on purpose if he wouldn't somebody would have done it.If any country creates a worm and spreads it to anothers and it takes down they can't have secured the data if Robert had not found it.They wouldn't have found how to stop worms.

Back in 1988,while a graduate student at Cornell Unviersity,Morris created the first worm and realeased it on the Internet.He claimed it was all an experiment gone wrong,a test to see how big the new Internet was.The worm turned out to be more that a test:It replicated quickly,slowing computers to the point of non-fucntionality and virtually cripping the Internet.He was eventually fined and sentenced to three years probation.

Since then,he has earned his Ph.D. from Harvard and made millions designing software.Today , he is a computer science professor at MIT.Not Bad....

Source : discovery news