The Wicked Lasers Krypton S3 Will Fry Passing Satellites

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For a little under $300 you, too, can ruin passing satellites with what is purported to be the brightest legal laser available. The Krypton S3 goes up to 1000mW for an output of 86 million lux – “8,000 times brighter than looking directly at the sun.” That kind of power will cost you, though: the 1000mW unit costs $999 compared to the $300 300mW laser.

How dangerous is it? Well, Wicked Lasers advises:

Warning: This laser’s brightness is potentially hazardous to pilots’ vision and satellite sensors. NEVER point it at an aircraft or a satellite. The S3 Krypton is too powerful to be used as a laser pointer or a gunsight. Never point it at another person, an animal or a vehicle.

Why would you need something like this? Well, it’s fun for astronomy and experiments but – trust me on this – don’t give it to your kids. I’ve used some of their lighter lasers and found myself temporarily blinded just by glancing at a laser reflection off of a matte balloon I was trying to pop. This is not a toy.

Sharks and shark-mounted laser hardware sold separately.

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The Wicked Lasers Krypton S3 Will Fry Passing Satellites

Swiss Researchers Try to Make it Rain With Lasers

formaggio writes “Last year a team of researchers at Switzerland's University of Geneva had come up with an interesting way of making it rain– by shooting lasers high up into the sky. At the time it seemed like science fiction, but now they are one step closer after the team successfully finished tests around Lake Geneva. From the article: 'Records from 133 hours of firings revealed that intense pulses of laser light created nitric acid particles in the air that behaved like atmospheric glue, binding water molecules together into droplets and preventing them from re-evaporating. Within seconds, these grew into stable drops a few thousandths of a millimeter in diameter: too small to fall as rain, but large enough to encourage the scientists to press on with the work.'”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.


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Swiss Researchers Try to Make it Rain With Lasers

Swiss Researchers Try to Make it Rain With Lasers

formaggio writes “Last year a team of researchers at Switzerland's University of Geneva had come up with an interesting way of making it rain– by shooting lasers high up into the sky. At the time it seemed like science fiction, but now they are one step closer after the team successfully finished tests around Lake Geneva. From the article: 'Records from 133 hours of firings revealed that intense pulses of laser light created nitric acid particles in the air that behaved like atmospheric glue, binding water molecules together into droplets and preventing them from re-evaporating. Within seconds, these grew into stable drops a few thousandths of a millimeter in diameter: too small to fall as rain, but large enough to encourage the scientists to press on with the work.'”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.


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Swiss Researchers Try to Make it Rain With Lasers

TomTom iOS app update invites iPads to the party, provides directions

Have you been navigating that cross-country trip via the recently updated TomTom iPhone app while carrying along an iPad on the excursion as well? Soon, you’ll be able to find your way by slate alone, as the company has announced an iPad-optimized version of their GPS app. To make things even better, if you already have the download, you can grab it for your Apple tab for free this Fall. Well played, TomTom… well played.

Continue reading TomTom iOS app update invites iPads to the party, provides directions

TomTom iOS app update invites iPads to the party, provides directions originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Sep 2011 16:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Zotac unveils palm-sized ZBOX nano AD10, packing AMD Brazos APU

Zotac ZBOX nano AD10

The box looks more like Zotac’s VIA-powered mini-PC, but inside the AD10 falls right in line with rest of the AD series, packing an AMD E-350 APU alongside a Radeon HD 6310 chip. You’re also looking at integrated 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0 and a pair of USB 3.0 ports — not bad for something that’s (just barely) palm-sized. The AD10 Plus model comes pre-stocked with a 320GB hard drive and 2GB of DDR3 RAM for only $276. The barebones model doesn’t seem to have been priced yet, but we wouldn’t expect it to be too much less considering how cheap memory and hard disks are these days. Check out the gallery below and the PR after the break.

Gallery: Zotac ZBOX nano AD10

Continue reading Zotac unveils palm-sized ZBOX nano AD10, packing AMD Brazos APU

Zotac unveils palm-sized ZBOX nano AD10, packing AMD Brazos APU originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Sep 2011 07:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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