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SONY: Walkman Mini Disk (90s-2000s)
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After 4 years of work, I've finally published my very first peer-reviewed theory paper: Design rules for controlling active topological defects
(and it's open access! :D)
I am sooo excited to finally be able to share this! I'll probably write some more in the future about what it was like to work on this project, but for now here's what I want to say about it:
I think this work is a beautiful example of how the long, meandering paths of curiosity-driven research can bring us in completely unexpected directions, yielding new ideas and technologies that might never have been found by problem- or profit-driven research.
We started this project because we were interested in the fundamental physics of active topological defects; we wanted to understand and develop a theory to explain their effective properties, interactions, and collective behaviors when they're hosted by a material whose activity is not constant throughout space and time.
Along the way, we accidentally stumbled into a completely new technique for controlling the flow of active 2D nematic fluids, by using symmetry principles to design activity patterns that can induce self-propulsion or rotation of defect cores. This ended up being such a big deal that we made it the focus of the paper, for a few reasons:
- Topological defects represent a natural way to have discrete information in a continuous medium, so if we wanted to make a soft material capable of doing logical operations like a computer, controlling active defects might be a really good way of putting that together.
- There have also been a number of biological systems that have been shown to have the symmetries of active nematics, with experiments showing that topological defects might play important roles in biological processes, like morphogenesis or cell extrusion in epithelia. If we could control these defects, we'd have unprecedented control over the biological processes themselves.
Right now the technique has only been demonstrated in simulations, but there are a number of experimental groups who are working on the kinds of materials that we might be able to try this in, so hopefully I'll get to see experimental verification someday soon!
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Tiny BurstCube's Tremendous Travelogue
Meet BurstCube! This shoebox-sized satellite is designed to study the most powerful explosions in the cosmos, called gamma-ray bursts. It detects gamma rays, the highest-energy form of light.
BurstCube may be small, but it had a huge journey to get to space.
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Heiko Hellwig: ‘Silicon Cities’ (2017)
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LaRue Burbank, mathematician and computer, is just one of the many women who were instrumental to NASA missions.
4 Little Known Women Who Made Huge Contributions to NASA
Women have always played a significant role at NASA and its predecessor NACA, although for much of the agency’s history, they received neither the praise nor recognition that their contributions deserved. To celebrate Women’s History Month – and properly highlight some of the little-known women-led accomplishments of NASA’s early history – our archivists gathered the stories of four women whose work was critical to NASA’s success and paved the way for future generations.
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Black Scientists and Engineers Past and Present Enable NASA Space Telescope
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is NASA’s next flagship astrophysics mission, set to launch by May 2027. We’re currently integrating parts of the spacecraft in the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center clean room.
Once Roman launches, it will allow astronomers to observe the universe like never before. In celebration of Black History Month, let’s get to know some Black scientists and engineers, past and present, whose contributions will allow Roman to make history.
Dr. Beth Brown
The late Dr. Beth Brown worked at NASA Goddard as an astrophysicist. in 1998, Dr. Brown became the first Black American woman to earn a Ph.D. in astronomy at the University of Michigan. While at Goddard, Dr. Brown used data from two NASA X-ray missions – ROSAT (the ROentgen SATellite) and the Chandra X-ray Observatory – to study elliptical galaxies that she believed contained supermassive black holes.
With Roman’s wide field of view and fast survey speeds, astronomers will be able to expand the search for black holes that wander the galaxy without anything nearby to clue us into their presence.
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Keyboard hardware program
Source: archive.org
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For the Benefit of All: Assistive Tech Developed from NASA Tech
What do modern cochlear implants and robotic gloves have in common? They were derived from NASA technology. We’ve made it easier to find and use our patented inventions that could help create products that enhance life for people with disabilities.
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, which highlights the contributions of American workers with disabilities – many of whom use assistive technology on the job. Take a look at these assistive technologies that are NASA spinoffs.
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Computer center at Swedish State Railways office at Tomteboda, Stockholm, Sweden, July 21, 1965.
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Control Data Corporation, an early pioneer in computing, was established in Minnesota on this day in 1957.
Source: threads.net