Early Warning System For Natural Disasters Tested In U.S

Scientists are employing the use of GPS technology and other sensors in order to develop a better early warning system for earthquakes, tsunamis and floods.

The minutes before a natural disaster strikes are crucial and so an early warning system would provide emergency services the opportunity to prepare and respond more effectively in such situations.

The system, which is built on existing networks of GPS stations, has seismic sensors and other instruments installed in order to track any changes in weather conditions. A protype is being tested by scientists in California.

Team member Dr Bock from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography explains: “By combining the data from the GPS with the data from these other sensors, we can measure displacements that occur during an earthquake or another event.”

He went on to say that the system can detect tremors that occur before a large earthquake and accurately assess the magnitude.

“It might be surprising that we are using GPS to monitor weather hazards, but GPS is a weather instrument,” said Dr Angelyn Moore, from Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

“Whenever we measure the position of a GPS station, we are also measuring the amount of water vapour above it.”

This warning system could prove vital in helping to alert the public quicker and therefore help save lives.

Dr Bock feels “This can help to mitigate threats to public safety. It means real-time information can be made available.”

[Image via Gbooza]

SOURCE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25467873

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This Ultrasonic Array Makes Things Fly Around In 3D Space

When watching this video for the first time you would be forgiven for thinking that we have finally mastered the Force. However rather than Luke Skywalker, these are scientists from the University of Tokyo, who have been able to make things levitate and move in space with the use of sound waves. With enough energy they will be able to move just about anything using this new technique.

This isn’t strictly ground breaking stuff as acoustic levitation has been around for some time. But the difference is before they were only able to move a particle over a fixed axis, going only up or down.

Yoichi Ochiai, Takayuki Hoshi and Jun Rekimoto have worked to take this concept further, developing a way of making objects move in 3D space. In a research paper they explain:

“Our manipulation system has two original features. One is the direction of the ultrasound beam, which is arbitrary because the force acting toward its centre is also utilised. The other is the manipulation principle by which a localised standing wave is generated at an arbitrary position and moved three-dimensionally by opposed and ultrasonic phased arrays. We experimentally confirmed that various materials could be manipulated by our proposed method.”

The machine creates a focal point from a 3D standing wave. Then users have to alter the wave’s properties to move whatever is caught inside that point. The technique can manipulate a wide range of materials, and it’s safe to disrupt with your hands.

So practically what are we looking at here? Well as I mentioned before, if there is enough energy then any object could potentially be lifted in the air and moved in any direction, so we could see real life Back To The Future hover boards. Exciting!

[Image via Yoichi Ochiai]

SOURCE: http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/01/ultrasonic-array-moves-objects-in-3d/

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