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April 30, 2006
"These stories about my intellectual capacity really get under my skin. You know, for a while I even thought my staff believed it. There on my schedule first thing every morning it said, 'Intelligence Briefing.'"
TDK develops 200 gigabyte Blu-Ray discs. via
Providing the same capacity but with fewer layers means each layer must hold more data that a single-layer BD can. Indeed, TDK said it upped the capacity to 33GB - 32 per cent more than a standard BD data-carrying layer can. According to the report, it uses bismuth peroxide as the recording medium - heat it sufficiently with laser light and it forms bubbles of air. These reflect light differently than the surrounding material does, so can be used to record digital information in the way a CD or DVD's pits do.
The trick seems simple. Instead of using a smooth surface, the team scored it with a series of skewed triangular grooves. This gives it a kind of saw-tooth profile.
Now the water droplets appear to push themselves off the long-slope side of the grooves and rocket across the heated surface - instead of just dancing on the spot as they do in the kitchen pan.
The mechanism is a little more complicated and took a while to work out, Dr Linke told the BBC. "The vapour," he explained, "mostly flows in one direction, and the droplet sits on the flowing vapour, a bit like a boat carried along in a flowing river."
Droplets can also climb over steps, and up inclines of up to 12 degrees. Filmed with high-speed cameras, the droplets appear to take on a life of their own, sliding along like sloppy amoebae.
At the White House Correspondents' Dinner, Stephen Colbert exhibited his balls. He mercilessly mocked Bush, who was sitting only a few feet away. Very few laughs, many more gasps. It was like the court jester revealing to the king all the realities from which the court has hidden him. Also available is a full transcript of Colbert's words and the complete CSPAN video footage of the Correspondents' Dinner. via
He attacked those in the press who claim that the shake-up at the White House was merely re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. “This administration is soaring, not sinking,” he said. “They are re-arranging the deck chairs--on the Hindenburg.”
Addressing the reporters, he said, "You should spend more time with your families, write that novel you've always wanted to write. You know, the one about the fearless reporter who stands up to the administration. You know-- fiction."
Posted by Jon Rubin at April 30, 2006 03:53 PM
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