Posts by Caytie

Malaysia protests rare earth processing plant

Re: Miseducation, misguidance and hearsay

Alpha particles can't penetrate human skin but one wouldn't want to inhale the dust nor drink contaminated drinking water

Google throws secret auto-updater to open sorcerers

@ charles

the firewall on my motherboard enables me to block any process trying to access the network

title required

Can't you just block Google Updater from accessing the network with your firewall? Or will that break everything?

Shopper connects to Jesus via Denon link cable

re: For Denon home theater?

"the insulation is made of a fluoropolymer material with superior heat resistance, weather resistance, and anti-aging properties."

i.e. PTFE aka teflon aka non-stick pan coating. will work well in your lair providing the ambient temp is <250 oC

Australia to restrict laser-pointers - Minister

Bring back stout sticks

"Debus is believed to be referring to green laser pointers, some of which give out a more powerful beam than ordinary red ones"

Its not just the power that one should be wary of. Green light is inherently more damaging to your eyes than red.

Personally i prefer a stout stick of goodly proportions to a crappy little laser pointer when giving talks. I find it imbues me with the necessary power and might to tackle the ordeal before me, point to the relevant diagram with precision accuracy and, if needs be, dispense with anyone who disputes my authority in the time-honoured fashion. I wouldn't want to accidently blind the wrong miscreant with a stray beam (of light rather than the wooden sort).

Sony ships 11in OLED TV in the US

re: getting closer and but how long will it last??

I'm holding out for the huge flat screen too. We were told as chem ug's that it would be ~20yrs before OLED screens would be a commercial reality. Its only been 5 so i'm quite impressed.

The main problem with the OLED concept is finding a molecule/polymer that emits clean blue light (i.e. not yellow as well). Organic molecules which emit blue light will be inherently prone to decompose as blue light indicates a higher frequency transition (than red or green) and thus is more unstable. Therefore such molecules should also possess a low turn on voltage to increase the lifetime. As to whether this has been fully resolved... there are many researchers in universities and industry still devoting their lives to this so i'm guessing not. Unlike, say CRT tech which uses a pretty standard formula to generate RGB