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May 21, 2009 4:00 AM PDT

Aussies cram 2,000 movies onto single DVD

by Eric Franklin
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Last month, GE revealed that its research scientists had discovered a way, using holographic technology, to store 100 DVDs worth of information on a single standard DVD. What a difference a few weeks make.

In what can only be seen as a "serving" (or pwning) of the GE researchers, the B-Boys researchers at the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, have gone way past 100 and on to 2,000.

While standard DVDs are made with three spatial dimensions, the Aussie researchers added two more.

Using nanoparticles--extremely small bits of matter--the Swinburne team was able to introduce a spectral (or color) dimension and a polarization dimension.

To create the "color dimension," the researchers inserted gold nanorods onto a disc's surface. Because nanoparticles react to light according to their shape, this allowed the researchers to record information in a range of different color wavelengths on the same physical disc location. Their findings appear in the current issue of the scientific journal Nature.

Current DVDs are recorded in a single color wavelength using a laser. Brain explode yet? No? Well just keep reading, pal.

... Read more
October 20, 2006 3:53 PM PDT

There's platinum hidden in your car

by Michael Kanellos
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Guess how much platinum there is in a Volkswagen Passat diesel? If you said $238 worth, you'd be right.

Nanostellar is trying to reduce it. The company, which focuses on car emissions, has produced a platinum alloy that can substitute for the pure material inside catalytic converters, according to CEO Pankaj Dhingra. Recently, it began production of 250 kilograms a week.

Platinum sprinkled in the catalytic converter captures gases like carbon monoxide and turns them into less dangerous compounds, such as carbon dioxide. But platinum costs a lot. Nanostellar's particles can cut around $56 to $117 out of the platinum budget and cut down on emissions.

Crooks have also been stealing catalytic converters for the platinum lately. The stuff sells for $1,100 an ounce, after all. Nanostellar is trying to land deals with automakers, but its materials will end up in aftermarket converters in the relatively near future.

(Photo: Nanostellar)

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