Star Trek "Tractor Beam" possible scientists say ...

'Tractor beam' is possible with lasers, say scientists

The idea hinges on the use of a laser whose beam is of a specific shape

A laser can act as a "tractor beam", drawing small objects back toward the laser's source, scientists have said.

It is known that light can provide a "push", for example in solar sails that propel spacecraft on a "wind of light".

Now, in a paper on the Arxiv server, researchers from Hong Kong and China have calculated the conditions required to create a laser-based "pull".

Rather than a science fiction-style weapon, however, the approach would only work over small distances.

The effect is different from that employed in "optical tweezers" approaches, in which tiny objects can be trapped in the focus of a laser beam and moved around; this new force, the authors propose, would be one continuous pull toward the source.

And it relies on directly impinging on an object, making it distinct from an approach demonstrated in 2010 by Australian researchers whose trapping worked by heating air around a trapped particle.

The trick is not to use a standard laser beam, but rather one known as a Bessel beam, that has a precise pattern of peaks and troughs in its intensity.

Seen straight-on, a Bessel beam would look like the ripples surrounding a pebble dropped in a pond.

If such a Bessel beam were to encounter an object not head-on but at a glancing angle, the backward force can be stimulated.

As the atoms or molecules of the target absorb and re-radiate the incoming light, the fraction re-radiated forward along the beam direction can interfere and give the object a "push" back toward the source.

'Radical idea'
"Light can indeed pull a particle," the authors wrote, "...and this may open up new avenues for optical micromanipulation, of which typical examples include transporting a particle backward over a long distance and particle sorting."

Ortwin Hess at Imperial College London called the work - which has not yet been peer-reviewed - as "fascinating", saying that it "takes a radical idea forward".


READ THE REST OF THE STORY HERE AT THE BBC

WiklLeaker could face death penalty ...

Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. Army Wednesday notified Pfc. Bradley Manning, a prime suspect in the WikiLeaks case, that he now faces 22 more charges in connection with allegedly downloading secret information from computers in Iraq.

most serious new charge alleges that he aided the enemy by making this information public. That charge is punishable by death. A news release from the Army said the prosecution team "has notified the defense that the prosecution will not recommend the death penalty," but technically it is up to the commander overseeing the case to make the final decision about the death penalty.

All told, Manning, a military intelligence analyst from Oklahoma, now faces a total of 34 charges in the case, including:

-- Wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the internet
-- Theft of public records
-- Transmitting defense information
-- Transferring classified data onto his personal computer
-- Disclosing classified information concerning the national defense.

Manning's lawyer, David Coombs, would not comment on the new charges, but posted a statement on his blog Wednesday evening:
"Over the past few weeks, the defense has been preparing for the possibility of additional charges in this case."

U.S. military officials have said that Manning is the prime suspect in the leak of many thousands of classified documents that ended up on the WikiLeaks website. However, WikiLeaks is not mentioned in the charge sheets.

Last August, Coombs said he'd seen no evidence tying Manning to the WikiLeaks case.
Even though the investigators filed the new charges, there are still several legal steps that would be taken before any decision will be made on which charges, if any, Manning would actually face in a court-martial.

X-37 ready for another go?

X-37B Set For Launch

by Staff Writers
Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) Mar 2, 2011
The 45th Space Wing is set to launch an Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle from Space Launch Complex 41 on March 4, 2011. The rocket will carry an Air Force X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV). The launch window for this Air Force mission opens at 3:39 p.m. EST.
The X-37B will provide a flexible space test platform to conduct various experiments and allow satellite sensors, subsystems, components and associated technology to be efficiently transported to and from the space environment where it will need to function.

Authors note: It is interesting (and maybe planned) that Discovery will be in orbit at the same time as the X-37. Read into that what you will.

-Steve Douglass

Photos of a shovel-nosed (Fastmover) real or fake?

Today in my e-mail someone posted to me a link that he thought I might be interested in. It was concerning a fast-moving black aircraft that has been heard and seen over the British Isles over the last many years.

Although I have been following the sighting reports, sky-quake reports and it is clear that probably some kind of covert high-speed aircraft operating (occasionally) out of the RAF base (now dormant) at Machrihanish Scotland, I am understandably skeptical when someone claims to have actual photos of this elusive bird.

Here's the e-mail I received from (goose) today.

> Dear Mr Douglass,

I have been a visitor to both your old project black website and more recently your Black Horizon website when I found out about it. An hour or two ago I saw a picture posted up on a web forum of a supposed aircraft that a group in England ( And possibly other places) have been following for the last few years. You may have already seen these photos ( Or even have been involved with the group as it sounds like it may have involved people in the States too), in which case apologies for sending this too you. If you haven't, I figured you may be interested in it and would love to hear your opinion on the photos and whether or not you think they are genuine. I have to admit I'm sceptical but keeping an open mind. The top left photo is the one thats adding doubt to my mind for some reason.


First thank you (goose) for visiting my blog and thinking of me when you saw this post HERE.

I'm glad you called it to my attention - and equally glad you are skeptical. Keep in mind (readers) skepticism is healthy doubt - until proven genuine.

As there are many who have been skeptical of my own sightings and photos and videos (and I always invite debate) I too view purported black aircraft photos with reserved judgement until three criteria have been satisfied.

1. Who took the photo and where? /details/time/dates/location/conditions etc ...
2. EXIF data - camera - lens used - ISO - raw images available for analysis
3. Background story ... was their witnesses? Anyone else who can back up the poster's claims? etc ...

There are also (related) three things that (once I delve deeper) that usually immediately throw any image into the "doubtful" column.

1. Was there more than one photo (even if unrelated) taken of the area or of the scene or if the craft in question at or close to the same time - because normally - people usually take more than one photo.

2. If the source is listed as "anonymous - because they don't want to get a visit from the federal authorities" chances are it is fake. As far as I know no one has ever been questioned or imprisoned or even visited by the "men in black" for posting an image of a supposed secret aircraft - because to do so would - well- acknowledge the very existence of said black project.

In fact - three letter agencies just love the postings of fakes, frauds, speculation, sightings and fuzzy images because, A: an enemy intelligence agency is always doubtful of information that comes through official channels and B: the purported rumors and speculation and guestimates about a silver bullet system (if it indeed exists) keep our enemies up at night - wondering just what kind of hyper-super-duper gee-whiz wonder weapon or spy system is capable of doing to them.

As one ex-spook once told me. "Let them loose sleep wondering if the fly on the wall is really a robot equipped with a microphone and a camera or that high-flying red dot is a spysat or an Aurora.? "

And 3 ... three?

Can I duplicate the photo....

That said - I'm fairly sure the photos (especially the one in the left hand corner is bogus.
It meets none of my criteria - and in only ten minutes I was able to create a pretty convincing look-alike using a 3-D rendering of the Space Shuttle I found on Google images.


But don't take my word for it - try it yourself - or if you are the author or poster of the images - contact me and PROVE ME WRONG!

My e-mail is listed at the top of this blog.

Samples to folow - but you'll have to go to this LINK to see the photos and context in question.


My reproduction:

I took the below image and pinched - prodded and pulled it apart in Photoshop to create my fake.



Click to enlarge:





As for the other images? They are grainy and blurry and there's not any real information there to make a definite judgement either way.

Special thanks to "goose" - good eye!

-Steve Douglass

Lubbock terrorist checked out New York spots in his alleged terror plot.

NEW YORK POST:

The Saudi student charged with an Osama bin Laden-inspired bomb plot visited several New York City landmarks last year to scope out potential targets, law-enforcement sources told The Post yesterday.

Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, the 20-year-old accused of stockpiling chemicals for his planned attacks, snapped photos of the Statue of Liberty, Times Square and Wall Street while posing as a tourist during his four-day trip, the sources said.

Aldawsari -- a die-hard fan of the bloody "Resident Evil" video games -- traveled to the Big Apple alone. He also studied live feeds from New York City's street and traffic cameras.

The one-time Texas Tech chemical-engineering major hoped to construct improvised explosive devices out of dolls, and then place them in strollers and set them off around the perpetually crowded sites, prosecutors said.

Aldawsari also dreamed of bombing dams, a nightclub and the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush.

He was arrested Wednesday in Lubbock after a chemical supplier tipped off the feds. Law enforcement seized photographs of the New York trip from his apartment, sources said.
Aldawsari, who appeared in court yesterday handcuffed and in leg shackles, faces life in prison if convicted of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.

He plans to plead not guilty when he returns to court on March 11, said his lawyer, Rod Hobson.
"This is America, where everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence, due process, effective representation of trial and a fair trial," Hobson noted.
Classmates of Aldawsari -- who prosecutors say was inspired by bin Laden's rhetoric as a boy in

Saudi Arabia -- described him as a loner.
He sporadically posted on his blog, "FromFarAway," an odd mix of Arabic prayers and wishes for martyrdom, and mused about watching "Resident Evil" trailers on YouTube.
While studying English as a second language at Vanderbilt University, he fell in love with his conversation partner, Sarah Rice Stender, a 58-year-old former professor of medicine at the Nashville, Tenn., school.


"She is [so] gorgeous that I can't forget her just right away . . . I am asking Allah the Great to convert her to Islam and marry me," he wrote in 2009.
Stender did not return a call for comment.

Sally Diastole, a senior who lived in the same off-campus apartment as Aldawsari, recalled that whenever she said hi to him, "he just never really acknowledged or responded."
She said her friends sometimes "ding-dong ditched" his apartment as a prank, ringing his bell before quickly running away.

Additional reporting by Jon Arnold in Lubbock, Texas