Lightsaber-like plasma antenna uses laser-ionized air to transmit radio waves

Researchers have demonstrated a technique that uses a laser to produce a plasma beam antenna capable of transmitting radio waves. The article, “Laser-Induced-Plasma-Filament Antenna Transmitting 30 MHz VHF,” is published in the IEEE Journal of Microwaves.

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BWC: NYPD officers shoot man who raised knife at cop, made bomb threat from Brooklyn Bridge beam

Bodycam video shows officers with NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit climbing out to the man and negotiating with him for more than an hour before he moved in with the knife

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Space radiation sparks: A biological cascade of cancer

Deep space travel comes with a huge potential downside—radiation exposure that can kill an astronaut either quickly or slowly over time if not managed correctly. But what exactly does that mean, and is there any way to handle it other than sticking more and more protective layers between the squishy biological systems inside a spacecraft and the radiative void of deep space?

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Tiny ancient black holes may live in a five-dimensional world

Primordial black holes (PBHs) don’t exist as far as we know. But if they did, these hypothetical objects would have formed in the early universe rather than from dying stars, and they may even make up dark matter. That’s not the end of the weirdness. Their formation could have been even stranger if it occurred in a universe with a dark dimension, which is another theoretical construct. It posits that our space includes a hidden extra spatial dimension.

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X-rays and AI reveal how spacecraft heat shields burn in real time

Heat shields are one of the most important parts of any spacecraft that intends to enter an atmosphere. And the material they are made of is critical. Improving them has been a challenge, though, as researchers typically only get “before” and “after” pictures of a heat shield’s job of helping a spacecraft land safely back on Earth.

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Judge rules Okla. deputy’s warrantless ALPR search violated Fourth Amendment

The judge suppressed evidence in a case after finding the deputy began following the rental car for no reason other than its California plates

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Wis. trooper dies after falling from bridge overpass during pursuit

Trooper Brad Ritger, 29, fell from the elevated bridge as he worked to deploy spike strips to stop a fleeing driver

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Video shows man steal cruiser and flee after allegedly shooting Mich. deputy

A dashcam footage release censors any view of the shooting of the Kalamazoo County deputy, but shows the suspect running back toward the cruiser before it takes off

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The phoenix planet: Astronomers find a world reborn from its star’s ashes

Astronomers have discovered the first example of a second-generation planet orbiting a white dwarf, a world that appears to have formed from the remains of the dead star it now orbits.

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Wash. judge tosses parts of state law that added new standards for sheriffs

The law would have added new standards for sheriffs’ ages, years of service, and previous misconduct and allowed county officials to remove and replace sheriffs who didn’t meet them

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Scientists uncover recurrent patterns within chaotic quantum behavior

Many complex quantum systems rapidly lose the recognizable patterns of their initial states as their components interact. To describe patterns of regular and chaotic motion in specific systems, physicists can construct a mathematical map called an effective phase space.

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Electrical technique could help identify signs of life in space

The truth is out there—but identifying signs of life in space involves an intense search for biosignatures within our solar system and beyond. However, developing sensitive yet compact technologies capable of detection has proven to be an out-of-this-world challenge.

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Gamma-ray search sets new limits on dark matter annihilation in the inner Milky Way

Dark matter could be a type of matter in the universe that does not emit, absorb or reflect detectable light and appears to interact very weakly with regular matter. Although physicists have observed gravitational effects attributed to dark matter, they have not yet been able to determine what it is made of.

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Hidden X-ray phase revealed in likely neutron star merger

An international team of astronomers, including researchers from the Department of Physics and the Hong Kong Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics (HKIAA) at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), has discovered a previously hidden phase of high-energy activity following the merger of compact stars.

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How Enceladus’ ocean spray becomes chemically diverse ice grains

Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus hides a global ocean beneath its frozen surface. From fractures near its south pole, material from this ocean is ejected into space as a plume of water vapor and ice particles. These particles offer scientists a rare opportunity to investigate an extraterrestrial ocean without drilling through kilometers of ice.

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