dataSTICKIES: USB Drives That Work Like Post-It Notes!

I love the ease with which I can peel off a sticky note from a stack, scribble some random note on it, and then slap it on my computer table so I don’t forget. It’s just cool! Since I consider myself a ‘tech-enthusiast’, more often than not, I used to wonder whether there would ever be an electronic version of the same thing.

As it turns out, this revolutionary technology has already been released to the world!

 

dataSTICKIES Are Here

dataSTICKIES are paper-thin data storage devices that can be stacked on top of one another, just like Post-it notes. When needed, these thin data holders can be peeled off from the stack and stuck anywhere on the proposed ODTS. ODTS stands for Optical Data Transfer Surface, which is a special panel that can be attached to the front surface of various devices, such as computer screens, televisions, music systems, and many others.

Not only that, these digital stickies can be reused!

The ‘How’ of dataSTICKIES

 

dataSTICKIES are made from graphene – a super-strong, conductive material made of a single layer of carbon atoms – and will be sold in a range of different sizes up to 32GB. A single datasticky consists of three layers, as seen in the picture above; the graphene layer is sandwiched between two protective layers.

The adhesive used in dataSTICKIES is not just any regular adhesive; it is a special low-tack, pressure-sensitive conductive adhesive that leaves no marks after being removed from the surface of the computer screen, television etc. (regular Post-it notes do leave a bit of a mark, but that is no longer a problem).

Advantages Over Regular USB Drives

The value of dataSTICKIES all boils down to a few key benefits. There are some very cool features that make these dataSTICKIES a better alternative for data storage and transfer than traditional USB drives.

1. Ultra-thin 

2. Extremely easy to carry around

3. Hassle-free; you won’t have to fumble for the USB port on your CPU or the sides of the laptop or TV. These dataSTICKIES simply get pressed to the screen. Plain and simple!

4. You can carry a full stack of dataSTICKIES with you, meaning that you can carry more than 100 GB on you at all times!

Essentially, this technology is the future of data transfer and storage, replacing traditional USB drives or ‘data-sticks’ as we know them. A pair of Indian scientists, Aditi Singh and Parag Anand, have designed this groundbreaking technology, which will soon be available to the general public.

The more we learn about technology, the cooler it seems to get, right? Who knows what we’ll come up with next…

How Does Whatsapp’s End-to-End Encryption Protect Your Chats From Snooping?

t may be hilarious when you see a meme like that turn up every time there’s a debate about privacy and how it’s being encroached online, but things get a lot more serious when that feeling finally hits you with full force… that Orwellian feeling telling you that:

Whatsapp, one of the most popular communication apps, with more than a billion users around the world, recently rolled out an ‘end-to-end encryption’ feature that will be applied by default on every host device after they are updated next. While most of us were happy about the fact that our texts and calls on Whatsapp would now be ‘shrouded’, there still isn’t much explanation about what the feature actually is and how it does what it claims.

So let’s decrypt this encrypted tech mystery!

What is end-to-end encryption?

End-to-end encryption is a very powerful feature that basically codes your messages. When you send a text to a friend, it gets scrambled (and hence encrypted) on its way and can only be decoded on the recipient’s device. The same algorithm applies for sharing files and making calls. The benefit of such scrambling is that it keeps your chats and calls protected against unwelcome acts of privacy breaching by a third party.

What this basically means is that the conversation you’re having with your friends/relatives is read only by them and no one else; not by Whatsapp, not by your service provider, not by your haters, and not even by the government!

How does end-to-end encryption work?

The aim of end-to-end encryption is to code sender’s information (in this case, messages, calls and shared files) in such a way that only the recipient’s device can decode it, making it immune from any external interception. This is achieved by providing only the recipient’s device with the decryption keys that can decode the message sent by the sender. This is where two main types of keys enter the picture of encryption: public keys and private keys.

Public Keys and Private Keys

The term ‘public key’ refers precisely to what it sounds like, only in the world of encryption, it’s a complex code instead of a physical key made of steel. Anyone can generate public keys (and private keys) on their devices. To better understand what I’m talking about, take a look at what public keys and private keys typically look like:

As you can see for yourself, these keys are incredibly complex and almost impossible to make any real sense out of with just a cursory glance. That’s why there are algorithms and systems in place that do the technical toiling for you in the background while you tap away on the screen of your phone.

When you first register yourself with Whatsapp by installing it on your phone, a bunch of Public Keys for your phone are generated and stored on Whatsapp’s server and are then used to encrypt texts that someone sends you. The number of Public Keys assigned to a device can vary for different apps and programs. In the case of Whatsapp, for example, there are three public keys, namely the Identity Key, Signed Pre Key and One-time Pre Key (this one is used only for the first time someone texts you and is then deleted afterwards).

Here’s how you can understand this process in simple words; when someone, say, Sam, sends a message to Emma, Sam’s phone uses the Public Keys of Emma’s phone to encrypt the message and deliver it to Emma. However, the system has to make sure that the message can only be read by Emma (i.e., the intended recipient) and no one else, not even the server that is relaying the message.

Sam sends a message that no one else but Emma can read

This is where Private Keys enter the picture. Every device has a unique private key that is stored on the device and not anywhere else. Therefore, when Sam sends a message to Emma, it is encrypted and transmitted using the Public Keys of Emma and decrypted using the Private Key when it reaches Emma’s phone.

To give a simple analogy, think of how mailboxes (post-boxes) work. Anyone can put their letters into the box (server) through the narrow slot (Public Key), but only the postman, who has a unique key (Private Key), can unlock the box and retrieve all the letters. Encryption on devices works similarly, but they do it using huge chunks of algorithms and codes.

Note that this is just the basic description of how end-to-end encryption works; for an in-depth explanation of how Whatsapp applies this encryption to host devices, check out the Whatsapp Security Whitepaper.

In a world where everything from ordering a pizza to sharing highly sensitive documents is done online, there is an urgent, almost desperate need for tools and systems that are able to safeguard one’s privacy. The need becomes even more pressing in the context of apps that we use on a ‘hyper-regular’ basis, such as social media apps and certain communication apps that feature ‘free’ texting and calling.

With all that being said, the end-to-end encryption feature of Whatsapp is undoubtedly a welcome measure for its users, but like everything, it also has its downside. Since this is a technically sophisticated automated feature that encrypts chats and calls on every device, it gives peace-keeping authorities and governments a tough time keeping an eye on anti-social elements and other nefarious activities.

All in all, it’s a useful feature that marks a significant step towards privacy safety on an end-user level; how it’s going to influence society on a global scale is something that we’ll have to keep our eye on. 

How A Simple Formula Can Help You Find Aliens

Since the beginning of human civilization, we have looked up at the stars and wondered in amazement. The vastness of the universe was unknown to early humans, but in recent decades and centuries, we have begun to realize just how incredibly large the universe truly is. With hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy alone, and with hundreds of billions of galaxies in the observable universe, a normal question was bound to arise… Is anyone else out there?


This has fascinated everyone from conspiracy theorists and kings to modern astronomers and Hollywood producers, but back in 1961, a man named Frank Drake came up with an equation that would measure the likelihood of making contact with intelligent life in our galaxy. That is the essential goal of the Drake Equation, and while it has been hotly debated for decades, it remains one of the most concise and trusted methods of estimating an answer to that eternal question: Are we alone in the universe?

The Drake Equation

When Frank Drake first came up with the idea for the Drake equation, he was actually trying to generate a conversation among a “meeting of the minds” regarding the search for extraterrestrial life (SETI). However, the simple and inclusive design of his equation has become the stuff of legend. Before we go into the details of the equation, let’s look at it in simple terms.

The Drake Equation (Photo Credit: meletver / Fotolia)

So, the Drake Equation is:

However, it would be a bit more insightful to know what each of those variables meant. So, without further ado…
N = the number of possible civilizations in the galaxy that could communicate with us
R_* = average rate of star formation in the Milky Way
f_p = the fraction of those stars that possess planets
n_e = the number of planets that could support life around each of those stars with planets
f_l = the fraction of planets that could support life that actually do develop life
f_i  = the fraction of planets with life that develop intelligent life
f_c = the fraction of intelligent civilizations that attempt to send communication out into space to be detected
L = the length of time that signal would be sent out into the universe (duration of civilization)

The Drake Equation (Photo Credit: noeticscience.co.uk)

An Answer to the Drake Equation?

While it seems like a simple enough equation, the problem doesn’t like with generating a final answer (N), but rather in determining what other variables should be included. The first three variables (average star formation rate, planet-possessing stars, and potential to support life on those planet) are relatively easy to determine.
R_* – By looking at our own nearby galactic neighborhood and the residual gas clouds from star formation, we can safely calculate that the present rate of star formation is currently about 7 stars per year. This number was far greater in the past, but in the 21st century, that’s a safe bet.

The Orion Nebula, one of our nearest star nurseries (Photo Credit: peresanz / Fotolia)

f_p – The fraction of those stars with planets is often assumed to be 1, given that many modern astronomers believe that every star has the capacity to retain orbiting planets, making stars without planets an exception, rather than a rule. However, some other figures place that number at only .4 (4 out of 10 stars will possess planets). This is where the significant differences in variables begin, but it gets even more intense.
n_e – The number of planets that could support life around each of those stars is largely derived from our own solar system, where Earth is definitely habitable, but we have yet to determine the habitability of various other moons and planets. Therefore, the number ranges from .5 to 2 in most calculations of the Drake Equation.

Those are the easy ones… and there is far more debate on the last 4 variables, as much of it is conjecture, based on belief, rather than scientific fact or direct observable experience. 
f_l  – The fraction of planets that do develop life is hotly debated and cannot be directly tested, as we haven’t traveled to other exoplanets where the “stuff of life” has been detected. We know that life could develop, but not whether it will. Some say life is inevitable, making this variable equal to 1, while others say it is 1/100, or even smaller!
f_i – The fraction of planets with life that develop intelligent life is similarly up for grabs. Many argue that intelligent life is inevitable, using Earth as an example (humans evolved from every other form of life, and eventually became intelligent), while critics say that it was a 1 in a billion chance, as there have been hundreds of millions of non-intelligent species in the history of the planet.

f_c – The fraction of those intelligent civilizations that send communication signals suggests a highly technologically evolved culture with the desire to reach out to the stars. This could also be largely conjectural, but a 1/100 estimate was made by Drake, although others say it is a 100% chance, if given enough time.
L – Finally, we come to length of time the signal would be generated. For example, perhaps a civilization rose to prominence 10 million years ago, broadcast the signal, but then destroyed itself before it could connect with us. This is the variable with the most flexibility, from a few hundreds years up to billions (some suggest that eventually, a civilization will discover how to survive in perpetuity, meaning the signal transmission time would be massive.

Maybe they’re just getting a busy signal (Photo Credit: Alexander Pokusay / Fotolia)

NOW….in 1961, Drake estimated with a rather simple range of values, and came up with two values, a minimum and maximum. 
The minimum estimation of possible communicative civilizations in our galaxy is 20, while the maximum is roughly 50,000,000. Frank Drake himself believes that the number lies somewhere between 1,000 and 100,000,000.

The Modern Take on Drake

While the debate over extraterrestrial life will never be resolved until we actually find some, we have improved our ability to calculate the variables in the equation. Unfortunately, this hasn’t done much in terms of shrinking the possible range. In fact, our precision has only expanded the range, and current estimates range from 2 to 280,000,000.
The original purpose of the Drake equation, we must remember, was not to determine an accurate number of communicating, intelligent civilizations in our galaxy; it was to stimulate thought in this area, and hopefully guide people to look into the variables and expand the scope of their research. To that end, Frank Drake has been extremely successful. With every successive venture into the cosmos, we get closer to finding life (or not), but with hundreds of billions of stars out there, we’ll likely never know the exact number. However, in terms of extraterrestrial life, I’ll leave it to Fox Mulder….

 

Why Does Swiss Cheese Have Holes in It?

Have you ever noticed how in cartoons, all the round wheels of cheese have holes in them? These holes are much less pronounced in real life, but they are still there, and remain an essential and distinctive attraction of those beloved foods. In the world of cheese, these holes are known as “eyes”, and a wheel or a block of cheese will have lots of them.

To start with, what creates these eyes? Mice who nibble away at it, bit by bit, perhaps? Well, as cute as that might be to imagine, that’s not the case. Firstly, cheese-making is held to an extremely high standard, so it’s almost unheard of to have mice or pests in the vicinity. The real reason for having holes is a little less furry and a bit more scientific.

Credits: BillionPhotos/Shutterstock

Why are Cheese Wheels Round?

However, let’s first take a look at why cheese is made in the way it is. The round, barrel-shaped, spheroidal lump is called a ‘truckle’ of cheese, derived from the Latin word trochlea, meaning “wheel”. Their sizes range from small wax-coated ones that you find in the supermarket to giant, handmade ones that weigh over 20 kilograms. Round shapes are also sturdier than rectangular molds, as the latter are prone to chip away at the edges. With a truckle or a cheese wheel, you have a solid lump of cheese that doesn’t break away during transport or storage!

The round shape also helps in the formation of cheese, as most of the bacteria present in the cheese breaks down the edges as it ripens. This creates a hard, outer edge known as the ‘rind’. The rind adds flavor to the cheese wheel, while also protecting it from bugs and insects, which was quite useful in the time before refrigerators (Yes, they loved cheese back then too). A cylindrical chunk of cheese will have a more consistent rind, as there are less corners where over-ripening could turn it into an overly salty disaster. That’s why you can roll cheese down from the top of a hill – because cheese-makers have perfected the science behind its shape!

Credits: peterzsuzsa/Shutterstock

Yes, but what about the holes?

Cheese is made by adding different strains of bacteria to milk and letting it ferment over time. The excess liquid is removed, so what you’re left with is a soft, solid mush that is then salted and stored. After a while, cheese, as we know it, is formed. In Swiss cheese, the eyes are formed due to the release of carbon dioxide from special strains of bacteria, including Streptococcus, Lactobacillus and P. freudenreichii shermani.  The bacteria consumes the lactic acid found in milk and releases tiny bubbles of CO2, which form gradually growing air pockets, resulting in the holes you see in Swiss cheese. This fermentation process also creates the sweet and nutty flavor of cheese that we love. Controlling the size of the holes is also possible; cheese-makers do this by increasing or decreasing the acidity of the cheese. The more acidity, the larger the holes!

Aren’t Bacteria Harmful?

Well, not all of them. P. shermani is one example of bacteria that is actually quite beneficial to us, as it is thought to cleanse the gastrointestinal tract. It is also thought to decrease the risk of colon cancer. You heard it here first, folks… eating some types of bacteria can make you healthier! 

So there you have it. At the end of the day, it’s the very same bacteria that creates the flavors in our cheese that also cause those distinctive holes. This bacteria has branded Swiss cheese as a legendary variety throughout the world, and has given it a very distinctive identity.

Cheese-making was likely discovered at some point around 5000 BC, when ancient humans began storing milk in bags made of animal stomachs, thus fermenting it with bacteria. The same basic process used thousands of years ago in the Copper Age is still used today, which stands as a testament to our everlasting love for cheese… and edible bacteria! 

Are You Splitting Atoms When You Tear Paper?

It’s a simple question, and one that most of us have probably wondered; does tearing a piece of paper split apart its atoms? The answer, as with most things in science, is slightly more complicated than a simple yes or no, but for the most part we can say… NO, we are not splitting atoms when we apply macroscopic forces to tear or break an object.

When do atoms break?

In the course of the 20th century, there was a great deal of talk about ‘splitting the atom’, and that’s a phrase often used to describe anything nuclear-related; radiotherapy, nuclear energy, radioactive decay, or the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Atoms are indeed split in these processes.

In radioactive processes, various combinations of electrons and protons are broken up from an atom, depending on the type of reaction. These combinations are known as alpha, beta and gamma particles. We know that these are, for lack of a better word… scary.

It takes a lot of energy to create a nuclear reaction, but you don’t always need a nuclear reaction to split an atom. Take a look at this old-fashioned 1950s radium clock, for example.

Credit: Arma95/Wikimedia Commons

Back in the day, some clocks were painted with radium, which glows all the time, not just when exposed to light. This is largely thanks to a process known as radioluminescence, where radioactive atoms give off light. Of course, the people working in the factory became sick due to the incessant radiation and the manufacturing had to stop.

What happens when you cut or break something?

Using scissors to cut a piece of paper would cause the fibers in the paper to split, along with the paper molecules being separated. Paper, in particular, is mostly made up of short chains of cellulose fibers with gaps for air. The cellulose is connected through weak intermolecular forces, which is the force that is broken when cutting the paper with scissors. As you can imagine, this force is pretty weak in comparison to the strong interatomic forces that actually hold atomic structures together.

In fact, the molecules in a piece of paper when you cut it are simply pushed apart. Imagine a ball pit, full of colorful little atoms. If the ball pit is our piece of paper with little atomic balls, a scissor’s edge moving through it would be about the size of a building. Atoms are far too small to be affected by any single macroscopic force – they just move out of the away.

The Atoms Simply Move Away 

 

Even if we did manage to shrink our scissors’ edge to be small enough, roughly one atomic length, the atoms would simply be repelled by the edge of the scissor and move away, because the electrons of the scissor’s edge and the electrons in the cellulose would repel each other. It’s kind of like sifting your hand through the balls in that ball pit – the balls would simply move out of the way.

The process of splitting an atom itself, and the incredible science behind it, is an article for another day!

How Do Scientists Determine the Composition and Atmosphere On Other Planets?

It seems like popular culture is brimming with recent news about space discoveries and a fascination with finding other “Earth-like” planets. However, considering that we’ve only been to the surface of two other planets in our own solar system (not counting the moon), we seem to be very confident about the composition of many other planets and moons in our solar system and beyond.

Are scientists just guessing when they call a planet potentially habitable? How can they possibly determine the composition and atmosphere of planets that are millions or billions miles away?

Analyzing Distant Worlds

A hundred years ago, things were very different in astronomy. Our calculations of speed, size, composition, and atmosphere of distant planets was little more than a guess, but our skills have improved an incredible amount in the past century. When we look at our own solar system, we can make a very educated guess about the composition of a planet because they are so close to Earth. For some planets, like Mars and Venus, we have physically been to the surface and determined what they’re made of, but we haven’t visited the surface of many of our other solar system neighbors.

However, we know what the composition and size of the Earth is, specifically its density, so we can apply that same information in comparison to other planets. If we find an Earth-sized planet that has the same density, then we can assume that they are made of similar components (silicate rock surrounding an iron and nickel core). If a star is far more massive, but less dense, then it is more likely to be a gas giant (e.g., Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus), and is probably composed of lighter elements, like hydrogen and helium surrounding a rocky or molten metal core.

Determining the density of a planet is another tricky question, however, because we need to know the mass and volume of the planet. Based on what we have learned about orbits and the Newtonian laws of physics, we can calculate the mass of a planet based on the effect it has on its parent star. As a planet orbits a star, there is a minuscule pull on the star caused by the mass of the planet’s movement. This wobble is because the planet pulls on the star, slightly shifting its velocity; these changes in velocity can tell us the mass of the planetary object with extreme accuracy, based on our knowledge of red shift and blue shift phenomena, commonly known as the Doppler effect (Learn more about the Doppler Effect here).

Red and Blue Shift Diagram (Photo Credit: wired.com)

Volume, however, is a slightly less exact science. By watching eclipses (when a planet passes in front of a star), or a moon passing in front of a planet, we can detect the dimming of light caused by that crossing. When a planet passes in front of a star, it occludes a certain portion of the stellar surface, which can be measured, and a diameter can be established. Once a diameter is calculated, and the shape of a sphere is assumed, the volume can be somewhat accurately measured.

With volume and mass in hand, density can be calculated, giving us an idea of what “type” of planet it is (rocky, molten, Earth-like, gas giant, or something else entirely). We can make educated guesses about the type of elements that would be found on the surface based on this measurement.

But What About the Atmosphere?

Determining a planet’s atmospheric composition seems like it would be more difficult, but in fact, it’s beautifully simple. Whenever light is observed from an object, that light can be measured to determine what has been “filtered out”. For example, when we observe a distant planet, we can detect the starlight that is passing through its atmosphere. Now, different elements absorb light, rather than allowing it to pass through, but they only absorb certain parts of the light spectrum. This generates a “light signature”.

Light Signature Examples (Photo Credit: visionlearning.com)

Using an instrument called a spectrometer, astronomers can measure the light they are detecting through the atmosphere and then spread out that spectrum, which will end up looking like a bar code. Those “missing” chunks of the light spectrum tell us precisely what elements are present in the atmosphere, as we have measured the light absorption of every known element and can use that as a standard scale. 

If we were to look at a light spectrum coming from Earth, for example, the “barcode” would be missing the frequencies that correlate to nitrogen, oxygen and argon would be missing, as those compose Earth’s atmosphere (78%, 21% and 1%, respectively). These light spectrum readings give us access to the fingerprints of the universe, and our ability to read and understand these measurements is only getting better.

In fact, certain spectrometers don’t even read visible light, light that is outside the visible spectrum (microwaves and X-rays). These measurements follow the same idea, however, and they can tell us a great deal about the elemental composition of objects even from across the universe!