Millimeter-wave Camera sees through smoke, fog & walls

"The Science & Technology Research Laboratory (STRL) of Japan’s national public broadcaster, NHK, has developed a “millimeter-wave TV camera” that operates under the same principle as radar, taking images using radio waves instead of visible light. The technology allows objects hidden behind obstacles such as smoke, fog or even plywood to be captured as live, moving images.

The system emits millimeter waves in the 60-GHz band which bounce off the subjects and are captured by a receiver beam that scans up/down and left/right at a speed of 2.3 Hz to produce a 2D image. Because the system is sending out the waves it can selectively ignore information of an obscuring foreground object (such as a wall) based on the time it takes the waves to reflect back to the antenna, instead producing a picture based on the waves bouncing off a hidden object that take longer to reflect back."
- more at Gizmag

Chinese Create 'Black Hole'

"Researchers at Southeast University in Nanjing, China have created a device that traps and absorbs electromagnetic waves coming from all directions, spiraling them inwards without any reflections, essentially creating an electromagnetic black hole. Qiang Cheng and Tie Jun Cui’s “omnidirectional electromagnetic absorber” draws in microwaves coming from any direction by spiraling radiation inwards, and converting its energy into heat. They plan on developing a device that can absorb visible light next." -via GIZMAG

First Deployed Solar Sail - IKAROS!!

"The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s IKAROS space yacht which launched last month has successfully unfurled its solar sail. The accomplishment marks the first time a solar sail has been successfully deployed in space.

The IKAROS (short for Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation Of the Sun) small solar sail demonstrator began to deploy its sail using centrifugal force on June 3 and on June 10, about 7.7 million km (4.8 million miles) from Earth, JAXA confirmed the proper extension of the sail, which measures 14 meters (46 ft) along each side. JAXA also confirmed power generation by the thin film solar cells attached to the sail." -via GIZMAG