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Not much of a description but it’s basically a jet powered leaf blower. It’s about as funny as you think it could be…but also cool to have it get as a Christmas gift!

The principle underlying dynamical ptychography One of the topics investigated in recent physics studies is strong-field quantum electrodynamics (SF-QED). So far, this area has rarely been explored before, mainly because the experimental observation of SF-QED processes would require extremely high light intensities (>1025W/cm2), over three orders of magnitude higher than those attained using the most intense PetaWatt (PW)-class lasers available today.A SF-QED process that has proved to be particularly difficult to observe is the Schwinger process. This is a process that occurs close to the so-called Schwinger limit (1029/cm2), which is associated with the optical breakdown of the quantum...

Spaceships powered primarily by water could open up the solar system to exploration, making flights to Mars and other far-flung locales far cheaper, a recent study has found. A journey to Mars and back in a water-fueled vehicle could cost as little as one space shuttle launch costs today, researchers said. And the idea is to keep these "space coaches" in orbit between trips, so their relative value would grow over time, as the vehicles reduce the need for expensive one-off missions that launch from Earth. The water-powered space coach is just a concept at the moment, but it could...