Gadgets
Smartphones help researchers decode rare cosmic particles
Moscow, Jan 21 (IANS) Smartphone cameras are now helping Russian researchers analyse rare ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECR).
According to a team from the Laboratory of Methods for Big Data Analysis (LAMBDA) at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, mobile phone cameras use technology similar to that in particle detectors.
The UHECR emanate from supernovae and black holes and, upon interacting with air particles, form cascades of secondary particles with lower energy.
These are known as “Extended Atmospheric Showers” (EAS).
Mobile phone cameras use technology similar to that in particle detectors and hence they are able to detect EAS, the team noted.
The particles interact with the CMOS camera and leave traces of weakly activated pixels, which can be difficult to distinguish from interference and random noise.
As part of the experiment, volunteers were asked to install the application on their smartphones and leave the phone, with the camera facing down, overnight, so that normal light doesn’t fall on it.
The smartphone scanned megapixel images at a speed of 5-15 frames per second and sent the necessary information to the server.
Scientists expect signals from the interaction of cosmic rays to occur in less than 1 of the 500 image frames.
Owing to the fact that millions of phones will potentially participate in the experiment, a problem arises in separating those images on which “muon” tracks are recorded, from all the others.
“A trigger algorithm is required to eliminate background data. We created a neural network for for the detection of ‘muon’ signals, which can be used on any mobile phone fast enough to process a video stream,” said Andrei Ustyuzhanin, head of LAMBDA at HSE.
“A special feature makes it possible to use the algorithm on something as simple as a mobile phone, meaning that they can now analyze responses to cosmic rays,” Ustyuzhanin added.
Researchers hope that, if the project is successful, the information obtained will enable astrophysicists around the world to clarify where ultra-high energy cosmic rays come from, and to develop theories around their properties.
The results were presented at the 22nd International Conference on Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics recently.
–IANS
na/ahm/mr
Business
Apple is giving a huge discount on its gadgets: Details inside
If you want to buy an iPhone and were waiting for a nice offer, then we have a piece of good news for you! Amazon Summer Sale May 2022 has begun and they are offering major discounts on various smartphones, laptops, and smart TVs, among others.
The sale is live now on the e-commerce platform with no-cost EMI options and exchange discounts on various products. In addition to this, Amazon has also partnered with several banks including ICICI, Kotak Bank, and RBL so that customers get instant discounts of up to 10% using their cards and EMI transactions.
Customers can easily enjoy this summer sale and get massive discounts on iPhones. They can also compare prices on Flipkart Big Saving Days Sale 2022 before making a purchase.
Amazon Summer Sale May 2022: Discount offer on iPhone 13
Apple’s coveted phone model iPhone 13 in the 128 GB storage model will be available during the Amazon Summer Sale May 2022 for Rs 64,900. The MRP of the phone is Rs 79,900. This means that the customers will be able to enjoy a discount of up to Rs 15,000 on the purchase of the iPhone 13.
If you have an old iPhone in working condition then you will also be eligible to receive another additional discount worth up to Rs 17,000 on the iPhone 13.
Buy at Rs. 64,900 (MRP – Rs. 79,900)
Features of Apple iPhone 13
The iPhone is powered by an A15 Bionic processor with 6 core CPU. Apart from this, it has 16 core neural engines. With the iPhone 13, up to 512 GB of storage will be available. The iPhone 13 has a 6.1-inch Retina XDR display with 1000 nits brightness.
The iPhone 13 has a 12-megapixel dual rear camera setup. This time a new wide-angle camera has been given, whose aperture is f/1.6. With this, there is support for sensor optical stabilisation. Night mode has been made better than before. The second lens is also 12 megapixels ultra-wide and has an aperture of f/2.4.