How a New Device Can Predict Preference for Drinks

There is an invention that works like a mind reader out there. It's really a device that specifically predicts the kind of drink you will choose as demonstrated in laboratory experiments by Sheena Luu, a doctoral student in biomedical engineering at the University of Toronto. So far, it is 80 percent accurate, which is enough to say that it is like a mind-reading device or gadget.

In the experiment, the subjects were first made to rate drinks on a scale of one to five. Then, they were made to wear a headband. They were then presented with two drinks to choose from on a computer monitor one after the other. Then they were then asked to mentally choose one. Later, the device was used again, but this time, it's to predict which drink will be chosen. It's able to do so with 80 percent accuracy.

The secret behind the cool device? Well, the headband was used to measure near infrared wave activity of the brains of the subjects as they made their decisions in the second phase of the experiment. According to Luu, when the brain is active, the oxygen in the blood increases, and, depending on the concentration, absorbs more or less light. She adds that in some people, the brains are more active when they don't like something, and in others, they're more active when they do like something.

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Perfect Invisibility Cloak Almost a Reality but Still Out of Sight

The movies are fascinated by invisibility, and now it seems scientists are also. There's news that researchers at Duke University are on the verge of making a cloak that is able to bend electromagnetic radiation like light and others of different wavelengths. They say new materials invented are making this possible. But what exactly are these new materials and how exactly do they bend light enough to create the illusion that there's "nothing there?"

The researchers, led by David R. Smith, say that they have developed mathematical commands that would now allow the manufacture of metamaterials that can be placed in a certain algorithmic pattern that will allow deflection of electromagnetic waves. Smith says the invention can now cloak an almost limitless number of waves.

The invisibility cloak is comprised of 10,000 individual pieces of fiberglass arranged in rows. Of course, the details of the formulas used are kept secret but we may soon see the final invention working as expected in the near future - or maybe not. You can see how effective it works in one of the videos that follow.





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