Scientists working at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s biggest particle smasher, have turned masses of data produced by the collider into sound for the first time. More than 40 million pieces of data are processed by the LHC every second as it seeks to prove the existence of particles such as the Higgs boson, which researchers believe endows everything in the universe with mass. Until now the LHC, which lies deep in a 17 mile-long tunnel …

Microsoft is working on a new Windows system for mobile devices like tablet computers, according to reports. The system would focus on devices using energy-saving chips designed by the British company ARM. Many of ARM’s chips are currently used in both the iPad and iPhone from Apple. Now Windows will reportedly offer versions of its Windows CE and Windows Phone 7 systems that run on ARM chips. Its standard Desktop Windows system will be designed …

An ultra-fast computer chip that is 20 times faster than the ones found in the current desktop computers has been created by scientists. Modern PCs have a processor with two, four or sometimes 16 cores to carry out tasks. But the central processing unit (CPU) developed by the researchers effectively had 1,000 cores on a single chip, Daily Mail reported Tuesday. The developments could usher in a new age of high-speed computing in the next few years …

An oval metal object, suspected to be debris of the rocket that was blown up mid-air by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists Saturday following a failed launch, washed ashore near Pazhaverkadu in Thiruvallur district near here, officials said. The geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV) carrying advanced communication satellite GSAT-5P was exploded mid-air by ISRO after it started disintegrating within a minute of its lift …

With investigations into a leak in a rocket engine’s valve providing satisfactory results Wednesday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will celebrate Christmas by launching an advanced communications satellite, an official. “The test results are satisfactory and the rocket’s launch is scheduled Dec 25. The launch countdown will begin 11 a.m. Friday,” S. Satish, a director at ISRO,said. The rocket carrying the GSAT-5P satellite is expected …

India Wednesday successfully conducted two tests of its indigenously developed nuclear-capable ballistic missile Prithvi-II from a military base in Orissa, defence officials said. The surface-to-surface missile, which has been inducted into the Indian armed forces, was blasted off from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, about 230 km from here, first at 8.16 a.m. and then again at 9.15 a.m., the officials said. “The tests were done by armed …

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will Wednesday take a decision on the delayed rocket launch, meant to put an advanced communications satellite into orbit, after getting results of tests on a leaking engine valve. “The tests are not over. They are continuing and a decision on the launch may be known Wednesday afternoon,” S. Satish, a director at ISRO,said. An ISRO official told IANS on condition of anonymity: “Tests will be conducted …

It could be the perfect tool for bewildered tourists lost in a foreign city. A remarkable new iPhone application has been developed that instantly translates words viewed through the phone’s camera from Spanish into English, and back again. WordLens uses the iPhone’s inbuilt camera to recognise text that is viewed through the lens. At the moment it only works with Spanish but further languages are expected to follow. WordLens uses text recognition …

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has postponed Monday’s rocket launch, meant to put an advanced communications satellite into orbit, following the detection of a leak in its Russian-made cryogenic engine. The rocket, called a geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV), was to carry GSAT-5P, an advanced communications satellite meant to retire an earlier one sent up in 1999 and ensure continuity of telecom, TV and weather services. …

It was the breathtaking solar event that sparked spectacular displays of Northern Lights across much of the northern hemisphere. In August, the sun’s surface suddenly erupted and blasted tons of plasma – ionised atoms – into interplanetary space. It took two days for the atoms to travel the 93 million miles to Earth. NASA captured images of the event, called a coronal mass ejection, from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), according to the Journal …