The duckbilled hadrosaur hasn’t entirely gotten its due, according to recent research. Paleontologists working on the fossilized remains of one of these dinosaurs say they were larger and faster than previously believed.
Hadrosaurs probably weighed about 3.5 tons, and were up to 40 feet long. They were quick, muscular, and probably capable of outrunning a T. Rex. The work isn’t complete yet, but the paleontologists involved say the fossil they’re working with is an incredible specimen. They’re even learning about its skin. More details will emerge this Sunday night, when the National Geographic channel airs “Dino Autopsy,” a program about the specimen.
In the past few years, Harry Potter and Frodo Baggins (hidden at left) have repeatedly demonstrated the value of magical cloaking materials, but proving whether these things are actually possible, sans movie magic, has been more difficult. In a recent issue of the prestigious journal Physical Review Letters, scientists from Zhejiang University and MIT look at the science behind these movie mainstays in attempt to determine whether or not one could ever be made. The cloak would likely be composed of metamaterials, man-made matrices that re-direct electromagnetic waves around an object, instead of scattering them in different directions. Scientists have had some luck deflecting microwave-range radiation using metamaterials, but bending visible light won’t be that simple. Still, while it does look like North Face won’t be offering invisible ski jackets for another few decades, the good news is that researchers still seem to think these materials can be made.
