A chemical used to make household plastic on Earth was found on one of Saturn's moons

NASA revealed Monday that the Cassini spacecraft detected propylene, a chemical ingredient of plastic, on Saturn's moon Titan. This is the first definitive detection of the chemical on any planet or moon, other than Earth, NASA said.

"This chemical is all around us in everyday life, strung together in long chains to form a plastic called polypropylene," Conor Nixon, a planetary scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, . "That plastic container at the grocery store with the recycling code 5 on the bottom -- that's polypropylene."

Cassini was able to spot a small amount of propylene in Titan's lower atmosphere using its Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS), an instrument that measures infrared light and can "identify a particular gas glowing in the lower layers of the atmosphere from its unique thermal fingerprint."

Propylene is the first molecule to be discovered on Titan using CIRS, NASA said, but it likely won't be the last.

"This success boosts our confidence that we will find still more chemicals long hidden in Titan's atmosphere," Michael Flasar, Goddard scientist and principal investigator for CIRS, in a statement 

Ematic announces 8-inch Android tablet priced at $129.99

       

The EGP008 measures 7.9 inches by 6.1 inches by 0.4 inch -- wider and thicker than the Mini, but not by much. It is, however, definitely on the heavier side at 1 pound.

Surprisingly, Ematic's tablet matches up pretty closely when it comes to the screen, at least in terms of specs: 1,024x768 pixels, same as the Mini, and 160 pixels per inch (versus 163 on the Mini). Ematic also promises the same 10 hours of run time on a charge from the EGP008's 3,000mAh battery.

Unsurprisingly, the Mini has the faster processor in the form of Apple's A5, though I'd say the EGP008 is no slouch with its 1.6GHz dual-core ARMv7 and quad-core GPU. Ematic offers only 8GB of onboard storage, but that's easily expandable (in 32GB chunks) thanks to the tablet's microSD slot. There's even an HDMI output for connecting to an HDTV.

The only real hardware limitation appears to be the fairly low-res cameras: 2 megapixels in back and just 0.3 in front. The latter may be sufficient for Skype calls, but I wouldn't count on this tablet for a lot of photography or videography.

The EGP008 runs Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), and unlike some low-cost Android tablets, it includes full access to Google Play. That puts it on a fairly level playing field with iTunes.      CNet.com

NAD Electronics D 3020 Hybrid Digital Amplifier is the best AV receiver

REINVENTING AN ICON, the D 3020 The original NAD 3020 introduced a generation of Music Lovers to true high fidelity sound. The term High Fidelity literally means “true to the original”. In the ‘70’s over a million people rediscovered their music when they placed a NAD 3020 between their turntable and their loudspeakers. This little gem could embarrass amplifierscosting 10 times more with its big, warmand detailed sound. Once people realized what they had been missing it lead them to a lifetime of enhanced musical enjoyment.                    

       REAL WORLD PERFORMANCE NAD          rewrote the rules for amplifiers by designing the 3020 for the real world; instead of allowing laboratory test equipment to have the last word, we made sure that we could properly drive real loudspeakers with real music. The result of this real world approach was an amplifier that had less cost and more sound. Today the source is more likely to be a computer or a smart phone then a turntable, but the ability to choose speakers that perfectly suit your taste is still a compelling argument for upgrading to a NAD amplifier. The D 3020 stars with the original NAD concept and takes it straight to the 21st century using the latest high speed digital technology.                                                        CONNECT ALL YOUR DIGITAL DEVICES                            There are inputs for your computer and for other digital and analog sources. The USB input uses ‘asynchrounous’ mode to insure the lowest possible jitter (timing errors) from notoriously unstable computer audio outputs and supports 24/96 HD studio master musicfiles. Coaxial and optical inputs allow many different digital sources to be connected, from CD and DVD disc players, to set top boxes like AppleTV or satellite and cable receivers. There are also analog inputs for iPods and older non-digital audio components like FM tuners. The D 3020, with its wireless Bluetooth capability, can stream music from smartphones, tablets and laptops and even supports the highest audio quality Bluetooth aptX that is becoming more and more popular for its excellent sound quality and low power consumption compared to Wi-Fi. POWER THAT REALLY DELIVERS Power output may sound small at 30 watts per channel, but like all NAD amplifiers this can be very misleading as a properly designed 30W amplifier can often sound superior to a 100W amplifier from a lesser brand. More important, the D 3020 can drive real loudspeakers to satisfying levels without adding noise or distortion. It’s highly efficient design wastes less energy resulting in cool running and longer life. Standby power consumption is <0.5W. Supplied with an IR Remote Control for convenience, the D 3020 is at home on a desk top, a book shelf or cabinet. But it deserves to sit on a pedestal for its incredible performance and affordable price! D 3020 Hybrid Digital Amplifier 2 x 30W @ 0.00% THD, >100W Dynamic Power @ 4 Ohms aptX Bluetooth Music Streaming 24/96 Asynchronous USB input (type B) Optical and Coaxial Digital Inputs, analog inputs Subwoofer Output Bass EQ setting Separate Headphone Amplifier.                        REINVENTING AN ICON, the D 3020 The original NAD 3020 introduced a generation of Music Lovers to true high fidelity sound. The term High Fidelity literally means “true to the original”. In the ‘70’s over a million people rediscovered their music when they placed a NAD 3020 between their turntable and their loudspeakers. This little gem could embarrass amplifierscosting 10 times more with its big, warmand detailed sound. Once people realized what they had been missing it lead them to a lifetime of enhanced musical enjoyment. REAL WORLD PERFORMANCE NAD rewrote the rules for amplifiers by designing the 3020 for the real world; instead of allowing laboratory test equipment to have the last word, we made sure that we could properly drive real loudspeakers with real music. The result of this real world approach was an amplifier that had less cost and more sound. Today the source is more likely to be a computer or a smart phone then a turntable, but the ability to choose speakers that perfectly suit your taste is still a compelling argument for upgrading to a NAD amplifier. The D 3020 stars with the original NAD concept and takes it straight to the 21st century using the latest high speed digital technology. CONNECT ALL YOUR DIGITAL DEVICES There are inputs for your computer and for other digital and analog sources. The USB input uses ‘asynchrounous’ mode to insure the lowest possible jitter (timing errors) from notoriously unstable computer audio outputs and supports 24/96 HD studio master musicfiles. Coaxial and optical inputs allow many different digital sources to be connected, from CD and DVD disc players, to set top boxes like AppleTV or satellite and cable receivers. There are also analog inputs for iPods and older non-digital audio components like FM tuners. The D 3020, with its wireless Bluetooth capability, can stream music from smartphones, tablets and laptops and even supports the highest audio quality Bluetooth aptX that is becoming more and more popular for its excellent sound quality and low power consumption compared to Wi-Fi. POWER THAT REALLY DELIVERS Power output may sound small at 30 watts per channel, but like all NAD amplifiers this can be very misleading as a properly designed 30W amplifier can often sound superior to a 100W amplifier from a lesser brand. More important, the D 3020 can drive real loudspeakers to satisfying levels without adding noise or distortion. It’s highly efficient design wastes less energy resulting in cool running and longer life. Standby power consumption is <0.5W. Supplied with an IR Remote Control for convenience, the D 3020 is at home on a desk top, a book shelf or cabinet. But it deserves to sit on a pedestal for its incredible performance and affordable price!                                 D 3020 Hybrid Digital Amplifier               2 x 30W @ 0.00% THD, >100W Dynamic Power @ 4 Ohms aptX Bluetooth Music Streaming 24/96 Asynchronous USB input (type B) Optical and Coaxial Digital Inputs, analog inputs Subwoofer Output Bass EQ setting Separate Headphone Amplifier

Apple's iWatch is going Boom in the market of wrist tech