Articles in Science
Connecting the Quantum Dots to More Than Double Hard Drive Capacity [Science]
![Connecting the Quantum Dots to More Than Double Hard Drive Capacity [Science]](http://itoptech.com/wp-content/themes/iTopTech/scripts/timthumb.php?src=http://itoptech.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/a0d1550773indots.jpg.jpg&w=80&h=80&zc=1&q=100)
Scientists have developed a new type of semiconductor structure—using microscopic crystals called magnetic quantum dots—that could more than double current hard drive storage capacity. That's just for starters.
The crystals themselves aren't new; they've been around for over a decade in computer chips, solar cells, and LEDs, according to CBC News. This particular application, though, is unprecedented:
The new work, reported today ...
Scientists have developed a new type of semiconductor structure—using microscopic crystals called magnetic quantum dots—that could more than double current hard drive storage capacity. That's just for starters.
The crystals themselves aren't new; they've been around for over a decade in computer chips, solar cells, and LEDs, according to CBC News. This particular application, though, is unprecedented:
The new work, reported today ...
IBM keeps light pulse bandwagon rolling, uses ‘em for chip-to-chip communication
Lenovo loves its red mousing nipple, Apple digs its aluminum and IBM adores those light pulses. Nearly two full years after we heard this very company touting breakthroughs in science thanks to a nanophotonic switch, in flies a similar technique from Yorktown Heights that could "greatly further energy efficient computing." As the story goes, gurus at IBM have figured out how to replace electrical signals that communicate via copper wires between computer chips with tiny ...
Lenovo loves its red mousing nipple, Apple digs its aluminum and IBM adores those light pulses. Nearly two full years after we heard this very company touting breakthroughs in science thanks to a nanophotonic switch, in flies a similar technique from Yorktown Heights that could "greatly further energy efficient computing." As the story goes, gurus at IBM have figured out how to replace electrical signals that communicate via copper wires between computer chips with tiny ...
Electro-hypersensitivity: The Gadget Allergy [Health]
![Electro-hypersensitivity: The Gadget Allergy [Health]](http://itoptech.com/wp-content/themes/iTopTech/scripts/timthumb.php?src=http://itoptech.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/a25afb2520header.jpg.jpg&w=80&h=80&zc=1&q=100)
A man hassled a neighbor over his Wi-Fi allergies, and we dismissed him as a member of the tin-foil hat brigade. Now we're reading PopSci's look at the Electro-hypersensitivity—the real deal gadget allergy—and we're feeling sorta like assholes.
The article opens with an anecdote of Per Segerbäck, a serious electro-hypersensitive who lives in a cottage north of Stockholm. He can be rendered unconscious by a single cell phone call.
The sickness stems not from ...
A man hassled a neighbor over his Wi-Fi allergies, and we dismissed him as a member of the tin-foil hat brigade. Now we're reading PopSci's look at the Electro-hypersensitivity—the real deal gadget allergy—and we're feeling sorta like assholes.
The article opens with an anecdote of Per Segerbäck, a serious electro-hypersensitive who lives in a cottage north of Stockholm. He can be rendered unconscious by a single cell phone call.
The sickness stems not from ...
MeBot, MIT’s most expressive telepresence robot yet
Described as a "semi-autonomous robotic avatar" by its creators at MIT, the MeBot is an effort to give people a face and an expressive presence in a room far, far away from them. That, and an adorable crab-like body.
While the MeBot show's the operator's face on a small screen, it goes one step further, using software that will analyze the controller's face and cause the MeBot to respond appropriately with its stubby arms and articulated neck. It looks like the ...
Described as a "semi-autonomous robotic avatar" by its creators at MIT, the MeBot is an effort to give people a face and an expressive presence in a room far, far away from them. That, and an adorable crab-like body.
While the MeBot show's the operator's face on a small screen, it goes one step further, using software that will analyze the controller's face and cause the MeBot to respond appropriately with its stubby arms and articulated neck. It looks like the ...
Yes we can make “hellabytes” an SI-recognized term
All the hella-haters can spin on it. I want “hella” as an SI-recognized prefix along with “mega” and “kilo.” And that’s why I’m about to do something I rarely ever do: join a Facebook group. Point your little browser toward The Official Petition to Establish ‘Hella-’ as the SI Prefix for 10^27 if you want your storage space in 50 years to be measured in hellabytes and the universe’s weight in hellagrams. It came about as a sort of joke project by a student at UC Davis, ...
All the hella-haters can spin on it. I want “hella” as an SI-recognized prefix along with “mega” and “kilo.” And that’s why I’m about to do something I rarely ever do: join a Facebook group. Point your little browser toward The Official Petition to Establish ‘Hella-’ as the SI Prefix for 10^27 if you want your storage space in 50 years to be measured in hellabytes and the universe’s weight in hellagrams. It came about as a sort of joke project by a student at UC Davis, ...
Wearable Robot allows you to carry your friends on your back
Developed by researchers at Japan's Tsumaki Telerobotics Laboratory at Yamagata University, the Wearable Robot offers us a new tool that may change the lives of the elderly and disabled around the world. The set-up is essentially a telepresence mechanism that attaches a robotic camera to a mobile person.
A person sitting at a stationary location can then wirelessly control the robot's movement and view the current landscape position of the robot and the ...
Developed by researchers at Japan's Tsumaki Telerobotics Laboratory at Yamagata University, the Wearable Robot offers us a new tool that may change the lives of the elderly and disabled around the world. The set-up is essentially a telepresence mechanism that attaches a robotic camera to a mobile person.
A person sitting at a stationary location can then wirelessly control the robot's movement and view the current landscape position of the robot and the ...
Robotic Audi TTS To Speed On Its Own Without A Driver
Humanoid robots are definitely cool, but what about cars that drive themselves? The team at the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford (CARS) is looking to send a robotic Audi TTS racing off at high speed up the tight bends that lead to Pikes Peak without a driver. The car, nicknamed Shelley, will be attempting a timed race in September. Other autonomous cars ...
Humanoid robots are definitely cool, but what about cars that drive themselves? The team at the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford (CARS) is looking to send a robotic Audi TTS racing off at high speed up the tight bends that lead to Pikes Peak without a driver. The car, nicknamed Shelley, will be attempting a timed race in September. Other autonomous cars ...
One of the First Space Station Concepts Was Made of Brick [Retromodo]
![One of the First Space Station Concepts Was Made of Brick [Retromodo]](http://itoptech.com/wp-content/themes/iTopTech/scripts/timthumb.php?src=http://itoptech.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/e31d2174ffckmoon.jpg.jpg&w=80&h=80&zc=1&q=100)
In 1869, Atlantic Monthly writer E. Everett Hale imagined what a primitive space station might look like. It involved a lot of brick. Given NASA's looming cuts, it may very well be all they can afford in the present! Ha! NASA budget jokes! So topical, yet so sad. Anyway, there are a number of space station concepts from the past century, and while none saw the light of day, some of their ...
In 1869, Atlantic Monthly writer E. Everett Hale imagined what a primitive space station might look like. It involved a lot of brick. Given NASA's looming cuts, it may very well be all they can afford in the present! Ha! NASA budget jokes! So topical, yet so sad. Anyway, there are a number of space station concepts from the past century, and while none saw the light of day, some of their ...
Glowing walls made from graphene will make lamps redundant
Forget those compact fluorescent bulbs, or even fancy LED lighting. Scientists in Sweden and the USA say they have developed lighting panels using the wonder material graphene, which one day could make the basic lamp redundant.
The material can be fashioned into large energy efficient flexible sheets called LECs (light emitting electromechanical cells) that can cover an entire wall or ceiling, filling the room with an adjustable and even source of light. We've seen how OLED ...
Forget those compact fluorescent bulbs, or even fancy LED lighting. Scientists in Sweden and the USA say they have developed lighting panels using the wonder material graphene, which one day could make the basic lamp redundant.
The material can be fashioned into large energy efficient flexible sheets called LECs (light emitting electromechanical cells) that can cover an entire wall or ceiling, filling the room with an adjustable and even source of light. We've seen how OLED ...
Spray-on Liquid Glass could change our world
Liquid Glass could change our world more than Teflon and GoreTex did. The flexible and breathable material coats any surface with a 1000th-of-an-inch-thick layer of pure silicon dioxide, otherwise known as glass. What's the big deal about that? Such a fine, smooth film can protect whatever is underneath from bacteria and dirt, and it's even waterproof and resists UV rays.
When you coat a surface with Liquid Glass, it's a whole lot easier to clean. Its creator, German company ...
Liquid Glass could change our world more than Teflon and GoreTex did. The flexible and breathable material coats any surface with a 1000th-of-an-inch-thick layer of pure silicon dioxide, otherwise known as glass. What's the big deal about that? Such a fine, smooth film can protect whatever is underneath from bacteria and dirt, and it's even waterproof and resists UV rays.
When you coat a surface with Liquid Glass, it's a whole lot easier to clean. Its creator, German company ... 
![Don't Bring Laptops to Class or Else [Practical Science]](http://itoptech.com/wp-content/themes/iTopTech/scripts/timthumb.php?src=/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/22b76c21cfipi0fi.jpg.jpg&w=80&h=80&zc=1&q=100)
![Is a Firmware Update Killing PS3 Blu-Ray Drives? [PS3]](http://itoptech.com/wp-content/themes/iTopTech/scripts/timthumb.php?src=/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/71b648879etedps3.jpg.jpg&w=80&h=80&zc=1&q=100)
