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Explain that stuff! Science and technology made simple

Explain that stuff! Science and technology made simple

'Nanocable' could be big boon for energy storage Thanks to a little serendipity, researchers at Rice University have created a tiny coaxial cable that is about a thousand times smaller than a human hair and has higher capacitance than previously reported microcapacitors. The nanocable, which is described this week in Nature Communications, was produced with techniques pioneered in the nascent graphene research field and could be used to build next-generation energy-storage systems. It could also find use in wiring up components of lab-on-a-chip processors, but its discovery is owed partly to chance. "We didn't expect to create this when we started," said study co-author Jun Lou, associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Rice. "At the outset, we were just curious to see what would happen electrically and mechanically if we took small copper wires known as interconnects and covered them with a thin layer of carbon."

Antiláser Diseño[editar] Se disparan dos láseres idénticos, uno contra el otro, a través de un material absorbente de la luz, tal como el silicio. Este método sustituye el medio de ganancia de un láser con un material que presenta propiedades opuestas. El dispositivo enfoca dos rayos láser de una frecuencia dada en una cavidad en la que existe un material semiconductor, un disco de silicio que va alineando las ondas luminosas. Aplicaciones[editar] Entre los posibles usos que se podrían atribuir al antiláser se incluye la fabricación de interruptores ópticos para computadoras y equipos de transmisión eléctrica, a través de líneas de fibra óptica.[16] Véase también[editar] Láser Referencias[editar]

With mind-reading speller, free-for-all conversations that are silent and still Researchers have come up with a device that may enable people who are completely unable to speak or move at all to nevertheless manage unscripted back-and-forth conversation. The key to such silent and still communication is the first real-time, brain-scanning speller, according to the report published online on June 28 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. The new technology builds on groundbreaking earlier uses of fMRI brain scans to assess consciousness in people described as being in an unconscious, vegetative state and to enable them to answer yes and no questions. fMRI (or functional magnetic resonance imaging) is typically used for clinical and research purposes to track brain activity by measuring blood flow. The new evidence shows that the answer to that thought question is yes. Sorger's team came up with a letter-encoding technique that requires almost no pre-training.

Light touch keeps a grip on delicate nanoparticles Using a refined technique for trapping and manipulating nanoparticles, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have extended the trapped particles' useful life more than tenfold. This new approach, which one researcher likens to "attracting moths," promises to give experimenters the trapping time they need to build nanoscale structures and may open the way to working with nanoparticles inside biological cells without damaging the cells with intense laser light. Scientists routinely trap and move nanoparticles in a solution with "optical tweezers" -- a laser focused to a very small point. The tiny dot of laser light creates a strong electric field, or potential well, that attracts particles to the center of the beam. "You can think of it like attracting moths in the dark with a flashlight," says LeBrun. "We're more than an order of magnitude ahead of where we were before," says LeBrun.

Drexler dubs “grey goo” fears obsolete - nanotechweb Eric Drexler, the “father of nanotechnology”, has revealed his latest views on molecular manufacturing. Writing in Nanotechnology journal, Drexler explains how he now believes that self-replication - the initial source of “grey goo” fears in which nanomachines run amok and overwhelm the world - is not an essential part of the molecular manufacturing process. Nanotechweb.org’s Liz Kalaugher contacted Drexler to find out more. nanotechweb.org (NTW): What are the most important themes of your paper in Nanotechnology? Eric Drexler (ED): The paper explains updated molecular manufacturing concepts and why these no longer include tiny self-replicating machines. NTW: How have your views on molecular manufacturing and nanotechnology changed as the field has advanced? ED: Research and thinking in this area has come a long way since my first refereed journal article on the subject in 1981 and my 1986 book Engines of Creation. NTW: Is grey goo fact or fiction?

Wireless power for the price of a penny? The newspaper-style printing of electronic equipment has led to a cost-effective device that could change the way we interact with everyday objects. For a price of just one penny per unit the device, known as a rectenna, which is presented August 10, in IOP Publishing's journal Nanotechnology, can be placed onto objects such as price tags, logos and signage so that we can read product information on our smartphones with one simple swipe. This type of technology, which is known as near-field communication (NFC), has already been implemented to allow fast money transactions; however, this new device could lead the way to large-scale adoption at a low cost. The rectenna, created by researchers from Sunchon National University and Paru Printed Electronics Research Institute, could be implemented onto everyday objects so that they can harness the power given off by the smartphone's radio waves and send information back to it via printed digital circuits.

Armada de EEUU difunde video de nueva arma tecnológica: un cañón electromagnético La Armada de Estados Unidos difundió este martes, a través de su cuenta en YouTube, un video que muestra en acción su más novedosa arma naval: un prototipo de cañón electromagnético de última tecnología. Según lo señalado por la institución este dispositivo, que efectuó su disparo de prueba desde el Centro Naval de Guerra de Superficie (Naval Surface Warfare Center), División Dahlgren (Virginia), fue desarrollado por la constructora aeronáutica BAE. Al respecto, se informó que tiene la capacidad de disparar proyectiles a una velocidad de 9 mil kilómetros por hora, lo que equivale a 7 veces la velocidad del sonido, y que es capaz de alcanzar objetivos a más de 160 kilómetros de distancia. En palabras de la Armada estadounidense, el prototipo “es el primero de dos lanzadores industriales, que llevarán al Departamento de la Armada un paso más cerca de producir una nueva generación de armas para naves de superficie de largo alcance”. ¿Qué opinas de esta nueva arma tecnológica?

Servomotor de modelismo Servomotor. Un servomotor de modelismo —conocido generalmente como servo o servo de modelismo— es un dispositivo actuador que tiene la capacidad de ubicarse en cualquier posición dentro de su rango de operación, y de mantenerse estable en dicha posición. Está formado por un motor de corriente continua, una caja reductora y un circuito de control, y su margen de funcionamiento generalmente es de menos de una vuelta completa. Los servos de modelismo se utilizan frecuentemente en sistemas de radiocontrol y en robótica, pero su uso no está limitado a estos. Estructura interna y funcionamiento[editar] El componente principal de un servo es un motor de corriente continua, que realiza la función de actuador en el dispositivo: al aplicarse un voltaje entre sus dos terminales, el motor gira en un sentido a alta velocidad, pero produciendo un bajo par. Control de posición[editar] Diagrama del circuito de control implementado en un servo. Utilización[editar] donde está dado en milisegundos y en grados.

How PCs Work" The word computer refers to an object that can accept some input and produce some output. In fact, the human brain itself is a sophisticated computer, and scientists are learning more about how it works with each passing year. Our most common use of the word computer, though, is to describe an electronic device containing a microprocessor. A microprocessor is a small electronic device that can carry out complex calculations in the blink of an eye. You can find microprocessors in many devices you use each day, such as cars, refrigerators and televisions. When you hear PC, you probably envision an enclosed device with an attached video screen, keyboard and some type of a pointing device, like a mouse or touchpad. PCs trace their history back to the 1970s when a man named Ed Roberts began to sell computer kits based on a microprocessor chip designed by Intel. In this article, we'll look inside the PC to find out about its parts and what they do.

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