Applied Physics

Kano Computer: In A Word, Wow!

I've lost count of how many computers I've built over the years, but I think it is safe to say that the Kano Computer was the easiest build ever. So simple a child could do it. Kano founders, Yonatan Raz-Fridman, Alex Klein, and Saul Klein, wante ...

Article - Steve Schuler - Mar 10 2015 - 7:31am

Bio-Hairpins And Polymer Spaghetti

When a sturdy material becomes soft and spongy, it's been damaged in some way. But when it comes to complex fluids and biological cells, things may be different. By looking at the microscopic building blocks – known as "filaments" – of biop ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 11 2014 - 8:00am

Through The Combining Glass To The Future Of Public Interaction

In the future, it may be possible to try on clothes even when the shop is closed, thanks to semi-transparent mirrors in interactive systems presented at the ACM UIST 2014 human-computer interface conference. The work, led by Professor Sriram Subramanian, D ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 14 2014 - 8:00am

Next-Gen Lighting May Be Flat Panel Lights Based On Carbon Nanotubes

The Obama administration only recently banned incandescent bulbs and compact fluorescent bulbs are getting all of the marketing due to generous government subsidies, so light emitting diodes (LEDs) are yet to even get off the cultural ground but researche ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 14 2014 - 11:54am

Nanocryotron Adder: Superconducting Circuits Simplified

Computer chips with superconducting circuits would be 50 to 100 times as energy-efficient as today's chips due to a lack of electrical resistance. That means less heat, less deformation and less energy cost. Superconducting chips also promise greater ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 17 2014 - 1:32pm

5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do

I did almost all of them when I was a kid, except superglue my fingers together. I had a few pocket knives but my favorite was the Swiss Army knife. This is what I use today to void product warranties: Leatherman Juice XE6 Without further ado, Gever Tulley ...

Blog Post - Steve Schuler - Oct 21 2014 - 8:03am

Data Transmission Gets A New World Record

Fewer cords, smaller antennas and quicker video is the goal of a microwave circuit that has set a new world record for data transmission.  ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 21 2014 - 11:01am

How Is Thermodiffusion Different In A Weightless Environment?

Thermodiffusion is when a temperature difference establishes a concentration difference in a mixture. Two recent studies build on recent experimental results from the IVIDIL (Influence Vibration on Diffusion in Liquids) research project performed on the In ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 27 2014 - 12:53pm

Antifragility: Two Messes Can Sometimes Bring Order

It's common sense that if you have ne mess and add another mess, you have created an even bigger mess. But in arcane statistics, economics and social science, a bigger mess can lead to more order- a concept known as antifragility.  In a paper publish ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 4 2014 - 4:38pm

Coming To You Live From The Nano-Cosmos

Researchers have witnessed how football-shaped carbon molecules known as buckyballs arrange themselves into ultra-smooth layers, all in real time, and by piecing that together with theoretical simulations, the investigators believe they can advance the fi ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 5 2014 - 1:40pm