Technology

Scientists Investigate Spray-On Transistor Manufacturing

Silicon is the basic material for most microprocessors and memory chips. But for a long time the electronics industry has been pursuing novel organic materials to create semiconductor products—materials that perhaps could not be packed as densely as state- ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 8 2010 - 7:06pm

First Working Artificial Intelligence (AI) Unveiled

Today computer science research has crossed a major threshold in producing a system that can be considered to display true intelligence. The system is purported to possess the ability to engage in conversations and even invoke creative use of language to e ...

Blog Post - Gerhard Adam - Apr 1 2010 - 4:07pm

Engineers Turn Noise Into Vision With Stochastic Resonance

Princeton Electrical Engineers have developed a new technique for revealing images of hidden objects. The method, a new type of stochastic resonance, relies on the ability to clarify an image using rays of light that would typically make the image unrecogn ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 29 2011 - 10:02am

You got a coupon?

The New York Times “Bits” blog carried an item a few weeks ago about electronic coupons, sent to your mobile device at appropriate times: How many times have you heard the prediction that one day, businesses like coffee shops will send us coupons on our m ...

Blog Post - Barry Leiba - Apr 12 2010 - 6:04am

T-Shirts That Stop Bullets

Researchers have drastically increased the toughness of a T-shirt by combining the carbon in the shirt’s cotton with boron – the third hardest material on earth. The result is a lightweight shirt reinforced with boron carbide, the same material used to pro ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 8 2010 - 6:21pm

And who's driving?

I’ve often written about technology that will help us do everyday things, and I almost always advocate technology that helps, while leaving the choices with us, the control in our hands. Mostly, I think that’s what works best. But what about when the tech ...

Blog Post - Barry Leiba - Apr 15 2010 - 6:04am

Nanotechnology Could Spare Damaged Buildings, Bridges

Inexpensive wireless sensors based on nanotechnology could be used to alert engineers to problematic damage to buildings, bridges, and other structures before they become critical, according to a study in the Journal of Materials and Structural Integrity. ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 9 2010 - 11:28am

Cell Phones: MP3 Players, Cameras...Chemical Detectors?

On top of the numerous functions our cell phones perform, the Department of Homeland Security says they may one day also protect us from toxic chemicals. In the coming years, Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate (S&T)'s Cell ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 12 2010 - 12:28pm

Freedom Not Necessary To Cross The Digital Divide

Just ten years ago, researchers assumed that countries needed the freedoms of democracy to cross the digital divide, but a new study in Sociological Inquiry suggests that countries don't necessarily need democracy to join the online community. Rather, ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 13 2010 - 4:17pm

High tech solutions to low-tech problems

Yesterday, Eric Taub reviewed an interesting device in the Gadgetwise blog in the New York Times. It’s a pair of transceivers that help you locate your car even if you’re a half mile from it. You leave one transceiver in the car, take the other with you, ...

Blog Post - Barry Leiba - Apr 27 2010 - 10:01am