Image: Forschungszentrum Jülich/T. EsatThis illustration shows a PTCDA molecule positioned upright on a silver platter [left]. Normally, the molecule would lie flat atop a layer of silver atoms [right]. If nanotechnology has captured the popular imagination in any way, it has likely been in the form of so-called molecular nanotechnology, in which nanoscale machines assemble… Continue reading Nanotechnology Takes Giant Leap Foward by Manipulating Molecules
Author: IEEE_Spectrum
Swarm Asks FCC for Permission to Have Its Rogue Satellites Phone Home
Illustration: IEEE Spectrum; Images: Swarm Technologies; iStockphoto Ever since Swarm Technologies illegally launched four experimental satellites in January, the tiny spacecraft have been orbiting the Earth in silence, awaiting judgement from a furious U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Now the stealthy start-up wants to briefly activate the satellites, probably with the aim of placating the FCC… Continue reading Swarm Asks FCC for Permission to Have Its Rogue Satellites Phone Home
NI Announces New mmWave Radio Heads Targeted at 5G NR Research and System Prototyping
AUSTIN, Texas – July 10, 2018 – NI (Nasdaq: NATI), the provider of a software-defined platform that helps accelerate the development and performance of automated test and automated measurement systems, today announced two series of new millimeter wave (mmWave) radio heads for the mmWave Transceiver System. The new radio heads, which cover spectrum from 24.5… Continue reading NI Announces New mmWave Radio Heads Targeted at 5G NR Research and System Prototyping
The IceCube Neutrino Detector at the South Pole Hits Paydirt
Photo-illustration: IceCube Collaboration/NSF After 3.9 billion years of hurtling unhindered through the vast reaches of the universe, a ghostly neutrino particle died on 22 September 2017. It was annihilated when it collided with an atom in the frozen darkness two kilometers beneath the surface of the south polar ice cap. But this subatomic particle’s death… Continue reading The IceCube Neutrino Detector at the South Pole Hits Paydirt
Gore (the Gore-Tex Company) Thinks It Holds the Key to On-Skin Wearables
Photo: Gore I confess, I wasn’t familiar with W.L. Gore and Associates other than as the creator of Gore-Tex. So I wasn’t sure what I was going to find when I visited its new Silicon Valley innovation center last week. But then Paul Campbell and Linda Elkins, co-leaders of the center, pulled a sheet of… Continue reading Gore (the Gore-Tex Company) Thinks It Holds the Key to On-Skin Wearables
Device Uses Flashes of Light to Restore Hearing
Image: University Medical Center Göttingen Scientists in Germany have succeeded in restoring hearing sensations in gerbils using flashes of light. The technique, if it can be developed for humans, could offer a more refined, high-resolution auditory experience than what can be achieved with current hearing devices such as the cochlear implant. The scientists, led by Tobias Moser, a professor of… Continue reading Device Uses Flashes of Light to Restore Hearing
Why Consider Disability and Long-Term Insurance?
Figure 1. A screenshot of the Disability Income Needs Calculator from IEEE. Source: IEEE Disability and long-term care insurance provide a source of income in the event that your ability to work is interrupted. Both help you pay bills and provide income, but there are important differences. Each plan offers specific benefits that are unique… Continue reading Why Consider Disability and Long-Term Insurance?
Australia’s Digital Transformation Stumbles Badly
Photo: iStockphoto An Australian Senate committee published a 146-page report assessing the government’s progress toward its goal of becoming “one of the top three digital governments in the world…that other nations can look to for guidance and inspiration,” by 2025. Given what is in the report, other nations may want to look elsewhere for their… Continue reading Australia’s Digital Transformation Stumbles Badly
Social Home Robots: 35 Years of Progress
Photo: Roger Ressmeyer/Corbis/Getty ImagesTopo, a consumer and educational robot released in 1983 by Androbot. This Saturday, the Robot Film Festival is taking place in Portland, Ore. This is the 8th year of the festival, and after bouncing around between San Francisco, Pittsburgh, and Los Angeles, the festival has (at least temporarily) settled on the greatest… Continue reading Social Home Robots: 35 Years of Progress
The Future of Cybersecurity Is the Quantum Random Number Generator
Illustration: Greg Mably In 1882, a banker in Sacramento, Calif., named Frank Miller developed an absolutely unbreakable encryption method. Nearly 140 years later, cryptographers have yet to come up with something better. Miller had learned about cryptography while serving as a military investigator during the U.S. Civil War. Sometime later, he grew interested in telegraphy and… Continue reading The Future of Cybersecurity Is the Quantum Random Number Generator