HackingTheUniverse

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Until we invent a replicator that works by using an energy beam to transport molecular material, we have to make copies the old fashioned way – using solid materials. MIT is working on the mathematics required to make copies of objects using a smart sandbox. Self-sculpting sand – [mit.edu] New algorithms could enable heaps of [...]

While single atom transistors have been created previously, they were positioned with somewhat random locations, making it difficult to find one that was actually useful. A team from the University of New South Wales in Australia has been able to locate a single atom of phosphorus with near atomic precision. The silicon substrate the atom [...]

Composites are made by combining two different materials with different properties: Concrete – concrete by itself is a composite of cement and crushed rock, which has a high strength against compression or crushing (like rock) but can be poured like a liquid into forms to create specific shapes before it hardens. Concrete does not have [...]

Purdue University is offering a new two part course on NanoElectronics starting in January. Each part will last five weeks and costs a $30 registration fee. You can either simply audit the class and not take the tests, or you can take the tests and by passing, earn a completion certificate. If you pass the [...]

Putting 100 trillion Field Effect Transistors (FETs) on a one square centimeter chip may become possible using graphene walls. The term “graphene walls” in this context describes tiny strips or “nano-ribbons” of carbon atoms. Other researchers have developed ideas for creating cheap and flexible lighting and display substrates made of graphene components embedded in plastic. [...]

Aluminum oxide (Al2-O3) in it’s crystalline form is known as corundum and is second to diamond on the hardness scale. When it includes traces of chromium, creating a red color, it is called ruby and with traces of chromium, titanium, iron or other elements creating other colors, it is called sapphire. Creating the Heart of [...]

The word, “ambient” means, “from the surrounding environment”. It can mean either something that is found in the surrounding environment or something in the environment that surrounds. We have been harvesting energy from the surrounding environment from before the first glimmerings of civilization. Collecting fire from a lightening strike, damming and redirecting water, water wheels, [...]

Students from Texas Tech University have won the “Novel Design” category in the “MEMS University Alliance Design Competition” sponsored by Sandia National Labs with a design for a dust mite sized dragonfly. “MEMS” stands for Micro Electro Mechanical Systems and deals with the technology of very small electro mechanical devices. MICROBOTIC Dragonfly – [sandia.gov] I. [...]

From a low end of sowing and weaving electronic components into cloth for simple purposes to manufacturing cloth with electronic components embedded in the woven threads, the range of electronic textiles is wide and growing fast. Thread that generates and stores electric power from solar energy may be next. Towards electronic textiles – putting conductive [...]

A colloid is a suspension or dispersion of one substance inside another, typically held in place by electromagnetic fields. Examples of common colloids include, blood, milk, ink, gelatin, smoke and fog particles. Destabilizing the electromagnetic field often causes the particles to precipitate out of their suspended state. Colloidal particles can also self-assemble or crystallize into [...]