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Space Tractors and Paper Furniture
Feb. 17th, 2007 07:43 amSource: PhysOrg  NASA suggests that a "spce tractor" could be used to move potential earth-killer asteroids off their collision course. They suggest this may be a better solution than blowing them up, which could result in multiple huge pieces still hitting the earth and wreaking havoc. |
Source: Technology Review  Scientists at the University of Southern California are preparing to test a new retinal implant that may provide 4 times the resolution of previous models. These previous models have been tested in humans and have enjoyed some success in restoring limited vision to those with retinal-degenerative diseases. The new device still depends on an external camera and imaging processing. They predict that the third-generation devices will have 10 times the resolution of the new model. |
Source: Transmaterial  Softseating is a series of paper chairs that are designed with a honey-comb structure that allow them to be folded up and stored when not in use. The seats are expected to improve with age because constant use will soften the paper fibers. They are also flame-retardent and recyclable. |
Source: SlashDot  A student at MIT emulated an XOR (shown here) gate and and AND gate using only water, sufficient to build a half-adder. Although not likely to win the Nobel prize, the logic circuits he designed are useful for demonstrating how logic gates work. |
Source: BBC News  Japanese researchers have exploited the human eye's inability to process the colour yellow well (I was surprised to hear that) to hide printed text in images. The text can then be read by software on a call-phone's camera by filtering out everything in yellow. They can currently store 12-bits of information, about the same as the average bar code. They hope to use this technology to connect printed material to online material. |
