|
|
|
At
about one tenth the size of a red blood cell,
a new light emitting diode promises to be
a small, low-power light source for fiber-optic
communications. If researchers can shrink
it even further, the LED could spit out just
one photon at a time -- a major boost for
quantum cryptography.
Full
story |
|
|
Data
transfer demo sets speed mark
Grid computing is all the rage these days, and it's
hard not to like a set of technologies that could
lead to scientific discoveries, new drugs, and fully
immersive, multiuser virtual reality games. But
shunting large blocks of data around the world calls
for very fast networks. A new grid speed record
of 2.8 gigabits per second should whet a few appetites.
Pulling
nanotubes makes thread
Pull on a piece of a silkworm cocoon and the material
will be drawn into a silk thread. It turns out that
the same is true for carbon nanotubes, those microscopic,
superstrong rolled up sheets of carbon atoms. Growing
a forest of vertical nanotubes on a silicon surface
creates a sort of nanotube cocoon. The resulting
threads could be woven into materials strong enough
to stop bullets.
Text
software spots intruders
Software that categorizes Web pages based on their
content could take on a new role: detecting computer
viruses, Internet worms, hackers and other digital
intruders. As it turns out, text categorization
software does a decent job of spotting new forms
of unwanted intrusions, unlike that virus software
on your PC, which has to know in advance what the
bad guys look like.
Microwave
drill melts concrete
Microwaves cook food, transmit data and reveal cosmic
mysteries. The versatile radiation could also be
tapped for assembly-line hole drilling. A prototype
drill that concentrates microwaves to melt concrete,
ceramics and glass is cleaner and quieter than its
mechanical cousins.
|
|
|
|
