Computer
screens can't hold a candle to film where
dynamic range is concerned, but that could
change. A display with 10 times the brightness
range of film and 300 times that of the average
LCD promises to dramatically liven up medical
images, video games and eventually even television. Full
story
Sponges
grow sturdy optical fiber
Primitive sea creatures from the murky depths are
providing tips on how to improve one of the fundamental
technologies of the information age -- optical fiber.
Sea sponge spines act like fiber optics, but with
some key advantages.
Electron
teams make bigger qubits
Producing any kind of quantum computer is challenging
enough -- and may yet prove impossible -- but being
able to make quantum computers from electronic chips
rather than cumbersome laboratory equipment has
the added challenge of requiring control over individual
electrons. A scheme that has a string of electrons
acting as one could ease the task by expanding the
target to a whopping 250 millionths of a millimeter.
Vision
chip shines
Robot eyes that are comparable to biological eyes
are a long way off, but chips that work like retinas
are sprouting up in laboratories around the world.
An artificial retina that gives what it receives
-- light -- is ready to plug into superfast all-optical
circuits.
