If
you can make computer chips that channel light,
why not fiber optics that control electricity?
By making optical fiber with metal wires in
it, researchers have built a photodetector
in a fiber. The advance opens the way to optoelectronic
devices that can be woven into projector screens,
fences and car windshields. Full
story
Software
sorts out subjectivity
It's easy for people to tell whether a review is
positive or negative. It's much harder for computers
because they have neither feelings nor understanding.
Software that leaves out objective sentences is
better at the task than systems that churn through
whole documents.
Nanomechanical
memory demoed
The smaller something is the faster it vibrates,
which makes nanomechanical devices promising as
the next generation of high-speed, high-capacity
memory technology. The challenge is being able to
manufacture millions of the devices on a chip. A
prototype nanomechanical memory cell made from silicon
could be the answer.
Nanotubes
tune in light
Antennas are little more than long, thin metal rods.
As molecular-scale metallic cylinders, carbon nanotubes
should work as antennas as well. But because the
signals an antenna receives consist of wavelengths
that are close to the antenna's length, nanotubes
should receive and transmit lightwaves rather than
radio waves. Researchers have shown that this is
the case, opening the way for new types of communications
equipment and solar cells.
