Tech

Computing

Calculating Cartoons

Thanks to sophisticated computer simulations of the laws of physics, spectacular special effects—plus a zoo of strange but real-looking creatures—increasingly enliven movie screens and computer-game consoles.

Tech

Little levers for satellites: Cilia may precisely dock tiny spacecraft

Tiny artificial hairs that imitate biological cilia flex with enough muscle and finesse to maneuver tiny satellites into place for docking with a mother ship.

Tech

Magnetic refrigerator gets down and homey

Because it uses a permanent magnet, a new, prototype magnetic cooler takes up so little space that it could give rise to ordinary household refrigerators and air conditioners that run on magnetism instead of volatile liquids.

Tech

Engineered crystal obeys inner bananas

Flexing new skills at custom-designing crystals, researchers built a specific optical trait into a new organic crystal by tinkering with the shape of one of the crystal's constituent molecules.

Tech

Many-armed magnets reveal stem cells

Novel particles that combine magnetic crystals and many-branched polymers may permit doctors to track stem cells in people by using standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners.

Tech

Little lamp may set quantum tech aglow

By reliably emitting just one photon when excited by just one voltage pulse, a sophisticated takeoff on a common class of tiny lamps called light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, may help usher in exotic technologies that rely on quantum mechanics, including quantum cryptography and quantum computers.

Tech

Fly lends an ear to microphone design

The unique way some flies localize sound has inspired engineers to design tiny directional microphones for hearing aids and surveillance devices.

Tech

Gadgets from the Quantum Spookhouse

Despite much fanfare about proposed computers based on weird features of quantum mechanics, a whole array of other quantum technologies—navigation devices, chip-making equipment, atomic clocks and more—may also outshine their conventional cousins and be easier to implement than full-blown quantum computers.

Tech

Technique senses damage before it hurts

A new technique for automatically detecting damage to aircraft, buildings, and other structures may lead to practical damage-monitoring systems by reducing false alarms that make today's laboratory prototypes unsuitable for real-world use.

Computing

Sneaky Calculations

The same communication system that brings you the Web page of your choice can be exploited to perform computations.

Tech

Wiring teensy tubes, strands into circuits

Single-molecule transistors and other comparably small components are now at work in prototype circuits that may eventually lead to electronic devices crammed with up to 100,000 times more transistors per square centimeter than are on today's chips.

Tech

Exploding wires open sharp X-ray eye

Using exploding wires to make low-energy X-rays, a novel, high-resolution camera snaps X-ray pictures of millimeter-scale or larger objects—such as full insects—in which features only micrometers across show up throughout the image.