Lifeboat Foundation

Liquid crystals consist of rod-shaped molecules that slosh around like a fluid, and in those that are nematic the molecules are mostly parallel to each other. For devices like TV screens, the odd molecule that faces the wrong way has to be removed during the manufacturing process, but these defects are key for building a liquid crystal computer, says Kos.

In ordinary computers, information is stored as a series of bits, electronic versions of 1s and 0s. In Kos and Dunkel’s liquid crystal computer, the information would instead be translated into a series of defective orientations. A liquid crystal defect could encode a different value for every different degree of misalignment with other molecules.

Electric fields could then be used to manipulate the molecules to perform basic calculations, similar to how simple circuits called logic gates work in an ordinary computer. Calculations on the proposed computer would appear as ripples spreading through the liquid.

Incensed when two others won the Nobel Prize for the science behind the invention, he took out a newspaper ad that called his exclusion a “shameful wrong that must be righted.”

In an example of the adage “everything old is new again,” MIT engineers report a new discovery in semiconductors, well-known materials that have been the focus of intense study for over 100 years thanks to their many applications in electronic devices.

The team found that these important materials not only become much stiffer in response to light, but the effect is reversible when the light is turned off. The engineers also explain what is happening at the atomic scale, and show how the effect can be tuned by making the materials in a certain way—introducing specific defects—and using different colors and intensities of light.

“We’re excited about these results because we’ve uncovered a new scientific direction in an otherwise very well-trod field. In addition, we found that the phenomenon may be present in many other compounds,” says Rafael Jaramillo, the Thomas Lord Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT and leader of the team.

Batteries provide energy to electronic devices. Your body generates and uses energy. Ergo, you’re basically a battery.

As you run, walk, or even breathe, your body is moving. A system fine-tuned enough to collect and store that output can transpose it into energy for the electronics we carry with us everyday. The obvious substrate in which to build such a system is our clothes, since they move along with us.

But without a series of wires or magnetic coils, how can cotton, wool, polyester, or even leather garments collect, store, and transport electricity? A team at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore thinks it has the answers to finally harness your inner generator—and keep you from needing to borrow a charging cord.

Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) is a task of simultaneously estimating the sensor pose as well as the surrounding scene geometry. However, most existing SLAM systems are designed for the static world, which is unrealistic.

A recent paper on arXiv.org proposes a robust object-level dynamic SLAM system.

Optics, technologies that leverage the behavior and properties of light, are the basis of many existing technological tools, most notably fiber communication systems that enable long-and short-distance high-speed communication between devices. Optical signals have a high information capacity and can be transmitted across longer distances.

Researchers at California Institute of Technology have recently developed a new device that could help to overcome some of the limitations of existing optical systems. This device, introduced in a paper published in Nature Photonics, is a lithium niobate-based device that can switch ultrashort light pulses at an extremely low optical pulse energy of tens of femtojoules.

“Unlike electronics, optics still lacks efficiency in required components for computing and signal processing, which has been a major barrier for unlocking the potentials of optics for ultrafast and efficient computing schemes,” Alireza Marandi, lead researcher for the study, told Phys.org. “In the past few decades, substantial efforts have been dedicated to developing all–optical switches that could address this challenge, but most of the energy-efficient designs suffered from slow switching times, mainly because they either used high-Q resonators or carrier-based nonlinearities.”

Steven PostrelIrwin Allen called…

When producer Irwin Allen’s popular television series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea debuted its second season on ABC in September, 1965, viewers would note some exciting changes and additions to the show. Voyage was now broadcast in color, the nuclear submarine Seaview had been modified into a sleeker, four-windowed look, and the show would feature an important new star: the Flying Sub, a vehicle that flies through the air at incredible speeds and submerges to travel underwater at great depths.

The Flying Sub (also referred to as the FS-1) quickly became a signature element of the show, featured in almost every episode not only as a quick transport from the Seaview to land, but as an underwater exploration and defense vehicle that could dock at underwater research laboratories or on other submarines, and do battle with the menagerie of undersea monsters that threatened the Seaview. With its upswept, manta ray-like shape, vivid yellow-and-blue paint scheme, twin stabilizer fins, upper and lower hatches, gleaming headlights and the large forward windows that allowed viewers to actually see Admiral Nelson and Captain Crane (or at least miniature figures of them) at the controls of the craft, the Flying Sub became one of the most familiar and unique sights on ABC television in the 1960s, adding action and excitement to a TV show already overflowing with visual wonders.

Continue reading “Flying Sub Deluxe Edition” »

The 200-megapixel ISOCELL HP1 sensor uses advanced levels of pixel binning technologies to extract details and light in challenging situations.

For one month Rob Greenfield lived just like the average person and WORE every single piece of trash he created. Why? To create a visual of how much trash just one of us creates and serve as a mirror to society to self-reflect, question habits and explore alternatives to live in balance with Earth.

Rob Greenfield is an activist and humanitarian dedicated to leading the way to a more sustainable and just world. He embarks on extreme projects to bring attention to important global issues and inspire positive change. His work has been covered by media worldwide including National Geographic and he’s been named “The Robin Hood of modern times” by France 2 TV. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.