Tag: technology

Computers can now recognize faces…

…more accurately than humans can.

Sailing, sailing

Although I’ve rarely sailed, I’ve been in love with the idea of sailing ever since I was a kid and devoured–several times over–the Swallows and Amazons books by Arthur Ransome. (Used my own money to order them all the way from England–that’s how much I loved them.) Sailboats are expensive and awkward things to own …

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That’s not a laser security system…

…this is a laser security system!* Ionatron’s security device shoots a laser across a doorway or hall to create a stream of plasma (called a laser-induced plasma channel, or LIPC). Since the plasma is conductive, it’s easy to fire a jolt of electricity down the plasma path, which can be lethal or “less lethal,” at …

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Rotating skyscrapers

Not just a great name for a rock band, rotating skyscrapers (that’s a video link, by the way) are an interesting new form of architecture that would drastically change the skyline of any city where they were built (because each floor can be slowly rotated independently) and improve that city’s energy efficiency (because the wind …

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"I always feel like somebody’s watching me…", Part 2

Actually, this sounds like a great idea: Bluetooth-capable vital signs monitors that keep in touch with a central computer via your cellphone, so you can carry on with your life while resting assured that those pesky symptoms that tend to crop up and then vanish before you can see a doctor–and never seem to reoccur …

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Vacuuming away CO2…

This might be useful down near Weyburn, where they’re using CO2 injection in the oilfields. The CO2 currently comes by pipeline from Beulah, North Dakota: …the new device captures carbon dioxide molecules that are already in the air and releases them as a pure carbon dioxide stream. This stream can be sequestered or used to …

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"Help! I’m being eaten by PacMan!"

That was my first reaction on seeing the EnergyPod: It’s actually, though (according to Metronaps–great company name, eh?–its manufacturer): …designed for powernapping at work. A beautiful addition to the workplace, the EnergyPod improves employee morale while boosting the bottom line. Uh-huh.

"Solid light will help us build the technology of this century."

Solid light? Apparently: “Solid light photons repel each other as electrons do. This means we can control photons, opening the door to new kinds of faster computers,” says Dr Greentree. “Many real-world problems in quantum physics are too hard to solve with today’s computers. Our discovery shows how to replicate these hard problems in a …

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One step closer to a cloaking device…

A computer model developed at Liverpool University has shown that it’s possible to make objects appear invisible at close range: Dr Guenneau, at the University’s Department of Mathematical Science, explains: “A cloak, such as the one worn by the Harry Potter character for example, is not yet possible but it is a good example of …

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And while we’re on the subject of my new novel…

…my underwater hunter/tracker robots destroy their targets with a sonic weapon. Now, thanks to the U.S. Navy, I know how it works.

The Segway of the seas…

My eye continues to be caught by unique above-and-below-water vehicles thanks to the watery setting of my new novel Marseguro (currently undergoing revision). This one looks like fun: As Sci-Fi Tech explains it: The SeaBob essentially works as a self-propelling riding vehicle and is roughly akin to a jetski. You grab hold of two “controlgrips” …

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Mini-DNA replicator

This is pretty amazing: A pocket-sized device that runs on two AA batteries and copies DNA as accurately as expensive lab equipment has been developed by researchers in the US. The device has no moving parts and costs just $10 to make. It runs polymerase chain reactions (PCRs), to generate billions of identical copies of …

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