Technology, features and articles | Educational Science

Nov 30, 2004

Collapsing The Wave: An Interview with J. Frederick Arment

I really liked J. Frederick Arment's new book Backbeat - A Novel of Physics. This is a story that demonstrates real writing power; he makes the ideas behind quantum mechanics come alive in a fascinating tale about people you'll care about. How he does this, I have no idea. I...

Nov 30, 2004

New Highway Signs Easier to See

Anyone who has ever had trouble reading a highway will appreciate the decade-long effort to change the lettering that has signaled exits and avenues along U.S. highways for half a century. More than six formal studies and dozens of field reviews led to the new Clearview road signs that researchers...

Nov 30, 2004

Universal Whistling Machine -- The Future Of Non-Verbal Communications

Canadian artists Marc Bohlen and J.T. Rinker want to change the way that you interact with your favorite electronic devices. Tired of tiny keyboards, poor speech recognition or incomprehensible interfaces? The Universal Whistling Machine is a step toward a non-verbal dialogue between man and machine. The device uses signal-processing to...

Nov 30, 2004

Encyclopedia Googlactica: Google Puts All Human Knowledge Online

Finally. After many years of reading about the universal dictionary (Robert Heinlein), the city fathers (James Blish), the house records (Frank Herbert), and the hitchhiker's guide (Douglas Adams), to name just a few, Google has finally decided to put all there is of human knowledge online. All right, not quite...

Oct 31, 2004

A Step Toward Single-Molecule Computers

Building single molecule computers recently came one step closer to reality as scientists reported the discovery of the world's fastest transistor, a carbon fabric a single atom thick. The previously unknown structure of carbon, called graphene, is a strong, stable, and conductive sheet that could be a major contribution to...

Oct 31, 2004

LIDAR Laser Radar Finding More Uses

BALTIMORE (AP) -- If you've ever been pulled over for speeding, you may already know something about LIDAR. A laser-based radar system, LIDAR can tell if you're speeding by bouncing a light beam off your car and seeing how quickly it returns. From an airplane or a satellite, LIDAR can...

Oct 31, 2004

The Terminator Tether Aims to Clean Up Low Earth Orbit

You wouldn't think that humanity has been this busy in space - but there are over eight thousand satellites and other large objects in orbit around the Earth, along with many smaller objects. These objects include spent vehicle upper stages, separation bolts, lens caps, momentum flywheels, nuclear reactor cores, auxiliary...

Oct 31, 2004

Wrist-y Business: The iBand Data Exchange Bracelet

As the makers of the new iBand remark, initial meetings and introductions build relationships, but only if you can remember whom you shook hands with. That's why the iBand gathers and processes information automatically when it registers a handshake with someone wearing another unit. Put 'er there, pal. iBand gives...

Oct 31, 2004

Carbon Nanofiber Makes Smart Yarn

Science fiction writer Neal Stephenson wrote about arachnofiber uniforms in his 1992 novel Snow Crash. These bulletproof and lightweight uniforms were worn by the Deliverators, the world's best pizza delivery guys. Carbon nanofiber can now be spun like yarn to make an amazing variety of new inventions possible, including lightweight...

Sep 30, 2004

Rise of the Robots: Segway Platform Gives Mechanoids Motion

A military project aimed at building smarter robots has given researchers the wheels they need to make their automatons go. Originally developed by New Hampshire-based Segway for a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program, the firm's Robotic Mobility Platform (RMP) allows robot developers to focus more on the thinking...

Sep 30, 2004

Franken-Rodent! It's Alive! ALIVE ... ! (Well, kinda ...)

In his excellent 1999 novel Starfish, science fiction writer Peter Watts wrote about cultured brains on a slab - a smart gel - that could pilot a plane as well as a person. Now, University of Florida biomedical engineer Dr. Thomas DeMarse has created a brain in a dish that...

Dec 31, 2003

Abalone Armor: Toughest Stuff Theoretically Possible

Centuries of warfare have seen body armor develop from cow hides to Kevlar. Now scientists are using lab experiments and mathematics to discover a stronger bullet-proof solution in the beautiful, helmet homes that seaweed-eating abalones make for themselves. Abalones create a highly ordered brick-like tiled structure for their shells that...

Nov 30, 2005

Racing Robots: DARPA Grand Challenge 2005

CajunBot (Image credit: Team CajunBot)Several creative robots are competing for $2 million in the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge. CajunBot, the MAX 6-wheel amphibious all-terrain vehicle with a 25 hp twin-cylinder engine, seen during the second NQE run. CyberRider1 (Image credit: Team CyberRider)The CyberRider Vehicle, a robust vehicle designed and developed...

Nov 30, 2005

Reality Check on Video Game Violence

The debate about violence in entertainment has surfaced once again. In late November, a media watchdog group, the National Institute on Media and the Family (NIMF), issued its annual report on video games. Not surprisingly, the institute was not happy with what it found: animated violence, profanity, and some sexual...

Nov 30, 2005

The Smart Home Is Here

Want the lights to dim and the blinds to close when you press play on your DVD player? Want to receive an alert on your TV when the mailman opens your mailbox? No problem. ZigBee, an emerging wireless home-networking standard expected to be widely available next year, is about to...