Engineering

Magazine articles on engineering and how things work.

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Technology Research News February 25, 2004 Kimberly Patch	Ethanol yields hydrogen Researchers have devised a way to extract hydrogen directly from ethanol, which would make for a renewable energy cycle. Ethanol is produced by converting biomass like cornstarch to sugar, then fermenting it.
Technology Research News February 25, 2004 Eric Smalley	Biochip makes droplet test tubes Researchers who are developing biochips are taking two distinct approaches in devising ways to shunt tiny amounts of liquids around. One focuses on finding ways to form microscopic channels and tiny mechanical pumps. The other is aimed at using electricity to maneuver tiny droplets on surfaces.
Technology Research News February 25, 2004 Kimberly Patch	Model keeps virtual eyes right Researchers have developed a computer simulation of the areas in the primate brain that perform initial visual processing. "This model shows that very basic neural feature detectors may actually explain a lot of how attention is directed to particular objects in scenes,"
Technology Research News February 25, 2004 Eric Smalley	Simple optics make quantum relay Quantum cryptography devices and networks, which transport photons whose properties can be used to represent the 1s and 0s of digital information, could also benefit from repeaters.
Technology Research News February 25, 2004	Hot tip boosts disk capacity Many research efforts are aimed at increasing the amount of information that can be stored in a given area of magnetic media like computer disks. One challenge is making smaller magnetic bits that are stable at room temperature.
Technology Research News February 25, 2004	Nanotubes boost shape recovery Researchers have mixed carbon nanotubes with polymer to make a plastic that is good at springing back into shape when heated. The shape memory polymers could be used in practical applications in five years, according to the researchers.
Technology Research News February 25, 2004	Nanowires spot DNA mutation Nanowire sensors could eventually be built into labs-on-a-chip that could be used for medical diagnostics and pathogen detection in the field, and for drug discovery.
Technology Research News February 25, 2004	Scans pick up object orientation Researchers in Spain have improved the process of pattern recognition with a method of mapping three-dimensional objects in a way that records every possible point of view of the object. The method could be used to inspect the orientation and shapes of manufactured goods, and also for face recognition.
Technology Research News February 25, 2004	Nanotube mix makes liquid crystal Carbon nanotubes are rolled-up sheets of carbon atoms that can be as narrow as 0.4 nanometers, or the span of four hydrogen atoms. They have useful electrical and mechanical properties and are a leading player in nanotechnology.
Technology Research News February 25, 2004	Film promises terabit storage Scientists are looking to cram more information in a given area by finding ways to store the 1s and 0s of computer information in single molecules.
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