All Stories by Peter Weiss
- 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.
- Materials Science
Mammal cells make fake spider silk better
Using long and abundant water-soluble proteins secreted by bioengineered mammal cells, scientists have spun the first artificial spider silk demonstrated to have some of the remarkable mechanical properties of the real thing.
- Physics
Electrons grab unexpected energy share
When atoms or molecules react with a metal surface, even briefly, they can inject much more energy into surface electrons than previously realized.
- Physics
Liquid computer takes key quantum step
The first, rudimentary implementation of a method, called Shor's algorithm, for using quantum mechanics in computations suggests that larger-scale implementations are possible and may eventually break the codes used today to protect secret messages on the Internet and elsewhere.
- 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.
- Physics
Shortest transistor makes its debut
A novel type of single-molecule transistor built around a one-molecule-thick layer of organic molecules may eventually lead to faster, denser chips because the channel through which electrons flow is so short.
- Physics
Neutrino shortage may signal new force
The dearth of neutrinos from a precision experiment casts some doubt on the prevailing model of particle physics and may indicate that a previously unrecognized extra force exists.
- 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.
