Monday, June 14, 2010

How many atoms in a vacuum tube?

BBC News - Seven atom transistor sets the pace for future PCs: "Researchers have shown off a transistor made from just seven atoms that could be used to create smaller, more powerful computers."

If robots can marry[1], can they also marry[2]?

Robot Conducts Wedding Ceremony in Tokyo : Discovery News:

Marry[1] - to conduct a wedding ceremony.
Marry[2] - to enter into the formalized relationship of marriage
"Almost everyone stood when the bride walked down the aisle in her white gown, but not the wedding conductor, because she was bolted to her chair.

The nuptials at this ceremony were led by 'I-Fairy,' a 4-foot (1.5-meter) tall seated robot with flashing eyes and plastic pigtails. Sunday's wedding was the first time a marriage had been led by a robot, according to manufacturer Kokoro Co.

'Please lift the bride's veil,' the robot said in a tinny voice, waving its arms in the air as the newlyweds kissed in front of about 50 guests."

MIT researchers enable self-assembling of chips

MIT researchers enable self-assembling of chips: "Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Tuesday released research detailing how molecules in chips can self-assemble, potentially reducing manufacturing costs.

A step on the way to building the "other" von Neumann machines (self-replicating machines). If you're a CS major, you're more likely to think of "von Neumann machine" as a type of computer architecture.
"The researchers have developed a technique in which polymers automatically fall into place to create an integrated circuit, said Caroline Ross, professor of materials science and engineering at MIT and a researcher behind the technology. The researchers designed a template to cause polymers to spontaneously arrange themselves into useful patterns."
Watch out for grey goo.