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Tiny Computer Makes a Big Splash Nowadays, technology is becoming more and more advanced. Technology of the future is smaller, faster, smarter, and much more powerful. One start towards future technology is nano-technology. Scientists at Stanford University were able to create a tiny computer made out of carbon nanotube transistors. Although this nanotechnology is still rather primitive, it proves that a lot can be done by using carbon fiber to create nanotube transistors. The computer created can make calculations, run a basic operating system, and switch processes running at the same time. This is enough to consider it a computer. Nanotube creations have evolved. The first nanotube transistor was a nanotube version of an on/off switch, invented in 1998. Before, it was thought that it is impossible to manufacture nanotubes, because they are kind of like crystals, and it wouldn't be possible to create them with the perfect alignment required for the tiny computer's circuits. If there are any imperfections in the nanotubes, there can be a short circuit. This happens for about 30% of the developed computers, due to misalignment. The researchers at Stanford are now creating a debugging technique, so that a lower fraction of the transistors are misaligned. Although the nano-technology now is still rather primitive, it will most likely become a leading technology of our future.
Brain Power Enough to Control a "Bionic" Leg With all of the incredible technology advances that are happening today, one that will affect the lives of limb amputees, is bionic prosthetic legs. Recently, a 32-year-old man was able to walk comfortable by using his brain to control a prosthetic leg. There are sensors receiving nerve impulses from the muscles and nerves that used to send impulses to the missing knee and ankle, and the impulses from the brain are making the artificial leg move. The patient was able to walk up and down a set of stairs, and the leg was able to move almost naturally, like the amputee's other leg. The patient, Zac Vawter, was the first person to successfully control a prosthetic with his brain. Other artificial legs that people are using right now, require remotes for the leg to move, and there is no connection with the brain's impulses. This new invention is known as a bionic leg, because of its ability to interact with the human brain. The bionic leg has a software algorithm that receives impulses from the electrodes on the skin, and then changes the impulses and signals into the bionic leg's movement. The software in the device decodes what Mr. Vawter is thinking, and changes it into movement. In a test with this machine, only 2% of the steps had minor errors such as the foot scuffing. The one thing that this handy device can't do is run, which other prosthetics enable people to do. Now, the bionic leg just has to be quitter, smaller, and give people the ability to run.
Tiny Computer Makes a Big Splash Nowadays, technology is becoming more and more advanced. Technology of the future is smaller, faster, smarter, and much more powerful. One start towards future technology is nano-technology. Scientists at Stanford University were able to create a tiny computer made out of carbon nanotube transistors. Although this nanotechnology is still rather primitive, it proves that a lot can be done by using carbon fiber to create nanotube transistors. The computer created can make calculations, run a basic operating system, and switch processes running at the same time. This is enough to consider it a computer. Nanotube creations have evolved. The first nanotube transistor was a nanotube version of an on/off switch, invented in 1998. Before, it was thought that it is impossible to manufacture nanotubes, because they are kind of like crystals, and it wouldn't be possible to create them with the perfect alignment required for the tiny computer's circuits. If there are any imperfections in the nanotubes, there can be a short circuit. This happens for about 30% of the developed computers, due to misalignment. The researchers at Stanford are now creating a debugging technique, so that a lower fraction of the transistors are misaligned. Although the nano-technology now is still rather primitive, it will most likely become a leading technology of our future.
Brain Power Enough to Control a "Bionic" Leg With all of the incredible technology advances that are happening today, one that will affect the lives of limb amputees, is bionic prosthetic legs. Recently, a 32-year-old man was able to walk comfortable by using his brain to control a prosthetic leg. There are sensors receiving nerve impulses from the muscles and nerves that used to send impulses to the missing knee and ankle, and the impulses from the brain are making the artificial leg move. The patient was able to walk up and down a set of stairs, and the leg was able to move almost naturally, like the amputee's other leg. The patient, Zac Vawter, was the first person to successfully control a prosthetic with his brain. Other artificial legs that people are using right now, require remotes for the leg to move, and there is no connection with the brain's impulses. This new invention is known as a bionic leg, because of its ability to interact with the human brain. The bionic leg has a software algorithm that receives impulses from the electrodes on the skin, and then changes the impulses and signals into the bionic leg's movement. The software in the device decodes what Mr. Vawter is thinking, and changes it into movement. In a test with this machine, only 2% of the steps had minor errors such as the foot scuffing. The one thing that this handy device can't do is run, which other prosthetics enable people to do. Now, the bionic leg just has to be quitter, smaller, and give people the ability to run.
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