You Might Use These Smart Flexible Windows in the Future and Other Future Tech on 24-August-2016
Our #WednesdayWisdom for today is to #NeverGiveUp and
#KeepMovingForward! Let’s get started with the latest in future science and
technology from around the world.
You Might Use These
Smart Flexible Windows in the Future
In sci-fi movies and futuristic TV Shows, we often find
people interacting with their windows in a smarter fashion. Fortunately, modern
technology is allowing us to realize our sci-fi gadgets into reality. One such
research took place in Austin, where researchers at the Cockrell School of
Engineering at The University of Texas demonstrated smart flexible windows, the
coating of which is easier and cheaper to apply than what we use today.
“There’s relatively little insight into amorphous materials
and how their properties are impacted by local structure. But, we were able to
characterize with enough specificity what the local arrangement of the atoms
is, so that it sheds light on the differences in properties in a rational way. Such
collaborative efforts that combine complementary techniques are, in my view,
the key to the rational design of new materials,” said Delia Milliron, Associate
Professor, McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering. “We want to see if we
can marry the best performance with this new low-temperature processing
strategy.”
The Unity of Light
and Electricity
We’ve already blogged about how Moore’s
Law might not be applicable in 2021. The world of technological innovation
is, ultimately, about making smaller devices which are much-more powerful than
their predecessors. However, we were limited because the computer processes
information on semiconductor chips, and this data is transmitted through optical
cables – until now, with the following amazing innovation by University of
Cambridge researchers.
“We’re reaching the limits of how small we can make
transistors, and electronics based on liquid light could be a way of increasing
the power and efficiency of the electronics we rely on,” Researchers say, “The
polariton [Bose-Einstein condensates] switch unifies the best properties of
electronics and optics into one tiny device that can deliver at very high
speeds while using minimal amounts of power,” says Dr. Alexander Dreismann, Lead
Author of the study.
Nerve Transfer Surgery
Allows Patients to Regain Control after Paralysis
The world’s first nerve transfer surgery has allowed 44-year-old
quadriplegic Tim Raglin of Canada to regain movement in some fingers of this
right hand. A nearly-fatal deep-dive into shallow water left Raglin paralyzed
for life – until now. Performed by Dr. Kirsty Boyd from the Ottawa Hospital,
the nerve transfer surgery helped him open his fingers after much post-surgery rehabilitation.
“It was kind of a shock. And it’s really moving now: There’s
a lot of nerves touching muscles that are getting stronger…Every iteration, it
just gets more and more exciting,” he said.
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