LightSwitches
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SmartSwitch prototype makes work out of the simplest of things
Conserving energy is one of those things that you may want to do, but you've never gotten around to it, and you're not exactly sure how to start -- because, well, thinking about stuff is hard. The SmartSwitch prototype -- designed by Peter Russo and Brendan Wypich at Stanford University -- works on just that idea: turning lights on and off is a reflexive action that you barely think about... unless you get some resistance. The modded light switch is equipped with a network connection and a brake pad, and each time you try to turn on a light in your home, it makes a judgment about the overall current electricity levels being used, and gives resistance, making the switch harder to turn on, if the network determines the levels of usage to be high. Check out a video of how the whole thing works after the break.[Via Hacked Gadgets]
Researchers use magnetic fields to manipulate light
We've seen magnetics used in everything from closet improvements to insomnia treatments, but researchers at the University of Alberta and the United States Naval Research Laboratory have found that "by manipulating electron spin using magnetic fields, they can turn off and on light that's being guided through metals." By looking deeper into the fields of plasmonics and spintronics, the gurus have discovered that this on-off light switch could be used for tasks such as routing infrared light in optical communications or processing radio signals in cell phones. Additionally, this system could potentially decrease power requirements for the devices it invades, and while a finalized product isn't quite ready, the team is already anxious to "build devices that can act as switches in a chip."
