miniaturization
Latest
Stanford researchers manage to put a particle accelerator on a silicon chip
In scientific pursuits, like the search for dark matter, researchers sometimes use high-power particle accelerators. But these giant machines are extremely expensive and only a handful of them exist, so teams must travel to places like the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, California, where Stanford University operates at two-mile-long particle accelerator. This may change, though. Researchers believe they have developed an alternative: a laser-driven particle accelerator that fits on a silicon chip.
Tiny DARPA chip has six-axis inertial guidance for military GPS backup
Before satellites, getting from A to B without radio signals involved cumbersome inertial systems found only on advanced civilian and military aircraft. Those are still the best backup for GPS, and working with the University of Michigan, DARPA has found a way to reduce the once fridge-sized units to half the width of your fingernail. The chips contain everything needed for precise navigation including an accurate master clock, a three-axis gyroscope and three accelerometers, all contained in three hair-width layers. If it gets out of the lab, it would give soldiers another option in the event of an enemy GPS attack or when they're in a tunnel, and might even guide you to that Macy's restroom if it ever hits civilian form.
Tiny N64 controller guaranteed to cause serious crampage
On the list of nerd pastimes, miniaturization ranks pretty high. So, we're not exactly surprised to see a tiny N64 controller, but we're kind of amazed that this rather extreme hack managed to avoid detection since January. The itty bitty controller isn't a mod, but an original construction built around a PIC microcontroller. You might notice that the yellow C buttons are absent, instead Kirren (the creator) went with a tiny four way switch, which you'll see above the blue and green A and B buttons. The design skips the L key, but you'll find R and Z on the rear face. For a short clip of it in action head on after the break and, if you want to build one yourself, hit up the source.
William Shatner explains what microprocessors are and do... from way back in 1976
For a man that spent the best part of his acting career representing a savvy dude from the future, William Shatner looks pretty well at home in the past as well. This video, dusted off from AT&T's Tech Channel archives, shows Shatner dressed in a casual tan ensemble and dropping some knowledge on the subject of microprocessors. Aside from the retro visuals and presentation, what's great about the vid is that the seemingly lavish claims about where computers could take us -- and their own move toward increasing importance, utility and ubiquity -- actually seem pretty tame in light of what we know today. Beam yourself past the break to see this golden nugget from the Bell Labs archives. [Thanks, Dan]
HP Create Amazing ad tilt-shifts our hearts
Okay, so we're total suckers for tilt-shift perspective manipulation, and since we've run a fair number of snippy attack ads lately, we thought we'd try and clear the air with this impressive new spot from HP. Part of the relatively-new "Create Amazing" campaign, it's a miniaturized international tour through Shanghai, New York, Santorini, London, Istanbul, and some custom office sets built in L.A., and, well, we're in love. Watch the video below, maybe have a second glance at Michael Gartenberg's Entelligence column on gadget-fan unity from yesterday, and let's all agree to agree for once in this crazy world. Update: Sadly, the filmmaker got in touch with us and requested that we pull the video until he can clear it with HP -- we'll let you know.
