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UT Dallas researchers seek to imbue your smartphone with X-ray superpowers
If anybody ever told you that the future would be awesome, they were right. A new bit of research has emerged from the University of Texas at Dallas, which describes equipment that may allow people to see through walls -- and if that weren't wild enough, creators of the specialized CMOS imaging hardware believe the same technology could be integrated into our mobile phones. To pull off the feat, the scientists tapped into a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that exists between microwave and infrared known as the terahertz range. Due to privacy concerns, the equipment is being designed to operate at a distance of no more than four inches, but its creator hypothesizes that the technology will still be useful for finding studs in walls, verifying documents and detecting counterfeit currency. In other words, this brand of x-ray vision isn't exactly on par with Superman's abilities, but it's bound to work better than mail order spectacles from Newark.
Quantum dots could increase fiber optic bandwidth up to 10 times (video)
Nothing screams World of Tomorrow quite like quantum dots. Alongside the possibility of paint-on solar cells, the technology could also multiply optic fiber bandwidth by up to ten times. The Photonic Network Research Institute at NICT has been able to crank up the capacity of the data transmission system by combining a light source and photonic crystal fiber. The quantum dots act as the light source, and via the NICT's new "sandwiched sub-nano separator structure" [above], they can be tweaked to work at 70THz -- far in excess of the 10THz frequencies typically used. Aside from optical communications, the potency of these high frequencies allow it to pass beyond skin, opening up the use of quantum dots to medical scanning and high resolution cell imaging. Is there anything these dots can't do? Catch a slightly more technical explanation in the video right after the break.
Scientists produce stronger T-rays, bring Tricorders closer to reality
A group of scientists from Imperial College London and Singapore's Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) have developed a new technique that could have far reaching impacts for Star Trek fans everywhere. It all involves something known as Terahertz (THz), or T-rays: electromagnetic rays that have already been used in full-body airport scanners and have the potential to be used across a much broader range of medical and environmental applications. Because every molecule can be uniquely identified within the THz range, these T-rays can be used to pick up on cancerous cells and other biological matter, perhaps even within a Tricorder-like scanner. Now, Imperial College's Stefan Maier and his team of scientists say they've found a way to create a stronger beam of T-rays, using so-called "nano-antennas" to generate an amplified THz field. In fact, this field can produce about 100 times more power than most other THz sources, which could allow for sharper imaging devices. "T-rays promise to revolutionize medical scanning to make it faster and more convenient, potentially relieving patients from the inconvenience of complicated diagnostic procedures and the stress of waiting for accurate results," Maier explained. "Thanks to modern nanotechnology and nanofabrication, we have made a real breakthrough in the generation of T-rays that takes us a step closer to these new scanning devices." For more details, check out the links below.
Metamaterials used to focus Terahertz lasers, make them useful
Forget old and busted X-rays, T-rays are the future, man! It was only recently that we were discussing Terahertz lasers and their potential to see through paper, clothes, plastic, flesh, and other materials, but that discourse had to end on the sad note that nobody had managed to make them usable in a practical and economically feasible way. The major hurdle to overcome was the diffusion of Terahertz radiation -- which results in weak, unfocused lasers -- but now researchers from the universities of Harvard and Leeds seem to believe they've managed to do it. Using metamaterials to collimate T-rays into a "tightly bound, high powered beam" will, they claim, permit semiconductor lasers (i.e. the affordable kind) to perform the duties currently set aside for sophisticated machinery costing upwards of $160,000. Harvard has already filed a patent application for this innovation, and if things pan out, we might be seeing body scanners (both for medical and security purposes), manufacturing quality checks, and a bunch of other things using the extra special THz stuff to do their work.
Terahertz radiation and metamaterials combine to form super X-Ray specs
It looks like somebody actually coughed up the extra dollar for the De Luxe model X-Ray specs in the back of Mad Magazine, then reverse-engineered 'em in the name of science. That somebody is Richard Averitt, whose team at Boston University has come up with a way to use metamaterials and terahertz transmissions to see through you. We've seen metamaterials plenty of times before, typically being used for nefarious deeds on the opposite end of the spectrum: invisibility cloaks. Here they form pixels for a digital imager that can be activated by THz radiation. If you're not familiar with THz radiation, it's a (supposedly perfectly safe) form of energy waves that pass through materials -- much like X-Rays but without all the nasty DNA-shattering effects on the way through. There's just one problem: nobody (not even this guy) has made a powerful enough THz emitter just yet, meaning we're all safely naked under our clothes for at least another few years.
