Articles
Technicians have it taped
When the lights go out, chances are good that emergency crews will use vinyl electrical tape somewhere to help restore power. The same electricians might also use it to secure a broken latch on a lunch box
[ + ]Lead free: a weighty debate
Several months after the European Parliament approved stringent legislation banning lead and other hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment sold in Europe beginning July 2006, the industry is finding compliance easier said than done
[ + ]Fuel cell power for portable equipment
Running a laptop or other electrical equipment causes a problem when there is no access to a mains supply. If the battery runs out, where can you recharge it?
[ + ]Anti-crash radar comes closer for all vehicles
A British company, Cambridge Consultants, claims to have made a breakthrough in radar safety systems for vehicles, with the potential to make sophisticated reversing and anti-collision safety aids an affordable accessory for the mass market
[ + ]The capabilities of mixed signal scopes
The complexity of today's embedded systems designs is growing as engineers increase the use of advanced, high-speed micro-components in circuits to deliver smarter products to users in the computer, communications, defence and semiconductor industries
[ + ]Shielding and surge voltage protection
In modern industrial plants, each part of the installation is subjected to a number of influences that may adversely affect the functioning and reliability of the entire facility
[ + ]Polymer processing could give cheaper displays
By chemically attaching a difficult-to-process solid-state fluorescent material to a universal polymer backbone, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have built what may be a foundation for a new generation of optoelectronic display devices
[ + ]Sensors coming to detect bioterror
In this time of the chronic threat of terrorism and with an adversary who may be armed with biological weapons, high on the wish list of security agencies is a quick and easy way to detect the presence of dangerous biological agents
[ + ]New system recovers and re-uses electronic wastes
Concern is rising among governments worldwide about electronic wastes - discarded computers, televisions, mobile phones, audio equipment and batteries - leaching lead and other substances that may seep into groundwater supplies
[ + ]Battery design for powering tiny devices
Though many people have never heard of them, the emerging realm of micro-scale devices - called microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS - could change the medical, automotive and aerospace industries, except for one thing
[ + ]New materials bring new reliability issue
Semiconductor device reliability can generally be broken into two parts: infant mortality failures and wearout mechanisms
[ + ]'Dirty little secret' threatens Moore's Law
Today's state-of-the-art chips have transistors roughly a micrometre in overall length. But this very success has brought the chipmakers to the brink of a steep, new obstacle to further gains in performance
[ + ]Strong copper that retains ductility
Combining old-fashioned metal-working techniques with modern nanotechnology, engineers at The Johns Hopkins University in the US have produced a form of pure copper metal that is six times stronger than normal with no significant loss of ductility
[ + ]Quantum-dot LED may be screen of choice for future electronics
MIT researchers have combined organic materials with high-performing inorganic nanocrystals to create a hybrid optoelectronic structure
[ + ]Speeding up the manufacture of super small-scale devices
Building a computer chip is a painstaking process. Once a chip is designed, a mask, or template, is created and used to transfer the fine circuit patterns to the surface of a silicon wafer
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