Power to the people

Article Abstract:

Trade-offs between size and weight and battery power are one of the biggest hurdles facing designers of sophisticated portable computers; adding extra functionality to a portable computer usually requires more power, and more powerful batteries are larger and heavier than less powerful ones. Traveling users find power packs and re-chargers awkward. Battery power is inherently limited by the laws of thermodynamics, but several new approaches to battery design are emerging. Nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries are claimed to store almost twice as much power as traditional nickel-cadmium rechargeables in the same space. Lithium-ion batteries are another promising technology, although they require devices to be redesigned. Toshiba Corp claims that lithium-ion provides twice the life of nickel-cadmium at one-third the weight, although some vendors still consider the technology unproven. Another new battery technology, lithium-polymer, promises to allow vendors to mold lithium batteries in thin sheets of plastic in virtually any shape. Lithium-polymer technology is not expected to be economically viable for several years.

Handheld computers, Design and construction, Laptop computers, Portable computers, Batteries, Laptop/Portable Computer, Hand-Held Computers, Computer Battery, Computer batteries, Power Dissipation

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IBM scientists create a switch with one atom

Article Abstract:

Scientists at IBM have developed a new microcircuit switch that uses the motion of a single atom. The new switch was developed using the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) for which IBM scientists received the Nobel Prize in 1987. The STM allows extremely precise manipulation of atoms and molecules using a robotic arm with a tungsten tip. The new switch uses the movement of a single Xenon atom back and forth between the STM tip and a metal plate. When the Xenon is on the tip more current flows between the tip and the surface than when the Xenon is on the surface. This difference creates the 'on' and 'off' positions. Since computers use digital information stored in binary form, the switch could be used to transmit and store data. Practical application of the new device is probably ten years away because of the exacting conditions needed for the device to work. It must be in a vacuum, be at extremely low temperatures, and have the very expensive STM attached to it.

Commercial physical research, Research, International Business Machines Corp., IBM, Circuit design, Inventions, Scanning tunneling microscopy, Switches, Microscopes

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Future shock: your office will look different 10 years from now, but you may not like it any better

Article Abstract:

The office of the early 2000s will look much different than today, but things will not necessarily be better. Experts generally agree on some developmental themes: computer communications will vastly expand, drawing people and their computers into networks; computers will always be 'on,' receiving messages and storing information; and pocket-sized communications devices will mean that workers will carry their offices with them wherever they go. Computers as we know them will disappear, being replaced by hundreds of intelligent devices - on files, in drawers and on other computers. Some experts think people still will be typing, but computer screens will be flat, hung like pictures; and handwriting recognition will flourish.

Forecasting, Office automation, Future Technologies

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