A glimpse at the future of technology

I have been looking into new technology and research and just wanted to talk a little about a few of the things I found.


UV Protected Clothing


NC State University researchers have been doing research on coating clothing fibers with conductive materials.  They used the same material that is used on computer chips.  NCSU textile engineering researcher Chris Oldham says that while doing this research, they discovered that they could potentially use this same method to put UV protection in fabrics.  The concept is really amazing and could easily lead to many other advances in technology.

Full Story


IBM Researching Computers That Can Potentially Equal the Human Brain


Sounds pretty far out there, doesn't it?  Having a computer that can mimic the human brain sounds a little too much like science fiction but it is closer than we thought.  IBM released chips that are supposed to mimic the human brain.  The project leader, Dharmendra Modha, had already completed work on an algorithm that maps the cortical and sub-cortical connections called BlueMatter.  Mapping the brain is an amazing achievement anyway, but creating a chip that can operate in a similar matter is awesome.

IBM Chips
BlueMatter


Kryptonian Computers


Remember watching the Superman movies or Smallville and seeing the crystals that stored information from Krypton?  Well guess what, they're real.  Perhaps not exactly in the same manner, but still pretty cool.  Researchers found that they could use lasers to write information on a molecular level.  The best part?  Unaffected by water!  And well, the geek factor.  Anyway, it's after 3am and these you should read for yourself.

Glass Memory
Crystal Computers



Other fun readings:
"Race Track" Memory
Quantum Computers