No, I guess not because it would never come to mind to use a rope for pushing an object. With a rope you "pull" an object. This kind of knowledge is somehow ingrained in our brain and we don’t need to think about it. It is a knowledge that probably …
Read More »Extracting energy from invisible light …
We see the world through our eyes, a sense that is able to capture the photons reflected by the world around us. We can only capture, see, photons in very specific wavelengths (390 to 700nm). We can ‘t see ultraviolet nor infrared light (some animals can…). This out of visible …
Read More »A tiny light at the end of the autisms tunnel
Having a daughter that is working as educator to support children with ASD, Autisms Spectrum Disorder, I am very much interested in this area that seems to defeat any dream of cure. We have seen significant progress made in the understanding of the physical, biological substrate of autisms disorder, but the more …
Read More »Atoms and bits
Video displays today have great colours, can occupy a significant real estate to provide immersive feeling but they are still far from the real thing! Seeing a real object is a quite different experience from seeing it displayed on a screen, no matter how much faithful and bright its image …
Read More »A cosmic ray detector in your hand …
Who would have predicted twenty years ago, or just 5 years ago, that today we can use our cell phone to detect cosmic rays? Scientists have been studying cosmic rays for several decades using quite sophisticated machinery that both in cost and size are beyond reach of anyone of us. …
Read More »Graphene plus rubber as next generation body sensors…
The future of health care will involve processing quite a bit of personal information that will be derived from sensors monitoring vital parameters in every day activity. The problem is how to pick up these parameters, that is how to have sensors that can track them in an easy and affordable …
Read More »Atomic switch networks
Computer are faster, but brains are smarter. And don’t think about our brain. All brains are smarter than computers: a fly can take decision on the best fly route and avoidance with just 5,000 neurones and do that using an infinitesimal fraction of the power needed to a flight management …
Read More »Using SMP to fix bones defect
Advanced in material science are opening up new paths in many areas. Here is the news from Melissa Grunlan at Texas A&M University that along with her team has developed a Shape Memory Polymer (SMP), also known as Shape Shifting Material that can easily be ashamed in any form when heated to …
Read More »New tools to peer inside a working brain
I already observed in these posts that advances in science are mediated, made possible, by advances in our way to observe and measure things. Our hope to eventually come to a good understanding of the brain, and to its manifestations like emotions and thoughts, strongly depend on advances in looking at …
Read More »My computer feels sad today. I beat it at chess
Ever thought about our computer feels when you win a chess game or when it beats you at chess? Probably not, at least I never did because of course my computer is completely oblivious and indifferent to the bits (electrons) flowing through it. And yet what is it that makes …
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