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    Mathematicians suggest Liquid Crystals could be used to create Building Blocks for a New Kind of Computer

    August 23, 2022, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics

    Mathematician pair suggest liquid crystals could be used to create building blocks of a new kind of computer
    Nbits pinned to an LC defect line. The local nematic director field n(r), indicated by cylindrical bars, rotates by π along closed curves encircling the defect line (black). The director field is colored by its out-of-plane component, nz(r), while xy-planes are colored by the director’s azimuthal orientation nϕ(r) relative to the x axis. The near-field director profile (red) close to the defect line defines the nbit state. The vertical direction may be interpreted as either a spatial or a time dimension. Credit: Science Advances (2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abp8371

    A pair of researchers at MIT have found evidence suggesting that a new kind of computer could be built based on liquid crystals rather than silicon...

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    World first: New Polymer goes for a Walk when Illuminated

    June 29, 2017, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics

    This is a timelapse image of the walking device. Credit: Bart van Overbeeke

    This is a timelapse image of the walking device. Credit: Bart van Overbeeke

    Scientists at Eindhoven University of Technology and Kent State University have developed a new material that can undulate and therefore propel itself forward under the influence of light. To this end, they clamp a strip of this polymer material in a rectangular frame. When illuminated it goes for a walk all on its own. This small device, the size of a paperclip, is the world’s first machine to convert light directly into walking, simply using one fixed light source.

    The maximum speed is equivalent to that of a caterpillar, about 0.5cm/s. They think it can be used to transport small items in hard-to-reach places or to keep the surface of solar cells clean...

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