Innovation is about finding a better way of doing something. Like many of the new development buzzwords (which many of them are over-used on many business documents), the concept of innovation originates from the world of business. It refers to the generation of new products through the process of creative entrepreneurship, putting it into production, and diffusing it more widely through increased sales. Innovation can be viewed as t he application of better solutions that meet new requirements, in-articulated needs, or existing market needs. This is accomplished through more effective products, processes, services, technologies, or ideas that are readily available to markets, governments and society. The term innovation can be defined as something original and, as a consequence, new, that “breaks into” the market or society.
Innoveracy: Misunderstanding Innovation article points out that there is a form of ignorance which seems to be universal: the inability to understand the concept and role of innovation. The way this is exhibited is in the misuse of the term and the inability to discern the difference between novelty, creation, invention and innovation. The result is a failure to understand the causes of success and failure in business and hence the conditions that lead to economic growth. The definition of innovation is easy to find but it seems to be hard to understand. Here is a simple taxonomy of related activities that put innovation in context:
- Novelty: Something new
- Creation: Something new and valuable
- Invention: Something new, having potential value through utility
- Innovation: Something new and uniquely useful
The taxonomy is illustrated with the following diagram.
The differences are also evident in the mechanisms that exist to protect the works: Novelties are usually not protectable, Creations are protected by copyright or trademark, Inventions can be protected for a limited time through patents (or kept secret) and Innovations can be protected through market competition but are not defensible through legal means.
Innovation is a lot of talked about nowdays as essential to businesses to do. Is innovation essential for development work? article tells that innovation has become central to the way development organisations go about their work. In November 2011, Bill Gates told the G20 that innovation was the key to development. Donors increasingly stress innovation as a key condition for funding, and many civil society organisations emphasise that innovation is central to the work they do.
Some innovation ideas are pretty simple, and some are much more complicated and even sound crazy when heard first. The is place for crazy sounding ideas: venture capitalists are gravely concerned that the tech startups they’re investing in just aren’t crazy enough:
Not all development problems require new solutions, sometimes you just need to use old things in a slightly new way. Development innovations may involve devising technology (such as a nanotech water treatment kit), creating a new approach (such as microfinance), finding a better way of delivering public services (such as one-stop egovernment service centres), identifying ways of working with communities (such as participation), or generating a management technique (such as organisation learning).
Theorists of innovation identify innovation itself as a brief moment of creativity, to be followed by the main routine work of producing and selling the innovation. When it comes to development, things are more complicated. Innovation needs to be viewed as tool, not master. Innovation is a process, not a one time event. Genuine innovation is valuable but rare.
There are many views on the innovation and innvation process. I try to collect together there some views I have found on-line. Hopefully they help you more than confuze. Managing complexity and reducing risk article has this drawing which I think pretty well describes innovation as done in product development:
8 essential practices of successful innovation from The Innovator’s Way shows essential practices in innovation process. Those practices are all integrated into a non-sequential, coherent whole and style in the person of the innovator.
In the IT work there is lots of work where a little thinking can be a source of innovation. Automating IT processes can be a huge time saver or it can fail depending on situation. XKCD comic strip Automation as illustrates this:
System integration is a critical element in project design article has an interesting project cost influence graphic. The recommendation is to involve a system integrator early in project design to help ensure high-quality projects that satisfy project requirements. Of course this article tries to market system integration services, but has also valid points to consider.
Core Contributor Loop (CTTDC) from Art Journal blog posting Blog Is The New Black tries to link inventing an idea to theory of entrepreneurship. It is essential to tune the engine by making improvements in product, marketing, code, design and operations.
5,159 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
That’s a Stretch
A new fabrication process can produce high-performance, flexible, stretchable LED displays.
https://www.hackster.io/news/that-s-a-stretch-83609e964e79
Tomi Engdahl says:
Electron Quadruplets Suggest New Physics, Applications Novel electron pairs of pairs may be commonplace and even find use in sensors
https://spectrum.ieee.org/electron-quadruplets-superconductivity-circuits?share_id=6756072
Tomi Engdahl says:
From Intel Intern to Inventor of the Year Intel’s Jack Kavalieros has contributed to many of the world’s first transistor innovations
https://spectrum.ieee.org/2021-inventor-of-the-year/particle-2
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ideoitko ideoimisen ilosta vai ratkaisetko oleellisia ongelmia?
https://www.meom.fi/venture/blogi/ideoitko-ideoimisen-ilosta-vai-ratkaisetko-oleellisia-ongelmia/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook%2Binstagram&utm_campaign=Sis%C3%A4ll%C3%B6t+-+AutomatedAds+-+Kiva&utm_content=Sis%C3%A4lt%C3%B6+Ideoinnin+ilosta&utm_id=61488666cffddb8bbd6ec1da&fbclid=IwAR3fw8B87x5oJ_N5SiBORXS1YTwyo1hCB149Nrm6JCoaKKQVLlJN-mJboXk
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hi, this is a very old note but absolutely fascinating. CSIRO in Australia used Prof. Hawkings calculations on black holes, to solve the math that eventually enabled WiFi. The story goes, they tried to prove primordial black holes existed but failed, then someone noticed that the math looked like it would be a good fit for WiFi frequency distribution to enable maximum channels in a limited band. This led to OFDM and other advances. https://pioneerpublishers.com/the-story-of-black-holes-and-wifi/#:~:text=The%20story%20of%20black%20holes%20and%20WiFi%20By,its%20event%20horizon.%20Not%20even%20light%20can%20escape.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Physicists prove the existence of two-dimensional particles called ‘anyons’
This year, physicists gave us an early view of a third kingdom of quasiparticles that only arise in two dimensions.
https://astronomy.com/news/2020/12/physicists-prove-the-existence-of-two-dimensional-particles-called-anyons?utm_source=asyfb&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=asyfb
Tomi Engdahl says:
Clever Corona Discharge Technique Prints Flexible, Wearable E-Skin Sensors in Under a Second
Printed in under a second, compared to the 20 minutes normally needed, these graphene-based sensors have proven performant.
https://www.hackster.io/news/clever-corona-discharge-technique-prints-flexible-wearable-e-skin-sensors-in-under-a-second-7a1768f3e728
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2021/11/04/biomassasta-apua-aurinkokennojen-ja-erikoislasien-valmistukseen/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://phys.org/news/2021-10-raindrops-roof-technique-reveals-quantum-liquid.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
New 5D Storage to Offer 10,000x the Density of Blu-Ray
By Francisco Pires 4 days ago
Bringing sci-fi to mainstream one step at a time.
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/5d-storage-optical-data-cube
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/04/brain-implant-offers-artificial-vision-to-the-blind/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/04/weird-als-monster-battlestation-is-now-just-a-reasonably-fast-pc/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Keep Calm And Hack On: The Philosophy Of Calm Technology
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/03/keep-calm-and-hack-on-the-philosophy-of-calm-technology/
So much smart-tech is really kind of dumb. Gadgets intended to simplify our lives turn out to complicate them. It often takes too many “clicks” to accomplish simple tasks, and they end up demanding our attention. Our “better mousetraps” end up kludgy messes that are brittle instead of elegant and robust.
The answer might not be faster or newer technology, but a 30-year-old philosophy. Some great thinkers at Xerox PARC, the place where, among other things, the computer mouse was invented, developed principles they called Calm Technology.
What are Calm Technologies?
Let’s take a look at the principles of Calm Technologies from calmtech.com:
Technology should require the smallest possible amount of attention
Technology should inform and create calm
Technology should make use of the periphery
Technology should amplify the best of technology and the best of humanity
Technology can communicate, but doesn’t need to speak
Technology should work even when it fails
The right amount of technology is the minimum needed to solve the problem
Technology should respect social norms
https://calmtech.com/
Tomi Engdahl says:
If studies are right that it takes 23 minutes to regain focus after being interrupted, I likely spend very little of any given day actually being focused. Worse yet, the dopamine I get from all my notification chimes and buzzes probably has me hooked on never putting an end to them. When I look for some information, it often takes an excessive number of “clicks” that make it hard to return focus to something else.
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/03/keep-calm-and-hack-on-the-philosophy-of-calm-technology/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Malamud’s General Index: Research Gist, No Slap On The Wrist
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/02/malamuds-general-index-research-gist-no-slap-on-the-wrist/
Tired of that unsettling feeling you get from looking for paywalled papers on that one site that shall not be named? Yeah, us too. But now there’s an alternative that should feel a little less illegal: this new index of the world’s research papers over on the Internet Archive.
It’s an index of words and short phrases (up to five words) culled from approximately 107 million research papers. The point is to make it easier for scientists to gain insights from papers that they might not otherwise have access to. The Index will also make it easier for computerized analysis of the world’s research. Call it a gist machine.
https://archive.org/details/GeneralIndex
Tomi Engdahl says:
Separating Ideas From Words
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/06/separating-ideas-from-words/
We covered Malamud’s General Index this week, and Mike and I were talking about it on the podcast as well. It’s the boldest attempt we’ve seen so far to open up scientific knowledge for everyone, and not just the wealthiest companies and institutions. The trick is how to do that without running afoul of copyright law, because the results of research are locked inside their literary manifestations — the journal articles.
The Index itself is composed of one-to-five-word snippets of 107,233,728 scientific articles. So if you’re looking for everything the world knows about “tincture of iodine”, you can find all the papers that mention it, and then important keywords from the corpus and metadata like the ISBN of the article.
What I think is most remarkable is this makes good on figuring out how to separate scientific ideas from their prison — the words in which they’re written — which are subject to copyright. Indeed, if you look into US copyright law, it’s very explicit about not wanting to harm the free sharing of ideas.
“In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work.”
But this has always been paradoxical. How do you restrict dissemination of the papers without restricting dissemination of the embodied ideas or results? In the olden days, you could tell others about the results, but that just doesn’t scale. Until today, only the richest companies and institutions had access to this bird’s eye view of scientific research — similar datasets gleaned from Google’s book-scanning program have trained their AIs and seeded their search machines, but they only give you a useless and limited peek.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Matti Mörttisen kolumni: Pulatalous on kohta täällä – ja jonotamme kuin DDR:ssä
https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-12178356
Talous ketjuuntuu. Työ sirpaloituu. Yhteiskunta on myöhässä luodessaan miljoonan luukun maailmaan yhden luukun palveluja, pohtii Mörttinen.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Clever Watering Solution Turns Bean Plants Into Living, Growing Supercapacitors
A quick and easy treatment builds up a conductive layer on the plant’s roots, turning them into electrodes for a living capacitor.
https://www.hackster.io/news/clever-watering-solution-turns-bean-plants-into-living-growing-supercapacitors-362bceeb94f1
Tomi Engdahl says:
Suomi on ahkerimpien keksijämaiden joukossa, kun patentit suhteutetaan väkilukuun. Tarve synnyttää ajatuksia, osoittaa työehtoasiantuntija Hannu Takala.
Suomi, tuhansien keksintöjen maa
https://insinoori-lehti.fi/tasta-on-kysymys/suomi-tuhansien-keksintojen-maa/?fbclid=IwAR3SeoAt-sco7ZqdTFbgkTd9X-GWkp-qXfQ1tD1-09FKlI-4E6rgK30G9t0
”Heureka”, tokaisi oppinut kreikkalainen Arkhimedes, kun hän astui kylpyammeeseen ja huomasi veden pinnan nousevan. Herra keksi saman tien keinon mitata epäsäännöllisten kappaleiden tilavuutta.
Eikä siinä vielä kaikki: Perimätiedon mukaan Arkhimedeesta tuli maailmanhistorian ensimmäinen viuhahtaja, kun hän oivalluksestaan innostuneesta ryntäsi saman tien juoksemaan ilkialastomana Syrakusan kaduille.
Mutta osataan sitä meilläkin keksiä. Karu historia on pakottanut salokorvissa asuneet esi-isämme valmistamaan itse tarpeelliset välineet viljelläkseen maata ja hankkiakseen elantonsa.
Veneet on veistetty itse ja sovitettu erilaisiin olosuhteisiin.
Tarve synnyttää ajatuksia, ideoita, joista osa muuttuu keksinnöiksi. Emil Henriksson keksi vuonna 1918 lukon, jota ei pystynyt tiirikoimaan. Lukkoa alkoi valmistaa Ab Lukko Oy. Kaikki tunnemme näin syntyneen Abloy-lukon.
Vasta 19-vuotias, maantieteeseen hullaantunut Kari Mannerla keksi lautapelin, jonka hän nimesi Afrikan Tähdeksi. Peliä on myyty yli miljoona kappaletta ympäri maapalloa. Niin kuin kaikki hyvät keksinnöt, Afrikan Tähtikin on kokenut revision. Rosvonappula on juhlapainoksessa korvattu pantterilla.
Elävien muikkujen syöttinä käyttämiseen kyllästynyt Lauri Rapala veisteli männyn kaarnasta ensimmäisen elävää kalaa imitoivan Rapalansa jo vuonna 1936. Ja saalis oli taattu.
Näitä saavutuksia voisi luetella, vaikka kuinka kauan. Keksintöjä riittää niin teknologiassa, kemiassa kuin kuluttajatuotteissa. Näitä menestystarinoita voi lähetellä toinen toisilleen, vaikka tekstiviesteillä, yhdellä suomalaisella keksinnöllä.
Suomalainen paperikone tai risteilyalus ovat molemmat isänmaan keksintöjen näyteikkunoita, melkein aatelia.
Suomi onkin kymmenen ahkerimman patentoijamaan joukossa, kun keksijöidemme patenttien määrä suhteutetaan väkilukuun.
Joidenkin perinteisten vientituotteiden kohdalla valmistus on hiipunut tai on vähenemään päin. Syynä on tuotannon siirtyminen halpamaihin ja tai tuotteen menekin väheneminen. Joskus syynä on uusi keksintö, joka syrjäyttää vanhan.
Näin on käynyt mm. sanomalehtipaperille. Paperia ei vaan tarvita entiseen malliin.
Onneksi keksijämme, innokkaat insinöörit, kemistit ja filosofit ideoivat ja tuottavat uusia keksintöjä teollisuutemme tarpeisiin. Puu on alkanut taipua, tai oikeammin haihtua, nestemäisiksi polttoaineiksi ja laser on valjastettu ohjaamaan autoa ilman kuljettajaa. Paineilmaakin tuotetaan aina vain tehokkaammilla laitteilla, joita ei tarvitse enää edes voidella.
Ajatuksestahan keksinnöt ja ideat lähtevät. Jos jollekin on tarve ja tietoisuus siitä johtaa ideaan, siitä on enää lyhyt askel keksintöön.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How can 84% of Chicago Public Schools students graduate when only 26% of 11th graders are proficient in reading, math? – Wirepoints Quickpoint
https://wirepoints.org/how-can-84-of-chicago-public-schools-students-graduate-when-only-26-of-11th-graders-are-proficient-in-reading-math-wirepoints-quickpoint/
It’s shameful. Chicago Public School officials want to celebrate a record graduation rate when much of the other data shows they are failing Chicago’s children.
Only 26 percent of CPS 11th-graders can read and do math at grade level, according to the latest Illinois Report Card data, and yet last week the district proudly announced that 84 percent of students graduated from CPS in 2021 – a new record high.
First of all, color us skeptical about that record high rate. Everyone knows that the city’s children were underserved by remote learning
Announcing record graduation rates is a way for district officials to sweep those failures under the rug.
But there’s a more fundamental problem: the graduation rate distracts from the fact that CPS officials are pushing out poorly educated children.
Only 26 percent of Chicago 11th-graders are proficient in English Language Arts and only 27 percent proficient in math according to 2019 Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) data.
Pushing students through the system under “social promotion” only sets up thousands of children for failure every year.
Forget the graduation rate. Focus, instead, on whether the kids can read or write at grade level.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Forget Radio! Transmitting With Neutrons
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/14/forget-radio-transmitting-with-neutrons/
Throughout history, people have devised ways to send information across long distances. For centuries we relied on smoke signals, semaphores, and similar physical devices. Electricity changed everything. First the telegraph and then radio transformed communications. Now researchers at the University of Lancaster have demonstrated another way to send wireless data without using electromagnetic radiation. They’ve harnessed fast neutrons from californium-252 and modulated them with information with 100% success.
The setup was interesting. The radioactive material was encased in a cubic meter steel tank filled with water. A pneumatic system can move the material to one edge of the tank which allows fast neutrons to escape. A scintillating detector can pick up the increased neutron activity. It seems like it is akin to using what hams call CW and college professors call OOK (on off keying). You can do that with just about anything you can detect. A flashlight, knocking on wood, or — we suppose — neutrons.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wireless information transfer with fast neutrons
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168900221009013
Fast neutrons propagate significantly in free space with interaction properties that contrast markedly with those of electromagnetic radiation, the latter being fundamental to most wireless communications. Here, we report on the configuration and operation of a nuclear instrumentation set-up designed to transmit digitally encoded information using fast neutrons. We demonstrate the potential of fast neutron radiation as a medium for wireless communications for applications where conventional electromagnetic transmission is either not feasible or is inherently limited.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Six problem-solving mindsets for very uncertain times
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/six-problem-solving-mindsets-for-very-uncertain-times?cid=always-pso-fce-mip-mck-oth-2111-i1a&sid=618476807524f40868430a58&linkId=138735028&fbclid=IwAR1ugG5a3NhF_uVSzwt_iqyxr7vFoKISjHnD1Nlzj-BzmOblviJclgnkxRk
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/11/15/vacuum-tube-might-replace-gps-one-day/
Tomi Engdahl says:
This device could usher in GPS-free navigation
Sandia Labs shows advanced wayfinding tech could finally become compact, fieldable
https://newsreleases.sandia.gov/quantum_navigation/
Don’t let the titanium metal walls or the sapphire windows fool you. It’s what’s on the inside of this small, curious device that could someday kick off a new era of navigation.
Vacuum Package
A compact device designed and built at Sandia National Laboratories could become a pivotal component of next-generation navigation systems. (Photo by Bret Latter) Click on the thumbnail for a high-resolution image.
For over a year, the avocado-sized vacuum chamber has contained a cloud of atoms at the right conditions for precise navigational measurements. It is the first device that is small, energy-efficient and reliable enough to potentially move quantum sensors — sensors that use quantum mechanics to outperform conventional technologies — from the lab into commercial use, said Sandia National Laboratories scientist Peter Schwindt.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.meom.fi/venture/blogi/mita-design-sprintin-luoja-jake-knapp-opetti-suomalaisille-edellakavijoille/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Persvakoäijät saapuvat silloin, kun asiat menevät pieleen
https://www.ess.fi/paakirjoitus-mielipide/137325
On olemassa elintärkeä ihmisjoukko, joka on julkisuudelle näkymätön. Heikäläisiä ei haastatella aamutelevisiossa. He eivät näy iltapäivälehtien otsikoissa. Heidän tekemisiään ei seurata somessa vaikka pitäisi. He eivät bloggaa eivätkä tubeta.
Puhun nyt heistä, jotka saapuvat, kun asiat menevät vikaan. Puhun persvakoäijistä.
Sillä kun viemäriputki halkeaa ja lokavesi tulvii kadulle, apuun eivät riennä hipsterit jopoillaan. Asfalttimurtuman reunalla eivät kilise nenärenkaat. Siellä eivät komeile rastapipot eivätkä pasteeraa muotibloggarit kuin korkeintaan ottamassa onnettomuusselfieitä.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.livescience.com/5711-electricity-harvested-trees.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why Emotionally Intelligent People Embrace the Rule of Clocking OutThe rule of clocking out will help you set priorities, avoid burnout, and find more time in your day.
https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/time-management-emotional-intelligence-how-to-find-more-time-mental-health-how-to-avoid-burnout-how-to-set-priorities-at-work.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Strange Quasiparticles – Called Anyons – May Be Useful in Future Quantum Computers
https://scitechdaily.com/strange-quasiparticles-called-anyons-may-be-useful-in-future-quantum-computers/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Researchers achieve first quantum simulation of baryons
https://phys.org/news/2021-11-quantum-simulation-baryons.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
HPE says hackers breached Aruba Central using stolen access key
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hpe-says-hackers-breached-aruba-central-using-stolen-access-key/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.hackster.io/news/bubble-casting-and-fancy-balloons-could-be-key-to-flexible-low-cost-soft-robotic-actuators-77d46ab573e1
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://spectrum.ieee.org/why-the-future-of-data-storage-is-still-magnetic-tape
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why the world needs a better LED light bulb
https://phys.org/news/2021-11-world-bulb.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://scitechdaily.com/quantum-materials-unconventional-spin-behavior-proves-theoretical-predictions/amp/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bonhoeffer‘s Theory of Stupidity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww47bR86wSc
Dietrich Bonhoeffer argued that stupid people are more dangerous than evil ones. This is because while we can protest against or fight evil people, against stupid ones we are defenseless — reasons fall on dead ears. Bonhoeffer’s famous text, which we slightly edited for this video, serves any free society as a warning of what can happen when certain people gain too much power. #stupidity #sprouts
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.thespaceacademy.org/2021/11/pyjama-plot-shows-quantum-world-is-even.html?m=1
Tomi Engdahl says:
Clever Physics Experiment That Produces “Something From Nothing”
https://scitechdaily.com/clever-physics-experiment-that-produces-something-from-nothing/
New theory ‘detects’ light in the darkness of a vacuum.
Black holes are regions of space-time with huge amounts of gravity. Scientists originally thought that nothing could escape the boundaries of these massive objects, including light.
The precise nature of black holes has been challenged ever since Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity gave rise to the possibility of their existence. Among the most famous findings was English physicist Stephen Hawking’s prediction that some particles are actually emitted at the edge of a black hole.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://scitechdaily.com/electrically-switchable-nanoantennas-developed-for-holographic-video-technology/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.meom.fi/venture/blogi/testaa-ideaasi-luo-prototyyppi/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/how-to-give-the-best-hug-according-to-science/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.inceptivemind.com/worlds-first-rechargeable-cement-based-battery-concept/19037/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Computer Science was always supposed to be taught to everyone, and it wasn’t about getting a job: A historical perspective
https://computinged.wordpress.com/2021/11/26/computer-science-was-always-supposed-to-be-taught-to-everyone-but-not-about-getting-a-job-a-historical-perspective/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.iflscience.com/physics/time-might-not-flow-in-just-one-direction-in-the-quantum-world/
Tomi Engdahl says:
‘Squeezed’ light might produce breakthroughs in nano-sized electronics
The breakthrough compresses light into a nano-scale spot.
https://www.engadget.com/magic-wand-squeezed-light-nanoelectronics-214429677.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
For the First Time Ever, Physicists Detect Signs of Neutrinos at Large Hadron Collider
https://scitechdaily.com/for-the-first-time-ever-physicists-detect-signs-of-neutrinos-at-large-hadron-collider/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Breakthrough “Smoking Gun” Discovery in Power Consumption in Electronic Devices
https://scitechdaily.com/breakthrough-smoking-gun-discovery-in-power-consumption-in-electronic-devices/amp/
In a new FLEET theoretical study published recently in Physical Review Letters, the so called ‘smoking gun’ in the search for the topological magnetic monopole — also known as the Berry curvature — has been found.
The discovery is a breakthrough in the search for topological effects in non-equilibrium systems.
The group, led by UNSW physicist and Associate Professor, Dimi Culcer, identified an unconventional Hall effect, driven by an in-plane magnetic field in semiconductor hole systems that can be traced exclusively to the Berry curvature.
Isolating response a breakthrough moment
“Isolating topological responses in ‘regular conductors’ has been a historically difficult task,” says research team leader A/Prof Dimi Culcer (UNSW). “Even though these topological responses are believed to be ubiquitous in solids.”
Quantized responses, such as the quantum Hall and quantum spin-Hall effects provide a clear fingerprint of topology, yet these have only been observed in one-dimensional (1D) systems and are intimately connected with the existence of edge states.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Scientists Create Synthetic Organisms That Can Reproduce
https://lm.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ffuturism.com%2Fscientists-synthetic-organisms-reproduce&h=AT0XUXHDmSeqBufvnx6qds0Ux-HPgnm-1OQCu-7LxbLcJN7voUHl7ShmrWhyq5XYgQYK5a4XJ1I9GU0S-72wLeVWJdCuPanIMnhLUQhhcUDePvl68oYfZCqU83_b0UU8GA
Scientists have created synthetic organisms that can self-replicate. Known as “Xenobots,” these tiny millimeter-wide biological machines now have the ability to reproduce — a striking leap forward in synthetic biology.
Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a joint team from the University of Vermont, Tufts University, and Harvard University used Xenopus laevis frog embryonic cells to construct the Xenobots.
“With the right design — they will spontaneously self-replicate,” research co-leader Joshua Bongard, a computer scientist and robotics expert at the University of Vermont said in a press statement.
Much like any good dystopian “Kill all Humans” movie scenario, the little robots swim around and begin gathering hundreds of single cells in their Pac-Man-like “mouths.” A few days later, out pops a brand new Xenobot.
“It’s very non-intuitive. It looks very simple,” researcher Sam Kriegman said in the release, adding that “those parents built children, who built grandchildren, who built great-grandchildren, who built great-great-grandchildren.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
“If it looks stupid, but works ? It ain’t stupid” – Ancient redneck proverb.