The Next Step from Semiconductors: Light-Controlled Nano Switches

The nanotechnology world may be set up for a boost with the new discovery that light, such as infrared, creates a pushing or pulling force when split into two beams that each travel on a different length of silicon nanowire, called a wave guide (as illustrated in the above photo). Because the beams are not in phase, they create a repulsive force that is adjustable. The more out of phase the rays are, the greater the force.

The new technology might give you images of Iron Man with his repulsor beams and Luke Skywalker with his light saber, but the phenomenon behind it does not work in free space, according to Mo Li, a postdoctoral associate in electrical aengineering at Yale University. Li says it only works when light is confined in the nanoscale waveguides that are placed very close to each other on the chip.

The engineers see this new light-force technology could pave the way for nanodevices that are controlled by light instead of electrical switches, the latest of which are made possible with semiconductors. It is believed that light switches will make future gadgets and devices like computers lighter and cooler, both literally and figuratively.

The Secret to the Nokia No-Need-to-Charge Cell Phone

Cell phones are very useful as long as they have enough battery to last. While chargers solve this problem to a certain degree, it's still bothersome, especially when you have to carry one around just in case your battery turns low on you. Cell phone maker Nokia dug deep into history and took something that electricity scientist Nikola Tesla had been experimenting on. It concerns ambient electromagnetic waves and harvesting them from the environment to be turned into electricity.

Nokia has managed to make a prototype cell phone that can generate up to 5 milliwatts of electricity from electromagnetic energy in the air. This is very small, but the developers hope to increase this amount to 50 milliwatts, which should be practical enough o keep your cell phone battery constantly charged. It's a wireless way of electricity generation who's time has come for small electronic gadgets like the cell phone.

There are plenty of electromagnetic frequencies to tap and the sources can range from energy coming from space, from the earth, to those given off by other appliances and electrical conduits. As long as the cell phone is in an environment rife with electromagnetic waves, it will stay "live." Of course, you may have to change the battery when it expires, but the new technology takes away the hassle of charging your cell phone regularly.