For all my Whovians. (Hope I spelled that right.)I’m not a huge Dr. Who fan, but these are super cute!!!
‘Vacuum Tube’ processor 12x faster than silicone based transistors.
Vacuum tubes were used in computers until around 50 years ago, when transistors were found to be able to be mass produced onto silicon more cheaply and effectively. Now vacuum tube techniques have been used again to create a device able to operate at up to 0.46 terahertz - more than 12 times faster than the latest Ivy Bridge range of processors from Intel which operate up to 3.8Ghz.
…it is created by etching a tiny cavity in phosphorous-doped silicon. The cavity is bordered by three electrodes: a source, a gate, and a drain. The source and drain are separated by just 150 nanometers, while the gate sits on top. Electrons are emitted from the source thanks to a voltage applied across it and the drain, while the gate controls the electron flow across the cavity.
Because the device is so small in size, the team found they didn’t need a true vacuum to make it work, as the risk of electrons colliding with any atoms in the air is so low at the nanometre scale. This means they would be more suited to cheaper mass production.
This work is of particular interest to NASA and other space agencies, as traditional computers need to be radiation-proofed before leaving Earth’s atmosphere - this wouldn’t be a problem for the new device, potentially saving them time and money by enabling space-ready computers.
A new study from Social Studies of Science… reveals that when men chair committees that select scientific awards recipients, males win the awards more than 95% of the time. This new study also reports that while in the past two decades women have begun to win more awards for their scientific achievements, compared to men, they win more service and teaching awards and fewer prestigious scholarly awards than would be expected based on their representation in the nomination pool.
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“Women’s scientific achievements often overlooked and undervalued” This is a problem. The authors of the study don’t argue that there’s a sexist conspiracy to prevent the ascent of women, and I wouldn’t either. But the findings mean that we have to take into account the bias that undoubtedly exists in our society, and which scientists aren’t immune from. (via sciencecenter) As I female scientist myself I can only hope that will the number of women coming into the field this will change. If not something will have to change. |
Algorithm creates vector art from pixels.
An algorithm created by Microsoft researchers upscales 8-bit graphics and converts it into vector graphics, able to be upscaled to any size.
The algorithm identifies pixel-level details to accurately shade the new image — but more importantly, the algorithm can create smooth, curved contour lines from only-connected-on-the-diagonal single pixels.
Check out their full gallery here.
