New Atlas

Electronics Audio available

New matchbox-sized radar could make its way into drones and security systems

David Nield April 23, 2019

The smaller and lighter electronics get, the more ways they can be used. A team of researchers has come up with a compact radar system the size of a matchbox that could be deployed in drones and other gadgets where portability and low cost are important.

The compact device uses a frequency-modulated continuous wave type of radar, producing continuous pulses of radio ...

Science Audio available

Paper beats pixels: Research suggests parents avoid e-books when reading with children

Rich Haridy March 26, 2019

While a preference for traditional print books over an enhanced e-book counterpart may often stem from good old-fashioned nostalgia, a new study suggests using e-books to read stories to your child can result in less conversation and lower-quality interactions.

In a new study, less conversation and interaction occurred between parent and child when reading with ...

Electronics Audio available

Two-dimensional antenna converts Wi-Fi signals into electricity

Michael Irving January 28, 2019

In a new step towards truly wireless charging, engineers have developed an ultra-thin device that captures Wi-Fi signals and converts them into electricity.

Engineers have developed a new two-dimensional device that can convert Wi-Fi signals into electricity

Electronics Audio available

Smallest 3D transistors ever made measure a minuscule 2.5 nanometers

Michael Irving December 9, 2018

Engineers from MIT and the University of Colorado have developed a new microfabrication technique and used it to produce the smallest 3D transistors ever made, measuring about a third the size of the current leading commercial products.

Engineers at MIT and the University of Colorado have developed a new fabrication technique to make ...

Materials Audio available

Newly-discovered blue phosphorus could be the next 2D wonder material

Michael Irving October 16, 2018

For a few years scientists have predicted a fifth kind of phosphorus should be possible, but it had yet to be confirmed. Now, researchers in Germany have managed to show that blue phosphorus does exist, and mapped out its different properties.

In blue phosphorus, the atoms arrange themselves in a honeycomb pattern like graphene, but buckled, thanks ...

Electronics Audio available

Sprayable antennas turn surfaces into ultra-thin, transparent transmitters

Michael Irving September 23, 2018

As crucial as antennas are, the rigid metals they’re made of can limit what devices they can be built into. To help with that, researchers at Drexel University have developed a new kind of antenna that can be sprayed onto just about any surface.

The sprayable antenna is made of MXene, a 2D titanium carbide material, which is extremely conductive ...

Children

Electronics kit lets kids build wirelessly powered wheel lights

Paul Ridden September 18, 2018

London-based Tech Will Save Us has introduced two new educational toys today – a badge-making craft kit called Sew + Glow and a bike light kit dubbed Light Racer that makes use of wireless power to get your spokes glowing.

Young electrical engineers can learn about electromagnetic wireless power by building Light Racer bike lights

Materials

Midas touch virus builds gold nanobeads on demand

Michael Irving August 26, 2018

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have found a way to use viruses to build gold nanobeads, which can then be used to purify water and could eventually help cut the cost and time required to produce electronic components.

Left, an electron microscope image of a gold nanobead made by the M13 virus, with an ...

Electronics

Electronic stickers to step up Internet of Things expansion

Matt Kennedy July 19, 2018

Limiting the expansion, and ultimate ubiquity, of the Internet of Things has been the cost, power and size of the enabling electronics – all things that have been addressed by a new fabrication method for tiny, thin-film electronic circuits.

Electronics

"World's smallest computer" is a sensor smaller than a grain of sand

Michael Irving June 24, 2018

"World’s smallest computer” is a contentious title, not just because scientists are racing to shrink devices, but because the very definition of a computer could be up for debate. The latest claim to the title is a tiny device that communicates through light and makes a grain of rice look gigantic.

The so-called "world's smallest computer" sitting next to a grain of rice