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Ultrasound In Medicine

In medical testing, ultrasound equipment is used to produce a sonogram, or a picture of organs inside the body. Ultrasound scanners do not use X-rays. They use waves of such high frequency that they cannot be heard. (Frequency is the number of sound wave cycles per second. The highest frequency humans can hear is 20 thousand Hertz. The sound waves ...

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UltrasoundInMedicine
Biology

The Blood-brain Barrier

In the human brain, there are approximately 400-425 miles of capillaries. Because the brain is basically a small neurochemistry factory, which makes our behavior a function of its interior chemical ... Continue reading

BloodBrain
Engineering

Bicycle Chain for Fleas

Sandia National Laboratories has engineered the world’s smallest chain. The distance between chain link centers is only 50 microns. In comparison, the diameter of a human hair is approximately 70 ... Continue reading

FleaBicycle
Biology

GM: Not For General Motors Anymore

Genetically Modified plants have been given genes from other plants or even other species, that make them better able to resist diseases and pests, or more nutritious, or more productive. The list of ... Continue reading

GMNotForGeneralMotorsAnymore
Chemistry

Uses Of Hydrocarbons

The hydrocarbons are the most broadly used organic compounds known, and are quite literally the driving force of western civilization. The greatest amounts of hydrocarbons are used as fuel for ... Continue reading

UsesOfHydrocarbons

Moore's Law

MooresLawIntel is the corporate giant known for manufacturing semiconductors, also called computer chips or integrated circuits (ICs), and its Pentium Processor. But Intel is also known for laying down the law. In 1965, just a few years before he would go on to co-found Intel, Gordon Moore set out an observation that has since become known as 'Moore's Law.'

Simply stated, Moore's Law holds that the number of transistors packed into an integrated circuit will double every year, a trend that in fact has loosely held up since the late 60s. Transistors store information on chips by holding or releasing electrical charges that flow through the chips. More transistors equal more data storage. Many in the computer industry expect Moore's Law to hold for at least another 10 years. To get an idea of just how amazing Moore's law turns out to be, consider this. In 1971 Intel released the 4004, the world's first single chip microprocessor - only .118 by .157 inches, (3 by 4 mm) in size, but containing 2,240 transistors. That was as much power as the original ENIAC computer which was 80 ft. (24m) long and 10 ft. high (3m). In 2000, Intel's Pentium 4 processor, not all that much bigger than the original 4004, contained an amazing 42,000,000 transistors.

Will Moore's Law fail? Yes and no. As silicon chips shrink to just a few nanometers of thickness, it will become harder, and finally impossible to control the flow of electrons. But don't count out transistors made from something other than silicon. There are many promising candidates hoping to extend the life of Moore's Law indefinitely.