Electronics

Science

Self-Healing Circuits Turn Electronics Into Superheroes Using Liquid Metal

9:40PM December 22, 2011 | Jamie Condliffe

Researchers have been taking inspiration from X-Men: they’ve developed a way to create printed circuits that can heal themselves using liquid metal. The best bit is that, unlike X-Men, this is real. More »

Science

The Transistor Was Almost Called The Iotatron

3:20AM September 8, 2011 | Adrian Covert

When Bell Laboratories wrapped up work on the transistor in 1948, they let 25 employees vote on the name. And for some reason, those stodgy bastards passed up options such as the crystal triode and the iotatron. Sad face. More »

Gadgets

Energy-Scavenging Batteries Are Powered By All Vibrations

3:00PM August 26, 2011 | Andrew Tarantola

With the amount of vibration and movement a typical car suspension endures on a drive, you’d think someone would try to harvest that energy with kinetic generators. Whaddya mean MicroGen Systems already did that? More »

Gadgets

Do Electronic Devices Really Need To Be Turned Off During Takeoff And Landing?

10:00AM August 16, 2011 | Adam Dachis

When you fly on an aeroplane, you get told to turn off and stow portable electronics, but is this really necessary? Sometimes I leave my phone on during take off on purpose by accident and nothing ever happens. Is this rule B.S. or is there really something to it? More »

Gadgets

A Resting Place For China’s Discarded Electronics

4:00PM August 12, 2011 | Kelly Hodgkins

If you’re an old CRT television set, you could land at this recycling centre in Tieling, Liaoning Province, China. Hey, it’s not that bad; at least you won’t be spending your final resting days alone. [Wall Street Journal]

Gadgets

Is The Rise Of Wearable Electronics Finally Here?

11:40AM June 22, 2011 | Phillip Torrone - Make Online

For decades I’ve wanted interesting, beautiful, and (sometimes) functional electronics on the most personal geographies of all, myself. When I think of “living in the future”, it’s what springs to mind: subtle LEDs, lots of polished metal. More »

Science

Nanogenerators Could Power A Bluetooth Headset With Your Pulse

1:13PM June 17, 2011 | Kelly Hodgkins

Scientists have developed the first self-powered nanogenerators that scavenge energy from their surroundings. They could someday replace conventional batteries in small electronics. More »

News

China Is Holding The World’s Supply Of Rare Earth Metals Hostage

4:10PM May 20, 2011 | Kelly Hodgkins

You may not care the China controls over 95 per cent of the world’s supply of rare earth metals, but you might want to. More »

Gadgets

Vacuum-Seal Food With A Brake Pump And Some Ziploc Bags

8:42AM May 20, 2011 | Whitson Gordon

Vacuum sealing is useful for all sorts of things, but if you don’t feel like shelling out for the pricier vaccum seal bags, you can get by pretty easily with a few Ziploc bags and a bike pump. More »

Science

When Electronics Cool Themselves Off

1:00AM April 5, 2011 | io9.com

Graphene is a thin sheet of carbon atoms that bond to their neighbours to form a chicken-wire-type lattice precisely one atom thick. That doesn’t sound too spectacular, but it has scientists in a tizzy. More »