future tech

Emerging computer technologies will change our lives for the better by 2020. But we need to retain control to ensure that these developments do not impact negatively on basic human values, according to a new report co-edited by a University of Nottingham academic.
Advances in interfaces — the physical way we react with computers — and […]

A modern computer contains two different types of components: magnetic components, which perform memory functions, and semiconductor components, which perform logic operations. A University of Missouri researcher, as part of a multi-university research team, is working to combine these two functions in a single hybrid material. This new material would allow seamless integration of memory […]

Social science plays an important part in all our lives. It shows that science is not just test tubes and technology but involves people and society too. It helps us to make sense of the key issues in the changing world around us such as the implications of climate change, nuclear power or nanotechnology; or […]

The fan in your computer is there to keep the microprocessor chip from heating to the point where its component materials start to expand, inducing cracks that interrupt the flow of electricity — and not incidentally, ruin the chip. Thermal expansion can also separate semiconducting materials from the substrate, reduce performance through changes in the […]