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January 2001 If the current hand held computers aren’t powerful enough for you now, a hand held super computer may be in the near future. Single electron transistors that were developed by the NTT Basic Research Laboratories can be "printed" using inkjet technology. This means that computers will eventually become small enough that they could be built into clothes. Computers could become extremely small with this technology, however there is a limit: you still have to be able to push the buttons that make it work. Artificial "eyelids" are being created to protect spy satellites and fighter pilots from harmful enemy lasers. When a laser hits the eyelids the positive charge on the lids and the negative charge created by the laser on the transparent make the lids close. This happens in one ten-thousandth of a second. This same technology may also be applied to sunglasses that will adjust to different light conditions without delay. Mercury thermometers may soon be banned. Environmentalists have convinced officials in Boston, San Francisco and several Great Lakes and New England states that mercury from broken thermometers eventually finds its way into the water supply. |
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