Chips get a whole lot of nothing
1
Technology COMPUTER chip designers are continually trying to pack more transistors into a smaller area, so adding empty space would seem like a bad idea. Yet IBM has shown that by replacing the glass used to insulate the wires with vacuum- filled tunnels, they can make chips speedier and more power-efficient. A vacuum insulates better than glass and so can reduce current leakage. An IBM team led by Dan Edelstein coated the glass-covered wires with a second layer of glass, followed by a polymer which, when heated, becomes pocked with holes. The team then bored through the holes into the glass layers. This weakens the layer of insulating glass enough to allow it to be completely dissolved with oxygen plasma and acid, and the holes in the outer glass layer are then sealed in a vacuum chamber to create the tunnels. THE glut of seemingly obvious patents granted in the US in recent years could be invalidated by a Supreme Court decision last week. In a ruling that shocked patent lawyers, the court said that a patent application should not be granted if it is “the product not of innovation but of ordinary skill and common sense”. Although the decision merely 130 attoseconds: the duration of an ultra-short burst of extreme ultraviolet light created by an Italian team to probe atoms Google Earth lets us zoom in on any spot on the planet, from the Brazilian rainforest to Arctic ice sheets. Now imagine it offered the sounds to match the sights. Bernie Krause has spent 40 years collecting over 3500 hours of sound recordings from all over the world, including bird and whale song and the crackle of melting glaciers. His company, Wild Sanctuary in Glen Ellen, California, has now created software to embed these sound files into the relevant locations in Google Earth. Just zoom in on your chosen spot and listen to local sounds. “Our objective is to bring the world alive,” says Krause. “We have all the continents of the world, high mountains and low deserts.” He hopes it will make virtual visitors more aware of the impact of human activity on the environment in the years since he began making and collecting the recordings. Users will be able to hear various modern-day sounds at a particular location, then travel back in time to compare them with the noises of decades gone by. Krause plans to have the software ready with 26 sounds for demonstration at the Where 2.0 conference in San Jose, California, on 29 May. It will also be available for download from www.wildsanctuary.com on that date, and many more sounds will follow. Another project, called Freesound, is making contributors’ sound files available on Google Earth. Unlike these recordings, Krause’s sound files are of a consistent quality and enriched with time, date and weather information. EAVESDROP ON EARTH reaffirms code 103 of the US Patent Act, which outlaws patents on obvious inventions, the Supreme Court says lower courts have let this principle drift. In 1999 Amazon was infamously granted a patent on a system to “buy online with one mouse click”. The ruling was seized upon by internet phone firm Vonage, which was recently found to have infringed rival Verizon’s patents. While denying Vonage a retrial, a federal court said it could use the ruling in its upcoming appeal. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s $100 laptop for the developing world is too expensive, according to the Indian government. So it has commissioned state- owned chip maker Semiconductor Complex, based near Chandigarh, the Vellore Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore to design a cheaper machine. They claim to have already slashed the price to $47. Ultraviolet bug-zappers are OK if you don’t mind your burgers sprinkled with bacteria from the remains of the flies. Hans Yeakel and colleagues at the University of Florida, Gainesville, are a little more fussy. They have devised a battery-operated flytrap that uses flashing light-emitting diodes to lure insects into disposable cartridges. Once inside, they are trapped on sticky strips and can be disposed of safely. GIZMO TV and DVD viewing among infants in Minnesota & Washington state At 3 months old 40% of infants are regular viewers, watching up to 1 hour per day At 24 months old 90% of infants are regular viewers, watching over 1.5 hours per day BABY COUCH POTATOES Many American babies and toddlers watch TV and DVDs for an hour per day or more Kevin Rose, founder of Digg.com, whose users revolted last week after it removed details of code that breaks the encryption on HD-DVDs, in response to a legal letter from the body developing the encryption system. It has now vowed not to censor the code (Digg.com, 1 May). “If we lose, then what the hell, at least we died trying” –The world is changing, want to listen?– SCOTT LIEBERMAN/AP/PA PHOTOS SOURCE: AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS SOURCE: ARCHIVES OF PEDIATRICS AND ADOLESCENT MEDICINE Chips get a whole lot of nothing You can’t patent common sense www.newscientist.com 12 May 2007 | NewScientist | 27
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Transcript of Chips get a whole lot of nothing
Technology
COMPUTER chip designers are
continually trying to pack more
transistors into a smaller area, so
adding empty space would seem
like a bad idea. Yet IBM has shown
that by replacing the glass used to
insulate the wires with vacuum-
filled tunnels, they can make chips
speedier and more power-efficient.
A vacuum insulates better than
glass and so can reduce current
leakage. An IBM team led by Dan
Edelstein coated the glass-covered
wires with a second layer of glass,
followed by a polymer which,
when heated, becomes pocked
with holes. The team then bored
through the holes into the glass
layers. This weakens the layer of
insulating glass enough to allow
it to be completely dissolved with
oxygen plasma and acid, and the
holes in the outer glass layer are
then sealed in a vacuum chamber
to create the tunnels.
THE glut of seemingly obvious
patents granted in the US in recent
years could be invalidated by a
Supreme Court decision last week.
In a ruling that shocked patent
lawyers, the court said that a
patent application should not be
granted if it is “the product not of
innovation but of ordinary skill
and common sense”.
Although the decision merely
130attoseconds: the duration of an ultra-short burst of extreme ultraviolet light created by an Italian team to probe atoms
Google Earth lets us zoom in on any
spot on the planet, from the Brazilian
rainforest to Arctic ice sheets. Now
imagine it offered the sounds to match
the sights.
Bernie Krause has spent 40 years
collecting over 3500 hours of sound
recordings from all over the world,
including bird and whale song and the
crackle of melting glaciers. His company,
Wild Sanctuary in Glen Ellen, California,
has now created software to embed
these sound files into the relevant
locations in Google Earth. Just zoom
in on your chosen spot and listen to
local sounds.
“Our objective is to bring the
world alive,” says Krause. “We have
all the continents of the world, high
mountains and low deserts.”
He hopes it will make virtual visitors
more aware of the impact of human
activity on the environment in the years
since he began making and collecting
the recordings. Users will be able to
hear various modern-day sounds at a
particular location, then travel back in
time to compare them with the noises
of decades gone by.
Krause plans to have the software
ready with 26 sounds for demonstration
at the Where 2.0 conference in San
Jose, California, on 29 May. It will
also be available for download from
www.wildsanctuary.com on that date,
and many more sounds will follow.
Another project, called Freesound,
is making contributors’ sound files
available on Google Earth. Unlike these
recordings, Krause’s sound files are of
a consistent quality and enriched with
time, date and weather information.
EAVESDROP ON EARTH
reaffirms code 103 of the US Patent
Act, which outlaws patents on
obvious inventions, the Supreme
Court says lower courts have
let this principle drift. In 1999
Amazon was infamously granted
a patent on a system to “buy
online with one mouse click”.
The ruling was seized upon
by internet phone firm Vonage,
which was recently found to have
infringed rival Verizon’s patents.
While denying Vonage a retrial, a
federal court said it could use the
ruling in its upcoming appeal.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s $100 laptop for the developing world is
too expensive, according to the Indian government. So it has commissioned state-
owned chip maker Semiconductor Complex, based near Chandigarh, the Vellore
Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore to design a
cheaper machine. They claim to have already slashed the price to $47.
Ultraviolet bug-zappers are OK if you don’t mind your burgers sprinkled with bacteria
from the remains of the flies. Hans Yeakel and colleagues at the University of Florida,
Gainesville, are a little more fussy. They have devised a battery-operated flytrap that
uses flashing light-emitting diodes to lure insects into disposable cartridges. Once
inside, they are trapped on sticky strips and can be disposed of safely.
GIZMO
TV and DVD viewing among infants in Minnesota & Washington state
At 3 months old 40% ofinfants are regular viewers, watching up to 1 hour per day
At 24 months old 90% ofinfants are regular viewers,watching over 1.5 hours per day
BABY COUCH POTATOESMany American babies and toddlers watch
TV and DVDs for an hour per day or more
Kevin Rose, founder of Digg.com, whose users revolted last week after it removed details of code that breaks the encryption on HD-DVDs, in response to a legal letter from the body developing the encryption system. It has now vowed not to censor the code (Digg.com, 1 May).
“If we lose, then what the hell, at least we died trying”
–The world is changing, want to listen?–
SCOT
T LIE
BERM
AN/A
P/PA
PHO
TOS
SOUR
CE: A
MER
ICAN
INST
ITUT
E OF P
HYSI
CSSO
URCE
: ARC
HIVE
S OF P
EDIA
TRIC
S AND
ADO
LESC
ENT M
EDIC
INE
Chips get a whole lot of nothing
You can’t patent common sense
www.newscientist.com 12 May 2007 | NewScientist | 27
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