The 3D printer uses a liquid resin, which is hardened at precisely the correct spots by a focused laser beam. The focal point of the laser beam is guided through the resin by movable mirrors and leaves behind a hardened line of solid polymer, just a few hundred nanometers wide. This fine resolution enables the creation of intricately structured sculptures as tiny as a grain of sand. "Until now, this technique used to be quite slow", says Professor Jürgen Stampfl from the Institute of Materials Science and Technology at the TU Vienna. "The printing speed used to be measured in millimeters per second – our device can do five meters in one second." In two-photon lithography, this is a world record. Article and video.
posted by curious nu on Mar 12, 2012 - 36 comments

A swarm of nano quadrotors.
posted by secretdark on Feb 1, 2012 - 69 comments

The FEI winner (Electron Microscopy) is 'Microcanyon - microcrack after bending test'. The other images are just as amazing.
posted by unliteral on Aug 28, 2011 - 10 comments

Science fiction always uses it in varying degrees. Some believe it will bring about a perfect Technological Utopia:Heaven on Earth. Some believe it will herald a dark and dystopian future. Perhaps it will elevate man to a being that is more than human; Human+ and permanently and irrevocably transform the human condition, and still others believe that too much involvement in it will void your existence. Some religions totally depend on it and others find it harder to deal with: The list of emerging technologies.
posted by Cogentesque on Aug 16, 2011 - 49 comments

The re-invention of silk "For a millennium, traders brought silk fabrics from the Far East along the Silk Road to Europe, where the beautiful yet tough material was fashioned into dazzling clothes. Today bioengineers (video interview)are infusing the natural protein fibers spun by silkworms with enzymes and semiconductors. They are processing the modified strands under varying temperature, shear and acidic conditions to create novel materials with remarkable properties."
posted by dhruva on Mar 8, 2011 - 13 comments

Electron microscope images of insects and other tiny critters. Art embedded in your microchips, under an electron microscope. Zooming in on a tooth, with the help of an electron microscope. Electron microscope checks out a record's grooves.[previously] A flower so small only those with electron microscopes can see it! Raspberry under an electron microscope! Zoom in on an ant's head, with the power of electron microscopy! An electron microscope makes a self-portrait! An electron microscope examines a leaf! Want to see something else under an electron microscope? Send it to these guys!
posted by mccarty.tim on Aug 24, 2010 - 18 comments

Nanobees! (trained to kill cancer cells) [more inside]
posted by msalt on Sep 29, 2009 - 29 comments

Chris Woebken is a designer, with some interesting "what if" technology ideas, including a nanotech computer interface and an ultra-thin electronic picture frame.
posted by CrunchyFrog on Feb 26, 2008 - 15 comments

The Tata Nano (pic) is a car that costs less new than the amount I've spent on gas during single car trips, recently announced to the auto market in India. The Chery QQ ^, successful , widely exported, and recognized as the Hostage Taker's Vehicle of Choice by China Car Times, is the runner-up for the world's cheapest car but is still approximately twice as expensive. Yes indeed, the price of gas is not going to come back down. So much for my coast-to-coast road trips. [more inside]
posted by XMLicious on Feb 3, 2008 - 42 comments

IBM raises lowers the bar. Apparently 1.5 nanometers is all that is needed for a 0 or a 1. This advance in data storage technology is a ways off from making an impact in chip construction, but allows for storage that is 1/8 the size of CMOS's wildest dreams. Neat. via ZDNet
posted by Addiction on Aug 14, 2006 - 14 comments

As the Pentagon ousts plans to turn insects into cyber war machines you'd be forgiven for asking the question: Where does the real digital end and the faked life begin? Are we simulating life synthetically? or just speeding up an entirely natural process? Technologically engineered life is here to stay. Its not far fetched to speculate that simulacra may become all there is.
posted by 0bvious on Mar 15, 2006 - 13 comments

Own an iPod/Nano? These uber-kool mittens rock!!! Cozy and stylish! I want a pair... and I don't even own an iPod! heh! Comes with knitting instructions [PDF]! Su-weeet!
posted by mrhappysad on Nov 22, 2005 - 34 comments

iPod Nano - 1000 songs scratches (via Slashdot)
posted by FieldingGoodney on Sep 25, 2005 - 72 comments

How Much Abuse Can the new iPod Nano Take?
Ars Technica digs deep and finds out just how much abuse the Nano can take (Hint: alot) before the music stops. And then performs an autopsy on it.
Warning, do not click link if the abuse of electronic items makes you queasy or sad.
posted by fenriq on Sep 16, 2005 - 26 comments

I want to be injected with respirocytes. They're little mechanical devices that do the same job as your red blood cells, but they're 236 times more efficient.

This is one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time, and could certainly be very useful. Among the examples they give for people who could benefit are firefighters (too much smoke? just hold your breath!), deep sea divers (tune the respirocytes to remove N2, and no more long decompression times), and choking victims (this one should be obvious).
posted by CrayDrygu on Sep 27, 2000 - 10 comments