The metaverse is still unfolding, but it has been developing for more than a century. Rudimentary virtual worlds have existed – in imagination and reality – since the days of the telegraph.
A silicon disc, or ‘wafer,’ yields dozens of semiconductor chips.
Steve Jurvetson/Wikimedia Commons
Semiconductor chips are electronic devices that store and process information. Today they can contain billions of microscopic switches on a chip smaller than a fingernail.
Offshore wind farms will assist in the renewable energy transition and offset the effects of climate change.
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While a US transition to renewable energy by 2030 is possible, streamlined policies with clear goals and incentives are necessary to get there, says an industrial engineering professor.
Which lesson should the technology field take from architecture: modernist efficiency or ‘living structure’?
Jamie Street/Unsplash; Peter Morville/Flickr
The late Christopher Alexander’s groundbreaking work on patterns has informed the development of technology for decades, but it’s the architect’s later work that holds the key to a healthier digital life.
Agriculture is becoming increasingly dependent on technology.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Photo by Lance Cheung
Bringing advanced technologies to the ancient practice of farming could help feed the world’s growing population, but it could also open the door for people looking to disrupt the global food system.
A mathematical method of analyzing networks can spot hidden features such as people who wield soft power in organizations.
Crowdfunding can be a great way to raise money for political candidates and causes, but it can also have unintended consequences.
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Sanorita Dey, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Crowdfunding has become a go-to means of raising money for political causes, but the monetary show of support can cause opponents to double down on their opposition.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to boosting innovation – but we can learn a lot from what has worked and failed in the past.
Social media is flush with advice urging non-menstruating people to use period tracking apps in order to trip up the apps’ algorithms.
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It would take huge numbers of people submitting bad data to affect the algorithms behind period tracking apps, but even then it would be more harmful than helpful.
Cookie notifications become a ubiquitous aspect of online life.
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A study into the hierarchical relationship between first officers and their captains has shed light on the risk taking that occurs during the critical moment of landing an aircraft.