WEBVTT 1 00:00:33.840 --> 00:00:39.880 Broadcasting live. It's America's longest running talk show on computers. It's Computer America 2 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:45.079 bringing you the biggest names in technology with guest interviews. We brought us and 3 00:00:45.399 --> 00:00:50.799 your emails. Listen live at computer america dot com on any device around the 4 00:00:50.840 --> 00:00:55.679 world. Email the show at live at computer america dot com, or find 5 00:00:55.759 --> 00:00:59.439 us on social media. Be sure to check out our website for contests, 6 00:00:59.640 --> 00:01:03.359 give ways, show notes, live video stream, podcasts, and more. 7 00:01:03.560 --> 00:01:15.359 You're listening to Computer America. Hello, and welcome everyone into the Computer America 8 00:01:15.400 --> 00:01:18.799 Show. We are the nation's longest running nash Is indicated radio talk show on 9 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:22.840 computers and technology term podcasts. Everyone, welcome to the program. I hope 10 00:01:22.840 --> 00:01:26.400 that you're doing well, and yeah, you're ready for today's program, because 11 00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:29.560 today on the show we have of course Ralph Bond. He is our science 12 00:01:29.560 --> 00:01:34.040 and Tech Trends correspondent and he'll be joining us here in just a moment to 13 00:01:34.040 --> 00:01:38.519 talk all things well science and technology. Les Gentleman is always a fun segment 14 00:01:38.560 --> 00:01:42.000 and if you want to find out more Computer America dot com and so where 15 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:45.480 you'll find us. You'll find everything from the show, notes, pass shows, 16 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:51.079 future shows, videos, archives, articles, reviews, anything and everything 17 00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:55.879 that Computer America does you can find it there, including the ever changing social 18 00:01:55.879 --> 00:02:00.040 media landscape, because man, I don't know the We've been talking about the 19 00:02:00.040 --> 00:02:07.159 whole you know, Twitter rebranding thing all week and you know, I don't 20 00:02:07.159 --> 00:02:13.560 know. Elon Musk proves time and time again, I don't know what genius 21 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:16.199 is apparently, so we'll find out. But ladies and gentlemen, with that 22 00:02:16.280 --> 00:02:19.599 being said, computer america dot com, it's all you need to remember. 23 00:02:19.759 --> 00:02:22.120 Of course, we'll have a link to Ralph's website, and of course we 24 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:25.120 have a segment at the top of the page that is dedicated holy to Ralph, 25 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:28.639 So if you want to find Morpheus segments, we have a playlist, 26 00:02:28.680 --> 00:02:31.400 we have passed show notes, and it's super simple. So with that being 27 00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:35.000 said, I hope that you're doing happy, you're healthy, you're nice and 28 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:38.479 cool. And with that being said, let's go ahead and bring Ralph on. 29 00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:40.879 So, of course he's been a longtime contributor to Computer America. You 30 00:02:40.919 --> 00:02:46.360 may remember him a long long ago as Intel's Digitalminute Voice, but of course 31 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:52.560 he has come to really highlight that you know, technology is changing, not 32 00:02:52.680 --> 00:02:55.680 just the cell phone in your pocket or the computer that you are probably listening 33 00:02:55.719 --> 00:03:00.520 to us on but actually it changes everything around us. And he has a 34 00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:06.000 great segment dedicated to these to these changes and dar I would say, these 35 00:03:06.120 --> 00:03:08.240 trends. So Ralph, welcome back onto the program. How are you doing. 36 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:13.719 I'm doing great. And again, folks, what we do every Friday 37 00:03:13.960 --> 00:03:17.319 is share with you where things are headed in robotics, medical technology, sustainable 38 00:03:17.439 --> 00:03:22.680 energy technology, transportation, advances, space research, physics, you name it. 39 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:25.960 Everything is eligible for betting me to take a look at in terms of 40 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:30.560 trends. So that's why I'm the science and technology trends correspondent for the show. 41 00:03:30.599 --> 00:03:35.120 And again has Ben mentioned come out to Computer America dot com. Be 42 00:03:35.159 --> 00:03:38.560 sure to get the show notes if you want to dig deeper, because what 43 00:03:38.599 --> 00:03:42.960 we're going to do is highlight four stories and give you the essential points and 44 00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:45.599 then if you want to go deeper, come out and get those show notes. 45 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:50.360 And we've got some great stuff for today. Absolutely four and then some 46 00:03:50.599 --> 00:03:53.199 I saw you that you have a couple of honorable mentions there at the end 47 00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:57.319 segment. So yeah, but before we get to those, of course, 48 00:03:57.439 --> 00:04:01.120 we can tappen to I'm sorry, I ride ahead a little bit. We 49 00:04:01.159 --> 00:04:06.960 should go ahead and do story number one, and algae is not the first 50 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:11.560 time that it's come up on the show. But it's amazing. We're such 51 00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:15.399 a simple thing can do in so many fields. Yes, I love this 52 00:04:15.560 --> 00:04:19.959 story because selfishly speaking, it's very Northwest United States based, folks. I'm 53 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:25.279 based outside of Portland, Oregon. And here's the headline. Researchers at the 54 00:04:25.319 --> 00:04:31.199 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are exploring how to use algae to trap or to parton 55 00:04:31.279 --> 00:04:38.720 me to tap into the vast reserve of mineralogical wealth in the oceans. What 56 00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:44.120 okay? This comes from their own website in a story by Steve Ashby. 57 00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:46.079 It's great, is this is fun? Okay? So here's the deal. 58 00:04:46.120 --> 00:04:51.600 Critical minerals and rare earth elements are used in technologies such as smartphones, led 59 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:56.480 lighting, wind turbines, X ray machines, and cattle that it converts. 60 00:04:56.519 --> 00:05:01.959 I think we all know that there's the reliance on critical minerals now today many 61 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:08.959 of these essential natural resources are mined predominantly in China, and that, you 62 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:12.879 know, in the world we're evolving into, could be a problem. Perhaps. 63 00:05:13.079 --> 00:05:16.800 Researchers at the Department of Energy specific Northwest National laboratory up in Washington State, 64 00:05:16.839 --> 00:05:23.399 by the way, are exploring alternative sources of these minerals that are less 65 00:05:23.600 --> 00:05:29.360 vulnerable to supply chain disruptions. So that's the key in this quest. The 66 00:05:29.720 --> 00:05:36.560 laboratory researchers are looking at the oceans as an undertapped resource for minerals typically dug 67 00:05:36.839 --> 00:05:43.519 from the ground. And I love this factoid from this story is just made 68 00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:48.800 me stop and gasp. A spoonful of seawater contains not just salt, but 69 00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:57.399 every element in the periodic table. Wow. Even though they are found in 70 00:05:57.560 --> 00:06:01.439 low concentrations only parts per troy million. I mean, that's small. Oceans 71 00:06:01.480 --> 00:06:08.240 are perhaps the largest single source of rare Earth elements on the planet. Wow. 72 00:06:08.360 --> 00:06:11.639 And in the show notes, I have a side note about the periodic 73 00:06:11.680 --> 00:06:13.720 cable if you want to get a spin up on that. We're not going 74 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:15.720 to spend time going through that, but I even have a reproduction of the 75 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:20.079 table itself. It's probably saw it in your high school science class or college 76 00:06:20.120 --> 00:06:23.720 or what have yet, but it's there if you want to learn about that 77 00:06:23.759 --> 00:06:27.759 and get more spun up on that right back. And and of course everyone 78 00:06:27.800 --> 00:06:30.519 out there that can of course see and you know, those who can picture 79 00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:32.560 in their mind that section of the bottom that's you know, kind of taken 80 00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:35.680 out and drop below the rest of the table. Those are the rare earth 81 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:40.240 metals, so that those are the aunts that we're talking about. So yeah, 82 00:06:40.360 --> 00:06:43.399 yeah, the kind of the green background, Yeah, one at the 83 00:06:43.399 --> 00:06:46.720 bottom, you know. And and yeah, I since I've been in the 84 00:06:46.720 --> 00:06:51.560 ocean growing up, I always just assumed it was Florida and the way that 85 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:55.399 their water taste. But no, it turns out it's every element known to 86 00:06:55.439 --> 00:07:00.279 man in the water. Who knew. I thought it was just Florida elements, 87 00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:05.519 Yes, sort of anyway, back of the story. Moreover, because 88 00:07:05.560 --> 00:07:10.519 the oceans are not controlled by any one nation, well that's a little bit 89 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:15.079 arguable these days. Anyway, they avoid many of the geoeconomic political issues we 90 00:07:15.079 --> 00:07:20.480 read about in the news now. In one promising project, Pacific Northwest National 91 00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:28.439 Laboratory, researchers are investigating how algae can be used to harvest certain critical minerals 92 00:07:28.480 --> 00:07:34.959 from seawater. Rather than chemically or physically separating these minerals, researchers are exploiting 93 00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:42.959 biological processes that concentrate them so they can be cost effectively produced. Isn't that 94 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:46.000 fund? So they're saying, can nature do this for us instead of us 95 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:51.879 trying to create amazing machines? Answer potentially yes. To better understand these processes, 96 00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:59.000 the laboratory team are utilizing the unique capabilities of their marine and Coastal Research 97 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:05.399 laboratory location on Washington State's Olympic Peninsula with direct access to flowing seawater. They 98 00:08:05.399 --> 00:08:11.639 are growing different species of algae in the laboratory and some of the algae are 99 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:16.839 green, others are read summer leafy, others are stringy. And looking closely 100 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:24.160 at each researchers are gaining insights into their properties and tendency for extracting different minerals 101 00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:31.040 from the seawater. And they're finding some algae can concentrate certain minerals a million 102 00:08:31.240 --> 00:08:35.399 times more than found naturally in the seawater, so they can jack up the 103 00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:41.200 extraction by a million times and that's something Wow. Results also show the process 104 00:08:41.279 --> 00:08:46.279 improves ocean health. So this is like a wind wind scenario, extract minerals 105 00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:50.919 we need and improve the ocean health. Wow. Got all love that water 106 00:08:52.080 --> 00:08:56.960 flowing out of the algae tanks is less acidic because the carbon stays in the 107 00:08:56.080 --> 00:09:03.159 algae as do the nitrogen and phosphorus, helping to prevent possible harmful algae blooms. 108 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:09.159 Wow, I just love this story. It's like I'm guessing physically or 109 00:09:09.200 --> 00:09:13.399 chemically trying to extract these things. I mean parts per trillion. I'm not 110 00:09:13.879 --> 00:09:16.600 I'm not the best at it. Like you know, ralph things are usually 111 00:09:16.679 --> 00:09:20.559 measured in like parts per million in the air and parts per billion in drinking 112 00:09:20.559 --> 00:09:26.399 water and stuff like that. Parts per a trillion sounds super super super minute. 113 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:28.759 Um. So I guess that when the algae grows, then kind of 114 00:09:28.840 --> 00:09:33.080 chemically make it so that it pulls these elements out and it grows into or 115 00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:37.200 at least you know what, the algae sucks it into their system. I'm 116 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:41.679 guessing they just like release it or they have like these big floating I guess 117 00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:43.840 algae tanks that they can you know, kind of put in the ocean and 118 00:09:43.919 --> 00:09:48.440 just constantly like let the tides refresh the water and just let them grow. 119 00:09:48.759 --> 00:09:54.159 Any that kind of thing. I mean, very very interesting concept. I'm 120 00:09:54.279 --> 00:09:56.720 I'm curious how they're going to, uh, you know, kind of do 121 00:09:56.759 --> 00:10:01.799 it at scale, because even parts per trillion and then even you know, 122 00:10:01.919 --> 00:10:07.480 millions more times within the allergy. Very curious how big this can scale. 123 00:10:07.559 --> 00:10:09.840 But like you said, though, when when it has a lot of benefits 124 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:13.639 a lot of upside Well, yeah, and Ben, you make a good 125 00:10:13.639 --> 00:10:16.639 point. I too also thought to myself, well is this research for the 126 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:20.960 sake of research or is it research on a path to real world application? 127 00:10:22.360 --> 00:10:28.360 And my experience with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory stories that we've done occasionally and 128 00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:33.360 I follow them closely, they're kind of they're kind of like the MT of 129 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:39.559 the Northwest. Okay, they have very experimental, very experimental, but all 130 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:43.919 over the map, but like m I T usually with very rare exceptions, 131 00:10:43.399 --> 00:10:50.120 a path to possible practical real world application and benefits. So we'll see. 132 00:10:50.440 --> 00:10:52.399 I'm with you. You would have to have I would presume you'd have to 133 00:10:52.399 --> 00:10:58.080 have this implemented at such a gargagean scale to harvest the kind of minerals that 134 00:10:58.120 --> 00:11:01.120 would be meaningful as an alternative, which were. But it's also very passive, 135 00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:05.120 so yeah, you know, yeah that's true. Yeah maybe so so 136 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:09.159 we'll definitely see, uh, story number one, story number two. And 137 00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:13.919 speaking passive, it seems to be everyone's favorite thing, you know, when 138 00:11:13.960 --> 00:11:18.960 when when you have something and it does something by itself and you just get 139 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:22.559 to reap the benefits. Well, story number two is a great example of 140 00:11:22.600 --> 00:11:26.279 that. Although, like you said in the title, um, very science 141 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:31.639 fiction esque. But please, yes, yes, All you have to do 142 00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:35.559 is think about the Terminator movies right where the where the robot gets shot in 143 00:11:35.559 --> 00:11:37.720 the face and all of a sudden it just kind of wiggles a little bit 144 00:11:37.759 --> 00:11:43.159 to the right back. Okay, Well, the headline here is self healing 145 00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:46.440 metal question mark. It's not just the stuff of science fiction. Got this 146 00:11:46.480 --> 00:11:50.879 from the Reuters News service. This was also covered by many many other news 147 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:54.240 services. Story by Will Dunham and we've got the link in the show notes 148 00:11:54.279 --> 00:11:58.399 for you and an image as well. So here's the deal. On July 149 00:11:58.600 --> 00:12:03.200 nineteen, very recently, right July nineteen, scientists at the US government's Sandea 150 00:12:03.759 --> 00:12:11.919 National Laboratories in New Mexico described how pieces of pure platinum and copper spontaneously healed 151 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:18.559 cracks caused by metal fatigue during nanoscale experiments that had been designed to study how 152 00:12:18.600 --> 00:12:24.600 such cracks form and spread in metal placed under stress. Huh. They expressed 153 00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:33.080 optimism that this ability can be engineered into metals to create get ready to create 154 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:39.360 self healing machines and structures in the relatively near future. Is that what all 155 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:45.600 the Senate Hearing Committee was on alien technology? It was just copper and copper 156 00:12:45.639 --> 00:12:48.600 and metal plate, you know, healing. There you go, yeah, 157 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:52.120 there you go. That's let's do a conspiracy. We'll make up our own 158 00:12:52.039 --> 00:12:56.720 really coming from aliens. It's not the laboratory. They're just you know, 159 00:12:58.039 --> 00:13:01.919 they're trying to piece meal the alien technolog you out, and Sandia just won 160 00:13:01.960 --> 00:13:05.080 the watery Yeah, yeah, that's it. Well, speaking of that sort 161 00:13:05.080 --> 00:13:07.759 of stuff, will segue just for a moment. I saw in the news 162 00:13:07.759 --> 00:13:11.240 services. This got a lot of popular pickup, but I don't know how 163 00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:16.120 valid it is. But there's images from Mars that appear to show appear to 164 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:20.120 show some things in the dirt, if you will, that that don't look 165 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:24.679 natural. There's like these kind of bow like shapes with spiky like little projections 166 00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:33.399 that look too too regulated to whatever to be naturally formed. Now, nobody 167 00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:35.200 knows for sure, and I don't know how valid all this sort of stuff 168 00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:41.799 is, but if you google the weird formations, it's much more mechanical looking 169 00:13:41.840 --> 00:13:43.840 than that. I wish I had a link for you. Well that, 170 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:45.879 but that's probably the rover that you're saying. No, no, no, 171 00:13:45.879 --> 00:13:50.320 no, right right, yeah, No, it's a maybe if you Google 172 00:13:50.440 --> 00:13:54.960 recently discovered what appear to be man made like items on the surface of Mars, 173 00:13:56.039 --> 00:13:58.120 maybe it'll come up with the images I'm referring to. It looks like 174 00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:03.480 a see, these might all be credible, and it might have been incredible 175 00:14:03.480 --> 00:14:07.000 resources or references that we're writing this stuff because I'm not seeing what I saw. 176 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:13.279 I'll send you the link later. Yeah. Sure, Mars is always 177 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:16.480 full of images that are like, oh is that a stone face of Mars 178 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:20.679 and stuff like that. Definite full of that stuff. But no, we're 179 00:14:20.720 --> 00:14:26.039 back on Earth and we're talking about metals that are actually doing things. Yeah, 180 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:28.000 self healing metals. Back to the story. Okay, so a little 181 00:14:28.039 --> 00:14:31.799 more background here. Metal fatigue occurs when metal, including parts and machines, 182 00:14:31.919 --> 00:14:39.080 vehicles, and structures, sustains microscopic cracks after being exposed to repeated stress or 183 00:14:39.240 --> 00:14:43.399 motion damage that tends to worsen over time. And by the way, metal 184 00:14:43.440 --> 00:14:48.399 fatigue can be a long term process. We know this from our steel bridges 185 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:50.679 and so forth. Herope in the Northwest. For example, they're going to 186 00:14:50.759 --> 00:14:58.360 replace a bridge that links Oregon to Washington State across the Columbia River, because 187 00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:01.399 in part of long term metal fatigue, so it can happen over a long 188 00:15:01.480 --> 00:15:07.919 period of time. Metal fatigue can cause catastrophic failures in areas including aviation jet 189 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:13.159 engines for instance, and infrastructure bridges and other structures. So that's the problem. 190 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:18.120 But in the experiments at the Sandia National Laboratories, researchers used a technique 191 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:26.240 that pulled on the ends of tiny metal pieces about two hundred times per second. 192 00:15:28.120 --> 00:15:33.240 Oh my gosh, that's fast. Two hundred times per second. A 193 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:39.879 crack initially formed and spread, but about forty minutes into the experiment, the 194 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:45.600 metal fused back together. We need we need Twilight Zone music track for second. 195 00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:50.080 Anyway, isn't that something? The researchers called this healing. They observed 196 00:15:50.600 --> 00:15:56.759 cold cold as in cold temperature cold welding. Huh, Well, I don't 197 00:15:56.799 --> 00:16:02.600 think I have that, but I do have. Yeah, we'll go with 198 00:16:02.679 --> 00:16:06.480 that. I do have the X files. Um, that's weird enough, 199 00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:11.559 but no so so essentially two hundred that's not xus. So they pulled it 200 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:15.559 two hundred times per second, and you know too, I guess kind of 201 00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:18.799 create those little micro cracks that would take amal years or years or years to 202 00:16:18.120 --> 00:16:23.279 kind of create. UM to tie to another relevant story not too long ago, 203 00:16:23.639 --> 00:16:26.799 although everyone's moved on, you know, which is good. Um, 204 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:30.960 the submarine that famously imploded. People were thinking that, you know, we 205 00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:37.240 did the first thirteen fourteen UM dives relatively well, and then just the fifteenth 206 00:16:37.240 --> 00:16:40.600 of those little micro cracks that they you know, that they didn't inspect or 207 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:44.480 they didn't see, cause the whole thing to implode. So you know, 208 00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:48.879 micro cracks I guess affect a lot of different fields. Well yeah, yeah, 209 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:51.600 and that of course it was a terrible tragedy. But going back to 210 00:16:51.639 --> 00:16:56.159 this cold welding phenomenon, according to the research pardon me. According to research 211 00:16:56.200 --> 00:17:02.000 scientists Brad Boys, who helped lead the study and publish the results in a 212 00:17:02.080 --> 00:17:07.759 journal called Nature, quote, the cold welding process is a metallurgical process that 213 00:17:07.880 --> 00:17:12.440 is known to occur when two relatively smooth and clean surfaces of metal are brought 214 00:17:12.519 --> 00:17:18.880 together to reform atomic bonds bonds, not bombs, but by wait, folks, 215 00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:22.480 bo nds, I know I've got that open harmer movie on the mind 216 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:27.599 lately, Yes and Voice further noted, quote, unlike the self healing robots 217 00:17:27.640 --> 00:17:33.759 in the Terminator movie, this process is not visible at the human scale or 218 00:17:33.839 --> 00:17:37.519 to our eyes. Of course, it occurs at the nanoscale, and we 219 00:17:37.599 --> 00:17:41.160 have yet to be able to control the process. So they've observed it, 220 00:17:41.480 --> 00:17:47.960 but they have yet to figure out how can we consciously and manipulate this process. 221 00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:51.720 And remember, of course, nanoscale means a size measurable and nanometers or 222 00:17:51.720 --> 00:17:55.240 microns, and a nanometer is one billionth with a bee of a meter, 223 00:17:55.400 --> 00:18:00.240 folks, we're talking tiny now. Metal pieces that they tested were about forty 224 00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:07.039 nanometers thick and a few micrometers wide. While the healing was observed in the 225 00:18:07.119 --> 00:18:12.759 experiments only in platinum and copper, Voice said, simulations indicated that self healing 226 00:18:12.839 --> 00:18:19.160 can can occur in other metals, and that it's entirely plausible that alloys like 227 00:18:19.319 --> 00:18:23.519 steel could exhibit this quality. So they're optimistic they can apply this. If 228 00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:26.319 they can learn how to control it and deal with it, they may be 229 00:18:26.359 --> 00:18:30.319 able to apply it to things that we use everyday in life, like steel. 230 00:18:30.359 --> 00:18:37.240 Given this new knowledge, there may be alternative material design strategies or engineering 231 00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:44.240 approaches that could be devised to help mitigate fatigue failure in metal. In addition, 232 00:18:44.599 --> 00:18:49.279 this new understanding may shed light on fatigue failure in existing structures, improving 233 00:18:49.279 --> 00:18:56.240 the ability to interpret and predict such failures. Now, in the article Bend, 234 00:18:56.319 --> 00:19:00.359 they did stand back and offered some what I like to call reality checks. 235 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:03.400 So first, first of all, the self healing of this metal was 236 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:08.880 observed in a very specific environment using a device called an electron microscope. That's 237 00:19:08.920 --> 00:19:14.960 one thing. The research is noted that tangible applications of their findings, they 238 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:19.279 predict will take about another ten years to develop. So this is a twinkling 239 00:19:19.319 --> 00:19:25.400 of the eye, talk about early trend observation kind of story. So we'll 240 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:30.119 see. Yeah, no, it really is one of those processes that, 241 00:19:30.240 --> 00:19:34.839 even even if they can't turn it into something that is you know really as 242 00:19:34.839 --> 00:19:38.960 we would consider it useful. Knowing that it happens and knowing how it works 243 00:19:40.319 --> 00:19:44.359 is you know, always an important part to building and manufacturing these things. 244 00:19:44.519 --> 00:19:48.039 You can't just have this big question mark area. It's like, oh, 245 00:19:48.079 --> 00:19:49.960 you know cold welding process, how does that work? It's like a it 246 00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:53.119 doesn't matter, just build it anyways. You know, knowing how it works 247 00:19:53.400 --> 00:19:57.480 has implications as well, even if you can't control it. So very very 248 00:19:57.519 --> 00:20:03.200 cool. And of course you know the type pictures. I'm guessing that this 249 00:20:03.480 --> 00:20:06.119 the picture you have in the show notes, which you can get at Computer 250 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:10.759 America dot com. I'm guessing this green part right there is kind of the 251 00:20:10.759 --> 00:20:15.440 part that welded itself back together. Yeah, so very very cool something it's 252 00:20:15.559 --> 00:20:18.279 very it's very odd, very spooky, weird kind of stuff. I don't 253 00:20:18.279 --> 00:20:23.279 know. I certainly don't fully understand it, right but but but even those 254 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:27.200 extreme conditions, it's still a very cool process. So story number two, 255 00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:33.960 story number three, And I think everyone's very familiar with Wi Fi at this 256 00:20:33.079 --> 00:20:37.000 point. If you don't have it, you know it. But now we're 257 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:41.880 going to talk about something a little bit different, and uh, li Fi. 258 00:20:41.160 --> 00:20:45.000 I think I've heard of it before. But Ralph, I'll be honest, 259 00:20:45.039 --> 00:20:47.400 after going to see us for so many years and doing, you know, 260 00:20:47.440 --> 00:20:52.960 covering news and new technology for so many years, acronyms and abbreviations, 261 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:56.880 are they all just kind of melt together? So tell us what is li 262 00:20:56.000 --> 00:21:00.839 fi? Yes? Well, this is really fun and I learned a lot 263 00:21:00.920 --> 00:21:04.759 from researching this story. So here's the headline, trend to watch. That's 264 00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:11.519 my insertion. Here's the headline. What is lie Fi? That's l I 265 00:21:11.880 --> 00:21:15.519 dash Fi li Fi. Well, a faster, more secure, wireless internet 266 00:21:15.640 --> 00:21:18.400 is just around the corner. That was the headline. I got this from 267 00:21:18.440 --> 00:21:22.200 Digital Trends, a story by John Martindale. There's in the show notes, 268 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:26.200 folks, if you're just listening to us on the podcast, please come out 269 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:30.400 to computer America dot com if the show notes. There's a great illustration I 270 00:21:30.519 --> 00:21:34.680 picked up from the article. Also the official logo for li fi. You 271 00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:40.240 can see that as well. But here's the deal. Li Fi has the 272 00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:44.279 potential to revolutionize not only the way we get online, but it could even 273 00:21:44.359 --> 00:21:48.640 replace some of the mountains of cables that make up the backbone of the modern 274 00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:52.759 Internet. So wow, okay, that's pretty profound. But I'm going to 275 00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:56.440 insert a little note here because I did dug into this, did a little 276 00:21:56.480 --> 00:22:00.400 bit of additional research li Fi. What we're talking about here, folks, 277 00:22:00.759 --> 00:22:03.000 is not saying, drumroll please, all of a sudden, LiFi has never 278 00:22:03.039 --> 00:22:07.759 existed, and now this week it does. No. LiFi was introduced as 279 00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:12.039 a technology way back in March of twenty eleven. So the story here is 280 00:22:12.079 --> 00:22:18.680 more about it being becoming deployable versus this being a brand new technology. And 281 00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:22.720 we'll talk more about this in a moment. Relative to a recent Institute of 282 00:22:22.759 --> 00:22:27.200 Electrical and Electronics Engineers, good Old Eye triple E their recent amendment to the 283 00:22:27.240 --> 00:22:30.119 Wi fi specification, this will all makes sense in just a moment, so 284 00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:37.279 bear with us. So here we go. LiFi is short for light fidelity 285 00:22:37.880 --> 00:22:45.480 and is a communication system that utilizes light rather than radio waves to transmit data. 286 00:22:45.720 --> 00:22:52.359 A li FI network uses infrared led lamps to transmit and receive data, 287 00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:57.640 using modulations in the light intensity to create the digital signal, which carries the 288 00:22:57.680 --> 00:23:04.359 information to and from various network devices. So there's your two second kind of 289 00:23:04.359 --> 00:23:07.319 tutorial, and what is this li fi? So so, so instead of 290 00:23:07.400 --> 00:23:14.559 using the unseen m you know, wireless signals that were used to it's using 291 00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:18.039 you know, essentially light. But even like even like a lower bandwidth of 292 00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:22.000 light that you probably it's not like your entire house is going to be strobing 293 00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:26.839 with data. You know, it's going to be shining light and the data 294 00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:30.319 will go through rights, right, that's right. And li fi works by 295 00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:36.759 util pardon me, try that again. Li fi works by utilizing light light 296 00:23:36.920 --> 00:23:40.680 pulses, which are invisible to the human eye. To your point, they're 297 00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:47.519 been These pulses are modulated in intensity. Get ready, These pulses are modulated 298 00:23:47.680 --> 00:23:56.319 in intensity billions of times per second what And it's those modulations that receivers can 299 00:23:56.359 --> 00:24:02.480 track and translate into data entirely wirelessly. The part that just absolutely ford me 300 00:24:02.640 --> 00:24:06.000 was billions of times per second. I can't even wrap my head around that. 301 00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:11.759 That's just wild. So this isn't totally dissimilar to the way Wi fi 302 00:24:11.880 --> 00:24:15.640 works. What we know today that which of course works with radio waves, 303 00:24:15.720 --> 00:24:21.839 except radio waves can more readily pass through and around obstacles. LiFi can do 304 00:24:21.960 --> 00:24:26.079 that to some extent, but it's more reliant on the line of sight, 305 00:24:26.599 --> 00:24:32.119 which places a limitation on its range and abilities outside of open plan homes and 306 00:24:32.279 --> 00:24:37.319 offices, so that your ability check. Yeah, you could really imagine where 307 00:24:37.079 --> 00:24:40.839 if you need, you know, that constant light source to you know, 308 00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:45.079 modulate billions of times a second. Like you said, the sun is totally 309 00:24:45.079 --> 00:24:48.279 going to interfere with that signal, so you can't exactly do it in like 310 00:24:48.279 --> 00:24:52.559 a stadium or football field, yeah, you're right. Then there's a lot 311 00:24:52.599 --> 00:24:55.799 of reality checks we're going to get into. Start to get into the better 312 00:24:56.200 --> 00:24:59.480 can it doesn't it's not able to penetrate like in my house. Of course, 313 00:24:59.519 --> 00:25:00.519 you have your your wife, I route and all the stuff, and 314 00:25:00.519 --> 00:25:03.519 I can pick up the signal downstairs. It can go from the upstairs and 315 00:25:03.559 --> 00:25:07.279 downstairs through the floors. All that's great. This Life I stuff would not 316 00:25:07.319 --> 00:25:10.680 be the answer there, but we'll get to where I think it does make 317 00:25:10.759 --> 00:25:14.920 sense. So LIFEI has the potential to be faster than traditional WiFi. That's 318 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:18.359 great up to but technically speaking, up to one hundred gigabits per second. 319 00:25:18.680 --> 00:25:25.440 However, Yeah, however, the recently approved amendment to the Wi Fi specification 320 00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:30.480 that adds li Fi support that's a key phrase, adds li Fi support. 321 00:25:32.160 --> 00:25:38.279 I Tripoli at two dot eleven b B Baker Baker lowercase eight to two eleven 322 00:25:38.839 --> 00:25:42.240 BB. You're going to learn more about this as time goes on. Rates 323 00:25:42.400 --> 00:25:48.720 li Fi technology with a minimum throughput of ten megabits per second and a maximum 324 00:25:48.759 --> 00:25:55.599 throughput of nine point six gigabits per second, So that's far below the theoretical 325 00:25:55.640 --> 00:25:59.200 possibility of one hundred gigabits per second. Okay, that's okay, there you 326 00:25:59.240 --> 00:26:02.880 know, baby steps. That puts it at about the same range as Wi 327 00:26:02.920 --> 00:26:07.880 Fi six, the most recent iteration of Wi Fi network protocol. For now, 328 00:26:07.440 --> 00:26:11.200 this is all you know, baby step okay, guys, but time 329 00:26:11.200 --> 00:26:18.279 out. The big news is that the us I Tripoli certification provides a globally 330 00:26:18.440 --> 00:26:26.559 recognized framework for deployment of LiFi technology, according to li Fi tech companies Pure 331 00:26:26.680 --> 00:26:32.400 li Fi and Frondhofer HHI and I have links in the show notes for both 332 00:26:32.440 --> 00:26:36.599 of these companies. Really interesting stuff. So that's the key here, Ben. 333 00:26:37.319 --> 00:26:41.279 It was developed in twenty eleven. It has this huge technical possibility. 334 00:26:41.279 --> 00:26:48.640 It has certain limitations, but what happened is the I Tripoli recent certification of 335 00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:52.640 deployment too two dot eleven BB is the door opener to get this out into 336 00:26:52.680 --> 00:26:56.279 the real world. Right, That's the point, and so reality check. 337 00:26:57.039 --> 00:27:00.400 Although a li Fi signal can bounce off walls and other objects, it is 338 00:27:00.440 --> 00:27:06.559 severely impacted by impediments and obstructions and has a rated maximum range of about ten 339 00:27:06.640 --> 00:27:11.799 meters that's approximately thirty three feet. Yeah, ten tens a pretty good comparison. 340 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:15.880 I think that you can make between this is a Bluetooth. If you 341 00:27:15.960 --> 00:27:18.720 use Bluetooth to any extends, there you go. Bluetooth is also rated for 342 00:27:18.759 --> 00:27:22.519 thirty three feet, so you can, you know, kind of compare that. 343 00:27:22.200 --> 00:27:26.759 Yeah, that's a that's an excellent comparison. So it's hoped that li 344 00:27:26.920 --> 00:27:32.200 fi will be used in the home as a secondary condection connection layer, a 345 00:27:32.359 --> 00:27:37.839 secondary connection layer. That's the key. I think the reality is not throw 346 00:27:37.880 --> 00:27:41.279 your WiFi out and everything goes LiFi. Heavens no, but it could be 347 00:27:41.319 --> 00:27:48.079 a really clever companion technology working in harmony with Wi Fi, So Wi Fi 348 00:27:48.160 --> 00:27:51.799 li Fi it'll be, you know, a really interesting mix. So this 349 00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:56.640 mixing it together as a secondary connection layer, thereby allowing for faster transfer speeds 350 00:27:56.640 --> 00:28:02.680 and the ability for more devices to connect to a compatible router at once without 351 00:28:02.920 --> 00:28:08.880 connection speeds falling. LiFi could also be used in environments where interference is common 352 00:28:08.960 --> 00:28:14.799 and data purity is of the utmost importance, like hospitals, schools, and 353 00:28:14.920 --> 00:28:21.240 financial institutions. Data centers too could see some benefit. LiFi could be used 354 00:28:21.279 --> 00:28:26.960 to transmit data over short distances where running cables would be prohibitively complicated or costly, 355 00:28:27.480 --> 00:28:34.240 and WiFi could be and WiFi would be too insecure or prone to interference. 356 00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:38.119 So where Wi Fi might be insecure or prone to interference, maybe LiFi 357 00:28:38.240 --> 00:28:44.279 could be useful if you have line of sight right now, although it's likely 358 00:28:44.400 --> 00:28:48.799 we'll see Li Fi routers in the future. One idea is to use li 359 00:28:48.960 --> 00:28:55.920 Fi equipped lighting fixtures in the ceiling of buildings. Ooh. This will allow 360 00:28:55.960 --> 00:29:00.640 a data connection through a home's existing power line infrastructure than utilizing the li Fi 361 00:29:00.799 --> 00:29:07.240 light fittings to disseminate the data wirelessly. Two wireless devices. So there's one 362 00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:11.799 little light bulb that's a li Fi lightbulb transmitter transceiver rather, isn't that? 363 00:29:12.200 --> 00:29:17.480 Yeah, So that's how it might get deployed. Again the news folks technology 364 00:29:17.759 --> 00:29:23.400 from twenty eleven I Triple ee gives us the first implementation specification for global distribution. 365 00:29:23.880 --> 00:29:27.279 Standby, let's see what happens again. It doesn't replace Wi Fi. 366 00:29:27.559 --> 00:29:33.319 It could hold hands with Wi Fi and be a great solution for many situations 367 00:29:33.319 --> 00:29:37.119 in business and in your home, etc. Well, yeah, and definitely 368 00:29:37.160 --> 00:29:40.759 see it the same way that even your Wi Fi. Right now, you 369 00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:44.400 have Wi Fi the five G you know you may see the five G network 370 00:29:44.480 --> 00:29:48.279 versus just the regular Wi Fi network. The five G you know, even 371 00:29:48.319 --> 00:29:51.920 though it's faster, you know, it is better in so many ways. 372 00:29:52.200 --> 00:29:56.839 It doesn't replace two point four. They both happen simultaneously because two point four 373 00:29:56.200 --> 00:30:00.720 has some benefits that five G doesn't. And now, Ralph, I think 374 00:30:00.720 --> 00:30:03.400 we're up to like six G or something like that. There's like the six 375 00:30:03.480 --> 00:30:07.480 point four or something like that. Gigger hurts band wave as well that the 376 00:30:07.519 --> 00:30:10.799 new routers are coming out with, you know, and look at the light. 377 00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:15.039 I'm kind of curious, like in modern design, like you know, 378 00:30:15.119 --> 00:30:18.839 when you're designing like a modern home, those LED strips are everywhere. You 379 00:30:18.839 --> 00:30:22.519 know, you put them as accents, you put them behind things. Sure, 380 00:30:22.680 --> 00:30:25.039 you know, it makes everything look all future or stick and cool. 381 00:30:25.720 --> 00:30:29.200 I'm curious if you know, maybe in the future, instead of having to 382 00:30:29.839 --> 00:30:33.160 you know, connect your TV via Wi Fi and it's stutters and it's laggie 383 00:30:33.200 --> 00:30:37.640 and stuff like that, those little accent, those accents that fill a home, 384 00:30:37.599 --> 00:30:41.200 Ralph, if they become like if you put them, let's say behind 385 00:30:41.200 --> 00:30:44.319 a TV, you know, back landing a TV is pretty common nowadays. 386 00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:48.000 That would be your data connection. Doesn't matter what TV you put up. 387 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:49.880 It doesn't matter what you do. You put the TV on the wall, 388 00:30:49.960 --> 00:30:53.920 you just plug it into a power source and the light itself would be the 389 00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:56.880 data connection, so you don't have to connect it to Wi Fi or anything 390 00:30:56.920 --> 00:31:00.559 like that. Oh yeah, you know, it's a great idea. Yeah, 391 00:31:00.720 --> 00:31:04.279 little applications like that that are going to start coming into the home and 392 00:31:04.720 --> 00:31:08.440 you know, hopefully providing some benefit. So we'll see. Oh yeah, 393 00:31:08.480 --> 00:31:12.839 absolutely. And as the article itself pointed out, the idea that you could 394 00:31:14.400 --> 00:31:22.079 have implementations of this where heavy bulky cables running from here to there would be 395 00:31:22.559 --> 00:31:25.240 messy. You'd have to embed them in the wall or what you know. 396 00:31:25.359 --> 00:31:29.640 No, just have these light transmissions to take the place of bulky cables where 397 00:31:29.640 --> 00:31:33.440 it makes sense and where you have the distance issues overcome and so on and 398 00:31:33.440 --> 00:31:34.839 so forth. Then can you have these things in tandem? Yeah, ten 399 00:31:34.880 --> 00:31:40.599 meters thirty three feet? But couldn't you do a tag team incremental you know, 400 00:31:41.079 --> 00:31:45.440 baton passing kind of thing to overcome that distance. So there's all kinds 401 00:31:45.440 --> 00:31:49.039 of possibilities. It's kind of fun because you know the technology, it's it's 402 00:31:49.039 --> 00:31:52.720 not a new technology, and you know, not even I'm not even talking 403 00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:56.759 about in twenty eleven. Like, this is the same technology that went through 404 00:31:56.920 --> 00:32:00.759 copper cables. This is the same technology that goes through fiber optics though you 405 00:32:00.799 --> 00:32:02.559 know, sending a little burst of electrons, a you know, a little 406 00:32:02.559 --> 00:32:08.359 burst of lights, super super fast ralph. This is essentially fiber cabling without 407 00:32:08.400 --> 00:32:12.960 the cable. It's just you know, it's just a long signal. So 408 00:32:13.359 --> 00:32:15.440 you know, parison, it's a technology that we know and we know how 409 00:32:15.480 --> 00:32:19.599 to use. It's just this one has a bit more interference than kate, 410 00:32:19.680 --> 00:32:22.200 you know, than fiber optic cables do. So when it's comes when it 411 00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:28.000 comes out, people will see this in their homes, when it's finally consumer 412 00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:30.720 ready, but you know, not quite there, but we're getting there. 413 00:32:30.759 --> 00:32:34.599 We're getting there. Oh yeah, yeah, it's so there. Definitely definitely 414 00:32:34.640 --> 00:32:37.160 a trend to watch for sure, for sure. So story number three, 415 00:32:37.319 --> 00:32:42.519 Story number four, and I don't think light's going to work for this one, 416 00:32:42.839 --> 00:32:45.319 but hey, this one is very cool. And you know, as 417 00:32:45.359 --> 00:32:50.720 this tradition, Story number four is medical technology, that's right. Yeah, 418 00:32:50.759 --> 00:32:54.440 we love to end the segments usually almost always with something in medical technology because 419 00:32:54.440 --> 00:33:00.279 that's just one of my great personal passions and kind of hobbies if you will, 420 00:33:00.160 --> 00:33:05.079 based on my home body experience over all these years. Okay, so 421 00:33:05.519 --> 00:33:14.240 here we go. Headline spiral brain computer interface slips into earcanal with no loss 422 00:33:14.240 --> 00:33:17.200 of hearing. How could you resist that? Headline? I got to know 423 00:33:17.359 --> 00:33:22.000 more? What's that anyway? Comes from Medical express dot com a story by 424 00:33:22.119 --> 00:33:27.960 Bob Yerka. This is really interesting stuff. If you've got the show notes, 425 00:33:27.960 --> 00:33:31.039 you're watching us online, you can see the image of the little spiral 426 00:33:31.839 --> 00:33:37.480 brain computer interface and more of a graphic images showing it in the human ear 427 00:33:37.519 --> 00:33:39.599 and so on and so forth. And there's even a video you can watch 428 00:33:39.640 --> 00:33:43.599 as well. So if you're listening to us on a podcast, come out 429 00:33:43.599 --> 00:33:45.279 to Computer America dot com get the show notes. You can see all this 430 00:33:45.559 --> 00:33:52.119 we're referring to. However, here we go. A multi institutional team of 431 00:33:52.160 --> 00:33:58.440 engineers in China has developed a new type of brain computer interface that can be 432 00:33:58.680 --> 00:34:04.079 easily slipped in and out of the ear canal. In their project, reported 433 00:34:04.119 --> 00:34:08.280 in the journal Nature Communications, the group set out to design and build a 434 00:34:08.320 --> 00:34:14.760 new kind of brain computer interface that is less invasive than existing devices. Is 435 00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:16.880 it ever? And I just want to soap box and segue just for a 436 00:34:16.920 --> 00:34:22.880 moment. My heart breaks every day that we have a world where we see 437 00:34:22.920 --> 00:34:27.679 people as enemies. How sad It wouldn't it be great if we could all 438 00:34:27.719 --> 00:34:31.639 stop this foolishness of tribal hatred back and forth and suspicion and wanting to take 439 00:34:31.679 --> 00:34:36.960 over Taiwan and god knows what, and just stop this and just all work 440 00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:38.760 together, because look what these guys in China are doing. It's it's just 441 00:34:39.719 --> 00:34:45.519 there's there's definitely amazing research happening in every country. You know, sometimes we 442 00:34:45.559 --> 00:34:50.840 talk about Sweden, sometimes talk about America, sometimes China sometimes, you know, 443 00:34:50.960 --> 00:34:53.320 to your point, in Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, it doesn't matter. 444 00:34:53.519 --> 00:34:58.199 All of these scientists, they really can't you know, they really build 445 00:34:58.199 --> 00:35:00.800 off of each other. And you're absolutely right. Just if there was a 446 00:35:00.800 --> 00:35:04.559 bill, if there was a way more than just publish a paper and hope 447 00:35:04.559 --> 00:35:08.119 that it gets read, but to actually have you know that community and be 448 00:35:08.239 --> 00:35:14.199 more closely net the you know, the research community, absolutely we would see 449 00:35:14.199 --> 00:35:16.719 way more progress. Well, and this is a good example here we have 450 00:35:17.440 --> 00:35:22.840 researchers in China and they're publishing this information in Nature Communications and in this journal, 451 00:35:22.920 --> 00:35:25.760 so they are opening it up to the world, which is commendable and 452 00:35:25.800 --> 00:35:30.159 that's what we need more of. Let's hold hands together with science and technology 453 00:35:30.199 --> 00:35:34.920 and stoppableness foolishness anyway, I digress back to the story. So, a 454 00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:38.320 brain computer interface this is a generic kind of definition, is a device that 455 00:35:38.360 --> 00:35:45.639 allows communication between the brain and a computer, though to date most such devices, 456 00:35:45.679 --> 00:35:51.079 brain computer interfaces are one directional. They are used to listen to brain 457 00:35:51.119 --> 00:35:55.760 ways for such applications as converting them to text or to electronic signals that can 458 00:35:55.800 --> 00:36:01.159 be used to engage another device, such as a wheelchair. Right real quick. 459 00:36:01.400 --> 00:36:05.440 When you say it's one directional, part of me is like good, 460 00:36:05.639 --> 00:36:08.119 you know, like I don't want a brandom plant that tells me, you 461 00:36:08.159 --> 00:36:12.679 know, what I want for lunch, or what I think about Ralph's statement 462 00:36:12.719 --> 00:36:15.119 about you know, don't fight each other. You know what I mean? 463 00:36:15.199 --> 00:36:17.239 Like, I'm kind of glad, but no, maybe there's a good benefit 464 00:36:17.280 --> 00:36:22.039 to having a two way communication. I think the intent is good, the 465 00:36:22.039 --> 00:36:27.360 amplification. You can always take technology and perverted for badness. Speaking anyway, 466 00:36:28.559 --> 00:36:32.400 So, one of the main drawbacks of most brain computer interfaces is their invasiveness. 467 00:36:32.559 --> 00:36:37.559 Referring to what we've had to date, current approaches involve the use of 468 00:36:37.599 --> 00:36:42.760 electrodes attached to the scalp We've all seen that, or micro needles. Micro 469 00:36:42.880 --> 00:36:47.159 Needles are probes that pierce the skull yikes. In this new effort, the 470 00:36:47.199 --> 00:36:52.400 team in China has built a brain computer interface that is not only less invasive, 471 00:36:52.599 --> 00:37:00.599 but can be engaged and disengaged easily. The new corkscrew shaped brain computer 472 00:37:00.679 --> 00:37:04.960 interface is called the Spiral E. That's the letter E as an echo. 473 00:37:06.119 --> 00:37:10.440 It is engaged by gently screwing it into the ear canal and disengage by doing 474 00:37:10.480 --> 00:37:15.559 the reverse. Couldn't be more simple. It is made mainly of soft material 475 00:37:15.639 --> 00:37:20.480 to ensure comfort for the wearer. The design allows the passage of sound waves, 476 00:37:20.599 --> 00:37:23.800 ensuring that it does not impair hearing, and the soft material comprising the 477 00:37:23.800 --> 00:37:30.159 body of this device also prevents echoing inside the spiral Wow. The research team 478 00:37:30.239 --> 00:37:37.400 suggests that the Spiral E could open the door to new brain computer interface applications 479 00:37:37.639 --> 00:37:42.639 due to its ease of use. They envision the development of applications that convert 480 00:37:43.000 --> 00:37:47.280 full thoughts into text, controlling objects in both the real and virtual worlds, 481 00:37:47.519 --> 00:37:54.800 and even perhaps augmented memory. Right augmented memory that just if Wow, talk 482 00:37:54.800 --> 00:37:59.840 about leaving you with a good with a bring what's the possibilities with that. 483 00:38:00.440 --> 00:38:05.039 I'd like to have augmented memory, believe me. Yeah, and no, 484 00:38:05.480 --> 00:38:08.440 just remembering what you have for breakfast would be, you know, so amazing. 485 00:38:08.440 --> 00:38:12.199 I can't even mention a future like that. But but no, and 486 00:38:12.199 --> 00:38:15.599 of course, you know, just wanted to check out the video where sped 487 00:38:15.679 --> 00:38:20.360 up nine times. So it's not like you have like a literal like worm 488 00:38:20.400 --> 00:38:22.920 going into your ear or you know, anything like that. It would be 489 00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:25.599 very subtle and I'm sure that you would feel it. But hey, you 490 00:38:25.639 --> 00:38:29.239 know, if you're in a situation where you would need something like this, 491 00:38:29.880 --> 00:38:32.199 you've probably got things that need track and are monitoring or things like that. 492 00:38:34.519 --> 00:38:37.960 Very very cool. And of course the spiral design, you know, I 493 00:38:37.400 --> 00:38:40.719 guess with like hearing aids and stuff, it completely you know, blocks and 494 00:38:40.760 --> 00:38:45.719 transmits and things like that. So this is very different and you know, 495 00:38:45.880 --> 00:38:47.760 very very cool to see it kind of flex and move on its own. 496 00:38:49.440 --> 00:38:51.800 Again, you know, sometimes we cover stories like that, Ralph. It's 497 00:38:51.840 --> 00:38:54.960 like, you know, this robot, this micromachine, and they don't look 498 00:38:55.000 --> 00:38:58.440 like robots like we think of. You know, again, we don't think 499 00:38:58.440 --> 00:39:01.760 a terminator, but they are technically robots, so very very cool. Yeah, 500 00:39:02.199 --> 00:39:05.800 yeah, very cool story. And then, as you mentioned at the 501 00:39:05.800 --> 00:39:07.800 outset, a couple of honorable mentions. We're not going to take time with 502 00:39:07.559 --> 00:39:10.000 the show to go into this, but get to the show notes and you 503 00:39:10.039 --> 00:39:14.880 can see what I'm talking about. So first and foremost this week, I 504 00:39:14.960 --> 00:39:21.880 was absolutely thrilled to watch a wonderful documentary about the development and deployment and successful 505 00:39:22.760 --> 00:39:25.519 launch and say, etc. The James Webb telescope right, and you can 506 00:39:25.519 --> 00:39:30.719 see this if you have a subscription to Netflix. The film is called Cosmic 507 00:39:30.920 --> 00:39:36.159 Time Machine. And in the show notes into this but all you, Joe, 508 00:39:36.280 --> 00:39:38.960 it's it's absolutely wonderful. I honest to god, teared up a couple 509 00:39:39.000 --> 00:39:43.800 of times. It was so moving and so fascinating, a great tribute to 510 00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:49.119 human tenacity. Something like thirty years in the development. I had no idea 511 00:39:49.519 --> 00:39:53.840 thirty years went uphill battles. Sometimes Congress was about to pull the plug on 512 00:39:53.920 --> 00:39:58.559 the funding for this thing, and they overcame all these optacles on and on 513 00:39:58.599 --> 00:40:01.800 and on and on. Oh and in the documentary you'll learn about three hundred 514 00:40:01.920 --> 00:40:07.559 forty four points of failure, which means there were three hundred and forty four 515 00:40:07.599 --> 00:40:10.880 things that could go wrong if any one of those three hundred forty four things 516 00:40:10.920 --> 00:40:16.199 went wrong. Mission failure. Yeah, these men and women, these men 517 00:40:16.239 --> 00:40:22.239 and women pulled off an astonishing accomplishment where every one of those points, or 518 00:40:22.280 --> 00:40:25.480 the overwhelming majority, there's still I guess some outstanding points that could in the 519 00:40:25.519 --> 00:40:30.639 future go wrong. But anyway, I digress, Go and see the movie 520 00:40:30.800 --> 00:40:36.679 You'll You'll be blown away. Yeah. Do. The other honorable mention is 521 00:40:37.119 --> 00:40:43.239 scientists invent new double sided solar panel that generates twenty percent more electricity. Really 522 00:40:43.280 --> 00:40:46.760 interesting from a wonderful outfit called the Renewable Energy Institute. Again, we're not 523 00:40:46.800 --> 00:40:49.800 going to read this story, go and check it out. We've got the 524 00:40:49.880 --> 00:40:52.039 links of the images and so forth. So if nothing else, Ben and 525 00:40:52.079 --> 00:40:58.039 I I hope have left you feeling encouraged about the future of humans. If 526 00:40:58.039 --> 00:41:01.159 we can stop being stupid and have wars and hate each other, if we 527 00:41:01.159 --> 00:41:06.599 can get over that hold hands as scientists and technologists turn the world over to 528 00:41:06.679 --> 00:41:10.159 them, we may make it. I'm definitely gonna ruffle a few votes here 529 00:41:10.159 --> 00:41:15.119 and say that yes, we should have peace, but I will say, 530 00:41:15.199 --> 00:41:21.880 Ralph, humans are multifaceted in that we can do both. And I'm not 531 00:41:21.920 --> 00:41:24.800 saying we should do both. I'm saying that even though all the bad stuff, 532 00:41:24.840 --> 00:41:29.000 all the news, the headlines, what have you, ladies and gentlemen, 533 00:41:29.119 --> 00:41:32.440 don't worry. There are people out there who have dedicated everything to you 534 00:41:32.480 --> 00:41:36.199 know, new solar panel research. You know that you can find in the 535 00:41:36.239 --> 00:41:38.679 show notes too. You know, new space telescopes, new new whatever, 536 00:41:39.239 --> 00:41:42.800 you know, seven Norton. I'm sorry, we're up to eight billion, 537 00:41:42.880 --> 00:41:45.320 excuse me, eight billion of us. Ralph. There's a lot of cool 538 00:41:45.360 --> 00:41:50.159 stuff happening every single week, and I think you do a great job of 539 00:41:50.239 --> 00:41:52.920 highlighting that for everyone. So, ladies and gentlemen, again, if you 540 00:41:52.960 --> 00:41:55.400 want to find out more, computer America dot com, all the show notes, 541 00:41:55.480 --> 00:42:00.159 and of course Ralph's segment there. He'll be back every Friday, tell 542 00:42:00.199 --> 00:42:02.679 us news stories. And until next time, Ralph, everyone, have a 543 00:42:02.760 --> 00:42:06.920 great day, have a great week, do something fun. See you next 544 00:42:06.920 --> 00:42:07.760 time. Bye. Everyone,