Dear Physics Community,
We are approaching the end of the term. A good moment to reflect on how hard this has been and how we have risen to the challenge. No academic Continuity Meeting today
Advisories
Physics Department
Beating Vegas – Herman Marshall reminded me of the MIT students who built and used a wearable computer in the 1980s to beat a Vegas casino at blackjack. Video here, books here and here.
Nanotube transistors – one of the cooler ideas I’ve seen in the last year was the computer built at MIT using nano-tube transistors. The nanotubes essential form the channel in a FET and can work with very small currents, reducing power consumption. There are also very interesting stackable circuit method, all demonstrated here.
Los Endos
GAO – the General Accounting Office is one of the more interesting places to go to see what your government is up to. Their mission statement is here and this translates into them digging into things and writing tough reports about what they find. One of my favorites about the Airborne laser is here. This time of year, the go through the unanswered or “open” recommendations they have made. Here are the ones for the Department of Justice.
Peter