Alpha Go

2D semiconducting material that could replace silicon   chips A team at the University of Utah led by an Indian-origin engineer has discovered a new kind of 2D semi-conducting

material for electronics that opens the door for much speedier computers and smartphones that consume a lot

less power.

Details:

It is a layer of 2D material only one atom thick, allowing electrical charges to move through it much faster

than conventional 3D materials such as silicon.

The semi-conductor is made of tin and oxygen or tin monoxide (SnO).

This material could be used in transistors, the lifeblood of all electronic devices such as computer processors

and graphics processors in desktop computers and mobile devices.

Why 2D is better than 3D?

Transistors and other components used in electronic devices are currently made of 3D materials such as silicon

and consist of multiple layers on a glass substrate.

But the downside to 3D materials is that electrons bounce around inside the layers in all directions. The

benefit of 2D materials is that the material is made of one layer the thickness of just one or two atoms.

Consequently, the electrons can only move in one layer so it’s much faster.

Benefits:

Now, the electrons also require much less power to run, a boon for mobile electronics that have to run on

battery power.

This could also be important for medical devices such as electronic implants that will run longer on a single

battery charge.

The newly discovered semi-conducting material could lead to computers and smartphones that are over 100

times faster than regular devices.

Cognitive computing

It is the simulation of human thought processes in a computerized model.

Cognitive computing involves self-learning systems that use data mining, pattern recognition and natural

language processing to mimic the way the human brain works. The goal of cognitive computing is to

create automated IT systems that are capable of solving problems without requiring human assistance.

Cognitive computing systems use machine learning algorithms. Such systems continually acquire knowledge

from the data fed into them by mining data for information. The systems refine the way they look for

patterns and as well as the way they process data so they become capable of anticipating new problems and

modeling possible solutions.

Cognitive computing is used in numerous artificial intelligence (AI) applications, including expert systems,

natural language programming, neural networks, robotics and virtual reality. The term cognitive computing is

closely associated with IBM’s cognitive computer system, Watson.

Flasher

Li-Fi

Li-Fi, or light fidelity, invented by German physicist and professor Harald Haas, is a wireless technology that

makes use of visible light in place of radio waves to transmit data at terabits per second speeds—more than

100 times the speed of Wi-Fi.

How it works?

Li-Fi is a Visible Light Communications (VLC) system. This means that it accommodates a photo-detector to

receive light signals and a signal processing element to convert the data into ‘stream-able’ content. Unlike

Wi-Fi, which uses radio waves, Li-Fi runs on visible light.

Here, data is fed into an LED light bulb (with signal processing technology), it then sends data (embedded

in its beam) at rapid speeds to the photo-detector (photodiode).

The tiny changes in the rapid dimming of LED bulbs are then converted by the ‘receiver’ into electrical

signal.

The signal is then converted back into a binary data stream that the user would recognise as web, video

and audio applications that run on internet enables devices.

An LED lightbulb is a semi-conductor light source meaning that the constant current of electricity supplied to

an LED lightbulb can be dipped and dimmed, up and down at extremely high speeds, without being visible to

the human eye.

Advantages:

Li-Fi could make a huge impact on the internet of things too, with data transferred at much higher levels

with even more devices able to connect to one another.

Li-Fi offers great promise to overcome the existing limitations of Wi-Fi by providing for data-heavy

communication in short ranges.

Due to its shorter range, Li-Fi is more secure than Wi-Fi.

Since it does not pollute, it can be called a green technology for device-to-device communication in the

Internet of Things (IoT).

Li-Fi systems consume less power.

Limitations of Li-Fi:

As visual light can’t pass through opaque objects and needs line of sight for communication, its range

will remain very restricted to start with. In order to enjoy full connectivity, more capable LED bulbs will

need to be placed at various places.

Li-Fi requires the lightbulb is on at all times to provide connectivity, meaning that the lights will need to

be on during the day.

Li-Fi is likely to face interference from external light sources, such as sunlight and bulbs, and

obstructions in the path of transmission, and hence may cause interruptions in communication.

Also, initially, there will be high installation costs of visual light communication systems as an add-on to

lighting systems.

Challenges:

The main challenge is to create a Li-Fi ecosystem, which will need the conversion of existing smartphones

into Li-Fi enabled ones by the use of a converter/adapter.

Also, an integrated chip that has both light-to-electrical conversion and data-processing capability (Wi-

Fi/Bluetooth) combined into one needs to be developed and manufactured in the millions.

Potential applications:

Li-Fi can be used in street and traffic lights. Traffic lights can communicate to the vehicles and with each

other. Through the use of Li-Fi, traffic control can be made intelligent and real-time adaptable. And each

traffic and street light post can be converted into access points to convert roadsides into wireless hot

spots.

Vehicles having LED-based headlights and tail lamps can communicate with each other and prevent

accidents by exchanging information.

Visible light being safer, they can also be used in places where radio waves can’t be used such as

petrochemical and nuclear plants and hospitals.

They can also be used in aircraft, where most of the control communication is performed through radio

waves.

Li-Fi can also easily work underwater, where Wi-Fi fails completely, thereby throwing open endless

opportunities for military and navigational operations.

Also, it presents another unique possibility: transmitting power wirelessly, wherein the smartphone will

not only receive data through Li-Fi, but will also receive power to charge itself.

Challenges and opportunity in India:

The lack of ubiquitous broadband access, which thereby restricts data access, and chaotic traffic

management leading to traffic jams and pollution are just two of the many problems in India. Li-Fi has scope

to help with both.

By converting traffic lights into LED-based access points, traffic management can be made intelligent,

adaptive and real-time—and so, more efficient and effective.

In the same way, street lights can also be converted into Li-Fi access points, making them broadband

access transmitters to mobile Li-Fi enabled smartphones, converting areas into seamless hot spots.

Near field communications

Near Field communication (NFC) is a wireless communication technology. It is a short

range communication technique that allows devices to share information. NFC works on something

called “inductive coupling”, which involves creating an electrical field for data transfer between two

devices. To put it simply, any two devices only need to be ‘tapped together’ for them to connect via

NFC.

NFC has emerged as an effective alternative to other short range communication technologies, such

as Bluetooth and WiFi, as it offers a faster and hassle-free exchange of data between two NFC-

compatible devices.

How does it work?

NFC is based on the RFID principle. It uses electromagnetic induction to transmit information. It

simply allows two devices placed close to each other to exchange data, but for that both devices

need to have an NFC chip.

The transmission frequency for data across NFC is 13.56 Megahertz.

To send the data, a reader emits a small electric current that creates a magnetic field. The magnetic

field bridges the fiscal distance between the two devices.

In the receiving device, the magnetic field is received by a similar coil which turns it back into

electrical impulses to communicate data such as identification number, status or any other

information.

Device using NFC can either be active or passive. An NFC tag which contains information that other

NFC enabled devices can read , but which does not read any information itself can be termed as a

passive device. For instance , an NFC enabled device can read a sign in a museum but the sign itself

doesn’t read , it only transmits information.

NFC enabled smartphones are active devices as they collect information and read it and also share it

with other NFC enabled devices.

Advantage of using NFC:

NFC provides a more natural method for connecting consumer devices, broadening the scope of

networking applications.

By offering increased convenience for the user when interacting with multiple consumer devices,

NFC helps to bring vision of a connected world one step close

Powerwall

Supercomputer

China’s Tianhe-2 supercomputer has maintained its position as the world’s most powerful system for the

sixth consecutive time, according to a biannual Top500 list of supercomputers. It has held the title since June

2013.

Tianhe-2 or Milky Way 2, with a performance of 33.86 petaflops per second (Pflop/s), was developed by

China’s National University of Defence Technology.

The Chinese system is almost twice as fast as the Titan of the US Department of Energy, which has a

performance of 17. 59 Pflop/s. Titan holds the second position in the list.

The Top500 list is considered one of the most authoritative rankings of the world’s supercomputers. It is

compiled on the basis of the machines’ performance on the Linpack benchmark by experts from the US and

Germany.

Treasores Project

Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual reality is an immersive technology which creates an artificial environment and makes you feel like

that you are part of it. The concept of virtual reality is not only 3dimensional but there are special requisites

such as sound and motions like eye, head are essential to make a person feel the real artificial environment.

While playing a video game with the help of virtual reality it puts the person in the drivers seat or army

person shoes to feel the environment as real.

The application of Virtual reality has great scope in various fields such as

--> It helps in Medicine to train the doctors in critical operations and get expertise.

--> It helps in defence industry to train soldiers which reduce the cost of damage.

--> It uses in architecture is enormous by creating models on pre hand improves the development.

--> It helps for students to learn the subjects and teachers in training.

--> It uses in entertainment are advancing day by day.

World’s thinnest lens

Australian scientists have developed world’s thinnest lens which is 2000 times thinner than human hair.

The newly developed lens is 6.3 nanometres thick. Previous versions of lenses were 50 nanometres thick.

Scientists have used a crystal of molybdenum disulphide as a special ingredient in this lens.

This lens could have revolutionary applications in medicine, science and technology and can also be used

to create bendable tv and computer screens.

How this was made possible?

Scientists discovered that single layers of molybdenum disulphide, 0.7 nanometres thick, had remarkable

optical properties, appearing to a light beam to be 50 times thicker, at 38 nanometres. This property, known

as optical path length, determines the phase of the light and governs interference and diffraction of light as it

propagates.

Key facts:

Molybdenum disulphide is in a class of materials known as chalcogenide glasses that have flexible

electronic characteristics that have made them popular for high-technology components.

Molybdenum disulphide crystal’s refractive index, the property that quantifies the strength of a

material’s effect on light, has a high value of 5.5. For comparison, diamond, whose high refractive index

causes its sparkle, is only 2.4, and water’s refractive index is 1.3.

Also, it survives at high temperatures, is a lubricant, a good semiconductor and can emit photons too.

Yeti

The project is run jointly by the Beijing Internet Institute, a Japan-based group and respected computer

scientists. They are not concerned about legal or political control of the Internet, but the dilemma of

connecting the next generation of Internet users, which will mostly come from developing countries.

Objectives

To benefit the Internet development as a whole, the proposal of Yeti Project is formed to build a parallel

experimental live IPv6 DNS root system to discover the limits of DNS root name service and deliver useful

technical output.

Significance:

Yeti attempts to tackle two problems which figure high on the Internet governance agenda of developing

economies like India and China.

The first is the efficiency of local networks which may experience connectivity problems if they are

unable to reach the root servers.

The second is the risk of surveillance: the operators of root servers, based mostly in the U.S. and

Europe, are able to look up DNS traffic from any part of the world.

At its core, Yeti appeals to digital economies that are on the cusp of growth.

The Digital India programme promises “universal” mobile connectivity in five years .

Not surprisingly, IPv6 deployment has been a stated policy goal of the Indian government since as far

back as 2004.

It is also no surprise that ERNET, India’s biggest, government-owned university network, has joined

the Yeti Project and operates a Yeti root server.

Yeti has major strategic implications for Internet governance. The pioneers of Yeti have been careful to

acknowledge the supremacy of ICANN but the project will bring about a fundamental re-engineering of

the Internet.

A “pure” IPv6 environment will remove the ceiling on the number of root servers.

The global distribution of root servers segues well with India’s call for “inclusive and equitable”

governance of critical Internet resources.

If root servers are distributed globally, the formal and sole authority of the U.S. government to approve

changes to the root zone would be eroded over time.