This report provides an overview of the current state of circularity in the electronics value chain in Africa, identifies key areas of concern, provides appropriate recommendations, and proposes priority actions to improve circularity of the sector. The recommendations focus on the individual life cycle stages of the electronics value chain, …
on a table-top in Kazuo Hosokawa's laboratory is a small petri-dish filled with water. It contains a hundred or so small, flat silicon pieces. When Hosokawa shakes the dish, some of the little silicon pieces begin to clump together into something that looks similar to four-leaf clovers. To many, the …
nanotechnology, or the ability to manipulate matter on an atomic scale is one of the most revolutionary developments in material science in recent years. What was in the realm of conjecture is now a laboratory reality. With the development of tools like the scanning tunnelling microscope (stm), the field has …
anyone familiar with the radios of the previous generation will remember vacuum tubes: these glass tubes which functioned as amplifiers formed the heart of essentially all electronic gadgets from primitive computers to radios. The essential component of the vacuum tube was a cathode which was heated to give electrons. The …
Two physicists from France - Albert Manque and Jean Xavier Zweistein have claimed to have discovered the largest fundamental particle ever known. While experimenting with vacuum tubes, they found that the monitor on a nearby computer exploded when a large current was sent through one of the tubes. The high …
GENERALLY, the laws of physics are very rigid, but this one is found to be rather flexible. It is a well established theory that a material expands on heating. The reason for this thermal expansion is the violent increase registered in the vibrations of atoms or molecules of the material …
A PERSONAL mini radar system, which promises huge mass-marketpotential, has at last been developed. The new radar is named micropower impulse radar (MIR) and it will ultimately be used in almost everything from hand tools to burglar alarms. MIR is cheap, tiny and incredibly accurate at short ranges. It can …
Electronic devices are getting smaller and smaller and human workers and conventional robots are finding it increasingly difficult to assemble them. Peter Will of the Information Sciences Institute (ISI) of the University of Southern California and his collaborators at the California Institute of Technology have designed microrobots modelled on hairlike …
THE nation that makes radios the size of credit cards and tape recorders small enpu~ to slip into shirt pockets, has set its sights on a new target for miniaturisation. This time, however, the customers will be physicists and other researchers. And thego~l is any- thing but small: to squeeze …
A polymer coating designed to protect electronic components like microchips has been developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research, Germany. The film -which is about 100 nanometres thick -is produced by electrodeposition in which the amino resins are broken down chemically by an electric current. The polymers are …
'Plastic electronics', which behave like semiconductors, could become cheap, flexible alternatives to silicon-based electronics for certain products, according to Dutch scientists. These substitute semiconductors are based on polymers. Researchers at Philips have demonstrated that simple electronic circuits could be made cheaply by using low-cost substrates such as glass or plastic. …
Anyone engaged in espionage in Israel would be well advised not to swallow any incriminating evidence. The ministry of defence in Haifais in the process of patenting a video camera for use inside the body. (New Scientist, Voll47, No 1997) Suspects are to be asked to swallow a capsule containing …
ALTHOUGH fibre-optics has brought a revolution in the field of teleco nications, the stumbling blocks arel the switches in use. Though the move through the fibres at the spi light (300,000 krn per sec), the inter between the electronics and the filll by electronic switches which are extrei slow in …
The Pioneer 11, which had transmit- ted some spectacular pictures of Jupiter and its moons, is now drifting towards interstellar space some 6.5 billion kin from the earth. Its power generators, four radioisotope thermoelectric generators and electronic gear have outlived themselves. The spacecraft's radio transmissions are now too weak to …
LIGHT emitting diodes (LEDS) are C0113monly used as displays for many con- Sumer electronics products. In the last few years, tremendous progress has been made in the technology for improving the quality of these display units. LEDs with much higher light intensity and a longer life have been developed now, …
RESEARCHERS report that discovery of an unique chemical process could lead to the development of new semiconduc- tors and revolutionise the future of commercial computers. Scientist at the Research & Technology Department of the us Naval surface Warfare Centre in White Oak, GerA have found a new way to quality …
JAPANESE robots are getting better and better. Among the many showpiece robots is the one recently released by the NEC. It is a snake-like robot which can worm its way into tight spaces, such as collapsed buildings or nuclear power stations where more conventionally designed robots have not much use. …
While the last few years has seen a revolution in optoelectronks, there have been several stumbling blocks too. One such obstacle is the integration of optical components with silicon microchips. But scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, may have come up with a solution finally (Science, Vol 268). The …
Large, flat television screens, up to 127 cm in the diagonal, that can be hung on the wall may soon be available. Japan-based Sony and an American electronics company, Tektronix, have jointly built a flat TV based on liquid crystal display (LCD) technology that can produce high resolution, high-contrast images …
Japan-based Fujitsu Ltd has developed the world's smallest magneto- optical, (MO) disc drive for use in laptop and computer notebooks. The drive, 140 by 101.6 mm and 17 min thick, weighs less than 300 grams, It has been developed for integration into portable computers, potentially replacing standard floppy disc drives. …
Microsoft Corp, the US software giant, has been given breathing space by the nation's Justice Department. The company, all set to launch its new, much-vaunted operating system, Windows 95 -- which is expected to create a revolution in the world of electronics -- ran into trouble when it decided to …
