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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Reducing the Heard"
Fully produced report in MP3 format:
48 kbps |
96 kbps
(90 seconds)
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READER SCRIPT
(DOES NOT FULLY MATCH AUDIO)
HONEY, I SHRUNK THE RADIO... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. NANOTECHNOLOGY HAS REDUCED US TO THIS: A RADIO THAT WILL FIT IN THE PALM OF A HAND--OF AN ANT. THIS DISCOVERY COMES OUT OF THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION'S CENTER FOR NANO-MECHANICAL SYSTEMS--A PLACE WHERE THEY LIKE TO DEAL WITH A LOT OF THE MINUTIA, SO TO SPEAK. THEY'RE STUDYING THE AMAZING POTENTIAL OF THE CARBON NANO-TUBE TO BUILD THINGS AT A SCALE THAT, UP TO NOW, COULD HAVE ONLY BEEN IMAGINED BY SCIENCE-FICTION WRITERS. THE WORKING RADIO THAT THEY CREATED IS A SIMPLE NANO-FIBER--OR TUBE--POSITIONED BETWEEN TWO ELECTRODES. THE VIBRATING TUBE ACTED AS AN ANTENNA, TUNER, AMPLIFIER, AND DEMODULATOR; IT WAS A FULL-BLOWN RADIO. ATTACHED TO SPEAKERS, THE FIRST TUNE BROADCAST INTO THE RADIO, WAS "LAYLA", BY DEREK AND THE DOMINOS. NOW, WHILE THE ANTS ARE GROOVING TO THAT, WE MIGHT MENTION THAT FUTURE APPLICATIONS OF THIS "NANO-VATION": TINY, RADIO-CONTROLLED DEVICES THAT TRAVEL THROUGH THE HUMAN BLOODSTREAM; ULTRA-MINI CELL-PHONES; AND INNOVATIONS THAT WE HAVEN'T EVEN THOUGHT UP YET. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
