Technology Quarterly
Cities on the ocean
Dec 3rd, 2011
Difference engine
Consumer electronics: Changes in technology mean that choosing a big-screen television has become more complicated than ever. Should you pay extra for 1080p resolution, LED backlighting or 3D? We crunch the numbers
Seasteading
Seasteading: Libertarians dream of creating self-ruling floating cities. But can the many obstacles, not least the engineering ones, be overcome?
Breaching the body's defences
Medicine: Researchers are developing a range of cunning techniques to smuggle drugs past the body’s natural defences
Inside story
Superconductors: A century after their discovery, superconductors are finally moving beyond scientific and medical uses and into power grids
Flywheels
Transport: After many twists and turns, flywheels are finding a new role as an efficient way to store energy in hybrid vehicles
Brain scan
David Gelernter, a pioneering computer scientist, foresaw the modern internet but thinks computers are still too hard to use
Monitor
Technology and society: The “maker” movement could change how science is taught and boost innovation. It may even herald a new industrial revolution
Multispectral imaging: A scanner that sees a wider range of colours than the human eye is unlocking previously illegible manuscripts
Technology and society: The old idea of human computers, who work together to perform tricky tasks, is making a comeback
Medicine: A computerised pathologist that can outperform its human counterparts could transform the field of cancer diagnosis
Sensor technology: Ultrasound is being exploited in a novel way to monitor corrosion at rusty oil refineries more reliably
Materials science: Researchers have devised a nifty way to measure the properties of viscous fluids, such as tomato ketchup
Innovation awards: Our annual prizes recognise successful innovators in eight categories. Here are this year’s winners
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