Compass Points Towards the West

Researchers from the Paul Scherrer Institute and the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (both in Switzerland) have discovered a remarkable magnetic phenomenon. This phenomenon appears at the nano scale and makes it possible to construct magnets with unusual configurations. This could come in useful for computer technology and for the storage of data.

New, energy efficient materials that can replace silicon are necessary to support the future growth of micro-electronics. Not only are the limits of Moore's Law in sight, but our digital ecosystem is increasingly using more electricity. So says Nicola Spaldin, Professor of Materials Theory from the ETH Zürich.

Computers writing their own software: according to Martin Vechev, Professor of Computer Science at ETH Zürich, that’s definitely not science fiction. Vechev is one of the founders of a field of research in which computer scientists aim to largely automate the programming process...

In modern information technology there is a clear task separation between the light particles (photons) that are used to carry data quickly and reliably across large distances, and the electrons, which in computer chips take care of the data processing. That we don't use photons for data processing is (among other things) because they are not as easily controlled as electrons. Because photons don't have an electric charge they cannot be controlled using electric or magnetic fields…

The idea is fascinating: when an information unit (in the binary world either a zero or a one) requires only a single atom or molecule, we would be able to store an unimaginable amount of data on a minimal surface area. And in theory this is even possible, because certain atoms can be magnetized such that their magnetization can only be in one of two directions: spin up or spin down. By combining a large number of such atoms or molecules, information can be stored...

The CMS-detector (Compact Muon Solenoid Experiment) of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva has recently received a 'heart transplant': this experiment has now received a new pixeldetector which, if it was compared to a digital high-speed camera, can record up to 40 million frames per second…

Researchers at the Institute for Biomedical Engineering in Zürich, operated jointly by ETH Zürich and the University of Zürich, have succeeded in measuring very small variations in strong magnetic fields with unprecedented high precision. In their experiments the scientists magnetized a water droplet in an MRI scanner. They were able to detect even the tiniest variations in the magnetic field strength inside the water droplet.

The PULPino open-source microprocessor developed by researchers at ETH Zurich and the University of Bologna promises to make it easier for designers at universities and in small companies to develop low-cost wearable devices and chips for the Internet of Things (IoT).