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Get Ready For ... Nanosoccer!
DeviceGuru writes "For the past few years, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology has been sponsoring nanosoccer — a new team sport for universities with programs in micro-electro-mechanical systems. The soccer nanobots, operated by human players via remote-controlled magnetic fields and electrical signals, slide tiny discs around on a 30mm x 30mm playing field. Two demonstration competitions have already been held, and a third one is slated to take place next summer in Austria at RoboCup 2009."
it really is pretty impressive (FTFA):
Sixteen nanosoccer playing fields are built onto a single silicon chip (photo above-left) thatâ(TM)s roughly the size of a quarter. The the playing-field chip is mounted on a small circuit board assembly, along with interface connectors .
Each nanosoccer âoeballâ (photo at right) consists of a silicon dioxide disk approximately the size of a red blood cell, NIST says. Each disk has a T-shaped marking, to help the human players locate it on the playing field. The three small circles correspond to a set of tiny bumps on the bottom of the disk; these reduce friction, making it easier for the disks to slide across the playing field.
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As a ps, there are 16 'fields' built into a chip which measures under 30mm x 30mm - each field is significantly smaller than the summary gives the impression of, at about 2.5mm across (although the article's not exactly clear either).
Is crushing a suspect's child's testicles illegal?
John Yoo: "No, [if] the President thinks he needs to do that."
It may be impressive, but it's not nano : "Generally nanotechnology deals with structures 100 nanometers or smaller, and involves developing materials or devices within that size."
From FTA : "The tiny nanobots ... measure from a few tens of micrometers to a few hundred micrometers, NIST says."
So, that's 3 orders of magnitude off. Microsoccer. But not nanosoccer. And the physics is rather different on those scales.
As the old saying goes:
Give a man a fire, and he will be warm for the rest of the night.
Set a man on fire, and he will be warm for the rest of his life.
Coz eternity my friend, is a long *ing time.
What? That was Dr Farnsworth when his horse lost in a quantum finish.
http://www.clipstr.com/videos/FuturamaAQuantumFinish/
It doesn't even make sense for a chess game.
What if Tetris was invented by Nazis?