Mathematics

Here's small exercise in arithmetic from an interesting article on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) in the Summer 2006 issue of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society magazine:

Hewlett-Packard, Mitsubishi, Samsung and Toshiba make some of the largest and most realistic rear-projection high-definition television (HDTV) sets on the market. The next time you pass one, stop and consider this: the picture you see is controlled by one of the most complex mechanical devices ever made. Behind the screen lies a Digital Light Processor (DLP) from Texas Instruments. Although only .65 inches on a side, the DLP contains more than two million individually hinged and digitally activated mirrors, each one-fifth the width of a human hair.

So, here's the problem to be solved: according to the statement above, how thin is a human hair?

Does Sudoku relate to real math? Read this IEEE article and decide for yourself.

Avoiding Armageddon... it was a great movie, but it looks like we have a new way to deflect Earth killing asteroids. Some space wizards figured out that if you put a space vehicle near the asteroid, the space vehicle will apply microgravity to the asteroid. If applied far enough in advance, you could use this micro gravitation beam to pull the asteroid off course. Now that's saving the world!

Ever wonder how they make those neat laser etched crystals? Recently, I took the time to learn how the process works.

When will we be able to travel at the speed of light? Apparently, if we can find something moving at nearly the speed of light, we can hop right out in front of it and ride the wake like so many dolphins in front of a ship. Check out this podcast and this article to learn more.