Did you know a device considered by scholars to be the world’s oldest analog computer was created over 2,000 years ago? The device is officially named the Antikythera (ante-kith-er-uh) Mechanism. It was retrieved from an ancient shipwreck discovered in 1901 off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera. The ship is believed to be a merchant vessel that met its end around 60 [...]
The year is finally 2015. Do you know what that means? By October, hoverboards are supposed to be available to the general public, at least according to the 1989 movie Back to the Future II. I’ve been looking forward to this year since first saw the movie, but I’ve been told time and again that it’s impossible for various reasons, including the fact that [...]
In classrooms across America, teachers are being confronted with challenges to accommodate all students. According to a study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the average primary education classroom has more than 21 students. In recent years, the aid of assistive technologies has been brought into the classroom to ensure that all students can keep the same pace—specifically, students with disabilities. Kevin [...]
A tiny energy source that packs a surprising amount of power, nanotech batteries are becoming smaller and more efficient every year. Nanotechnology includes the design of systems and devices on a nanoscale. To put into perspective how small the nanoscale is, one nanometer is a billionth of a meter; there are 25,400,000 nanometers in an inch; and a nanometer is estimated to be about 80,000 [...]
Can you honestly imagine a world without technology? Well, some might have an easier time imagining it, but the fact remains that technology is so ingrained in our culture today that we wouldn’t even know how to live our lives without it. Despite this, most users don’t understand the foundations behind the programs and websites they use every day, though a consensus is [...]
As someone who has only been out of high school for three years, I can attest to the fact that students get distracted by their smartphones. I remember all the old tricks: texting while your phone was in your bag, sending covert Snapchat pictures from under your desk, asking to go to the bathroom so you could use your phone. Now, some schools [...]
L0057722 Artificial left leg, Europe, 1901-1940Credit: Science Museum, London. Wellcome Imagesimages@wellcome.ac.ukhttp://wellcomeimages.orgThis artificial left leg was made for someone who had their leg amputated above the knee. It is made from willow and leather. It follows the basic design established by the so-called Anglesey leg. This was named after the Marquis of Anglesey. He wore a leg made to this design after he [...]
As a child of the mid-nineties, I have had the joy of experiencing both the “old” and “new” sides of technology. In elementary school, I would store school assignments on floppy disks; in middle school, I made the transition to flash drives; and in high school, I started using cloud storage. I have lived the experience of wandering around my school’s library searching, [...]
Genealogical research techniques have evolved greatly from the Gilded Age of the late nineteenth century, where finding one’s roots was largely the province of wealthy families who could afford professional researchers. Goals from this endeavor, aside from making a record of one’s ancestry for posterity, included proving a royal or presidential lineage, or membership in an exclusive hereditary organization such as the General Society of [...]
Though we rely on computer code nearly every hour of every day, many of us take programming for granted, thinking that since we’re computer literate and can use software, that’s all we need to know about it. But those working behind the scenes are the ones making our computer literacy possible, and there is a growing need for them in our technologically advanced [...]