Word: ares
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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The miniaturization of technology, having made extraordinary progress in the 40 years since the invention of the transistor, is about to make another shrinking leap. Adapting the chipmaking equipment used to squeeze millions of electrical circuits onto slivers of silicon, researchers are creating a lilliputian tool chest of tiny moving...
Welcome to the world of microtechnology, where machines the size of sand grains are harnessed to do useful work. Huge numbers of microscopic sensors are already employed to measure the temperature, air pressure and acceleration of airplanes and automobiles. Delco Electronics alone sells 7 million silicon pressure sensors a year...
Engineers and industrialists are rushing to put the new technologies to use. M.I.T. has invested $20 million in a new fabrication facility for micromachining and microelectronics. Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry is considering allocating nearly $70 million for the development of medical microrobots. "I'm absolutely amazed...
Now these breakthrough products look hopelessly oversize. Last month Compaq unveiled a 2.2-kg (6-lb.) full-powered portable computer that fits in a briefcase. Sharp and Poqet make even smaller models that slip into a suit pocket. Today there are fax machines, radar detectors, electronic dictionaries, cellular telephones, color...
With the advent of silicon gears, springs and cantilevers, machines will become smaller still. These miniature moving parts can be etched on silicon using a variation on the photolithographic technique used to make computer chips. To build a tiny rotating arm, for example, layers of polysilicon and a type of...