Word: switches
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...Research Center manipulated 35 xenon atoms on a nickel surface to spell out their company's logo. They have also fashioned seven atoms into a minuscule beaker in which they can observe chemical reactions at an atomic level, and they devised a working version of a single-atom electronic switch that, in theory, could replace the transistor. Though some of the achievements seem whimsical -- constructing a miniature map of the western hemisphere out of gold atoms, for instance -- such stunts demonstrate a technique that may eventually be used to store computer data on unimaginably small devices...
Such marvels, of course, will not materialize overnight. Cautions IBM physicist Donald Eigler: "The single-atom switch looks small until you realize it took a whole roomful of equipment to make it work." Still, computer chips the size of bacteria and motors as small as molecules of myosin are rapidly moving out of the world of fantasy and into the realm of possibility. "For years, scientists have been taking atoms and molecules apart in order to understand them," says futurist K. Eric Drexler, president of the Foresight Institute in Palo Alto, Calif. "Now it's time to start figuring...
...which they are built. Today most superchip makers are scrambling to bring their products up to that code. Meanwhile, a California start-up called Adaptive Technologies has introduced a nifty gadget that lets you drive around in your superchipped wheels and then, when it's inspection time, switch back to the original chip with a twist of the wrist...
...Controlled choice" plans, such as the one currently used within Cambridge, are ideal. In Cambridge's system, transportation for school transfer is funded, and the racial balance of each school is taken into account when deciding which students can switch schools. Unfortunately, other communities will be less willing to provide the resources necessary to guarantee transportation and establish the Parent Information Centers which help Cambridge parents make educated decisions...
...Woodford, 31, stayed on as assistant football coach after winning $15 million in 1989. He was going through a divorce at the time and gave half the money to his ex-wife. In Virginia a relatively modest $1.4 million win enabled Old Dominion University student Jeff Berry, 20, to switch from a business major to the career he really wanted: teaching...