Technology
Discover facts about technology. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Technology
How AI can forget one piece of training data
Because training data is distributed across a model’s mathematical weights, deleting one item isn’t like removing a file. Machine-unlearning methods aim to…
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A transparent OLED screen makes its own light
Each OLED pixel emits light, so the panel does not need the opaque backlight used behind a conventional LCD. Transparent regions let the background remain…
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How the internet could transmit the feel of touch
Haptic codecs are designed to compress sensations such as texture and resistance into fast data packets, a technology researchers are developing for…
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The satellite whose coverage can be reshaped from Earth
Eutelsat’s software-defined satellite payloads let ground controllers reprogram coverage, power, and bandwidth frequencies while the satellite is in orbit.
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Face ID stores a map, not your face
Face ID turns facial scans into mathematical representations rather than storing a photo; the data stays in a secure hardware enclave on the device.
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A surgical robot can send the force on tissue back to your hands
Force-feedback instruments on the da Vinci 5 measure interaction with tissue and convey push-and-pull forces through the surgeon's controls. That restores a…
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A Linotype turned keyboard strokes into solid lines of metal
Pressing the keys assembled molds for the letters and spaces. Molten lead alloy was cast against them to make a complete line of type, after which the molds…
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Why AT&T hid the answering machine
In 1934, Bell Labs engineer Clarence Hickman built an automatic answering machine, but AT&T hid the prototype. Executives feared that recording calls would…
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An early mercury lamp made red objects look nearly black
The Cooper Hewitt mercury-vapor lamp produced efficient light with very little red in its spectrum. Without much red light to reflect, red surfaces could look…
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Econet used a familiar plug for a very different signal
Acorn's school-computer network used five-pin DIN connectors, a shape also familiar from audio equipment. Its installation guide specified shielded…
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The woman who worked from home with a 1965 computer
In 1965, Mary Allen Wilkes worked on the LINC from her parents' home in Baltimore after MIT shipped the refrigerator-size computer there at her request.
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A president testified by video in the trial of his would-be assassin
After Lynette Fromme pointed a gun at Gerald Ford in 1975, her lawyer recorded Ford's testimony in Washington. Jurors watched the recording during the trial.…
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Wang's specialized computers lost ground to general-purpose PCs
The company thrived on dedicated word-processing and office systems, then faced a market shifting toward personal computers and common standards. Leadership…
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Soviet bugs read typewriters without listening to the keys
Hidden sensors tracked magnetic changes as an IBM Selectric’s internal mechanism selected characters. Electronics converted those movements into data and…
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Speak & Spell created speech with math
It used linear predictive coding to model the human vocal tract mathematically on a single silicon chip, synthesizing speech in real time rather than playing…
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London streamed performances before broadcasting existed
The Electrophone service connected subscribers to live theater and church performances through telephone lines and headphones. Public listening stations…
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The 1953 computer creatures that evolved
In 1953, virologist Nils Aall Barricelli programmed digital organisms on Princeton's IAS computer to mutate, reproduce, and develop parasitic relationships—an…
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The animator who threw his life's work into the Seine
In 1892, Reynaud hand-painted hundreds of frames on gelatin squares for his Théâtre Optique and pioneered synchronized sound and projected animation. After…
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Stolen code may have triggered a Soviet pipeline blast
The alleged operation involved a booby-trapped Canadian software package stolen by the Soviets; its altered controls supposedly helped cause a 1983 pipeline…
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A failed lightbulb helped launch modern electronics
Fleming's vacuum diode used a heated element and a second electrode to let current pass mainly in one direction. That made it useful for detecting radio…
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The plastic UFO cabins built for skiers
Finnish architect Matti Suuronen designed the prefab fiberglass cabins in 1968, but the 1973 oil crisis made plastic so expensive that his flying-saucer homes…
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A 1972 digital watch cost $2,100 and went dark between glances
The gold Pulsar displayed time in red LEDs only when its button was pressed. Keeping the display off saved battery power, so seeing the time required a…
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The first live satellite broadcast featured a song about a goat
Rather than a presidential address, the broadcast included a French singer performing a song about a goat.
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Why old tape drives had giant hanging loops
The loops hang inside vacuum columns that buffer the tape during rapid starts and stops. Without that cushioning, the delicate tape could snap.
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