Technology
Discover facts about technology. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Technology
A retailer refused to sell the PSP Go because it could not sell its games
In 2009, Dutch chain Nedgame objected to the handheld's download-only model as well as its price. Removing the disc drive also removed a reason for customers…
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Heavy spinning rotors store immense amounts of kinetic energy
A heavy rotor stores energy by spinning rapidly, like a mechanical battery. Suspending it on magnetic bearings in a vacuum reduces friction; when power is…
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Medical pacemakers utilize specialized lithium iodine cells
Solid-state lithium-iodine cells provide a slow, steady supply of power and are designed to last roughly a decade.
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How glitter reveals invisible water currents
In rheoscopic fluids, tiny reflective platelets align with the flow and catch the light, making invisible currents, vortices, and turbulence visible.
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Bubble Wrap was invented as textured wallpaper
The inventors pitched it as a space-age wall covering, but homeowners weren't interested; it found its calling as packaging instead.
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Why language apps make streaks hard to break
Streaks use small rewards and loss aversion: people keep practicing to avoid watching their progress flame turn gray.
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How a broadcast antenna sends signals through the air
An antenna sends signals by making electrons in its metal elements oscillate; their motion radiates electromagnetic waves through the air.
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A toy turtle fooled an image classifier into seeing a rifle
MIT researchers designed a 3D-printed turtle with a texture that caused a neural network to misclassify it across different views. A person could still…
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Subnet masks logically slice networks into smaller chunks
A subnet mask identifies which bits of an IP address belong to the network and which identify a device. That lets administrators divide a large network into…
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Spread spectrum signals jump across multiple frequencies
The transmitter spreads data across a wide band, often hopping through frequencies in a pseudo-random pattern. A receiver needs the matching sequence to…
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Even Task Manager can freeze
When a computer is overloaded, Task Manager can freeze too—leaving you unable to close the very program you opened to stop the freeze.
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Modulation manipulates carrier waves to hold data
Modulation encodes data by changing a carrier wave’s amplitude, frequency or phase. Those changes represent the zeroes and ones carried through the air.
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Sony made an e-reader before the Kindle existed
Sony's Data Discman launched in 1990, showing text on a tiny monochrome screen and requiring users to swap proprietary mini-discs.
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Giant underground rings smash subatomic particles together
They speed particles to nearly the speed of light, then study the debris from collisions—like smashing toy trucks together, but on a vastly larger and more…
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The museums preserving technology everyone forgot
The shelves preserve once-familiar formats such as Zip disks, Betamax tapes, and MiniDiscs—reminders of how quickly technology can become obsolete.
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Tape dispensers feature a serrated edge to break tension
The serrated teeth puncture the tape at several points, giving you a clean tear instead of a stretched, stringy strip.
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Why a treadmill can use more power than a fridge
A treadmill’s motor has to keep pulling the belt beneath your feet, overcoming friction as you run. That can make it draw more power than a refrigerator.
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Network jitter represents inconsistent signal delays
Unlike latency’s baseline delay, jitter is variation in packet arrival times. That inconsistency can make live audio and video skip or scramble.
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Lead solder was banned due to severe toxicity
Tin-lead solder was prized because it melted easily and flowed well, but lead's toxicity led to restrictions on its use in electronics.
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Glossy monitor screens act as dark mirrors
Glossy screens can make colors look more vivid, but without a matte anti-glare coating they reflect room lights—and your face—during dark scenes.
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Why duct tape fails on hot air ducts
The cloth-backed adhesive on duct tape can fail on hot metal ducts: heat can turn the adhesive into a powder, causing the seal to come apart.
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The early internet treated trust as part of the infrastructure
ARPANET grew among a relatively small community of institutions, before today's assumptions about hostile strangers online. Security weaknesses were already…
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Bloatware consists of pre-installed programs you never want
Some trial apps launch automatically, use your computer’s memory, and prompt you to subscribe before you’ve installed anything yourself.
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A habit doesn't arrive on a fixed deadline
A study tracking new daily routines estimated a median of 66 days to approach automaticity, with individual estimates ranging from 18 to 254. Repeating a…
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