fulltimer56
03-15-2007, 03:23 PM
Star Trek tricorder becomes reality
Related Entries: Future Tech (http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/future_tech/)
http://blog.scifi.com/tech/pics/perdue_tricorder.jpg
How many times have we watched Mr. Spock (http://scifipedia.scifi.com/index.php/Spock) take a tricorder reading and furrow his brow? The handheld analytical device has stepped over the boundary between fantasy and reality thanks to researchers at Purdue University.
Their invention (http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2007a/070227T-CooksDesi.html) is a combination of two devices: one that sprays an object with ionized water vapor, and a miniaturized mass spectrometer, which detects substances. "The detection is done in an ion trap — an RF device that traps ions, then lets them out on the basis of their masses, enabling you to be exactly sure what compound you are sensing," says R. Graham Cooks, a professor at Purdue's College of Science. Because the 20-pound device performs the ionization step in the air or on surfaces, it is much easier to use than the 300-pound spectrometers used in airports. It has an onboard Windows-based PC (http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/2007/03/07/review_toshiba.html) that stores the results on its hard drive.
Potential earthbound uses for the real-life tricorder include detecting salmonella in food, disease markers in urine, and cocaine on a rolled-up bill. Two Indiana startups will market it. The original Star Trek tricorder (http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Tricorder) prop was designed by Wah Ming Chang, who also sculpted the phaser. Gene Roddenberry went out of his way to allow any company designing a working tricorder to use the name. — Al Boline
Via EE Times (http://eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=RYPKQB2TAGSVWQSNDLSCK HA?articleID=197800860)
http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/2007/03/08/star_trek_trico.html
Related Entries: Future Tech (http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/future_tech/)
http://blog.scifi.com/tech/pics/perdue_tricorder.jpg
How many times have we watched Mr. Spock (http://scifipedia.scifi.com/index.php/Spock) take a tricorder reading and furrow his brow? The handheld analytical device has stepped over the boundary between fantasy and reality thanks to researchers at Purdue University.
Their invention (http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2007a/070227T-CooksDesi.html) is a combination of two devices: one that sprays an object with ionized water vapor, and a miniaturized mass spectrometer, which detects substances. "The detection is done in an ion trap — an RF device that traps ions, then lets them out on the basis of their masses, enabling you to be exactly sure what compound you are sensing," says R. Graham Cooks, a professor at Purdue's College of Science. Because the 20-pound device performs the ionization step in the air or on surfaces, it is much easier to use than the 300-pound spectrometers used in airports. It has an onboard Windows-based PC (http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/2007/03/07/review_toshiba.html) that stores the results on its hard drive.
Potential earthbound uses for the real-life tricorder include detecting salmonella in food, disease markers in urine, and cocaine on a rolled-up bill. Two Indiana startups will market it. The original Star Trek tricorder (http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Tricorder) prop was designed by Wah Ming Chang, who also sculpted the phaser. Gene Roddenberry went out of his way to allow any company designing a working tricorder to use the name. — Al Boline
Via EE Times (http://eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=RYPKQB2TAGSVWQSNDLSCK HA?articleID=197800860)
http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/2007/03/08/star_trek_trico.html