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Technology Quarterly
Wind of change
Wind power has established itself as an important source of renewable energy in the past three decades. The basic idea is ancient, but its modern incarnation adds many new high-tech twistsDec 4th 2008
Also in this Technology Quarterly
Fresher cookers
Technology and development: The humble cooking stove is being overhauled around the world with the help of “user focused” designDec 4th 2008
Quiet, please
Military technology: Using rubber rather than steel tracks on military vehicles could reduce wear and tear on both soldiers and equipmentDec 4th 2008
A stitch whose time has come
Medicine: A protein extracted from cows’ blood could provide the best answer yet to the age-old question of how to sew up woundsDec 4th 2008
How green is your network?
Environment: Telecoms firms are reducing the power consumption of their networks, for economic and environmental reasonsDec 4th 2008
Moving images into the future
Entertainment: Digital-cinema projectors that use lasers rather than xenon lamps could lead to richer colours on the silver screenDec 4th 2008
A really secret ballot
Security: A variety of schemes to encrypt ballot papers should reassure voters and help to make elections more secureDec 4th 2008
Green iron
Environment: Treating industrial wastewater with scrap iron can be a cheap and effective way to reduce pollution from factoriesDec 4th 2008
Spinning a good tale
Medicine: A quantum-mechanical effect used in hard disks may hold the key to the development of a hand-held biology laboratoryDec 4th 2008
And the winners were...
Innovation awards: Our annual prizes recognise successful innovators in eight categories. Here are this year’s winnersDec 4th 2008
Small is beautiful
Computing: Netbooks are small computers that are cheaper and lighter than full-scale laptops. They have their merits—but do not ask too much of themDec 4th 2008
Let the sun shine in
Energy: Satellites that beam solar power to earth have often appeared in science fiction. Will they ever become reality?Dec 4th 2008
Marching off to cyberwar
The internet: Attacks launched over the internet on Estonia and Georgia highlight the difficulty of defining and dealing with “cyberwar”Dec 4th 2008
Surviving the exaflood
The internet: Predictions that an “exaflood” of traffic will overload the internet have been doing the rounds. But will it really happen?Dec 4th 2008
Masdar plan
Environment: Abu Dhabi has embarked upon an ambitious plan to build a zero-emission clean-tech centre in the desert. Will it work?Dec 4th 2008
Enlightenment man
Sergey Brin, one of the founders of Google, believes knowledge is always a good thing—and that more of it should be sharedDec 4th 2008
Offer to readers
Dec 4th 2008
Technology extras
TECHNOLOGY MONITOR: Greenhouse gases
Accounting from above
Two new satellites will monitor carbon dioxide emissions
Earlier Quarterlies
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Previous Quarterly
How to disappear
Advances in camouflage, concealment and deception are revolutionising an age-old art of warfareSep 4th 2008
The meek shall inherit the web
Computing: In future, most new internet users will be in developing countries and will use mobile phones. Expect a wave of innovationSep 4th 2008
Gas, gas, quick boys
Chemical sensors: A new nanodevice able to detect low concentrations of chemical agents could help to thwart terrorist gas attacksSep 4th 2008
Tailpipe power
Thermoelectric devices: Generating electricity directly from wasted heat is becoming more practical, in both vehicles and buildingsSep 4th 2008
Whirlybirds go green
Transport: Switching to diesel engines could make helicopters, and other aircraft, more efficient and less damaging to the environmentSep 4th 2008
The computer says no
Computing: Image-processing software could help to identify artists by their characteristic brushstrokes—and spot forgeriesSep 4th 2008
Liquid logic
Computing: Liquid cooling could improve the performance of computers, allow waste heat to be recycled and make solar cells more efficientSep 4th 2008
Following the crowd
The internet: The idea of “crowdsourcing”, or asking crowds of internet users for ideas, is being tried out in some unusual quartersSep 4th 2008
I, human
Robotics: They are staples of science fiction. And it seems that humanoid robots may make people feel more at ease than other designsSep 4th 2008
Virtual fencing
Electronics: A new way of corralling cattle, using satellite-tracking and warning signals rather than fences, is being tested in New MexicoSep 4th 2008
Armchair archaeology
Computing: Archaeologists are using free satellite imagery from Google Earth to make discoveries, develop theories and plan expeditionsSep 4th 2008
Moving pictures
Consumer electronics: High-definition video cameras are getting cheaper, but sometimes it is better to keep things simpleSep 4th 2008
Swallow the surgeon
Biomedicine: Tiny medical robots are being developed that could perform surgery inside patients with greater precision than existing methodsSep 4th 2008
Touching the future
Computing: Touch screens are becoming an increasingly popular way to control mobile phones and other devices. How does the technology work, and where is it heading?Sep 4th 2008
Home, green home
Energy and the environment: Even as housing markets in many countries collapse, demand is growing for low-impact “green” homesSep 4th 2008
Another green revolution
Most homes are in the developing world. They are going green, tooSep 4th 2008
The car of the perpetual future
Transport: Mass-produced hydrogen fuel-cell cars have been promised for a decade. Where are they?Sep 4th 2008
The frugal cornucopian
Amory Lovins began making the case for resource efficiency decades ago, long before it became fashionable. Now things are going his waySep 4th 2008
Offer to readers
Sep 4th 2008
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