JAYFORCE

Ali Hajimiri, a professor of electrical engineering at the California Institute of Technology, has created a chip capable of producing terahertz waves—radiation (or T-rays) that can penetrate materials such as plastic and wood without the side effects associated with X-rays. So far, T-rays have been used mostly in experiments in medical and dental imaging. But Hajimiri, working with postdoctoral researcher Kaushik Sengupta, got thousands of tiny transistors to operate in concert, producing T-rays from a smaller machine. When connected with a computer or mobile device, the 0.1 inch-wide silicon chip technology could help doctors locate skin cancer noninvasively, speed up passenger scans at airport security lines, scan suspicious packages at the post office, or find art hidden behind painted walls.

Aww, not quite what you were expecting? C’mon though. It’s still pretty cool tech, right?

– @ojones1

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