Ultrasmall machines are everywhere these days. Tiny mechanical devices, so minute that a hundred thousand could sit on a pencil eraser, are responsible for triggering your airbags during an accident, spitting colors out in precise detail on your inkjet printer and projecting light in the newest digital theaters. Made with the same silicon fabrication methods used to crank out computer chips, microelectromechanical systems (or MEMS) have over the last decade become well embedded in the high-tech landscape.

Select from the choices above to read the entire article.