Magazine: February/March 1997 - Technology Review

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TR: Feb/Mar 1997 PDF issue

Technology Review: February/March 1997

Unlocking the Legacies of the Edison Archives

150 years after Thomas Edison´s birth, his record of 1,093 diverse patents is still unrivaled. A massive effort to catalogue his voluminous collection of papers and artifacts is yielding clues to account for his phenomenal success.

It’s a Small, Small, Small, Small World

With the tools of the nanotechnology trade becoming better defined, the ability to create new materials and devices by placing every atom and molecule in the right place is moving closer to reality.

The National Ignition Facility: Buyer Beware

The federal government´s planned laser fusion center is being sold as an essential tool for preserving the aging U.S. nuclear arsenal. But that´s not what the taxpayer is getting.

Paint the Town White—and Green

Urban heat islands are not inevitable, but the product of dark roofs, black pavement, and loss of vegetation. A "cool communities" approach would lower air-conditioning use and make the air healthier.

Scientist For a Day

Elbow Grease and Discovery in the New Science Museum

First Line

Just Rewards

" I´d like to thank my producer, my crew, the cast, the studio, my wife..."

MIT Reporter

All the World´s a Page

More Bang for the Ouch

Trends

Virtual Assembly

Taking On the Common Cold

Kosher Sound

A Researcher´s Conviction

Forum

Time to Push Weapons Treaties—Not Block Them

Agreements banning chemical weapons and halting nuclear testing await Senate ratification. President Clinton and the Republican Senate need to rise above politics to pass these much-needed measures.

Columns

It’s Morning in American Industry

As business and government have responded to change and adopted new technology, declining competitiveness among U.S. companies has become a dim memory.