Posts by: Mark Wilson

Contact lens that darken in UV light

Mark Wilson | Nov 12, 2009

The contact lens on the left contains photochromic dyes that darken in the presence of UV light. (Credit: Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology)

Photochromic lenses that allow you to walk from inside to outside without putting on UV-filtering lenses have been around for decades. But the technology is just making its way to contacts.

Traditionally, these light-to-dark lenses have been constructed by coating a normal lens with a photochromic dye. When UV light hits the dye, the individual molecules expand, darkening the lens and absorbing light. Coating contacts, however, doesn't work so well.

So researchers at the Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore have laced contacts with a matrix on nano tunnels filled with these photochromic dyes. Not only has the team been successful in producing transition contacts; these contacts darken in the presence of UV light faster than standard lenses (just 10 to 20 seconds).
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Filed under: Future Tech
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An iPod dock that stands almost a meter tall

Mark Wilson | Nov 03, 2009

(Credit: Wall of Sound)

For a stereo, the Wall of Sound isn't massive. But for an iPod dock, it's gargantuan.

Pitched as "the world's most powerful iPod speaker," the Wall of Sound is a US$4,500, handcrafted iPod dock with a stocky 3x4-foot (approximately 914mm by 1219mm) frame that weighs in at 225 pounds (102kg).
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Filed under: Home AV, Music & Play
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