MicroElectoMechanical Systems (wiki). Yep, these little suckers are going to be big one day, so to speak. I found a page full of examples of gears, racks, mirrors, shutters and drive trains all in beautiful electron microscope vision.
What is it? Well, Wikipedia has this to say about them and quite frankly it does a good job:
MEMS generally range in size from a micrometer (a millionth of a meter) to a millimeter (thousandth of a meter). At these size scales, the standard constructs of classical physics do not always hold true. Due to MEMS’ large surface area to volume ratio, surface effects such as electrostatics and wetting dominate volume effects such as inertia or thermal mass.
They are fabricated using modified semiconductor fabrication technology (used to make electronics), molding and plating, wet etching (KOH, TMAH) and dry etching (RIE and DRIE), electro discharge machining (EDM), and other technologies capable of manufacturing very small devices.
Companies with strong MEMS programs come in many sizes. The larger firms specialize in manufacturing high volume inexpensive components or packaged solutions for end markets such as automobiles, biomedical, and electronics. The successful small firms provide value in innovative solutions and absorb the expense of custom fabrication with high sales margins. In addition, both large and small companies work in R&D to explore MEMS technology. Complexity and performance of advanced MEMS based sensors are described by different MEMS sensor generations.
I do know that there are some of these wonderful devices in the new Nintendo Wii (shameless plug, can’t fault a man for trying to get some extra cash can you?).
(image Courtesy of Sandia National Laboratories, SUMMiTTM Technologies, www.mems.sandia.gov)
Sandia MEMS: Image Gallery
Looks like a fine idea to me, I’d love to be able to sweep a scanner over a stack of papers and find out if a lost report is in it. Oh yeah, don’t let the title of the post fool you. That ‘
Wow, these kits bring back some good memories. When I was a kid my dad used to buy these all the time. I was too young to solder but I could plug stuff in the box. I’m not sure if he built all the kits that he bought, I remember him saying they were a good source of parts. At least I know where I got that trait from. 🙂
Ah, there is nothing quite like the thrill of hacking up an expensive digital camera and undoing what engineers spent countless hours fixing. I’m referring to the filter that cuts down the infrared wavelength light that strikes the image sensor. You see, if you don’t filter out the IR your images tend ot be washed out. Now this is fine if you just want to take the same old boring pictures that everyone else does. If you don’t, then this hack is for you. Once you have done this you can make some very cool looking photos by shooting through what to the naked eye looks to be a solid sheet of plastic. That plastic is a filter that only passes infrared light. Grass and leaves look white, dark clothing looks gray, the sky is black… The effect is stunning.
You know, nothing says ‘Fourth of July’ like rockets shooting out of the pool!
Ok, not exactly a weekend project but you could build this in about three of them. The results would be an impressive addition to any mad scientist’s lab.