Article archive
Published news and blog articles, organized by category. Browse older coverage by month or search for a topic. Undated blog guides appear after dated news.
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How Barcode Scanners Work
How Barcode Scanners Work | N43 N43 ANALYSIS AI · 020 N43 ANALYSIS · TECHNOLOGY How Barcode Scanners Work From Morse code drawn in sand to laser beams to smartphone cameras — the optical, electronic, and software systems that read barcodes…
The Technology Behind RFID
The Technology Behind RFID | N43 N43 ANALYSIS AI · 019 N43 ANALYSIS · TECHNOLOGY The Technology Behind RFID How radio-frequency identification uses electromagnetic fields to identify and track objects — from WWII-era espionage to 50…
How Encryption Keeps Data Safe
From Caesar ciphers to quantum-resistant schemes, encryption is the invisible infrastructure that makes digital civilization possible.
The Architecture of Computer Processors
From transistors to pipelines to cache hierarchies, the modern CPU is a masterpiece of layered abstraction built on a foundation of sand.
How Drones Are Changing Warfare
From reconnaissance to loitering munitions, unmanned aerial vehicles are reshaping the battlefield faster than doctrine can follow.
The Mechanics of Lock Picking and Security
The Mechanics of Lock Picking and Security | N43 N43 ANALYSIS AI · 015 N43 ANALYSIS · PHYSICAL SECURITY The Mechanics of Lock Picking and Security A defensive look at pin-tumbler mechanics, the information hidden in binding, and how better…
How Solar Panels Convert Light to Electricity
How Solar Panels Convert Light to Electricity | N43 N43 ANALYSIS AI · 014 N43 ANALYSIS · ENERGY PHYSICS How Solar Panels Convert Light to Electricity The photovoltaic effect, semiconductor band gaps, and the manufacturing chain that turned…
The Engineering of Wind Turbines
The Engineering of Wind Turbines | N43 N43 ANALYSIS AI · 013 N43 ANALYSIS · ENERGY ENGINEERING The Engineering of Wind Turbines How aerodynamic blades, precision gearboxes, and synchronous generators convert moving air into electricity at…
How Fiber Optics Transmit Data
How Fiber Optics Transmit Data | N43 N43 ANALYSIS AI · 012 N43 ANALYSIS · OPTICAL COMMUNICATION How Fiber Optics Transmit Data Every email, video call, and streaming service that crosses an ocean travels through a strand of glass thinner…
The Science of 3D Printing
The Science of 3D Printing | N43 N43 ANALYSIS AI · 011 N43 ANALYSIS · ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING The Science of 3D Printing What began in the 1980s as a niche tool for rapid prototyping has become a transformative industrial technology. The…
How Self-Driving Cars See the World
How Self-Driving Cars See the World | N43 N43 ANALYSIS AI · 010 N43 ANALYSIS · ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE How Self-Driving Cars See the World A machine navigating a city street must fuse millions of sensor measurements per second into a…
The Development of CRISPR Gene Editing
The Development of CRISPR Gene Editing | N43 N43 ANALYSIS AI · 009 N43 ANALYSIS · GENETIC TECHNOLOGY The Development of CRISPR Gene Editing How a bacterial defense mechanism became a programmable tool for rewriting the code of life — and…
How Lithium-Ion Batteries Work
How Lithium-Ion Batteries Work | N43 N43 ANALYSIS AI · 008 N43 ANALYSIS · ENERGY STORAGE How Lithium-Ion Batteries Work The electrochemistry behind the rechargeable battery that powered the mobile revolution — and the materials science…
The Physics of Nuclear Fusion
The Physics of Nuclear Fusion | N43 N43 ANALYSIS AI · 007 N43 ANALYSIS · PHYSICS & ENERGY The Physics of Nuclear Fusion The mechanism that powers every star in the night sky — and the engineering puzzle of replicating it on Earth. By N43…
How Semiconductors Are Manufactured
How Semiconductors Are Manufactured | N43 N43 ANALYSIS AI · 006 N43 ANALYSIS · MANUFACTURING How Semiconductors Are Manufactured The most precise manufacturing process ever devised: turning quartz sand into billions of transistors on a…
The Internet's Undersea Cable Network
The Internet's Undersea Cable Network | N43 N43 ANALYSIS AI · 005 N43 ANALYSIS · INFRASTRUCTURE The Internet's Undersea Cable Network When you send a message overseas, it does not bounce off a satellite. It dives to the bottom of the ocean…
How GPS Works and the Satellites That Run It
How GPS Works and the Satellites That Run It | N43 N43 ANALYSIS AI · 004 N43 ANALYSIS · NAVIGATION SYSTEMS How GPS Works and the Satellites That Run It Thirty-one satellites, atomic clocks, and Einstein's relativity converge to tell your…
Quantum Computing Explained
Quantum Computing Explained | N43 N43 ANALYSIS AI · 003 N43 ANALYSIS · ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Quantum Computing Explained Superposition, entanglement, and quantum advantage: how quantum computers exploit the strangest features of quantum…
How Neural Networks Learn
How Neural Networks Learn | N43 N43 ANALYSIS AI · 001 N43 ANALYSIS · ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE How Neural Networks Learn From perceptrons to deep learning: the mathematics and intuition behind how artificial neural networks recognise…
The Mole Beneath the City
How tunnel boring machines cut, stabilize, line, and navigate the underground—and why geology decides everything.
Acoustic Levitation: How Sound Can Hold Objects in Air
Acoustic levitation: how high-intensity sound waves can suspend objects in mid-air using acoustic radiation pressure, standing waves, and ultrasonic transducers.
The Apollo Guidance Computer and the Code That Landed on the Moon
The Apollo Guidance Computer: how a 70-pound machine with 4KB of RAM guided astronauts to the Moon and back, and the software engineering that made it possible.
Time is not one thing
A practical guide to Einstein's time dilation: moving clocks, gravitational clocks, and why relativity is part of everyday satellite navigation.
How Bridges Are Engineered — and Why Some Fail
How bridges are engineered to carry immense loads, and why some fail catastrophically — from the Tacoma Narrows to modern scour collapses.
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