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PCB-Apr2016

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56 The PCB Magazine • April 2016 Quantum Computer Factors Numbers, Could be Scaled Up What are the prime factors, or multipliers, for the number 15? most grade school students know the answer—3 and 5—by memory. A larger number, such as 91, may take some pen and pa- per. An even larger number, say with 232 digits, can (and has) taken scientists two years to factor, using hundreds of classical computers operating in parallel. Building Living, Breathing Supercomputers The substance that provides energy to all the cells in our bodies, Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), may also be able to power the next gen- eration of supercomputers. That is what an inter- national team of researchers led by Prof. nicolau, the Chair of the Department of Bioengineering at mcGill, believe. Quantum Dot Solids: This Generation's Silicon Wafer? Just as the single-crystal silicon wafer forever changed the nature of electronics 60 years ago, a group of Cornell researchers is hoping its work with quantum dot solids—crystals made out of crystals—can help usher in a new era in elec- tronics. New ORNL Method Could Unleash Solar Power Potential measurement and data analysis techniques devel- oped at the Department of Energy's oak Ridge national laboratory could provide new insight into performance-robbing flaws in crystalline structures, ultimately improving the performance of solar cells. In Emergencies, Should You Trust a Robot? In emergencies, people may trust robots too much for their own safety, a new study suggests. In a mock building fire, test subjects followed instruc- tions from an "emergency guide robot" even after the machine had proven itself unreliable—and af- ter some participants were told that the robot had broken down. Investors Paying Closer Attention to Corporate Governance Strategies Poor corporate governance can lead to ineffective strategic decisions and a weak culture and man- agement that can ultimately lead to increased en- vironmental and social risks. For investors, such risks can destroy the value of a business, irrespec- tive of the attractiveness or price of its assets or its market share. The Future of Fuel Cells: Better-Performing and Less Expensive To the uninitiated, fuel cells are typically com- pared to batteries. The working principle of each is generally the same: a chemical reaction produces a quantity of energy which is then converted into usable electric power. But unlike a battery, you never recharge a fuel cell. you keep feeding it fuel and it keeps producing elec- tricity. Stretchable Electronics that Quadruple in Length EPFl researchers have developed conductive tracks that can be bent and stretched up to four times their original length. They could be used in artificial skin, connected clothing and on-body sensors. Emergence of 5G and Industry 4.0 to Ignite the Global Test and Measurement Market The ubiquity of connected devices and the ris- ing relevance of the Internet of Things (IoT) will provide a huge boost to the test & measurement market, specifically, the communication testing segment. China's Infrastructure Initiative Driving Financial Reform China's "Belt and Road" infrastructure initiative is an essential part of the country's domestic eco- nomic rebalancing and its outbound ambitions. The initiative entails investing billions of dollars into infrastructure such as railways, highways and ports that link mainland China and the dozens of countries to its west and south. Electronics Industry News market highlights

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