The New York Times Circuits : How Electronic Things Work Book

	Acknowledgments	vii
	Introduction	ix
	Home
	Digital Cameras Where a chip replaces film	2
	Infrared Thermometers Seeing the heat	4
	Hearing Aids Sounds get sharper	6
	Camcorders Help for the jitters and shakes	8
	The TV Remote Don't touch that dial	10
	The V-chip Watching what gets watched	12
	Surround Sound Music gets real	14
	Stud Finders Electronic hide-and-seek	16
	Metal Detectors Treasure-hunting without a map	18
	Holiday Lighting A touch of Times Square at home	20
	Robotic Lawnmowers Taking over the yard	22
	Light-up Sneakers A surprise in every step	24
	Electronic Fences Keeping Rover at home	26
	Robotic Pets Man's new best friend	28
	The Singing Fish A gift that's more than skin deep	30
	Musical Greetings Cards with some smarts	32
	Computers and the Internet
	Digital vs. Analog Two ways to look at information	36
	The Chip In the heart of the computer	38
	Processor Speed A look at how fast is fast	40
	PC Crashes When bad things happen to good chips	42
	LCD Screens Getting all your crystals in a row	44
	Touch Screens A layered approach	46
	Retinal Displays Sending data straight to the eye	48
	The Mouse From hand to screen	50
	Touch Pads Control at your fingertips	52
	Modems Linking computers to the world	54
	Finding Web Addresses A numbers game	56
	Sending Data Coming and going in bunches	58
	Cookies Tempting tidbits for your computer	60
	Compressing Data How much is just enough?	62
	Compressing Music A wealth of formats	64
	Encryption The key to unlocking messages	66
	Flatbed Scanners Where analog turns to digital	68
	Inkjet Printers Building images, puff by puff	70
	Recordable CDs Burning with laser light	72
	Pagers Simple messages, complicated delivery	74
	Digital Pen A new way to write data	76
	Entertainment and Sports
	Bike Computers Counting each stroke	80
	Tennis Monitors The line judge that never blinks	82
	Snow-making Coming to the aid of nature	84
	The Virtual First-Down Stripe On-screen magic	86
	Bowling Alleys Beyond the pin spotter	88
	Sailboat Racing Technology at the tiller	90
	Laser Tag Old game, new approach	92
	Betting Systems Keeping track of all the action	94
	Pinball Machines The comfort of old technology	96
	Music Kiosks Custom CDs while you wait	98
	MIDI Music boiled down to the basics	100
	Concert Hall Acoustics Applying science to art	102
	Capturing Motion Cartoons get more lifelike	104
	3-D Movies More than just funny glasses	106
	Laser Shows Melding music and light	108
	Personal Tracking Device Keeping tabs on the kids	110
	Business and Industry
	The Global Positioning System Help from on high	114
	Wind Generators Air power	116
	Fuel Cells A battery that won't die	118
	The Power Grid Getting electrons from here to there	120
	Oil Drilling A kinder and gentler industry	122
	Fast Food Tracking everything from soup to nuts	124
	Sewer Robots Stringing cable down under	126
	Surveying Tools Accuracy gets an upgrade	128
	Machine Vision A watch on the line	130
	Face Recognition Feature-by-feature comparisons	132
	Postal Technology Computers help move the mail	134
	Bill readers Telling real from counterfeit	136
	A.T.M.'s Money from a machine	138
	Smart Elevators A smoother, quicker ride	140
	Smart Plumbing Look, Ma, no hands	142
	Bar Codes The symbols of commerce	144
	Scanners Adding it up at the supermarket	146
	Moving Images It's all in the lens	148
	Electronic Ink Displays that are paper-thin	150
	Recycling Tools for sorting the trash	152
	The Radio Spectrum Crowded airspace	154
	Transportation
	Driving Simulator Virtual thrills and spills	158
	Night Vision Military technology for the car	160
	Stronger Headlights A clear look at the road ahead	162
	Electronic Tolls Paying as you go, wirelessly	164
	Synchronized Lights Coordinating the flow of traffic	166
	Speeding Up Mass Transit Express buses roll on	168
	Flight Recorders Offering clues when things go wrong	170
	Emergency Beacon Watch A panic button for pilots	172
	Science and Health
	Earth-Observing Satellites A view from above	176
	Radar Mapping Bouncing signals off the ground	178
	A Space Dust Collector Bringing it back home	180
	Ion Propulsion From science fiction to fact	182
	Weather Radar An eye on troubled skies	184
	Sensor Fish Bumped and battered in the name of science	186
	Satellite Tracking Finding out when the cows come home	188
	A Camera in a Pill A fantastic voyage through the body	190
	Remote-Control Surgery At work in tight spots	192
	Laser Vision Correction Better sight for tired eyes	194