Webtagr - Technology News Summarizer

The Rise and Fall of Self-Illuminating Technology: From Radium Girls to Tritium

2025-03-08

This article chronicles the century-long history of self-illuminating technology, from the early 20th-century discovery of radium's luminescence to the tragic story of the 'Radium Girls' and the subsequent rise and fall of tritium-based light sources (GTLS). Wartime demand fueled radium's use, but led to devastating health consequences. Tritium eventually replaced radium, with GTLS becoming a dominant application, but stricter regulations and technological advancements ultimately caused the industry's decline as safer alternatives emerged. The article also explores differences in radioactive material regulation across countries and the handling of radioactive waste.

From PhoneNet to G.hn: A History of Home Networking

2025-02-13

This article traces the evolution of home networking technologies from PhoneNet in the 1980s to G.hn today. PhoneNet, using phone lines for low-speed AppleTalk networks, pioneered home networking. HomePNA followed, leveraging pulse position modulation and QAM to increase speeds and attempting centralized networking in multi-unit dwellings. Finally, G.hn emerged as a more versatile standard, supporting phone lines, coaxial cables, powerlines, and fiber, finding widespread use in set-top boxes. While WiFi's rise has diminished reliance on these technologies, they remain relevant in embedded systems and ISP infrastructure.

The Evolution of USB On-The-Go: From Chaos to Elegance

2025-01-07

This article traces the evolution of USB On-The-Go (OTG) technology. Starting with the limitations of the host-device architecture in USB 1.1, mobile devices struggled to act as both host and device. The Nokia 770 exemplifies this, requiring special adapters for host functionality. The USB OTG specification addressed this, but inconsistent implementations, such as misuse of AB connectors, arose. USB-C ultimately largely solved many OTG issues with its symmetrical interface and more elegant dual-role mechanism, yet edge cases and compatibility problems persist.