"When you start dealing with a senior bunch of scientists trained in conventional physics and they see a young upstart with a miracle material, most say 'no, ' and they say it rather vehemently, " says James Collis , who evaluates technology for the logistics division of the Naval Air Systems Command and who has closely followed Branagan's work.
In 2001, for example, it canceled a naval program and ended up delaying by several years a technology that was proved effective in tests two years ago.
Putting even the highest-resolution bacteria-based cam to shame, the new 4-inch-square CCD features an array of 10, 560 x 10, 560 pixels, and was developed in conjunction with Semiconductor Technology Associates to aid the U.S. Naval Observatory's Astrometry Department in precisely determining the position and motion of celestial objects.