Cutting edge technology

[ziga1980]

Hi,

hope this hasn't been discussed yet. I was thinking that we could use a thread where we post the cutting edge technology that exists in real life or is still in research and is going to be ready for widespread application in our lifetime (in about next 60 years). and not just scifi related tech, could be from any field of research (medicine, IT, transportation, space-related etc.). And please don't post anything it isn't backed by some sort of "evidence".

I believe it could be interesting, to have all sorts of cutting edge tech gathered in one thread.

Hope you like my idea

[Randy_Watson]

Speed of Light broken:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1965

[AvatarIII]

http://www.newscientist.com/
great site for sciencey news loads of bleeding edge tech

[ziga1980]

cool man, traveling faster than the speed of light....arriving before going thats even a better one. i mean if it will ever be available for general public that be awesome. imagine going on a "plane" and travel for a fracture of a second.

[Wraith_Boy]

Tbh I don't think 60 years is a viable source of time to be asking what will be!

Over half a century away is such a long time that almost anything could happen. We could be traveling around the galaxy in that time. We could have teleportation technology, we could have time travel. We could have stasis/cryogenic technologies. We could have cures to all the major diseases. Then again we still may have nothing in terms of major breakthroughs come 2070. Humans may not be around at that time if there is any sort of nuclear war.

It's more realistic to say a timeframe of 10/20 years.

[gopher65]

It's an interesting question, but difficult to guess. In 1930 I suspect that numerous people could have predicted the invention of some sort of math "computer" that could do calculations very quickly, allowing for great breakthroughs in mathematics. But would they have predicted Halo? Or the internet? Or rule 34? I might be able to say something obvious like: "By 2070 I think we will be able to manufacture carbon nanotubes and create superstrong materials that make trinium look like playdough." But what other discoveries and applications will hinge on the ability to mass manufacture any type of nanotube we want?

And that one is pretty clear cut. The more exotic the breakthrough, the harder it is to guess all the microapplications. And, just like one tiny facet of computer networking eventually spawned The Internet, which colours every aspect of our lives, I would bet that it will be one of those small insignificant impossible to guess applications for new tech that will change our lives the most.

[Ravroz]

You never know what the next decades will bring. I just hope that I'm still here when we figure out the secret to either hyperspace warp drives or some other kind of faster than light travel.

[P-90_177]

I don't really have anything to contribute, I just want to say, good thread.

[Morrolan]

Speed of Light broken:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1965

That was debunked a week ago.

Arstechnica

[SGFerrit]

That was debunked a week ago.

How? Where?

Edit: Doesn't matter, you've edited your post.

[IcyNeko]

Here too:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releas...-lst081607.php

German scientists. *scoff*

Anyway, I like where this thread is headed, buuuut.... new tech spawns all the time, so we'll have a bajillion entries (feasibly). :x

From slashdot today: http://technology.newscientist.com/a...puter-ram.html
Quantum-level RAM. Think of the possibilities.

[AvatarIII]

Cutting edge hydro power - http://technology.newscientist.com/a...ord-power.html

Real Life Tricorders - http://www.newscientist.com/blog/tec...-in-works.html

Paper Batteries - http://technology.newscientist.com/a...er-source.html

[ziga1980]

well what i meant with the thread is that you post whatever research you've found (or had been following) that you think could result a major breakthrough in the near future (say 50-60years or in our lifetime). you can also post your thoughts about future breakthroughs given todays research, theories (just not too wild), experiments and discuss it with other forum members.

personally i believe technology is the key to solving problems with terrorism. if we develop alternative fuels to power cars, planes, ships etc. we won't be dependent on oil therefore all interest in middle-eastern oil producers will be lost. not to mention this solves environmental pollution and global warming. so i expect major breakthroughs in those fields in the next decade.

and here's some reading material:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_fuel_cars
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_vehicle

of course i also expect major breakthroughs in IT and computer science. new better screens that can be rolled up and carried in pocket, i also expect combination of smart phones, PDAs, laptops in a single very small and compact device that can project image (on a surface) and eventually a holographic devices.

more about this:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...ure+technology
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNUXzEZJygc
and an image of the device i was talking about:
http://bp1.blogger.com/_Eg0TRbta00A/ReiX0oqVkXI/AAAAAAAAAB0/hUp8Tia3FnE/s1600-h/ILJIN_Single_LCD_Panel_2.jpg

some of the technologies i was talking about already exist but are not yet ready for massive production and wide spread application but in my opinion following and enhancing this tech can really change our lives in the next decade or so...

[gopher65]

and eventually a holographic devices.

Simple handheld holography is already here:
http://www.physorg.com/news106901189.html

It isn't very good yet, and it is still pretty heavy (1 kg), but remember what TV was like 50 years ago heh. I wonder how long it will be before we have holoprojectors in our homes like we do TV and radio? I don't expect TV to go away, just as the audio-only format wasn't killed by movies or TV (radios, CDs, MP3s). There are things you can do in 2D that just aren't possible in 3D (like some of the cool camera angle tricks).

[ziga1980]

just found some interesting articles:

invisibility cloak

and beaming/teleportation