What Is The Next Big Thing?

I think the next big thing will be a new source of energy for consumer consumption as well. GM has sunk over $1 billion in developing its new hydrogen platform. Interestingly the same platform is used on the entire line....you can simply swap the chassis.

But the biggest impact this will have will be political. Once the demand for, or the supply of oil is gone, so is the income for the middle-eastern nations known to be supporting terrorists with this money. Somehow I don't quite think these countries are going to be able to survive on tourist dollars alone. Interesting times ahead indeed!!

Oh yes the big US oil companies will finally be up #e creek without a paddle........just desserts for their corrupt meddling in the quest for an alternative fuel.

I agree that the hydrogen power will really change everything. Thats why these big oil companies are investing millions and millions of dollars to produce alterative fuels. They know that their days are numbered and want to be at the head of the pack,

Originally posted by Aelita

a) Quantum Mechanics is a science that predates the transistor by 20
to 30 years and as such has been with us for a while.

That is not a relevant comparison. Quantum mechanics is a theory - transistors are manmade artefacts. Quantum mechanics as a theory is more than a hundred years old, but it's just in recent years that we are learning to make practical progress in this field of science. I believe that is what people here are talking about here, the development towards making artefacts that makes use of quantum effects.

I thing that combining technological advances directly with the human mind will become extremely huge within the next 15 to 20 years, just imagine knowing anything u want almost instantly or learning new skills and concepts at a blistering pace!

Read this:

www.space.com...

Originally posted by ufo3
I thing that combining technological advances directly with the human mind will become extremely huge within the next 15 to 20 years,

I think bio-technology will change the world as we know it. However, I think that 15-20 years is to be a bit optimistic. The development of the technology however raises a number of ethical, moral and philosophical questions. The day we can plug into cyberspace with our whole minds and live virtually within it, we are facing some major issues.

Originally posted by Viendin
Quantum Entanglement would allow instantaneous communication across any distances. You could speak across lightyears instantly, because that's how quantum entanglement works.

Really.....?
Damn, sounds like something out of startrek lol

Originally posted by ufo3
I thing that combining technological advances directly with the human mind will become extremely huge within the next 15 to 20 years, just imagine knowing anything u want almost instantly or learning new skills and concepts at a blistering pace!

Read this:

www.space.com...

Just reading your sentence, it reminds me of the borg from startrek

1) American Super conducter delivering 2nd gen high temp super conducting wire.
2a) Synthetic diamond Computer chips that run orders of magnitude faster.
2b) Synthetic diamond coating replacing teflon and coating of auto glass -
does not scratch.
3) Cheap method of obtaining titanium. Good for light super strong auto frames and such.

Let me just say one thing, Science affects most the thing that has not been touched yet.

Take Evolution for example, everyone believed in God, then one day Darwin said sorry guys but you are wrong.

Or take Einstein's relativity, everyone thought the world was same and then Einstein came and said no what you see is different for me.

Or Dark matter, astronomers used to say we have conquered about 90% of matter in universe, at least named them, then came dark matters saying "you forget something that is the biggest thing in the universe." (This one was my asto prof's one)

So probably what you guys think now won't even matter that much, because we already know something about, when the big thing happens you will shocked beyond your wildest imaginations.

Well if aliens don't show up and the govt isn't going to speak, then it will just be one tiny step. We will get optical computers and optical storage cubes and might get a movie like VR game console (no VR touch/sense), we will get hydrogen fuel cells but we will still have to pay for the hydrogen.

Any advances in solar tech will be made costly and force people to buy just another gas that will still vary in cost.

If they wanted to really make an advance that could be made to work today, it would be super/ultra capacitors with energy densitys and similar peak power as Li-ion but have about 1/6's the weight. It could charge as fast as the power supply could handle and be fully discharged in 10 seconds. You could just goto the gas station and connect a big plug in some where and wait 10+ seconds and be charged and ready to go.
You can short a capacitor and not damage it like you can with a normal battery.

Interfacing you brain with a computer would be one of the things I would love to see eventually. I hope I will be around long enough to see whats next around the corner and I just can't wait.

If we were able to interface even partially a computer into our own personal way of life, just think of the changes that would happen. If, for instance, I was able to have a computer screen in my contact lenses I would be able to see a user interface in a 3d enviornment and if I was able to train it to react to my thoughts I could just be laying down on my couch right now instead of typing this out while my laptop is about to burn a hole in my crotch!

We don't have to have the all out wonder invention come out to really revolutionizing us. Getting computers smaller and smaller by the day and being able to intergrate other things we use in our lives to them will really be what I see changing everything. You bond that principle with new wireless standards we could see advancements quadruple in years.

You think the internet changed the way we did things bigtime? Just think of what could be next.