Say that three times fast!
Moore himself today has stated that he expects his own law to reach its limits within 10 to 15 years. For those who have never heard of Moore’s Law, it predicts that the number of transistors on integrated circuits will double every 2 years. And computer CPU’s have followed this pattern accurately ever since.
But as we reach the physical limits of our current IC technology (silicon, and now hafnium) this will become harder to follow. For instance, we’re currently at a 5 molecular layer gate in a transistor. You cannot go beyond 1 layer, so you reach your limit.
What’s next I hear you ask? Well the main contenders are quantum computers and the yet to be developed photon based technologies. As there is already a commercially available quantum computer, my money’s there. For now.
I read, with little surprise, that the demonstration of the Orbo device has been postponed indefinitely. The Orbo is supposed to be a perpetual motion machine capable of producing unlimited, free, clean energy. The website does not give any technical detail, only that a group of scientists are testing the device.
Results are slow going though, as these scientists “do have day jobs”. Come on, something that could bring the very foundations of all science crashing down around us? Is this not something these scientists would drop everything to test. Apparently not.
The device was due to be demonstrated at London’s Kintetica art gallery last week, but was cancelled as the heat from the lights on it caused a defect. Firstly, the fact that its being shown to the world in an art gallery as opposed to a scientific symposium says something. Secondly, you can get bulbs that redirect heat away from the target. Or use fluorescent bulbs!
To summarise. No demo. No technical detail. No results. No idea where the energy comes from. Basically, no idea. I’ve made my mind up, how about you??
Plans are afoot to fit a laser to a turret on the next Mars rover. It’s not there in case the little green men get aggressive, its there to extend exploration. Theory is that if there is life on Mars, it will be hidden away from the radition and harsh planetary conditions. The laser can vaporise pieces of rock to reveal what’s beneath the surface.
Now correct me if I’m wrong, but searching for life by “blasting” its potential habitat to dust doesn’t seem to right way to go. It’s like looking for moles in a field by blowing it up!
I’ve just been reading an article about how there are plans to run a superconducting power cable between Lower and Mid Manhattan. The idea is that it will provide a stable power grid capable of withstanding attacks. I remember seeing super-conducting in action when I was looking to go to University. And to see it actually being put into everyday, practical use is amazing.
Superconductivity, for those wondering, is where you cool a super-conducting material down to around -230 C. These materials are usually ceramics and at those temperatures the resistance falls allowing the material to carry more power. In traditional cables, there is a resistance which cause a drop in power. In the home, this is negligible, but power companies are only too aware of this problem. The distribution cables from the power station loses a significant amount of power in the journey from there to the sub-station, typically around 7.5%. Super conducting cables would pretty much eliminate this.
Other “future now” news I read was regarding CERN. New experiments are soon to go on-line which will generate 15 Petabytes of data a year. That’s an insane amount of data by today’s standards. We’re only just seeing 1 Terabyte drives are coming out for the home, and a Petabyte is a million times the size of that.
It’s weird seeing technology that was only dreamt of when I was a kid becoming reality. Or am I just getting old?
