When will sci-fi tech become real? Sooner than you think

CNN ^ | March 25, 2011 | Doug Gross

[EveningStar]

Growing up, physicist Michio Kaku had two heroes.

The first, predictably enough for the man who co-founded a branch of string theory, was Albert Einstein.

"Second?" he said. "I used to watch 'Flash Gordon.' "

Kaku, author of the new book "Physics of the Future: How Science Will Change Daily Life by 2100," combines those two loves on the Science Channel, where he hosts "Sci Fi Science" and a tech-themed segment introducing reruns of sci-fi series "Firefly," which airs at 10 p.m. ET Sundays.

[KevinDavis]

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

True. They would have plowed into the ground. But "Ghost drivers on the ground" just doesn't have the same ring.

Flying cars are one of those concepts that sounds neat until you factor in the driver and multiply by a few million.

[jim-x]

Moller SkyCar

[Melas]

Yep, no lanes in the sky. I’m frustrated enough by old guys in hats on the road. They’d be terrors in the air.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

We already have personal communicators.

[Vince Ferrer]

Someday, cell phones will be feasible.

[Sacajaweau]

We just need them really, really little so we can pin them on our shirts instead of having to put them in our pocket.

[Sacajaweau]

3.98 was a Huge amount of money back then...

Wish I had saved all my 1 cent baseball cards. Who knew??

[urtax$@work]

... My laptop ....

it is not the prevelant method .....yet.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I would prefer a transporter.

Just think of all the time you would save.

:Bzzz:

Office.

:Bzzz:

Home

:Bzzz:

Friends house in another country

:Bzzz:

It just turned you inside out

Oh well... no technology is perfect. :)

[Sacajaweau]

I said “Beam Me”...not “Bean Me”.

[x]

Compared to the world I was born into in 1964, the world has gone very much sci fi in some respects.

Well, now that everyone has a tricorder, and a smaller one than Spock's, you could say that today's world has outdone science fiction.

But I'll reserve judgment until I get my own phaser.

Laser pointers don't count (unless you can set them on "stun" and "kill."

[oh8eleven]

Wish I had saved all my 1 cent baseball cards. Who knew??
Except for a handful, all our baseball cards are now worth .... 1 cent. Ebay totally destroyed the market.

[AFreeBird]

MacBook Air has no moving parts that I’m aware of. Unless you count the hinge of the screen. Well, there might be a fan. But no spinning HDD.

[listenhillary]

Can your fantasy crap and try living in the real world! Comics are for idiots and those under 5.

dalereed

[Riley]

Laser pointers don't count (unless you can set them on "stun" and "kill."

Phasers may be a case of an imperfect vision. A decent automatic has the advantage of not drawing a visible line straight to the shooter.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

It’s the buttons and the screens that make them big. Just get rid of those.

I had one of the old brick phones 20 years ago. The new ones seem small to me. ;)

[oh8eleven]

Can your crap or I'll have a “welcome wagon” stop by from Pendleton to brighten up your day.

[Riley]

The pic may be a grumpy old man, but you have to admit that he’s stylin’ in that hat.

[KevinDavis]

There is nothing wrong with fantasy.. A lot of fantasy has turned into reality..