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Online with the blink of an eye and other marvels in our future
LA Times ^ | 6/3/11 | Amina Khan

Posted on 06/04/2011 9:42:48 PM PDT by LibWhacker

The theoretical physicist and author of 'Physics of the Future' talks about how nanotechnology will change our lives.

Will the future bring us the teleportation devices of "Star Trek" or the sinister machines of "The Matrix"? Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku of the City College of New York says that many of the things that were once the domain of science fiction — cars that navigate rush-hour traffic on their own, wallpaper that can switch colors when you remodel, an elevator that takes you into outer space — are already here, or well on their way. His book "Physics of the Future," published in March, looks at how the advancement of our understanding of the laws of physics will transform computers, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, space travel and the very ways in which we experience the world.

Why do computers seem to get stronger, faster and sexier every year?

What's driving this huge explosion is Moore's law. Moore's law simply says computer power doubles every 18 months, almost like clockwork. That's why the number of genes we can sequence doubles about every year and a half.

But silicon cannot sustain its computability down to the atomic scale. When you cram that many transistors into a chip that's smaller than a fingernail, it gets so hot that the chip melts. So it does mean computer power will slow down. If that progress stagnates, it will stunt the growth of the Internet, and of the economy. The world economy depends on that growth. After 20 years, Silicon Valley could become a rust belt.

We physicists are trying to create the post-silicon era — atomic computers, quantum computers, DNA computers, protein computers — but none of them are really ready for prime time yet.

How do you see technology affecting our everyday lives decades into the future?

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Computers/Internet; Science
KEYWORDS: artificial; biotechnology; computers; future; intelligence; law; michiokaku; moores; nanotechnology; physics; space

1 posted on 06/04/2011 9:42:54 PM PDT by LibWhacker
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To: LibWhacker

If you want to see marvels, wait till the Lord returns.


2 posted on 06/04/2011 9:58:58 PM PDT by beethovenfan (If Islam is the solution, the "problem" must be freedom.)
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To: LibWhacker

Remember back in the late 50s when scientists said that we would have flying cars in the year 2010?

I remember too.


3 posted on 06/04/2011 10:02:11 PM PDT by Soothesayer9
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To: Soothesayer9
Standing tough under stars and stripes
We can tell
This dream's in sight
You've got to admit it
At this point in time that it's clear
The future looks bright
On that train all graphite and glitter
Undersea by rail
Ninety minutes from New York to Paris
Well by seventy-six we'll be A.O.K.

What a beautiful world this will be
What a glorious time to be free

Get your ticket to that wheel in space
While there's time
The fix is in
You'll be a witness to that game of chance in the sky
You know we've got to win
Here at home we'll play in the city
Powered by the sun
Perfect weather for a streamlined world
There'll be spandex jackets one for everyone

What a beautiful world this will be
What a glorious time to be free

On that train all graphite and glitter
Undersea by rail
Ninety minutes from New York to Paris
(More leisure time for artists everywhere)
A just machine to make big decisions
Programmed by fellows with compassion and vision
We'll be clean when their work is done
We'll be eternally free yes and eternally young

What a beautiful world this will be
What a glorious time to be free

---"I. G. Y." Donald Fagen

4 posted on 06/05/2011 12:10:51 AM PDT by Erasmus (I love "The Raven," but then what do I know? I'm just a poetaster.)
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To: LibWhacker
What does America really want and need”

A car that is easy to get into and out of without being a land barge.

Toilet seats that are comfortable and disposable.

Shoes that are adjustable without touching them.

Doctors who were willing to teleconference with patients so neither would have to travel to see the other.

Mail delivered 100% over an inter-net like system devoted to mail only.

5 posted on 06/05/2011 12:25:09 AM PDT by count-your-change (You don't have be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
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To: Soothesayer9

I want my jetpack I was promised.


6 posted on 06/05/2011 12:34:20 AM PDT by Cyber Liberty (Obama said OBL is dead I didn't believe it. Al Qaeda says he's dead and now I do!)
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To: beethovenfan
If you want to see marvels, wait till the Lord returns.

Billions of people have taken your advice, and waited... and waited... and waited... and died disappointed.

I'd rather look forward to the marvels which Science predicts - some of which have actually come to fruition during my lifetime!

Regards,

7 posted on 06/05/2011 2:02:32 AM PDT by alexander_busek
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To: alexander_busek
Billions of people have taken your advice, and waited... and waited... and waited... and died disappointed.

How empty one's existence must be with no faith except for faith in the works of man.

8 posted on 06/05/2011 4:59:50 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts (Treat me good, I'll treat you better. Treat me bad, I'll treat you worse.)
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To: LibWhacker

Mankind has such a fabulous possibility for its future. He is able eventually to make real anything he imagines in Science Fiction.

There’s just ONE LITTLE FLAW: the heart of man.

“The heart is deceitful above all, and desperately wicked. Who can know it?”

That one little flaw (sin) will bring our wonderful future and our struggling present and our violent past all tumbling down around our ears.

God has provided a remedy for the sin problem (The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to pay for our sins), but not many people (in terms of percentage) are picking it up.


9 posted on 06/05/2011 5:08:54 AM PDT by RoadTest (Organized religion is no substitute for the relationship the living God wants with you.)
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