We're Living in The Future!
Apr. 18th, 2008 09:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sinanjuA pointer from Instapundit leads to a link here. It's the abstract of a paper regarding the use of nanotechnology to control the spin of a single electron within a carbon nanotube--an artificial atom, in effect--to replace a conventional semi-conductor transistor. Or in other words, it could function as magnetic memory in a computer.
It's the 21st century, people. We're living in the future. No, there's an appalling* lack of personal jetpacks and flying cars, but in many other ways the world is more futuristic than I ever imagined it would be back when I was a kid. I remember reading Engines of Creation many years ago (not as a kid, long after I was grown) and marveling at the idea of nanotechnology and how it migh revolutionize life on earth. I also remember reading a lot of things that poo-pooed the concept as pie-in-the-sky dreaming with no connection to reality.
And to be fair, a lot of thing written about nanotech no doubt were just that. It's not magic. It has limits, especially now at the beginning. But over the years lately I've seen more and more innovations seeping into my awareness, innovations based on the use of nanotech. No single huge breakthrough, but in dribs and drabs it's beginning to show up in different fields, showing amazing possibilities.
Very cool. I like living in the future.
*Or, you know, maybe not so much appalling as worthwhile. You know how bad many drivers are. Do you really want them flying over your city, or your house, or you?
It's the 21st century, people. We're living in the future. No, there's an appalling* lack of personal jetpacks and flying cars, but in many other ways the world is more futuristic than I ever imagined it would be back when I was a kid. I remember reading Engines of Creation many years ago (not as a kid, long after I was grown) and marveling at the idea of nanotechnology and how it migh revolutionize life on earth. I also remember reading a lot of things that poo-pooed the concept as pie-in-the-sky dreaming with no connection to reality.
And to be fair, a lot of thing written about nanotech no doubt were just that. It's not magic. It has limits, especially now at the beginning. But over the years lately I've seen more and more innovations seeping into my awareness, innovations based on the use of nanotech. No single huge breakthrough, but in dribs and drabs it's beginning to show up in different fields, showing amazing possibilities.
Very cool. I like living in the future.
*Or, you know, maybe not so much appalling as worthwhile. You know how bad many drivers are. Do you really want them flying over your city, or your house, or you?
