If We Can Send a Man to the Moon...
During a dinner with friends last night, someone wanted to show me a particular language translation app on his phone. First, however, he had to don his reading glasses, which led me to wonder aloud why some computer wiz doesn't invent a pair of "self-translating" glasses. In other words, you could put them on and look at words in one language and have them translated to another right on the lens. I have no idea how such a thing could work, but, then again, I have no idea how "Angry Birds" works. Still, it seems to me, such an invention is possible.
So the question becomes: what seemingly-possible invention would you like to see? I don't mean turning us invisible or transporting us to another solar system in seconds or creating a politically-balanced press, but something that seems plausible in the 21st Century.
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Sep '11
Re: If We Can Send a Man to the Moon...
High-efficiency fuel cells.
The concept of the fuel cell is simple: produce energy from a chemical reaction. The concept was first discovered in 1839, and has been "the promising technology of the next ten years" ever since.
The most efficient systems (called "combined heat and power", or CHP) could reach a theoretical efficiency of 80-90%. Could.
That, coupled with the dramatic impact of hydraulic fracturing in natural gas, would revolutionize electricity distribution. Instead of massive coal-fired or nuclear plants, with massive transmission lines across the countryside (and through your back yard), power distribution could be decentralized--literally, a gas-fed fuel cell inside the fence at every power company substation.
When people talk about the "smart grid," they're blathering. Utilities have very limited ability to re-direct power from one portion of the grid to another. Distributed generation by fuel cells would radically improve the reliability of the grid, and arguably reduce electricity costs.
But it all depends upon being able to efficiently transform hydrocarbons in natural gas into electricity. For that, we need high-capacity, high-efficiency fuel cells.
Mar '11
Re: If We Can Send a Man to the Moon...
*rummages in drawer for his Babel Fish*
Apr '12
Re: If We Can Send a Man to the Moon...
This is not that high tech, but I would love a cylindrical refrigerator, with shelves that rotate. That way, I would find the leftover Chinese food, avocados, and jars of salsa within days, rather than months, after they are pushed to the back of the shelf.
Feb '11
Re: If We Can Send a Man to the Moon...
Robotic legs (and some variations) as a replacement for all wheelchairs. I know it’s difficult to teach a robot to walk, but it seems like they keep making advances on this.
Nov '10
Re: If We Can Send a Man to the Moon...
A keyboard and/or screen that's a hologram.
Aug '12
Re: If We Can Send a Man to the Moon...
Hey! My first post. Glad to be a member of the Ricochet community.
All the talk these days in health care technology is about organ printing. While that certainly offers great promise, I think we can reap massive gains (and save in the long run on health care costs) in people being aware of certain ailments before they become truly costly via simple devices that can test our blood and/or our family's DNA for illnesses and risk factors. Not only is it already happening, but the march of progress in the power of computing only makes this more likely. Imagine going into a doctor's office knowing darn well what could be wrong with you!
Edited on August 4, 2012 at 6:22pmMar '11
Re: If We Can Send a Man to the Moon...
Welcome aboard, Reckless.
Apr '12
Re: If We Can Send a Man to the Moon...
I need a manslator, or translator from female logic to reach the male brains in my household. It could teach me how to communicate better in the business world too. Could run my emails through it first. Probably get my paragraph down to one sentence.
Dec '10
Re: If We Can Send a Man to the Moon...
*rummages in drawer for his Babel Fish*
42!
Edited on August 4, 2012 at 6:38pmJun '10
Re: If We Can Send a Man to the Moon...
Vegetables that taste like steak.
Dec '10
Re: If We Can Send a Man to the Moon...
Coffee repellant computer monitors. Thanks, Pat.
Apr '11
Re: If We Can Send a Man to the Moon...
That seems more akin to the transporter across the universe. Not possible in the foreseeable future.
Oct '10
Re: If We Can Send a Man to the Moon...
Aug '10
Re: If We Can Send a Man to the Moon...
Several years ago I had Lasik surgery to correct my nearsightedness. Now that I'm 50 I have to use those annoying reading glasses.
Seems like there should be a corrective surgery to fix that.
Edited on August 4, 2012 at 7:03pmNov '11
Re: If We Can Send a Man to the Moon...
Soon we'll all be wet-wired. Our iPhones and other electronic devices will be implanted and connected directly to our brains.
Via the universal network, we'll literally be able to see through other people's eyes, to feel what they feel physically and emotionally, to share their thoughts. We'll have instantaneous access to every smidgen of information available anywhere.
Universal access to infinite data and infinite data storage might seem to be great equalizers. It might seem that everyone would become a genius. To the contrary, slight differences in organic intellectual capacity will become even more significant, because it's still the meaty brain that does all the real thinking.
Some will resist this progress. They'll be considered antisocial renegade beasts. Although renegades living outside the network will not possess the mental powers cloudlife conveys, they'll remain difficult to manage.
Everyone is warned to backup essential individual data in his own organic brain, in case the network ever goes down. But to free up more of the super-valuable thinking space in the meaty brain, everyone ignores that advice.
Then one day the network goes down.
Of course, it's a love story.
May '10
Re: If We Can Send a Man to the Moon...
Pat, your post about glasses gives me an idea.
Screens might eliminate the need for reading glasses by distorting images to mimic the wearing of concave or convex lenses. The type and degree of distortion could be adjusted by the user, like one can adjust brightness and contrast on a TV or computer monitor.
The same image processing could be applied to any kind of glasses, though it might require batteries.
Such glasses would eliminate the need for most opthamologist appointments. And the capacity for on-the-fly adjustments by the user would enable adaptation to the common problem of tired eyes immediately before and after sleeping.
Mar '11
Re: If We Can Send a Man to the Moon...
When they work the kinks out of Project Glass and then fold in Google Translate you just may have those glasses, keep an eye out for prototypes in 2014.
Feb '12
Re: If We Can Send a Man to the Moon...
A flat screen, programmable bumper sticker.
Feb '12
Re: If We Can Send a Man to the Moon...
A membrane drum machine cover for the steering wheel that transmits to the radio. I can play along with the song.
Mar '11
Re: If We Can Send a Man to the Moon...
JM Hanes · 6 minutes ago
Once RFID tags become cheap enough retailers will add them to everything, you'll have that tracking soon enough whether you want it or not.