Technology helps the world advance
As humans it's in
our nature to investigate, innovate and
solve problems.
This curiosity means we make things, create things and
develop new technologies.
You can look back thousands of years for basic examples
of technology pushing civilization forward.
Most people don't understand the rapid change
technology has on their life...or the speed at which change
occurs.
For example, the following are the five 'Great Ages' of
human progress and their approximate duration:
Stone Age — 3.4 million years
Bronze Age — 2,500 years
Iron Age — 500 years
Industrial Revolution — 80 years
Information Revolution --- 20 years
You'll notice the length of each 'age' diminishes as
technology improves.
The computer industry calls this trend 'Moore's Law'. It
dictates that computer processing power doubles every 18
months.
You may have heard about
Graphene
:
200 times stronger than steel...
150,000 times thinner than a human hair...
More flexible than a sheet of paper
If you haven't, it's a newly discovered, very special
refined form of graphite.
It's a one-atom-thick sheet of densely packed carbon
atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice.
Take a look:
Put simply, it's a sheet of carbon atoms 150,000 times
thinner than a human hair.
Under a powerful microscope, it looks like chicken wire.
But what's so special about it?
Everything.
For starters, it's 200 times stronger than structural steel...
It's so strong you could suspend an elephant from a single
strand of
Graphene...
and the strand would not
break.
It's extremely lightweight too...
Soon, everything from bicycles and boats to aeroplanes
and cars could be made out of
graphene
composites
.
And when they are, their energy efficiency and durability
could skyrocket.
But that's just the beginning of what this new 'smart
material' can do...
Not only is it the strongest material researchers have ever
tested — it's also one of the besst conductors man has
ever found.
IBM has already created a graphene-based processor
capable of executing 100 billion cycles per second.
Researchers believe that in the future, a graphene credit
card could store as much information as today's
computers.
Be clear...
This one material alone could prove more
revolutionary than — and soon REPLACE —
plastic, Kevlar and the he silicon chip
Kiss goodbye to shattered screens!
In fact, it's such a breakthrough that the first two
scientists to successfully produce single-atom-thick
crystals of graphene were awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize
in Physics.
And for good reason...
In just two years, over 200 companies from a wide array
of industries have researched the magical potential of
graphene...
Scientists in the US and China are already using tiny
graphene-based probes to target and identify tumours in
live mice. They hope similar graphene-based particles
could shuttle cancer drugs to tumours...or even kill
tumour cells directly!
Engineers at Northwest University, Seattle, found that
specially crafted graphene electrodes could allow a
lithium-ion battery — like those found in your
smartphone or Toyota Prius — to charge 10 times faster
and hold 10 times more power.
And in 2011, chemists at Rice University, Houston,
created graphene-based thin films -- unlocking the secret
to incredibly flexible, super-durable touch screens and
solar cells that can wrap around just about anything...
The Smallest Revolution in History...
Down at the molecular level there's a lot of friction.
Particles can stick together really easily. This means new
and complicated structures can be formed.
Today scientists are experimenting with different
conditions to see what sorts of new molecular structures
they can create.
The results are astonishing.
Some look like thin wires...
Some look like pancakes....
Others look like flowers...
All these different molecular structures have different
properties.
And soon they'll change the way we live...
From solar panels you can spray onto your roof...to
computers and batteries so small they are invisible. From
mobile phones that you can stretch, twist and even imbed
into your clothing...they'll make stronger houses...tougher
cars...and even make us healthier!
Medical researchers are already looking at using nano-
particles to deliver drugs or hunt down cancerous
tumours.
Just imagine 'nano medicines' patrolling your body,
hunting down diseases and zapping problems as soon as
they arise...
Samsung have already said its flexible displays should
enter full-scale production later this year — and it expects
to have a dozen more graphene-based products on the
market within the next five.
IBM, Nokia and Apple are hot on their heels too.
Touch screens... processor chips... casings.... and batteries
in everything from PCs and HD TVs to tablets, mobile
phones and hybrids could be all made with graphene.
It could change entire industries... economies... and our
lives.
Imagine...
HD TVs as thin as wallpaper...
Smart phones so skinny and flexible you can roll them up
and put them behind your ear... and so durable you can
beat them with a hammer!
It's mind-blowing.
Imagine how our world — and your life — would change
if the batteries that run your iPhone... your Kindle... and
your laptop held 10 TIMES more power and charged 10
TIMES faster than they do now...
If you could eliminate breast cancer or prostate tumours
with a simple injection...or by swallowing a graphene-
charged pill...
If your house were strong enough to withstand a bush fire
— and your windows processed enough solar energy to
heat your home in winter and cool it in the summer...
If the car you drove were six times lighter and 20 times
stronger...
The effects would be staggering!
Fuel-efficiency would shoot through the roof.
People would live longer, healthier lives.
Cars and aeroplanes would be lighter, faster and safer
than ever before.
And electronics of every type would be launched into an
era of unprecedented growth and evolution.
This is just a taste of the cutting-edge innovations coming
in the Molecular Age....
... innovations that will reshape the future in the months
and years ahead... and it's starting now.
You're looking at a simultaneous eruption of
new-age technologies that will alter our lives on a scale
not seen for 100 years
All this technological change and innovation will
transform the world...
'Nano batteries' will charge your mobile in seconds...and
even power whole cities...
'Smartphones' will carry the computing power of IBM's
Watson Supercomputer...
A new era of computing mobility — none of the solid
rectangular things we carry now butt flexible, wearable
devices...
Hand held 'breathalysers' will diagnose disease in
seconds...
Bionic limbs with human fluidity and dexterity, but the
strength of Superman!
Spacecraft with the capacity to take us beyond our solar
system into places and worlds never explored...
Want to read more? Go to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphene
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