Fibre Optics
Fibre optic technology
was first demonstrated in the 1840’s by Colladon and Babinet. Fibre optic tubes
refract light within glass tubes with little loss of light over the length of
the tube.
In 1880 Alexander Graham
Bell developed the technology to transmit voice signals over an optical beam.
Bundled together, fibre optic cables are immune to electrical interference
making them good for use in computer networking. Fibre optic transmissions are
also much harder to snoop and are therefore considered more secure.
Graphene
Graphene will
completely revolutionise technology. Created at the University of Manchester,
UK, graphene is a layer of graphite one atom thick. It is very strong, an
excellent conductor of heat and electricity and is predicted to transform
mobile devices.
Imagine a flexible cellphone or
tablet –or ultra thin strong condom. The Gates Foundation has given $100,000 to research the development of a super
thin and durable condom made of latex and graphene.
Cellphone Technology
The technology to
enable cellphones to communicate from a base station was proposed in 1947,
however the technology did not allow the phone to move out of range of the base
station
Personal Computing
Microcomputers
started to be mass marketed in 1977 and the name “Personal Computer” appeared
six years later when Hewlett Packard announced its 9100A personal
computer. Microchip technology has significantly reduced the cost — and
size — of the processor as its power increased and form factors became much
more compact.
Although there are
well over a billion PC’s in existence, smartphone and tablet technology have
started to become prevalent in consumer markets around the world.
Nano Robots
The term nano robot refers to
robots whose components are close to the scale of a nanometer (10-9 meters).
Imagine a tiny sensor intended to detect cancer, or to perform nano surgery.
Currently in research and development these robots have already been used to
deliver drugs to the correct part of the body in terminal cancer patients.
Satellite Communications
Satellite
communications allow TV, radio, data and telephone transmissions to be sent
anywhere in the world. Satellites are in orbit around the world, either moving
or geo-stationary relative to the earth. They are powered by solar cells and
batteries. They relay transmissions from one ground station to another via the
network of satellites.
Solar Cells
Solar cells convert light
energy to electricity. The photovoltaic effect was first demonstrated by
Becquerel in 1839. It has recently achieved a level of almost 45 percent efficiency.
A 5x5 ft solar cell could be screwed to the side of your house and meet all of
your energy needs.
The Internet of Things
The "Internet of
Things" refers to objects that can be uniquely identified with an
addressable system such as TCP/IPv6. IPv6 with its 128-bit address has scope to
have a unique address for every single item in the world. There are
approximately 3.4 x 1038 addresses available for use.
You could even give each of your socks unique addresses to ensure
that you will never mis-match them again.
Transistors
Transistors were
first developed in 1947 by Bell Laboratories and allow precise control of the
flow of current through circuit boards. A transistor is the active component in
almost all modern electronics systems. Moore’s law predicted that over the
history of computing hardware the amount of transistors in integrated circuits
will double every two years, influencing their impact on the evolution of
technology.
3D Printing technology
Creating a three dimensional
solid object digitally is something that the automotive and aerospace industry
has been using since the 1980s. Printers have become widely available
recently and are used to print anything from teapots to guns.
You can even buy your own 3D printer from Staples for $1299.
The Internet
The first message
was sent electronically between two computers was sent over the ARPANET in
1969. The World Wide Web as we know it with its linked hypertext documents was
proposed in March 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist.
Berners-Lee and
Robert Cailliau proposed the links to a web of nodes in 1990 – the year that
the first web site was completed.
these technologies have really affected our lives positively and they are well appreciated
Source: ZDnet
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