2020 – Page 85 – Impact Lab

2020 Predictions, Futurist, Great New Product, Inventions, Science & Technology News, Tom Frey

12 futuristic things that actually already exist

February 10, 2020

The future is now

As this list of items will reveal, the space-age electric future that we once only dreamed about is here. (Yes, right now!)

The speed at which technology is evolving and changing every aspect of our lives is astounding. Think about it. As Futurist Thomas Frey has pointed out, before 2007, our phones were…phones! They did not have the ability to stream every song in the known universe or tell us how to beat traffic on the way to the mall. And now? Your phone does everything. You use it to monitor and control your finances. It keeps you entertained in myriad ways. It checks your heart rate, how many steps you took today, and so much more.

In fact, many things that were once solely the dreams of science-fiction writers or only existed in episodes of The Jetsons are now basic parts of our everyday lives. Take a look at some of the crazy futuristic things that actually exist right now. And while you’re at it, check out these other products that will become “smart” in 2020.

Continue reading… “12 futuristic things that actually already exist”

Breakthrough Thinking, Energy, Engineering, Science & Technology News

New quantum switch turns metals into insulators

February 10, 2020

Artist’s impression of the dissolving of the electronic ‘traffic jam.’ The red atoms are different in their quantum nature and allow transport of electrons in their surroundings.

Most modern electronic devices rely on tiny, finely-tuned electrical currents to process and store information. These currents dictate how fast our computers run, how regularly our pacemakers tick and how securely our money is stored in the bank.

In a study published in Nature Physics, researchers at the University of British Columbia have demonstrated an entirely new way to precisely control such electrical currents by leveraging the interaction between an electron’s spin (which is the quantum magnetic field it inherently carries) and its orbital rotation around the nucleus.

“We have found a new way to switch the electrical conduction in materials from on to off,” said lead author Berend Zwartsenberg, a Ph.D. student at UBC’s Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute (SBQMI). “Not only does this exciting result extend our understanding of how electrical conduction works, it will help us further explore known properties such as conductivity, magnetism and superconductivity, and discover new ones that could be important for quantum computing, data storage and energy applications.”

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Energy, Environment, Green Friendly, Science & Technology News, Transportation

Hydrogen is a bad car fuel, but it’s the perfect boat fuel

February 9, 2020

Because boats are cars too

There are issues inherent with hydrogen as a fuel for cars. It is incredibly expensive and energy intensive to create, it is difficult to pressurize and transport, and the infrastructure for hydrogen as fuel is far less developed than battery electric charging. A few automotive manufacturers, chiefly Honda and Toyota, have hung their zero emissions program hat on the hydrogen peg, but it’s still a very small sliver of the automotive market. It’s pretty much only viable in a small area of Southern California near the fueling stations. As a car fuel, hydrogen straight up sucks.

Toyota and the Energy Observer are proving that hydrogen might be best served as a fuel for traversing the high seas, however. Toyota has adapted what it has learned from the Mirai hydrogen experiment to the Energy Observer, a former racing catamaran which now travels the world preaching the gospel of maritime ZEVs.

Continue reading… “Hydrogen is a bad car fuel, but it’s the perfect boat fuel”

Big Problems, Environment, Health & Fitness, Science & Technology News

The ‘forever chemicals’ fueling a public health crisis in drinking water

February 9, 2020

About 700 PFAS-contaminated sites have been identified across the US while those exposed to enough chemicals can face devastating health consequences

Recent tests revelaed dangerous levels of PFAS in rain, a range of foods and sewage sludge that farmers spread on cropland as fertilizer.

In 2002, the French multinational Saint-Gobain boosted production of chemically weatherproofed fabrics that it produced in its Merrimack, New Hampshire, plant. Soon after, serious health problems began hitting residents living near the facility.

The Merrimack Citizens for Clean Water (MCCW) advocacy group says people there suffer from high levels of cancer, cardiovascular issues, autoimmune disorders, kidney disease and developmental disorders. That includes an alarming number of children facing rare and aggressive cancers, said MCCW’s Laurene Allen, who lives in the city of about 30,000 that sits an hour north of Boston.

Continue reading… “The ‘forever chemicals’ fueling a public health crisis in drinking water”

Alternative Transportation, Aviation, Science & Technology News, Transportation

Hydrogen-powered drone developed in Hungary

February 9, 2020

Hydrogen-powered drone in Hungary.

What is being touted as the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell-powered aircraft that could be made suitable for carrying passengers has been unveiled at Jakabszallas airport in central Hungary. The Hungarian-American development was presented in the attendance of Minister of Innovation and Technology László Palkovics, who told a news conference that the government regards the aerospace industry as a key sector.

Whereas automotive is the Hungarian economy’s flagship industry, investments in recent years are putting aerospace in a stronger position, he added. He noted that the government has the hydrogen economy as a separate chapter in its recently unveiled energy and climate strategy, alongside AI, industry 4.0 and 5G.

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Analysis, Business, Science & Technology News, Startup

For entrepreneurs, 45 is the new 25

February 8, 2020

Many have argued that entrepreneurship is a young man’s game. Look no further than the storied entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley. Mark Zuckerberg. Evan Spiegel. Elon Musk. Larry Page. Sergey Brin. Steve Jobs. All of these individuals achieved success before turning 30.

But is it really the case that young people are more likely to succeed in entrepreneurial ventures? Or, is there more to the story than meets the eye?

New research forthcoming in the American Economic Review casts doubt on the idea that youth is advantageous when it comes to entrepreneurial success, especially in the case of high-growth entrepreneurship.

A team of researchers led by Pierre Azoulay of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology investigated the connection between age and high-growth entrepreneurship.

Continue reading… “For entrepreneurs, 45 is the new 25”

Automobiles, Money Talk, Science & Technology News, Startup

Automaker startup is fast and furious

February 8, 2020

When it comes to startup investment, automakers are still going full speed ahead.

From ride-hailing apps to driverless car technology, transportation startups have attracted unprecedented sums of investment capital from auto manufacturers in recent years. In the past few quarters, that trend has been accelerating.

An analysis of Crunchbase data shows that since the beginning of 2019, the world’s largest car and truck manufacturers have led financing rounds valued at more than $6 billion. Over that period, they’ve participated in more than 50 deals for several million dollars and up, indicating an expanded willingness to pump significant sums into rounds.

“It has been a continuation of the trends for many of the automakers that have been particularly active over the past few years,” said Chris Stallman, a partner at Detroit-based transport venture firm Fontinalis Partners. “In 2019 and 2020, however, it has been interesting to see a few automakers—particularly those in Asia—aggressively ramping up their innovation efforts.”

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Food, government, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

World’s biggest carnivores are turning their backs on beef

February 8, 2020

Argentine officials try to prop up beef binge with price caps

Dwindling purchasing power, changing food trends are to blame.

Argentines, who have long been among the world’s most voracious meat eaters, can no longer afford to binge on their own beef.

Red-meat consumption in the country has fallen to the lowest in a century. Blame rampant local inflation, the insatiable hunger for beef in other parts of the world that’s adding to price gains at home and — to a lesser extent — a reluctant movement toward healthier and cheaper proteins. It’s a kick in the teeth for a country that traditionally has vied with neighboring Uruguay for the title of world’s biggest carnivore on a per capita basis.

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Automobiles, Electric Automobile, Electric Vehicles, Science & Technology News

Make way for the Eco-Beast

February 7, 2020

Electric Hummers and Cybertrucks are just the beginning when it comes to sustainable trucks and S.U.V.s.

What would it take to unite this divided country?

At this point, we seem to be down to one option: electric pickup trucks.

Our future was teased in a 30-second General Motors ad featuring Lebron James during the Super Bowl. Announcing a “quiet revolution,” the company offered a glimpse of one of the most counterintuitive passenger vehicles in memory: an electric pickup truck under the revived (and, in some quarters, reviled) nameplate Hummer. The company will unveil the GMC Hummer EV in May.

Continue reading… “Make way for the Eco-Beast”

Big Problems, Environment, Green Friendly, Science & Technology News

Everything you know about recycling is probably wrong

February 7, 2020

A refresher for the new decade.

The next time you pass a recycling bin, do yourself a favor and take a peek inside. See anything unusual? Let’s rip the Band-Aid off right now: Turns out many of the things we drop into recycling bins don’t go on to beautiful second lives as bespoke greeting cards or shiny new bikes — a large percentage of this stuff actually ends up in landfills.

If you’re just tuning in, some background to our current recycling problem: In 2018, China, which previously bought and processed 70%(!) of the US’s recycled plastics, changed its policies about what kinds of recycled waste it would accept. China banned imports of certain types of paper and plastic, and cracked down on contamination (like leftover food scraps) in the materials they still process and recycle.

As long as we were shipping our recycling overseas, Americans never really had to deal with the repercussions of being, to quote Alana Semuels at The Atlantic, “terrible at recycling.” We tend to just throw everything into the bin without much thought about whether everything is actually, you know, recyclable. Now that US towns and cities are scrambling to figure out how to deal with recyclables, Semuels explains, they have two options: “pay much higher rates to get rid of recycling, or throw it all away.”

Continue reading… “Everything you know about recycling is probably wrong”

Engineering, Science & Technology News, Space, Space Flight

Spin launch’s ginormous centrifuge plans to slingshot rockets into space

February 7, 2020

One of the greatest obstacles in launching spacecraft off our planet is the tremendous volume and cost of fuel required to achieve escape velocity and break out of Earth’s gravity well into the vacuum of outer space.

Aerospace firms have offered a number of novel solutions to this dilemma, but we’re still stuck with the good old-fashioned method of firing up a rocket engine and blasting ourselves off our spinning rock in a thunderous display.

Hoping to build a better mousetrap, California startup firm SpinLaunch is taking a kinetic energy approach and has lofty plans to construct a football field-sized, vacuum-sealed centrifuge that will accelerate a 25-foot-long rocket to over 5,000 miles per hour, then release it to slingshot into the heavens before its booster engine fires to attain a proper orbital attitude.

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Clothing, Great New Product, Green Friendly, Home Technology, Science & Technology News

Unique ultrasonic cleaner cleans more efficiently than a washing machine

February 6, 2020

A unique ultrasonic cleaner has been created which is more efficient than a washing machine and takes the form of the Sonic Soak. The compact ultrasonic cleaner has been specifically created to offer users with the “ultimate portable cleaner” says its creators, providing state-of-the-art powerful ultrasonic cleaning technology in the palm of your hand.

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