Strides Toward A Better Future

Humans have been living in a world with dramatically slow progression towards a future utopia like those that we see in science-fiction films. All of the slow progression is starting to fade away, leaving roam for exponential breakthroughs in all different fields of research.

Growing up in the 90’s, I remember what excited me most about the future. I can tell you honestly, that I wasn’t thinking about virtual reality or quantum mechanics or conscious-minded robots. I was a simple-minded young lad, looking forward to the time when society would develop a faster internet connection that would do away with dial-up connections, and video game systems that would allow gaming with friends online.

We are now closing in on year 2012, and both of my past wishes for technological advancements have been answered and greatly surpassed. In this day-and-age, society takes on challenges and overcomes them at an exponential rate. In history, we have a very linear track record for progression with technology and science. Fortunately, since the booming success of the internet and advancements in communications, we have changed from the linear model of progression to an exponential model.

So, the reason why I talk about the level of innovation in the past years is to show you how far we’ve come, and to give you a hint of how close we are to overcoming the next big hurdles.

Baby Steps Toward Quantum Levitation 

Many universities and researchers have been working on “Quantum Levitation”. QL is basically the scientific lingo for anti-gravity/hover capabilities. If you are not yet following along, get the image of a car or really any tangible thing, floating in mid-air without anything physically supporting it. That, is where QL comes into play.

We may be seeing an evolutionary technological breakthrough in the not to distant future. This future would quite possibly allow people to have the ability to fly or drive cars that would not be powered by any common fuel.  The key lies within the cooling temperatures of a special copper disc that has no magnetic or electrical properties.

Following a few careful steps with the proper object, three researchers at Tel-Aviv University were able to create a superconductor that conducts electricity without letting any of the energy escape, as well as having no resistance. This means that the disc could be powered forever with an energy loss rate of zero and nothing to stop or slow its movement. The team is lead by Prof. Guy Deutscher at Tel-Aviv University, and has been experimenting with common objects to create superconductors to produce “Quantum Trapping” and “Quantum Levitation”.

For now, the applications of Quantum Levitation are limited, but they do present an open door for amazing innovations for the future. This type of superconductor is known as the Meissner effect, for it’s defining characteristics of when being subjected to a magnetic field it will try to expel a magnetic flux from its core. Thus allowing the object to float in stasis above magnetic energy. For a more in-depth explanation, check out Tel-Aviv University’s site.

Credit: Tel Aviv University

With a better understanding on “Quantum Levitation” the possible future technological breakthroughs are immense. We could apply the science of QL to all sorts of things used by people everyday. This could certainly change the means of future transportation.

Source: Tel-Aviv University
Related: Gizmag: Quantum Levitation
Post by: Casey Shingledecker | Yoluca.com | Yoluca Facebook Page

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