Star Trek fans might be hoping we have a cloaking device ready for the Klingons and Romulans. According to an article on Fox News' tech page, the answer is yes. Invisible tanks, planes, and armor could be in use within 5 years. Rather than the whole "bending light" theory, this tech would use cameras and a high tech display to project the surrounding environment onto the hull of the vehicle rendering it effectively invisible - similar to a chameleon blending into the surrounding.
One thing I found cool is that I use a tech like this in my draft sci-fi novel, but not for military applications. The tech is used on the roof of an flying limousine and effectively makes the roof disappear so the occupants can stare at the stars. I one-up it by adding some touch-screen tech (like an iPad). Touch a star visible and get the info on it.
With this new tech coming out, I may have to tone down the surprise or make a comment that the characters hadn't heard of the tech used on anything besides military vehicles. Something to incorporate the science facts of this tech. Regardless, it's cool to see this tech really coming about. It's one of the great things about sci-fi. Things we dream can become reality.
Keep researching for your stories to include credible tech and
Write On.
Showing posts with label Technological Advances. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Technological Advances. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Should I retire on Mars?
If I'm lucky, I'll be able to retire some time in the 2030s. A lot can happen in the next 20 years. From what I've read in an article on FoxNews, perhaps even a manned one-way trip to Mars. To summarize, the article references a recent article from the Journal of Cosmology that gave great details how a privately funded manned mission to Mars could take place as early as 20 years from now. More than 400 people have already volunteered as colonists.
Interesting how it specifies "privately funded." Can't trust the government? Well, let's face facts. It seems like the private sector is doing more to advance the possibilities of space travel. In my draft novel, LEGACY SOLDIER, this fits in with the backstory. One of the societies came from humanities first attempt at colonizing outside of our solar system using privately funded and developed a prototype faster-than-light propulsion. Needless to say, they have many volunteers - mostly scientists (high tech types, biologists, physicists - enough different PhDs that it could really mean Piled higher and Deeper).
Anyway, when the colonists first get to Mars, it's likely that the ship itself will be designed to serve as a colony/outpost. But that couldn't last forever. Bio-domes and other habitats will probably follow. Russian architect Alexander Remizov designed a "green ark" that resembles a giant slinky and has the capacity to house 10,000 people. While the design is most likely intended for Earth-bound use (as implied by the floating version), such a structure would be a likely necessity on a colony. That is until Arnold Schwartzenegger shows up and finds the alien machine to give Mars an atmosphere (remember Total Recall?)
Now, we also have to think about transportation. Considering the limited resources, I doubt that big SUVs will be taken along. Walking might work at first, but some type of motorized transportation would eventually become needed. Well, GM has debuted some small pod-like cars that seat two, run on two wheels, are completely electronic and can drive themselves. The Electric Networked Vehicle, or EN-V (pronounced envy) that they anticipate could be ready for the market in 2030. These small vehicles would be the perfect type of conveyance in a self-contained society. The EN-V's controller/steering "wheel" is actually rectangular. At a glance it looks like a small iPad or big iPhone. Due to the size and having no real dashboard, it would make sense to have guages and other vehicle information available on the controller.
So there you have it. Real tech mixed with some credible concepts that could lead to the first attempts at off-world colonization within out lifetime. Until then, this makes for good background information and technological support for credible writing.
Look to the stars and
Write On.
Interesting how it specifies "privately funded." Can't trust the government? Well, let's face facts. It seems like the private sector is doing more to advance the possibilities of space travel. In my draft novel, LEGACY SOLDIER, this fits in with the backstory. One of the societies came from humanities first attempt at colonizing outside of our solar system using privately funded and developed a prototype faster-than-light propulsion. Needless to say, they have many volunteers - mostly scientists (high tech types, biologists, physicists - enough different PhDs that it could really mean Piled higher and Deeper).
Anyway, when the colonists first get to Mars, it's likely that the ship itself will be designed to serve as a colony/outpost. But that couldn't last forever. Bio-domes and other habitats will probably follow. Russian architect Alexander Remizov designed a "green ark" that resembles a giant slinky and has the capacity to house 10,000 people. While the design is most likely intended for Earth-bound use (as implied by the floating version), such a structure would be a likely necessity on a colony. That is until Arnold Schwartzenegger shows up and finds the alien machine to give Mars an atmosphere (remember Total Recall?)
Now, we also have to think about transportation. Considering the limited resources, I doubt that big SUVs will be taken along. Walking might work at first, but some type of motorized transportation would eventually become needed. Well, GM has debuted some small pod-like cars that seat two, run on two wheels, are completely electronic and can drive themselves. The Electric Networked Vehicle, or EN-V (pronounced envy) that they anticipate could be ready for the market in 2030. These small vehicles would be the perfect type of conveyance in a self-contained society. The EN-V's controller/steering "wheel" is actually rectangular. At a glance it looks like a small iPad or big iPhone. Due to the size and having no real dashboard, it would make sense to have guages and other vehicle information available on the controller.
So there you have it. Real tech mixed with some credible concepts that could lead to the first attempts at off-world colonization within out lifetime. Until then, this makes for good background information and technological support for credible writing.
Look to the stars and
Write On.
Friday, December 3, 2010
New High Speed Rail Record and Technological Advancements
Today a Chinese train set a new world record for the fastest unmodified passenger train with a speed of 302 miles per hour. The train ran on a high-speed line between Beijing and Shanghai. Although the train will not begin regular operations until next year, it is already being hailed as revolutionary as it will cut the 10 hour trip between the cities down to 4 hours.
Radical changes like these make science fiction writers practically salivate. Typically, we see technology change our lives a bit more incrementally. Of course, in the US we don't seem to see this technology at all, but that's besides the point.
Another point I'd like to make is how fickle techology is in its advancement. Some scientists and science fans (including science fiction fans) will look at this new record and hypothesize on what it means for the future. Remember when the iPads came out? Some quickly compared it with data devices used in shows like Star Trek (Next Generation, DS9 and Voyager to be more specific). But can these leaps also lead to unrealistic explanations?
If you've watched one of the few entertaining science fiction shows left on SyFy - Eureka, you saw the addition of James Callis to the cast last year. His character was accidentally brought to 2010 from the late 1940s. I remember one interesting quote his character had about the 21st century - "I thought there would be more flying cars by now." Speaking of flying cars, we're only 5 years away from the flying cars shown in Back To The Future II. Granted, that was a comedy, but a few decades ago, people probably did expect flying cars not only to be a reality, but a regular form of transportation.
Another example of science fiction technological timelines missed can be found right in the title of one example - Space 1999. 11 years after the moon was blown out of orbit, we still are really not significantly closer to Moon Base Alpha.
Will we get there some day? Perhaps, but keep in mind when reading and writing science fiction that, as I just said, technological advances can be fickle and unpredictable. But sometimes that's what makes them really cool. Let's face it, if we had regular and scheduled technological revolutions, I'd probably have nothing to blog about!
Have a good weekend and
Write On.
Radical changes like these make science fiction writers practically salivate. Typically, we see technology change our lives a bit more incrementally. Of course, in the US we don't seem to see this technology at all, but that's besides the point.
Another point I'd like to make is how fickle techology is in its advancement. Some scientists and science fans (including science fiction fans) will look at this new record and hypothesize on what it means for the future. Remember when the iPads came out? Some quickly compared it with data devices used in shows like Star Trek (Next Generation, DS9 and Voyager to be more specific). But can these leaps also lead to unrealistic explanations?
If you've watched one of the few entertaining science fiction shows left on SyFy - Eureka, you saw the addition of James Callis to the cast last year. His character was accidentally brought to 2010 from the late 1940s. I remember one interesting quote his character had about the 21st century - "I thought there would be more flying cars by now." Speaking of flying cars, we're only 5 years away from the flying cars shown in Back To The Future II. Granted, that was a comedy, but a few decades ago, people probably did expect flying cars not only to be a reality, but a regular form of transportation.
Another example of science fiction technological timelines missed can be found right in the title of one example - Space 1999. 11 years after the moon was blown out of orbit, we still are really not significantly closer to Moon Base Alpha.
Will we get there some day? Perhaps, but keep in mind when reading and writing science fiction that, as I just said, technological advances can be fickle and unpredictable. But sometimes that's what makes them really cool. Let's face it, if we had regular and scheduled technological revolutions, I'd probably have nothing to blog about!
Have a good weekend and
Write On.
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