28.04.2014
TECHNOLOGY
AND MODERN LIFE
Dr. S. N. Chakravarty
President
Elastomer Technology Development Society
C/o. Polym Consultants 812, Devika
Tower 6 Nehru Place
New Delhi 110019, E-mail: polymcon@gmail.com
12
Technologies that can be Game Changers in 2014
Technologies that have been
knocking at our doors and are all ready to storm the market. Together, these
will disrupt industries worth $10-20 trillion over the decade.
1. IT and Computing SMAC :
As the most disruptive force ever
in the industry of the IT industry, the unique power of SMAC ( social, mobile,
analytics and cloud) comes from the way it combines different technologies.
Individual SMAC technologies have developed well over the last few years, and
the combination is now ripe for causing big shifts. Mobile phones are selling
in large numbers, and networks have matured. Cloud computing is package that is
powerful.
2. Life Sciences and Healthcare - Whole Genome Sequencing :
The complete deconstruction of a
human being’s DNA is the most rapidly developing technology ever. It is now
also ready for large-scale commercial use, as the cost has come down to a few
thousand dollars per genome. A whole genome can now be sequenced in two weeks,
and will soon be the basis of prevention and treatment of many diseases. It
will be a life-saver for cancer patients, who can hope to get the correct drug
based on the genetic basis of the tumor. At some point, whole genome sequencing
will be as common as vaccinations for newborns.
3. Energy / Transport: Electric Car :
Driven by the Tesla Model S,
electric cars had a good 2013 in the US . Next year, Tesla will expand to
other countries, and other companies – Honda, BMW, GM, Volkswagen – are
expected to launch new models. Electric cars are predicted to grow steadily
till 2020, and dominate after that. In 2014, gear boxes will disappear in some
cars, batteries will shrink and range on a single charge will increase.
Charging time will shrink too, though still not to the ideal.
4. Manufacturing : Internet of Things
Internet of things, or M2M, is
jargon for a network of machines. It is actually a set of sensors and motors
connected to each other, one for feeding information and the other to act upon
this information. Often a hyped technology, Internet of Things will begin to
become real next year. Its impact will be left most in the manufacturing
sector, as it improves productivity by bringing an exquisite sense of timing to
global supply chains.
5. IT and Computing : Cognitive Computing
Cognitive Computing is a process
by which computers learn as they do their tasks and engage with humans like
humans. This term was coined by IBM to distinguish it from the more popular
term artificial intelligence, and to stress the fact that there is nothing
artificial about cognitive computing. IBM’s Watson is the most advanced
cognitive computing platform, but few others are also being developed, mostly
by startups. Some advances that have long-term significance are likely.
6. Life Sciences and Healthcare: Wearable Devices
Personal health monitoring is
growing in developed markets and even in India , as people monitor their
sleep, exercise impact, heart, and progress of pregnancy. The next year will
make a significant advance as these devices begin to be connected to hospitals.
A wearable devices network can be considered an Internet of Things, and will be
influenced by SMAC, and is thus a good illustration how cutting-edge
technologies reinforce each other. Wearable device are not just for health
monitoring. Watch out for Google Glass.
7. Energy and Transport : New Batteries
8. Manufacturing : 3D Printing
3D Printing had an inventing
year. As technology has advanced rapidly, gun models for printing were
downloaded over 100,000 tomes. 3D printing is set to revolutionize
manufacturing, as big players around the world announce their intention to
switch to the technique in a big way. Companies doing 3D printing have good
revenues and profits, and their stocks are riding high. It is even coming to
life sciences, as biotech forms are working printing body parts.
9. IT computing: Graphene chip
Graphene a single layer of carbon
atoms. It was discovered only 2004, but has since shown extraordinary
properties in the lab. It is the thinnest and the strongest material that we
know, and is also very good conductor of heat and electricity. These properties
make it great for computing. Computing needs a breakthrough soon: the copper
wiring inside the chip cannot be shrunk for too long. An all-graphene chip
would be a great development, as MIT and IBM have already shown that the idea
can work, in photo-detectors to begin with. Definitely in the wish list for
2014.
10. Life Science and healthcare:
Nano-medicine is the application
of nanotechnology manipulation of matter at the smallest scale-to medicine. As
an area of research is not new, but there have been no game-changing commercial
applications yet for nanomedicine. Experts believe that there will be one soon,
at some point the next few years. Drug delivery using nanoparticles is one of
the most promising areas of nanomedicine. Next year could see some important
results in the clinical tails currently going on using nanoparticles for
delivery. Watch out for some of them in India too.
11. Energy: Perovskites
Perovskites are a kind of mineral
made of calcium titanium oxide discovered in the 19th century. They
have now become a hot research material for solar cells because they are cheap
and abundant. Perovskites now work at 15% efficiency in the lab. Efficiencies
of 25% are not impossible at some point, considering the pace at which research
is advancing. It still has some barriers to cross. For example, perovskite
cells contain lead, are toxic to the environment if let lose. But it is
certainly one the materials to watch materials for in 2014.
12. Manufacturing : Printed Electronics
Printed electronics is certain
rewrite industries. The only question is when. A beginning could be made next
year with printed solar cells, as several novel techniques have been shown to
work in the labs this year. Soon, as costs drop, printed could be everywhere on
food packets, on newspapers and magazines, manufactured goods and so on. One
day, this newspaper could have a video that could cut food waste, generate
cheap electricity, power medical devices in our bodies, and so on. And that
could spring a surprise next year.
5 Wonder Materials that Could Change the World
The history of
materials is a history of mistakes, says Mark Miodownik, a materials scientist
at University College ,
London . But the
chance discovery of useful materials might not carry on for much longer.
Scientists are now turning to computers to design materials and work out their
properties before going anywhere near a laboratory or workshop.
Wonder Materials and their
possible use
Property
|
Possible
use
|
|
Graphene
|
Immensely, strong, flexible, transparent and
conductive
|
In next generation electronic devices, sewn
into our clothing, slapped on drinks bottles and cans of food or rolled and
tucked in our pockets
|
Metamaterials
|
Can – to some extent – bend light around an
onject, rendering that object invisible
|
Cloaking devices
|
Shrilk
|
Without water the materials stiff, but with
water the coating becomes very flexible
|
Boidegradable trash bags
|
Stanene
|
Insulator on the inside, and a conductor on
the outside
|
Natural successor to copper interconnects in
computers
|
Spider Silk
|
Exquisite material, immensely extensible
|
Yet to be worked out. But is definitely an
inspiration to make better materials
|
Andre Geim and
Konstantin Novoselov at Manchestter
University
Spider Silk
could be the perfect material from which to manufacture bulletproof vests.
The application was found around after researchers teased out the silk’s
molecular structure and from that came to understand its strength and flexibility.
Enormously competitive
microchip industry, has refined manufacturing at the nano scale. Metamaterials
are made with the same technology, but their design is so precise that
scientists can control how electrons inside the materials respond when light –
or other electromagnetic waves – strike them. This makes it possible to
manipulate radiation like never before. And says, metaterials can – to some
extent – bend light around object invisible.
Shrilk
was inspired by research into the tough skins of insects. The coating made from
layers of a material called chitin and a protein called fibroin. Simple
tweaks to the material changed its behavior dramatically. Without water the
material is stiff, but with water the coating becomes very flexible. Shrilk
is an environmentally friendly alternative to plastics.
Stanene (
material designed on a computer ) is an insulator on the inside, and a
conductor on the outside.
Brighetning
Moon to Save Electricity ?
A Sweden-based company has proposed a bizarre new method to
eliminate the need for streetlights – brighten the surface of the Moon. The
idea is to use materials already on the Moon to lighten its surface. The goal
is to reflect slightly more sunlight onto Earth, making the night sky brighter.
A brighter night sky would mean
less need for streetlights, which could potentially translate into less
electricity usages and thus fewer globe warming carbon emission.
New Tyre Concept
Things to come in future - AIRLESS TYRES, it was developed for the
military. Amazing new tires. Michelin Tires presented
absolutely scary looking tyres
Those are 'spoke' like connections to the inner part of the tire from the outside tread 'wrap!' The picture shows how odd it looks in motion.
 |
These tires are airless and are scheduled to be out on the market very soon.
Just
think of the impact on existing technology:
a) No more air valves.
b) No more air compressors at gas stations.
c) No more repair kits.
d) No more flats.
Trelleborg's Brawler OTR Tire
.
"Brawler is particularly
suited to the waste and recycling industries, where many customers are
switching from either pneumatics or foam-filled pneumatics to solid tires on
large applications," and require tires that last longer, need little
maintenance and deliver the best total cost of ownership over their whole life.
The new tire Goodyear is
providing for upcoming races at Atlanta Motor Speedway represents one of the
most significant advancements in the construction of racing tires in the
company's history. The inboard shoulder of the tire, roughly the inner third,
and the area that receives the most stress at an oval such as Atlanta, features
a firmer, more heat-tolerant compound. The outer portion of the tire features a
softer tread designed to provide more grip.
Renewable tires could be here by 2020
Continental A.G. is predicting car tires could
be made of 100 percent renewable raw materials by 2020, but at the same time
cautioned that finding acceptable substitutes for materials used widely today
is a "rocky road."
The non-oil-based materials
content of modern-day tires already is at about 45 percent, but increasing that
to 100 percent is not a straight-forward process. "Not all raw materials
in tires can simply be replaced by renewable materials," he said.
Bridgestone Corp. is committing
itself to develop tires made with 100-percent sustainable raw materials by
2050.. Initiatives are natural rubber
alternatives Guayule and Russian dandelion, processes to develop synthetic
rubber, carbon black and rubber compounding agents from biomass materials and
practical application of new cellulose fibers to produce yarns that would
substitute for petroleum-derived polyester and nylon., butadiene—used in SBR
synthetic rubber—produced from bioethanol and has developed carbon black from
intermediate materials created from biomass materials. ,
Bridgestone fuel-efficient tire debuts
Latest
development in the fuel-efficiency is
the "large and narrow"" concept tire to operate at higher air
pressure. The tire maker claims the large/narrow design, coupled with the use
of the "most appropriate" materials, yields a roughly 30-percent
reduction in the rolling-resistance coefficient .Making tires narrower also
reduces air resistance,.
