Have you ever noticed that
technology is getting smaller and smaller? Computers that used to take up an
entire room now can fit in your pocket. Not only have these computers gotten
smaller they have gotten faster and smarter. This technology work has not
stopped at all. Prof of this is the work of American and Australian physicists.
They are working on creating an transistor out of a single atom. This
achievement would revolutionize the computer and technology world. “We laid the groundwork for a futuristic quantum computer that
might one day function in a nanoscale world and would be orders of magnitude
smaller and quicker than today’s silicon-based machines”.(NY Times). The more
work these researchers do the closer we become to actually living in an almost
futuristic society.
I know that I would love one day to be able to have the
technology to have a supercomputer in my pocket or be able to someday have the
technology to have artificial technology to get us to other planets. The way
they are making theses transistors is by using a phosphorus atom to either be
on or off, 1 or 0. This is completely groundbreaking because if this takes off
it has the ability to be smaller and work better than those silicone models
that are in use today. Since technology is getting smaller this really could
help in the medical world. By making theses transistors so small the medical
field could use this technology to create Nano-processors and implant them in
to a human body. This could help control breathing and heart rate for at risk
victims. They could also create small
robots that could go in to a human body and perform surgery. This ground
breaking technology is an untapped resource for technology all buffs out there.
I can’t wait to receive the benefits of how this technology works.
Bibliography
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/science/physicists-create-a-working-transistor-from-a-single-atom.html?_r=1&ref=technology
I really like how you bring up the size of technology these days. It just keeps getting smaller and smaller! But my question is...When is technology going to get too small? At some point I feel this problem will occur. Yes it is convenient to have a small cell phone or ipad but when will screens get too small to see? Eventually we may run into this problem and it will be interesting to see how technology creators deal with this issue.
ReplyDeleteCourtney, I think that the market will keep the size of screens in check. If something has too small of a screen, it won't sell. So we won't have to worry about that. :]
ReplyDeleteBut as we approach the single-atom barrier, it seems as if Moore's Law will reach an impasse. After you've crafted a computer out of phosphorous atoms, where do you go? At some point, you run out of smaller units. Specifically: strings and quarks, etc.
Think it's possible that this means we'll reach a technological ceiling? I hope not, yet... We already have medical nanobots. One version I remember enters the bloodstream of a victim to bloodclotting in the form of a small ring and expands to open up the artery or vain so blood can flow. Neat!