We have ventured from creating basic tools from local rock, to harnessing the potentials hidden in metals and from discovering various microstructures that inhabit different properties to creating materials that, even to this day, would seem impossible.
So, what’s next? …
What is next? More of the impossible? Definitely! Changing the colour of something to ‘blend-in’ like a chameleon? Telekinesis? Teleportation?
One day, I would be surprised if all these things did not exist. I cannot wait to see the things developed even just during the course of my life time, since what has been developed in it so far has been remarkable, both in what’s now possible and the amount of which has been discovered.
I imagine a world where we are more like superheroes…the ability to heal instantly, control minds, invisibility when and where we want…and so much more! We will be able to build higher, race faster, travel further, communicate better and dive deeper.
I think it interesting to note how these things have come about. For example, for only the second time in history have we travelled to the deepest part of the ocean. The latter of these times has just occurred recently, and it wasn’t a diver or scientist that went down, it was James Cameron – a film producer. Advances in our possibilities are often done for bizarre reasons or for reasons that many would regard as horrible – war.
James Cameron, diving to the depths of the ocean
Materials are only going to get more and more complex, more and more mysterious and more and more powerful. I cannot wait to discover more about this endless topic, making the impossible, possible!
The “Aesthetics of technology”, spoken by Hugh Pizey, posed a number of questions. How does form follow function? How has our own development influenced the way things appear? How has visions of the future influenced the past? And how has new technologies and discoveries impacted the products designed at that time?
One of the most interesting quotes that I found was “if you can shape a stone, you can shape a sentence”. This may seem unlikely at first, since we know that we are the only living things that can talk, however thinking back to the dawn of time, both of these things are evidently much more difficult. In our process of evolving from apes we have learnt to create tools. The film 2001 depicts this very well and conveys how we grasped the concept of using the world around us to do things for us. In making baby steps forward, this could result in an understanding of basic tools, then designed tools, clothing, desired shelter, new recipes and so on. But only in making these baby steps can we move on to new things. Our speech has evolved over thousands of years from noises like that of an animal. Our speech is still just noise, however now we can understand that different noises mean different things – creating a language. All these things happen over time just like the development of technology and design, and quite frankly anything! We need to make small steps forward in order to push towards an unknown future.
2001 depicting the start of the evolution from ape to man
The Rise of the Planet of the Apes furthers 2001’s evolution of apes. This film suggests that humans have developed a way to enhance an apes understanding and ultimately leads to them being able to talk. Imagine a world like this…humans and apes as equals? I find it hard to believe that we would just allow apes to have the freedom and status that we do, enabling them to build their own homes and drive their own cars. But if something like this did ever occur, how would it be fair for us to control what they do…surely if they can talk like humans, understand each other and control their actions we should live in an equal world. I find it hard to imagine this happening, but maybe sometime it will. Scientists are regularly genetically engineering new ideas, exploring more and more what we would class as impossible. This could inevitability lead to something like this occurring. Would we stop it? Would you want it to be stopped?
The Rise of the Planet of the Apes…Caesar is home!
A world where man and monkey is united…our future?
Nowadays, advances in materials have allowed us to do an enormous amount of things that we wouldn’t be able to achieve naturally. But what happens if we let our imagination create a scenario and we then create the materials to fit to this? Working this way enables some extraordinary things to be possible…making an object invisible for example.
What may seem supernatural at first is actually becoming reality. Maybe Harry Potter won’t be the only one who can own a clock of invisibility!
Young Harry first discovering his cloak of invisibility
However, this technology is very limited since the biggest objects scientists have been able to make invisible are paper clips. Even this though is something extraordinary.
The technology works by using metamaterials. These are composites made up of precisely arranged patterns of two or more distinct materials. These structures can manipulate electromagnetic radiation including light. In order to become invisible an object must be able to do two things: 1. It must be able to bend light around itself so that it casts no shadow and, 2. It must produce no reflection. David R. Smith describes this in a simpler way, “picture a fabric formed from interwoven threads, in which light is constrained to travel along the threads. Well, if you now take a pin and push it through the fabric, the threads are distorted, making a hole in the fabric. Light is forced to follow the threads, and is routed around the hole. The waves are transmitted around the hole and combined on the other side. So you can put an object in the hole, and the waves won’t “see” it – it’s as if they’d crossed a region of empty space.
In the end though what could this technology be used for? Magic tricks, stunts in films. What actual practical use does this technology hold? It may make committing crimes easier! Or would someone step in and use it for the greater good!?!
Floating above the ground…does it seem possible? Speeding trains at 300mph levitating above the ground sitting on nothing but air…does it seem possible? Sending electricity down lines that lose absolutely no energy…does it seem possible? So, does superconductivity seem possible?
Well, superconductivity is a phenomenon that does exist, and one that allows all these things to be possible. At present the possibilities of utilising superconductivity is limited, but in the future it will allow for some remarkable things.
Superconductivity – allowing objects to float
Superconductivity occurs when certain materials are cooled down to extreme temperatures, these are generally at values in the low Kelvin scale, and a transformation in the material occurs. The transformation enables the material to conduct electrical currents with no opposing electrical resistance. This is a miraculous phenomena, however, at present, cannot be used in common practice. The extent to which these materials have to be cooled limits its application dramatically, leading scientists to be on the continuous quest to find a new superconducting material, or a way of altering an existing material to achieve this quality within reasonable conditions.
An example of where this technology is being used is for the driving force of the MagLev train. This is a train that levitates above large magnets, pushing it along at 300mph. This is the way I see the future of transport going as it is safer and, as previously stated, it is much faster. If superconductors were to be used to carry electricity from the power station to the home, the amount of energy lost in its transportation would be zero. ZERO! Compared to at present where 7% of the energy carried is lost through the wires it flows through. This would provide more efficiency in the energy process as well as reducing the amount of electricity needed to be made in the first place. There is no energy lost in a superconductor since there is no electrical resistance.
The MagLev train
MagLav train … when will you try it?
Due to the amount I have discovered so far regarding what material scientists can do when they set themselves a goal, I have no doubt in my mind that at some point, and most likely in the near future, scientists will develop a way to make superconductors a part of our everyday lives.
The Digital Design Studios are apart of Glasgow School of Art that I didn’t even know existed, yet they are globally known and have done some pretty remarkable things. Their laser scanning abilities and animation capabilities were both things of interest to me. Firstly, through the use of animation, they are able to re-create historical events and locations. The Empire Exhibition that was built in Glasgow in the 1930’s is a good example of this. Before this talk I didn’t even know such a thing existed due to its demolition. But through their expertise in animation, they have been able to re-create an artist’s impression of the site. I think it’s important to preserve significant historic events for future generations and this is one in which they have succeeded.
Empire Exhibition, Glasgow
Their laser scanning abilities have taken them all over the world, one such place being Mount Rushmore. In the event of something happening to this world-renowned attraction, it was to be laser scanned to preserve its form so that it could be rebuilt if necessary.
Laser scanning Mount Rushmore – No job is too big!
This technology has also allowed them to scan things such as Glasgow’s skyline, jumping on a plane and scanning along the Clyde. These can then be built up to create a three-dimensional, accurate view of Glasgow on-screen. But this technology is not limited to buildings and locations; it can be used to scan anything including human body parts. The Digital Design Studios have created a virtual human body that with the click of a button can have its eyes removed, skin, muscles or teeth. It also allows areas to be magnified for closer inspection and therefore is currently being used as a teaching tool at the university in Glasgow to enhance students understanding of the human body. I think this technology will, in the future, become much more significant in enhancing viewers experience of things from the comfort of their on home.
Attempt at producing a three-dimensional object from photographs
Well, the Nissan factory was certainly a surprise compared to other car manufacturer’s factories that I had seen on TV. Not sure what I was expecting really. Maybe something more along the lines of the McLaren factory, where the entire factory looks untouched, pristine and definitely not somewhere you would expect cars to be built.
McLaren factory…they make cars there?
Take Wall-e for example, I imagine the little cleaning robot to be McLaren and Wall-e to be Nissan, not that Nissan is dirty or anything, but in respect to McLaren, Nissan looks like it is hard-wearing.
Clean up your mess, we have a factory to run!
But in reality if I was to imagine what Nissan would look like before the visit, I wouldn’t be far off. I would imagine that; the majority of the car would be made by robots, employees time precisely designed so that they only have 52 seconds to complete a job before they get their next car, a massive factory where it takes you hours to walk around and a cramped and damp environment to work in. However, imagining this and seeing it are two completely different things. Before seeing robots completing a job I think it’s difficult to understand the power of what they do. They work so efficiently, timely, elegantly and almost majestically – they really are impressive. The factory is solely about producing as many cars as possible in the smallest time frame and the factory in which they are build shows this. It is controlled down to the second, strategy positioned, each employee has one or two menial tasks to complete in the time they are given, it is systematic and quite frankly just one big machine built to provide consumers with the cars they want as soon as they want them.
Robots at work in the Nissan factory
The amount of cars produced and in the environment they are manufactured in is also quite frightening. It shows exactly how many cars need to be produced in order to fulfil customer’s orders each year, and the Sunderland factory isn’t the only one in the world, they have many. And they are expanding…they need to make more! Imagine the length of the tour when they finally decide they are big enough, 4 hours isn’t long enough?
Almost completed for the customers order
Being in places like the Nissan factory really puts into perspective how much society is driven to want more products, when what they already have is good enough, only it doesn’t have the latest version of Sat Nav!
The silicon chip has been regarded as the “most significant invention developed during the past 50 years” by CNN.com users. This is not really hard to believe when you think about what it has enabled electronic devices to become. A flat screen TV 5cm thick without a silicon chip would be a giant CRT that is so bulky that it would stick out from the wall by almost a meter. A portable laptop without a silicon chip would be a massive desktop computer that is larger than the desk itself. These advances in design have been possible through the use of silicon chips replacing vacuum tubes, becoming present in everything from common household appliances to the most sophisticated of satellites.
Old style computer using vacuum tubes
New style laptop using silicon chips
The silicon chip consists of a small amount of silicon on which various electronic circuits, comprising of a number of parts, are placed. The development of silicon was therefore essential for this technology to be possible due to its semi-conducting nature and thermal stability. Silicon chips, regardless of their very small size, are very powerful. They are used for computers, mobile phones, speakers and washing machines. But are also present in some unexpected areas such as the control of artificial organs and implants in human beings.
The silicon chip – revolutionising electronic devices
Silicon chips last longer, are smaller, more efficient, more reliable and cheaper than the predeceasing vacuum tubes and have therefore revolutionised and miniaturized technology. As technological advances are continuously made, devices will continue to get smaller and smaller. But how much smaller can most of our electronic devices go? There must be a point where it has reached its limit. One example of this can be seen in the development of mobile phones. In the late 90’s mobiles were smaller in size than a credit card, however now many phones are so much bigger that they are hard to fit a pocket. The smallest device is not always the most appropriate device and with phones now becoming a miniature computer – one that can take photos, access the internet, video call, play films and music – it is important to make the device easier to access and use all these features, than make it smaller.
Uranium. Once believed to be one of the most incredible finds for the future of our supply of fuel and the raw material behind our nuclear fission power stations. Uranium supplies us with huge volumes of energy. But are there other ways that we can get the fuel that we require that don’t produce as much radioactive waste? We have mined it for years, but what would happen if it ran out?…
Our moon. Recent years have seen the possibilities of using the moon as a fuel source. What would this mean in terms of building moon-bases, designing equipment to harvest the surface’s resources and finally start inhabiting it?
One astronaut, who ventured to the moon, collected samples of the materials that could be found in such an environment: Moonrock. On testing these samples, large amounts of Helium 3 were found. And what could we harness it for? Fuel. How much is available? Over a 1,000,000 tons. How long would it last for? It would supply the Earth’s energy requirements for hundred’s of years. To put into respect of how much more Helium 3 is available on the moon, than on Earth, is easy, each year there is only 15kg of Helium 3 produced on our planet. It is a by-product of containing nuclear weapons and therefore is extremely rare, making harnessing the moon’s stores even more appealing. Helium 3 is given off as gas from the sun and is transported to the moon by solar winds. Lunar soil on the moon captures this gas resulting in large deposits off Helium 3 on the moons surface. Using Helium 3 in our power stations would result in a nuclear fusion reaction rather than the nuclear fission used for Uranium, providing a cleaner and safer future for our power plants. The advances in our knowledge of materials science has enabled things like this to be discovered.
Mining the moon for resources for OUR planet
The economic viability of mining the moon for this rare gas shows great prospects. With just a space shuttle cargo bay full of Helium 3, the United States could be powered for a year. Helium 3 has an economic value of $3 billion per ton. This has resulted in space stations such as Russia making plans to start mining the moon by 2020. This would mean that in eight years we would be stripping the moon of its resources for the use on our own planet! How can that be fair? Our greediness has resulted in our need to start using up resources from outside our planet, is this not just shifting our problem elsewhere?
Transporting enough fuel to power the USA for a year from the moon
Before all this happens however, moon bases are to be created, with existing plans to have some in place in 2015. A huge amount of design will have to go into these plans, after all they are to be located on a piece on land that only 12 men have actually stood on. These designs will incorporate huge amounts of technology and will have to utilize new materials that can withstand conditions that are unlike that on Earth. At present I find it hard to believe that in 2015 there will be a moon-base built that is inhabited by people, I feel that there is quite a long way to go in our capabilities of achieving this let alone harvesting the moon’s resources. However, it would be an extraordinary achievement for mankind but I’m not sure if shifting our problems onto another area of space is the way to do it.
1970’s NASA’s take on space colonisation
1970’s NASA’s take on space colonisation
The below link describes the differences between nuclear fission and nuclear fusion, highlighting the main aspects of the use of Helium 3:
Can you imagine what might be possible in a hundred years time if we are already discussing inhabiting other areas of space? As our understanding of materials increases, maybe we will be able to do more extraordinary things that, at present, would seem out of this world.
Materials science isn’t just relevant to things like increasing the strength of an object to withstand a taller building, making a plate less brittle so that it won’t break as easily and designing a more flexible bridge to cope with the elements, but it also plays a major role in the capabilities of our bodies.
Advances in materials have allowed for hip replacements, knee replacements and teeth fillings to be possible. What do all of these have in common? Once they are placed inside the human body, they remain there forever. Recent advances, however, have altered this. A new plastic has been designed that, after the body has regenerated its cells, it will dissolve away. Where damage has been done to cartilage, plastic fibers can be inserted into the broken area forming a scaffold structure for new cells to inhabit. These plastic fibers form the building blocks for the cells to grow around since it provides a safe environment for their multiplication. This environment therefore promotes the regeneration and repair of the damaged cartilage area, with the end result consisting of nothing but real cartilage.
Artificial fibres (shown in green) form a scaffold for new cells (blue)
With advances like this, maybe it will be possible for other injuries to be repaired in this way. I’m sure most people would rather have foreign material inside them trying to aid the repair of a problem, rather than use it to fix it.
Lyndsey Wylie 