Economic downturns have often been times when new, potentially revolutionary inventions have been. In the wake of the 1870 depression, a light bulb was patented and shortly after a direct current generator was invented paving the way for modern alternating current.
Those super-great inventions, however, came out the Great Depression, things like jet engine, radio, TV, radar…
One such occurred on Tuesday when the scientists at the IMB officially announced that they are “on the cusp of building systems that will take computing to a whole new level.”
From the Overview of IMBs Presentation:
“Quantum computing has been a Holy Grail for researchers ever since Nobel Prize physicist Richard Feynman in 1981 challenged the scientific community to build computers based on quantum mechanics. For decades, the pursuit remained firmly in the theoretical realm. But now IBM scientists believe they’re on the cusp of building systems that will take computing to a whole new level.”
Quantum computers are different from the ones we use now because a quantum bit can be both a 1 and a 0 at the same time (on and off) whereas today’s silicon bits are either 1 or 0.
“For certain problems like searching databases or factoring very large numbers — the basis of today’s encryption techniques — quantum computers could produce an answer in days or maybe even seconds, whereas the fastest conventional computer would take longer than 13.7 billion years,” explains NYT.
While IBMs invention looks to be off by 15 years, another notable one that is ready to hit the market soon is the process to grow organs.
Organovo, a company which recently held a private placement of $6.5 million and looks to eventually have its IPO, has a device that places human cells in a three-dimensional matrix to construct human tissue.
Far from science-fiction, Organovo has a process to grow any kind of an organ. “Organovo’s 3-D NovoGen bioprinting technology allows for the placement of cells in any pattern desired,” explains Organovo.
To be sure, other folks may find other inventions as worthy of a highlight and among the list of those we would definitely find:
- Spray-on glass that repels water, dirt, stains, mildew, fungus, bacteria and viruses patented by Nanopool GmbH.
- Nanobit particles that absorb pollutants from water and are hydrophobic, meaning particles suck out the filth out of the water leaving the water clean. It is patented by ABS Materials.
- Liquid lenses by Varioptic that uses water and electricity to create the perfect corrective lens for our eyes.
While porn-industry maybe excitedly expecting the debut of Apple’s 3-D holographic images that are said to allow touch and manipulation, others are still awaiting a marginal fix on modest things like a spill-free coffee mug, an oil-filter that actually unscrews, car gizmos that break down little less…
