10 Most Memorable Sci-Fi Technologies

[wiyosaya]

No idea where you've got the figure from to 'vaporize' a human being, but 3 GJ isn't all that much energy. The Grand Coulee dam could generate that in a little under two and half seconds, for example.


ERBs are pretty much non-traversable. Have a read of this paper for examples of traversable (particles and at the end of the paper, humans) wormholes. Note the figures for the minimum size of the wormhole's diameter and length of it to be passable by humans: 15,000 km and 3000 light years respectively. In other words, bigger than the Earth and no journey shorter than 3 kly either. Oh and the energy requirements for generating the two wormholes in the first place...

Posters to this thread seem already convinced they have first-hand knowledge of the subject of this topic and, thus, are averse to reading any scientific papers that present sound theories of Warp Drive, or navigation of wormholes. Unfortunately, IMO, expecting anyone in this thread to read anything longer than a word or two seems like a lost cause.

 

[Mugsy]

Who made this list?

"Altered Carbon's Cortical Stacks" is just a variation of "Johnny Mnemonic's brain implant to store/transport massive amounts of data.

And c'mon! What about D-ick (damn profanity filter) Tracy's video-phone watch? (which could be a reality quite soon.)

While an actual "Holodeck" is unlikely, a VR/AR headset with headphones and "tactile feedback" gloves could get us very close in just a few years.

A huge oversight: the famous Star Trek "Communicator pin" that serves as both a "walkie-talkie" and "universal translator"? The "walkie-talkie" function doesn't require any new technology, and the ability to "translate conversations in real time"... link to "Google Translate" and have it translate a conversation in real time. The "quality" would improve over the decades, but the *technology* to do it already exists today.

Terrible list.

 

[Mugsy]

The problem with teleporters is energy.

"The problem with teleporters" is it is impossible to "copy" & "transmit" the energy of a person without KILLING the person being sent.

There is no way to "reuse" the EXACT SAME energy to "reconstruct" the person at the other end. At most, you could create a perfect COPY of someone in a new location, but it wouldn't be the same person. Just a perfect copy. And what do you do with the original? They would have to be destroyed at an atomic level to "disintegrate" them.

Kudos to "The Orville" TV show for recognizing this fact and not trying to invent their own "transporter" (I hope the show comes back.)

 

[GLenn63]

Time is a man-made concept, it does not exist!

I think time exist, (I definitely see and feel my body getting older) and man just tries to measure it.

 

[duckofdeath]

"The problem with teleporters" is it is impossible to "copy" & "transmit" the energy of a person without KILLING the person being sent.

There is no way to "reuse" the EXACT SAME energy to "reconstruct" the person at the other end. At most, you could create a perfect COPY of someone in a new location, but it wouldn't be the same person. Just a perfect copy. And what do you do with the original? They would have to be destroyed at an atomic level to "disintegrate" them.

Kudos to "The Orville" TV show for recognizing this fact and not trying to invent their own "transporter" (I hope the show comes back.)

....or, just drown the original in an underground tank.

 

[Markoni35]

The problem with teleporters is energy.

Wrong. The problems with teleporters are:
1. Inability to analyze the exact atomic composition of object being transported.
2. Inability to precisely analyze the structure of a complex object (spatial position and energy states of particles) even if you'd know which particles are inside.
3. Even if first 2 would be possible, there's still inability to synthesize the atoms in the exact order and position as they were in original.
4. Inability to have all the materials ready to reconstruct any arbitrary object that was scanned by the transmitter (you would have to have all possible atoms available in a reservoir of the 3D printer).
5. Inability to "3D print" any material, even those hard and tough, such as diamond crystals or titanium mesh.

Those are the main problems. Transfer of information would be a problem too, but minuscule compared to the above. Also, in case the scanner can analyze the source object without destroying it, the transporter would actually be "3D photocopier" or replicator.

You could scan one super-solider, store its description in the ship's computer, send the ship to another planet and print out a million of super-soldiers just before the invasion. No need to feed them until you need them.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

IR is simply a longer wavelength EM radiation than visible light. What makes you think that if someone were to come up with a working invisibility cloak, that longer-wavelength EM radiation would not be as easily redirected as visible light?

Infra Red cameras detect HEAT.
Any device trying to hide the heat of the user, or itself, will show up ion the background as it (and they ) are warmer than the background.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Wrong. The problems with teleporters are:
1. Inability to analyze the exact atomic composition of object being transported.
2. Inability to precisely analyze the structure of a complex object (spatial position and energy states of particles) even if you'd know which particles are inside.
3. Even if first 2 would be possible, there's still inability to synthesize the atoms in the exact order and position as they were in original.
4. Inability to have all the materials ready to reconstruct any arbitrary object that was scanned by the transmitter (you would have to have all possible atoms available in a reservoir of the 3D printer).
5. Inability to "3D print" any material, even those hard and tough, such as diamond crystals or titanium mesh.

Those are the main problems. Transfer of information would be a problem too, but minuscule compared to the above. Also, in case the scanner can analyze the source object without destroying it, the transporter would actually be "3D photocopier" or replicator.

You could scan one super-solider, store its description in the ship's computer, send the ship to another planet and print out a million of super-soldiers just before the invasion. No need to feed them until you need them.

Whatever.

 

[Bullwinkle M]

I think time exist, (I definitely see and feel my body getting older) and man just tries to measure it.

you "think" time exists
you "feel" your body getting older
you "try" to measure it

so far, you have ZERO evidence that time actually exists

entropy iz da bish yo!

 

[PEnnn]

The author lost all credibility when "cementing Hoff's position as an icon in pop culture history, " was inserted into the article.......

 

[JohnMoser]

Where's the ansible?

 

[scavengerspc]

We could probably do that now. However, like cyclamates, (which actually tasted real sugar), fat-less butter would likely cause some form of cancer.

Yeah but everything causes cancer it seems. I WANT FAT FREE REAL BUTTER DAMN IT!

 

[NoLifeDGenerate]

It's funny. People always bring up flying cars and VR stuff. Why can't we even get cars with airless tires as standard yet? Why don't we have the tech to make windshields that block the sun automatically instead of still needing visors and sunglasses after all these years? Have car manufacturers not seen transitions lenses? COME ON!

What about all the sheep still lining up to let doctors scope them? They've been showing little pill cameras on TV for 20 goddamn years, but that's not as profitable for doctors as putting you through an invasion and uncomfortable procedure with very inconvenient prep.

 

[Markoni35]

It's funny. People always bring up flying cars and VR stuff. Why can't we even get cars with airless tires as standard yet? Why don't we have the tech to make windshields that block the sun automatically instead of still needing visors and sunglasses after all these years? Have car manufacturers not seen transitions lenses? COME ON!

People focus on transportation and computing based problems. What about medicine? It's the crappies part of our civilization. Airplanes have advanced from impossible to supersonic in less than 150 years. Computers have advanced from useless mechanics to ultra-integrated microchips in less than 70 years. Artificial intelligence has advanced from none to beating the best humans in allegedly purely intellectual games, in recognizing objects, composing music, making newspapers articles and photo analysis, mostly in the recent 20 years.

And medicine? All of their progress comes from the progress of microelectronics. Nowadays they have better diagnostics, because CT and MRI machines are better. But once they figure out what's wrong with you...... they are still impotent to fix it. Unless it's something very simple.

Right now in 2021 we're hiding from a stupid corona virus. FFS!

 

[scavengerspc]

People always bring up flying cars and VR stuff. Why can't we even get cars with airless tires as standard yet?

Because not one person wants to ride around on the rims? Bwahahahahaha!

 

[NoLifeDGenerate]

Because not one person wants to ride around on the rims? Bwahahahahaha!

Well, I for one, am tired lame tires that leak and need to be checked all the time. I'd prefer something more solid with no ****ing maintenance.

 

[GLenn63]

you "think" time exists
you "feel" your body getting older
you "try" to measure it

so far, you have ZERO evidence that time actually exists

entropy iz da bish

Ok, at this time I don't agree with that theory, but maybe over time I will. And In the mean time, Peace

 

[scavengerspc]

Well, I for one, am tired lame tires that leak and need to be checked all the time. I'd prefer something more solid with no ****ing maintenance.

Ask and ye shall receive. Problem solved my friend.

 

[Bullwinkle M]

Ok, at this time I don't agree with that theory, but maybe over time I will. And In the mean time, Peace

I'm not the one with a theory

Any valid theory should be made within a framework of facts

You have none

 

[woofer]

Time Travel from the Present to the Past is impossible.

Time itself is moving forward and doesn't move backwards.

You are ALREADY a time traveler: You're moving from the present towards the immediate future.

The law of causality states that: "what has happened, has happened and couldn't have happened any other way".

Getting older and more decrepit every day (starts at the end of our teen years basically), I am much more interested in seeing the advancement of medical technology suggested by Star Trek's tricorder, and other such gadgets, to erase/repair the personal ravages of time as a more useful alternative to time travel. There is ongoing progress in that respect, but it does have a long way to go yet.

 

[woofer]

People focus on transportation and computing based problems. What about medicine? It's the crappies part of our civilization. Airplanes have advanced from impossible to supersonic in less than 150 years. Computers have advanced from useless mechanics to ultra-integrated microchips in less than 70 years. Artificial intelligence has advanced from none to beating the best humans in allegedly purely intellectual games, in recognizing objects, composing music, making newspapers articles and photo analysis, mostly in the recent 20 years.

And medicine? All of their progress comes from the progress of microelectronics. Nowadays they have better diagnostics, because CT and MRI machines are better. But once they figure out what's wrong with you...... they are still impotent to fix it. Unless it's something very simple.

Right now in 2021 we're hiding from a stupid corona virus. FFS!

Well, the record time to develop multiple vaccines is not an insignificant advance in med tech. Getting my 2nd shot tomorrow, and looking forward to far less hiding (within the "guidelines"...)

 

[woofer]

Flying cars score that high but fully AR/VR rooms not?

And just as with the current inadequacy of predicting and controlling ground traffic, just imagine the mayhem of even far fewer flying cars as foreshadowed by the current problems with rogue drones now, but with much greater destructive potential without almost complete AI control, once that becomes reliable (if ever...)

 

[Avro Arrow]

The transporter/replicator technology would be the greatest of them (which is why we'll probably never have it). Just think of what it can theoretically do:

• - Cancer? Let's beam it out.
• - You're dead? Let's resurrect you from your last recorded pattern.
• - Deformed limb? Let's recreate it.
• - Ugly and/or overweight? Hold my beer.
• - No food/water/air? Let's recombine some atoms into what we need.
• - You want pizza? You now have pizza.

It could even be used as a defensive system. There's a plasma torpedo coming at you from the front? Beam it behind you and let it continue on its merry way.

Oh yeah, it's also a very convenient and fast way to travel.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Posters to this thread seem already convinced they have first-hand knowledge of the subject of this topic and, thus, are averse to reading any scientific papers that present sound theories of Warp Drive, or navigation of wormholes. Unfortunately, IMO, expecting anyone in this thread to read anything longer than a word or two seems like a lost cause.

Hey, I read the whole thing. I love Sci-Fi.

 

[RobMonteforte]

If one casually pays attention to Star Trek history, the small models of the crew transport "space crafts" had not been completed by the time the show was ready to film and the writers came up with a "Transporter" work around until the models were finished -- or did folks really expect them to build life-size ones? Remember, a lot of Testors glue was sold in the 1960's.