Quantum Leap Discoveries

[Charles Turner]

Guys,



It was Sir Clive Sinclair who said something like "the World Economy needs
some new discoveries, all current manufacturing etc. is based on old
discoveries." He was referring to Automotive, Telephony, Television etc,
which are of course very old ideas, some 100+ years.



My background is electronics and the really Quantum Leap discovery was the
semiconductor device around 50 years ago. All of the current "new hi-tech"
devices such as digital TV and mobile phones, PC's, Flat Screens etc. are a
result of that. More significantly before the discovery of the semiconductor
the mathematics etc. associated with, for example digital communications,
were fully understood, it was just that the computing power was not
available to implement the ideas.



So, as far as electronics is concerned there has been no subsequent "Quantum
Leap Discovery" (I will, however, stand to be corrected and enlightened).



The big question:-



Are there any discoveries in any other disciplines that rival that of the
semiconductor and would anyone like to predict the next Quantum Leap.



Best Regards







Charles

 

[[email protected]]

Guys,



It was Sir Clive Sinclair who said something like "the World Economy needs
some new discoveries, all current manufacturing etc. is based on old
discoveries." He was referring to Automotive, Telephony, Television etc,
which are of course very old ideas, some 100+ years.



My background is electronics and the really Quantum Leap discovery was the
semiconductor device around 50 years ago. All of the current "new hi-tech"
devices such as digital TV and mobile phones, PC's, Flat Screens etc. are a
result of that. More significantly before the discovery of the semiconductor
the mathematics etc. associated with, for example digital communications,
were fully understood, it was just that the computing power was not
available to implement the ideas.

Well, you can add to the semiconductors another quantum leap, lasers,
which came about in the 60s. But I agree with you, since then there
are no leaps, only refinement.

So, as far as electronics is concerned there has been no subsequent "Quantum
Leap Discovery" (I will, however, stand to be corrected and enlightened).



The big question:-



Are there any discoveries in any other disciplines that rival that of the
semiconductor and would anyone like to predict the next Quantum Leap.

A combination of the work on DNA and nanodevices may hold promise, but
it is still too early to tell.

Mati Meron | "When you argue with a fool,
[email protected] | chances are he is doing just the same"

 

[Bob]

The big question:-



Are there any discoveries in any other disciplines that rival that of the
semiconductor

recombinant DNA.

bob

 

[[email protected]]

recombinant DNA.

bob

How to exploit nonlocality to make gadgets ?

How to exploit apparent "acausality" ?

We might be better off without the next big invention, until the
technology of harmonious living has been developed and implemented.

 

[Tom Potter]

Guys,

It was Sir Clive Sinclair who said something like "the World Economy needs
some new discoveries, all current manufacturing etc. is based on old
discoveries." He was referring to Automotive, Telephony, Television etc,
which are of course very old ideas, some 100+ years.
My background is electronics and the really Quantum Leap discovery was
the semiconductor device around 50 years ago. All of the current "new
hi-tech" devices such as digital TV and mobile phones, PC's, Flat Screens
etc. are a result of that. More significantly before the discovery of the
semiconductor the mathematics etc. associated with, for example digital
communications, were fully understood, it was just that the computing
power was not available to implement the ideas.

So, as far as electronics is concerned there has been no subsequent
"Quantum Leap Discovery" (I will, however, stand to be corrected and
enlightened).

The big question:-

Are there any discoveries in any other disciplines that rival that of the
semiconductor and would anyone like to predict the next Quantum Leap.

You can't hold all "Quantum Leap discoveries" in your hand.

Discoveries that greatly enhanced man's control over his environment,
include such things as Information Theory, algorithms to solve linear
equations,
data (Audio, video, graphic, etc.) compression algorithms,
broad-band/pseudo-random correlated communications, etc.

Back in the 1960's the data processing manager of Ralston-Purina
told me that their use of linear equations accounted for
ALL of their profit. They used it to buy and sell futures,
lease, buy and sell storage facilities, organize transportation,
juggle the ingredients in their various "Chows" while retaining
the same nutrition value, etc. using a proprietary algorithm.

And many times, I see scores of people around me,
all talking at the same time, on tiny, low power phones,
and I see people using GPS systems,
all made possible by broad band/correlation algorithms.

And can you imagine how much memory would be wasted
if algorithms for compressing data had not been developed?
To get an idea of how important these are,
compare the sizes of MP3's vs. WAV files,
and JPG's vs. BMP files, and assume that the hardware
to store and transmit the information worked only on the raw data.

And how about the advances made in retrieving and presenting data?
Take a look at Google and Wikimapi to get a feel for what
these advances do, and will do.

In order to save energy and maintain a sustainable, viable environment
"Quantum Leaps" need to be made in massive, inefficient, brute force
devices,
like cars, refrigerators, lighting, homes, offices, etc. and the associated
systems;
transportation, comfort, pleasure seeking, pain avoidance, etc.

I suggest that some tiny leaps in these areas would bring greater
benefits to mankind.

Some changes that could be made include
smaller, more energy efficient homes, transportation by tubes,
better mass transit, flex work time from one's home,
locating heat exchangers on refrigerators outside the home
similar to the system the Chinese use with their air conditioners,
electric bikes, and protected bike trails, LED lighting, etc.

And a real quantum leap could be made in computers
by getting rid of serial, parallel, USB and 1394 ports,
and using WIFI to communicate to other devices.

Expanding on this,
it would also be nice to have computers boot from,
and load the operating system, and the user's data,
and his main programs, from a 1G (or so) memory card.

The card could be pulled,
and used on other computers,
and if one was targeted by hanson's American/Israeli Gestapo
(Homeland Security) they could eat the card.

--
Tom Potter
http://home.earthlink.net/~tdp/
http://tdp1001.googlepages.com/home
http://no-turtles.com
http://www.frappr.com/tompotter
http://photos.yahoo.com/tdp1001
http://spaces.msn.com/tdp1001
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tom-potter/
http://tom-potter.blogspot.com

 

[Mark Fortune]

Guys,



It was Sir Clive Sinclair who said something like "the World Economy needs
some new discoveries, all current manufacturing etc. is based on old
discoveries." He was referring to Automotive, Telephony, Television etc,
which are of course very old ideas, some 100+ years.

Not much so far, but then we are in an era where information can circle
the globe before you can even imagine it doing so. My theory is that in
ye olde times, people sat and thought for long hours, even days about
things, noted stuff down on bits of paper, maybe shared stuff with
local villages, but didnt become widespread until it worked, and for
that reason it seemed like a massive jump in technology. Now days,
thanks to the web, people spat little bits of ideas here there and
everywhere, and it is instantly assimilated. So it seems technology
these days is gradually built upon, continuously evolving in
infintessimal steps.

So, as far as electronics is concerned there has been no subsequent "Quantum
Leap Discovery" (I will, however, stand to be corrected and enlightened).

The big question:-

Are there any discoveries in any other disciplines that rival that of the
semiconductor and would anyone like to predict the next Quantum Leap.

One thing springs to mind:
Room temperature superconductors - these are just on the horizon as far
as some physicists are concerned and would certainly be a revolution in
computing, power transmission, magnetic shielding, and by some sources
even gravity manipulation!
If it was to come about tomorrow it would probably revolutionise our
world, but more than likely the technology will draw out slowly (if it
works) over the next 10-20 years, so we'll be looking back and just see
a gradual uptake of the technology, not so much of a "quantum leap"

 

[[email protected]]

Not much so far, but then we are in an era where information can circle
the globe before you can even imagine it doing so. My theory is that in
ye olde times, people sat and thought for long hours, even days about
things, noted stuff down on bits of paper, maybe shared stuff with
local villages, but didnt become widespread until it worked, and for
that reason it seemed like a massive jump in technology. Now days,
thanks to the web, people spat little bits of ideas here there and
everywhere, and it is instantly assimilated. So it seems technology
these days is gradually built upon, continuously evolving in
infintessimal steps.

At the time when semiconductors and lasers came around, information
spread quite rapidly, yet by all measures these were revolutions.

One thing springs to mind:
Room temperature superconductors - these are just on the horizon as far
as some physicists are concerned

Hardly. Even high Tc superconductors, which caused such a stir some
20 years ago, didn't live up to their promise so far, and these are
still far from "room temperature". As for true room remperature
superconductors, there is currently no research direction present that
appears to be leading there.

and would certainly be a revolution in computing,

No, not at all. Some marginal improvement, perhaps, but not any
revolution.

power transmission,

Again, improvement, not a revolution. It is not as if most of the
power is being wasted in transmission nowadays. So, you'll get some
savings, worthwhile but hardly revolutionary.

magnetic shielding,

Yes, they'll be very good at this. As to whether this opens new
technological vistas or remains a niche application, it is too early
to tell.

and by some sources even gravity manipulation!

Not by any sources in existing physics. To the extent we know,
magnetic fields do nothing for gravity manipulation. In fact, to the
extent we know, gravity cannot be manipulated (other than the old
fashioned way, moving masses around.

Mati Meron | "When you argue with a fool,
[email protected] | chances are he is doing just the same"

 

[Tom Potter]

Guys,



It was Sir Clive Sinclair who said something like "the World Economy needs
some new discoveries, all current manufacturing etc. is based on old
discoveries." He was referring to Automotive, Telephony, Television etc,
which are of course very old ideas, some 100+ years.



My background is electronics and the really Quantum Leap discovery was the
semiconductor device around 50 years ago. All of the current "new hi-tech"
devices such as digital TV and mobile phones, PC's, Flat Screens etc. are
a result of that. More significantly before the discovery of the
semiconductor the mathematics etc. associated with, for example digital
communications, were fully understood, it was just that the computing
power was not available to implement the ideas.



So, as far as electronics is concerned there has been no subsequent
"Quantum Leap Discovery" (I will, however, stand to be corrected and
enlightened).



The big question:-



Are there any discoveries in any other disciplines that rival that of the
semiconductor and would anyone like to predict the next Quantum Leap.

Guys,

It was Sir Clive Sinclair who said something like "the World Economy needs
some new discoveries, all current manufacturing etc. is based on old
discoveries." He was referring to Automotive, Telephony, Television etc,
which are of course very old ideas, some 100+ years.
My background is electronics and the really Quantum Leap discovery was
the semiconductor device around 50 years ago. All of the current "new
hi-tech" devices such as digital TV and mobile phones, PC's, Flat Screens
etc. are a result of that. More significantly before the discovery of the
semiconductor the mathematics etc. associated with, for example digital
communications, were fully understood, it was just that the computing
power was not available to implement the ideas.

So, as far as electronics is concerned there has been no subsequent
"Quantum Leap Discovery" (I will, however, stand to be corrected and
enlightened).

The big question:-

Are there any discoveries in any other disciplines that rival that of the
semiconductor and would anyone like to predict the next Quantum Leap.

You can't hold all "Quantum Leap discoveries" in your hand.

Discoveries that greatly enhanced man's control over his environment,
include such things as Information Theory, algorithms to solve linear
equations,
data (Audio, video, graphic, etc.) compression algorithms,
broad-band/pseudo-random correlated communications, etc.

Back in the 1960's the data processing manager of Ralston-Purina
told me that their use of linear equations accounted for
ALL of their profit. They used it to buy and sell futures,
lease, buy and sell storage facilities, organize transportation,
juggle the ingredients in their various "Chows" while retaining
the same nutrition value, etc. using a proprietary algorithm.

And many times, I see scores of people around me,
all talking at the same time, on tiny, low power phones,
and I see people using GPS systems,
all made possible by broad band/correlation algorithms.

And can you imagine how much memory would be wasted
if algorithms for compressing data had not been developed?
To get an idea of how important these are,
compare the sizes of MP3's vs. WAV files,
and JPG's vs. BMP files, and assume that the hardware
to store and transmit the information worked only on the raw data.

And how about the advances made in retrieving and presenting data?
Take a look at Google and Wikimapi to get a feel for what
these advances do, and will do.

In order to save energy and maintain a sustainable, viable environment
"Quantum Leaps" need to be made in massive, inefficient, brute force
devices,
like cars, refrigerators, lighting, homes, offices, etc. and the associated
systems;
transportation, comfort, pleasure seeking, pain avoidance, etc.

I suggest that some tiny leaps in these areas would bring greater
benefits to mankind.

Some changes that could be made include
smaller, more energy efficient homes, transportation by tubes,
better mass transit, flex work time from one's home,
locating heat exchangers on refrigerators outside the home
similar to the system the Chinese use with their air conditioners,
electric bikes, and protected bike trails, LED lighting, etc.

And a real quantum leap could be made in computers
by getting rid of serial, parallel, USB and 1394 ports,
and using WIFI to communicate to other devices.

Expanding on this,
it would also be nice to have computers boot from,
and load the operating system, and the user's data,
and his main programs, from a 1G (or so) memory card.

The card could be pulled,
and used on other computers,
and if one was targeted by hanson's American/Israeli Gestapo
(Homeland Security) they could eat the card.

--
Tom Potter
http://home.earthlink.net/~tdp/
http://tdp1001.googlepages.com/home
http://no-turtles.com
http://www.frappr.com/tompotter
http://photos.yahoo.com/tdp1001
http://spaces.msn.com/tdp1001
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tom-potter/
http://tom-potter.blogspot.com

 

[1Z]

Are there any discoveries in any other disciplines that rival that of the
semiconductor and would anyone like to predict the next Quantum Leap.

Good yes

Bad it'll be genetics...

 

[[email protected]]

Good yes

Bad it'll be genetics...

Why is it bad news?

Mati Meron | "When you argue with a fool,
[email protected] | chances are he is doing just the same"

 

[Immortalist]

Guys,

It was Sir Clive Sinclair who said something like "the World Economy needs
some new discoveries, all current manufacturing etc. is based on old
discoveries." He was referring to Automotive, Telephony, Television etc,
which are of course very old ideas, some 100+ years.

My background is electronics and the really Quantum Leap discovery was the
semiconductor device around 50 years ago. All of the current "new hi-tech"
devices such as digital TV and mobile phones, PC's, Flat Screens etc. are a
result of that. More significantly before the discovery of the semiconductor
the mathematics etc. associated with, for example digital communications,
were fully understood, it was just that the computing power was not
available to implement the ideas.

So, as far as electronics is concerned there has been no subsequent "Quantum
Leap Discovery" (I will, however, stand to be corrected and enlightened).

The big question:-

Are there any discoveries in any other disciplines that rival that of the
semiconductor and would anyone like to predict the next Quantum Leap.

Example of one aspect of the next big thing (connecting computers
directly to the brain);

http://images.google.com/images?q=cochlea

What is a cochlear implant?

A cochlear implant is a small, complex electronic device that can help
to provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or
severely hard-of-hearing. The implant consists of an external portion
that sits behind the ear and a second portion that is surgically placed
under the skin (see figure). An implant has the following parts:

1. A microphone, which picks up sound from the environment.

2. A speech processor, which selects and arranges sounds picked up by
the microphone.

3. A transmitter and receiver/stimulator, which receive signals from
the speech processor and convert them into electric impulses.

4. An electrode array, which is a group of electrodes that collects the
impulses from the stimulator and sends them to different regions of the
auditory nerve.

An implant does not restore normal hearing. Instead, it can give a deaf
person a useful representation of sounds in the environment and help
him or her to understand speech.

------------------------------

An example of interfacing the same organ another way;

Balance and Vesibule by Inner Ear Creations

The Sense of Balance

Within the Inner Ear there is a sense organ that helps you detect
changes in the motion and position of your body. This organ mainly
detects changes that take place when your body moves.

Simply put; there is a little bowl of fluid and small hairs that
protrude up into this fluid. When your body changes position this bowl
of fluid acts like a glass filled with liquid. If you make a swift
motion this fluid moves in a similar way as water does in the glass.
The hairs protrude up into this fluid, and sway back and forth, like
stems of plants that live under water. The hairs produce electrical
signals when they are moved by this fluid, which are then relayed to
certain parts of the brain. These parts of the brain then recognise and
interpret what these signals mean; you feel as if your position has
changed.

Think for a moment about a roller coaster ride. What produces the
sensation of radical movements and elation? The Vestibular Organ.
located inside of you ear.

The Mind Plug We have created a mind plug-in to end all plug-ins. Other
virtual reality technologies manipulate sight and sound facilities in
your brain. Some even make the brain smell. What about your sense of
balance? Get wired today down at your corner surgeon's and you will
gain the ability to close your eyes and totally loose you "sense of
place"

We know that everyone has been ripping their heads up trying to get the
latest upgrade jacked in, but Vestibule is worth another scar. So get
plugged in and set back for the ride of your life.

This device will make you feel as if you are actually moving, even when
your eyes are open and the world does not seem to be going along with
these sensations. Spin around and get dizzy or set in a chair and
adjust Vestibule for a more intense sense of dizziness.

Set back and play "Roller Coaster". You will close your eyes and be
taken to a place that only an amuesment park could take you. With
Vestibule activated, and the coaster software installed, your freinds
might see you jerk and twitch and wonder what the problem is. If they
have never tried Vestibule they simply won't understand what you are
going through.

The ultimate "SURECON" will connect over 75% of the fibers radiating
from the vestibular organ.

With this new new method, "MillProbe" will branch and carry two or more
signals simualtamiously on a single artificial nerve fiber. Our latest
upgrade will make our virtual reality seem like reality compared to
what other VR Tech firms are now offerring.

that waz some "CybCrap" from 1995
http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/2387/contents_2.html
http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/2387/themachine.html

Big things in neuro-computing and genetics

we havn't seen anything yet, till we actually "touch our experience."

 

[Charles Turner]

Thanks guys,

I think you've confirmed what I thought, i.e. there's nothing of a quantum
leap that's been invented / discovered in the last few decades.

From my point of view I think the next quantum breakthrough, as several of
you have touched upon, will be with biotechnology. A string of only four
amino acids (not too complicated) , i.e. DNA can be "launched" into a
electro-chemical environment to produce, without intervention and even at
the most simplest level, the most spectacular, complex and breathtaking
organisms. I may be wrong, but I suspect the string of code in many computer
programs is in fact more complex, but the outcome far less impressive; We
must have got something wrong!

So I think our understanding of how something so apparently simple as a
string of 4 amino acids in a nucleus of a fairly simple cellular structure
can produce something billions of time more complex than we can construct
will be the next quantum jump. Either that or a continuous supply of Timothy
Taylor Landlord Bitter for free!

Regards,


Charlie Boy

 

[Larry Farrell]

Charles Turner wrote:

[snip]

A string of only four

amino acids (not too complicated) , i.e. DNA can be "launched" into a
electro-chemical environment to produce, without intervention and even at
the most simplest level, the most spectacular, complex and breathtaking
organisms. I may be wrong, but I suspect the string of code in many computer
programs is in fact more complex, but the outcome far less impressive; We
must have got something wrong!

DNA is not composed of amino acids.

 

[N10]

Thanks guys,

I think you've confirmed what I thought, i.e. there's nothing of a quantum
leap that's been invented / discovered in the last few decades.

From my point of view I think the next quantum breakthrough, as several of
you have touched upon, will be with biotechnology. A string of only four
amino acids (not too complicated) , i.e. DNA can be "launched" into a
electro-chemical environment to produce, without intervention and even at
the most simplest level, the most spectacular, complex and breathtaking
organisms. I may be wrong, but I suspect the string of code in many
computer programs is in fact more complex, but the outcome far less
impressive; We must have got something wrong!

So I think our understanding of how something so apparently simple as a
string of 4 amino acids in a nucleus of a fairly simple cellular structure
can produce something billions of time more complex than we can construct
will be the next quantum jump. Either that or a continuous supply of
Timothy Taylor Landlord Bitter for free!

Regards,


Charlie Boy

HI

To politely correct you and not to take away from your coments the
following is important.

"A string of only four amino acids (not too complicated) , i.e. DNA "

This latter statement is incorrect as DNA is primaly composed of sequences
of purines and pyrimidine bases ( not amino acids).

There are two major purines and two major pyrimidines plus a rarer few
varients of each.

It is the linear sequence of bases in triplet sub sequences which form
the genetic code . Its is the genetic code which determines the primary
structure of proteins ( ie amino acid sequence).

Hope this clarifies things for yourself and others.

I also agree the ability to form recombinat DNA in vitro is a massive
quantum leap

best N10

 

[[email protected]]

I agree with Bob and N10. Being able to create recombinant DNA is a
major quantum leap.

To that, however, I would add DNA sequencing. Because of this, we've
been able to sequence the human genome and hundreds of other species.
Now, with automated sequencing, we're able to sequence entire genomes
(like bacteria) in around a month. That's an incredible feat. And
having all this genetic info at our fingertips has really brought about
great advances not only in molecular biology, but in biology in
general.

From a non-biological point of view, I think the biggest quantum leap

of our time is the invention of the Internet. Anything I could ever
want to know is a keystroke or mouse-click away. Instead of spending
countless hours in a library looking up papers, I can find everything
relevant to my topic in about 2 seconds. I think that's revolutionary.

--Alex

*********************
Alex B. Berezow, Grad Student
Dept. of Microbiology
University of Washington School of Medicine
Seattle, WA 98195

 

[Ken Muldrew]

Why is it bad news?

Imagine a world where no parent has to face the challenge of raising a
child with Down's Syndrome, where no child is disfigured by a
malignant retinoblastoma, where no adult has to face the onset of
Huntington's Disease. This is a world in which it is not worth living.

Ken Muldrew
[email protected]
(remove all letters after y in the alphabet)

 

[[email protected]]

Imagine a world where no parent has to face the challenge of raising a
child with Down's Syndrome, where no child is disfigured by a
malignant retinoblastoma, where no adult has to face the onset of
Huntington's Disease. This is a world in which it is not worth living.

Gasp... the horror of it.

Mati Meron | "When you argue with a fool,
[email protected] | chances are he is doing just the same"

 

[Al]

This is a lot of BS. A quantum is a tiny, tiny bit of energy. So a
quantum leap is not noticable at all.

Who came up with this claptrap anyway?

Al

 

[PD]

Guys,



It was Sir Clive Sinclair who said something like "the World Economy needs
some new discoveries, all current manufacturing etc. is based on old
discoveries." He was referring to Automotive, Telephony, Television etc,
which are of course very old ideas, some 100+ years.



My background is electronics and the really Quantum Leap discovery was the
semiconductor device around 50 years ago. All of the current "new hi-tech"
devices such as digital TV and mobile phones, PC's, Flat Screens etc. are a
result of that. More significantly before the discovery of the semiconductor
the mathematics etc. associated with, for example digital communications,
were fully understood, it was just that the computing power was not
available to implement the ideas.



So, as far as electronics is concerned there has been no subsequent "Quantum
Leap Discovery" (I will, however, stand to be corrected and enlightened).



The big question:-



Are there any discoveries in any other disciplines that rival that of the
semiconductor and would anyone like to predict the next Quantum Leap.

1. Since you mention quantum.... quantum entanglement (leading to
quantum computing as the first trial balloon)

2. Genetic manipulation

3. Not really a discovery, but a tool: the world wide web. Let me make
a brief case:
a) world-wide commerce at many lower levels than previously possible
b) open-source and community-driven development
c) long-tail economics
d) international scientific collaboration
e) the continued dispersal of on-demand information -- we progressed
from monks in abbeys to public libraries to Google

PD

 

[Bob]

I agree with Bob and N10. Being able to create recombinant DNA is a
major quantum leap.

To that, however, I would add DNA sequencing.

Indeed.

The better term, with the intent to have one short phrase with broad
meaning, might have been DNA technologies.


I might add, tho, that recombinant DNA was probably the first of those
DNA technologies, and many of the others build on it -- including
common large scale sequencing.

Because of this, we've
been able to sequence the human genome and hundreds of other species.
Now, with automated sequencing, we're able to sequence entire genomes
(like bacteria) in around a month. That's an incredible feat. And
having all this genetic info at our fingertips has really brought about
great advances not only in molecular biology, but in biology in
general.

of our time is the invention of the Internet. Anything I could ever
want to know is a keystroke or mouse-click away. Instead of spending
countless hours in a library looking up papers, I can find everything
relevant to my topic in about 2 seconds.

But the one paper you _really_ need is not available.

bob