Re:Isaac Asimov's predictions for what the world will be lik...
by officemonkey on Wednesday August 28, 2013 @08:23AM
(#6289421)
There are several lighter than air gasses. Helium is rare, Neon is rarer, and Hydrogen is explosive and has really bad press. Methane is explosive as well.
Ammonia, Hydrogen flouride, and Diborane are either reactive or toxic.
Helium, Hydrogen and hot air are the most popular options, but none of them are as safe or cheap as plain old planes.
Re:Isaac Asimov's predictions for what the world will be lik...
by solistice on Wednesday August 28, 2013 @08:15PM
(#6293514)
I know that technically blimps make little sense except in fringe applications. But they're majestic, and I like that.
Re:Isaac Asimov's predictions for what the world will be lik...
by takluyver on Wednesday August 28, 2013 @01:19PM
(#6291324)
The article distinguishes between what would be technically possible in 2014 and what would be in everyday use, so I think Asimov is being judged against roughly those criteria.
Moving sidewalks: I don't think the airport walkways count. Conveyor belts and escalators were both around long before 1964. The prediction is about where they'd be used.
x Smart glass Yes, but again a cost question. There's this [http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2012/01/10/t-ts-samsun...], by Samsung. I don't see why you couldn't replace your windows with such screens if you had the spare dough. Also, there's privacy glass, which is cheaper, but still sets you back 500USD/m².
x Fusion power plants. Those might be a couple of years off.
x Radioactive batteries. Exist, but not in the scale and power density Asimov predicts. There are nuclear batteries for pacemakers [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betacel].
x Moving sidewalks Yep, only at chokepoints and long stretches of unidirectional people movement indoors.
x Moon colonies. They're on the other side, hiding. Trust me on this one.
A lot of these points are arguable. I'm easily excitable, so I consider technological feasibility/existence as a check, but your view on it may be more somber (It has to be exactly as he predicted). I'm just amazed he got that much of it right.
On a side note, why couldn't the non-asimov prediction with blimp filled skies come true? They're like sky whales...and I really should get some sleep.