Disruption is the future

I was looking at the new Volt concept car from GM, and recognized that the car would never get to the market, as GM really did not want to be in the hybrid/electric car business whatever they said publicly. Their current excuse is that the battery needs to last ten years, which is beyond the current technology, and probably will remain that way for a long time. Interestingly there is a Brazilian car company that is promising a plug in hybrid and electric car next year. the Obvio! looks like it might be another disruption for the American car companies that still have not figured out that the future will not look so much like the past.

NASA and ESA have a similar problem, and the future of spaceflight is not going to be something that comes out of those structured work shops.

What do you think?

New item: NASA is going to shut down their future tech think tank. link

The Rate of Change

It seems that I am getting further and further behind as I get older. Some people say that the rate of change we are seeing will increase or even increase to a singularity. Perhaps I just need a better interface.

Science fiction again finds its way into science fact

The physics of launching a spacecraft using maglev has gotten another boost. how much longer will it be before the cannon that launches a spacecraft to the moon that Jules Vern described is accepted?

Maglev launch assist technology may enable commercial space travel from PhysOrg.com

The same technology used in magnetically levitated ("maglev") trains may give spaceships a low-cost, stable boost for the future of space travel—possibly even for joy rides. A research group from two universities in Beijing, China has constructed a maglev test vehicle that works on a model track made of a permanent magnet-high temperature superconductor (PM-HTS).

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Things to read

I was looking around for something new to read and found the free books at http://www.webscription.net/ which has the Baen books free library. The free books are not the most current, but are all in electronic format and freely readable.

Future Science

I am creating a Wiki space at http://sififutures.wikispaces.com/ that is primarily about the technologies of the future, and how those technologies work.

I will be updating this blog as I get that wiki started and hopefully explain some of those technologies.