We may have not seen the day when we have flying cars…but damn, are we getting close!
Early last year, for example, Google started testing self-driving cars. With Nevada taking the first leap of faith by giving them licenses, now they’re legal in Florida, California and Texas as well.
As of August 2012, over 300,000 autonomous hours are logged so far with a flawless safely record, unless you count the two accidents that happened when they were manually piloted.
This is just one example of how we have reached a tipping point.
Science and Technology is Changing the World…
Yet most people aren’t paying attention.
When the right minds and the right capital get behind such ambitious dreams, science fiction can become science fact. To see what I really mean, consider this…
You know about 3-D printing. But did you know that an Italian by the name of Enrico Dini has created a 3-D printer that’s capable of printing a two-story building?
Complete with rooms, stairs, pipes and partitions, the resulting material is as durable as reinforced concrete and has the look of sculptured marble.
According to him, similar structures can be built in a fourth the time as traditional buildings and without specialist knowledge. Imagine the impact on the construction industry…
Sound scary? Not if you’re on the team doing the disruption…
How about genetically modified silk that’s stronger than steel?
At University of Wyoming, scientists modified a group of silkworms to produce silk that is, weight for weight, stronger than steel. That could mean stronger sutures for the medical community, biodegradable alternatives to plastics or lightweight armour for our military.
Speaking of the military, did you know British Columbia Company HyperStealth has built a functioning prototype of an invisibility cloak for the U.S. and Canadian militaries this year?
I know that sounds like something straight out of the Harry Potter books your children and grandchildren read. And maybe you have to see (or not) to believe, but do you think the militaries of sovereign nations would seriously consider science fiction?
I didn’t think so. It’s called Quantum Stealth, and it works by bending light waves around the wearer without the use of batteries, mirrors or cameras. It blocks the subject from being seen visually, and also keeps them hidden from thermal scans and infrared.
Driving the Point Home
Consider how the invisible is being made visible…in Outer Space. Voyager 1 was launched in 1977 as the first man-made object, and while it was originally intended to fly to Saturn and Jupiter and send home images, NASA scientists soon realized the probe would venture into the unknown blackness of deep space.
So the team showed their playful side for any potentially friendly aliens out there. They placed recordings on Voyager I with sounds ranging from music to whale calls and greetings in 55 languages… just to give a sample of intelligent life on Earth… for anyone listening.
And while James Cameron was making sci-fi movies like Avatar about far off planets with forests filled with blue people, he was also scheming to accomplish a 2.5-hour voyage 6.8 miles deep to the Mariana Trench, the deepest known point in our oceans.
As you may have guessed, he did it. And in so doing was the first solo human – in his 2.5-story ‘vertical torpedo’ submarine – to witness the exotic life within those great depths, collecting various samples along the ocean floor.
It makes you salivate as an investor.
Josh Grasmick
Contributing Editor, Money Morning
From the Archives…
The Day Japan and China Shook the Aussie Market
24-05-2013 – Kris Sayce
Why the Only Thing That Matters in the Markets is Japan
23-05-2013 – Murray Dawes
When Soros Buys Gold Stocks, You Better Take Note…
22-05-2013 – Dr Alex Cowie
Look for Small-Cap Resource Stocks with Plenty of Cash
21-05-2013 – Dr Alex Cowie
Why Bank Stocks have Outperformed Resource Stocks…
20-05-2013 – Kris Sayce
