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posted by martyb on Saturday October 28 2017, @08:16PM   Printer-friendly
from the but-when-can-I-get-my-dilithium-crystals dept.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

If you think technologies from Star Trek seem far-fetched, think again. Many of the devices from the acclaimed television series are slowly becoming a reality. While we may not be teleporting people from starships to a planet's surface anytime soon, we are getting closer to developing other tools essential for future space travel endeavours.

I am a lifelong Star Trek fan, but I am also a researcher that specializes in creating new magnetic materials. The field of condensed-matter physics encompasses all new solid and liquid phases of matter, and its study has led to nearly every technological advance of the last century, from computers to cellphones to solar cells.

My approach to looking for new phenomena in materials comes from a chemistry perspective: How can we create materials that have new properties that can change our world, and eventually be used to explore "strange, new worlds"? I believe an understanding of so-called "quantum materials" in particular is essential to make science-fiction science fact.

Quantum materials, magnetic fields and shields, superconductors on spaceships, quantum computers, societal revolution? Get your Trek on.


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  • (Score: 3, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 28 2017, @08:52PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 28 2017, @08:52PM (#588794)

    Is this an article or the opening line in a grant proposal? The summary contributed nothing of real substance and comparisons to Star Trek w.r.t. to new magnetic materials was tenuous at best. Given the lack of evidence, scientific motivation and compelling arguments, I must reject this grant proposal and wish the authors the best in their next iteration.

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  • (Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday October 28 2017, @11:23PM (1 child)

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Saturday October 28 2017, @11:23PM (#588832) Homepage

    Yeah, really. If they had more specific examples, especially those previously unreleased to the public or otherwise groundbreaking, then yeah.

    But I have a feeling that, when we finally have space-stations with holosuites, the station admins will still be paying Space Mexicans to mop up all of the jissom in the holosuites.