Flashcards: Emerging technologies

Graphene (/ˈɡræf.iːn/) is an allotrope of carbon in the form of a two-dimensional, atomic-scale, honey-comb lattice in which one atom forms each vertex.

Gene therapy is the therapeutic delivery of nucleic acid polymers into a patient's cells as a drug to treat disease.

Extremely high-power sound waves can disrupt or destroy the eardrums of a target and cause severe pain or disorientation.

A virtual retinal display (VRD), also known as a retinal scan display (RSD) or retinal projector (RP), is a display technology that draws a raster display (like a television) directly onto the retina of the eye.

A supercapacitor (SC) (sometimes ultracapacitor, formerly electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC)) is a high-capacity electrochemical capacitor with capacitance values much higher than other capacitors (but lower voltage limits) that bridge the gap between electrolytic capacitors and rechargeable batteries.

Shortest Path Bridging (SPB), specified in the IEEE 802.

Software-defined networking (SDN) is an approach to computer networking that allows network administrators to manage network services through abstraction of lower-level functionality.

Biological immortality refers to a stable or decreasing rate of mortality from senescence, thus decoupling it from chronological age.

Electroencephalography (EEG) is an electrophysiological monitoring method to record electrical activity of the brain.

A directed-energy weapon (DEW) emits highly focused energy, transferring that energy to a target to damage it.

A memristor (/ˈmɛmrᵻstər/; a portmanteau of memory resistor) is a hypothetical non-linear passive two-terminal electrical component relating electric charge and magnetic flux linkage.

A head transplant is a surgical operation which involves the grafting of one organism's head onto the body of another.

Superfluidity is the characteristic property of a fluid with zero viscosity which therefore flows without loss of kinetic energy.

Cryopreservation or cryoconservation is a process where organelles, cells, tissues, extracellular matrix, organs or any other biological constructs susceptible to damage caused by unregulated chemical kinetics are preserved by cooling to very low temperatures (typically -80 °C using solid carbon dioxide or -196 °C using liquid nitrogen).

Nano-RAM is a proprietary computer memory technology from the company Nantero.

Conductive polymers or, more precisely, intrinsically conducting polymers (ICPs) are organic polymers that conduct electricity.

The Boeing YAL-1 Airborne Laser Testbed (formerly Airborne Laser) weapons system was a megawatt-class chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL) mounted inside a modified Boeing 747-400F.

Brain implants, often referred to as neural implants, are technological devices that connect directly to a biological subject's brain – usually placed on the surface of the brain, or attached to the brain's cortex.

An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light in response to an electric current.

The internet of things (IoT) is the internetworking of physical devices, vehicles (also referred to as "connected devices" and "smart devices"), buildings and other items—embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity that enable these objects to collect and exchange data.

Xenobiology (XB) is a subfield of synthetic biology, the study of synthesizing and manipulating biological devices and systems.

Project Orion was a study of a spacecraft intended to be directly propelled by a series of explosions of atomic bombs behind the craft (nuclear pulse propulsion).

(For related content, see Genetic engineering, Genetically modified organism, Genetically modified crops, Genetically modified food controversies, and Regulation of the release of genetically modified organisms.) Genetically modified foods or GM foods, also genetically engineered foods, are foods produced from organisms that have had changes introduced into their DNA using the methods of genetic engineering.

A maser (/ˈmeɪzər/, an acronym for "microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation") is a device that produces coherent electromagnetic waves through amplification by stimulated emission.

Wireless power transfer (WPT) or wireless energy transmission is the transmission of electrical energy from a power source to an electrical load, such as an electrical power grid or a consuming device, without the use of discrete human-made conductors.

A smart grid is an electrical grid which includes a variety of operational and energy measures including smart meters, smart appliances, renewable energy resources, and energy efficiency resources.

Ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM, F-RAM or FRAM) is a random-access memory similar in construction to DRAM but uses a ferroelectric layer instead of a dielectric layer to achieve non-volatility.

Interstellar travel is the term used for hypothetical piloted or unpiloted travel between stars or planetary systems.

The X-53 Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW) development program is a completed research project that was undertaken jointly by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Boeing Phantom Works and NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, where the technology was flight tested on a modified McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet.

Magnetic refrigeration is a cooling technology based on the magnetocaloric effect.

See the Nanomaterials category for an exhaustive list of articles related to this subject.

An amorphous metal (also known as metallic glass or glassy metal) is a solid metallic material, usually an alloy, with a disordered atomic-scale structure.

Quantum cryptography is the science of exploiting quantum mechanicalproperties to perform cryptographic tasks.

Skylon is a design for a single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane by the British company Reaction Engines Limited (REL), using SABRE, a combined-cycle, air-breathing rocket propulsion system, potentially reusable for 200 flights.

Futurism is known for creating content that takes complex topics and breaks them down into easy to understand visual infographics and videos.

Nuclear pulse propulsion or external pulsed plasma propulsion, is a hypothetical method of spacecraft propulsion that uses nuclear explosions for thrust.

An optical head-mounted display (OHMD) is a wearable device that has the capability of reflecting projected images as well as allowing the user to see through it that is augmented reality.

Modular self-reconfiguring robotic systems or self-reconfigurable modular robots are autonomous kinematic machines with variable morphology.

National Bird is a 2016 documentary film directed by Sonia Kennebeck with executive producers Wim Wenders and Errol Morris.

Connectome: How the Brain's Wiring Makes Us Who We Are (2012) is a book by Sebastian Seung.

ET3 Global Alliance is an American open consortium of licensees dedicated to global implementation of Evacuated Tube Transport (ETT).

The International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN) was established by Northwestern University in 2000.

A reusable launch system (RLS, or reusable launch vehicle, RLV) is a launch system which is capable of launching a payload into space more than once.

L/P Odyssey is a self-propelled semi-submersible mobile spacecraft launch platform converted from a mobile drilling rig in 1997.

Solar Roadways Incorporated is a startup company based in Sandpoint, Idaho aiming to develop solar powered road panels to form a smart highway.

Transrapid is a German high-speed monorail train using magnetic levitation based on a 1934 patent.

Roboethics is a short expression for "ethics of robotics" or "robot ethics".

Worldwide Aeros Corp is an American manufacturer of airships based in Montebello, California.

Quantum computing studies theoretical computation systems (quantum computers) that make direct use of quantum-mechanical phenomena, such as superposition and entanglement, to perform operations on data.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are allotropes of carbon with a cylindrical nanostructure.

Krossblade Aerospace Systems is an aviation company founded in 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.

How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-Extinction is a 2015 non-fiction book by biologist Beth Shapiro and published by Princeton University Press.

The 100,000 Genomes Project is a UK Government project that is sequencing whole genomes from National Health Service patients.

Hyperloop Makers UPV (a.k.a. Hyperloop UPV) is a team of students from the Universitat Politècnica de València (Valencia, Spain) designing a rail-free concept of Hyperloop.

Emerging technologies are those technical innovations which represent progressive developments within a field for competitive advantage.

HUDWAY is a California-based company that provides comprehensive head-up display (HUD) solutions for drivers all over the world.

The 100K Pathogen Genome Project was launched in July 2012 by Bart Weimer (UC Davis) as an academic, public, and private partnership.

A photonic laser thruster (PLT) is a concept for space propulsion that works on the principle of a photon-pushed sail, generating thrust directly from the momentum of a photon from a laser reflected from a mirror.

The Reaction Engines Limited A2 (called the A2) is a design study for a hypersonic speed jet airliner intended to provide environmentally friendly, long range, high capacity commercial transportation.

Pristine is a VC funded startup that develops software for hands-free smartglasses and smart mobile devices, enabling video collaboration and remote support in industrial and manufacturing environments, field service management and healthcare.

Pavlok is a wearable device that uses operant conditioning through haptic feedback to modify behavior.

uSens, Inc. is a Silicon Valley start-up founded in 2013 in San Jose, California.

The UK National Quantum Technologies Programme (UKNQTP) is a programme set up by the UK government to translate academic work on quantum mechanics, and the effects of quantum superposition and quantum entanglement into new products and services.

Project Hieroglyph is an initiative to create science fiction that will spur innovation in science and technology founded by Neal Stephenson in 2011.

Tissue engineering is the use of a combination of cells, engineering and materials methods, and suitable biochemical and physicochemical factors to improve or replace biological tissues.

Maglev (derived from magnetic levitation) is a transport method that uses magnetic levitation to move vehicles without making contact with the ground.

Nanotube membranes are either a single, open-ended nanotube(CNT) or a film composed of an array of nanotubes that are oriented perpendicularly to the surface of an impermeable film matrix like the cells of a honeycomb.

An alternative fuel vehicle is a vehicle that runs on a fuel other than traditional petroleum fuels (petrol or Diesel fuel); and also refers to any technology of powering an engine that does not involve solely petroleum (e.g. electric car, hybrid electric vehicles, solar powered).

A mass driver or electromagnetic catapult is a proposed method of non-rocket spacelaunch which would use a linear motor to accelerate and catapult payloads up to high speeds.

Quantum dots (QD) are very small semiconductor particles, only several nanometres in size, so small that their optical and electronic properties differ from those of larger particles.

Quantum teleportation is a process by which quantum information (e.g. the exact state of an atom or photon) can be transmitted (exactly, in principle) from one location to another, with the help of classical communication and previously shared quantum entanglement between the sending and receiving location.

Corinne Danièle Goddijn-Vigreux, commonly known as Corinne Vigreux, (born 9 December 1964) is a French business executive and entrepreneur.

Harold Goddijn (born April 23, 1960) is the CEO of the Dutch consumer electronics company TomTom since 2001.

SRT1720 is an experimental drug that was studied by Sirtris Pharmaceuticals intended as a small-molecule activator of the sirtuin subtype SIRT1.

IEEE Smart Grid is an initiative launched by IEEE to help provide expertise and guidance for individuals and organizations involved in the modernization and optimization of the power grid, better known as the "smart grid".

A cloak of invisibility is a fictional theme and a device under some scientific inquiry.