Get the Skinny on the Future
May 22 2008 / by juldrich / In association with Future Blogger.net
Category: Culture Year: General Rating: 6 Hot
By Jack Uldrich
Cross-posted from www.jumpthecurve.net
This morning as my daughter was leaving for school she asked if
she could watch the “fat, chunky” movie this weekend. I gave her a
perplexed look and replied that I’d never heard of it. I probed a
little further and although it took me a few moments to determine
what she was talking about, I eventually understood that she wanted
to know if she could watch a VHS-format
movie. 
This incident, along with another this past weekend where she gazed unknowingly at a record player that was for sale at a garage sale, has gotten me to thinking about what else might seem “fat and chunky” to her in the future.
Already televisions, phones and iPods are impressively thin and are likely to grow more so in the future. Alas, it won’t stop there.
A few months back, I wrote about solar energy’s long-term potential and one reason I’m so optimistic about its potential is that I believe thin-film photovoltaics are only going to grow more efficient and cost-effective over time. Among other things this implies that today’s bulky silicon solar cells are likely to fade away.
The field of nanotechnology is also leading to thinner and more effective materials. Therefore, walls made out of aerogels; car panels constructed of new nanocomposites; and automobile batteries (which utilize various nanomaterials) should also become thinner. As will lights, which will take advantage of advances in organic light emitting diodes. (cont.)
