I keep reading through forums and there are always people who say things like “Too bad it is Halo and not reality”. When there are quite a few things in Halo that are being worked on right in their infant forms. I want to have a forum where people can nerd out about current technologies being developed and their relations to the Halo Universe. I am going to list out some of the stuff I know of and would like to learn from my fellow Halo fans of other things out there.
-Powered exoskeleton suits are being developed by the US Army
-Google is coming out with “Google Glass” which will be glasses that replace smartphones, ie HUD
-Gene screening and therapy will be used by NASA for the mission to Mars to identify and make the astronauts more resistant to radiation
-Between graphene and carbon nano tubes we can expect to see a space tether within 50 years
-The discovery of graphene will change our world over the coming decade, it is the most electrically conductive material at room temperature, has a high heat conductivity (transfers heat quickly), is harder then diamond, stronger then steel, and flexible
-Rail guns are being developed by the US Navy and they plan to start outfitting ships by 2020
-The first self sustaining nuclear fusion reactor is set to go online in France in 2019
If I know anything, it is that I don’t know everything. Look forward to hearing and learning from you.
In addition to the Rail gun project, there is also a laser project receiving funding. There are weaponized lasers in existance right now, In addition to higher power models in testing.
I recently saw a mention of a theory that using Carbon Nano tubes in batteries could increase battery efficiency, which would be groundbreaking if it succeeds. The only thing really keeping us from armored power armor suits is the power supply needs.
On the matter of shields, There are small scale Plasma window projects. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_window Currently they are very small. But the larger they can make them, the possibilites arise for airlock sealing ‘shields’ that are capable of holding in atmosphere against vaccum or higher pressure.
Another recent development was the application of Nano-tubes into computer chip transistors, allowing Chips to become even smaller.
Always liked the science behind the Halo canon, this is a good topic, if I’m not mistaken, isn’t the military working on a Mac gun? I’m not positive on that one, but I could have sworn I read something like that before.
Dont forget the micro fiber… man i forgot. Anywho its Active camo the Military has been working for years. It just captures the images in front, and/or behind you and projects and makes you almost invisible.
Simply put, an invisibility cloak. In this case, anything behind it would be completely hidden. Though it has personally made me wonder what means for sight would be developed if say, a soldier were draped into this. Logically the light would be bent away from their eyes, so it would require alternate means of vision.
> Another recent development was the application of Nano-tubes into computer chip transistors, allowing Chips to become even smaller.
I am not familiar with the carbon nano tube transistors but i do know they are working on graphene transistors. It is a similar material that is one atom thick layer lattice (sheet) instead of a cylinder shaped lattice. I assume they are probably running into similar problems, that being able to turn the transistors “off”. For anyone who doesn’t know how transistors work you run electricity through them and it is “on”, if you stop the electricity they turn “off”. The problem with graphene is that it is so electrically conductive that it doesn’t turn “off”, it simply still holds the electrical charge.
Also the testing shows that they can handle a continuous 1500GHz. For non-computer people that is basically an increase by a factor of 1000 over the best in home computing power. We will finally have computers that beat out the human brain on processing power.
Also there are experiments going on to combine graphene/lithium/carbon nano tubes to make super battery/capacitors. The research right now is showing an increase in charge rate and electrical holding capacity by a minimum factor of 100. All this without the random power loss that capacitors are susceptible to. An added benefit is that graphene and carbon nano tubes are flexible, so batteries and the like will be able to move and bend.
> Always liked the science behind the Halo canon, this is a good topic, if I’m not mistaken, isn’t the military working on a Mac gun? I’m not positive on that one, but I could have sworn I read something like that before.
Yep I think quite a few weapon designers are working on railguns.
> I recently saw a mention of a theory that using Carbon Nano tubes in batteries could increase battery efficiency, which would be groundbreaking if it succeeds. The only thing really keeping us from armored power armor suits is the power supply needs.
There are some structural challenges to a real exoskeletal armor. What is in development looks more like the suits from Exosquad (anyone remember that show?) Here’s a pic for reference.
There’s some substantial ergonomic issues in a truly coaxial system like Iron-man and Master Chief have. I remember reading about someone experimenting with a series of nested ball-and-socket joints that could bear a load without restricting range of motion too severely and still allow your arms and legs to fit through. Getting in and out of said designs was still a huge problem, though. Lots of trial and error to go before we get a Mjolnir to play around in.
Nanotube batteries are cool, but a portable fusion plant would be cooler. Either PopSci or Popular Mechanics ran an article a while back about a fusion reactor the size of a kitchen table that is nominally the size of a kitchen table, but could be scaled in either direction as needed. The current design could be used to process nuclear waste into much safer forms, but the developers were working towards a system that can be airdropped into a disaster hit city and turn the lights back on or installed to replace coal plants the world over. No reason to not strap on to the back of your armor. And the design wasn’t susceptible to what happened to the fission reactor at Chernobyl; any part of the system failing resulted in a mechanical shut down where the reactor just putters out instead of going boom.
> Nanotube batteries are cool, but a portable fusion plant would be cooler. Either PopSci or Popular Mechanics ran an article a while back about a fusion reactor the size of a kitchen table that is nominally the size of a kitchen table, but could be scaled in either direction as needed. The current design could be used to process nuclear waste into much safer forms, but the developers were working towards a system that can be airdropped into a disaster hit city and turn the lights back on or installed to replace coal plants the world over. No reason to not strap on to the back of your armor. And the design wasn’t susceptible to what happened to the fission reactor at Chernobyl; any part of the system failing resulted in a mechanical shut down where the reactor just putters out instead of going boom.
I do not want to completely rain on your parade because I totally agree with you that portable fusion reactors will be BA. There are two huge problems with the fusion reactors you mentioned. First and foremost is the magnetic fields created and required to maintain nuclear fusion are immense. Before we see a backpack we need to figure out how to contain the magnetic fields, something i look forward to.
The second problem is the fuel material. We will NEVER use nuclear waste to power nuclear fusion because that is impossible (the elements are too heavy). Any element that is iron or heavier requires more energy to combine into new elements then is created by the reaction. When a star creates iron, that is what kills the star (in the matter of seconds). Could we use nuclear fusion to eliminate nuclear waste? Yes, but it will be a massive drain on power not a creation of it. We will use hydrogen to fuel nuclear fusion. Every REAL nuclear fusion reactor in design and working ones, combine hydrogen into helium. Currently the longest sustained nuclear fusion reaction we have is 30 seconds. In 2019, when the reactor in France that is going to go live will be the first truly self-sustaining nuclear fusion reactor.
> The second problem is the fuel material. We will NEVER use nuclear waste to power nuclear fusion because that is impossible (the elements are too heavy). Any element that is iron or heavier requires more energy to combine into new elements then is created by the reaction. When a star creates iron, that is what kills the star (in the matter of seconds). Could we use nuclear fusion to eliminate nuclear waste? Yes, but it will be a massive drain on power not a creation of it. We will use hydrogen to fuel nuclear fusion. Every REAL nuclear fusion reactor in design and working ones, combine hydrogen into helium. Currently the longest sustained nuclear fusion reaction we have is 30 seconds. In 2019, when the reactor in France that is going to go live will be the first truly self-sustaining nuclear fusion reactor.
All I said was that the design can be used to render spent fission fuel inert. Not that it could generate power. I’m well aware that any power-generation scheme would be fueled off very light elements. But the reactor design I read about can be used for both power generation and waste disposal. I was simply pointing out that detail to give a sense of how far the project is along its development. “Scalable reactor” sounds great, but one that is working towards that break-even point (which as you said, France hopes to have by 2019) and can already process nuclear waste into safer forms really drives the awesomeness of it home. And it’s being privately funded, at that.
We know what it is “Ionized gas. In otherwords, gas so hot that the electrons have be removed from orbiting the nucelus” and i have read many web pages on the theory that it can be used as a source of power. Mainly for Space Crafts. To actually contain it, a strong EMF would be required. If it is contained, the plasma can be circulated (Much like basic electric turbines), which in theory could provide an amazing amount of energy.
Problem is however managing to somehow heat the gas in the first place.
