Spring 2015 Part 4

Technology

The evolution of technology is never stagnant, but rapid in our generation. From the years from 2000 to 2015, we have seen the transition from small cell phones with limited capacities to now I-Phones which have Internet access, email, texting procession, and other advanced instruments. Many of the youngsters now constantly talk about Facebook, Instagram, Kik, Messenger, Twitter, and the other diverse arrays of social media. Even Hillary Clinton announced her 2016 Presidential campaign publicly via  the usage of social media (in a campaign video showing numerous people of different backgrounds). Technology just doesn't deal with airplanes, cars, and other moving vehicles. It also deals with sophisticated circuits, HDTVs, X-Rays, and next generation computers. Therefore, this work will outline some  of the futuristic technological devices, which many people don't know about. Also, there is the growth of the CODE movement. CODE is about the development of the understanding of computer science (which includes codes, its functions, its computer usage, etc.). I am all for black people, other people of color, women, the youth, and all people using CODE.

There are many technologies arising in 2015. One type of device is the Voxel8 3D printer. There are many 3D printers now. 3D printers can print 3 dimensional solid objects. They are expensive, but the Voxel8 is different. The Voxel8 can print electronic circuits rather than just plastic objects and it uses conductive ink that dries quickly (and can be embedded in other objects). In the future, it could be used from devices including hearing aids, wearable gadgets, and even quadcopter drones. The image of the printers looks very futuristic. It’s a multi-material electronic printer. Dr. Jennifer Lewis is the director of the Voxel8 Company. She is a Harvard professor. Her previous lab at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana 3D printed a microscopic lithium ion battery. This new technology is developing very rapidly. The Voxel8 Developer’s Kit is a low cost 3D printer (which can print circuits and plastic objects). As Voxel8 Business Director, Daniel Oliver, explains, “Effectively, you could build a quadcopter with any geometry you want, stuff it with the components – on the motor- and the board-side – and, basically, have a fully functioning quadcopter without any wiring harnesses.” He continues, “People will also be able to start creating circuits on their desks. So, if you wanted to test out a circuit design, you could print out a circuit board directly on your desk. You’d have to stuff the components in, as you were doing it, but we’ve shown that you can print out what is basically an Arduino board on our printer.”

The possibilities for this technology are endless. In the future, this can revolutionize technology develop and break down monopoly control of 3D printers (if we do what is right and make this technology more accessible and more affordable for people). Oliver also mentions that designs can now dictate the placement of electronic parts. Circuits can be formed to traverse curves and climb walls.  The “Spark Powered” software, dubbed “Project Wire”, allows users to upload a CAD model and start filling it virtually with electronics and conductive ink. Objects can be printed, so that they can be plugged directly into existing electronics like an USB drive. Autodesk CTO, Jeff Kowalski, seems to agree, saying, “We’re excited to work with companies like Voxel8 because they are really pushing the boundaries of where 3D printing is capable. They’re pushing that front edge, so we can actually start to develop new functionalities using 3D printers – create things that have never been created before – and by incorporating conductive inks directly in the 3D printing process we can start to create things that have functions after they’re created.”

This technology is exciting. So, these printers can create objects to be placed into electronic objects. These printing results will have great functionality. This is cutting edge technology, which has not been seen even five years ago. There is the Nvidia Tegra Xi chip. This chip is a superchip with 256 professor cores and eight CPU cores. It will come into cars as well. There is the new Sharp Aquos Beyond 4K Ultra HDTV. This television has pixel-splitting technology to have an effective resolution of 7,680 x 4,320.  This can been called the “virtual 8K.” It will be the flagship models for Google’s new Android TV platform. Samsung is promoting its SUHD sets. It will be different than existing UHD (or ultra-high definition) TV. Cue boasts of “eco-friendly nano-crystal technology and intelligent SUHD re-mastering picture quality engine” from Samsung. The SUHD TV is innovative with advanced contrast, brightness, and spectacular color. 4K TVs have been around and SUHD is here. There is the HP Zvr 3D display, which can allow people to use glasses and connected styles to see and manipulate objects in 3D. There are new 2015 computes (like an I7 processor) with a flat keyboard, cameras, and advanced devices too. Such a computer is called the HP Sprout, which is a new generation of computers. It came out in 2014.

The growth of fuel cell vehicle is part of technology now and in the future. These cars can run on zero-emissions that run on hydrogen. Fuel cell vehicles have promised many advantages over vehicles powered by electricity or hydrocarbons. This technology has evolved to the point where automotive companies are planning launches for consumers. Some of these cars can be as high as $70,000. It can come down significantly as volumes increase within the next few years. Batteries must be charged from an external source. They can take from 5 to 12 hours to be charged depending on the car and charger. On the other hand, fuel cells generate electricity directly by using hydrogen or natural gas. Fuel cells and batteries combined can make cars stronger. Fuel cell vehicles are like hybrids and will deploy regenerative braking which recovers energy from waste heat, which is a key capacity for maximizing efficiency and range. Unlike battery powered electric vehicles, fuel cell powered ones have a long cruising range which is up to 650 kilometers per tank. The fuel is usually compressed hydrogen gas. A hydrogen fuel refill only takes about three minutes. Hydrogen is clean burning. It produces only water vapor as waste. Fuel cell vehicles using hydrogen will be zero emission, which can reduce air pollution. There are many ways to produce hydrogen without causing carbon emission. Renewable sources of electricity from wind and solar sources can be used to electrolyze water. Its overall energy efficiency of this process will be likely low. There will be a necessity for a stronger hydrogen distribution infrastructure to parallel and eventually replace gas and diesel filling stations. Apple also has the Apple pay app that deals with financial transactions. Also, Apple is promoting their new smart watches as well.

Biology

Anyone must understand biology as a very for people to fully comprehend how living organisms exist on the planet Earth. To know biology, we all must know about DNA. DNA is short for Deoxyribonucleic acid. In essence, DNA is a molecule that encodes the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and many viruses. For decades, scientists and researchers have researched DNA and find its unique qualities. DNA is like a code that determines the functions of living organisms, it can store genetic information, and it is very structured. So, DNA is a nucleic acid. It has proteins and carbohydrates. All nucleic acids compose the three macromolecules which are vital for all known forms of life. Most DNA molecules are made up of two biopolymer strands coiled around each other to form a double helix. The two DNA strands are called polynucleotides, because they are made up of simpler units called nucleotides. Each nucleotide is composed by a nitrogen-containing nucleobase (either guanine or G, adenine or A, thymine or T, and cytosine or C). There is also the monosaccharide sugar called deoxyribose and a phosphate group. The nucleotides are joined to one another in a chain by covalent bonds between the sugar of one nucleotide and the phosphate of the next, which results in an alternating sugar-phosphate backbone. According to base pairing rules (A with T and C with G), hydrogen bonds bind the nitrogenous bases of the two separate polynucleotide strands to make double-stranded DNA. DNA is heavily used for biological information storage. Biological information is replicated as the two stands are separated. A significant portion of DNA (more than 98% for humans) is non-coding, meaning that these sections do not serve as patterns for protein sequences. The two strands of DNA run in opposite directions to each other and are therefore anti-parallel. Attached to each sugar is one of four types of nucleobases (informally, bases). It is the sequence of these four nucleobases along the backbone that encodes biological information. Under the genetic code, RNA strands are translated to specify the sequence of amino acids within proteins. These RNA strands are initially created using DNA strands as a template in a process called transcription.

By Timothy