sci-fi: Technology

The huge increase in air travelers and ever more full — and oversold — flights have made air travel more trying. But it has gotten better in one aspect that most of us in the smartphone-addicted public appreciate: Cellphone use is no longer completely forbidden on planes. We used to have to turn our phones off and store them when we flew commercially, but now can keep them on as long as they are in Airplane Mode. Why? What's changed? Weren't planes supposed to fall out of the sky should some forgetful flier leave their phone on? And what really would happen if everyone started yakking away during cross-country flights? Connecting Calls via Cell Towers - First, some basics on how cellphone systems work. When you make or receive a call, your phone looks for the closest cell tower to connect to. Each tower services an area (a "cell") that may be as large as 50 miles in radius over flat terrain, or smaller than a mile in radius in hilly areas or d...

Imagine, if you will, a future where wars are fought by military robots. Drones installed with artificial intelligence systems find and fire upon enemy targets day in and day out. At some point, a few of these drones break down. All of their internal components are in working order, but when engineers query the systems, they report a lack of energy (despite full power reserves), a dislike of their day-to-day activities, and a desire to self-destruct. If that was a human, you'd say they were suffering from depression. But a robot? Some experts think the idea isn't so farfetched — especially when you consider what it takes to think like a human. Artificial Intelligence (AI), Barred - The main suspect behind depression in humans is the neurotransmitter serotonin — the lethargy, apathy, mood swings, and sadness of the disorder are linked to a deficiency of this particular brain chemical. While it's sometimes called the "happy hormone," that's ...

As soon as we're pretty sure Elon Musk isn't a humanoid cyborg alien sent from year 4000, he goes and does something that makes us question it again. Not long after he announced the approval for construction of the Hyperloop, Musk dropped another mind-blower: let's use rockets to fly anywhere on Earth in less than an hour. Airplanes who? But Wait ! There’s More Elon Musk left quite the impression on the audience as he spoke at the International Astronautical Congress 2017 in Adelaide in late September. He began his presentation by explaining how SpaceX's new BFR (Big F***ing Rocket — no joke) will help us establish a moon base and Mars colony. The Falcon 9 rocket is partly reusable, but BFR would be able to be used again and again. This is the vehicle around which SpaceX plans to refocus their business, and use to get people to Mars by 2024. If that wasn't lofty enough, Musk casually continued, "But, uh, there's something else." Of ...