Stacked solar cells handle energy of 70,000 suns

North Carolina State University researchers have developed a new technique for improving the connections between stacked solar cells, which could improve the overall efficiency of solar energy devices and reduce the cost of solar energy production. The new connections allow these cells to operate at solar concentrations of 70,000 suns worth of energy, without losing much voltage as "wasted energy" or heat.

 Stacked solar cells consist of several solar cells that are stacked on top of one another. They are currently the most efficient cells on the market, converting up to 45 percent of the sunlight they absorb into electricity. To be effective, however, designers need to ensure the connecting junctions between these cells do not absorb any of the solar energy and do not siphon off the voltage the cells produce – effectively wasting that energy as heat.

“We have discovered that by inserting a very thin film of gallium arsenide into the connecting junction of stacked cells we can virtually eliminate voltage loss, without blocking any of the solar energy,” says Dr. Salah Bedair, a professor of electrical engineering at NC State and senior author of a paper describing the work.

This work is important because photovoltaic energy companies are interested in using lenses to concentrate solar energy from one sun (no lens) to 4,000 suns or more. But if the solar energy is significantly intensified – to 700 suns or more – connecting junctions used in existing stacked cells begin losing voltage. And the more intense the solar energy, the more voltage those junctions lose – thereby reducing the conversion efficiency.

“Now we have created a connecting junction that loses almost no voltage, even when the stacked solar cell is exposed to 70,000 suns of solar energy,” Bedair says. “And that is more than sufficient for practical purposes, since concentrating lenses are unlikely to create more than 4,000 or 5,000 suns worth of energy. This discovery means that solar cell manufacturers can now create stacked cells that can handle these high-intensity solar energies without losing voltage at the connecting junctions, thus potentially improving conversion efficiency.

“This should reduce overall costs for the energy industry because – rather than producing large, expensive solar cells – you can use much smaller cells that produce just as much electricity by absorbing intensified solar energy from concentrating lenses. And concentrating lenses are relatively inexpensive.”

Robots taking over the economy sudden rise of interacting machines trading at speeds too fast for humans

Recently, the global financial market experienced a series of computer glitches that abruptly brought operations to a halt. This was so serious that – on one day – it resulted in a third fewer shares being traded in the USA. One reason for these "flash freezes" may be the sudden emergence of mobs of ultrafast robots, which trade on the global markets and operate at speeds beyond human capability, thus overwhelming the system. The appearance of this "ultrafast machine ecology" is documented in a new study published today in Nature Scientific Reports.

The findings suggest that for time scales less than one second, the financial world makes a sudden transition into a cyber jungle inhabited by packs of aggressive trading algorithms. "These algorithms can operate so fast that humans are unable to participate in real time, and instead, an ultrafast ecology of robots rises up to take control," explains Neil Johnson, professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Miami (UM).

"Our findings show that, in this new world of ultrafast robot algorithms, the behaviour of the market undergoes a fundamental and abrupt transition to another world where conventional market theories no longer apply," Johnson says.

Society's push for ever faster systems that outpace competitors has led to algorithms capable of operating faster than the response time for a human. For instance, the quickest a person can react to potential danger is about one second. Even a chess grandmaster takes around 650 milliseconds to realise that he is in trouble – yet microchips for trading can operate in a fraction of a millisecond (1 millisecond is 0.001 seconds).

In this study, the researchers assembled and analysed a high-throughput millisecond-resolution price stream of multiple stocks and exchanges. From January 2006, through to February 2011, they found 18,520 extreme events lasting less than 1.5 seconds, including both crashes and spikes.The team realised that as the duration of these ultrafast extreme events fell below human response times, the number of crashes and spikes increased dramatically. They created a model to understand the behaviour and concluded that the events were the product of ultrafast computer trading and not attributable to other factors, such as regulations or mistaken trades. Johnson, who is head of the inter-disciplinary research group on complexity at UM, compares the situation to an ecological environment.

"As long as you have the normal combination of prey and predators, everything is in balance, but if you introduce predators that are too fast, they create extreme events," Johnson says. "What we see with the new ultrafast computer algorithms is predatory trading. In this case, the predator acts before the prey even knows it's there."

Johnson explains that in order to regulate these ultrafast computer algorithms, we need to understand their collective behaviour. This is a daunting task, but is made easier by the fact that the algorithms that operate below human response times are relatively simple, because simplicity allows faster processing.

"There are relatively few things that an ultrafast algorithm will do," Johnson says. "This means that they are more likely to start adopting the same behaviour, and hence form a cyber crowd or cyber mob which attacks a certain part of the market. This is what gives rise to the extreme events that we observe," he says. "Our math model is able to capture this collective behaviour by modelling how these cyber mobs behave."

In fact, Johnson believes this new understanding of cyber-mobs may have other important applications outside of finance – such as dealing with cyber-attacks and cyber-warfare.

200,000 AD Constellations visible from Earth have been rendered unrecognisable

Proper motion - the continuous movement of celestial bodies due to changing orbits or the remaining effects of the Big Bang - has radically changed the view of the night sky from Earth. Stars naturally move at different velocities, depending on the manner in which a star formed from its original dust cloud. By 50,000 AD, constellations were beginning to be twisted and bent into new shapes and by 200,000 AD have become completely unrecognisable.This includes once famous groups of stars like the Big Dipper, Orion, Ursa Major, Perseus and Gemini. As a result of changes in Earth's axial orientation, Gamma Cephei, Iota Cephei and Vega have taken the position of the North Star.

Phase I clinical trials of AIDS vaccine successful

Developed by Dr. Chil-Yong Kang and his team at Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, with the support of Sumagen Canada, this vaccine (SAV001-H) holds tremendous promise for success in the final phases of clinical testing, now that the first hurdle has been accomplished. It is the only HIV vaccine developed in Canada currently in clinical trial, and one of only a few in the world.

This vaccine is the first genetically modified, killed whole virus vaccine in human clinical trial to evaluate its safety, tolerability and immune responses. Following earlier success in animal subjects, the human clinical trial was initiated in March 2012 and completed in August 2013. This trial was a randomised, observer-blinded, placebo-controlled study of killed whole HIV-1 vaccine, following intramuscular administration. HIV-infected, asymptomatic men and women, aged from 18 to 50, were randomised into two treatment groups to administer either SAV001-H or a placebo.

Adverse effects after vaccination were recorded on a diary card by each of the volunteers, seven days after vaccination. Thereafter, the volunteers visited the test sites on weeks 4, 6, 12, 18, 26 and 52 after vaccination and were analysed for haematology, clinical chemistry, urinalysis and physical examination. No serious adverse effects were observed in any volunteers throughout the observation periods.

In addition to safety evaluation, HIV-1 specific antibody detections were performed in the follow up period. The antibody against p24 capsid antigen (which makes up most of the HIV viral core) was boosted as much as 64-fold in some people, while the antibody against gp120 surface antigen increased up to eight-fold. These antibody concentrations were maintained throughout the 52 week study period – a highly encouraging result, since these broadly neutralising antibodies are the most important parameter of an effective HIV vaccine.

 HIV/AIDS has killed 35 million people worldwide, and more than 34 million currently live with the infection. Since the virus was characterised in 1983, there have been numerous trials through pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions around the world to develop vaccines; however, none have been successful to date. Other HIV vaccines evaluated through human clinical trials have focused on either one specific component of HIV as an antigen, a genetic vaccine using recombinant DNA, or recombinant viruses carrying the HIV genes.

SAV001-H is unique and different from other vaccine candidates. It uses a genetically re-engineered whole virus genome which therefore eliminates its pathogenicity, with its virulence inactivated through chemical treatment and irradiation, finally arriving as the first "whole killed virus"-based HIV vaccine. This is much like the killed whole virus vaccines for polio, influenza, rabies and hepatitis A. The HIV-1 is genetically engineered to be safer and reproducible in large quantities.

Proving its safety was the greatest concern for this stage. With these encouraging results from the Phase I clinical trial, the researchers are now confident in developing SAV001-H as the first preventative HIV vaccine, which could arrive as early as 2017. They are now preparing for the next phases of trials to show its efficacy and immunogenicity.

"Even though Sumagen has struggled and spent a much longer time to overcome manufacturing difficulties and to meet the U.S. FDA's requirements, we have accomplished successfully Phase I Clinical Trial of SA001-H and proven that there is no safety concern in human administration," said Jung-Gee Cho, the CEO of Sumagen. "We are now prepared to take the next steps towards Phase II and Phase III clinical trials. We are opening the gate to pharmaceutical companies, government, and charity organisations for collaboration to be one step closer to the first commercialised HIV vaccine."

Scientists confirm existence of largest single volcano on Earth

A team of scientists has found the largest single volcano yet documented on Earth. Covering an area roughly equivalent to the British Isles or the state of New Mexico, this underwater volcano – the Tamu Massif – is nearly as big as the giant volcanoes of Mars, placing it among the largest in the Solar System.

 Located about 1,000 miles east of Japan, Tamu Massif is the largest feature of Shatsky Rise, an underwater mountain range formed 130 to 145 million years ago by the eruption of several underwater volcanoes. Until now, it was unclear whether Tamu Massif was a single volcano, or a composite of many eruption points. By integrating several sources of evidence, including core samples and data from the JOIDES Resolution research ship, the authors have confirmed that the mass of basalt that constitutes Tamu Massif did indeed erupt from a single source near the centre.

“Tamu Massif is the biggest single shield volcano ever discovered on Earth,” said William Sager, a professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Houston (UH), who first began studying the volcano about 20 years ago. “There may be larger volcanoes – because there are bigger igneous features out there such as the Ontong Java Plateau – but we don't know if these features are one volcano, or complexes of volcanoes.”

Tamu Massif stands out among underwater volcanoes not just for its size, but also its shape. It is low and broad, meaning that the erupted lava flows must have travelled long distances compared to most other volcanoes on Earth. The seafloor is dotted with thousands of underwater volcanoes, or seamounts, most of which are small and steep compared to the low, broad expanse of Tamu Massif.

“It’s not high, but very wide, so the flank slopes are very gradual,” Sager said. “In fact, if you were standing on its flank, you would have trouble telling which way is downhill. We know that it is a single immense volcano constructed from massive lava flows that emanated from the centre of the volcano to form a broad, shield-like shape. Before now, we didn't know this because oceanic plateaus are huge features hidden beneath the sea. They have found a good place to hide.”

Tamu Massif covers an area of about 120,000 square miles. By comparison, Hawaii’s Mauna Loa – the largest active volcano on Earth – is approximately 2,000 square miles, or roughly 2 percent the size of Tamu Massif. To find a worthy comparison, one must look skyward to the planet Mars, home to Olympus Mons. That volcano, pictured below, is only about 25 percent larger by volume than Tamu Massif.The study relied on two distinct, yet complementary, sources of evidence – core samples from an ocean drilling program collected in 2009, and seismic reflection data gathered on two separate expeditions in 2010 and 2012. The core samples, drilled from several locations on Tamu Massif, showed that thick lava flows (up to 75 ft thick), characterise this volcano. Seismic data revealed the structure of the volcano, confirming that the lava flows emanated from its summit and flowed hundreds of miles downhill into the adjacent basins.

According to Sager, Tamu Massif formed 145 million years ago – placing it on the border between the Jurassic and the Cretaceous periods – and became inactive within a few million years of erupting. Its top lies about 6,500 feet below the ocean surface, while much of its base is believed to be in waters that are almost four miles deep.

“Its shape is different from any other sub-marine volcano found on Earth, and it’s very possible it can give us some clues about how massive volcanoes can form,” added Sager. “An immense amount of magma came from the centre, and this magma had to have come from the Earth’s mantle. So this is important information for geologists trying to understand how the Earth’s interior works.”

A cure for malaria

A pill is now available offering a completely effective cure for malaria. With a single dose, it eliminates all strains and blocks transmission from person to person. In 2012, an extensive screening campaign looked at 6 million compounds and selected the most promising from the series to be optimised and retested. A molecule known as MMV390048 was identified as suitable for preclinical development. When tested on animals, it showed potent activity against multiple stages in the malaria parasite's life cycle. Animals given a single dose orally were completely cured, with no reported side effects. Human clinical trials, beginning in late 2013, achieved similar success.

This new treatment offers a major improvement to global health. In 2010, there were 216 million documented cases of malaria. Around 655,000 died from the disease - about 2.2% of all deaths worldwide - and it was responsible for a quarter of child deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. The actual number of deaths may have been significantly higher as precise statistics for all rural areas were unavailable, with many cases going undocumented.

Malaria has long been associated with poverty, especially for countries in Africa. The eradication of this disease is giving a major boost to economic development. In addition to the pill, genetic modification of mosquitoes is also playing a role in finally consigning malaria to history.* Other methods have been developed too. In modern buildings and hospitals, for instance, automated laser systems can track and kill the insects.

Complex organ replacements grown from stem cells

In the previous decade, it had already been possible to grow various tissues, bones and muscles using stem cells. The first complete synthetic organ transplant was achieved in 2011, when a replacement windpipe was given to a terminal cancer patient. This was followed by further breakthroughs as more complex body structures and systems began to be engineered.

By 2020, a major landmark is reached, with scientists having fully characterised how every part of the heart works - enabling complete replacements for use in transplants. The need for external donors is eliminated, and since the organ is genetically matched to the patient, there is no chance of rejection. This new treatment offers hope to millions of people affected by cardiovascular disease. Until now, 15 million had died each year from such conditions.

The economic benefits are huge. A significant fraction of healthcare costs have been attributable to organ failure, the recurring treatments for chronic diseases and their subsequent complications. This new regenerative medicine effectively provides a cure, rather than ongoing treatment. Until now, direct healthcare costs of organ replacement and associated care had been $350 billion globally (about 8 percent of global healthcare spending).

As well as the heart, various other organs are eventually developed: lungs, livers, kidneys, spleens, stomachs, the pancreas and sexual organs all enter clinical trials. Internal organ failure will gradually become a thing of the past; for those who can afford the treatments, at least. Furthermore, new vitrification techniques allow organ banking without damage from ice crystal formation.

Glacier National Park and other regions are becoming ice-free

By now, the Glacier National Park in Montana has become completely ice-free, the park's namesakes having disappeared as a result of global warming. An earlier model (shown below) had forecast this event for 2030, based on a study by the US Geological Survey, along with 1992 temperature predictions by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). However, updated computer models and fresh data obtained in 2009 indicated a temperature rise more than twice as rapid as previously thought.

 As early as 2020, therefore, the glaciers were gone, leaving behind only barren rock. Many cold water dependent plants and animals subsequently died out due to loss of habitat, including a number of rare species. Reduced seasonal melting of ice also affected stream flow during the dry summer and fall seasons, reducing water table levels and increasing the number of forest fires. This had the added effect of putting more carbon into the atmosphere. The loss of glaciers also reduced the aesthetic visual appeal of the region for visiting tourists.

This process is being mirrored all over the world, with non-polar ice beginning to vanish from many prominent regions including the Andes, Alps, Himalayas and Kilimanjaro.

Later this century, glacier loss from the Himalayas will have a devastating impact - destabilising much of the Indian subcontinent, including the nuclear-armed Pakistan. Floods and mudslides will be triggered by the initial melting. Afterwards, fewer and smaller glaciers will mean less run-off to rivers such as the Ganges that would normally provide fresh water for drinking, agricultural production and hydroelectric power generation. Given that the Mekong, Yangtze and Yellow rivers are affected too, this could mean water shortages for potentially two billion people.

The 5G standard is released.

By 2020, the next major cellular wireless standard has been adopted.* This continues the trend seen since 1981 in which a new mobile generation has appeared roughly every 10th year. The 5G family of standards is a major leap from previous generations in terms of power and functionality. Among its key features are:

• Pervasive networks providing ubiquitous computing. The user can simultaneously be connected to several wireless access technologies and seamlessly move between them. These can be 2.5G, 3G, 4G or 5G networks, Wi-Fi, WPAN or any other contemporary access technology. Multiple, concurrent data transfer paths can be easily handled.
• Group cooperative relay. High bit rates are now available in a larger portion of the cell, especially to users in an exposed location in between several base stations. This is achieved by cellular repeaters, together with macro-diversity techniques (also known as group cooperative relay), as well as beam-division multiple access.
• IPv6, where a visiting care-of mobile IP address is assigned according to location and connected network.
• High-altitude stratospheric platform station (HAPS) systems, delivering high-speed Internet service to very large geographical areas.
• Wearable devices with AI capabilities, offering greater levels of user interaction and personalisation.
• One unified global standard with full compatibility, no matter what brand or model.

Texting by thinking

In addition to 5G, phones are now available with the option of texting by thought power alone. This is achieved by a combination of eye-tracking technology and a sensor-mounted headset worn by the user. The headset contains a brain-machine interface which detects electrical brain waves and converts them into digital signals, then displays the resulting letters on-screen.

Some high-end models can be used with glasses or visors featuring displays built into their lenses. This enables completely hands-free texting, creating a form of virtual telepathy. The process is rather slow at this stage, requiring a high degree of mental concentration. It is more of a novelty for now. However, advances in the coming years will enable smooth and fast interactions, revolutionising the world of communication.

Establishment of the first manned lunar bases

By the latter half of this decade, a number of government and private ventures have successfully constructed the first human settlements on the Moon. This marks a significant milestone during a period of accelerated development in space, which has seen major technological advancements and the increased commercialisation of human space flight. Despite the current upheaval being seen around the world as a result of climate change and other issues, public participation via the proliferation of information technology and the promised resources of outer space have succeeded in renewing public interest in human exploration.

Over the past decade, a number of countries returned to the Moon or entered the final stages of planning for the first time in half a century. By the late 2020s and early 2030s, Russia and the United States had built stations in lunar orbit. Also constructed were a series of robotic bases for remote surface exploration. This was finally followed by the first manned bases on the lunar surface in the mid-late 2030s. In many cases, construction is made easier and cheaper thanks to advanced 3D printing. This makes it possible to forge new tools, spare parts and even components for entire buildings, using the lunar regolith as construction material. The poles are the most favoured regions for settlement, having the twin advantages of both (a) permanently illuminated spots for near-continuous solar power, and (b) permanently shadowed craters known to contain water and other volatiles. This is a result of the Moon's axis of rotation.The Moon's South Pole. Permanently shadowed regions appear black. Locations with highest average illumination – highlighted pink – are distributed in a few clusters. The best-illuminated spot is near Shackleton crater, shown by the arrow. Credit: NASA/GSFC

Though much of this has resulted from international cooperation, it is also the long-term culmination of individual national space programs. Russia, for example, had been planning a lunar base since the early 2010s. Its success has been largely thanks to a series of heavy lift rockets developed in recent years. After landing its first man on the Moon at the beginning of the decade, Russia would go on to complete its first base just a few years later.

China has had even more ambitious plans. Following its own manned missions in the previous decade, it has now also completed its first base. Unlike other efforts, China's space program is largely singular, without much international collaboration. This has led to fears about the political, military and other consequences of a Chinese lunar presence.NASA's programs, until this point, have been largely focused on Mars exploration. As a result, lunar occupation by the United States has been mostly in the form of private companies like Bigelow Aerospace. This venture has been especially productive, with a new generation of large inflatable modules established on the lunar surface. Now, however, NASA itself is playing a more active role. With completion of the first Mars landing, there has been a refocusing in recent years on lunar exploration. Though a completed NASA base is still years away, manned operations are initiated around this time. This is done in conjunction with both private and governmental partners and utilises the commercial infrastructure already present.

The participation of other countries – such as Japan, India, Iran and the nations of Europe – is largely limited to joint ventures. The cost of going to the Moon is still considerable and faces major economic and political barriers in many places. Though advances are being made, they are still a few years away from independent programs. India is making the greatest strides, largely thanks to the ongoing expansion of its economy and its emergence as a major world power.

Robots are dominating the battlefield

Highly mobile, autonomous fighting machines are commonplace on the battlefield now. Guided by advanced AI, they can aim with inhuman precision and come equipped with powerful sensors, GPS and thermal vision. They can be deployed for weeks or months at a time if necessary, without need for rest or maintenance. They have other advantages too - such as a complete lack of remorse or fear; no need for training, or retirement payments, or other such costs. These machines are being used in a wide variety of conflicts (especially food/energy/resource-related) where they spread terror and confusion through the ranks of their enemies.

In fact, only the poorest or most desperate enemies are fielding human troops against this new and deadly force. This is giving the US an advantage in battlefield situations, allowing the country to regain some of the power and influence it has lost in previous decades - at least with regards to armed conflicts.

The most advanced robot models come with self-repairing nanobot systems and immunity to EMP attacks. Some can even turn themselves invisible through the use of metamaterials.

Triton’s decaying orbit has led to it breaking up around Neptune, forming a new ring system

That's assuming the moon still exists in a form we would recognise. The descendants of humanity may have converted its raw mass into artificial structures by now. Even Neptune itself may no longer exist – the planet’s hydrogen and helium may have been siphoned off for use in starships and industrial processes.

2095 Many of the world's languages are no longer in use

The accelerating pace of globalisation has seen the number of human languages decline from around 7,000 in the late 20th century, to less than a quarter of this figure now.

Many old sayings, customs and traditions are being abandoned or forgotten, as the world becomes an ever smaller and more interconnected place. Changing social and economic conditions have forced many parents to teach their children the lingua franca, rather than obscure local dialects, in order to give them a better future. This is especially true in Africa and Asia.

This broad homogenisation of culture has been further propagated by the stunning advances in technology which have swept the world. Many people in developed countries, for instance, are abandoning their native tongues altogether, instead relying on mind control interfaces for their everyday communications. The young especially are utilising this form of digital telepathy. Most teenagers in the 2090s spend almost their whole time interacting via electronic devices, rather than verbally speaking. The latter can be almost an inconvenience in some situations due to the longer time intervals in conversations.

Meanwhile, many tribes people and isolated communities have lost their homelands due to war, climate change, deforestation and changing land uses. This forced migration and assimilation into the wider world has led to many ancient and rural languages dying out.

English, Mandarin and Spanish remain the lingua franca of international business, science, technology and aviation.

Manned exploration of the Saturnian system

The success of the Jupiter missions proved that long range, manned exploration of the solar system was possible. Several further missions are now underway, including the first trip to Saturn - this time using pulsed fusion drives. These allow spacecraft to travel billions of miles in a matter of weeks.

In addition to orbiting the planet itself, the astronauts conduct close-range observation of its moons and rings. Robots are dispatched to the surface of Titan, with samples being taken of its atmosphere and oceans.

2092 West Antarctica is among the fastest growing areas in the world

The icy continent today would be unrecognisable to observers from the 20th century. Its northern peninsula is now home to a multitude of towns and conurbations, with a total population numbering in the millions.

Melting of surface ice has resulted in conditions appropriate for large-scale human settlement. Even farming and crop growing is now possible in some of the most northerly areas. Air temperatures in the polar regions have increased more than anywhere else in the world, meaning that parts of Antarctica are now comparable with the climates of Alaska, Iceland and northern Scandinavia.

Huge levels of immigration are now underway from countries all over the world that have been affected by climate change, creating a diverse mixture of people and cultures flocking to this new land of opportunity. In some ways, the settlement of Antarctica is similar to that of America in the 18th and 19th centuries. The highest density cities are becoming cultural "melting pots" similar to New York and London.

Automated freight transport

Autonomous rapid transit has already been in place at certain airports and on city metro systems. By 2019, it has begun spreading to public roads, with significant numbers of driverless trucks appearing. These are capable of travelling hundreds of miles on their own, negotiating traffic and obstacles using advanced GPS technologies.

They have a number of advantages over human drivers - such as being able to operate for 24 hours a day without getting tired, never being absent, and not requiring a salary or training. The trucks can also detect mechanical or software faults. These automated vehicles will eventually include cars, taxis and other types of road vehicles, becoming widespread by the 2030s.

The East Side Access subway extension opens in New York

This project connects Grand Central Station in Manhattan to the Long Island Rail Road, via underground tunnels. The idea for the East Side Access dates back to the sixties, but the New York fiscal crisis in 1970 halted work for several years. The newly opened route begins underneath the Sunnyside Rail Yard in Queens and connects to the 63rd Street Tunnel. On the Manhattan side of the project, a series of new tunnels are built which connect from the 63rd Street Tunnel to a new platform under Grand Central Station.

The new route cuts journey times by up to 40 minutes a day for customers who previously travelled to Penn Station and then took a subway, bus or walk to the East Side. It greatly eases traffic congestion, as it becomes the shortest and most direct route between Long Island and East Midtown Manhattan. The East Side Access reduces major burdens on the metropolitan area, namely overcrowding and overcapacity at Penn Station. Overall, trains become more reliable in the area and public transportation is a more realistic option for travellers.

Jordan opens its first nuclear power plant

Earlier this decade, Jordan imported 98% of its energy requirements. This was costing the country, a desert nation of six million people, almost one-fifth of its GDP. Faced with such a burden, the government began pushing for greater energy independence. At the same time that Russian companies began searching for oil and natural gas deposits in Jordan, the Jordanian government made a series of deals regarding nuclear power. In 2013, mining operations began which aimed to exploit Jordan's previously untapped uranium deposits, estimated to be around 67,000 tonnes. By 2015, a five-megawatt research reactor was switched on at the Jordan University for Science and Technology. This led to the first commercial reactor in the kingdom's history being completed in 2019.

The multi-billion dollar project is built in the city of Majdal, in northern Al Mafraq province, due to its favourable seismic location. Once operations begin, the plant helps the Jordan Nuclear Regulatory Commission (JNRC) to reach its 2020 goal of 6% reliance on nuclear power.

One of the most pressing issues it is hoped the plant will address is the country's water supply, which is precarious: a shortfall of nearly a third for drinking water and 50% for irrigation needs. Desalination had been looked at to cover the deficit. However, this method requires huge amounts of power: an estimated 900 MW for 800 million cubic feet of water. The annual output of the Majdal plant is 1 GW, but Jordan as a whole will require upwards of 8 GW of new power production by 2030. Despite this gap, it is hoped that the country will become a net energy exporter by then - with nuclear energy providing 30% of the kingdom's power.

During its construction, there is serious opposition to the project. Concerns are raised over safety standards and the lack of feasibility studies. The fact that Jordan lies in a seismically active region leads to fears of a possible meltdown similar to the Japanese Fukushima disaster of 2011.

A vaccine to treat melanoma

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, killing over 48,000 people worldwide each year. During the 2010s, attempts were made to develop an implantable vaccine to treat the condition. In preclinical trials, 50 percent of mice treated with two doses of the vaccine – animals that would otherwise have died from melanoma within about 25 days – showed complete tumour regression. The Phase I study involving humans was completed in 2015 with similar success. By the end of this decade, after subsequent phases and approval by the FDA, it is available to the wider public.

A small, disc-like sponge – about the size of a fingernail and made from a biodegredable polymer – is implanted under the skin. This contains growth factors and components designed to activate and reprogram a patient's own immune cells "on site". By controlling their biology, it can instruct the immune cells to patrol the body and hunt for cancer cells, killing them. Although initially designed to target cancerous melanoma in skin, this method has potential in treating many other types of cancer. It also helps to lower the cost of cancer treatments, by shifting vaccine production from the laboratory to directly within a patient's own body.

Computers break the exaflop barrier

An exaflop is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 (a million trillion, or a quintillion) calculations per second. The world's top supercomputers are now reaching this speed, which is a 1000-fold improvement over those of a decade earlier.This exponential growth will continue for many years to come.

Personal computers are becoming ever more compact and sophisticated, with laptops and other mobile devices far outnumbering desktops. Physical hard drives have become almost redundant, with most storage now done online using "virtual drives" in remote servers, aided by the growth in broadband speeds and wireless communications.

Web applications have reached startling levels of sophistication, especially where search engines are concerned. These not only find keywords in a search, but also interpret the context and semantics of the request, often with voice recognition software. Natural language processing had already begun to emerge some years earlier with Siri and other such tools. This form of AI, acting like a personal assistant, is now even more powerful and versatile.Users can ask highly specific questions and receive detailed answers customised to their exact requirements.

The International Linear Collider is completed

This project is the culmination of more than 20 years of concerted international effort, with funding and research from nations in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Over 300 universities and laboratories have taken part. It originated as a series of three separate collider proposals – the Next Linear Collider (NLC), the Global Linear Collider (GLC) and the Teraelectronvolt Energy Superconducting Linear Accelerator (TESLA), all of which were combined into the International Linear Collider (ILC).

Located in Europe, the ILC is the successor to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), building upon the work already done by that machine. Although its collisions are less powerful, it offers far more precise measurements. It also gives off less electromagnetic radiation.

The ILC consists of two opposite-facing linear accelerators, together stretching 31 kilometers (19.3 miles), that hurl particles and anti-particles towards each other at close to the speed of light. Along with the linear accelerators, the facility contains two dampening rings, with a circumference of 6.7 kilometers (4.2 miles). Current energy levels of the collisions are 500 billion-electron-volts (GeV), but will soon be upgraded to a trillion-electron-volts (TeV).

The extreme precision and exact recordings offered by the ILC help to reveal some of the deepest mysteries of the universe. Some of the experiments are concerned with extra-dimensional physics and supersymmetric particles, while others provide research into dark matter.

2019 China's first high-tech stealth fighter enters service

Entering service this year is the Chengdu J-20 (literally, "Annihilator Twenty"), a fifth generation stealth fighter jet developed for the People's Liberation Army Air Force. Until now, the United States was the only country to operate a stealth fighter; in its case, the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, which is slightly smaller than the J-20.

Though it has slightly less agility and speed than the F-22, the J-20 has a longer range and nevertheless acts as a formidable addition to the Chinese air force. It is built using several Russian components and is believed to be designed using certain Russian plans. Armaments include both long and short range air-to-air missiles together with lateral weapons bays.

The avionics and navigation technology is highly advanced, and regarded with secrecy by the Chinese government. This has raised suspicions of cyber-espionage, as the Chinese program bears a number of striking resemblances to the American F-35 Lightning II. Investigations point to leaks from government contract firms. The affair leads to a period of tense international relations between the two superpowers. The J-20 meanwhile acts as another milestone in China's march towards an ever larger and more high-tech military force.

The effects of heat stress on labour capacity have doubled

In the early years of the 21st century, peak summer months of heat stress were cutting human labour capacity to around 90 percent of its full potential. By the middle of the century, this figure has dropped to 80 percent.Rising global temperatures are now having a major impact on those who work outside, or in hot environments – particularly in mid-latitude and tropical regions like South and East Asia, North America and Australia. This trend has occurred despite heavy reductions in man-made CO2 emissions.

Although robots are now handling many human roles, it nevertheless remains a serious issue for the economy and society in general. Heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat cramps and other conditions are increasing the risk of accidents and injuries. Many sports and leisure activities are being abandoned due to excess heat and humidity, with people forced to spend more and more time indoors. This has boosted the appeal of virtual reality to replace the physical world.

The Dead Sea is drying up

The Dead Sea is a unique geological feature. Located between Israel and Jordan, it is the lowest point on Earth. With an extremely high content of mineral salts (20%), over six times greater than any ocean, it is completely devoid of life, except for extremophile bacteria. The salts are so concentrated that swimmers can float like corks, without using a life vest. The water of the sea is also purported to relieve pain and treat several different skin conditions and arthritis. For these reasons, it has been a world famous tourist attraction.

By the late 2040s, however, the sea has almost vanished. Its main supply of water - the River Jordan to the north - has seen extensive diversions for industry, agriculture and domestic use. This has reduced its flow to just a trickle by the time it reaches the Dead Sea, far from adequate to replace the water lost by evaporation.

For decades, the Dead Sea has plummeted in depth. The problem is compounded by rising global temperatures, which have accelerated the evaporation of water, and the growing population in the region. By now, little more than a pond remains. This is despite efforts to divert water from the Mediterranean and nearby Red Sea.

2049-Robots are a common feature of homes and workplaces

Robots are now widspread in mainstream society, appearing in a wide variety of forms and functions. Androids are especially popular among the elderly, widowed and those who are disabled or incapacitated – in which role they serve as companions, guides and carers. They are also popular amongst the lonely and socially anxious, who can develop relationships without the fear or hang-ups normally associated with human company. Those seeking "alternative" lifestyles are also making use of androids.

Sports enthusiasts are making use of robots - as running partners, for example, on squash and tennis courts, and in certain fighting/fencing games where they can simulate world-class players. Countries such as Japan and Korea have even started broadcasting their own "Robot Olympics", attracting millions of viewers.

The cheapest android models are available for less than $1,000 now, and are stocked by many high street retailers - including hardware stores, department stores and electronics shops. Some of the more advanced models feature lifelike skin, hair, eyes, lip movement and other features. All of the personal information required to cater for their "owner" is pre-programmed into the android's brain.

Government legislation regarding these machines is complicated - and requires years to be fully implemented - but in every country, without exception, the machines adhere to three basic laws. These were postulated almost a century earlier by the science fiction writer, Isaac Asimov:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm
2. A robot must obey orders given to it by humans, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law

In urban locations, robots are usually powered by wireless energy transfer. In more remote outdoor environments they can utilise internal super-batteries and photovoltaic polymers coated on their bodies. Piezoelectric meshes in their skins - which generate small amounts of electricity through movement - provide a tertiary source of power.

Factories and warehouses in the developed world now have operations run entirely by robots - which can navigate through aisles and shelves, identify products and load them onto delivery vans with little or no human intervention (and at speeds and efficiencies which far outpace the latter). Even most delivery trucks are now automated, thanks to advanced AI and road traffic systems, with robots unloading goods when the vehicle has reached its destination.

One particular fad at the moment is for robot cats, dogs and other domestic pets with highly realistic movements and behaviour, often indistinguishable from the real thing. These have a number of advantages - such as never getting sick or dying, never requiring food or water, never scratching or biting their owners, and never leaving a mess around the home. Certain species of tropical fish are also popular in robot form, especially those which have recently become extinct. In museums and outdoor exhibitions, breathtaking recreations of dinosaurs and other prehistoric life are now on display.Robots are now present in many corporate environments - from wheeled models which distribute post, to those in reception-based roles which meet and greet visitors and assist with queries, to more advanced models capable of handling security and maintaining facilities.

In hospitals, delicate procedures involving nanotechnology devices are given over exclusively to robot machinery, capable of far greater precision than human hands.

Agriculture and food production is heavily reliant on robots. With much of the world's arable land turning to desert, hydroponic "vertical farms" are a common feature of urban centres. These carefully controlled environments are tended by robots and automated systems, often requiring the analytical skills of machines rather than humans.

The physical side of military operations is handled extensively by robots now - on land, in the air, and at sea. Formidable humanoid machines equipped with a plethora of devastating firepower are sent deep into enemy lines, left to operate autonomously for months at a time if necessary, and serving in a wide variety of roles: from solitary patrol and scouting missions, to offensive strikes involving many machines working in unison. Human enemies stand little to no chance against this kind of onslaught, which is giving developed nations an overwhelming advantage over terrorist renegades.

In space, robots have probed and explored hundreds of moons in the outer solar system, and are playing a key role in the Moon colonies.

8,400,000 AD LAGEOS1 returns to Earth

Laser Geodynamics Satellites (LAGEOS) were a pair of scientific research satellites launched in the late 20th century and designed to provide an orbiting laser ranging benchmark for geodynamical studies. Each was a high density passive laser reflector in a very stable medium Earth orbit (MEO), roughly 5,900 kilometres (3,700 mi) in altitude.

These spacecraft were aluminium-covered brass spheres with diameters of 60cm and weighing approximately 400kg, covered with cube-corner retroreflectors, giving them the appearance of giant golf balls. They had no on-board sensors or electronics, and no attitude control. Measurements were made by transmitting pulsed laser beams from ground stations to the satellites. The laser beams returned to Earth after hitting the reflecting surfaces.

Due to the stability of their orbits, the LAGEOS satellites made it possible to determine positions on the Earth with ultra-high accuracy: better than one inch in thousands of miles. At the time, this made them the most precise location references available. As such, they were used for monitoring the movement of the Earth's tectonic plates, gravitational field, the "wobble" in its axis of rotation, and for determining the exact length of an Earth day.

However, these satellites would fall back to Earth eventually. LAGEOS-1 was predicted to re-enter the atmosphere in 8,400,000 AD. It contained a plaque, designed to allow future descendants of humans to view the arrangement of Earth's continents in the past, present and future.

7,600,000 AD Phobos is ripped apart by Mars gravity

Phobos is the largest and closest of the two moons of Mars. Because its orbital period is shorter than a Martian day, tidal deceleration has been decreasing its orbital radius at the rate of about 20 metres (66 ft) per century.

By this date, it has passed the Roche limit - the distance within which a celestial body, held together only by its own gravity, will disintegrate due to a second body's tidal forces exceeding the first's gravitational self-attraction.

Phobos begins to break apart. It gradually becomes a ring system over the following 3 million years, with many of these fragments impacting upon Mars itself.

Neptune's largest moon - triton - will share a similar fate.

Beyond 10100 The dark era of the universe

The last remaining black hole has evaporated.

From this point onwards the universe is composed only of photons, neutrinos, electrons and positrons - with no way of interacting with each other.

The universe continues to expand forever... but is essentially dead.

Earth is becoming too hot to support liquid water-1,000,000,000 AD

The Sun's luminosity has increased by 10%, causing Earth's surface temperatures to reach an average of 47°C (116°F). As the seas and oceans begin to evaporate, the atmosphere is becoming laden with water vapour, creating an intense greenhouse effect. Mars is actually becoming more habitable during this time.

The hypernova of Eta Carinae is affecting our region of the galaxy10,000-15,000AD

Eta Carinae is among the largest, most volatile stars in our galaxy. Its temperature is so high that it is unable to hold onto its own gas, with constant streams being ejected from the surface. It first came to attention in 1843 when it flared to magnitude -0.8, becoming the second brightest star in the night sky.

It subsequently died down, before brightening again in the late 1990s. This fluctuation continues - with periodic flaring and dimming - until one day the inevitable happens. Unable to maintain its cohesion, Eta Carinae erupts into one of the deadliest known forces in nature: a hypernova.

For a brief period, this colossal explosion outshines the entire galaxy. It is bright enough to be visible during daytime on Earth, while at night, it is similar to the full moon.

Of much greater concern, however, are the lethal jets of gamma radiation released by the dying star. These begin to shoot outward, at such high energies that even systems thousands of light years away are affected. As a result, numerous planets in our region of the galaxy undergo mass extinctions during this time.

Ross 248 becomes the closest star to our Sun-35,000AD

Alpha Centauri was previously the closest star. Ross 248 is a red dwarf, with approximately 12% of the Sun's mass and 16% of the Sun's radius, but only 0.2% of its luminosity. However - it is also a "flare star", that periodically undergoes sudden, dramatic increases in brightness for a few minutes.

In 2010, Ross 248 was 10.3 light years from Earth, with a radial velocity of -81 km/s. By 35,000 AD, it is closer than Alpha Centauri. It reaches its closest point in 38,000 AD - moving to within 3.1 light years - before receding again, becoming further from the Sun than Alpha Centauri in 44,000 AD.