The Future
All Stories
How powerful of a nuclear bomb could we make?
The biggest nuclear blast in history came courtesy of Tsar Bomba. We could make something at least 100 times more powerful.
Nanoparticles from shrimp shells make cement stronger
Scientists turn to nature to improve a ubiquitous building material.
Transhumanists want to upload their minds to a computer. They really won’t like the result
Uploading your mind is not a pathway to immortality. Instead, it will create a possibly hostile digital doppelgänger.
Graphene is a Nobel Prize-winning “wonder material.” Graphyne might replace it
A two-dimensional material made entirely of carbon called graphene won the Nobel Prize in 2010. Graphyne might be even better.
Horror stories of cryonics: The gruesome fates of futurists hoping for immortality
For decades people have arranged to freeze their bodies after death, dreaming of resurrection by advanced future medicine. Many met a fate far grislier than death.
World’s blackest black? Purdue made the world’s whitest white
In paint form, the world's "whitest white" reflects so much light that surfaces become cooler than the surrounding air.
Transhumanism: Savior of humanity or false prophecy?
Proponents of transhumanism make big promises, such as a future in which we upload our minds into a supercomputer. But there is a fatal flaw in this argument: reductionism.
Former NHL enforcer builds an incredible electric airplane
From Amazon to the US Army, everybody wants one (or 150).
Is the Salton Sea hiding enough lithium to power America?
A team of scientists hopes deep-earth lithium could sustain America's vast demand for batteries. But extracting it won't be easy.
What full-color night vision looks like now
Deep learning AI has accurately created color images from night vision images.
Tapping into the million-year energy source below our feet
“I thought, why not direct these high-power beams, instead of into fusion plasma, down into rock and vaporize the hole?”
$26K solar car now has a factory — and will roll out this year
Aptera expects to begin delivering its solar-powered car later in 2022.
Huge milestone as human subject wears augmented reality contact lens for first time
For the very first time, an AR contact lens was worn on the eye of a human subject. And it has about 30 times the pixel density of an iPhone.
How “Big Brotherhood” is building an all-seeing surveillance network
Anxieties about being identified will be superseded by fears of being analyzed.
Spanish airline Air Nostrum orders a fleet of airships
The airships have a range of 4,000 nautical miles, can fly for five days, and can cruise as high as 20,000 feet at 80 mph. They take to the skies over Spain in 2026.
MIT proposes Brazil-sized fleet of “space bubbles” to cool the Earth
An out-of-this-world idea could help reduce some of the risk of solar geoengineering.
Plants aren’t good at photosynthesis. We can do it better
Photosynthesis is powerful but very inefficient. Humans can improve on this biochemical process to help the planet.
U.S. plans to put nuclear-powered spacecraft in orbit by 2026
Experts believe they could cut the time it takes a rocket to reach Mars by up to 25%, shaving about two months off the trip.
A groundbreaking solution could help unleash our hydrogen future
A "bio-battery" made from genetically engineered bacteria could store excess renewable energy and release it as needed.
Google has not created sentient AI — yet
AI systems can carry on convincing conversations, but they have no understanding of what they're saying. Humans are easily fooled.
How to be a techno-optimist
Technology will not save the world, and it is inherently neither good nor bad. But, when tech is coupled to human virtue, good will prevail.
Over 100 years of Antarctic agriculture is helping scientists grow food in space
Preventing scurvy is not just a problem in the Antarctic.
How “big history” can help historians imagine the future
The strangest thing about trying to predict the future is that our only clues lie in the past.
MIT invents $4 solar desalination device
It could make enough drinking water for a family of four.
MIT’s new heat engine beats a steam turbine in efficiency
It has no moving parts and could allow us to tap into renewable energy year round.
Discovery of “impossible” superconductor promises 100x faster electronics
In a major advance, scientists have found a new and groundbreaking way to force electrons to flow only in one direction in a superconductor.
Elon Musk’s Hyperloop is possible. How badly do we want it?
The Hyperloop is physically possible, but engineering challenges will make its construction very difficult. Also, accidents would be catastrophic.
How electric eels inspired the first battery two centuries ago
Now they're pointing the way to future battery technologies.
Alexa and her friends know you all too well
But does Amazon know when you're tired or hungry?

