What if we could leave behind our world in favor of a completely customizable domain? What if we could put on a pair of glasses and leave our world behind? What if we could augment our reality to create one that was partially imagination? With Virtual and Augmented reality, this isn’t only in our imagination. These are transformative technologies that will bridge the gap between physical and digital environments. Virtual reality creates an entirely immersive experience, transporting users into a simulated digital environment. This usually involves wearing a slightly bulky headset that replaces the real world with a 3D virtual world. Augmented reality on the other hand overlays digital content onto the real world, through smartphones or AR glasses. 

Mixed reality devices date back to the 1960s with devices like the Sensorama and the Sword of Damocles. In the 1990s, AR rose in prominence with the creation of ARToolKit, a software library that allowed developers to easily create mixed reality applications. Overtime, as various technologies improved, AR and VR applications became more and more common. Advances in graphics processing, display technology, and motion tracking propelled the field forward into more realistic realms. The 2010s’ virtual reality scene was dominated by three major players: HTC, Oculus, and PlayStationVR. 

The field of mixed reality is just getting started. Current devices are still somewhat primitive. However, newer devices like the Apple Vision Pro offer a glimpse of what is to come in the near future for this technology. The most recent potential of this technology is in entertainment. VR is already incredibly prevalent in gaming, but as the technology improves, its applications can expand in this space. Entire movie theaters can be replaced with a headset and games can be made order of magnitudes more interactive. 

Mixed reality also has the potential to assist in real time diagnostics and surgeries, allowing AI to monitor real time signals for patients and allow for surgical simulations for residents. In retail, VR can allow consumers to try clothes or travel through houses without ever feeling the need to exit their homes. For people involved in real estate development, entire blueprints can be visualized and travelled through before construction even starts.  

Virtual reality comes with its own set of challenges that aren’t disconnected from our reality. High costs of hardware can make many of these systems inaccessible to everyday people. The best systems today (Apple Vision Pro) cost upwards of $3500 and only seem to be getting more expensive for the time being. Additionally, prolonged usage of virtual reality can cause motion sickness and eye strain, and the effects of long-term use are not yet known. Finally, the most dangerous downsides of virtual reality are the social concerns of the technology. Experts suggest that overreliance on virtual environments can lead to disconnect in the real world. 

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What really powers our world? From the cars, planes, trains to the appliances in our homes, to the data centers that mine Bitcoin, our modern civilization keeps itself afloat using an unfathomable amount of fossil fuels and other unrenewable energy sources. Of our current energy grid in America, only 20% comes from renewable sources. The effects of this are disastrous; the continuous combustion of fossil fuels leads to the effects of climate change, an issue that has already come to be seen as one of the most defining of our civilization. The rising temperatures and major pollution around the world are just some of the consequences of our dangerous energy consumption, and one that the emerging technology of Nuclear Fusion promises to fix. 

For decades, nuclear fusion has always been “just 20 years away”.  The promise of an almost unlimited clean energy source has always been something of a future promise. Nuclear fusion mimics the processes of a star to create heat and energy. The technology already exists, with a caveat: Nuclear fusion requires more energy than it generates. However, with recent breakthroughs in nuclear physics, fusion finally looks closer than ever to becoming a reality.  

What really is nuclear fusion though? Unlike the implementation, the concept isn’t too difficult to understand. When two light atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, it releases great amounts of energy. These are the underlying chemical processes working in the sun, where hydrogen atoms fuse together, creating heat and light in return. Nuclear fission is the opposite of this, and the current dominant method of nuclear energy production we have today. Fission involves splitting heavy atomic nuclei like uranium and it creates a toxic nuclear waste that is hard to dispose of. 

Performing nuclear fusion requires an incredible amount of technology. Because it involves simulating a star on earth, we need devices of incredible heat and pressure. Fusion reactors create temperatures that exceed 100 million degrees Celsius with immense pressure to facilitate fusion. These extreme conditions required are the greatest roadblock in achieving true fusion. 

Whether fusion takes 20 years to become feasible, or 100 years, it will have an incredible impact on the world around us. Energy costs will almost instantly drop to 0 for all forms of energy. Charging devices will have become a relic of the past and emerging technologies like quantum computing and artificial intelligence will be able to be powered at no cost. Could the same energy that fuels the stars one day power our homes, solving the world’s energy crisis once and for all? 

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Neuralink is a revolutionary product released by Elon Musk this year which aims to create a brain link between humans and technology. The product intends to transform the way humans interact and even think at the most fundamental level. Brain implants have a long history dating back to the 1970s where neuroscientists developed circuits to stimulate neurons electrically. These circuits and implants were initially used for deep brain simulation for Parkinson’s patients to reduce symptoms. Over time however, advancements in neurotechnology allowed for more complicated implants to help control computers and prosthetics. These devices were typically large, physically intrusive, and quite imprecise. 

Neuralink is a product created by Elon Musk that aims to create a minimally invasive brain-computer interface that can allow humans to communicate with computers, and eventually other humans (Similar to Professor X). Neuralink’s device has small threads implanted into the brain using a custom surgical robot. These threads are thinner than hair and allow the device to monitor brain activity with precision and less damage than typical electrodes. These brain signals are easier to transmit and decode, which is a huge step for the future. 

The device is targeted at medical applications and has received approval from the FDA to do human trials. The device is currently targeted at medical applications, such as restoring mobility to paralyzed patients, alleviating neurological disorders, and assisting people with amputations in controlling robotic limbs. However, the long-term potential of Neuralink’s technology is where the most excitement lies. Musk envisions future applications that could enhance human cognition, allow for “telepathic” communication, and even merge humans with artificial intelligence to stay competitive with machines. 

However, this potential raises ethical and societal questions. Neuralink, if successful, could redefine human-computer interactions and disrupt many industries. Still, it also poses concerns about privacy, data security, and the implications of altering human cognition. As Neuralink pushes forward, these questions will pose a pressing problem.

Humans have long dreamed of creating a machine that could perform any calculation at the speed of electricity. For centuries, people have envisioned computers powered by traditional abaci or even magic. Today, it is fair to say that these machines have made a dent in society. 

In the 1800s, Charles Babbage grew frustrated with the proneness of human error in making calculations. Being a mathematician and architect, Babbage drew up designs for a machine that could change operations based on different instructions. This device, known as the analytical engine, was the first theoretically programmable computer and used mechanical gears and cogs to compute. 

Babbage’s designs were so technically advanced that they were almost impossible to implement. In the 1800s, a woman named Ada Lovelace wrote a series of notes on the Babbage Engine and wrote the first computer program. She created the foundation of computer programming which lives on till today. 

Almost a century later at the dawn of World War 2, Alan Turing appeared, creating the idea of a Universal Turing Machine. This device was theoretically able to solve any problem given the right instructions (code). He went one step further and created a general machine used to crack the German Enigma code. Turing faced persecution for being gay throughout his life, even though he helped lay the foundation for the world we live in today. 

In 1945, the first computer was finally created! The ENIAC marked the creation of the first programmable, electronic, general-purpose computer. The device was intended to help the Army calculate artillery trajectories. This early computer was a massive machine, containing 1700 vaccum tubes and occupying 1800 square feet. This computer was a massive step in developing what we have today, but the evolutions we’ve made since then have been even more profound. 

Today, computers are smaller and faster than ever, using small microelectronic components known as transistors. Their ability to store programs and execute them instantaneously has transformed society dramatically. 

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One big revolution often mentioned with the tech of the future is Quantum Computing. Although very few people know anything at all about the technology, it is hailed as a generational computing improvement that would destroy even the most cryptographically secure algorithms of today. However, for all this excitement and buzz in the world of tech, it is worth separating the hype from the reality, and the reality from the hype.. 

Quantum technology is rising in prominence mainly because of a problem that traditional (henceforth known as classical) computers have started to face. Computing power is able to improve each year because the transistors powering it get smaller and smaller, allowing for more efficient circuits. However, as transistors get smaller and smaller, they begin to approach a physical barrier of size where computing becomes almost impossible as the transistor approaches the size of the atom itself. 

Unlike traditional technology, Quantum computing is based on the principals of quantum mechanics to process data in ways that classical computers are not able to. Qubits represent two states (0 and 1) at the same time, enabling quantum computers to perform multiple calculations at once. There exist many other complicated factors such as entanglement and superposition, that give these computers an edge over traditional computing. 

This ability to multitask effectively is a huge step up from traditional computing systems. By processing an exponential amount of data in a small timeframe, quantum computers have the potential to speed up computations in many areas, allowing for possibilities that have never been achievable with traditional computing systems. 

With quantum computing, almost all of todays most secure cyphers are susceptible to decryption because of the extreme computing power of Quantum computers. In healthcare, quantum computers are able to simulate molecular interactions, which will enable the faster discovery of drugs and help us understand diseases. Furthermore, quantum computing has an incredible potential to help us solve climate change.  

That is not to say that quantum computing does not come without its challenges. The fundamental building block of quantum computing, the qubit, is very sensitive to environmental disturbances which can lead to errors in computation. Quantum error correction is a major area of research in the field meant to address these challenges, but the sheer cost of development and cooling of quantum computers make them impractical for the present. 

In conclusion, quantum computing has a very promising future that looks poised to disrupt many industries. As governments and companies race to gain the edge in this new technology, there is hope that the problems of today will become the opportunities of tomorrow.