We sat down with Bandwidth Blog writer Keenan Jacobs to chat about his favourite moments in tech this year; the development of clean energy, and SpaceX’s successful launch.
Keenan Jacobs: There were many moments that took us by surprise this year, but I feel that there are two moments in tech which go beyond the handheld device and ushered man into a whole new era; the first being a huge step we took in recent months of achieving limitless and clean energy in nuclear fusion.
With the Paris climate talks behind us and an ultimate goal for 100% renewable energy, a machine known as a Stellarator was turned on for testing. A Stellarator, designed to reproduce the process of the sun by creating combining hydrogen isotopes with extreme heat, has the potential to produce an almost-unlimited supply of energy from little more than salt water. Energy like this will replace nuclear power plants, have no negative consequences to the environment, and will be able to provide us with limitless, clean energy.
The second moment happened this month with SpaceX launching a rocket 622kms about the earth, launching a satellite, and returning back to earth autonomously with elegant precision. This means that, in future, we will only need to pay for the fuel to go to space and back, dropping the costs of space travel dramatically. As SpaceX aims for reusable rockets, we see this as the start of humankind’s goal to leaving Earth one day.
Yes, there are many more tests, and no, it‘s not perfect, but this moment has me quoting “œone small step for man, one giant leap for mankind“.
Keen to hear more of the Bandwidth Blog team’s favourite Moments in Tech? Be sure to check out all their thoughts here, and follow Keenan Jacobs for more of his opinions in the technology world!
Follow Keenan on Twitter: @theonlykjk
