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| − | I was speaking with a friend the other night about his great grandfather. His great grandfather was born in 1875. He lived until 1965. Can you imagine the technology that this man saw come online? Let me name a few: the typewriter, the electric dental drill, the telephone, the phonograph, the incandescent light bulb, the hearing aid, the electric fan, the dishwasher, the escalator, the airplane, the Model T automobile, the air conditioner, the defibrillator, the atomic bomb, the electric guitar, the nuclear submarine, nylon, the polio vaccine, and the laser. He died right when the first minicomputer was coming to fruition. All of that in the span of his lifetime. Which leads me to the topic of this article. Technology has completely changed the way we live. And technological advances have accelerated at unbelievable speeds. Technology is converging in ways no one could have foreseen. I want to highlight some of the most interesting technologies out there. These are technologies that will change the world, for good and bad.
| + | Four Antwerp diamonds bourses can be found within the diamond district, where they engage in a critical function in dealing and exchanging both rough diamonds and cut diamonds within the worlds diamond capitol. In the event that you happen to be not familiar with the word, a bourse is a term used throughout European countries to identify an establishment where vendors get together to be able to exchange merchandise and commodities amongst each other. In this case, the Antwerp diamond bourses have already been established to facilitate trading of diamonds (both rough/natural and cut/polished) between Antwerp's fifteen hundred diamond dealers. In more common terms, you can think of diamond bourses (or even diamond exchanges) as providing the same function as stock exchanges are utilized by stock brokers to trade stocks. |
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| − | Nano Technology
| + | The background of Antwerp's diamond exchanges goes back over 100 years. In 1893, the very first bourse, known as the Diamond Club of Antwerp, was established to facilitate the actual trade of cut and polished diamonds. Eleven years afterwards, an additional rivalling bourse was created (Antwerp Diamond Bourse or Beurs voor Diamandthande), to also permit merchants to buy and sell cut and polished wholesale diamonds. Yet another Antwerp diamond bourse ended up being established in 1919, the Vrije Daimanthandel was formed in order to facilitate trading with diamond companies from an area known as the Kempn region, which is not far from Antwerp. In 1930, another diamond exchange, called the Antwerp Diamond Ring (Antwerpsche Diamantkring), was created to aid the buying and selling of rough, natural, uncut diamonds. |
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| − | Probably the most interesting and frightening of the emerging technologies is nano technology. Nano technology is a cross disciplinary field that deals with building and synthesizing materials at scales of 100nm or less. Nano technology usually works in one of two ways. It either pulls smaller parts together to build or it breaks bigger parts down. The parts are then used to form smaller, new materials. But why is nano technology so important?
| + | Considering that the dealings are usually restricted to a comparatively small number of members, transactions at these bourses are often finished with cash money, with very few if any written records kept. In fact, most of the time trades are simply carried out with a handshake. These diamond bourses are actually regulated by means of an industry organization called the World Federation of Diamond Bourses. This organization keeps the requirements, regulations, as well as bylaws of which bourses employ to operate their particular businesses. |
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| − | Nano technology is important because it will have massive effects across every area of life. As I write this, researchers are working on a nano particle to target cancer cells in lungs. In 2004, Rice University tested gold nano particle cancer treatment. In this treatment, these 150 nanometer gold particles were injected into the blood stream of cancerous mice. Gold particles at this size pass into tumors, but not healthy tissue. The researchers then passed infrared through the mice. The tumorous cells absorbed the infrared, heated up, and were destroyed. They are also working on quantum dots that allow doctors to easily identify multiple diseases quickly and accurately. But the uses don't stop there. Nanotechnology will drive down the scale of electronics. This will lead incredibly small devices. The applications are limitless. And you can bet that the military will be clamoring for nano technology. The military is looking to have numerous nanotechnologies online by the year 2015. Such advances include performance enhancing nanotechnology that aids bodily functions. These will include response times, oxygen use, and heightened senses. But nanotechnology can also be used for reconnaissance and combat. Nanobots could scout areas without being seen. They could also enter into enemies for espionage. They could kill targets from within the host's body. The possibilities are frightening.
| + | Even though Antwerp diamond bourses are very well recognized, Antwerp is not the only place where these gemstones happen to be traded on a wholesale level. There are also bourses in New York City, Israel, London, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Miami, and Moscow. These competing bourses do not carry the sheer volume of the bourses in Antwerp, however, they do help maintain the market amongst dealers by providing a safe place with known rules and regulations to conduct trading. |
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| − | Alternative Energy & Fuels
| + | [http://www.marketsnetwork.net/ marketsnetwork] |
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| − | When gas prices skyrocketed this past year, many people suddenly took an interest in alternative energy and fuels. And because demand rose, companies suddenly found themselves forced to take interest. Most of the common arguments for alternative energy and fuels center around issues of pollution, cost, dependence, and jobs.
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| − | What most people don't realize is that alternative energy and fuels always have environmental effects. This can be in the form of heat generation, air pollutants, waste by-products, land usage, extraction, etc. Instead, we have to talk about pros and cons around each type of energy and fuel. There is no silver bullet. Costs, dependence, and jobs also vary depending on the energy type.
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| − | There are a host of alternative energies being tested. Wind powered energy plants are already in place in many parts of the world. Solar energy production has taken huge steps forward with the help of nano technology. One such company is Nanosolar. Nanosolar is producing solar cells that are 100 times thinner than conventional cells. Not only are the cells cheaper to produce, but they also convert the solar energy much more efficiently. Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) uses the temperature differences in the ocean layers to produce energy. And OTEC can utilize this colder water (36 degree F cooler) in other things like on shore agriculture and refrigeration. And the list goes on.
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| − | Massive interest was generated in alternative fuels this past year when gas prices hit record levels. New developments in battery technology could help. One such development is Millennium Cell's hydrogen battery technology. This technology differs greatly from traditional rechargeable batteries in that it's instantly rechargeable. It also has a much great efficiency for energy conversion, so it is much smaller and lighter. There is also greater reuse efficiency since you don't need to replace the entire battery. You only need to replace the energy module. Developments are continuing in biodiesel, electric, hydrogen, methanol, etc. I think there could be some serious future synergy between nano technology and alternative energy.
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| − | "Bionetics"
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| − | This is my name for the incorporation of technology into the body. The dermal display is a great indication of things to come. Though I have yet to find a working demo version of this concept, I have no doubt that it will become a reality. The display would be driven by millions of nanobots. These nanobots would display light when touched. This would print a display onto your hand, or wherever the nanobot display would be housed. And this is where it gets really interesting. The display nanobots would be connected to millions of other fixed and mobile nanobots throughout the patient's body. This would give instant readings on hundreds of vital statistics. Again, nanotechnology plays a strong role here.
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| − | The bionics revolution is already underway. There have been four major cases of robotic limbs recently, the latest being a woman. The robotic limbs take advantage of the functional nerve endings in the limb stump. These nerve endings are used to actuate the robotic limb and to provide feedback to the brain. More money is being poured into robotic limbs every year.
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| − | "Functional bionetics" are implants that enhance our lives. And you may be surprised to know that people are actively doing this as I write. People are inserting tiny electronics in their bodies that will unlock their front doors and their cars. The same technology is being used to unlock computers. But it doesn't stop there. There is talk of implanting devices that will carry health information. You could be carted into a hospital totally unconscious and they would be able to access all of your past medical history. Most of this is done through RFID technology.
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| − | "Bionetic networks" will be networks of connected bionetic devices. This would allow people to share sensation, feelings, and communication. If this sounds completely fictional, I invite you to consider the work of Kevin Warwick, Professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading, England. He has implanted an extra-sensory device that interfaces with one put in his wife. They were implanted in their arms. The first experiments are aimed at exchanging sensory inputs, like pain. The hope is to extend that to other, more complicated neurological processes like thoughts and emotion. Obviously, that would drastically change relationships and indeed the world. Forget about your teens text messaging, maybe they will be brain linking in the future. Now that's really scary!
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| − | What will we be able to say came online in our lifetimes? I'm sure we could already list a lot of important technologies. But keep your eyes out for these emerging technologies. They are set to change the rules of our world. These technologies will upset economies, change military tactics, empower people, and be used to control others. Keep an eye on them.
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Four Antwerp diamonds bourses can be found within the diamond district, where they engage in a critical function in dealing and exchanging both rough diamonds and cut diamonds within the worlds diamond capitol. In the event that you happen to be not familiar with the word, a bourse is a term used throughout European countries to identify an establishment where vendors get together to be able to exchange merchandise and commodities amongst each other. In this case, the Antwerp diamond bourses have already been established to facilitate trading of diamonds (both rough/natural and cut/polished) between Antwerp's fifteen hundred diamond dealers. In more common terms, you can think of diamond bourses (or even diamond exchanges) as providing the same function as stock exchanges are utilized by stock brokers to trade stocks.
The background of Antwerp's diamond exchanges goes back over 100 years. In 1893, the very first bourse, known as the Diamond Club of Antwerp, was established to facilitate the actual trade of cut and polished diamonds. Eleven years afterwards, an additional rivalling bourse was created (Antwerp Diamond Bourse or Beurs voor Diamandthande), to also permit merchants to buy and sell cut and polished wholesale diamonds. Yet another Antwerp diamond bourse ended up being established in 1919, the Vrije Daimanthandel was formed in order to facilitate trading with diamond companies from an area known as the Kempn region, which is not far from Antwerp. In 1930, another diamond exchange, called the Antwerp Diamond Ring (Antwerpsche Diamantkring), was created to aid the buying and selling of rough, natural, uncut diamonds.
Considering that the dealings are usually restricted to a comparatively small number of members, transactions at these bourses are often finished with cash money, with very few if any written records kept. In fact, most of the time trades are simply carried out with a handshake. These diamond bourses are actually regulated by means of an industry organization called the World Federation of Diamond Bourses. This organization keeps the requirements, regulations, as well as bylaws of which bourses employ to operate their particular businesses.
Even though Antwerp diamond bourses are very well recognized, Antwerp is not the only place where these gemstones happen to be traded on a wholesale level. There are also bourses in New York City, Israel, London, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Miami, and Moscow. These competing bourses do not carry the sheer volume of the bourses in Antwerp, however, they do help maintain the market amongst dealers by providing a safe place with known rules and regulations to conduct trading.
