The Sony Reader will be outdated in 10 years - Page 3

HarryT · 11-23-2006, 02:14 PM

Neither. With quantum tunnelling an electron doesn't travel "between" the transmitter and the receiver - it just "disappears" from the receiver and "appears" at the receiver without actually crossing the distance between them at all. In the world of quantum mechanics, things have a certain probability of being in any location at all - the trick is to "persuade" an electron that it would "like" to be at the receiver rather than the transmitter

.

yvanleterrible · 11-23-2006, 02:17 PM

Wow! I can see applications...

HarryT · 11-23-2006, 02:29 PM

I know it sounds seriously "wierd", but that really is the way the universe works at the scale of very, very small things. Einstein hated quantum mechanics - he once famously said "God doesn't throw dice". Lots of modern electronic devices, though, rely on quantum tunnelling to work, so it's a very "real" effect (it's also how things like radioactive decay "work"). The problem is that it generally only works over distance scales of the order of nanometres. If these guys at MIT really have found a way to make it work at a scale of metres, as they say, it'll be a breakthrough with absolutely revolutionary practical applications.

ultim8fury · 11-23-2006, 02:33 PM

on principle I'm uncertain :P

HarryT · 11-23-2006, 02:39 PM

Anyway, it would be way cool if it worked. All you'd have to do would be to bring your device within range of the "charger" and it would automatically begin to recharge. No cables, no cradles, no anything. I suspect we'll be waiting a few years, however, for practical devices based on this, even if the theory is sound

.

RWood · 11-23-2006, 06:43 PM

There is already an application that "broadcasts power." The RF property tags on many high value items in stores receives a power signal from the access device (those weird looking things as you leave most stores), takes the energy and broadcasts an id back to the access device, and the device will then sound an alarm if the item has not been "cleared." Recently there has been a lot of talk about putting human ID chips in people's bodies. About the size of a grain of rice the devices would respond to a near by power source and report a serial number which could then be looked up to identify the person. Like devices are also used to identify ownership of quilts, art work, and clothing.

As for the Sony Reader lasting 10 years, I still have some 20+ year old DOS programs that are still in use. If I get 10 years of use from the reader then it was very much over engineered.

yvanleterrible · 11-24-2006, 08:21 AM

Yerterday's news of a reader from Panasonic brought a thought back to my mind. SONY has always been an inspiration to others. Copy cats line up for their inventions and try to better them by making them more friendly to the user.
This is what we have all been waiting for...a sign that ebooks are taking off toward a more populist tack.

When Samsung, Toshiba hop on board, the ship will have cast off.

When are Lenovo and Dell to join?

unkilbeeg · 11-24-2006, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Einstein hated quantum mechanics - he once famously said "God doesn't throw dice".

Niels Bohr reputedly responded, "Albert, quit telling God what He can do."

airlik · 11-25-2006, 01:19 AM

Off-topic, yes... but the comments on reading lights made me think of it. Maybe I just need to read more threads on it... what does a reading light "for the reader" do that the regular old clip-on book lights don't do now? I have a couple of LED ones I use after my wife goes to sleep sometimes, and they clip just fine on the cover of the reader. Admittedly, that means I'm now holding it like a "real" book rather than as a single page, but I'm pretty happy with the results.

NatCh · 11-25-2006, 09:58 AM

In a nutshell: a lot of just us anticipate that a lightwedge type light would likely work better (read: more to our liking

) than most other clip on type lights.

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11-23-2006, 02:14 PM	#31
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Neither. With quantum tunnelling an electron doesn't travel "between" the transmitter and the receiver - it just "disappears" from the receiver and "appears" at the receiver without actually crossing the distance between them at all. In the world of quantum mechanics, things have a certain probability of being in any location at all - the trick is to "persuade" an electron that it would "like" to be at the receiver rather than the transmitter .

11-23-2006, 02:17 PM	#32
yvanleterrible Reborn Paper User Posts: 8,616 Karma: 15446734 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Que Nada Device: iPhone8, iPad Air	Wow! I can see applications...

11-23-2006, 02:29 PM	#33
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	I know it sounds seriously "wierd", but that really is the way the universe works at the scale of very, very small things. Einstein hated quantum mechanics - he once famously said "God doesn't throw dice". Lots of modern electronic devices, though, rely on quantum tunnelling to work, so it's a very "real" effect (it's also how things like radioactive decay "work"). The problem is that it generally only works over distance scales of the order of nanometres. If these guys at MIT really have found a way to make it work at a scale of metres, as they say, it'll be a breakthrough with absolutely revolutionary practical applications.

11-23-2006, 02:33 PM	#34
ultim8fury Addict Posts: 219 Karma: 368 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: UK Device: PRS500, Looking at 700	on principle I'm uncertain :P

11-23-2006, 02:39 PM	#35
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Anyway, it would be way cool if it worked. All you'd have to do would be to bring your device within range of the "charger" and it would automatically begin to recharge. No cables, no cradles, no anything. I suspect we'll be waiting a few years, however, for practical devices based on this, even if the theory is sound .

11-23-2006, 06:43 PM	#36
RWood Technogeezer Posts: 7,233 Karma: 1601464 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Virginia, USA Device: Sony PRS-500	There is already an application that "broadcasts power." The RF property tags on many high value items in stores receives a power signal from the access device (those weird looking things as you leave most stores), takes the energy and broadcasts an id back to the access device, and the device will then sound an alarm if the item has not been "cleared." Recently there has been a lot of talk about putting human ID chips in people's bodies. About the size of a grain of rice the devices would respond to a near by power source and report a serial number which could then be looked up to identify the person. Like devices are also used to identify ownership of quilts, art work, and clothing. As for the Sony Reader lasting 10 years, I still have some 20+ year old DOS programs that are still in use. If I get 10 years of use from the reader then it was very much over engineered.

11-24-2006, 08:21 AM	#37
yvanleterrible Reborn Paper User Posts: 8,616 Karma: 15446734 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Que Nada Device: iPhone8, iPad Air	Yerterday's news of a reader from Panasonic brought a thought back to my mind. SONY has always been an inspiration to others. Copy cats line up for their inventions and try to better them by making them more friendly to the user. This is what we have all been waiting for...a sign that ebooks are taking off toward a more populist tack. When Samsung, Toshiba hop on board, the ship will have cast off. When are Lenovo and Dell to join?

11-25-2006, 01:19 AM	#39
airlik Connoisseur Posts: 76 Karma: 15 Join Date: Oct 2006 Device: Sony Reader	Off-topic, yes... but the comments on reading lights made me think of it. Maybe I just need to read more threads on it... what does a reading light "for the reader" do that the regular old clip-on book lights don't do now? I have a couple of LED ones I use after my wife goes to sleep sometimes, and they clip just fine on the cover of the reader. Admittedly, that means I'm now holding it like a "real" book rather than as a single page, but I'm pretty happy with the results.

11-25-2006, 09:58 AM	#40
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	In a nutshell: a lot of just us anticipate that a lightwedge type light would likely work better (read: more to our liking ) than most other clip on type lights.

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