^That's a big IF we happen to invent Artificial Intelligence.
Otherwise, just pull out the battery/power plug and we win.

Zombie apocalypse is possible.

Some people still believe in the Second Coming.

Me personally, I think there could be a major war, and it would wipe out a large percentage of the population (1 Billion left?) and throw us back into the early 1900's/martial law era. That could be done with biological warfare, nuclear power, or just plain old combat. But I hope its with ubercool Mecha like in TitanFall, Gundam, Evangelion, and Pacific Rim.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...ed-up-in-maps/

Damn it. its gone https://www.google.com/maps/place/33...s0x0:0x0?hl=en

I've been around for long enough to have heard that statement at least 10 times. It's curious that the physics always comes into play at about a quarter of the current technology.

The same is true about the predictions of when the humans run out of living space. I have witnessed breaking the 4e9, 5e9 and now the 7e9 limit. The dystopian predictions are curiously always around the double the current population mark.

I have been wondering for the past 30 years why that has not happened yet. It seems such a logical and easily done thing.

It's true, I remember reading an article where they made a reference to the 80's where it was thought we wouldn't pass the 1um scale. This obviously was proven wrong immediately.

The next stage was the 100nm size. It did take a long time, about 18 years, but we finally did surpass it.

It was then that it was believed we wouldn't 2nm or close, because that would make the transistors only one or two atoms thick. And it wouldn't be stable. Even having the low Van Der Waals forces fight against us at that scale. It was famously known as the "5nm wall" where Moore's Law would have ended.

I don't think that's the case. I think we'll find other methods of making processors, and it would include new materials like graphene, or using new mediums like lasers, or even quarks over electrons. And ofcourse 3D stacking, and if we're lucky, Quantum Computing.

I don't think the node size is the issue, as long as we progress technologically, we can surpass it one way or another (maybe its not about going small but going big, there's multiple solutions to a single problem). If we get stuck at a certain node size, its either due to society limitations to advancement in technology or is limitations of materials on Earth.

Noo...the spambot is back with its Chinese characters.

Anyone seen any doomsday news lately?

Nope ...no updated doomsday news that we already haven't covered in one way or another in conversation...
Not saying it isn't going to happen...
Just that ...between the flooding coverage on ISIL, Boko Haram (or as I call them the evil version of Procol Harem), The Powers trying to spy on us all, and Justin Bieber's desire to be a "nice guy", the state of the world has taken a backseat.

I hope doomsday isn't created by mankind but rather an external event. wonder if it will be a slow death or a quick one. doomsday is unavoidably.

Oh right..I forgot...yea..thanks there dave...
there are a few new ones floating around now...
and the coined term by scientists is ...
Just as the dinosaurs were taken out by a meteor ...
and just as the previous 4 extinction level events which occurred before that...
the 6th planetary mass extinction is (and it is fact at this point..no "if") happening as we speak.
It isn't coming from an external source...it's coming from us. (drum-roll please ...here comes the new catch-phrase)
"We are the meteor."
Check the historical timelines from less than a century ago til now..
the stats, numbers and projections don't look good at all.
the damage from the loss can really make an impact further with surviving invasive species aggressively upsetting the balance of diversity further.
As a mention on the issue of diversity or the alarming disappearance of it ...there are alot more documentaries currently concerning the 2nd rise of the great jellyfish epoch ...which appears to be happening.
Doomsday may indeed come for us....
it's come for many other species just in the last century.
and more species are leaving now and in the near future.
Some always manage to survive the mass extinctions.
Whether we will be in that elite group of species that survive is another matter.

What do you guys think about Elon Musk, and his vision about to tackle Climate Change?

He's open sourcing his patents.
And selling a smart, wall-mounted, battery and converter for US$3,500.
Also a larger unit that's scalable for a bit more power.

The idea is to get people to invest in solar panels on their roofs.
Apparently there's enough power to power the average home and car.
And at mass scale, it should ease power management and reduce brown/black-outs.

If the maths is right, it will be difficult, but perhaps we could cut back on coal/petrol by 85% (or more).
So we'll still use the traditional methods for industrial needs, and cities that don't get much solar power.
And the sooner we start, the better it will be. The sun's power is decreasing, solar power generated is constantly decreasing, the sources of coal and petroleum are running out, whereas CO2/Methane/Helium pollutants is increasing exponentially.

Apparently, since the industrial revolution, the amount of pollutants has gone up around +40-50% higher.
And the amount of species gone extinct from Climate Change alone is in the ballpark of 1 of 5 (20%).
It's a bit stupid that politicians still argue the validity of Climate Change, despite the piling evidence.