Chemical Education Today edited by
From Past Issues
Kathryn R. Williams
Chemists Doing Library Research—AD 2000
Department of Chemistry University of Florida Gainesville, FL 32611-7200
by Carol Drum and John Ashcraft
In the October 1951 issue, the cartoon reproduced below projects what a chemist’s research life would be like in the year 2000. Since we are now in that era, we examined this humorous illustration closely and found that the cartoonist had some right ideas even if the methods and techniques are not exactly accurate. Also, these days you would be less likely to see the chemist (obviously male) depicted with a pipe in his mouth since smoking has become “politically incorrect” in the United States. Let us take a closer look at the different aspects of the cartoon.
things (it learns the furniture layout). It can help clear the table by dragging a wagonload of dishes to the sink. Then it is smart enough to return to its wall socket and plug itself in to recharge. The Eureka company has also demonstrated a prototype robotic vacuum cleaner, and Husqvarna has begun selling a robotic lawn mower. The cartoonist from the 1950s knew what the consumer would want but underestimated how long it would take to get it.
Robotics
We have the capability to scan the pages of a book or a journal and read the text on a computer monitor. Or more accurately, we often access the text on a computer and print out a paper copy to read at our leisure. We are still a society very much wedded to print on paper. In the near future, the same instrument that now delivers our home entertainment system—a television set—will have the capability to deliver efficiently the Internet and other informational resources available through it. The technology is already available but not in wide use.
Robotics is used today to carry out some kinds of experiments. However, robots are not as widely used as the cartoon suggests. The cartoonist mistakenly assumed that personal robotics would advance more than it has and did not envision the textual usage of computer displays. We believe robotics will become more prevalent both at home and at work in the next 50 years, because of the unpopularity of manual labor. Many people do not like cooking, cleaning up after meals, cleaning the house, doing the laundry, or mowing the lawn. Companies will eventually come to realize that robots could probably perform a variety of specific menial tasks, and there are people who can pay for these services. After all, manufacturers solved the problem of having to get up and change the channel on the TV. Last June, Sony introduced AIBO, a robotic dog, in Japan. It cost $2,500, and the entire production run was sold out in a few hours. In the following month, a company named Probotics introduced Cye, an $800 personal robot that can drag the vacuum around a house without bumping into
Scanned Textual Material
Voice-Activated Computers Voice-activated computers are currently available but not yet in wide use. They will become the norm in the next millennium, especially since voice activation will alleviate many of the repetitive stress injuries so prevalent in the workplace today. The latest cellular telephones add voice-activated dialing to eliminate the need for a keypad. Many attorneys and physicians now use voice recognition software to transcribe their dictation.
Chemist Doing Library Research—A. D. 2000 (from J. Chem. Educ. 1951, 28, 552)
JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 77 No. 1 January 2000 • Journal of Chemical Education
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Chemical Education Today
Looking 50 Years Ahead Have these advances allowed the chemist to sit back while technology does the work? We don’t think so! The researchers that we know are busier than ever keeping their computers and instruments running, and competing for grants, graduate students, and lab space. Can we do a better job of projecting the future than the cartoonist did? We can’t know that, but here are some of our projections for research in the year 2050. Probably less than we imagine will actually change in the basic way information research is carried out. The displays will definitely change, becoming hand-held, lightweight, wireless “books” that look just like ink on paper. This will save trees and will not require the mechanical turning of pages. Xerox has already demonstrated this technology. Paper books will be too expensive to print, ship, store, and maintain. At home or in the office, you will probably be able to look up at a projected wall or a hologram display that can be placed in any position at any location within a room. Input will be by voice, but the microphone will broadcast
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noise-canceling signals that silence your voice so that it will not be heard by others. This technology is already being installed in some public places to quiet busy traffic noises, and noise-canceling headphones using this advanced technology are commonly used on airplanes. Keyboards, as we know them, will be just for backup purposes and for “old-timers” who refuse to change. In prehistoric times, cavemen (or should we say cavepersons?) recorded their thoughts on flat rocks illuminated by the glow of open fires. In 2050, we will probably still read text on a flat display illuminated by some type of chemical or liquid crystal technology. Some things never change. Perhaps there is someone in the readership who would like to draw up a vision of how research will be carried out in the middle of the 21st century. If so, you may send your predictions to the editor of From Past Issues, Kathryn R. Williams,
[email protected]. Carol Drum and John Ashcraft are at Marston Science Library, P. O. 117011, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-7011, email:
[email protected];
[email protected].
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 77 No. 1 January 2000 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
