Cutline Speaks

Quantum Physics & The Internet’s Next Generation

posted by The Cutline Team on September 9, 2008

Success in the world of technology means being able to recognize the scientific advances that could lead to tomorrow's next major innovation, and this week, techno-enthusiasts around the world (including me) are getting excited about the upcoming activation of CERN's underground Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland - the world's largest particle accelerator.

This project has caused a media sensation, triggering everything from doomsday prophecies to exalted celebrations from the scientific community. Perhaps the most exciting development, however, has been the rush to meet the unprecedented demands for supporting the transmission and analysis of the Collider's massive amounts of raw data. This article from Scientific American reports that scientists and universities have developed technology to facilitate this data transmission, and furthermore, that this technology could constitute the structure of the next generation of Internet technologies.

As scientists continue the exploration of the subatomic frontier, I am reminded of our early efforts to explore outer space, as well as CERN's World Wide Web project, which yielded some of the technology that would become the Internet as we know it today. With the Large Hadron Collider, maybe we'll learn something fascinating about the nature of the universe, but if we don't, at least we'll know something about the Internet's future.

In the meantime enjoy this catchy viral video about the project, in rap form.

Tags for this post: internet