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Cynicism? I think this is how many of us feel when we see all these breathless reports about how much some revolutionary new battery technology will be 100x mor

Cynicism? I think this is how many of us feel when we see all these breathless reports about how much some revolutionary new battery technology will be 100x more efficient at half the whatever, or how some new revolutionary solar energy system will generate 10x the power at one-third the whatever, or how Blockchain will do this, or how AI will do that, or how the decentrialized internet will finally be a reality, or even, yes, graphene will do everything we could have every hoped for at less cost, more efficiency, whatever. I'm as much a fan of the potential of graphene as anyone. I love the idea of graphene superconductors, etc. However, to me, casting what you refer to as a "cynical" glance is actually being a realist. There's nothing wrong with cheering on research innovation while also chastising the ability to actually productize that research. So much can be promised in an academic paper that fails upon meeting reality. In fact, I would venture to say that 90%+ of all academic research fails to materialize in any form into industrial applications. So is it cynical to ask the question "will we ever see the light of day for this technology in a way that consumers will be actually able to use"? Sounds like a rational and realistic response. It's probably unrealistic to say "just wait 20-30 more years and maybe you'll see a first application for this technology." Who has the interest or patience for that? Might as well read science fiction if you want to read about technology you'll never actually get your hands on. There's absolutely nothing wrong with pragramtism and realism. But I'm all for research and academic development. Keep on researching, and maybe one day, some day, we'll see some benefit there. Until then, Graphene will remain the lore of technology potential, but not technology accessible.

Retric 5y ago
Where exactly do you think the relentless process of technology comes from? Rechargeable batteries for example have become extraordinary cheaper in my lifetime. They also have higher capacity, last longer, weigh less, and are basically a pure upgrade with zero downsides. Sure not everything works out, but breathless breakthroughs of 20+ years ago directly translated into what seems like minor improvements today. The only things that seems disappointing is we are comparing them to yesterday’s tech not what was current back when this stuff was first discovered in a lab.
- rexreed 5y ago
  What you're saying is obvious. Yes, of course, research, especially of the incremental kind results in innovations we see every day. But there's a difference between the steady, ongoing improvements that follow from continued iteration and improvement and the whole "Groundbreaking, revolutionary technology that will change everything but is always decades away". The fatigue doesn't come from the obvious incremental improvements, but those earth-shattering ones that always promise to be just around the corner but end up unattainable. From fusion reactors to flying cars, graphene-powered supercapacitors to 50%+ efficiency solar energy cells, and even, dare I say it, truly level 5 autonomous vehicles, these things are always just here, but fail to materialize. No one is doubting the progress of technology. The problem is the science fiction-like promotion of technologies that fail to see any commercialization.
  - Retric 5y ago
    There is nothing incremental about many of these improvements. Take say Helium filled HDD, that’s not simply an obvious outcome of taking 1960’s HDD technology and scaling things down. It’s very different technology that just happens to be in the same form factor so people assume it’s just all just tiny linear improvements.
    - rexreed 5y ago
      But that's exactly the sort of incremental improvement I'm talking about. What exactly did adding Helium do to HDDs? we didn't invent a new kind of storage, we iterated and improved what we had already developed, and that iteration is itself incremental in nature. And the timing had to be right. If you were to go back to the 1980s and suggest adding Helium as a way to improve storage speed or capacity the industry would just have laughed at you because there were much more obvious ways to improve capacity and performance. In fact, the necessity to use Helium in the first place is a result of all the steady, incremental improvements bringing us to a point where the use of helium could actually provide value. A revolutionary, ground-breaking innovation would be to use Helium as the storage medium. An incremental innovation is to use helium to improve the storage approaches we're already using. This is not at all the same sort of breathless hype as "graphene solves everything" but not a single commercial application that proves that it does. So, will ultra-high-density harddrives really be made with graphene in any scalable, commercializable way? Given all the other touted applications of graphene that have failed to materialize, unfortunately it seems that this is something that will need to be proven in a short amount of time (not 20 years) for those of us who have heard it all with regards to graphene to put any weight behind the claim in this article.
amelius 5y ago
> I think this is how many of us feel when we see all these breathless reports about how much some revolutionary new battery technology will be 100x more efficient at half the whatever If you can't cope with the time it takes to develop technology, then perhaps don't read technology news?

Retric 5y ago

Where exactly do you think the relentless process of technology comes from? Rechargeable batteries for example have become extraordinary cheaper in my lifetime. They also have higher capacity, last longer, weigh less, and are basically a pure upgrade with zero downsides. Sure not everything works out, but breathless breakthroughs of 20+ years ago directly translated into what seems like minor improvements today. The only things that seems disappointing is we are comparing them to yesterday’s tech not what was current back when this stuff was first discovered in a lab.

rexreed 5y ago
What you're saying is obvious. Yes, of course, research, especially of the incremental kind results in innovations we see every day. But there's a difference between the steady, ongoing improvements that follow from continued iteration and improvement and the whole "Groundbreaking, revolutionary technology that will change everything but is always decades away". The fatigue doesn't come from the obvious incremental improvements, but those earth-shattering ones that always promise to be just around the corner but end up unattainable. From fusion reactors to flying cars, graphene-powered supercapacitors to 50%+ efficiency solar energy cells, and even, dare I say it, truly level 5 autonomous vehicles, these things are always just here, but fail to materialize. No one is doubting the progress of technology. The problem is the science fiction-like promotion of technologies that fail to see any commercialization.
- Retric 5y ago
  There is nothing incremental about many of these improvements. Take say Helium filled HDD, that’s not simply an obvious outcome of taking 1960’s HDD technology and scaling things down. It’s very different technology that just happens to be in the same form factor so people assume it’s just all just tiny linear improvements.
  - rexreed 5y ago
    But that's exactly the sort of incremental improvement I'm talking about. What exactly did adding Helium do to HDDs? we didn't invent a new kind of storage, we iterated and improved what we had already developed, and that iteration is itself incremental in nature. And the timing had to be right. If you were to go back to the 1980s and suggest adding Helium as a way to improve storage speed or capacity the industry would just have laughed at you because there were much more obvious ways to improve capacity and performance. In fact, the necessity to use Helium in the first place is a result of all the steady, incremental improvements bringing us to a point where the use of helium could actually provide value. A revolutionary, ground-breaking innovation would be to use Helium as the storage medium. An incremental innovation is to use helium to improve the storage approaches we're already using. This is not at all the same sort of breathless hype as "graphene solves everything" but not a single commercial application that proves that it does. So, will ultra-high-density harddrives really be made with graphene in any scalable, commercializable way? Given all the other touted applications of graphene that have failed to materialize, unfortunately it seems that this is something that will need to be proven in a short amount of time (not 20 years) for those of us who have heard it all with regards to graphene to put any weight behind the claim in this article.

amelius 5y ago

> I think this is how many of us feel when we see all these breathless reports about how much some revolutionary new battery technology will be 100x more efficient at half the whatever If you can't cope with the time it takes to develop technology, then perhaps don't read technology news?