This past Month has seen the award of a Nobel Chemistry Prize, the discovery of neutrinos that possibly exceed the speed of light, and the death of the greatest innovator of our time, Steve Jobs. It all speaks to the remarkable advances in pure scientific discovery and causes us to reflect upon the transformative power of innovative genius. Once again we are reminded that the given wisdom of one age can well become the mythology of the next.
Daniel Shechtman, an Israeli, won the Nobel Prize for chemistry for his discovery of quadricrystals, a unique mosaic of atoms that form a regular mosaic of patters that never repeat themselves, a structure that broke all the accepted rules of how crystals ought to behave. His discovery was initially rejected by the scientific community in the most uncomplimentary way, but later vindication led chemists to fundamentally alter the way in which they conceive solid matter and brought about a paradigm shift in solid state physics.
Potential applications include protective alloys and coatings. As a result of Dr. Shechtman’s discovery, work is being pursued to improve diesel engine performance, improve the strength of high quality steel and enhance light emitting diodes.
In another sphere of research, scientists conducting the OPERA experiments at CERN detected particles called neutrinos that traveled 730 kilometers from Geneva in Switzerland to Gran Sasso Laboratory in Italy 90 nanoseconds faster than the speed of light. Until now it has been thought that the speed of light through a vacuum was an absolute speed limit. The speed limit of light is the backbone of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and a constant in Quantum field theory, the mathematical theory on which all results in particle physics are based. If substantiated, this discovery would radically alter our view of the universe and may explain the possibility for time travel. The verification or disproval of such a radical discovery has now become one of the most urgent of scientific quests.
A few short days ago, Steve Jobs died from complications of pancreatic cancer. His genius and vision brought about a global transformation of ubiquitous computing; changed the way we listened to music, watched videos and communicated with text and graphics. He completely altered the world that we live in by changing the way that we gained access to information and shared that information with others. He developed the personal computer and then in an act of what seemed to be corporate cannibalism he leapt over his own boundaries and proceeded to replace it with the iPod, iPhone and iPad.
His innovations have led to an explosion of information and sharing of ideas across physical and ideological boundaries. This in turn, has created a global upheaval that expresses a thirst for individual freedoms and a common desire for improved standards of human rights. It has also changed the way that we conduct business and moved us with increasing velocity toward the establishment of a global market place. The tools that Jobs created for us have revolutionized the way that we live, work and play and the world has changed forever.
Scientific discovery and innovation depend on us challenging or verifying the given wisdom of our times and not accepting things as they are or as they seem. The progress of man depends on a continual search for fundamental truths and innovative thinking.
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