SilentRunning wrote:Great. Let me know when the things are actually available for sale, as opposed to mere nice sounding claims. When they are, I'll be impressed. Until then, it won't actually propel a vehicle. Vehicles need BATTERIES, not PROMISES OF BATTERIES.
I can understand your frustration about reading about the latest and greatest research happening, but that should not detract from real advancements being made. Real progress takes time and takes place in stages. First you have basic research, where new ideas, ways of thinking, and a general increase in mankind's knowledge. It is not directly commercially applicable. Then comes applied research. This uses basic research to solve a practical problem. Then comes development. This uses applied research for the production of useful materials, devices, etc. Then comes engineering, which uses what you developed into marketable goods and services. You may be hearing about advances being made at many different points of this R&D spectrum. Some may be many years away from a commercial product. Some may be available next Christmas. And some may never see the light of day at all.
It sounds as if you are only interested in hearing about gadgets that will be available by next Christmas. To me, this seems like a rather disappointing attitude to have. Personally, I like to hear about advances being made at every point in the spectrum, from basic research all the way to new product development. One quote I heard said that if we ignored basic research, we would still be making better spears. I still like to hear about advances in commercial products too, such as this one I posted on a new electric motor that is 30% more powerful and runs 50% longer on the same charge:
Electric motor. But I also like to hear about advances in basic and applied research, even if I have to contain my frustration that the advance won't be in my Christmas stocking anytime soon.
Objectives and Types of R & D
The objective of academic and institutional R & D is to obtain new knowledge, which may or may not be applied to practical uses. In contrast, the objective of industrial R & D is to obtain new knowledge, applicable to the company's business needs, that eventually will result in new or improved products, processes, systems, or services that can increase the company's sales and profits.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) defines three types of R & D: basic research, applied research, and development. Basic research has as its objectives a fuller knowledge or understanding of the subject under study, rather than a practical application thereof. As applied to the industrial sector, basic research is defined as research that advances scientific knowledge but does not have specific commercial objectives, although such investigation may be in the fields of present or potential interest to the company.
Applied research is directed towards gaining knowledge or understanding necessary for determining the means by which a recognized and specific need may be met. In industry, applied research includes investigations directed to the discovery of new knowledge having specific commercial objectives with respect to products, processes, or services. Development is the systematic utilization of the knowledge or understanding gained from research toward the production of useful materials, devices, systems, or methods, including design and development of prototypes and processes.
At this point, it is important to differentiate development from engineering, which can be defined as utilization of state-of-the-art knowledge for the design and production of marketable goods and services. In other words, research creates knowledge and development designs, and builds prototypes and proves their feasibility. Engineering then converts these prototypes into products or services that can be offered to the marketplace or into processes that can be used to produce commercial products and services.
Types of Research
The oil barrel is half-full.