EAR TO THE GROUND • Becky Silverton becky@itmagazine.uk.com Particles, string theory and successful manufacturing... Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art? Well, to answer that question, let’s consider shopping for shoes and handbags. On second thoughts, boys, I’ll spare you that one. Instead, let’s use Douglas Adams as our start point, where, as we all know, the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything turned out to be 42. Not a terribly satisfactory answer from supercomputer Deep Thought, but the problem was not so much in the answer as in defining the question in the first place. So that little task was jobbed out to a new computer, which turned out to be the Earth. We have, then, our little planet turned over to sorting out the ultimate problem of life, the universe and everything – its entire history merely a prelude to precisely forming the great question. And interestingly, it’s a question that’s been foremost in our minds since the ancient Greek philosophers first defined metaphysics, and began asking, “what is the world made of?” and “what is the ultimate substance of all reality?” Over two thousand years on, the boffins at CERN in Switzerland are on the verge of powering up the Large Hadron Collider – the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, built to help answer key unresolved questions about particle physics. I heard one spokesman claiming that this could be the key to “answering the question of everything”, including by default the universe. Well, that still leaves the question of life, but in my book two out of three ain’t bad. Soon we may be able to talk with genuine authority about the origin of mass, the nature of dark matter and dark energy, the differences between matter and antimatter, and the secrets of the Big Bang. We may be able to prove the existence of sparticles, the true nature of string theory and the existence of hidden dimensions and multiple universes. In short, we could be on the verge of breakthroughs that could fundamentally change all of our lives. Now, of course none of this will come quickly. Once turned on, the LHC could take months to calibrate, and maybe even years to deliver results given the amount of computing power that will be needed for the analysis. But the sense of excitement is palpable. We really are looking at the big picture. Interestingly, every company I’ve ever spoken to has its own big picture – a view of where it’s going to be or what it’s going to be doing in five years time, or ten or fifteen. But however exciting that future may seem, it’s important not to let the big picture become such a dominating force that the equally important, day-to-day, incremental improvements never happen. Which is why, for example boys, I shall be shopping for shoes and handbags this weekend, bringing me back neatly to where I came in. Life, imitating art, imitating life. PCIM Europe 2008 May 27-29, 2008 Nuremberg, Germany www.mesago.de Mesago PCIM (+49 711 61946-0) North West Manufacturing June 11-12, 2008 Reebok Stadium, Bolton www.industry.co.uk Etes (01784 880890) Automatica June 10-13, 2008 New Munich Trade Fair Centre, Germany www.automatica-munich.com Pattern (020 8940 4625) Wireless Technologies September 27-29, 2008 Bochum, Germany www.mesago.de Mesago Messe Frankfurt (+49 711 61946-0) Northern Manufacturing October 1-2, 2008 Hallam Arena, Sheffield www.industry.co.uk Etes (01784 880890) Sealing, Adhesive, Elastomer October 21-23, 2008 Nuremberg, Germany www.mesago.de Mesago Messe Frankfurt (+49 711 61946-0) SPS/IPC/Drives November 25-27, 2008 Nuremberg, Germany www.mesago.de Mesago Messemanagement (+49 711 61946-0) Index to Advertisers May 2008 Abssac ......................................................... 37 Air Control Industries ................................ 28-29 Air Control Industries ..................................... 56 Andantex ..................................................... 56 Associated Spring ......................................... 37 Baker & Finnemore ........................................ 18 Baldor ......................................................... 56 M Barnwell Services ...................................... 55 Bosch Rexroth .............................................. 11 Bürkert Fluid Control Systems ........................ 13 JG Coates .................................................... 56 Dirak ........................................................... 30 Eckold ......................................................... 17 George Emmott ............................................. 33 EMS ............................................................ 39 ERIKS ............................................................ 9 ETA Enclosures ............................................. 31 Feteris Components ....................................... 53 Futek Advanced Sensor <strong>Technology</strong> ................. 44 Heidenhain .................................................. 15 Henrob ........................................................ 43 HepcoMotion ................................................ 13 Huba Control ................................................ 49 Huco Dynatork ............................................. 23 Idec ............................................................... 3 IFM ............................................................. 51 Igus ............................................................. 21 Igus ............................................................. 56 Impac Infrared .............................................. 47 IMS UK ....................................................... 38 <strong>Industrial</strong> Gas Springs ................................... 35 <strong>Industrial</strong> Vision Systems ............................. OBC Interpower ..................................................... 5 Interpower ..................................................... 7 Albert Jagger ................................................ 41 LAC Conveyor Systems .................................. 55 Lafert Electric Motors ...................................... 6 Lee Products ................................................ 55 Lee Spring ................................................... 35 Lenze .......................................................... 10 Machine Building Systems ............................. 56 Master Bond ................................................ 43 Mayr Transmissions ....................................... 25 Micro-Epsilon ............................................... 16 Murrelektronik .............................................. 19 Ondrives ...................................................... 23 Parker Filtration ........................................... 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IBC 58 INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY • May 2008
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