2057: The World in 50 Years (2007) Discovery Channel

2057: The World

Episode 3, "The World", is probably the most complex episode of the three, discussing topics as varied as satellites that transmit data at extreme speed using lasers, to more political topics such as probable future geopolitical scenarios involving China and the United States as two opposing superpowers and the ramifications of a worldwide energy crisis with solar power positioned as a likely candidate to relieve the world's energy needs.



It features an American and a Chinese man, both chemists, in a space elevator laboratory discovering how to make more efficient solar panels but being disrupted by their respective countries' political friction mirroring a Cold War. With only weeks to go before their programme is shutdown, the two chemists discover what they are looking for by accident (similar to the discovery of penicillin), but by this time tensions between the US and China over the possession of Central Asian oil fields has almost reached the point of war. Each side attempts to coerce their representative to release the formula for the new solar panels to their side only: The Americans tell their representative to bribe the Chinese chemist into hiding the discovery from the Chinese, while the Chinese abduct the wife of the Chinese chemist, hoping that will convince him only to reveal the new discovery to them.



In the end, the Chinese and American chemists both decide that the future of the world is more important than their respective countries political aspirations. They instead use a laser signal to leak the new discovery to the media and every scientific institution in the entire world. The Chinese chemist also makes a point of thanking his government for looking after his wife while he is away, thus ensuring that no harm will come to her without the prospect of public scrutiny. While afterword the Chinese and American scientist both begin to comment on what the world will be like in the year 2107. The new discovery is then celebrated all over the world.

Source: Wikipedia

2057 is a Discovery Channel television program hosted by theoretical physicist Michio Kaku. It premiered on January 28, 2007 and attempts to predict what the world will be like in 50 years based on current trends. The show takes the form of a docu-drama with three separate episodes, each having informative stories ingrained into the plot. All three episodes aired on January 28, 2007.



What would you see and experience if the clocks rolled forward 50 years? In a unique blend of drama and science, this three-part series shows you the world of tomorrow. Will we have flying cars? Will advances in medicine help us stay young forever? What about "printing" custom-made vital organs? What will our cities look like? What will tomorrow's wars be about? Will we have robots helping around the house? Will solar power be the new oil?



Supported by the world's leading scientists and research institutes, we embark on a quest to answer some of society's most fundamental questions and reveal the dramas of tomorrow's world along the way. State-of-the-art computer graphics in combination with a dynamic story line will create a world usually only seen in feature films, but with the accuracy and relevance of a documentary. This series is all about opening the window of our future based on science fact, not science fiction.

Episodes

The Body

Flying ambulances? Intelligent clothing? Custom-built organs from scratch? Robotic surgery? Learn about today's medical breakthroughs that will extend our lives in 50 years.



The City

Cars without drivers? Humanoid robots in every household? Cyber-hacking? Intelligent camera surveillance systems? Learn about today's scientific advances that will shape our networked cities of tomorrow



The World

An invisible soldier? A space elevator to the stars? Transmit the inventory of the Library of Congress via laser beam in seconds? What are the real fuel sources of the future? Learn about technological quantum leaps that will shape our planet in 50 years.

Sources: Wikipedia and Discovery Channel