“Hello? Hello? Scorch! What are you doing?” Verum tried to get Scorch’s attention. But Scorch wasn’t listening. She was reading about the future trends in the world of business and innovation. She wanted to know what to expect in the New Year.
“Any interesting trends you would like to share with us?” Felix said loudly near Scorch’s ears.
“Yes!” replied a startled Scorch.
“Well, let me share with you all the amazing things we should look forward to this year. Elon Musk’s company SpaceX is going to launch its rocket Starship. It will be the most powerful rocket ever launched into Earth’s orbit. Starship is a reusable rocket. So, it will reduce the cost of space travel. It is also twice more powerful than the rocket that was used to take astronauts to the Moon. It can carry 100 tonnes of cargo (goods carried in a spacecraft) into space,” Scorch said.
Scorch added, “Musk is an American businessman. He is the founder of SpaceX, an aerospace company. It makes spacecraft.”
“Musk’s goal is to send humans to Mars, the fourth planet in the solar system. This launch is a step closer towards that goal,” Orak said.
“Last year, you told us about many shortages of goods due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Is it going to continue in 2022?” Verum said.
“Sadly, yes,” Scorch replied.
“There was a global shortage of computer chips last year. Computer chips are used in electronic devices such as computers, mobile phones, and other home appliances. There were shipping problems. But there is no quick solution to fix the problems. So, if experts are to be believed then the shortages are likely to continue in 2022 as well,” Scorch said.
“What else?” Felix said.
“Orak, can you explain how the nuclear fusion reaction occurs in the Sun?” Scorch said.
“The hydrogen in the Sun joins together to convert into helium. It is known as nuclear fusion. The process releases a lot of energy and heat. Scientists have been trying to copy the process on Earth to produce energy, with no success,” Orak said.
“The United Kingdom (UK) had Joint European Torus (JET). It is one of the world’s leading fusion projects. In 2022, the UK will announce STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production), a fusion power plant. The UK government plans to get it running by 2040,” Scorch said.
“If it’s a success, there will be a clean, environment-friendly energy source!” Scorch added.
“Ooh, the world of business and innovation is gearing up for some major developments,” Felix said.