Seven Impossible Things to Mull Over Before Breakfast

A century ago, pocket-sized supercomputers, self-driving cars and video calls were pure science fiction.

- SAMIRAN GHOSH

Sequencing a genome in hours or chatting across continents in real-time seemed laughable. Yet, here we are—generating AI memes while checkout machines silently scan our grocery choices.

The year 2025 has seen the world tackle an unexpected climate villain (cow burps) via methane-reducing supplements. Cattle release methane as they digest food, contributing a large portion of these emissions globally. Which begs the question: What seemingly impossible technologies might shape the future? Let's discuss some now-unthinkable ideas that could do just that.

Faster-than-light travel: This could transform us into an interstellar species, reducing trips to Alpha Centauri from millennia to years—or even hours. But Einstein's Theory of Relativity states that nothing with mass can exceed the speed of light without infinite energy, making this speed practically impossible to achieve. However, NASA's Eagleworks Lab has explored Alcubierre's warp drive, which theoretically contracts space ahead of a craft and expands it behind. Meanwhile, quantum teleportation experiments have transferred information over 100km via entanglement, though this does not violate relativity or enable physical travel faster than light.