Question

Find an example of a reverse salient from the past 75 years.

Describe the full system that contains the reverse salient, the reverse salient itself, explaining why it was a reverse salient, and the technological advance that made the reverse salient obsolete in the system.

Note: If the reverse salient is still a problem, describe the work being done to overcome the problem.

Answer 1

A reverse salient is a component of a technological system tha, due to its insufficient developement prevents the system from achieving its goal. So it is the anchor which slows down the technological advancement. An example is the type of chargeble batteries in cell phones. Nickel - cadmium cell was the chice during 80's and 90's. The main problem was with them that they were bulky and required so much time to get charged and discharge quickly. So this part made the cell phone a failure because most of the time it needed to get charged and restricted mobility upto a point. The bulk size of the cells also increased the size of the phone and was so hard to carry with. Eventhough there were advancement in the field of microprocessor technology and much powerful microprocessor evolved, the inadequate power stored in these cells restricted to incorporating new technologies to the cell phones. The toxicity of cadmium also restricted the users from using it also.
Then the nickel metal hydride cells emerged and the toxicity problem was solved. It could be charged rapidly comparing Ni- Cd cells but discharge rate was also high. In the early 21st century then came the lithium ion battery, Li - ion for short. The size was so sleek and it reduced the size of the cell phones. Also it helped incorporating more powerful chips with it as it provided very large amount of electrical energy which was nearly hundred more times than his predecessors. But the problem was with it that it suffered memmory effect. It was the formation of tiny canals in the electrolytic medium during discharging which reduced its life. Now we are using more advanced type of it known as lithium polymer cell or LiPo for short. It has the thinnest design, most efficient energy carrying capacity and devoid of memmory defect. It made the smart phone revelution possible and abled the man to harness the processing power of a decent desktop in the palm of him. The evolution of storage cell technology resolved its own reverse salient. Now we are in a breakthrogh of the hybrid of LiPo and ultra capacitors which will allow full charging within a couple of minutes and several folds of storage capacity.