I don’t know about you, but I think physics is super cool! So I’m going to go down a bit of a rabbit hole about how physics relates to what I do every day.
When I studied Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech, I decided to become an apprentice of how all things work. Essentially there are two universal theories; one for big stuff and one for small stuff.
- Einstein’s Theory of Relativity
- Explains large forces like gravity, energy and how things move in the space around us
- Quantum Mechanics
- Explains small forces like atomic structure and how machines compute
The science behind human advancements is directly aligned with the formulas extrapolated from the theories above. What that means is there is real and tangible truth to these theories. Humanity is validating these as innovation happens.
Let’s take a look back to the 20th century to see how humanity’s advancements align with these theories.
Mastering Energy
(Theory of Relativity)
Early pioneers of efficiency defined the ways we can best turn energy into effective work.
Henry Ford reinvented manufacturing by taking the work to workers rather than the worker moving to the work. The assembly line was created in 1913!
Sakichi Toyoda is famous for identifying ways to eliminate wasteful work within the car creation process. (fun fact: The Kentucky Toyota assembly line creates a new car every 5 seconds).
To this day, companies enjoy many benefits by continuing to embrace Toyota’s lean principles.
The conservation of energy, discovered by Albert Einstein, states that energy cannot be created nor destroyed. As we improve the ways we leverage the power of energy through physical motion, items become cheaper and more accessible to the world! less waste = more effective work.
The Moore the Merrier
(Quantum Mechanics)
The first computer was built in 1946 and weighed almost 100,000 lbs. This was a massive accomplishment for its time, as this computer was over 1,000x more efficient than a human mathematician. Nowadays, our pocket computers (cell phones) are around 100,000x the speed of the initial computers. Let that sink in!
Major breakthroughs occurred throughout the tail-end of the 20th century as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs battled to reshape the world. Microsoft and Apple have become two of the most successful companies in history, enabling every company and person to achieve more with the use of digital technologies.
Computers didn’t even exist a mere century ago, and there are now people trusting AI chatbots with their deepest, darkest secrets.
Gordon Moore (the observer of Moore’s Law & co-founder of Intel) used Quantum Mechanics to theorize that computing power will double every two years. Although we have since learned that the growth rate is not exactly constant, computing power is greatly increasing every year.
Enter Collaborative Work Management Software
(Smartsheet, Airtable, Miro)
Innovations extending from both universal theories have landed us at a super exciting time in history! Technology is being used more than ever to track the continuous flow of the world.
Collaborative Work Management tools are specifically designed to put a digital interface to any physical process using modern computing capabilities. In a way, these tools are the evolutionary intersection between the Theory of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics! Cool, huh? (I think so at least!)
Collaborative Work Management software like Smartsheet, Airtable & Miro make the work day easy. These tools provide employees with a platform to manage projects, processes, communication and other information at scale.
I have the luxury of building and implementing collaborative work management solutions every day, and I find it truly fulfilling to deliver solutions that improve efficiency for the end users.