So if a smell is basically an electromagnetic signal, I wonder why it wouldn't be possible to digitize it, send it through the ether via email and reconstitute it a the other end? I mean to literally send a smell across the ocean, for instance.
In theory it is possible. We are (currently) lacking the engineering to so.
The problem is not so much analyzing the signal or sending the signal. The true technological challenge is to reassemble the signal on the receiver end, so that the recepient can smell it.
We woul either have to wire a chip into the brain, or we would have to assemble the original molecule that gives the scent.
Both technologies are under way, but we are not there yet.
anitanyc, this is possible. It would mean to construct a receiver (Turin did exactly this, it#s the electron tunneling spectrometer the Ford guys found), a storage (easy - a computer will do) and a transmitter (the missing piece). Then we will see (or better smell) an "iPod for Scents". It's not a question of engineering. It's simply a question of doing it. If you have spare-time to do so, feel free ;)
caspareisermann, you're far too glib. This is neither proven nor easily done. See research of Fr. physicist, Jacques Benveniste, Yolene Thomas et al on sending molecule traces in water via electronic signals over internet. Intriguing yet frustrating. Not just engineering. Pure science. Major implications on basic understanding of matter. Soon to be published theory in basic physics (Baltimore and Singapore) emerging -- explains many previously unaccepted observations & successful experiments.
well i once saw a tv show and a guy drank a bottle cap full of heavy water. D2O . he said it tasted a little sweet as i recall he didn't mention the smell.
very interesting topic TED! i must agree with other comments here , the intro music sux.
i really enjoy these TED talks but i must say i hate the "lead in" music (on EVERY freaking video), with all the vitriol my soul can muster- HATE!!! HATE!!! HATE!!! i despise it! loathe it!
please TED- for the love of baby Jesus... make it stop???
(and no the 'new' version is not one single iota better- just different)
jeez - my sentiments exactly. And it's not just the "music", it's the fact that it is so loud, I have to adjust the volume down while it plays, and then back up to hear the speaker. Excellent video :)
I'm reading Emperor of Scent and also have bought his Perfume guide. Compelling stuff. Love hearing him talk about it. Thanks for posting this viddie.
Luca Turins ideas are revolutionary, I guess. As to be seen at his Wikipedia site, his theory was proven at least by the success of the company "Flexitral" where his way of finding new scent molecules is used. Why is this method not used by the big companies?
Wow! I am so glad this comes out now and can be watched on YouTube. Congratulations. It took a long time. I always was a fan of your research, wondering why this eventually would happen. Wish you all the best!
He was great. I loved his dry comment about why people would think that our sense of smell couldn't use detection of atomic or molecular vibrations, after all, our eyes and ears don't (I recall this loosely).
Wow. I wonder it would be possible to create a smell detection device using nanotechnology and this theory. I heard that some dogs can smell a disease. It would be neat to use such a smell detection device for medical diagnosis.
my question is this: if you layed all known molecules end to end, from lowest vibration to highest vibration, would there be a smooth transition in smell? does smell have a continous, linear flow like the colors in a rainbow or notes on a piano?
If you go on the fact that there is a continuous band of vibrational/rotational possibilities (combinations within a molecule), each molecule will have a unique scent. Even though they may smell similar, they are not exactly similar. So, I would believe that it would be more like colors in a rainbow (especially since we're talking about the electromagnetic spectrum).
4jonah: I would guess not. Each molecule has multiple peaks at different frequencies in the spectrogram. These would be analogous to overtones in sound. So the smell of each molecule should be analogous to the sound of a different musical instrument, rather than a different note on a piano.
@4jonah Could it be linear? I love the idea, but if its linear then it goes from what to what? Perhaps it could be linear but branching.. like a smell tree. ??
The theory is basic chemistry.Molecules absorb differently electromagnetic waves(and vibrate),depending on what kind of atoms,their abundance, and the manner they are bound together by electrones.One can predict the structure of a molecule by the manner it absorbs energy,thus 2 molecules with similar spectra will have similar structural characteristic. Nothing new,in fact the molecule his found is similar to coumarin.I wouldn't be surprised if the molecule he found is carcinogenic also.
Turin has a book which came out about a year ago called The Secret Of Scent...just as interesting but better than Burrs. Also check out The Nose Knows by Avery Gilbert..came out this year
The Emperor of Scent is Biographical as well as the journey in Turin's research. The Secret of Scent is mainly about the history of smell research with a little of the theory and a little of his life. Both are fantastic reads regardless.
So..now that it's easier to create a scent using this guys method, the price of all these designer fragrances should go down....probably not. This is nuts that people actually think up these things.
Where there is profit to be made, there will be innovation.
Luca's findings certainly merit more thorough investigation. I should try talking my university chem department and grad students into using this for some research work.
I might also just get laughed out and told I'm stupid for suggesting it, but then again, I'm a CS guy with only a rudimentary understanding of chemistry.
Looks very proimising if even reasonably accurate, though.
Nobody qualified who isn't already engaged in a similar project, sorry. Besides, I'm in Finland - but I'd be happy to put out a job advert at the university if you provide me with one. You should be ready to pay for trips and housing, though.
Comment removed
igrewold 8 months ago
this man is my heeeroooooo
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despinapjr 1 year ago
Science kicks ass.
robotpanda77 2 years ago 4
So if a smell is basically an electromagnetic signal, I wonder why it wouldn't be possible to digitize it, send it through the ether via email and reconstitute it a the other end? I mean to literally send a smell across the ocean, for instance.
anitanyc 2 years ago 3
In theory it is possible. We are (currently) lacking the engineering to so.
The problem is not so much analyzing the signal or sending the signal. The true technological challenge is to reassemble the signal on the receiver end, so that the recepient can smell it.
We woul either have to wire a chip into the brain, or we would have to assemble the original molecule that gives the scent.
Both technologies are under way, but we are not there yet.
Nanoassemby & Neural Chips.
have a nice day
silk;-)
blacksilkblacksilk 2 years ago
anitanyc, this is possible. It would mean to construct a receiver (Turin did exactly this, it#s the electron tunneling spectrometer the Ford guys found), a storage (easy - a computer will do) and a transmitter (the missing piece). Then we will see (or better smell) an "iPod for Scents". It's not a question of engineering. It's simply a question of doing it. If you have spare-time to do so, feel free ;)
caspareisermann 2 years ago
caspareisermann, you're far too glib. This is neither proven nor easily done. See research of Fr. physicist, Jacques Benveniste, Yolene Thomas et al on sending molecule traces in water via electronic signals over internet. Intriguing yet frustrating. Not just engineering. Pure science. Major implications on basic understanding of matter. Soon to be published theory in basic physics (Baltimore and Singapore) emerging -- explains many previously unaccepted observations & successful experiments.
anitanyc 2 years ago
well i once saw a tv show and a guy drank a bottle cap full of heavy water. D2O . he said it tasted a little sweet as i recall he didn't mention the smell.
very interesting topic TED! i must agree with other comments here , the intro music sux.
tetranoob 3 years ago
i really enjoy these TED talks but i must say i hate the "lead in" music (on EVERY freaking video), with all the vitriol my soul can muster- HATE!!! HATE!!! HATE!!! i despise it! loathe it!
please TED- for the love of baby Jesus... make it stop???
(and no the 'new' version is not one single iota better- just different)
radicle 3 years ago 4
jeez - my sentiments exactly. And it's not just the "music", it's the fact that it is so loud, I have to adjust the volume down while it plays, and then back up to hear the speaker. Excellent video :)
jonahansen 3 years ago 4
I'm reading Emperor of Scent and also have bought his Perfume guide. Compelling stuff. Love hearing him talk about it. Thanks for posting this viddie.
hanumanhanuman 3 years ago 2
What's the latest news on Luca Turin?
orbakustik 3 years ago
5 stars.
Favourited.
If I could, I'd subscribe again.
(Finally Ted release a Chemistry-based lecture).
Thankyou.
JamesBoxall5632 3 years ago 3
By Joe I think he's got it!
ivoryinflames 3 years ago 3
Luca Turins ideas are revolutionary, I guess. As to be seen at his Wikipedia site, his theory was proven at least by the success of the company "Flexitral" where his way of finding new scent molecules is used. Why is this method not used by the big companies?
freakzz4u 3 years ago 4
Wow! I am so glad this comes out now and can be watched on YouTube. Congratulations. It took a long time. I always was a fan of your research, wondering why this eventually would happen. Wish you all the best!
BeaLukas 3 years ago 2
lol semenlittergod
vaporfarts 3 years ago
vapor: i believe it's SemiLiterateGod, not SemenLitterGod
tillo2008 3 years ago
He was great. I loved his dry comment about why people would think that our sense of smell couldn't use detection of atomic or molecular vibrations, after all, our eyes and ears don't (I recall this loosely).
valupak 3 years ago 3
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it's fucking B/S!
It can't be true cause otherwise people would have discovered it already, fucking idiots.
Two carefully chosen coincidences, nothing more
semiliteratedgod 3 years ago
superb!
dmlled 3 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
absolutely!
semiliteratedgod 3 years ago
Wow. I wonder it would be possible to create a smell detection device using nanotechnology and this theory. I heard that some dogs can smell a disease. It would be neat to use such a smell detection device for medical diagnosis.
igorkrupitsky 3 years ago
How new is this tech? Is this the accepted standard in modern perfumery/scent technology?
marcinovski 3 years ago
He talks about that at the end....
ehsanul 3 years ago 2
my question is this: if you layed all known molecules end to end, from lowest vibration to highest vibration, would there be a smooth transition in smell? does smell have a continous, linear flow like the colors in a rainbow or notes on a piano?
4jonah 3 years ago 11
Amazing thought.
10aces 3 years ago
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amazingly amazing!
semiliteratedgod 3 years ago
If you go on the fact that there is a continuous band of vibrational/rotational possibilities (combinations within a molecule), each molecule will have a unique scent. Even though they may smell similar, they are not exactly similar. So, I would believe that it would be more like colors in a rainbow (especially since we're talking about the electromagnetic spectrum).
ccmike123 3 years ago
4jonah: I would guess not. Each molecule has multiple peaks at different frequencies in the spectrogram. These would be analogous to overtones in sound. So the smell of each molecule should be analogous to the sound of a different musical instrument, rather than a different note on a piano.
BGenerous 3 years ago 10
@4jonah Could it be linear? I love the idea, but if its linear then it goes from what to what? Perhaps it could be linear but branching.. like a smell tree. ??
Good idea. Work it out a little.
2eelShmeal 5 months ago
Isn't the beauty here that he's been able to connect unrelated worlds via a simple theory ? Makes me think of synesthesia...
8u1x0 3 years ago
Class distinction in aroma! How profound! Is this something new?
jdrizd2 3 years ago
The theory is basic chemistry.Molecules absorb differently electromagnetic waves(and vibrate),depending on what kind of atoms,their abundance, and the manner they are bound together by electrones.One can predict the structure of a molecule by the manner it absorbs energy,thus 2 molecules with similar spectra will have similar structural characteristic. Nothing new,in fact the molecule his found is similar to coumarin.I wouldn't be surprised if the molecule he found is carcinogenic also.
Juangui123 3 years ago
After reading Burr's book on the theory a few months ago, it's neat to hear Turin talk about the application of his idea.
ThisHereUsername 3 years ago
Turin has a book which came out about a year ago called The Secret Of Scent...just as interesting but better than Burrs. Also check out The Nose Knows by Avery Gilbert..came out this year
4jonah 3 years ago
Is it just about the theory or also autobiographical? I would like to learn more about the man. What a great mind!
anitanyc 2 years ago
The Emperor of Scent is Biographical as well as the journey in Turin's research. The Secret of Scent is mainly about the history of smell research with a little of the theory and a little of his life. Both are fantastic reads regardless.
4jonah 2 years ago
just brilliant!
0Tillz0 3 years ago
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brilliant!brilliant!
semiliteratedgod 3 years ago
very interesting
qpwnsall 3 years ago 2
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very very interesting
semiliteratedgod 3 years ago
The science of scent is so interesting yet so unpopular!
AuthenticPunkDance 3 years ago 5
This comment has received too many negative votes show
That's because no one really cares :]
Paomnnehal 3 years ago
So..now that it's easier to create a scent using this guys method, the price of all these designer fragrances should go down....probably not. This is nuts that people actually think up these things.
fkd247 3 years ago
I wish the costs would go down, it's easier to make and probably cheaper.
Paomnnehal 3 years ago
Where there is profit to be made, there will be innovation.
Luca's findings certainly merit more thorough investigation. I should try talking my university chem department and grad students into using this for some research work.
I might also just get laughed out and told I'm stupid for suggesting it, but then again, I'm a CS guy with only a rudimentary understanding of chemistry.
Looks very proimising if even reasonably accurate, though.
int3rl0per 3 years ago 5
I've been looking to contact CS/IT people involved in molecular drug design for some cancer drug research. Know anybody?
anitanyc 2 years ago
Nobody qualified who isn't already engaged in a similar project, sorry. Besides, I'm in Finland - but I'd be happy to put out a job advert at the university if you provide me with one. You should be ready to pay for trips and housing, though.
int3rl0per 2 years ago
Are you kidding? Why should they pass the savings on to us when they can just increase their profit margin?
SpFiota 3 years ago
Pythagoras was right, it's the music of the spheres!
Hypatia4242 3 years ago 2
wawesome
archaedemos 3 years ago
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indeed
semiliteratedgod 3 years ago
Brilliant
ThomasCrown79 3 years ago
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totally
semiliteratedgod 3 years ago
Hmm. Smell is one of our oldest senses.
superfisto 3 years ago
Very interesting.
TED, thanks for existing
dutchhaze1 3 years ago 5
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thanks for existing!! thanks for existing!
fags for TED!
semiliteratedgod 3 years ago
pretty cool theory
justis101 3 years ago
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yeah, it's interesting
semiliteratedgod 3 years ago