Tech never sleeps ...

The James Webb Space Telescope’s primary mirror comprises 18 gold-plated beryllium sections, each more than 1.3 meters across. Technology used to create the nearly flawless reflectors is also key for making flat-panel displays. Desiree Stover/NASA/Associated Press

Tech never sleeps, especially regarding imaging as the resolution and sharpness of digital dwarfs the halcyon days of film when Kodak ruled the roost for years. Seen below is a pix taken in 1977 by yours truly using a Nikon Photomic FTn and Kodak Ektachrome 160.

Nikon's Photomic FTn camera and finder

A box of Ektachrome 64T (2001) in 120 format

Good "olde" days - 1977

Going forward ...

A perfect early fall day - 2021

Samsung 21 Ultra

With the Webb telescope, the connection between space tech and regular-life tech is more than just the transfer of insights gained from research and development conducted on NASA’s dime. It turns out that the very same factory where the mirrors for the space telescope were polished are now where the optics required for manufacture of OLED displays—short for organic light emitting diode, the screens in the latest generation of smartphones—are made.

As stated before, tech never sleeps.