Lifeboat Foundation

Explore courses in mathematics, science, and computer science with Brilliant. First 200 to use our link https://brilliant.org/sabine will get 20% off the annual premium subscription.

Memory storage technology has come a long way from compact disks. Or has it? In a recent paper, scientists report they were able to fit petabytes of memory onto a compact disk using new laser technologies and advanced material design. Is this the future of data storage? Let’s have a look.

Continue reading “Compact Disks make Comeback: Memory could Exceed Petabytes” »

AWS to acquire nuclear-powered data center in Pennsylvania. Find out how this move will impact cloud services and energy consumption.

Expect new OLED displays and spec bumps.

The next generation of wireless communication not only requires greater bandwidth at higher frequencies – it also needs a little extra time.

Cornell researchers have developed a semiconductor chip that adds a necessary time delay so signals sent across multiple arrays can align at a single point in space, and without disintegrating. The approach will enable ever-smaller devices to operate at the higher frequencies needed for future 6G communication technology.

Continue reading “3D reflectors help boost data rate in wireless communications” »

Superconducting circuits, which conduct electricity without resistance, are among the most promising technologies for quantum computing and ultrafast logic circuits. However, finding a practical way to work with these materials that require extremely cold temperatures has been a challenge.

In a step toward that goal, a team of researchers led by Prof. Hong Tang developed and successfully demonstrated a device that presents a viable solution in transferring a very weak signal from a computing device stored at cryogenic temperatures to room temperature electronics to achieve a fast data transfer with very low energy consumption. The results are published in Nature Photonics.

The practical use of superconducting circuits requires connecting them to room temperature electronics. But doing so has largely relied on coaxial cables, which have a limited bandwidth and limited thermal conductivity – two factors that negate the benefits of superconducting circuits.

A research team from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the University of Salerno in Italy has discovered that thin films of elemental bismuth exhibit the so-called non-linear Hall effect, which could be applied in technologies for the controlled use of terahertz high-frequency signals on electronic chips.

Bismuth combines several advantageous properties not found in other systems to date, as the team reports in Nature Electronics. In particular, the quantum effect is observed at room temperature. The thin-layer films can be applied even on plastic substrates and could therefore be suitable for modern high-frequency technology applications.

“When we apply a current to certain materials, they can generate a voltage perpendicular to it. We physicists call this phenomenon the Hall effect, which is actually a unifying term for effects with the same impact, but which differ in the underlying mechanisms at the electron level. Typically, the Hall voltage registered is linearly dependent on the applied current,” says Dr. Denys Makarov from the Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research at HZDR.

Scientists at the DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have discovered that coating tantalum with magnesium significantly enhances its properties as a superconducting material for quantum computing. This coating prevents oxidation, increases purity, and improves the superconducting transition temperature of tantalum, offering promising advancements for the development of qubits and the future of quantum computing.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have discovered that adding a layer of magnesium improves the properties of tantalum, a superconducting material that shows great promise for building qubits, the basis of quantum computers.

As described in a paper just published in the journal Advanced Materials, a thin layer of magnesium keeps tantalum from oxidizing, improves its purity, and raises the temperature at which it operates as a superconductor. All three may increase tantalum’s ability to hold onto quantum information in qubits.

Tasked with building a new data center in an urban area of Germany, the team behind the Wave House harnessed the benefits of 3D printing technology to inject a sense of style into the unglamorous world of cloud-computing infrastructure, creating Europe’s largest 3D-printed building in the process.

The Wave House is located in Heidelberg and was designed by SSV and Mense Korte, and created by Peri 3D Construction for developer KrausGruppe. It measures 600 sq m (6,600 sq ft). As mentioned, its unusual appearance comes from an attempt to spice up what could otherwise have been a rather boring building.

Continue reading “Video: Europe’s biggest 3D-printed building rises in just 140 hours” »

Quantum computers promise to efficiently predict the structure and behaviour of molecules. This Perspective explores how this could overcome existing challenges in computational drug discovery.