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Category: computing – Page 534

I’m really excited to announce my new book And today the Kindle ebook version is FREE instead of $7.99. Richard Dawkins has shared some of the essays in this book in his social media before. Please download a FREE copy and share with friends and family! It has some of my new work in it!

Enter your mobile number or email address below and we’ll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer — no Kindle device required.

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Electronics are increasingly being paired with optical systems, such as when accessing the internet on an electronically run computer through fiber optic cables.

But meshing optics — which relies on particles of light called photons—with electronics—relying on electrons — is challenging, due to their disparate scales. Electrons work at a much smaller scale than light does. The mismatch between electronic systems and optical systems means that every time a signal converts from one to the other, inefficiency creeps into the system.

Now, a team led by a Purdue University scientist has found a way to create more efficient metamaterials using semiconductors and a novel aspect of physics that amplifies the activity of electrons. The study is published in the journal Optica.

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In some ways, learning to program a computer is similar to learning a new language. It requires learning new symbols and terms, which must be organized correctly to instruct the computer what to do. The computer code must also be clear enough that other programmers can read and understand it.

In spite of those similarities, MIT neuroscientists have found that reading computer code does not activate the regions of the brain that are involved in language processing.

Instead, it activates a distributed network called the multiple demand network, which is also recruited for complex cognitive tasks such as solving math problems or crossword puzzles.

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O,.o.

Google will use large batteries to replace the diesel generators at one of its data centers in Belgium, describing the project as a first step towards using cleaner technologies to provide backup power for its millions of servers around the world.

“Our project in Belgium is a first step that we hope will lay the groundwork for a big vision: a world in which backup systems at data centers go from climate change problems to critical components in carbon-free energy systems,” said Joe Kava, Vice President for Data Centers at Google. “We’re aiming to demonstrate that a better, cleaner solution has advanced far enough to keep the internet up and running.”

Google becomes the second major hyperscale cloud operator to pursue a strategy to move beyond diesel generators. In July, Microsoft said it will eliminate its reliance on diesel fuel by the year 2030 and has begun testing hydrogen fuel cells as an alternative. These announcements have implications beyond company-built facilities, as Google and Microsoft are major tenants in third-party data centers, most of which use diesel generators for backup power.

Continue reading “Google Looks to Batteries as Replacement for Diesel Generators” | >

How do molecular catalysts—molecules which, like enzymes, can trigger or accelerate certain chemical reactions—function, and what effects do they have? A team of chemists at the University of Oldenburg has come closer to the answers using a model molecule that functions like a molecular nanobattery. It consists of several titanium centers linked to each other by a single layer of interconnected carbon and nitrogen atoms. The seven-member research team recently published its findings, which combine the results of three multi-year Ph.D. research projects, in ChemPhysChem. The physical chemistry and chemical physics journal featured the basic research from Oldenburg on its cover.

To gain a better understanding of how the molecule works, the researchers, headed by first authors Dr. Aleksandra Markovic and Luca Gerhards and corresponding author Prof. Dr. Gunther Wittstock, performed electrochemical and spectroscopic experiments and used the university’s high-performance computing cluster for their calculations. Wittstock sees the publication of the paper as a “success story” for both the Research Training Groups within which the Ph.D. projects were conducted and for the university’s computing cluster. “Without the high-performance computing infrastructure, we would not have been able to perform the extensive calculations required to decipher the behavior of the molecule,” says Wittstock. “This underlines the importance of such computing clusters for current research.”

In the paper, the authors present the results of their analysis of a molecular structure, the prototype for which was the result of an unexpected chemical reaction first reported by the University of Oldenburg’s Chemistry Department in 2006. It is a highly complex molecular structure in which three titanium centers (commonly referred to in high school lessons as titanium ions) are connected to each other by a bridging ligand consisting of carbon and nitrogen. Such a compound would be expected to be able to accept and release several electrons through the exchange of electrons between the metal centers among other reasons.

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The journey to see future technology starts in 2022, when Elon Musk and SpaceX send the first Starship to Mars — beginning the preparations for the arrival of the first human explorers.

We see the evolution of space exploration, from NASA’s Artemis mission, humans landing on Mars, and the interplanetary internet system going online. To the launch of the Starshot Alpha Centauri program, and quantum computers designing plants that can survive on Mars.

On Earth, tech evolves with quantum computers and Neaulink chips. People begin living with bio-printed organs. Humans record every part of lives from birth. And inner speech recording becomes possible.

And what about predictions further out into the future, when humans become level 2 and level 3 civilizations. When NASA’s warp drive goes live, and Mars declares independence from Earth. Will there be Dyson structures built around stars to capture their energy. Will they help power computers that can take human consciousness and download it into a quantum computer core. Allowing humanity to travel further out into space.

Continue reading “TIMELAPSE OF FUTURE TECH: From 2022 — 4000+” | >

One good reason for the rarity of radical designs is the enormous expense of the research. Engineers can learn only so much by running tests on the ground, using computational fluid-flow models and hypersonic wind tunnels, which themselves cost a pretty penny (and simulate only some limited aspects of hypersonic flight). Engineers really need to fly their creations, and usually when they do, they use up the test vehicle. That makes design iteration very costly.

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