Lifeboat Foundation

The power needed is so small, you could do this almost for free.’

Flying saucers are on their way to the Moon.

MIT scientists are developing a new concept for a circular hovering rover that levitates thanks to the moon’s natural electric field, a press statement reveals.

Continue reading “Flying Saucers on the Moon? MIT Engineers Tested a New Hovering Rover Concept” »

The many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics predicts the formation of distinct parallel worlds as a result of a quantum mechanical measurement. Communication among these parallel worlds would experimentally rule out alternatives to this interpretation. A procedure for “interworld’’ exchange of information and energy, using only state of the art quantum optical equipment, is described. A single ion is isolated from its environment in an ion trap. Then a quantum mechanical measurement with two discrete outcomes is performed on another system, resulting in the formation of two parallel worlds. Depending on the outcome of this measurement the ion is excited from only one of the parallel worlds before the ion decoheres through its interaction with the environment. A detection of this excitation in the other parallel world is direct evidence for the many-worlds interpretation.

By Alex Hill, Senior Quantum Systems Engineer

Qubits are the basic building block of a quantum processor, and are so named because they represent a continuum of complex superpositions of two basic quantum states. The power of qubits comes in part from their ability to encode significantly more information than a classical bit — an infinite set of states between 0 and 1. In mathematical terms, quantum gates that manipulate the state of individual qubits are unitary operators drawn from SU.

Rigetti’s superconducting quantum processors are based on the transmon design [1]. Each physical qubit is an anharmonic oscillator, meaning that the energy gaps between subsequent qubit energy states decrease as the qubit climbs higher up the state ladder. We typically only address the first two states, 0 and 1 (in the literature, sometimes referred to as g(round) and e(xcited)); however, the design of our qubits supports even higher states. The simple structure of the transmon energy levels gives superconducting qubits the unique ability to address many of these states in a single circuit.

JinkoSolar has announced that it has launched the 2021 series of Tiger Neo modules. The new technology promises to be much more efficient.

The new Tiger Neo adopts N-type TOPCon technology with further enhancements in performance, power, energy density and reliability. In mass production, the new module delivers a maximum power output of up to 620 watts and an ultra-high conversion efficiency of up to 22.30 per cent.

JinkoSolar’s N-type TOPCon technology provides about 5 per cent to 6 per cent more efficiency than mono PERC and about 3 per cent to 4 per cent more energy generation. Mass produced from 182mm wafers, the new Tiger Neo modules feature Multi-Busbar (MBB) and half-cut cell technology to reduce internal resistance loss, and the circular solder strip design increases optical gain so that the module has an ultra-high efficiency of up to 22.30 per cent.

Continue reading “JinkoSolar launches next-generation N-type solar modules” »

It can connect any two points in the continental U.S. without refueling.

Created from five shipping containers, Debbie Glassberg’s home, constructed with the help of BNIM, is a dreamy, two-story residence that looks nothing like the containers it began life as. With two bedrooms, three bathrooms, a garden, and a patio, the home is obviously on the bigger side, but it’s such a luxurious and beautiful space that it truly deserves a tour.

Glassberg, an industrial designer who works for Mattel, wanted to create a sustainable, energy-efficient, affordable, and gorgeous home, so using shipping containers was the right idea. The planet-friendly home uses features like geothermal heating and plant foam insulation to lessen its carbon footprint. The home is drenched in color, and each room has its own feel, creating a stylish, chic setting for everyday life. From the moment you enter the home, it’s evident that someone who knows about style lives here.

The new zinc batteries are made up of electrodes that are screen-printed onto both sides of a sheet of hydrogel-reinforced cellulose paper. A layer of gold thin foil is coated on the electrodes to increase the conductivity of the battery. The battery is about 0.4mm thick, which is roughly the thickness of two strands of human hair.

Impressively, once the battery has reached the end of its lifespan, it can be buried in soil, where it will break down completely within a month.

Continue reading “A New 0.4-MM-Thick ‘Paper Battery’ Can Power a Small Fan for 45 Minutes” »

Having completed sea trials, it will now have its combat system activated.

Back in December of 2017, we brought you news of the U.S. Navy’s stealth destroyer the U.S.S. Monsoor breaking down during sea trails. At the time, we asked the question if this event would spell the end for Zumwalt-class destroyers?

Continue reading “The Navy’s Last Stealth Zumwalt Destroyer Comes with 80 Megawatts of Power” »

Semiconductor specialist Renesas has announced two new technologies designed to dramatically improve the efficiency of embedded devices built for the Internet of Things — by reducing the power required to write into RAM.

“With the accelerated spread of IoT technology in recent years, there has been strong demand for reduced power consumption in microcontroller units (MCUs) used in endpoint devices,” the company claims in its technology announcement. “MRAM requires less energy for write operations than flash memory, and is thus particularly well suited for applications with frequent data updates.”

“However, as demand for data processing capability surges for MCUs, the need to ameliorate the trade off between performance and power consumption increases. Therefore, further power consumption reduction remains a pressing issue.”