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Category: science – Page 123

Since their development in 1960, lasers have become an indispensable tool supporting our modern society, finding use in fields such as medicine, information, and industry. Thanks to their compact size and energy efficiency, semiconductor lasers are now one of the most important classes of laser, making possible a diverse range of applications. However, the threshold current of a typical semiconductor laser—the minimum electrical current required to induce lasing—increases with temperature. This is one of a number of disadvantages that can be overcome by using quantum dot lasers. Professor Yasuhiko Arakawa of the Institute of Industrial Science at the University of Tokyo has been researching quantum dot lasers for about 35 years, from their conception to commercialization.

An electron trapped in a microscopic box

Sunlight is composed of light of various colors. The property that determines the color of light is its wavelength, or in other words, the distance between two successive wave peaks or troughs. The location of the peaks and troughs in the waveform is known as its phase. As a laser emits light waves in a uniform phase at the same wavelength, the light can be transmitted as a beam over long distances at high intensity.

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In “Passengers,” a 2016 science-fiction thriller film two space travelers wake up 90 years too soon from an induced hibernation on board a spaceship bound for a new planet. From “Aliens” to “Interstellar,” Hollywood has long used suspended animation to overcome the difficulties of deep space travel, but the once-fanciful sci-fi staple is becoming scientific fact. The theory is that a hibernating crew could stay alive over vast cosmic distances, requiring little food, hydration or living space, potentially slashing the costs of interstellar missions and eradicating the boredom of space travel.

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Scientists are able to use brain tests on three-year-olds to determine which children are more likely to grow up to become criminals. It sounds like Minority Report come to life: An uncomfortable idea presenting myriad ethical concerns. But, though unnerving, the research is nuanced and could potentially be put to good use.

In the study, published in Nature Human Behavior this week, researchers led by neuroscientists at Duke University showed that those with the lowest 20% brain health results aged three went on to commit more than 80% of crimes as adults. The research used data from a New Zealand longitudinal study of more than 1,000 people from birth in the early 1970s until they reached 38 years old. This distribution, of 20% of a population accounting for 80% of an effect, is strong but not unusual. In fact, it follows the “Pareto principle.” The authors write in their paper:

In Pareto’s day, the problem definition was that 20% of families owned 80% of land in Italy. The so-called Pareto principle is alive and useful today: for example, in software engineering, 20% of the code is said to contain 80% of the errors.

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Robots have been a major focus in the technology world for decades and decades, but they and basic science, and for that matter everyday life, have largely been non-overlapping magisteria. That’s changed over the last few years, as robotics and every other field have come to inform and improve each other, and robots have begun to infiltrate and affect our lives in countless ways. So the only surprise in the news that the prestigious journal group Science has established a discrete Robotics imprint is that they didn’t do it earlier.

Editor Guang-Zhong Yang and president of the National Academy of Sciences Marcia McNutt introduce the journal:

In a mere 50 years, robots have gone from being a topic of science fiction to becoming an integral part of modern society. They now are ubiquitous on factory floors, build complex deep-sea installations, explore icy worlds beyond the reach of humans, and assist in precision surgeries… With this growth, the research community that is engaged in robotics has expanded globally. To help meet the need to communicate discoveries across all domains of robotics research, we are proud to announce that Science Robotics is open for submissions.

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It is not often that a scientist walks the red carpet at a Silicon Valley party and has Morgan Freeman award them millions of dollars while Alicia Keys performs on stage and other A-listers rub shoulders with NASA astronauts.

But the guest list for the Breakthrough prize ceremony is intended to make it an occasion. At the fifth such event in California last night, a handful of the world’s top researchers left their labs behind for the limelight. Honoured for their work on black holes and string theory, DNA repair and rare diseases, and unfathomable modifications to Schrödinger’s equation, they went home to newly recharged bank accounts.

Founded by Yuri Milner, the billionaire tech investor, with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Google’s Sergey Brin, the Breakthrough prizes aim to right a perceived wrong: that scientists and engineers are not appreciated by society. With lucrative prizes and a lavish party dubbed “the Oscars of science”, Milner and his companions want to elevate scientists to rock star status.

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Space Warp Dynamics’s mission is fundamentally an audacious endeavor in terms of what we deem as the status quo of spacecraft propulsion and in terms of where humanity will be able to reach in the galaxy (other stars) within the next 15–20 years (and not only within the next 200+ years from now). In other words, if this challenge can be addressed with the appropriate resources and the right people’s support, then for example you and your family will potentially be able to travel to Earth 2.0 (presumably in the Proxima Centauri star system).
Space Warp Dynamics can already currently demonstrate (prove) that their invention can manipulate (warp or bend) space-time in a controlled micro-environment. This could mean that we finally know how gravity works and also how to control gravity and this in itself is a monumental accomplishment.
As their technology is now (granted after the necessary safety tests), they can sell/licence their current development level of technology to NASA to use as artificial gravity generation technology on the International Space Station (as you probably know, the long-term lack of gravity on the ISS is really bad for astronauts’ bodies).
Regular Research Progress Updates:
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Why is warp drive R&D so important for the future of mankind?
–> Primarily, because without “warp bubble” (warp drive) technology any random object that is “drifting” in space will easily be able to decommission/neutralize even the most robust spacecraft.
–> Without mankind first developing warp drive (“warp bubble”) technology, we will never reach places like Earth 2.0 (presumably in the Proxima Centauri star system).

This is simply because the speeds at which a spacecraft will need to move to get people to another life bearing planet within at least less than half the time of 1 human lifetime’s amount of years, will be way too fast [the relative speed will be way too fast] to allow our spacecraft’s detection systems to anticipate a potential collision with space junk/dust or small meteors. As you know, space junk/dust and small meteors can move at incredibly high relative speeds and at these incredibly high relative speeds even a very small object becomes a serious threat to a spacecraft.
Therefore, any spacecraft traveling at such high relative speeds in space without making use of the protection of a “warp bubble” will be effectively leaving the spaceship vulnerable to these random objects in space to crash into the spaceship. Because, practically it would be virtually impossible for a spaceship to beforehand identify/track and then out-maneuver all of the random objects in space that are going to crash into it while it is traveling between the Solar system and the Proxima Centauri star system – especially if an object is small and traveling at an incredibly high speed.
I trust everyone sees the fundamental need for this technology in order to enable true interstellar (star-to-star) human space exploration.
For details how to get involved send them a Facebook message at:
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