George Musser explains the central role of weirdness in physics, and shatters the dreams of those who hope humans can one day tap into psychic powers.
Category: science – Page 146
New journal Science Robotics is established to chronicle the rise of the robots
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.
Breakthrough prize awards $25m to researchers at ‘Oscars of science’
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.
Space Warp Dynamics: The startup that’s working on sending humans to Proxima Centauri
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).
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:
https://www.facebook.com/SWarpDynamics
https://www.facebook.com/SWarpDynamics
Project Blue: A Space Telescope to Find Another Earth — Project Blue | Kickstarter
“Finding the first planet like Earth beyond our solar system would transform how we think about our place in the universe.”
10 Science Startups Shaping Tomorrow
Last month in Paris, the Hello Tomorrow Global Summit brought together entrepreneurs and inventors, investors and industry for a two-day event exploring the science shaping the future.
Now in its third year, the conference is unique in the sci-and-tech futures circuit for putting scientists, academics and inventors centre stage, and in the same room as the investors and business types who can help bring their ideas to life. Some of the leading minds of tomorrow were there to present, discuss and debate their work.
Among them were some 500 startups battling for the Hello Tomorrow Challenge, a prize awarding early-stage science and tech ventures across 10 categories – from air quality to aeronautics – with equity-free cash, mentoring and exposure.
Steve Aoki Throws a Party For Science
Party for Science with Steve Aoki and help raise awareness and funds for the SENS Research Foundation.
Hang with DJ Steve Aoki at a nightclub and you can expect an earful of his electronic bangers and confetti in your hair. Cozy up to Steve Aoki at Brooklyn Bowl on November 15 and you’ll get to hit pins alongside neuroscientists, bid on one-of-a-kind experiences in live and silent auctions (think jumping into the foam pit at Aoki’s Las Vegas “playhouse”) and catch him outside the booth as he hosts the Aoki Foundation’s Bowling for Brains fundraiser. The inaugural event supports the Buck Institute on Aging, SENS Research Foundation and Las Vegas’ own Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, continuing the foundation’s ongoing support of regenerative science.
The future of science education and research at Stanford — By Taylor Kubota | Stanford News
““The School of Humanities and Sciences is systematically re-thinking how we teach entry-level courses in the sciences,” said Richard P. Saller, dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences, during opening remarks for the event. “Half of all freshman enrollments in Stanford are in beginning-level sciences and math. We have tremendous impact by raising the level of teaching in these areas.””