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A future bar fad?

Science has pulled through with the goods once again. Nope, no word yet on an unlimited clean energy source or a phone battery that lasts more than a day. But hold tight, they have created an indoor cloud that produces raindrops of real tequila.

The tequila cloud is part of an installation at Urban Spree art gallery in Berlin, created by the ad agency LAPIZ on behalf of the Mexico Tourism Board. The idea is that the weather sucks in Germany during March, so why not head over to Mexico for a holiday? Sounds good to us.

It works by using specialized humidifiers to vibrate tequila at an ultrasonic frequency that turns it into a thick visible fog. The mist is then able to condense into water and fall as rain drops. They even let guests drink the tequila rain for free.

Continue reading “This Cloud Actually Rains Drops Of Tequila” | >

The a Single Stage to Orbit (SSTO) rocket named after Austrian-Romanian medieval rocket pioneer Conrad Haas (1509−1579), can launch 100 kg (220lbs) of payload to low earth orbit. The rocket has one stage that is fueled by hydrogen peroxide and kerosene. ARCA Space Corporation secured preliminary partnerships with NASA’s Kennedy, Ames, Wallops, Marshall, Stennis and Johnson Space Centers aiming to increase the flight readiness of the vehicle that is scheduled for the first flight in 2018 from Wallops Flight Facility. ARCA has also started the FAA licensing process and is currently seeking to secure a partnership with an US defense agency. The SSTO launcher configuration, using the Executor Aerospike engine, is designed to deliver the following results:

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Scientists have discovered a new mechanism involved in the creation of paired light particles, which could have significant impact on the study of quantum physics.

Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have shown that when photons — the fundamental particles of light — are created in pairs, they can emerge from different, rather than the same, location.

The ground-breaking research could have significant implications for , the theoretical basis of modern physics. Until now, the general assumption was that such photon pairs necessarily originate from single points in space.

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Algorithms with learning abilities collect personal data that are then used without users’ consent and even without their knowledge; autonomous weapons are under discussion in the United Nations; robots stimulating emotions are deployed with vulnerable people; research projects are funded to develop humanoid robots; and artificial intelligence-based systems are used to evaluate people. One can consider these examples of AI and autonomous systems (AS) as great achievements or claim that they are endangering human freedom and dignity.

We need to make sure that these technologies are aligned to humans in terms of our moral values and ethical principles to fully benefit from the potential of them. AI and AS have to behave in a way that is beneficial to people beyond reaching functional goals and addressing technical problems. This will allow for an elevated level of trust for technology that is needed for a fruitful pervasive use of AI/AS in our daily lives.

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Following the principle set in the first version, Tallinn Manual 2.0 – a document that provides guidance on how the existing international law could be adapted to cyber operations in the most appropriate way – reiterates that cyber activity should not be perceived as happening in a legal vacuum.

Estonia has become one of the forerunners and success stories of introducing digital identity, e-governance and an online voting system. The e-residency programme, which allows foreign citizens living outside of the physical national borders of Estonia to obtain a secure digital identity and benefit from some of the services available, has further increased the interest in Estonia’s digital developments, contributing to Estonia’s image as one of the world’s most digitally advanced countries.

This impressive degree of integration means e-dimension is no longer solely the playfield of the IT sector. As this new dimension is rapidly gaining ground, various topics need to be addressed, including (and perhaps most importantly) security.

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