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Oct 12, 2024

Tesla’s Cybercab: Elon Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it ‘before 2027’

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, robotics/AI, transportation

Elon Musk on Thursday unveiled what he said was a robotaxi capable of self-driving, predicting it would be available by 2027—about a decade after he first promised an autonomous vehicle.

The Tesla CEO said the fully electric car—which has no steering wheel or pedals—would be priced under $30,000, would be charged wirelessly with inductive technology and would be “10 to 20 times safer” than human-driven cars.

“You can think of the car in an autonomous world as being like just a little lounge,” he told a crowd at the Warner Brothers Studio lot near Los Angeles.

Oct 12, 2024

Streamlining solar cell structure and fabrication for more affordable energy

Posted by in categories: solar power, sustainability

A new fabrication technique for substantially enhancing the prospects of commercializing perovskite solar cells through improved stability, reliability, efficiency and affordability is underway at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK).

Published in Science, the research is significant because the simple device structure that the CityUHK team has built can facilitate future industrial production and enhance confidence in the commercialization of solar cells.

“The improvements in stability and the simplification of the production process of perovskite solar cells represent a significant step forward in making solar energy more accessible and affordable,” explained Professor Zhu Zonglong of the Department of Chemistry, explaining that the mineral perovskite is used extensively to convert sunlight into electricity efficiently.

Oct 12, 2024

Flatland: Yet I exist in the hope that these memoirs…

Posted by in category: entertainment

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions is a satirical novella by the English schoolmaster Edwin Abbott Abbott, first published in 1884 by Seeley & Co. of London. Written pseudonymously by “A Square”, [ 1 ] the book used the fictional two-dimensional world of to comment on the hierarchy of Victorian culture, but the novella’s more enduring contribution is its examination of dimensions. [ 2 ]

A sequel, Sphereland, was written by Dionys Burger in 1957. Several films have been based on including the feature film Dudley Moore and the short films [ 3 ].

Oct 12, 2024

Startup takes new approach to space-based solar power

Posted by in categories: finance, satellites, solar power, sustainability

WASHINGTON — A startup led by a founder of a financial services company is taking a new approach to space-based solar power intended to be more scalable and affordable than previous concepts.

Aetherflux announced Oct. 9 plans to develop and ultimately deploy a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit that will collect solar power and beam it to Earth using infrared lasers. The company is planning to demonstrate this technology with a small satellite launching by early 2026.

The concept is a departure from many previous concepts for space-based solar power (SBSP), which have involved large arrays in geostationary orbit. Those systems would transmit their power using microwaves to large rectennas on the ground. Such concepts have been studied for more than half a century but have not advanced beyond the drawing board.

Oct 12, 2024

While the Concorde’s engine relied on thousands of parts to break the sound barrier

Posted by in categories: drones, space travel

There are several organizations and start-ups across the world that are working on developing hypersonic jets capable of flying at speeds above Mach 5 (3,836 mph). However, a propulsion system capable of providing sustained thrust at those speeds continues to be the biggest hurdle. Texas-based start-up Venus Aerospace has revealed a groundbreaking engine that has the potential to completely revolutionize high-speed air travel. Called the Venus Detonation Ramjet 2000 lb Thrust Engine (VDR2), the advanced propulsion system was unveiled at the recent Up. Summit in Bentonville, Arkansas.


The VDR2 is engineered to power drones and aircraft to hypersonic speeds, allowing them to travel vast distances at high altitudes with unmatched efficiency. The hypersonic propulsion system combines the high thrust and efficiency of the Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) with the high-efficiency cruise of a Ramjet. Developed by Venus in partnership with high-speed air combustion specialist Velontra, the VDR2 will operate as a single engine offering propulsion from take-off to attaining speeds up to Mach 6.

Also read — Boom Supersonic’s superfactory, which will be building the ‘son of Concorde,’ will be completed by spring this year. The first assembly line at the North Carolina facility will roll out 33 supersonic aircraft each year, capable of flying passengers from New York to London in 3.5 hours.

Oct 12, 2024

Naughty Windows 11 24H2 hasn’t been tidying up its toys, leaving an undeletable 8.63 GB update cache for some users

Posted by in category: futurism

If you don’t tidy up before dinner there’ll be no ice-cream for afters. And don’t even think about a bedtime story.

Oct 12, 2024

Quantum Computing Transformed by Breakthrough Photonic Technology

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

Researchers have made significant advancements in quantum computing, focusing on photonic-measurement-based quantum computation.

Their study introduces a scalable and resource-efficient method that uses high-dimensional spatial encoding to generate large cluster states. This breakthrough could accelerate the development of faster, fault-tolerant quantum computers.

Overcoming Quantum Computing Challenges

Oct 12, 2024

Map reveals electricity flowing under US due to solar storm

Posted by in category: futurism

The G4 geomagnetic storm that brought auroras across the U.S. also generated electrical currents in rocks under the ground.

Oct 12, 2024

Comet likely last seen when Neanderthals walked Earth could soon dazzle in the night sky

Posted by in categories: energy, space

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\t\t\t\tMilton: at least 16 dead, millions without power amid major flooding.

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Continue reading “Comet likely last seen when Neanderthals walked Earth could soon dazzle in the night sky” »

Oct 12, 2024

Key Brain Protein Tied to Motivation and Mood Identified

Posted by in category: neuroscience

Summary: A new study has identified a brain protein, vesicular nucleotide transporter (Vnut), as essential for regulating mood and motivation in mice. When Vnut was removed from brain cells called astrocytes, the mice displayed higher anxiety, depression-like behavior, and decreased motivation, especially in females.

This effect was linked to reduced dopamine, a key molecule for motivation and positive mood. These findings suggest Vnut plays a vital role in dopamine regulation, with potential implications for understanding mood disorders.

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