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Feb 14, 2024

Most detailed X-ray sky map bolsters standard model of cosmology

Posted by in categories: cosmology, government

The picture was the result of the first six months of operation of eROSITA (Extended Roentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array), one of two X-ray telescopes that were launched into space in July 2019 aboard the Russian spacecraft SRG (Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma). eROSITA scans the sky as the spacecraft spins, and collects data over wider angles than are possible for most other X-ray observatories. This enables it to slowly sweep the entire sky every six months.

By an unusual arrangement, the eROSITA team is split into two — with a group based in Germany and one based in Russia — and each has exclusive access to eROSITA data from only half of the sky. The mission was originally intended to cover the sky eight times. But Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 led the German government to freeze its collaborations, and eROSITA was put on stand-by. By then, it had completed four full sky scans.

The data that Bulbul and her collaborators have used so far were from their half of the sky, collected during the first scan. Even so, the results are already among the most precise cosmological measurements ever made. It is unclear when the Russia-based group will publish its data and analysis.

Feb 14, 2024

The Earth’s Core Is Cooling Way Faster Than We Thought, Scientists Say

Posted by in category: evolution

According to new research, the core of the Earth is cooling much faster and sooner than originally anticipated — a new mystery that could throw a wrench in our understanding of the planet’s evolution.

To get a better sense of how far along the Earth is in the process, scientists are studying the thermal conductivity of the minerals present in the layer between the planet’s core and mantle. The faster that hot center passes heat to the planet’s outer layers, the faster the Earth is losing the heat present in its core.

In a lab simulation, a team of researchers from ETH Zurich in Switzerland and the Carnegie Institution for Science applied immense amounts of pressure and heat to a mineral called bridgmanite — which is found in the transitional zone between the core and mantle — to simulate the conditions deep below the surface. They then measured its thermal conductivity to get a better sense of the cooling processes at play.

Feb 14, 2024

Wei Lu (U Mich) Neuromorphic Computing Based on Memristive Materials and Devices

Posted by in categories: computing, materials

Feb 14, 2024

Revolutionizing the Workforce: OpenAI-Backed Humanoids Show Remarkable Progress

Posted by in categories: health, robotics/AI

Explore India’s 2024 Health Budget’s focus on technology and AI, with insights into planned healthcare investments, the anticipation for open AI.

Feb 14, 2024

Tesla launches next-generation Powerwall 3 orders on its website

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, sustainability, transportation

Tesla has officially opened orders for its next-generation Powerwall 3 battery on its website, after the company spent much of last year quietly deploying the new hardware.

You can now order a Powerwall 3 from Tesla directly through its website in the U.S., offering updated specs from the previous generation Powerwall 2. Tesla listed the specs for the updated energy storage hardware on its website in September, and it also caught the attention of CEO Elon Musk, who commented on the generation’s improvements after some Powerwall 3 installations had already been spotted.

At the time of writing, the Powerwall 3 doesn’t appear to be available in other North American markets, Canada and Mexico, nor does it appear to be available in Europe or Asia.

Feb 14, 2024

100 Years Ago, IBM Was Born

Posted by in categories: business, computing

Happy birthday, IBM! You’re 100 years old! Or are you?

It’s true that the businesses that formed IBM began in the late 1800s. But it’s also true that a birth occurred in February 1924, with the renaming of the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. as the International Business Machines Corp. And a hundred years after that event, it serves as an important reminder that the world of computing and IT that IBM played a pivotal role in building has a longer history than we are likely to think. “Data processing” was coined over a century ago, while “office appliance” was in use in the 1880s. From the 19th century, through the 20th, and into the 21st, IBM was there, making HP, Microsoft, and Apple appear more like children or grandchildren of the IT world; Facebook, Google, and Twitter/X more like great-grandchildren. So let’s take a moment to contemplate the origins of an iconic corporation.

Feb 14, 2024

Study: A New Force of Nature Is Reshaping the Planet

Posted by in categories: biological, evolution, food, sustainability

Drawing together an array of interdisciplinary studies across archaeology, ecology, anthropology, and evolutionary theory, Erle Ellis, professor of geography and environmental systems at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, explains the evolution of the cultural practices that have enabled societies to develop unprecedented capabilities to scale up and transform the ecological systems that sustain them.

From using fire to cook food and manage vegetation to the technologies and institutions that support intensive agriculture, increasingly urbanized societies, and global supply chains stretching across the planet, human societies have evolved the social, cultural, and ecological capabilities to reshape the planet and to thrive in the process.

Ellis is a leading scientist investigating the Anthropocene, the current geological age defined by the human transformation of the planet. He is the founder and director of the Anthroecology Lab, which studies relationships between human societies and ecosystems at local to planetary scales with the aim of guiding more sustainable human relations with the biosphere. He is currently a visiting fellow at the Oxford Martin School, where he recently presented his work on Anthropocene opportunities.

Feb 14, 2024

Neuromorphic computing with emerging memory devices

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

This Plenary speech was delivered by Prof. Daniele Ielmini (Politecnico Di Milano) during the first edition of Artificial Intelligence International Conference that was held in Barcelona on November 21–23 of 2018.

Feb 14, 2024

It’s a Tremendous Shock When You Discover This — J. Krishnamurti & David Bohm | Black Screen

Posted by in category: futurism

00:00 start16:49 why reject organized religion35:22 ‘the centre’ is an illusion39:12 no relationship between me and truth49:27 it’s absolutely worthless53:20…

Feb 14, 2024

Russia Will Launch Nuke Into Orbit, US Panics | Breaking News With The Enforcer

Posted by in category: military

Russia is planning on launching a nuclear weapon into orbit, where it will threaten US national security by either being used to strike the US within a matter of moments or be used to knock out US satellite grids in a single explosion. The US is convening national security meetings to find a way to stop this launch from happening.

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