Lifeboat Foundation

The Aurora supercomputer at Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, IL, could soon be the world’s fastest. It could revolutionize climate forecasting.

LEMONT, Ill. (WLS) — This is what scientists at Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont call a node: six huge graphics processors and two large CPUs cooled with water to make major calculations a cinch.

Argonne’s new supercomputer doesn’t just have one node, 10 or 100, instead it has 10,000 of them. Each single rack of nodes weighs eight tons and are cooled by thousands of gallons of water.

A new study by researchers at Lanzhou University and Hubei University proposes a quantum battery (QB) charging scheme based on a rectangular hollow metal waveguide. This approach allows them to overcome environment-induced decoherence and charging distance limitations. The findings are published in Physical Review Letters.

The demand and supply for batteries continue to grow with a focus on enhancing energy storage, longevity, and charging capabilities. On this front, scientists are now developing quantum batteries that leverage principles of quantum mechanics to store and supply energy.

The aim is to use fundamental principles of quantum mechanics such as entanglement and coherence to overcome the constraints of classical physics, thereby achieving stronger charging power, higher charging capacity, and larger work extraction compared to classical counterparts.

Tasked with building a new data center in an urban area of Germany, the team behind the Wave House harnessed the benefits of 3D printing technology to inject a sense of style into the unglamorous world of cloud-computing infrastructure, creating Europe’s largest 3D-printed building in the process.

The Wave House is located in Heidelberg and was designed by SSV and Mense Korte, and created by Peri 3D Construction for developer KrausGruppe. It measures 600 sq m (6,600 sq ft). As mentioned, its unusual appearance comes from an attempt to spice up what could otherwise have been a rather boring building.

Continue reading “Video: Europe’s biggest 3D-printed building rises in just 140 hours” »

For more than a decade it has been possible for physicists to accurately measure the location of individual atoms to a precision smaller than one-thousandth of a millimeter using a special type of microscope. However, this method has so far only provided the x and y coordinates. Information on the vertical position of the atom is lacking.

A new method has now been developed that can determine all three spatial coordinates of an atom with one single image. This method—developed by the University of Bonn and University of Bristol—is based on an ingenious physical principle. The study is published in the journal Physical Review A.

Anyone who has used a microscope in a biology class to study a plant cell will probably be able to recall a similar situation. It is easy to tell that a certain chloroplast is located above and to the right of the nucleus.

Pre-orders for a “flying car” have soared in recent months leading industry experts to question how close we are to small passenger vehicle flight. Alef Aeronautics, a company backed by Space-X, specialising in the production of flying cars, has achieved 2,850 pre-orders for its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle. The firm is backed by Tesla investor and venture capitalist Tim Draper, which has helped draw attention. Based in San Mateo, California, Alef Aeronautics is allowing customers to pre-order its two-seater flying car, the Alef Model A, online with a $150 deposit. Customers are allowed to withdraw the deposit at any time to cancel the pre-order.

The car is expected to be priced at around $300,000 when it becomes commercially available, which gives the company an order value of over $850 million to date. Jim Dukhovny, Alef’s CEO, stated: “As of today we have a little bit more than 2,850 pre-orders with deposits down, which makes it the bestselling aircraft in history, more than Boeing, Airbus, Joby Aviation and most of the eVTOLs combined.”

A security researcher has discovered an unsecured database on the internet containing millions of two-factor authentication security codes. Here’s what you need to know.

The Navajo Nation sees the orb as sacred, but the company counters that it is serving clients who love Star Trek or have other ties to the final frontier.

The 390 million year old Calamophyton trees resembled modern day palm trees and changed the course of some ancient rivers.

Ayvens, the biggest multi-brand leasing firm, already has received checks in recent weeks to make up for slumping prices, according to Chief Executive Officer Tim Albertsen. Leasing companies are demanding concessions from EV makers, including agreements that manufacturers will buy back vehicles, to protect against further erosion in the $1.2 trillion second-hand car market.

Prices for used EVs plummeted last year as weakening demand for new battery-powered cars prompted Tesla to slash sticker prices, forcing others to follow suit. The moves are reverberating through leasing firms, such as Europe-focused Societe Generale SA’s Ayvens and BNP Paribas SA’s Arval, which serve as middlemen in the corporate car market that accounts for roughly 60% of sales in the region.

“Manufacturers today need to keep selling EVs,” Albertsen said during the company’s earnings call this month. “We then need some kind of protection from the manufacturers in terms of their future pricing.”