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Jun 10, 2024

New insights on the role of nucleon exchange in nuclear fusion

Posted by in categories: computing, nuclear energy, physics

A recent study has explored the influence on low-energy fusion processes of isospin composition. This is a key nuclear property that differentiates protons from neutrons. The researchers used and theoretical modeling to investigate the fusion of different nuclei with varying isospin configurations. The results show that the isospin composition of the nuclei in a fusion reaction plays a crucial role in understanding the reaction. The paper is published in the journal Physical Review C.

In this study, researchers at Fisk University and Vanderbilt University used high-performance computational and theoretical modeling techniques to conduct a detailed many-body method study of how the dynamics of isospin influence nuclear fusion at low energies across a series of isotopes. The study also examined how the shape of the nuclei involved affect these dynamics. In systems where the nuclei are not symmetrical, the dynamics of isospin become particularly important, often leading to a lowered fusion barrier, especially in systems rich in neutrons. This phenomenon can be explored using facilities that specialize in the generation of beams composed of exotic, unstable nuclei.

The findings provide critical knowledge regarding the fundamental nuclear processes governing these reactions, which have broad implications for fields such as , astrophysics, and, perhaps someday, fusion-based energy.

Jun 10, 2024

How does light interact with matter at extreme intensities, near the Schwinger limit?

Posted by in category: physics

The experimental generation of increasingly intense light beams could help to unveil new physical regimes occurring in the presence of very strong electromagnetic fields. While some progress has been made towards this goal, physicists are yet to develop a reliable strategy to achieve extreme light intensities.

Jun 10, 2024

The discovery of new turbulence transition in fusion plasmas

Posted by in category: nuclear energy

Fusion energy is released when two light nuclei combine to form a single heavier one (nuclear fusion reaction). Fusion energy-based power generation (fusion power plant) uses the energy generated when deuterium and tritium combine to form helium.

Jun 10, 2024

Lone star state: Tracking a low-mass star as it speeds across the Milky Way

Posted by in category: space

It may seem like the sun is stationary while the planets in its orbit are moving, but the sun is actually orbiting around the Milky Way galaxy at an impressive rate of about 220 kilometers per second—almost half a million miles per hour. As fast as that may seem, when a faint red star was discovered crossing the sky at a noticeably quick pace, scientists took notice.

Jun 10, 2024

Neuralink and the Future of Work — Deep Interview With Yip Thy Diep Ta

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, finance, robotics/AI, singularity

This interview with Yip Thy Diep Ta, CEO of J3d.ai, delves into AI-driven collective intelligence for decision-making, ethical considerations in AI development (fairness, bias mitigation, diversity), the implications of human-machine integration technologies (e.g., Neuralink), and the evolving role of humans in an AI-driven workforce.

Systain3r Summit: https://www.systain3r.com/

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Jun 10, 2024

Ned Block — What’s the Meaning of Consciousness?

Posted by in categories: evolution, neuroscience

Listen to audio versions of your favorite interviews with the Closer To Truth podcast: https://shorturl.at/hwGP3

Only about consciousness can we be 100 percent sure. That consciousness exists almost everyone agrees. What consciousness means—that’s where arguments and disputations arise. Must consciousness have ‘meaning’? Or can consciousness be a random accident, selected by evolution, the ‘foam on the waves’ of brain activity. But consciousness seems so radically vital.

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Jun 10, 2024

The New Math of How Large-Scale Order Emerges

Posted by in category: mathematics

Emergent phenomena: large-scale patterns and organization arise from innumerable interactions between component parts.

The behavior of a complex system might be considered emergent if it can’t be predicted from the properties of the parts alone.


The puzzle of emergence asks how regularities emerge on macro scales out of uncountable constituent parts. A new framework has researchers hopeful that a solution is near.

Jun 10, 2024

The Strange Mystery of Quantum Time

Posted by in category: quantum physics

An exploration of various ways of looking at time and how General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics views it differently and the ultimately question, what exactly is time?

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Jun 10, 2024

A rare black hole is lurking 6,000 light-years away in Earth’s cosmic backyard

Posted by in category: cosmology

Astronomers, with the help of the Hubble telescope, have now detected a rare intermediate-size black hole.

This black hole is hiding the Earth’s cosmic backyard at a distance of 6,000 light-years away within a globular star cluster.

The iconic Hubble Space Telescope has been used by astronomers to observe a compact region of space which has a mass of 800 Suns and is likely to be a black hole.

Jun 10, 2024

Implications for Rocky Planet Formation Around Low-Mass Stars

Posted by in categories: chemistry, evolution, space

“Many primary atmospheres of those planets will probably be dominated by hydrocarbon compounds and not so much by oxygen-rich gases such as water and carbon dioxide,” said Dr. Thomas Henning.


Can rocky planets form around stars smaller than our Sun, also called low-mass stars? This is what a recent study published in Science hopes to address as a team of international researchers investigated the chemical properties of an exoplanetary system orbiting the star, ISO-Chal 147, which is located approximately 600 light-years from Earth and whose star has a mass of 11 percent of our Sun with age estimates between 1 to 2 million years old. For context, our Sun is approximately 4.5 billion years old. This study holds the potential to help astronomers better understand the formation and evolution of young exoplanetary systems and their potential to host rocky planets.

For the study, the researchers used the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on the NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to identify carbon-bearing molecules at temperatures of approximately 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) within the protoplanetary disk forming around the young star. However, the team also found these molecules did not possess compounds containing oxygen, meaning the system might not have water or carbon dioxide, which are typically found in systems surrounding stars like our Sun.

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