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Oct 4, 2024

Axolotls seem to pause their biological clocks and stop ageing

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry, life extension

In most vertebrates, a pattern of chemical marks on the genome is a reliable indicator of age, but in axolotls this clock seems to stop after the first four years of life.

By Claire Ainsworth

Oct 4, 2024

Big-battery storage capacity could increase fivefold in Germany by 2026

Posted by in category: futurism

Industry body the Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft (BSW-Solar) expects around 7 GWh of large-scale battery storage to be added during that period.

Oct 4, 2024

These physicists say they know what’s inside a black hole

Posted by in categories: cosmology, open access, quantum physics

I have my own introduction quantum mechanics course that you can check out on Brilliant! First 30 days are free and 20% off the annual premium subscription when you use our link ➜ https://brilliant.org/sabine.

Physicists are obsessed with black holes, but we still don’t know what’s going on inside of them. One idea is that black holes do not truly exist, but instead they are big quantum objects that have been called fuzzballs or frozen stars. This idea has a big problem. Let’s take a look.

Continue reading “These physicists say they know what’s inside a black hole” »

Oct 4, 2024

Quantum reference frames from top-down crossed products

Posted by in category: quantum physics

All physical observations are made relative to a reference frame, which is a system in its own right. If the system of interest admits a group symmetry, the reference frame observing it must transform commensurately under the group to ensure the covariance of the combined system. We point out that the crossed product is a way to realize quantum reference frames from the bottom-up; adjoining a quantum reference frame and imposing constraints generates a crossed product algebra. We provide a top-down specification of crossed product algebras and show that one cannot obtain inequivalent quantum reference frames using this approach. As a remedy, we define an abstract algebra associated to the system and symmetry group built out of relational crossed product algebras associated with different choices of quantum reference frames.

Oct 4, 2024

Decoherence by warm horizons

Posted by in categories: mapping, particle physics, quantum physics

Recently Danielson, Satishchandran, and Wald (DSW) have shown that quantum superpositions held outside of Killing horizons will decohere at a steady rate. This occurs because of the inevitable radiation of soft photons (gravitons), which imprint a electromagnetic (gravitational) “which-path’’ memory onto the horizon. Rather than appealing to this global description, an experimenter ought to also have a local description for the cause of decoherence. One might intuitively guess that this is just the bombardment of Hawking/Unruh radiation on the system, however simple calculations challenge this idea—the same superposition held in a finite temperature inertial laboratory does not decohere at the DSW rate. In this work we provide a local description of the decoherence by mapping the DSW setup onto a worldline-localized model resembling an Unruh-DeWitt particle detector.

Oct 4, 2024

Rotating detonation ramjet engine for hypersonic speeds to fly in 2025

Posted by in category: space travel

When is an empty tube not an empty tube? When it’s a ramjet that uses rotating detonation technology to propel aircraft at hypersonic speeds. A case in point is Venus Aerospace’s new Venus Detonation Ramjet 2000 lb Thrust Engine (VDR2).

One of the biggest hurdles that need to be cleared in making hypersonic flight practical is building engines that are capable of sustained thrust.

Continue reading “Rotating detonation ramjet engine for hypersonic speeds to fly in 2025” »

Oct 4, 2024

First-ever compact nuclear reactor runs for 8 years without water

Posted by in categories: futurism, nuclear energy

One of the key features of the eVinci microreactor is its impressive versatility. It will have the capability to generate five megawatts of electricity, produce over 13 megawatts of high-temperature heat, or operate in combined heat and power mode, according to the Saskatchewan Research Council.

To put this in perspective, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission reported in 2012 that a single megawatt of capacity from a conventional power plant can meet the energy needs of 400 to 900 homes in a year.

Continue reading “First-ever compact nuclear reactor runs for 8 years without water” »

Oct 4, 2024

Linus Pauling Was Right: Scientists Confirm Century-Old Electron Bonding Theory

Posted by in categories: chemistry, particle physics

A breakthrough study has validated the existence of a stable single-electron covalent bond between two carbon atoms, supporting Linus Pauling’s early 20th-century theory and opening avenues for chemical research.

Covalent bonds, in which two atoms share a pair of electrons, form the foundation of most organic compounds. In 1931, the Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling suggested that covalent bonds made from just a single, unpaired electron could exist, but these single-electron bonds would likely be much weaker than a standard covalent bond involving a pair of electrons.

Since then, single-electron bonds have been observed, but never in carbon or hydrogen. The search for one-electron bonds shared between carbon atoms has stymied scientists.

Oct 4, 2024

MIT spinoff Liquid debuts non-transformer AI models and they’re already state-of-the-art

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

The startup from MIT’s CSAIL says its Liquid Foundation Models have smaller memory needs thanks to a post-transformer architecture.

Oct 4, 2024

Weird New Quantum Experiment Sounds Suspiciously Like Time Travel

Posted by in categories: quantum physics, time travel

Quantum mechanics: it’s the realm of science where nothing is normal, and everything seems to undermine the fundaments of our common understanding of reality. Nonetheless, we simple humans tick on.

But quantum physicists, who pride themselves on staring into the abyss and gleaning its spooky secrets, have just discovered another baffling phenomenon to make your mind melt: “negative time.”

As detailed in a yet-to-be-peer-reviewed study covered by Scientific American, a team of researchers say they’ve observed photons exhibiting this bizarre temporal behavior as the result of what’s known as atomic excitation.

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