Lifeboat Foundation

Would you rather run into a brick wall or into a mattress? For most people, the choice is not difficult. A brick wall is stiff and does not absorb shocks or vibrations well; a mattress is soft and is a good shock absorber. Sometimes, in designing materials, both of these properties are needed. Materials should be good at absorbing vibrations, but should be stiff enough to not collapse under pressure. A team of researchers from the UvA Institute of Physics has now found a way to design materials that manage to do both these things.

Publishing.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.

Digital society is driving increasing demand for computation, and energy use. For the last five decades, we relied on improvements in hardware to keep pace. But as microchips approach their physical limits, it’s critical to improve the code that runs on them to make computing more powerful and sustainable. This is especially important for the algorithms that make up the code running trillions of times a day.

In our paper published today in Nature, we introduce AlphaDev, an artificial intelligence (AI) system that uses reinforcement learning to discover enhanced computer science algorithms – surpassing those honed by scientists and engineers over decades.

Nature Publication.

I tried Apple’s first ever spatial computing device, a $3500 VR headset. These are my honest thoughts.

Google Project Starline: https://youtu.be/J1oEWiUsKgU

Continue reading “Apple Vision Pro Impressions!” »

Outside atomic nuclei, neutrons are unstable particles, with a lifetime of about fifteen minutes. The neutron disintegrates due to the weak nuclear force, leaving behind a proton, an electron, and an antineutrino. The weak nuclear force is one of the four fundamental forces in the universe, along with the strong force, the electromagnetic force, and the gravitational force.

Comparing experimental measurements of neutron decay with theoretical predictions based on the weak nuclear force can reveal as-yet undiscovered interactions. To do so, researchers must achieve extremely high levels of precision. A team of nuclear theorists has uncovered a new, relatively large effect in neutron decay that arises from the interplay of the weak and electromagnetic forces.

This research identified a shift in the strength with which a spinning neutron experiences the weak nuclear force. This has two major implications. First, scientists have known since 1956 that due to the weak force, a system and one built like its mirror image do not behave in the same way. In other words, mirror reflection symmetry is broken. This research affects the search for new interactions, technically known as “right-handed currents,” that, at very short distances of less than one hundred quadrillionths of a centimeter, restore the universe’s mirror-reflection symmetry. Second, this research points to the need to compute electromagnetic effects with higher precision. Doing so will require the use of future high-performance computers.

The quantum realm contains profound mysteries. Here, New Scientist editors have selected some of our most mind-bending feature-length articles about the deepest layer of reality we know.

By New Scientist

In a world where AI is used to boost cybercrime, will it be enough to protect against it as well? Experts claim human input is still necessary to mitigate cyber threats.

AI use is ever-increasing, and there is no doubt that these tools are being used for good as well as maliciously. Cybercrime is not only here to stay, it is growing and improving, and artificial intelligence tools will only help.

In the past, cybercrime was a specialist activity that required trained professionals, but nowadays anyone can ask a chatbot to generate code and achieve sophisticated results that were previously completely out of their reach. These technologies increase both the volume and the sophistication of cyberattacks.

Elon Musk warns of a commercial real estate meltdown as valuations drop. New research shows the extent of that decline.

Raju’s curiosity as a child has catapulted this brilliant innovation, for which he has also won awards. “I am looking forward to setting it up in many more villages in Telangana, saving millions of Kilowatts of energy and lots of civic money too,” he says.

You’re invited to #SendYourName to Jupiter’s moon Europa by signing a poem by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón that will travel aboard NASA’s @EuropaClipper spacecraft.