Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog – Page 28

As more satellites, telescopes, and other spacecraft are built to be repairable, it will take reliable trajectories for service spacecraft to reach them safely. Researchers in the Department of Aerospace Engineering in The Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are developing a methodology that will allow multiple CubeSats to act as servicing agents to assemble or repair a space telescope.

Published in The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences, their method minimizes , guarantees that servicing agents never come closer to each other than 5 meters, and can be used to solve pathway guidance problems that aren’t space related.

“We developed a scheme that allows the CubeSats to operate efficiently without colliding,” said aerospace Ph.D. student Ruthvik Bommena. “These small spacecraft have limited onboard computation capabilities, so these trajectories are precomputed by mission design engineers.”

Read more | >

A new trick for illuminating the internal ordering within a special type of magnet could help engineers build better memory-storage devices. Developed by RIKEN physicists, this technique could make memory devices less corruptible.

The work is published in the journal Nature Communications.

Conventional hard disks are based on ferromagnets—materials in which the , or spins, associated with each atom all point in the same direction. This alignment gives the material a net . Data is stored by creating different magnetization patterns across the material.

Read more | >

Quantum sensors can be significantly more precise than conventional sensors and are used for Earth observation, navigation, material testing, and chemical or biomedical analysis, for example. TU Darmstadt researchers have now developed and tested a technique that makes quantum sensors even more precise.

What is behind this technology? Quantum sensors, based on the wave nature of , use quantum interference to measure accelerations and rotations with extremely high precision. This technology requires optimized beam splitters and mirrors for atoms. However, atoms that are reflected in unintentional ways can significantly impair such measurements.

The scientists therefore use specially designed as velocity-selective atom , which reflect the desired atoms and allow parasitic atoms to pass through. This approach reduces the noise in the signal, making the measurements much more precise. The research is published in the journal Physical Review Research.

Read more | >

A new study shows that the cerebral cortex predicts the future by detecting novel stimuli and forming short-term memory traces called “echoes.” This mechanism, confirmed through neural network modeling, plays a key role in perception and learning.

The cerebral cortex is the largest part of a mammal’s brain and plays a crucial role in various cognitive functions. In humans, it is responsible for perception, thought, memory storage, and decision-making. One hypothesis suggests that the cortex’s primary function is to predict future events by processing new sensory information and comparing it to prior expectations.

A newly published study in Neuron provides significant evidence supporting this hypothesis. The research, led by Yuriy Shymkiv, a postdoctoral fellow in Professor Rafael Yuste’s lab, marks a major step forward in understanding the predictive role of the cortex.

Read more | >

Researchers are breaking new ground with halide perovskites, promising a revolution in energy-efficient technologies.

By exploring these materials at the nanoscale.

The term “nanoscale” refers to dimensions that are measured in nanometers (nm), with one nanometer equaling one-billionth of a meter. This scale encompasses sizes from approximately 1 to 100 nanometers, where unique physical, chemical, and biological properties emerge that are not present in bulk materials. At the nanoscale, materials exhibit phenomena such as quantum effects and increased surface area to volume ratios, which can significantly alter their optical, electrical, and magnetic behaviors. These characteristics make nanoscale materials highly valuable for a wide range of applications, including electronics, medicine, and materials science.

Read more | >

As quantum computers threaten traditional encryption, researchers are developing quantum networks to enable ultra-secure communication.

Scientists at Leibniz University Hannover have pioneered a new method using light frequencies to enhance quantum key distribution. This breakthrough reduces complexity, cuts costs, and paves the way for scalable, tap-proof quantum internet infrastructure.

Read more | >

Physicists have performed a groundbreaking simulation they say sheds new light on an elusive phenomenon that could determine the ultimate fate of the Universe.

Pioneering research in quantum field theory around 50 years ago proposed that the universe may be trapped in a false vacuum – meaning it appears stable but in fact could be on the verge of transitioning to an even more stable, true vacuum state. While this process could trigger a catastrophic change in the Universe’s structure, experts agree that predicting the timeline is challenging, but it is likely to occur over an astronomically long period, potentially spanning millions of years.

In an international collaboration between three research institutions, the team report gaining valuable insights into false vacuum decay – a process linked to the origins of the cosmos and the behaviour of particles at the smallest scales. The collaboration was led by Professor Zlatko Papic, from the University of Leeds, and Dr Jaka Vodeb, from the Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC) at Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany.

Read more | >

The odds of a ‘city-destroying’ asteroid hitting Earth in less than 10 years have risen.

Asteroid 2024 YR4 was found by NASA’s Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System and it’s now at the top of NASA’s Sentry Risk Table and European Space Agency’s NEO (near Earth objects) impact Risk List.

For a full breakdown of the implications of the asteroid, head here.

Read more | >