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While tunneling reactions are remarkably hard to predict, a group of researchers were able to experimentally observe such an effect, marking a breakthrough in the field of quantum chemistry.

Tunnel Effect

Predicting tunnel effects is very difficult to pull off. The mechanically exact quantum description of chemical reactions that cover over three particles is quite hard. If it covers over four particles, it is almost impossible to pull off. In order to stimulate the reactions, scientists use classical physics but have to push aside the quantum effects. However, EurekAlert reports that there is a limit to classically describing these chemical reactions. What, then, is the limit?

An innovative nuclear fusion technology that uses no radioactive materials and is calculated capable of “powering the planet for more than 100,000 years”, has been successfully piloted by a US-Japanese team of researchers.

California-based TAE Technologies, working with Japan’s National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS), have completed first tests of a hydrogen-boron fuel cycle in magnetically-confined plasma, which could generate cleaner, lower cost energy that that produced by the more common deuterium-tritium (D-T) fusion process.

“This experiment offers us a wealth of data to work with and shows that hydrogen-boron has a place in utility-scale fusion power. We know we can solve the physics challenge at hand and deliver a transformational new form of carbon-free energy to the world that relies on this non-radioactive, abundant fuel,” said Michl Binderbauer, CEO of TAE Technologies.

Haptic holography promises to bring virtual reality to life, but a new study reveals a surprising physical obstacle that will need to be overcome.

A research team at UC Santa Barbara has discovered a new phenomenon that underlies emerging holographic haptic displays, and could lead to the creation of more compelling virtual reality experiences. The team’s findings are published in the journal Science Advances.

Holographic haptic displays use phased arrays of ultrasound emitters to focus ultrasound in the air, allowing users to touch, feel and manipulate three-dimensional virtual objects in mid-air using their bare hands, without the need for a physical device or interface. While these displays hold great promise for use in various application areas, including augmented reality, virtual reality and telepresence, the tactile sensations they currently provide are diffuse and faint, feeling like a “breeze” or “puff of air.”

On Monday, researchers from Microsoft introduced Kosmos-1, a multimodal model that can reportedly analyze images for content, solve visual puzzles, perform visual text recognition, pass visual IQ tests, and understand natural language instructions. The researchers believe multimodal AI—which integrates different modes of input such as text, audio, images, and video—is a key step to building artificial general intelligence (AGI) that can perform general tasks at the level of a human.

Visual examples from the Kosmos-1 paper show the model analyzing images and answering questions about them, reading text from an image, writing captions for images, and taking a visual IQ test with 22–26 percent accuracy (more on that below).

So much here I never knew:


Dr. Axel Montagne is a chancellor’s fellow and group leader at the UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Edinburgh Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences. His group aims to understand how, when, and where critical components of the blood-brain barrier become dysfunctional preceding dementia and in the earliest stages of age-related cognitive decline. With this knowledge, they hope to develop precise treatments targeting brain vasculature to protect brain function.

More importantly his work, and that of his colleagues, provide a critical lens through which to view the contributions of vascular dysfunction (or, conversely, vascular health – if we choose to preserve it) as a critical common thread in dementia and neurodegeneration.

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For humanity to explore space and distant worlds, we will need to construct enormous artificial habitats in space with diverse ecologies.

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Credits:

I explain what time dilation is with examples and evidence based experiments. Time slowing down is an actual thing that we experience and use in our technologies.

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