Lifeboat Foundation

Physicists have predicted the existence of dark matter, a material that does not absorb, emit or reflect light, for decades. While there is now significant evidence hinting to the existence of dark matter in the universe, as it was never directed detected before its composition remains unknown.

In recent years, researchers worldwide have made different hypotheses about the composition of this elusive material and tried to test them experimentally. Many have suggested that it could be comprised of new and previously unobserved types of elementary particles, such as axions and weakly interactive massive particles (WIMPs).

A few weeks ago, two large research collaborations, the PandaX-4T and the ADMX Collaborations, published the results of two new dark matter searches based on different hypothesis. In their study, featured in Physical Review Letters, the PandaX-4T Collaboration tried searching for signs of a new elementary particle in data collected using a time projection chamber at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory (CJPL), the deepest underground lab in world.

An exploration on how the Metaverse can enhance the human experience.

The world’s most precise atomic clock has confirmed that the time dilation predicted by Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity works on the scale of millimetres.

Physicists have been unable to unite quantum mechanics – a theory that describes matter at the smallest scales – with general relativity, which predicts the behaviour of objects at the largest cosmic scales, including how gravity bends space-time. Because gravity is weak over small distances, it is hard to measure relativity on small scales.

But atomic clocks, which count seconds by measuring the frequency of radiation emitted when electrons around an atom change energy states, can detect these minute gravitational effects.

Jared Isaacman, the billionaire founder of payments company Shift4 who flew on the first private SpaceX flight to orbit last year, has purchased as many as three more flights from Elon Musk’s company.

The first mission in the so-called Polaris Program is set to launch a four-person crew led by Isaacman in the fourth quarter with the company’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft. According to the program’s website, the augural flight, Polaris Dawn, will be the first of up to three missions, with the final one to be the first crewed spaceflight of SpaceX’s Starship rocket.

“The Polaris Program is an important step in advancing human space exploration while helping to solve problems through the use of innovative technology here on Earth,” Isaacman said in a statement.

Jared Isaacman — the billionaire CEO of payments processing company Shift 4 — is buying three more flights with SpaceX, the first of which is scheduled for this year and could put Isaacman and SpaceX on track to travel deeper into space than any human has traveled in a half century.

The first flight in the series of missions, which are being called “Polaris” after the North Star, is planned for late this year and will last up to five days and include a crew of Isaacman and three other people. It’s expected to travel out to the Van Allen radiation belt, which has an inner band that stretches from about 400 to 6,000 miles above Earth, in part to help the crew research how radiation in space affects the human body. Radiation remains a serious concern for spaceflights to the moon and Mars, as SpaceX says it aims to do, because they would require prolonged exposure to radiation, which can lead to an “increased risk of cancer and degenerative diseases” and other long-term impacts, according to NASA.

When asked on a press call Monday, Isaacman said the Gemini missions of the 20th century, which set altitude records at the time, are a guidepost for how high the first Polaris mission will travel. Gemini missions reached as high as about 850 miles — or about three times higher than where the International Space Station orbits. Isaacman declined to share a specific altitude for the flight.

Amid a maelstrom set off by a prominent AI researcher saying that some AI may already be achieving limited consciousness, one MIT AI researcher is saying the concept might not be so far-fetched.

Our story starts with Ilya Sutskever, head scientist at the Elon Musk cofounded research group OpenAI. On February 9, Sutskever tweeted that “it may be that today’s large neural networks are slightly conscious.”

In response, many others in the AI research space decried the OpenAI scientist’s claim, suggesting that it was harming machine learning’s reputation and amounted to little more than a “sales pitch” for OpenAI work.

A nanomaterials-engineered penetrating sealer developed by Washington State University researchers is able to better protect concrete from moisture and salt—the two most damaging factors in crumbling concrete infrastructure in northern states.

The novel sealer showed a 75% improvement in repelling water and a 44% improvement in reducing salt damage in laboratory studies compared to a commercial sealer. The work could provide an additional way to address the challenge of aging bridges and pavements in the U.S.

“We focused on one of the main culprits that compromises the integrity and durability of concrete, which is moisture,” said Xianming Shi, professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering who led the work. “If you can keep concrete dry, the vast majority of durability problems would go away.”

Custom 3D printed, highly detailed versions of your favorite engines have the enthusiast community abuzz.

A modeling fan taught himself the skills to 3D print 1:4 scale engine and wheel masterpieces that have the enthusiast community enthralled.

The U.S. used to be a global leader in lithium production, but now has fallen way behind. Several domestic projects are in the works, but will it be enough?