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Feb 15, 2021

Scientists Make “Magic Carpet” Hover Using Only Light

Posted by in category: materials

Researchers were able to cause two plastic trays to hover using only light — opening the doors to research unexplored parts of the sky.

Feb 15, 2021

An upwelling of rock beneath the Atlantic may drive continents apart

Posted by in category: futurism

Rock rising from more than 600 kilometers deep at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge may play a more active role in plate tectonics than thought.

Feb 15, 2021

New Physics Rules Tested by Using a Quantum Computer to Create a “Toy-Universe”

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

Simulation of non-Hermitian quantum mechanics using a quantum computer goes beyond centuries-old conventions. Aalto researchers have used an IBM quantum computer to explore an overlooked area of physics, and have challenged 100-year-old cherished notions about information at the quantum level.

Feb 15, 2021

What It’s Really Like to Sleep in Space, According to a Former Astronaut Who Spent 520 Nights Doing It

Posted by in category: space

Former astronaut Scott Kelly explains what it’s like to sleep in microgravity.

Feb 15, 2021

A Magnetic Twist to Graphene Could Offer a Dramatic Increase in Processing Speeds Compared to Electronics

Posted by in categories: particle physics, quantum physics

Electrons in materials have a property known as ‘spin’, which is responsible for a variety of properties, the most well-known of which is magnetism. Permanent magnets, like the ones used for refrigerator doors, have all the spins in their electrons aligned in the same direction. Scientists refer to this behavior as ferromagnetism, and the research field of trying to manipulate spin as spintronics.

Down in the quantum world, spins can arrange in more exotic ways, giving rise to frustrated states and entangled magnets. Interestingly, a property similar to spin, known as “the valley,” appears in graphene materials. This unique feature has given rise to the field of valleytronics, which aims to exploit the valley property for emergent physics and information processing, very much like spintronics relies on pure spin physics.

Feb 15, 2021

New Drone Software Handles Motor Failures Even Without GPS

Posted by in categories: drones, robotics/AI

Onboard visual state estimation can save your quadrotor from a crash—and doesn’t need GPS to do it.

Feb 15, 2021

How Jupiter Set Off A Chain Of Events That Killed The Dinosaurs

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks

A fragment of a large, long-period comet was most likely responsible for the impactor that killed off the dinosaurs.

Feb 15, 2021

New AI Detects Your Emotions

Posted by in categories: information science, robotics/AI

The algorithm isn’t perfect, but it vastly outperforms past attempts.

Feb 15, 2021

Bill Gates: The 2021 60 Minutes interview

Posted by in categories: climatology, sustainability

Changing literally everything to get emissions to zero.


“Without innovation, we will not solve climate change. We won’t even come close,” Gates says. Anderson Cooper reports for 60 Minutes. https://cbsn.ws/3qnNDyG

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Feb 14, 2021

Grumman’s LongShot drone can search & destroy

Posted by in categories: drones, military, robotics/AI

Instead of firing missiles, planes may carry and launch unmanned drones that will be able to shoot their own missiles to search and destroy targets.


Aerospace giant Northrop Grumman is wasting no time in this competition.

Just two days after DARPA named it as one of three competitors for the LongShot contract, the company released an image of its concept for an air-launched unmanned aircraft system (UAS), Aviation Week reported.

Continue reading “Grumman’s LongShot drone can search & destroy” »