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JILA physicists have boosted the signal power of their atomic “tweezer clock” and measured its performance in part for the first time, demonstrating high stability close to the best of the latest generation of atomic clocks.

The unusual clock, which uses to trap, control and isolate , offers unique possibilities for enhancing clock performance using the tricks of quantum physics as well as future applications in quantum information processing, , and measurement science.

Described in a Nature paper published online Dec. 16, the clock platform is a rectangular grid of about 150 strontium atoms confined individually by , which are created by a aimed through a microscope and deflected into 320 spots. This upgraded version of the clock has up to 30 times as many atoms as the preliminary design unveiled last year, due mainly to the use of several different lasers, including a green one for trapping the atoms and two red ones to make them “tick.”

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The current scheme, Horizon 2020, is the world’s biggest multinational research programme, having distributed €74 billion (US$90 billion) to more than 150, 000 scientists participating in 31, 000 projects or grants. When it ends this year, how will it be judged?

Although imperfect, the world’s biggest funding scheme got a lot right.

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(Checks math.)

Scientists have new evidence that Earth’s many periodic mass extinctions follow a cycle of about 27 million years, connecting the five major mass extinctions with more minor ones occurring throughout Earth’s life-fostering timespan. The artificial intelligence analysis could also shift how evolutionary scientists think about the aftermath of mass extinctions.

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Connecticut-based company LiquidPiston is developing a portable generator for the US Army that uses its X-Engine, a fresh and extremely powerful take on the rotary engine that’ll deliver as much power as the Army’s current-gen-set at one-fifth the size.

We’ve written a few times before about the fascinating LiquidPiston rotary engine. It’s not a Wankel – indeed, it’s closer to an inside-out Wankel – and with only two moving parts, it’s able to deliver extraordinary power density at up to 1.5 horsepower per pound (0.45 kg).

According to co-founder and CEO Alec Schkolnik, the X Engine design combines the high compression ratio and direct injection of a diesel engine with the constant volume combustion process of an Otto cycle engine and the over-expansion abilities of an Atkinson cycle engine, while solving the lubrication and sealing issues of the Wankel rotary engine and delivering huge power and efficiency. Check out the design being used in a go-kart and an unmanned aircraft in the video below.

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Using the Parkes radio telescope, Chinese astronomers have investigated an isolated pulsar known as PSR J1047−6709 and detected dozens of giant pulses during the bright state of this source. The finding is reported in a paper published December 10 on the arXiv pre-print repository.

Pulsars are highly magnetized, rotating neutron stars emitting a beam of electromagnetic radiation. They are usually detected in the form of short bursts of radio emission, however, some of them are also observed using optical, X-ray and gamma-ray telescopes. To date, most pulsars have been discovered using the Parkes Observatory in Australia.

Some pulsars showcase the so-called giant pulses (GPs)—short-duration, burst-like radio emissions from a , with energies exceeding the average pulse energy by 10 times or even much more. So far, such activity has only been detected in 16 pulsars.

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The team, led by Cornell postdoctoral researcher Jake D. Turner, Philippe Zarka of the Observatoire de Paris—Paris Sciences et Lettres University and Jean-Mathias Griessmeier of the Université d’Orléans published their findings in the forthcoming research section of the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, on Dec. 16.

“We present one of the first hints of detecting an exoplanet in the radio realm,” Turner said. “The signal is from the Tau Boötes system, which contains a and an exoplanet. We make the case for an emission by the planet itself. From the strength and polarization of the radio signal and the planet’s magnetic field, it is compatible with theoretical predictions.”

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