If you own a perfectly fine conventional automobile but want to join the EV revolution, you have two choices. Engineer an electric drivetrain swap yourself, which involves hours and hours of lying on you back on a creeper in your garage, or buying a new electric car. Now, if you live in France, there’s a third way. Transition One will take your current car, remove the existing internal combustion engine, replace it with batteries and an electric motor, and give it back to you in about 4 hours.
Albert Einstein’s twin paradox is one of the most famous thought experiments in physics. It postulates that if you send one of two twins on a return trip to a star at near light speed, they will be younger than their identical sibling when they return home. The age difference is a consequence of something called time dilation, which is described by Einstein’s special theory of relativity: the faster you travel, the slower time appears to pass.
But what if we introduce quantum theory into the problem? Physicists Alexander Smith of Saint Anselm College and Dartmouth College and Mehdi Ahmadi of Santa Clara University tackle this idea in a study published today in the journal Nature Communications. The scientists imagine measuring a quantum atomic clock experiencing two different times while it is placed in superposition—a quirk of quantum mechanics in which something appears to exist in two places at once. “We know from Einstein’s special theory of relativity that when a clock moves relative to another clock, the time shown on it slows down,” Smith says. “But quantum mechanics allows you to start thinking about what happens if this clock were to move in a superposition of two different speeds.”
Physicists describe a way to merge quantum theory with Einstein’s special theory of relativity—and even a method to test it experimentally.
Boston Dynamics announced that it has developed a robot arm for its “Spot” robot and also a charging station. Both will be available for purchase this spring.
The robot Spot made quite a splash on the internet last year, thanks to its YouTube videos. The four-legged yellow-bodied robot was shown marching its way autonomously and untethered through a wide variety of terrain in ways reminiscent of a dog; hence its name. The robot dog is available for sale. Those interested can purchase one directly from Boston Dynamics for $75,000. CEO Rob Playter told members of the press recently that the company has sold 260 of the robots as of last June. Those robots are currently being tested (and in some cases, used) in mining, healthcare, construction and other sectors—mostly in situations that are dangerous for people. The company has also created a host of add-ons for the robot to assist in a wide variety of applications. The company is now adding to that list by making available both a robot arm and a charging station.
The robot arm affixes to the top front of Spot, resembling a long neck with an articulated joint. A gripper is mounted on the end of the arm, vaguely reminiscent of a head with a mouth. The robot arm is capable of six degrees of motion and comes with its own user interface (UI). The arm can be programmed ahead of time to carry out tasks, such as using doorknobs, turning hand cranks, or lifting, carrying and moving materials. Alternatively, the arm can be controlled by a user watching the action. The arm is programmable via an associated developer API toolkit.
WASHINGTON — SpaceX launched another set of Starlink satellites Oct. 24, marking the 100th time the company has placed payloads into orbit.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 11:31 a.m. Eastern. The rocket’s upper stage deployed the payload of 60 Starlink satellites into orbit 63 minutes after liftoff. The first stage, making its third flight, landed on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.
This was the 100th successful launch in the company’s history. That total includes 95 Falcon 9, three Falcon Heavy and two Falcon 1 launches. The company also suffered three Falcon 1 launch failures and one Falcon 9 launch failure; another Falcon 9 was destroyed in 2016 during preparations for a static-fire test.
Drones or unmanned vehicles are becoming a major threat as more and more countries are developing and relying on it. The latest conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia also saw extensive use of drones.
A novel technique developed by Max Planck researchers in Göttingen, Germany, can visualise individual atoms in a protein with cryo-electron microscopy for the first time.
Only a possibilty.
Researchers detect a large lake and several ponds deep under the ice of the Martian South Pole.
Good news for the sea turtles! 😃
Tourism is down, but nesting success may be up. Here’s what scientists are saying and how travelers can help.
A friend went to assess the situation for her, but the car was gone.
So Ms Brett turned straight to her Tesla car app to find out what was going on.
Microsoft and Intel have a long-standing relationship, which grows stronger today with a new collaboration on a seamless artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) experience, from Azure in the cloud to a wide range of high-performance edge devices powered by Intel Movidius vision processing units (VPU). This will deliver a more seamless experience for developers across the intelligent cloud and intelligent edge.
