Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog – Page 773

Researchers have linked supermassive black hole mergers with dark matter interactions, potentially solving a longstanding astronomical problem and offering new insights into dark matter’s nature and its role in the cosmos.

Researchers have found a link between some of the largest and smallest objects in the cosmos: supermassive black holes and dark matter particles.

Their new calculations reveal that pairs of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) can merge into a single larger black hole because of previously overlooked behavior of dark matter particles, proposing a solution to the longstanding “final parsec problem” in astronomy.

Read more | >

Researchers have engineered a new technique to trap ions in 3D structures using modified electric fields in Penning traps, forming stable bilayer crystals.

This innovation paves the way for more complex quantum devices and could revolutionize quantum computing and sensing by utilizing space more efficiently.

Quantum Device Challenges

Read more | >

A University of Maryland-led study reveals new details about asteroid dynamics following NASA ’s DART mission, which intentionally collided with the asteroid moon Dimorphos in 2022. The impact significantly altered Dimorphos’ trajectory and shape, leading to unexpected gravitational behaviors. These findings challenge previous assumptions about asteroid evolution and could influence future planetary defense strategies and space missions, as researchers continue to assess the system’s stability and potential for further exploration.

When NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft collided with an asteroid moon called Dimorphos in 2022, the moon was significantly deformed—creating a large crater and reshaping it so dramatically that the moon derailed from its original evolutionary progression—according to a new study. The study’s researchers believe that Dimorphos may start to “tumble” chaotically in its attempts to move back into gravitational equilibrium with its parent asteroid named Didymos.

“For the most part, our original pre-impact predictions about how DART would change the way Didymos and its moon move in space were correct,” said Derek Richardson, a professor of astronomy at the University of Maryland and a DART investigation working group lead. “But there are some unexpected findings that help provide a better picture of how asteroids and other small bodies form and evolve over time.”

Read more | >

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration has enhanced its observational capabilities, achieving unprecedented resolutions by detecting light at a 345 GHz frequency.

This breakthrough allows for detailed imaging of black holes, promising images 50% more detailed than previous ones and the potential to view more black holes than ever before.

Breakthrough in Black Hole Imaging.

Read more | >

India has edged past the United Kingdom by delivering more cutting-edge critical technology research during the period between 2019 and 2023, data published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute on Wednesday (August 28) showed.

The institute updated its critical technology tracker this week by focusing on high-impact research or 10 per cent of the most highly cited papers, as a “leading indicator of a country’s research performance, strategic intent, and potential future science and technology capability”

The tracker covers 64 critical technologies and crucial fields spanning defence, space, energy, the environment, artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, robotics, cyber, computing, advanced materials, and key quantum technology areas.

Read more | >

A Stanford University psychologist named Michal Kosinski claims that AI he’s built can detect your intelligence, sexual preferences, and political leanings with a great degree of accuracy just by scanning your face, Business Insider reports.

Needless to say, Kosinski’s work raises many ethical questions. Is this type of facial recognition research just a high-tech version of phrenology, a pseudoscience popular in the 18th and 19th centuries that sought to find links between facial features and their mental traits?

Absolutely not, Kosinski told Business Insider. If anything, he says his work on facial recognition is a warning to policymakers about the potential dangers of his research and similar work by others.

Read more | >

Scientists at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory are pioneering the use of liquid lithium in spherical tokamaks to enhance fusion performance.

Recent computer simulations suggest the optimal placement of lithium vapor to protect the tokamak’s interior from intense plasma heat. Innovative configurations, such as the lithium “cave” and porous plasma-facing walls, aim to simplify the design and improve heat dissipation, contributing to the future of fusion energy.

Inside the next generation of fusion vessels known as spherical tokamaks, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) envisioned a hot region with flowing liquid metal that is reminiscent of a subterranean cave. Researchers say evaporating liquid metal could protect the inside of the tokamak from the intense heat of the plasma. It’s an idea that dates back several decades and is tied to one of the Lab’s strengths: working with liquid metals.

Read more | >

In a paper published recently in the Journal of Applied Physics, an international team of scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Argonne National Laboratory and Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron have developed a new sample configuration that improves the reliability of equation of state measurements in a pressure regime not previously achievable in the diamond anvil cell.

Read more | >