Lifeboat Foundation

Buckyballs! We love them.

JILA researchers have measured hundreds of individual quantum energy levels in the buckyball, a spherical cage of 60 carbon atoms. It’s the largest molecule that has ever been analyzed at this level of experimental detail in the history of quantum mechanics. Fully understanding and controlling this molecule’s quantum details could lead to new scientific fields and applications, such as an entire quantum computer contained in a single buckyball.

For the tenth consecutive year, #Deloitte, a global leader in audit and consulting, lists the technological trends that will transform the processes, products, and services of the most innovative companies in the world this year.

These technologies include advanced network architectures, serverless computing, and intelligent interfaces, as well as increased development of digital, cognitive and cloud experiences.

Yes, uncertainty is disconcerting. But much of the tech-driven disruption today—and, likely, going forward—is both understandable and knowable.

The energy use of data centers is a major drag on resources, but they also use a lot of water. Any technology that increases their efficiency while reducing resource waste is a good thing.

“Now, Forced Physics, a company based in Scottsdale, Ariz., has developed a low-power system that it says could slash a data center’s energy requirements for cooling by 90 percent. The company’s JouleForce conductor is a passive system that uses ambient, filtered, nonrefrigerated air to whisk heat away from computer chips.”

The company that created it, Forced Physics, plans to install the technology in a pilot plant in February.

Continue reading “A Cooler Cloud: A Clever Conduit Cuts Data Centers’ Cooling Needs” »

Could this be the future of the modeling industry?

While I’m not a big supporter of cryptocurrency, I am a supporter of utilizing blockchain technology in other areas. For example. logistics. The Linux Foundation announced the creation of the Hyperledger Grid project just for that purpose. However, as they state, this isn’t a software project, but a platform project.

Supply chain is commonly cited as one of the most promising distributed ledger use-cases. Initiatives focused on building supply chain solutions will benefit from shared, reusable tools. Hyperledger Grid seeks to assemble these shared capabilities in order to accelerate the development of ledger-based solutions for all types of cross-industry supply chain scenarios.

Grid intends to:

Continue reading “Announcing Hyperledger Grid, a new project to help build and deliver supply chain solutions!” »

Aeronautics giant Airbus today announced that it is creating a global competition to encourage developers to find ways quantum computing can be applied to aircraft design.

Quantum computing is one of many next-generation computing architectures being explored as engineers worry that traditional computing is reaching its physical limits.

Computers today process information using bits, either 0s or 1s, stored in electrical circuits made up of transistors. Quantum computers harness the power of quantum systems, such as atoms that can simultaneously exist in multiple states and can be used as “quantum bits” or “qubits.” These can theoretically handle far more complex calculations.

Continue reading “Airbus wants to reinvent aircraft design with quantum computing challenge” »

According to the World Health Organisation, up to a half-million people around the world suffer a spinal cord injury each year. Often caused by road traffic crashes, accidents or violence, the loss of motor control or paralysis significantly impacts quality of life and requires years of treatment and care. Spinal cord injury is also associated with lower rates of school enrollment and economic participation, and carries substantial individual and societal costs.

Current methods for spinal cord injury treatment involve cumbersome brain-machine interfaces, with many cables linking the patient and a computer to restore limited motor functions. Other methods to map brain activity, such as magnetoencephalography, require very large machinery and particularly low-temperature working conditions.

Continue reading “Can nanotechnology rewire an injured spinal cord?” »

While the company is no doubt losing quality employees, Fossil is still committed to wearable tech.

Rumors about a Pixel Watch have abounded for years. Such a device would certainly make sense as Google attempts to prove the viability of its struggling wearable operating system, Wear OSeems the company is finally getting serious about the prospect. Today Fossil announced plans to sell its smartwatch IP to the software giant for $40 million.

Sounds like Google will be getting a nice head start here as well. The deal pertains to “a smartwatch technology currently under development” and involves the transfer of a number of Fossil employees to team Google.

Continue reading “Google is buying Fossil’s smartwatch tech for $40 million” »

This was the first part in an interview series with Scott Aaronson — this one is on quantum computing — other segments are on Existential Risk, consciousness (including Scott’s thoughts on IIT) and thoughts on whether the universe is discrete or continuous.

First part in an interview series with Scott Aaronson — this one is on quantum computing — future segments will be on Existential Risk, consciousness (including Scott’s thoughts on IIT) and thoughts on whether the universe is discrete or continuous.

Continue reading “Scott Aaronson — The Winding Road to Quantum Supremacy” »