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Category: computing – Page 3

Copying consciousness, the future of mind uploading

Whole-brain emulation (often called “mind uploading” in science fiction) refers to the possible future ability to scan a human brain in such detail that a digital replica could be created, capable of functioning, and perhaps even experiencing the world, like the original. While we are far away from this now (the current record is a fruit fly) an increasing number of neuroscientists and entrepreneurs are betting that we may be closer than most think. What is happening in the world of computational neuroscience, and will the world be ready for it?

New diode chain could be used to develop highpower terahertz technologies

Electromagnetic waves with frequencies between microwave and infrared light, also known as terahertz radiation, are leveraged by many existing technologies, including various imaging tools and wireless communication systems. Despite their widespread use, generating strong and continuous terahertz signals using existing electronics is known to be challenging.

To reliably generate terahertz signals, engineers often rely on frequency multipliers, electronic circuits that can distort an input signal, to generate an output signal with a desired frequency. Some of these circuits are based on Schottky barrier diodes, devices in which the junction between a metal and semiconductor form a one-way electrical contact.

While some frequency multipliers based on Schottky barrier diodes have achieved promising results, devices based on individual diodes can only handle a limited amount of energy. To increase the energy they can manage, engineers can use several diodes arranged in a chain. However, even this approach can have its limitations, as the distribution of the electromagnetic field between the diodes in a chain often becomes uneven.

Physicists Discover Bizarre “Quantum Pinball” State of Matter

Physicists have discovered how to make electrons “freeze” and “melt” into bizarre quantum patterns, forming a new kind of matter where solid and liquid coexist. Electricity drives nearly every aspect of modern life, from powering vehicles and smartphones to running computers and countless other d

Thin resistor routinely used in photonic devices can also act as a thermometer

Integrated photonics has become a multi-billion-dollar industry, but it is feeling the heat—literally.

An increasingly important component in data centers, photonic devices move and process data using light instead of electricity. The physical nature of light gives this approach several advantages, including higher bandwidth and lower latency.

One limitation on even wider adoption has been the hardware’s sensitivity to temperature. If photonic devices become a little too hot or a little too cold, their exquisitely tuned photonic properties can be disrupted.

Haven Demo lays the groundwork for first private space station

It may look like an ordinary satellite, but the recently launched Haven Demo is a major step toward the first commercial space station. Built by Vast, the 1,100-lb (500-kg) uncrewed spacecraft will test core systems of the planned Haven-1 outpost.

Launched on November 1, 2025 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Haven Demo was one of 18 shared payloads for a variety of customers that formed the Bandwagon-4 mission. The satellite is scheduled to remain in orbit for six months during which it will carry out a series of tests to reduce the risk of failure when Haven-1 is put into orbit in May of next year.

True, the Haven Demo doesn’t look like any sort of space habitat. There’s no balloon-like module for astronauts to hang out in, but it does have propulsion systems, flight computers, navigation and guidance systems, communication units, and power systems similar to those that will be used on Haven-1. The Haven Demo will not only validate these systems in orbit, but it will also test the ground network and mission operations infrastructure back on Earth.

Table salt enables new metallic nanotubes with potential for faster electronics

For the first time, researchers have made niobium sulfide metallic nanotubes with stable, predictable properties, a long-sought goal in advanced materials science. According to the international team, including a researcher at Penn State, that made the accomplishment, the new nanomaterial that could open the door to faster electronics, efficient electricity transport via superconductor wires and even future quantum computers was made possible with a surprising ingredient: table salt.

They published their research in ACS Nano.

Nanotubes are structures so small that thousands of them could fit across the width of a human hair. The tiny hollow cylinders are made by rolling up sheets of atoms; nanotubes have an unusual size and shape that can cause them to behave very differently from 3D, or bulk, materials.

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