Lifeboat Foundation

Causality is key to our experience of reality: dropping a glass, for example, causes it to smash, so it can’t smash before it’s dropped. But in the quantum world those rules don’t necessarily apply, and scientists have now demonstrated how that weirdness can be harnessed to charge a quantum battery.

In a sense, you could say that quantum batteries are powered by paradoxes. On paper, they work by storing energy in the quantum states of atoms and molecules – but of course, as soon as the word “quantum” enters the conversation you know weird stuff is about to happen. In this case, a new study has found that quantum batteries could work by violating cause-and-effect as we know it.

“Current batteries for low-power devices, such as smartphones or sensors, typically use chemicals such as lithium to store charge, whereas a quantum battery uses microscopic particles like arrays of atoms,” said Yuanbo Chen, an author of the study. “While chemical batteries are governed by classical laws of physics, microscopic particles are quantum in nature, so we have a chance to explore ways of using them that bend or even break our intuitive notions of what takes place at small scales. I’m particularly interested in the way quantum particles can work to violate one of our most fundamental experiences, that of time.”

Plus: a marketing group says it can listen to consumer conversations through their phones.

On this episode, learn about digital addiction, and the symptoms of technology addiction with our guest Anna Lembke is a psychiatrist currently working as the Chief of Addiction Medicine at Stanford’s Dual Diagnosis clinic. She was recently interviewed for the Social Dilemma, the amazing Netflix documentary exploring the dangers of social media. On this episode, we really dive deep into the heart of digital addiction—the symptoms of technology addiction, how it starts, how it controls our behavior, and how to escape its magnetic pull. But more specifically, we explore the role of social media and smartphones, and how these tools are hijacking our evolutionary drive for novelty, pleasure, exploration, and connection with other human beings.

Anna Lembke is a psychiatrist who is Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic at Stanford University and an author. Dopamine is a key neurotransmitter in our reward pathway. It tells us when to feel pleasure and pain, it can cause depression and anxiety, and it’s being hijacked by the modern world. Phones, video games, porn, food, our world is filled with cheap dopamine, which in turn is making us miserable. Expect to learn how dopamine creates a see-saw balance of pleasure and pain, why cravings to use your phone are driven by dopamine, the truth about dopamine detoxing, how to reset your brain’s dopamine balance, the most successful interventions for changing your relationship to dopamine long term and much more…

Its potential uses range from ultra-durable smartphone screens to soft, luminous light fixtures.

In pursuit of this objective, researchers have devised innovative strategies for modifying wood in recent years, imbuing it with new capabilities.

These advancements open the door to potentially substituting conventional, non-renewable, petroleum-based materials in diverse applications, including automobiles, energy storage, construction, and environmental remediation. This shift signifies a departure from the traditional domains of construction and paper industries for wood.

Continue reading “Scientists develop transparent wood for smartphone screens, windows” »

Ukraine’s largest mobile phone operator said Russia was most likely behind a “powerful” cyberattack that disrupted phone and internet services Tuesday for about 24 million people in the country.

The cyberattack, the largest to strike Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began nearly two years ago, took down ATMs and digital banking services, disabled some air raid sirens, and hampered broader cellular service across Ukraine.

“This is definitely a cyberattack and the probability that Russian entities are behind it is very close to 100%,” Oleksandr Komarov, chief executive officer of Kyivstar GSM JSC, told Bloomberg by phone.

Fairphone promises five Android version upgrades and at least eight years of security updates to achieve a total lifespan of a decade. Whether its performance will remain adequate for all users’ needs throughout that time remains to be seen.

What the industry can learn

In a world dominated by disposable electronics, the Fairphone 5 stands out. The Fairphone 5 offers a different excitement – the thrill of a phone built to last. With its modular design, long-term software support, and commitment to sustainability, the Fairphone 5 is a game-changer for anyone who wants a smartphone that’s both good for their pocket and the planet. While the EU is pushing for a removable battery for all smartphones by 2027, making USB-C already a standard, more needs to be done.

A small taste of the Core Ultra 9 185H’s flagship performance.

Sam Altman says he got so many messages after being fired from OpenAI that his phone was unusable. The CEO was abruptly ousted by board members last month before being reinstated. Altman said the situation had been chaotic and confusing.

Sam Altman told Trevor Noah during a podcast appearance that he was inundated with messages in the chaotic aftermath of his firing.