MIT Technology Review November 22, 2018 The International Organization for Standardization has released a draft set of standards for drone operations for public consultation. The standards are expected to be adopted worldwide later next year. The document suggests geo-fencing technology to stop flights in restricted areas, there should be flight logging, training, and maintenance requirements. Crucially, it also says a fail-safe means of human intervention is mandatory for all drone flights, establishing accountability for drone operators. These standards are the first of four sets covering aerial drones, with the next three set to dig deeper into technical specifications, manufacturing quality, and […]
The Case Against Quantum Computing
IEEE Spectrum November 15, 2018 A useful quantum computer needs to process a set of continuous parameters that is larger than the number of subatomic particles in the observable universe. According to researchers in France while experimental research is beneficial and may lead to a better understanding of complicated quantum systems, they are skeptical that these efforts will ever result in a practical quantum computer. Such a computer would have to be able to manipulate—on a microscopic level and with enormous precision—a physical system characterized by an unimaginably huge set of parameters, each of which can take on a continuous […]
Countries convene to update chemical weapons prohibitions
Chemical and Engineering News November 16, 2018 According to researchers in the UK, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) must decide how best to evolve to prevent the reemergence of chemical weapons in a period of rapid scientific change and unstable international security. Among the key issues facing OPCW going forward are the development and use of riot-control agents, such as tear gas, and delivery systems for such agents. The nature of law-enforcement activities allowed under the treaty must be clarified. They also advocate for strengthening OPCW’s Technical Secretariat to better monitor science and technology advances and forecast […]
Bending light around tight corners without backscattering losses
Phys.org November 19, 2018 An international team of researchers (USA – Duke University, SUNY Buffalo, Canada) combined the properties of a planar silicon photonic crystal and the concept of topological protection to design, fabricate and characterize an optical topological insulator. They showed that the transmittances are the same for light propagation along a straight topological interface and one with four sharp turns. The waveguide works very well even if there are minor defects in the photonic crystalline structure. It has a large operating bandwidth, compatible with modern semiconductor fabrication technologies, and works at wavelengths currently used in telecommunications…read more. TECHNICAL […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of November 16, 2018
01. Quantum ‘compass’ could allow navigation without relying on satellites 02. Nanofiber carpet could lead to new sticky or insulating surfaces 03. A two-atom quantum duet 04. Innovative approach to controlling magnetism opens route to ultra-low-power 05. Thermal nanotransistor can conduct heat away from electronic components 06. The US military is testing stratospheric balloons that ride the wind so they never have to come down 07. Materials scientist creates fabric alternative to batteries for wearable devices 08. Graphene on the way to superconductivity 09. Big data used to predict the future 10. New insulating state found in stretched graphene And […]
Why space debris cleanup might be a national security threat
Phys.org November 13, 2018 From the 23,000 pieces of debris in Earth orbit that are larger than 5-10 centimeters that we can track and catalog, to the hundreds of millions that we cannot, there is little question that both big and small objects whizzing around at lethal speeds endanger the prospects for civilian, commercial and military missions in outer space. Both the old and new space powers can easily cloak their military intentions in legitimate concerns about, and possibly commercial solutions to, debris hazards. And there are now a number of open assessments about space junk removal technologies that can […]
The US military is testing stratospheric balloons that ride the wind so they never have to come down
MIT Technology Review November 14, 2018 The current balloons shift with the wind and can only stay in one area for a few days at a time. DARPA is currently testing a wind sensor that could allow devices in its Adaptable Lighter-Than-Air (ALTA) balloon program to spot wind speed and direction from a great distance and then make the necessary adjustments to stay in one spot. DARPA has been working on ALTA for some time, but its existence was only revealed in September. ALTA will operate even higher than Google’s Loon at 75,000 to 90,000 feet (22,900 to 27,400 meters […]
A two-atom quantum duet
Science Daily November 9, 2018 While a single spin is easily disrupted, a coupled-spin system can resist decoherence by using a subspace of states that is immune to magnetic field fluctuations. An international team of researchers (South Korea, USA – industry) engineered the magnetic interactions between the electron spins of two spin-1/2 atoms to create a “clock transition” and thus enhance their spin coherence. To construct and electrically access the desired spin structures, they used atom manipulation combined with electron spin resonance. They showed that a two-level system composed of a singlet state and a triplet state is insensitive to […]
Thermal nanotransistor can conduct heat away from electronic components
Nanowerk November 14, 2018 An international team of researchers (USA – Stanford University, Rice University, UC Davis, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Germany) bathed a thin layer of molybdenum disulfide that is made up of layered sheets of atoms in a liquid with lots of lithium ions to make it into a transistor-like switch. When a small electrical current is applied to the system, the lithium atoms begin to infuse into the layers of the crystal, changing its heat-conducting characteristics. As the lithium concentration increases, the thermal transistor switches off. Besides enabling dynamic heat control, the team’s results provide new insights […]
Staggering extent of human impact on planet revealed in new report
Science Daily October 31, 2018 The Living Planet Report 2018 , presents a comprehensive overview of the state of our natural world through multiple indicators including the Living Planet Index, which examines trends in global wildlife abundance. It also focuses on the value of nature to people’s health and that of our societies and economies. The top threats to species identified in the report are directly linked to human activities, including habitat loss and degradation and overexploitation of wildlife. WWF is calling on people, businesses and governments to mobilize and deliver on a comprehensive framework agreement for nature and people […]