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The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) has designed a new type of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment that could significantly reduce the cost to produce 7nm and smaller semiconductors, and thus revolutionize the chip manufacturing supply chain.

According to reports, the EUV equipment’s optical system is greatly simplified while power consumption is reduced by a factor of ten, raising the prospect of much cheaper advanced chip-making machines.

If so, it could mark the end of ASML’s monopoly on EUV lithography, which would have serious implications for semiconductor manufacturers, investors and governments.

The Cygnus spacecraft is filled with nearly 8,200 pounds of supplies, hardware and other critical materials for dozens of scientific and research experiments, according to NASA.

That includes tests for water recovery technology and supplies needed for a process to produce blood and immune stem cells in microgravity. Also included in the payload are materials to study the effects of spaceflight on engineered liver tissue and microorganism DNA, NASA said.

Work to get the Sierra Space spaceplane ready for its first flight are ongoing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a lot of work still lies ahead.

Jim Baggott reviews Escape from Shadow Physics: the Quest to End the Dark Ages of Quantum Theory by Adam Forrest Kay.

Using a laser to raise the energy state of an atom ’s nucleus, known as excitation, can lead to the development of the most precise atomic clocks. This process has been challenging because the electrons surrounding the nucleus are highly reactive to light, necessitating more light to affect the nucleus. UCLA physicists have overcome this by bonding the electrons with fluorine in a transparent crystal, allowing them to excite the neutrons in a thorium atom’s nucleus using a moderate amount of laser light. This achievement paves the way for significantly more accurate measurements of time, gravity, and other fields, far surpassing the current accuracy levels provided by atomic electrons.

For almost half a century, physicists have envisioned the possibilities that could arise from elevating the energy state of an atom’s nucleus with a laser. This breakthrough would enable the replacement of current atomic clocks with a nuclear clock, the most accurate timekeeping device ever conceived. Such precision would revolutionize fields like deep space navigation and communication.

It would also allow scientists to measure precisely whether the fundamental constants of nature are, in fact, really constant or merely appear to be because we have not yet measured them precisely enough.

Hi, it’s Rainier Harris in New York. Ever struggled to hire a handyman? Try finding one willing to repair your roof while wearing a 300 pound suit, clinging to a rope about 250 miles above the Earth. But first …

This simulation created by researchers in the Netherlands might help us know more about mysterious black holes.

Join us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/MichaelLustgartenPhDDiscount Links/Affiliates: Blood testing (where I get my labs): https://www.ultalabtests.com/.…

Can machine learning be used to advance exoplanet science, and can this be done by non-scientists, as well? This is what Ariel Data Challenge 2024 hopes to address as participants from around the world will compete to develop machine learning algorithms designed to analyze data from space telescopes with the goal of gaining greater insight into exoplanet atmospheres. This competition will be featured at the NeurIPS 2024 machine learning conference and holds the potential to not only advance the field of exoplanets but also enable non-scientists to conduct pioneering research, as well.

“By supporting this challenge, we aim to find new ways of using AI and machine learning to develop our understanding of the universe,” said Dr. Caroline Harper, who is the Head of Space Science at the UK Space Agency. “Exoplanets are likely to be more numerous in our galaxy than the stars themselves and the techniques developed through this prestigious competition could help open new windows for us to learn about the composition of their atmospheres, and even their weather.”

Along with the UK Space Agency, other institutions supporting this challenge include the STFC DiRAC HPC Facility, European Space Agency (ESA), and STFC RAL Space. The competition is named after the ESA’s Ariel Space Mission, which is currently scheduled for launch in 2029 with the goal of using the transit method for identifying more than 1,000 exoplanets.