Lifeboat Foundation

In a terrifying breakthrough similar to the metal morphing villain in Terminator 2, scientists at the University of Sussex and Swansea University have discovered a way to apply electrical charges to liquid metal and coax it into 3D shapes such as letters and even a heart.

This discovery has been called an “extremely promising” new kind of material that can be programmed to alter its shape.

Continue reading “Scientists Have Created Shape Shifting Liquid Metal That Can Be Programmed” »

There are about half a dozen other technological approaches to quantum computing vying for preeminence these days. The ion trap method differs from the most popular approach—the silicon chip-based “superconducting qubit”—preferred by the likes of IBM, Google, Intel, and other tech giants. Honeywell, the industrial conglomerate, is one of the few companies pursuing the ion trap approach along with IonQ.

“Quantum computers can potentially solve many of the problems we have today,” Chapman told Fortune on a call. He listed off potential areas of impact, such as drug discovery, energy, logistics, materials science, and A.I. techniques. “How would you not want to be part of that?”

“This is a once-in-a-generation type opportunity,” said Andrew Schoen, a principal at New Enterprise Associates, IonQ’s first backer. “We view this as a chance to build the next Intel.”

Continue reading “Amazon Prime Boss Named CEO of Google-Backed Quantum Computing Startup” »

Being an entrepreneur means being willing to take some risks. But Richard Browning doesn’t just put money on the line for his company — he risks his own life.

In 2017, Browning founded Gravity Industries. And since then, he’s served as the chief test pilot for the company’s flagship product, an Iron Man-style jet suit.

In a newly released video, Browning dons the latest version of the suit to fly over a lush green landscape — demonstrating how a concept once relegated to sci-fi is now an incredible reality.

Continue reading “Watch a Daring Fellow Fly an Iron Man-Style Jet Suit” »

They have successfully test-fired 3D-printed combustion chambers made from multiple materials.

The news: By combining their manufacturing and testing capabilities, small-satellite launcher Virgin Orbit and NASA created a rocket combustion chamber that was 3D-printed from multiple metals. A combustion chamber is the container where all the propellants get mixed up and ignite—so it must be able to cope with extreme heat and force. The test part that used the chamber generated more than 2,000 pounds of thrust in a series of 60-second test fires. You can watch a video of the test firing here.

Why are chambers a challenge? Because it has to withstand so much, it must be designed to a very high standard, meaning the part is expensive and time consuming to make.

Continue reading “NASA and Virgin Orbit have 3D-printed a working rocket engine part” »

Sony has been generously revealing details about its next-gen console, and here’s what we know so far.

DARK matter binds together our galaxy and many others like it when though we cannot see it or directly detect it – but what if the dark matter mystery could be solved using black holes and subatomic particles known as axions?

The idea of “liquid silicon” conjures images from a Terminator film. Fittingly, it is a nascent ’80s computing concept brought to life with modern fabrication techniques, with the potential to alter the course of the future for computer hardware.

“Liquid Si,” with its delicate layers of mono-crystalline silicon and stacked transistors, have real-world implications in the post-Moore semiconductor landscape.

Building unified computer hardware that incorporates system memory, I/O logic, and disk storage into the same module represents a long-standing goal for microchip architects, and attainment is closer now than ever. Using a process called monolithic 3D integration, modern fabrication machines can execute chip designs with silicon and semiconductor circuitry layered on the bottom, solid-state memory arrays on top, and a dense metal-to-metal bus sandwiched in between.

Continue reading “Is Liquid Silicon the Next Generation of Computer Hardware?” »

The new electronic vehicle platform supports up to 10Gb/s and over-the-air updates.

A new research project aims to harness the power of quantum computers to build a new type of neural network — work the researchers say could usher in the next generation of artificial intelligence.

“My colleagues and I instead hope to build the first dedicated neural network computer, using the latest ‘quantum’ technology rather than AI software,” wrote Michael Hartmann, a professor at Heriot-Watt University who’s leading the research, in a new essay for The Conversation. “By combining these two branches of computing, we hope to produce a breakthrough which leads to AI that operates at unprecedented speed, automatically making very complex decisions in a very short time.”