Sciencey Stuff
- Thread starter tarheel0910
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Well this is a topic I did not expect to read about today.
You Can't Keep Your Parents' Skulls
I consume a lot of words in various mediums on a wide range of topics but I don't think I've ever heard the verb "de-flesh" before.
You Can't Keep Your Parents' Skulls
I consume a lot of words in various mediums on a wide range of topics but I don't think I've ever heard the verb "de-flesh" before.
Best weather app around. I've had it on my phone for a couple years now. Love it.
- For the first time, a machine that runs on the mind-boggling physics of quantum mechanics has reportedly solved a problem that would stump the world’s top supercomputers — a breakthrough known as “quantum supremacy.”
If validated, the report by Google’s AI Quantum team constitutes a major leap for quantum computing, a technology that relies on the bizarre behavior of tiny particles to encode huge amounts of information. According to a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature,Google’s Sycamore processor performed in less than three and a half minutes a calculation that would take the most powerful classicalcomputer on the planet 10,000 years to complete.
The achievement has been compared to the Wright brothers’ 12-second first flight at Kitty Hawk — an early, aspirational glimpse at a revolution to come. By providing exponentially greater calculation power than the machines we use today, quantum computers could one day transform the way we communicate ideas, conceal data and comprehend the universe.
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The result is also a feather in the cap for both Google and the United States because quantum technology is expected to confer huge economic and national security advantages to whoever can master it first.
The quantum revolution is coming, and Chinese scientists are at the forefront
The technology community has been abuzz about the breakthrough ever since a leaked version of the study was published on (and then removed from) a NASA website last month. Writing in the magazine Quanta, Caltech theoretical physicist John Preskill called the result “a remarkable achievement in experimental physics and a testament to the brisk pace of progress in quantum computing hardware.”
But the claim has also prompted skepticism from competitors. Researchers at IBM, which has been working on its own quantummachines, argued in a blog post this week that a classical computersystem would in fact take two and a half days to perform the calculation in Google’s report — and would make fewer mistakes in the process. The IBM scientists also questioned the use of the James Bond-esque term“quantum supremacy,” which seems to imply that classical computers are about to become obsolete.
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Whoever turns out to be right, quantum supremacy is a largely symbolic achievement; the specific task assigned to the Google computer has no practical application.
But Preskill, who coined the term in 2012, wrote in Quanta that he aimed to convey the notion that “this is a privileged time in the history of our planet,” when the most arcane laws of physics might be harnessed for human ambitions.
One bit, two bit, red bit, qubit
Scientists have known for a century that the predictable laws ofNewtonian physics — objects fall down; matter can only be in one place at one time — fall apart at the atomic and subatomic level.
In this quantum realm, electrons leap instantaneously from one energy state to another. Particles can exist in multiple states at the same time, a phenomenon known as “superposition.” They can also stay connected across large distances, which Einstein called “spooky” and modern physicists call “entanglement.”
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With quantum computing, scientists can put these weird, wild particles to work.
Classical computers encode information in “bits,” an electrical or optical pulse that can represent either a 0 or 1. Eight bits constitute a “byte,”which can typically store one character — for example, the letter A, or a dollar sign. The first 8-inch floppy disk held 242,944 bytes. Apple’s new iPhone 11 comes with 64 billion bytes.
The Summit system at Oak Ridge National Lab, a classical supercomputer that takes up two tennis courts’ worth of floor space and can perform 200 quadrillion calculations per second, boasts a whopping 250 petabytes of storage — in bytes, that number comes out to about 250,000,000,000,000,000.
Seven basic questions about quantum technology, answered
But superposition means that a quantum bit, or qubit, isn’t confined to being either 0 or 1. It can exist as both at once. This means it can carry twice as much information, a power that increases exponentially with each qubit added: Two qubits convey four possible numbers; three are able to carry eight; four is the equivalent of 16. Entanglement further beefs up a system’s computing power by allowing it to perform multiple calculations at once.
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By the time you get up to 53 qubits — the size of both Google’s Sycamore processor and a similar machine being built at IBM — you’re approaching the potential of supercomputers like Summit.
That is, if your quantum computer works. A faint noise or a glimmer of heat can alter a superposition, leading to errors. Measuring a particle, or disturbing it in any way, will cause the superposition to “decohere,” or collapse. The qubit becomes an ordinary bit. Add more qubits to a system, and decoherence happens even faster.
That’s what stands between researchers like those at Google and the quantum world they hope to attain. To build an effective quantum computer, scientists must figure out how to create and manipulate entangled qubits that last long enough to actually do something interesting with them.
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The quantum world
The possibilities presented by quantum computing are what entice companies and governments to keep plugging away at it.
Several technology companies are competing to create quantum machines; IBM has even made its prototype available online for anyone to use. Last year, President Trump signed into law the National Quantum Initiative Act, which establishes research centers to focus on quantum information science. Meanwhile, China has spent billions on quantum technology development.
Industry dominates Trump’s new council of science advisers
The most obvious potential applications of this research are in the realm of national security. Entangled particles could one day be used for “quantum communication” — a means of sending super-secure messages that doesn’t rely on cables or wireless signals. The tremendous processing power of quantum computers might be used to break previously unbreakable codes.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/scie...ntists-say-theyve-achieved-quantum-supremacy/
1 cigaretteman, Today at 10:29 AM
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Crashed lunar lander spilled tardigrades on the moon
In fact, Spivack isn’t even the first to leave DNA on the moon. This honor belongs to the Apollo astronauts, who left nearly 100 bags of human feces on the lunar surface before they returned to Earth.
In fact, Spivack isn’t even the first to leave DNA on the moon. This honor belongs to the Apollo astronauts, who left nearly 100 bags of human feces on the lunar surface before they returned to Earth.
I only recently learned about tardigrades but I'm a big fan.
Wasn't sure exactly where to put this but it seems sciencey enough.
India's Living Root Bridges
Tree trunks are planted on each side of the bank to create a sturdy foundation, and over the course of 15 to 30 years, the Khasi slowly thread Ficus elastica roots across a temporary bamboo scaffolding to connect the gap. A combination of humidity and foot traffic help compact the soil over time, and the tangle of roots grows thick and strong. Mature bridges stretch 15 to 250 feet over deep rivers and gorges, and can bear impressive loads—upwards of 35 people at a time.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...-root-bridges-clean-village-mwalynnong-india/
India's Living Root Bridges
Tree trunks are planted on each side of the bank to create a sturdy foundation, and over the course of 15 to 30 years, the Khasi slowly thread Ficus elastica roots across a temporary bamboo scaffolding to connect the gap. A combination of humidity and foot traffic help compact the soil over time, and the tangle of roots grows thick and strong. Mature bridges stretch 15 to 250 feet over deep rivers and gorges, and can bear impressive loads—upwards of 35 people at a time.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...-root-bridges-clean-village-mwalynnong-india/
May the fifth force be with you.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/22/world/fifth-force-of-nature-scn-trnd/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/22/world/fifth-force-of-nature-scn-trnd/index.html
And they set the bulls up with viewers to watch some hot bovine porn to get them "ready" for stud service?
They have. The only problem is they haven't found anyone willing to take the viewers off the bull.
That's how you create a zombie apocalypse!!
I wanted you to be surprised. I'll give you a heads up for any snake related stuff though.
Heads up @Raising Heel, this story isn't about a snake but it is a long and skinny animal. Don't be scared.
https://www.livescience.com/longest-animal-ever-underwater-australia.html
https://www.livescience.com/longest-animal-ever-underwater-australia.html
It's amazing how much information we can get from a telescope.
My wife’s BFF is a grad from unc with a nursing degree and is a teacher at uncw. I came across her twitter account ...she’s a flat earther. My first experience with knowing one personally. Gonna be interesting.
We need a full report for each encounter. Should make a good read.
I had to lol, someone was giving her hell about it on twitter and her response was “do you believe everything you read?” he came back with “well I read your stuff and I don’t believe it so....no I don’t”
savage
Dragon is a massive breakthrough for all future manned space missions. Hopefully everything goes well.
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