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Memory-centric SRAM chips cut space telescope power 59x and lighten satellites
21 days ago•Source: Interesting Engineering
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39.17 min•25 days ago
Ferrari’s Ive-designed Luce defies online ridicule with booming sales
Ferrari's first EV, the Luce, designed with Jony Ive, faced online ridicule yet is on track to meet its 2026 target of 500 units (out of 2,500 by 2030) with strong orders and a raised full-year forecast; Q2 revenue reached 1.94 billion euros, and the company remains focused on attracting wealthy buyers in China and Silicon Valley, even as U.S. EV sales soften.
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MIT advances photonic links to petabit-speed data transfer
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AI-guided search uncovers two new superconductors, hints at billions of candidates
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Hollow-core fiber field test hits 1.2 Tb/s per wavelength, 51.3 Tb/s total
Chinese researchers demonstrated the world’s first field trial of a hollow-core fiber transmission system capable of 1.2 Tb/s per wavelength, achieving a total of 51.3 Tb/s over roughly 128 miles without repeaters. The advance uses adaptive per-wavelength rate control, flexible channel power allocation, and a cascaded high-power amplifier design with up to 33.5 dBm output, along with safeguards to monitor stability and prevent failures, underscoring hollow-core fiber’s potential for faster, lower-latency backbone networks.
Seaweed-based additive makes earthen 3D-printed buildings stronger and faster
Researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder and Columbia University found that adding a tiny amount (0.12%) of the seaweed-derived biopolymer sodium alginate to local clay and sand dramatically improves 3D printability and strength of earthen structures, enabling 33% faster printing and 25% higher load resistance. The approach allows onsite soil recycling, reduces reliance on concrete, and could spur discovery of other natural polymers to boost durability of 3D-printed earthen walls.
ASML Leads Europe’s Long Game of Innovation
Fortune’s Europe’s Most Innovative Companies 2026 ranking spotlights ASML at the top for advanced lithography, highlights Europe’s growing but uneven semiconductor ecosystem, and celebrates long‑running firms like Siemens, Michelin, Nokia, and Adidas for reinventing themselves through culture, R&D, and digital transformation, while policy pushes such as Chips Act 2.0 aim to strengthen Europe’s industrial base and AI‑driven infrastructure.
Floating Ocean Data Centers Target Cheaper, Emission-Free AI Compute
Panthalassa, a Peter Thiel–backed startup, is testing Ocean-2—self-propelled, floating data-center nodes that generate power from open-ocean waves and cool electronics with cold seawater—aiming commercial operation by 2027 as a cheaper, emission-free alternative to SpaceX’s orbital data centers, with plans for thousands of buoys in the Southern Ocean and potential on-site hydrogen production if the concept proves viable.
Nerdy Escorts Ride Silicon Valley's AI Gold Rush
A Forbes feature highlights a niche group of high-end escorts who cater to Silicon Valley’s AI crowd, charging thousands per hour by blending technical savvy with intimate companionship. Clients are often founders or researchers drawn to deep conversations about AI and tech, turning recruitment-like, nerd-first marketing into a premium service amid a broader AI wealth boom. The piece argues authenticity and human connection remain a rare luxury in a world of endless digital companionship, justifying sky-high prices while underscoring the risks and ethical ambiguities of the venture.
Quantum Fluctuations Yield 20x Boost in Laser Interactions Without Extra Power
Chinese researchers used bright squeezed vacuum, a quantum light state, to amplify nonlinear laser interactions by over 20x at the same average energy, reducing damage risk and enabling tunable interaction strength through light statistics—potentially advancing attosecond science and ultrafast optical technologies.
Quantum-Fluctuation Light Sparks 20x Laser Boost at the Same Power
Chinese researchers show that bright squeezed vacuum, a quantum light state, boosts nonlinear laser interactions by over 20x without increasing average power, enabling safer, more controllable ultrafast optics; the effect is tunable by adjusting the light’s quantum statistics and could impact attosecond science and high-intensity laser applications.
China rolls out energy-smart 200-qubit Hanyuan-2 quantum computer
China unveils Hanyuan-2, a 200-qubit dual-core quantum computer built on neutral-atom technology that uses under 7 kW and can operate in conventional environments, with its two cores sharing workloads and aiding error correction for real-world industrial use, developed by CAS Cold Atom Technology in Wuhan for commercialization.
Biodegradable fruit wash removes pesticides and keeps grapes fresh for 15 days
UBC researchers developed a biodegradable, starch-based fruit wash using iron and tannic acid that binds and removes 86–94% of surface pesticides and then forms an edible, breathable coating that slows oxidation and moisture loss, keeping grapes firm for up to 15 days at room temperature and suggesting a low-cost option for both households and food processors pending regulatory approval.
Switchable quantum material promises real-time control for future chips
US researchers identify a nickel sulfide compound, KxNi4S2, that reversibly switches between Dirac-cone and flat-band quantum states by electrically tuning potassium content, enabling real-time control of electron speed and flow. Demonstrated at Argonne's Center for Nanoscale Materials and Advanced Photon Source, the work could simplify device design and boost future chip and sensor performance; the study was published in Matter.