A pair of researchers at Applied Physics has created what they describe as the first general model for a warp drive, a model for a space craft that could travel faster than the speed of light, without actually breaking the laws of physics. Alexey Bobrick, and Gianni Martire have written a paper describing their ideas for a warp drive and have…
Tag: applied physics
A surprising find of fast-moving gas from a young star
Fast-moving gas from a young star – located in a star-forming region 400 light-years away – is giving astronomers insight into how planets form. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/no-lup-surprising-find-outflowing-gas-young-star…
The Audacious Plan to Launch a Solar-Powered Rocket Into Interstellar Space
Ars Technica glimpsed a possible future at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory: a solar simulator “that can shine with the intensity of 20 Suns…” “They think it could be the key to interstellar exploration.” “It’s really easy for someone to dismiss the idea and say, ‘On the back of an envelope, it looks great, but if you actually build…
Pluto’s snowcapped mountains are unlike any on Earth
A new study shows how methane snow accumulates on Pluto’s mountain peaks. These snowcaps – first seen by New Horizons in 2015 – look a lot like ones on Earth, but form in a very alien environment. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/methane-snowcapped-mountains-on-pluto-new-horizons…
AI Claims ‘Flawless Victory’ Going Undefeated In Digital Dogfight With Human Fighter Pilot
“A simulated F-16 Viper fighter jet with an artificial intelligence-driven ‘pilot’ went undefeated in five rounds of mock air combat against an actual top Air Force fighter jockey today,” reports The Drive in an update to a story shared by Slashdot reader schwit1. From the report: The event was the culmination of an effort that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency…
Simulations show lander exhaust could cloud studies of lunar ices
A new study led by scientists at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, shows that exhaust from a mid-sized lunar lander can quickly spread around the Moon and potentially contaminate scientifically vital ices at the lunar poles. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-08-simulations-lander-exhaust-cloud-lunar.html…
Researchers Achieve AI Breakthrough Using Light To Perform Computations
“Researchers have achieved a breakthrough in the development of artificial intelligence by using light instead of electricity to perform computations,” reports the Independent. “The new approach significantly improves both the speed and efficiency of machine learning neural networks…”
A paper describing the research, published this week in the scientific journal Applied Physics Reviews, reveals that their photon-based (tensor) processing unit (TPU) was…
Giant Waves of Sand Are Moving On Mars
“Researchers have spotted large waves of martian sand migrating for the first time,” reports Science magazine. “The discovery dispels the long-held belief that these ‘megaripples’ haven’t moved since they formed hundreds of thousands of years ago. They’re also evidence of stronger-than-expected winds on the Red Planet.” It’s pretty staggering that humans can detect these changes on Mars, says Ralph Lorenz, a…
Making the case for slingshotting past Venus on the way to Mars
A team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, North Carolina State University and NASA, has proposed, via whitepaper, that NASA should direct its Mars-bound spacecraft to fly by Venus first. In their paper, uploaded to the arXiv preprint server, the researchers outline their arguments for an opposition mission, as opposed to a conjunction mission. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-07-case-slingshotting-venus-mars.html…
Life inside Pluto?
The dwarf planet’s hot birth may have created a warm internal ocean, and where there’s warm water, there might be life. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/life-inside-pluto-internal-ocean…