Particles can sometimes act like waves, and photons (particles of light) are no exception. Just as waves create an interference pattern, like ripples on a pond, so do photons. Physicists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and their colleagues have achieved a major new feat—creating a bizarre “quantum” interference between two photons of markedly different colors, originating from…
Tag: interference
Reddit Bans 61 Accounts, Citing ‘Coordinated’ Russian Campaign To Interfere In UK Vote
“The prospect of Russian interference in Britain’s election flared anew Saturday after the social media platform Reddit concluded that people from Russia leaked confidential British government documents on Brexit trade talks just days before the general U.K. vote,” reports the Associated Press: Reddit said in a statement that it has banned 61 accounts suspected of violating policies against vote manipulation. It…
Astronomers catch a comet outburst
Remember comet 46P/Wirtanen? It was a bright comet about this time last year. Around the time it swept near the Earth and sun, the comet entered the field of view NASA’s TESS planet-hunter. And boom! It underwent an outburst, caught by TESS. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/comet-46p-wirtanen-outburst-caught-by-tess…
Defecting Chinese Spy Offers Information Trove To Australian Government
schwit1 shares a report from The Age, a daily newspaper published in Australia: A Chinese spy has risked his life to defect to Australia and is now offering a trove of unprecedented inside intelligence on how China conducts its interference operations abroad. Wang “William” Liqiang is the first Chinese operative to ever blow his cover. He has revealed the identities of…
Sacha Baron Cohen Gave the Greatest Speech on Why Social Networks Need To Be Put On Check
For an actor who made a career by playing silly characters, actor Sacha Baron Cohen gave yesterday one of the most eloquent and convincing speeches in a long time in support of cracking down on large social media networks to prevent the spread of lies and hate speech that these platforms allow. From a report: While accepting his award, Cohen touched…
Leaked Russian Interference Report Raises Questions About Brexit, UK Election Security
A report from the U.K. Parliament’s intelligence committee concludes that “Russian interference may have had an impact on the Brexit referendum,” reports the Times of London, adding that “the effect was ‘unquantifiable.'” The Associated Press reports:
The committee said British intelligence services failed to devote enough resources to counter the threat and highlighted the impact of articles posted by Russian new sites…
Awesome nightscape photos from New Mexico’s Very Large Array
Observatories make great locales for nightscape photography. Tips from an astrophotographer’s trip to the Very Large Array in New Mexico to help you plan an observatory astrophotography adventure – plus awesome photos. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/nightscape-photos-very-large-array-vla-observatory…
Digital Authoritarianism Is On the Rise Around the World, Report Warns
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNET: Internet freedom declined for a ninth consecutive year as governments around the world used social media to monitor citizens and manipulate elections, according to a new study that warned of creeping “digital authoritarianism.” Thirty-three of the 65 countries surveyed were found to have experienced worsening internet freedom since June 2018, compared with 16…
Facebook has a plan to tackle fake news – here’s why it won’t work
Ahead of the UK general election, Facebook says it is tackling interference and misinformation. But the firm’s efforts are unlikely to have much effect Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2221963-facebook-has-a-plan-to-tackle-fake-news-heres-why-it-wont-work/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
New Facebook Features Fight Election Lies Everywhere But Ads
Heaven forbid a political candidate’s Facebook account gets hacked. They might spread disinformation … like they’re already allowed to do in Facebook ads … From a report: Today Facebook made a slew of announcements designed to stop 2020 election interference. “The bottom line here is that elections have changed significantly since 2016” and so has Facebook in response, CEO Mark Zuckerberg…