In 1969, University of Maryland physicist Doug Currie helped design three still-in-use lunar instruments placed on the moon by Apollo 11, 14 and 15. Fifty years later, Currie is the lead scientist for a just-approved NASA project to place next-generation versions of these instruments on the Moon. Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-07-nasa-umd-led-lunar-instruments-apollo.html…
Tag: Maryland
This Horrifying App Undresses a Photo of Any Woman With a Single Click
The $50 DeepNude app dispenses with the idea that deepfakes were about anything besides claiming ownership over women’s bodies.Source: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/kzm59x/deepnude-app-creates-fake-nudes-of-any-woman…
How To Evaluate Computers That Don’t Quite Exist
sciencehabit writes: To gauge the performance of a supercomputer, computer scientists turn to a standard tool: a set of algorithms called LINPACK that tests how fast the machine solves problems with huge numbers of variables. For quantum computers, which might one day solve certain problems that overwhelm conventional computers, no such benchmarking standard exists. One reason is that the computers, which…
Researchers explore architectural design of quantum computers
A recent study led by Princeton University researchers, in collaboration with University of Maryland and IBM, explored the architectural design of quantum computers (QC). In a paper presented at the 2019 ACM/IEEE International Symposium on Computer Architecture, the researchers performed the largest real-system evaluation of quantum computers to date, using seven quantum computers from IBM, Rigetti and the University of Maryland….
Millionaire Hacker Gets 9 Years In Death of Man Building Nuclear Bunker Tunnels
A wealthy stock trader and “skilled computer hacker” was sentenced Monday to nine years in prison for the fiery death of a man who was helping him secretly dig tunnels for a nuclear bunker beneath a Maryland home. Baltimore Sun reports: Daniel Beckwitt, 28, had faced a maximum of 30 years in prison when Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Margaret Schweitzer…
Perfect quantum portal emerges at exotic interface
Researchers at the University of Maryland have captured the most direct evidence to date of a quantum quirk that allows particles to tunnel through a barrier like it’s not even there. The result, featured on the cover of the June 20, 2019 issue of the journal Nature, may enable engineers to design more uniform components for future quantum computers, quantum sensors…
Ten US States Sue To Stop Sprint-T-Mobile Deal, Saying Consumers Will Be Hurt
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Ten states led by New York and California filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to stop T-Mobile’s $26 billion purchase of Sprint, warning that consumer prices will jump due to reduced competition. The complaint comes as the U.S. Justice Department is close to making a final decision on the merger, which would reduce the…
Asteroid strike simulation blasts New York City
It seems like play, but they’re serious. Every year, at the Planetary Defense Conference, asteroid experts from around the globe run days-long simulations of asteroids headed for major cities. In 2019, it was New York City’s turn. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/2019-planetary-defense-conference-simulates-asteroid-strike-nyc…
What Mars’ giant dust storm taught us
Before we send people to Mars, we need to understand more about how Martian dust could affect astronauts and their equipment. Here are 3 things we’ve learned from the planet’s 2018 global dust storm. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/understanding-mars-dust-storms…
65 years after Brown v. Board of Education, school segregation is getting worse
Source: https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/5/10/18566052/school-segregation-brown-board-education-report…