Interesting pattern in cross-sections observed in F + HD → HF + D reaction

A team of researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Southern University of Science and Technology, has discovered a thought-provoking pattern in cross-sections observed in an F + HD → HF + D reaction. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their double-pronged approach to learning more…

Nearby black hole Cyg X-1 more massive than thought

New research suggests that the famous black hole Cygnus X-1 – first black hole ever detected and one of the closest to Earth – is farther away and much more massive than previously believed. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/cygnus-x-1-black-hole-more-massive-farther…

Why Google’s Internet Balloon Project Loon Failed

Alphabet announced last month that it was winding down Loon, a nine-year-old project and a two-and-a-half-year-old spin off firm, after failing to find a sustainable business model and partners for one of its most prominent moonshot projects. Business Insider shares more details on why the project failed. From the report, which may be paywalled: CEO Alastair Wingarth told The New York…

Google Launches the First Developer Preview of Android 12

Almost exactly a year after Google announced the first developer preview of Android 11, the company today released the first developer preview of Android 12. From a report: Google delayed the roll-out of Android 11 a bit as the teams and the company’s partners adjusted to working during a pandemic, but it looks like that didn’t stop it from keeping Android…

A tiny spider can spin different types of web for land, air and water

Most spiders build one type of web, but a tiny spider on a Pacific island has adapted to build three different kinds depending on where it finds itself on a given day Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2267975-a-tiny-spider-can-spin-different-types-of-web-for-land-air-and-water/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

AEgIS on track to test freefall of antimatter

It’s a fundamental law of physics that even the most ardent science-phobe can define: matter falls down under gravity. But what about antimatter, which has the same mass but opposite electrical charge and spin? According to Einstein’s general theory of relativity, gravity should treat matter and antimatter identically. Finding even the slightest difference in their free-fall rate would therefore lead to…

US Navy Has Patents on Tech It Says Will ‘Engineer the Fabric of Reality’

The U.S. Navy has patents on weird and little understood technology. According to patents filed by the Navy, it is working on a compact fusion reactor that could power cities, an engine that works using “inertial mass reduction,” and a “hybrid aerospace-underwater craft.” From a report: Dubbed the “UFO patents,” The War Zone has reported that the Navy had to build…

Bimeronium: A new member of the topological spin textures family

Topological spin textures in magnetic systems are intriguing objects that exhibit exotic physics and have potential applications in information storage and processing. The most fundamental and exemplary topological spin texture is called the skyrmion, which is a nanoscale circular domain wall carrying a nonzero integer topological charge. The skyrmion texture in magnetic materials was theoretically predicted in the late 1980s, and…

The Mandalorian review: How special effects made the Star Wars series

State-of-the-art special effects combined with a compelling story makes Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian viewing to be savoured on Disney+ Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24933202-300-the-mandalorian-review-how-special-effects-made-the-star-wars-series/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…