Colorado startup Boom Supersonic is planning to show off its XB-1 supersonic plane on October 7th, with flights planned for next year. Engadget reports: [Boom Supersonic founder Blake Scholl] describes himself as an Objectivist (a follower of the teachings of Ayn Rand) and previously worked for both Groupon and Amazon. He freely admits that, beyond his private pilots license, he does…
Tag: tokyo
Ferried across: Figuring out unconventional spin transport in quantum spin liquids
Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) and Yokohama National University (YNU) have uncovered the peculiar mechanism by which spin perturbations travel through a seemingly unpassable region of a quantum spin liquid system. This new insight may represent another building block in next-generation electronics and even quantum computers. …
Twenty Years On, Japan Government’s Digital Ambitions Still Stuck In Piles of Paper
Two decades after Japan rolled out an ambitious plan to go digital, the COVID-19 crisis has exposed the government’s deeply rooted technological shortcomings as ministries remain stuck in a paper-driven culture that experts say is hurting productivity. Reuters reports: While Tokyo has made “digital transformation” its main policy plank this year, the switch may not prove so easy as bureaucrats from…
Nishinoshima volcano belches ash and lava
A young volcanic island in the western Pacific Ocean has been going through a vigorous growth spurt since mid-June 2020. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/nishinoshima-volcano-belches-active-june-july-2020…
Power Pioneer Invents New Battery That’s 90% Cheaper Than Lithium-Ion
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Lithium-ion batteries play a central role in the world of technology, powering everything from smartphones to smart cars, and one of the people who helped commercialize them says he has a way to cut mass production costs by 90% and significantly improve their safety. Hideaki Horie, formerly of Nissan Motor Co., founded Tokyo-based…
‘Japan Model’ Has Beaten Coronavirus, Shinzo Abe Declares
Prime minister Shinzo Abe has declared victory for the “Japan model” of fighting coronavirus as he lifted a nationwide state of emergency after seven weeks [Editor’s note: the link may be paywalled; alternative source]. From a report: Speaking at a press conference on Monday evening in Tokyo, Mr Abe said that Japan had avoided an explosive increase in cases without the…
Murder hornets? 5 questions answered about Asian giant hornets in North America
Are ‘murder hornets’ from Asia invading North America? An entomologist who lived among them in Japan explains what’s true about the predatory insects. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/what-are-asian-giant-hornets-dangerous…
A famous Mars meteorite, now with nitrogen
For the first time, nitrogen-containing organic molecules have been discovered in a Martian meteorite. The famous meteorite – Allan Hills 84001 – was picked up in Antarctica in 1984. The discovery provides more clues about habitable conditions on early Mars. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/mars-meteorite-alh-84001-1st-discovery-fixed-nitrogen…
Tesla’s Secret Batteries Aim To Rework the Math For Electric Cars and the Grid
Electric car maker Tesla plans to introduce a new low-cost, long-life battery in its Model 3 sedan in China later this year or early next that it expects will bring the cost of electric vehicles in line with gasoline models, and allow EV batteries to have second and third lives in the electric power grid. Reuters reports: For months, Tesla Chief…
Touching the asteroid Ryugu
It’s a spectacular achievement to rendezvous with an asteroid as it’s whizzing around the sun. It’s even more amazing to collect a sample. That’s what the Hayabusa2 spacecraft did in February 2019. Here’s what researchers learned. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/asteroid-ryugu-hayabusa2-findings…