TechnoScience

A new way of controlling the expansion of matter in a freely-falling Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) has produced the coldest effective temperature ever measured: 38 pK (10-12 K) above absolute zero. The method, which allowed researchers in Germany and France to image the condensate’s evolution for more than two seconds, opens the door to enhanced measurements of the gravitational constant g and photon recoil, and could even offer an alternative means of detecting gravitational waves. Image credit - Pixabay At two billionths of a degree above absolute zero, however, this wasn’t quite cold enough. So the team ran an experiment at the Bremen Drop Tower research facility, dropping the BEC trap 120 m (393.7 ft). During the free fall, the team switched the magnetic field containing the gas off and on repeatedly. To do so, the researchers started with a cloud of 100,000 rubidium atoms trapped in a magnetic field in a vacuum chamber. They then cooled this down to form a quantum gas called a Bo...

Image credit - Pixabay Twitter is developing new feature to roll out labels for automated accounts (or bot accounts), the company announced Thursday. “Examples of automated accounts you might see on Twitter include bots that help you find vaccine appointments and disaster early warning systems,” Twitter said in an FAQ. “When these accounts let you know they’re automated, you get a better understanding of their purpose when you’re interacting with them.”  Last year, the company finally solidified those plans, saying it would later introduce new features that would allow users to be able to distinguish between human-run accounts and those that were automated. When Twitter launched its account verification system in May, it reminded users that it would soon offer other ways to identify different types of accounts beyond the long-coveted blue badge — such as labels for bots.  What's a bot and what's not? We're making it easier to identify #GoodBots and their automated Tweets ...

Image credit - Unsplash Apple just sent out invites for its September 14 event, titled "California Streaming". Although Apple hasn't stated what's coming in the invite, it typically announces new iPhones at this time of the year, and the odds are good that we'll see the iPhone 13 series unveiled from Apple Park. The event will take place on September 14 at 10am PDT, or 10.30pm IST. The last event from Apple was the "Spring Loaded" event in April where the company unveiled the new iPad Pro lineup, and with the California Streaming event, we can expect new iPhones, but also potentially the Apple Watch Series 7, and the AirPods 3. Apple usually holds in-person fall hardware events inviting the media from across the globe, but for the past year, it has switched to digital-only format due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Apple events are known for creating the pre-hype around its products, a format that has now become standard in the tech industry. As per Th...

Simulation of colliding particles Exploring a metal superconductor comprised of both Germanium and Niobium (NbGe2), Boston College Assistant Professor of Physics Fazel Tafti, along with colleagues from Florida State University and the University of Texas in Dallas, discovered that a strong interaction between phonons and electrons modify the transport of electrons from their typical, particle-like (or diffusive) motion, to a hydrodynamic, of fluid-like, motion. And this marks the first discovery of an electron-phonon liquid within the NbGe2 substance, said Tafti in an embargoed release shared with IE. "We wanted to test a recent prediction of the 'electron-phonon fluid'," he added in the release, emphasizing how phonons are a crystal structure's vibration. "Typically, electrons are scattered by phonons which leads to the usual diffusive motion of electrons in metals. A new theory shows that when electrons strongly interact with phonons, they will form a unite...

Image © TechCrunch Cao Cao Mobility, the ride-hailing unit of Chinese automaker Geely Automobile Holdings, has announced a $589 million (RMB 3.8 billion) Series B raise that the company says will help it upgrade its technology and expand its fleet, according to a statement released by the company (in Chinese). The raise, which Cao Cao announced on Monday, brings the company’s total funding to around $773.2 million (RMB 5 billion). Suzhou Xiangcheng Financial Holding Group, an investment company backed by the Xiangcheng district government of Suzhou, led the round along with Suzhou High-Speed Rail New City Group and three other state-controlled enterprises. This raise comes amid troubles for Cao Cao’s biggest competitor, Didi Global, the Chinese ride-hailing app that’s currently under cybersecurity investigation by the Chinese government and has been temporarily removed from Chinese app stores causing stocks to plummet. Didi has been a ride-hailing staple in China, so any setbacks can c...

Image credit - Unsplash Technology-savvy aliens could be powering their society using a hypothetical megastructure called a Dyson sphere to harvest energy from a black hole. And the sphere might radiate in peculiar ways, allowing telescopes on Earth to discover the existence of intelligent beings elsewhere in the universe, a new study suggests. A Dyson sphere is a speculative structure that would encircle a star with a tight formation of orbiting platforms in order to capture starlight and produce power. First proposed by theoretical physicist Freeman Dyson in 1960, the idea might be realized by a spacefaring extraterrestrial species who had spread out across their star system and therefore required ever-increasing amounts of energy. Dyson's answer is the Dyson sphere, or "a hollow ball built around the sun would solve the space and energy problems," according to his paper. Therefore, it's a theoretical device that sits around an entire star and harvests its energy. I...

Image credit - Pixabay Recently there's was a rumor of Apple sattelite phone. It was that Apple phone let you connect your iPhone to satellites so you can contact emergency services in areas that don’t have cellular coverage, according to a new Bloomberg report. Bloomberg’s article was published after Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Sunday that the iPhone 13 may be able to make satellite calls. Kuo often reveals details about Apple’s plans before the company officially announces them, but Bloomberg’s sources indicate that Apple’s approach for iPhone satellite connectivity may be more limited to start.  Bloomberg reported on Sunday that Apple has no plans “now, next year or anytime in the near future” to create a satellite iPhone. According to the outlet, Apple’s hardware isn’t ready to support calling and texting without cell coverage yet. It would also be expensive and could make the mobile carriers the company works with very, very angry. Although there is no satellite iPhone in ...

New research has discovered that the strength of the connection between our brain and internal organs is linked to how we feel about our appearance New research has discovered that the strength of the connection between our brain and internal organs is linked to how we feel about our appearance. Published in the journal Cortex, the study is the first to investigate, and first to identify, the association between body image and the brain’s processing of internal signals that occur unconsciously. Carried out by a team of psychologists and neuroscientists at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), the study found that adults whose brains are less efficient at detecting these internal messages are more likely to experience body shame and weight preoccupation. This research could have therapeutic implications for people suffering with conditions in which body image plays a significant role. For example, the unconscious signals could be made conscious. Further research could even be applied to the c...

Image © Quantum Machines Quantum Machines, an Israeli startup that is building the classical hardware and software infrastructure to help run quantum machines, announced a $50 million Series B investment today. Today’s round was led by Red Dot Capital Partners with help from Exor, Claridge Israel, Samsung NEXT, Valor Equity Partners, Atreides Management, LP, as well as TLV Partners, Battery Ventures, 2i Ventures and other existing investors. The company has now raised approximately $83 million, according to Crunchbase data. While quantum computing in general is in its early days, Quantum Machines has developed a nice niche by building a hardware and software system, what they call The Quantum Orchestration Platform, that helps run the burgeoning quantum machines, leaving it plenty of room to grow as the industry develops. Certainly Quantum Machines co-founder and CEO Itamar Sivan, who has been working in quantum his entire career, sees the vast potential of this technology. “Quantum co...

Google Drive new features The update will allow users to access files using the browser even when offline. Google back in 2019 had begun beta testing the Google Drive offline feature. In a significant boost to the dynamics of the application, Google Drive will now be offering assistance for offline mode. Google in a recent post has declared that users will now be able to access PDFs, images and Office files even while using the application, offline, following the latest update. The company also notified that to avail benefit, users need to first mark the files to be made available offline.  Google Drive is one of the most popular cloud storage platforms. Part of productivity apps offered by Google, it allows users to backup, sync, and access files on different devices. It is also a popular tool used to share files, photos, PDFs and other documents. Another added advantage is that multiple users can work on the same file at the same time. Google recently announced an important updat...