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Daily Maverick
08-08-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Deadly shootout with police in Randfontein, and more from around the world
Moving, tragic, surprising, inspiring, terrifying, shocking... This is a selection of images from our planet, over the past seven days. Anti-nuclear weapons protesters Marian Doub (L) and her husband, Bob Thawley (R) hold hands while particpating in a symbolic die-in on the 80th Anniversary of Hiroshima Day, in front of the West Gate of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), known for its work in nuclear weapons design, stockpile stewardship, and nonproliferation efforts, as well as advancements in areas like laser fusion energy and biomedical research, in Livermore, California, USA, 06 August 2025. In 1945, the United States dropped two nuclear bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 06 and 09 August respectively, killing more than 200,000 people. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO
Yahoo
04-08-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
China takes bold step forward in global race for limitless energy device: 'We have fully mastered the core technologies'
China takes bold step forward in global race for limitless energy device: 'We have fully mastered the core technologies' China is rapidly closing in on an achievement that could transform the way we power homes, cities, and industries forever. The country has entered the final assembly phase of a next-generation fusion reactor called the Burning Plasma Experiment Superconducting Tokamak, which is expected to be operational by 2027, per Popular Mechanics. If it's successful, BEST would mark a major milestone in the race toward achieving fusion energy, a process that mimics the same physics that power the sun. Unlike conventional energy sources, fusion doesn't rely on fossil fuels such as coal and oil. It's more environmentally friendly because it does not produce heat-trapping pollution or long-lived radioactive waste (like fission energy does) and uses abundant fuel sources such as hydrogen. The potential payoff is limitless, low-cost, renewable power. According to state media and the South China Morning Post, BEST is an intermediary step between China's earlier tokamak project and a much larger demonstrator called the Chinese Fusion Engineering Test Reactor. "We have fully mastered the core technologies, both scientifically and technically," chief engineer Song Yuntao told the Post. In 2022, the United States made global headlines when researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory achieved net energy output from fusion for the first time. China is now doubling down on its own efforts, building not only BEST but a network of other fusion and hybrid reactors. Fusion energy could someday power entire cities with minimal fuel and near-zero pollution. This would dramatically slash energy costs for residents and businesses while also reducing the amount of heat-trapping gases we generate, which is driving rising global temperatures. That means cleaner air and fewer health issues, such as respiratory and heart diseases, linked to pollution. While skeptics have said that fusion is always "30 years away," the BEST project and its American counterpart, SPARC — built by a startup spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — are showing real results. With a target date of 2027, BEST may help bring fusion's promise into the real world much sooner than expected. Should the U.S. be investing more in battery production to catch up with China? Absolutely We're investing a good amount We should be investing less I have no idea Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. Solve the daily Crossword
India Today
22-06-2025
- India Today
The end of hacking? How Isro and DRDO are building an unhackable quantum future
In a world increasingly reliant on digital infrastructure, securing data is no longer a luxury — it is a necessity. While today's encryption systems rely on mathematical complexity, the cybersecurity of tomorrow will be grounded in the laws of quantum the heart of this revolution is quantum entanglement, a phenomenon Albert Einstein famously described as 'spooky action at a distance.'advertisementIndia, through the collaborative efforts of Isro and DRDO, is taking bold steps to harness this concept and build hack-proof quantum communication systems that could secure everything from satellite signals to financial transactions. When you log into your bank account or send a private message, your password acts as a lock protected by complex mathematical algorithms. Even the most powerful supercomputer—like El Capitan at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, capable of 1.742 quintillion calculations per second—would take centuries to break this the looming threat is real: fully developed quantum computers could solve these puzzles in seconds. This means emails, bank transactions, and national secrets could be exposed instantly if we don't transition to quantum-secure communication. India currently lags in satellite-based execution. (Photo: Isro) advertisementGOING QUANTUMSo, how does quantum entanglement make communication secure?Imagine sending messages so secure that any attempt to hack them triggers an automatic alarm—like a cosmic tripwire. This is the promise of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD). When two particles, such as photons, are entangled, their states remain linked regardless of distance. It's like rolling one magical die on Earth and seeing the same result on another at the edge of the a quantum setting, two users — commonly called Alice and Bob — exchange encryption keys using quantum particles. If a third party, Eve, tries to intercept the key, the quantum state is disturbed, immediately alerting the users to the transmitted through air, fiber optics, or satellites, quantum-secure communication ensures that any eavesdropping attempt is not just detectable — but automatically shuts down the process. With this technology, India is paving the way for a future where data is truly QUANTUM SECURITYThere are several ways to implement quantum-secure communication: through optical fibers, free-space air links, and increasingly, satellite-based quantum communication is well-suited for secure links within cities, while free-space communication is used for rooftop or mobile the real game-changer is satellite-based quantum communication, where satellites transmit quantum keys across hundreds—or even thousands—of is making significant strides in this domain. ISRO recently demonstrated entanglement-based quantum-secure communication over a 300-meter distance, where encrypted video was successfully decrypted using secure quantum keys transmitted via photons and lasers. In another breakthrough, DRDO, in collaboration with IIT Delhi, achieved hack-proof communication over a distance of more than 1 achievements are not only technologically sophisticated but also strategically vital for national defense and critical infrastructure GLOBAL SCENARIOGlobally, China leads the race with its Micius satellite, enabling secure Quantum communication over 1,200 kilometres, followed by pioneering urban experiments in Europe and the India currently lags in satellite-based execution, its dual-pronged civil-military approach gives it a unique 1 km free-space and 100 km fiber demonstrations are impressive but lag behind China's satellite Isro has already outlined plans for space-based quantum communication, and DRDO is targeting secure battlefield and rural deployment. Together, they are laying the foundation for a national quantum communication grid..@DRDO_India & @iitdelhi demonstrate Quantum Entanglement-Based Free-Space Quantum Secure Communication over more than 1 km distancePaves way for development in quantum cyber security, quantum networks & future quantum internetIndia has entered into a new quantum era of PIB India (@PIB_India) June 16, 2025advertisementWHY IT MATTERS TO YOUQuantum communication may sound like science fiction, but it is fast becoming a national priority. In an era where digital threats evolve faster than defences, India's focus on entanglement-based secure channels is more than a scientific milestone—it is a strategic embracing the strange yet powerful laws of quantum physics, India is preparing to leapfrog into a new age of secure, sovereign communication could make your online transactions, personal data, and even national security systems unhackable. As Isro and DRDO push toward a quantum internet, India is joining an elite group of nations building a secure digital future. With more investment, India's quantum leap could soon rival the world's best, ensuring your secrets stay safe in the quantum Watch
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Firefly Aerospace to launch 'Ocula' moon-imaging service as early as 2026
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Firefly Aerospace's lunar ambitions are growing. The Texas-based company, which successfully operated its Blue Ghost lander on the lunar surface earlier this year, announced today (June 18) that it's working on a new moon project: a "lunar imaging service" called Ocula. "Powered by a constellation of Elytra vehicles in lunar orbit, and eventually Mars orbit, Ocula will provide critical data that informs future human and robotic missions and supports national security with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance," Firefly CEO Jason Kim said in an emailed statement. "This service will fill a void for our nation with advanced lunar imaging capabilities and a sustainable commercial business model." Firefly is developing its Elytra vehicle for a variety of uses in Earth orbit and deep space, including the region around the moon. The Ocula project will equip Elytra probes with high-resolution telescopes developed by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy facility in the California Bay Area. These scopes will be able to resolve features as small as 8 inches (20 centimeters) on the lunar surface from an altitude of 31 miles (50 kilometers), according to Firefly. "With ultraviolet and visible spectrum capabilities, the telescopes are designed to support situational awareness of other objects in cislunar space, enable fine-grained lunar surface details and identify concentrations of ilmenite, which indicates the presence of helium-3," Firefly representatives wrote in the emailed statement. (Helium-3, a potential fuel for future nuclear fusion reactors, is thought to be more abundant on the moon than it is on Earth.) Ocula data could also help researchers and planners select landing sites for future robotic or crewed missions, the company added. Firefly aims to license the data to both government and commercial customers. Related Stories: — 'We're on the moon!' Private Blue Ghost moon lander aces historic lunar landing for NASA — Watch sparks fly as Blue Ghost lander drills into the moon (video) — Watch the sun set over the moon in epic video from private Blue Ghost lunar lander If all goes according to plan, Ocula will kick off next year, on the second Blue Ghost lunar landing mission. An Elytra with an LLNL scope will serve as the transfer vehicle for that mission, which will put Blue Ghost down on the moon's far side (and also deliver a European Space Agency probe to lunar orbit). Elytra will serve as a communications relay for Blue Ghost and its payloads for the duration of the lander's roughly two-week-long surface mission. After those duties are done, Elytra will begin its Ocula work, imaging the lunar surface in detail for more than five years. Another scope-equipped Elytra will launch in 2028, on the third Blue Ghost mission. And other spacecraft will follow in the ensuing years, if all goes to plan. "Firefly will expand its constellation of Elytra vehicles in lunar orbit to further enhance the Ocula service and enable faster revisit times for situational awareness, resource detection and mission planning," Firefly wrote in the statement. "Longer term, the service can also be extended to Mars and other planetary bodies."
Geek Wire
10-06-2025
- Business
- Geek Wire
AWS and national lab team up to deploy AI tools in pursuit of fusion energy
Sustainability: News about the rapidly growing climate tech sector and other areas of innovation to protect our planet. SEE MORE Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility in Livermore, Calif. (LLNL Photo) Amazon Web Services is teaming up with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory — home to the world's only facility to achieve fusion ignition — to develop artificial intelligence tools to advance the lab's efforts, the two announced today. AWS and LLNL's National Ignition Facility are working together to build an AI-driven troubleshooting and reliability system, and have already deployed generative AI capabilities into the fusion lab's operations. The focus is on using AI to produce real-time solutions to anomalies that arise in the research and addressing increasing operational demands. More than two years ago, NIF reported that it had produced more energy from a fusion reaction than went into it, an accomplishment known as ignition. Since then, the facility has hit that mark seven additional times, most recently in April when it nearly tripled the amount of energy produced in December 2022. Researchers internationally are trying to recreate the fusion reactions that power the Sun — developing 'star in a jar' technologies that will allow humanity to produce nearly limitless clean energy on Earth. That power is increasingly in demand as data centers continue expanding and other sectors of the economy are electrifying their operations. In the new partnership with the federal lab, AWS's AI could help solve the very energy consumption problems it is helping to create. The National Ignition Facility has hit ignition eight times in fusion experiments conducted at LLNL. (LLNL Chart) 'I'm excited to unleash the superpower that is AI on NIF operations,' said Kim Budil, director of LLNL, in a statement. 'By leveraging our extensive historical data through advanced AI techniques, we're solving today's problems faster and paving the way for predictive maintenance and even more efficient operations in the future.' Last week, Washington state companies Helion Energy, Zap Energy and Avalanche Energy participated in a Seattle-area summit to share their progress in working towards commercialized fusion. In the past they celebrated NIF's experiments as a validation that their ambitions are possible. No other facility anywhere has demonstrated fusion ignition, and NIF's objective is strictly research, as opposed to building reactors to put power on the grid. One of the interesting applications being pursued at NIF is unleashing AI on more than 98,000 archived problem logs stretching back 22 years. The documents are a trove of lessons learned, including symptoms, causes and the steps taken to fix the problems. A release from the California-based national lab said the partnership could 'establish a new standard for AI application in high-stakes scientific facilities and may influence operational approaches at other national laboratories.' David Appel, vice president of U.S. Federal Sales at AWS, called LLNL 'an innovation and scientific powerhouse, and we're extraordinarily proud of our partnership together.'
