Inside Short New research from Caltech and Oratomic suggests that fault-tolerant quantum computers may only need 10,000-20,000 qubits—much fewer than previously thought—which could speed up times up to this decade. The team has developed highly efficient quantum error correction systems using systems of neutral atoms, reducing the number of physical qubits from 1,000 to five. … Read more
At its most important, science often challenges logic. And the new discovery may be the most absurd of all: water breaks. A recent paper in Physical Review Letters, “Unexpected Fracture of Solids in Soft Liquids,” reports exactly that—when liquids are stretched with enough force, a supposedly liquid material breaks like a solid. Research suggests that … Read more
James Webb Telescope (JWST) discovered small galaxies with black holes that are not well understood. These black holes, located in galaxies with masses much smaller than those traditionally associated with supermassive black holes (SMBHs), challenge long-held beliefs about how galaxies and their central black holes evolve. The discovery of these “extreme” black holes pushes the … Read more
See larger ones. | The Perseverance rover captured this view as it zoomed up to the rim of Jezero Crater on December 5, 2024. The rover has now found rubies on Mars, or perhaps sapphires, small pebbles outside the crater rim. Image still from video by NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ ASU/ MSSS. NASA’s Perseverance rover has found … Read more