China Makes Breakthrough With Thorium Nuclear Reactor. Where is the West?

Nuclear reactors that use thorium as fuel have many advantages over those that use uranium. Thorium is common and easy to mine, its waste is safer to handle, and the material also can’t be used as easily in weapons. Recently, a team of scientists from China announced a breakthrough in their thorium reactor project – let’s take a look at just what they’ve done and what the rest of the world is doing for developing thorium nuclear reactors.

What is time, really?

What is time? That question is hard to answer because it’s really asking a bunch of different questions, like “Why does it feel like time passes?”; “What separates now from the future and past?”; “Where does time come from?” and “What do we even mean by time?” Today I have a look at all those questions and what physics has taught us about them.

Can Warp Drives Be Engineered? This Former NASA Researcher Thinks So

Warp drives are science fiction technology that allow spaceships to travel faster than the speed of light. Physicists have tried to make sense of this by contracting the space in front and expanding the space behind the ship. In a new paper, a former NASA scientist outlines how we can engineer such warp drives. Really? Let’s take a look.

AI Is Breaking The Internet As We Know It

People clicking on things is the most basic building block of the internet. But as we rely on AI more and more, fewer people are actually clicking things, and soon the only thing we might be interacting with are AI agents who do the rest for us. This isn’t a good development. Let’s take a look at how AI is reshaping the internet, and what that means for the future of information sharing.

Speed-of-Light Computing Could Get Us to AGI Very Fast

Photonic computers are processors that use light – not electricity – to complete their calculations. In theory, photonic computers are both faster and more efficient than today’s silicon chips, and – according to the headlines – the technology is making serious progress. Does the technology live up to the hype? Let’s take a look at the current state of photonic computing.

Where does everything come from?

The universe is full of an unending number of different things, from plants and animals to gas giants and supernovae. But where did all of this stuff (for lack of a better word) come from? Let’s take a look.

Big Tech Wants To Build Data Centers In Space: Does This Make Sense?

Data centers are all the rage right now thanks to AI, and SIlicon Valley is looking to push the concept of data centers to the extreme. Across tech, executives now say they want to build data centers in space, claiming putting computers into Earth’s orbit is both efficient and necessary. Is this true or have these guys gone mad? Let’s take a look.

100+ Years Old Debate About Quantum Reality Settled With Experiment. Really?

In quantum physics, a wave function is a mathematical way to describe everything in the universe. But since quantum physics emerged, physicists have argued about whether or not the wave function is real. A group of physicists recently conducted a test of a theorem that describes the mechanics of the wave function, and they’ve told the press that they’ve settled the question: Yes, the wave-function is real. Let’s take a look.

New Fossils Suggest That Life On Earth Started Twice

A group of scientists suggests that the origin of life for complex organisms on Earth might have occurred not once, but twice. This challenges our current understanding of early evolution and the biological history of our planet. However, their findings have been rather controversial. Let's have a look at the evidence.

The Next Big Thing in Tech is Almost Here

Spintronics is short for “spin electronics,” and refers to the study of the spin of the electron. In electronic devices, spintronics leverages the spin of electrons to process and store data with extreme efficiency – this technology is just a few years from reaching the consumer market, and will make your devices faster and more efficient. For a price, of course. Let’s take a look at how spintronics got here and where it’s going.

Reality Doesn’t Need Complex Numbers, Physicists Prove

Complex numbers are created when you add a real number and an imaginary number (like “i”). These numbers are used throughout math and physics, notably in the Schrödinger equation, which is the key to quantum physics. In 2021, physicists published a paper claiming that you can’t entirely get rid of complex numbers in quantum physics, but two teams of physicists recently published papers disputing that claim. Let’s take a look.

The Big Problem With Solar Power

Solar power is one of the most popular sources of renewable energy, due to both its cost-effectiveness and the fact that solar panels emit zero greenhouse gases. But according to new analyses, solar isn’t as cheap as we’ve been led to believe. Let’s take a look at the real cost of solar power and other problems with the technology.

15 Year-Old Just Finished his PhD in Quantum Physics. I had a look at his thesis.

A 15-year-old Belgian boy just finished his PhD in quantum physics, publishing a thesis focused on Bose-Einstein condensates. First, let’s take a look at his PhD thesis and then discuss the reality of going for a physics PhD in 2025.

Solar System Moves Way Too Fast, Cosmological Theory in Doubt

According to new data analysis, our solar system is traveling through the universe roughly 3 times faster than our current models predict it should be moving. Why is this, and why does it matter? Let’s take a look.

Small Nuclear Reactors are Coming --- Against All Odds

Small modular nuclear reactors are supposed to fix the problem of conventional nuclear reactors being too expensive and time-consuming to build. But we’ve been hearing about how promising they are for 15 years now. So where are they? A report that just appeared sheds light on what happened.

I Worry AI Might Become Conscious – And We Won’t Notice

AI is changing the world – how we work, how we write, and how we consume media. But it doesn’t seem like many people are interested in how AI is learning to think about itself. I am convinced that eventually AI will become conscious and I am beginning to worry that we simply wouldn’t notice because no one is watching out for it.

This is a special time in human history

In today's video I want to talk about why I am optimistic about the future and why I think that some major technological breakthroughs in nuclear fusion, artificial intelligence, and genetic engineering are just around to corner.

Scientists may have detected dark matter.

A physicist from Japan claims that he has found the first direct evidence for dark matter in very highly energetic gamma-ray emissions from the centre of our galaxy. Let’s have a look at the paper.

Huge Gravity Anomaly Discovered!

Scientists just found a massive 7,000 kilometer-long gravitational anomaly off the coast of Africa in data from a NASA satellite. The anomaly occurred from 2006 to 2008 and has now disappeared. What caused it? Let’s have a look.

All of Nature Needs only One Constant, Physicists Prove

Physics has 7 base units: seconds, metres, kilograms, amperes, kelvins, moles, and candela. Of those, we technically only need the first three to calculate the latter four. But according to a new paper, we can actually calculate the first three as well – from a single constant. Let’s take a look.