With so much fascinating research going on in quantum science and technology, it’s hard to pick just a handful of highlights. Fun, but hard. Research on entanglement-based imaging and quantum error correction both appear in Physics World’s list of 2024’s top 10 breakthroughs , but beyond that, here are a few other achievements worth remembering as we head into 2025 – the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology . In July, physicists at Germany’s Forschungszentrum Jülich and Korea’s IBS Center for Quantum Nanoscience (QNS) reported that they had fabricated a quantum sensor that can detect the electric and magnetic fields of individual atoms . The sensor consists of a molecule containing an unpaired electron (a molecular spin) that the physicists attached to the tip of a scanning-tunnelling microscope. They then used it to measure the magnetic and electric dipole fields emanating from a single iron atom and a silver dimer on a gold substrate. Not to be outdone, an international team led by researchers at the University of Melbourne, Australia, announced in August that they had created a quantum sensor that detects magnetic fields in any direction . The new omnidirectional sensor is based on a recently-discovered carbon-based defect in a two-dimensional material, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). This same material also contains a boron vacancy defect that enables the sensor to detect temperature changes, too. One of the challenges with transmitting quantum information is that pretty much any medium you send it through – including high-spec fibre optic cables and even the Earth’s atmosphere – is at least somewhat good at absorbing photons and preventing them from reaching their intended destination. In July, a team at the University of Chicago, the California Institute of Technology and Stanford University proposed a novel solution . A continent-scale network of vacuum-sealed tubes, they suggested, could transmit quantum information at rates as high as 10 13 qubits per second. This would exceed currently-available quantum channels based on satellites or optical fibres by at least four orders of magnitude. Whether anyone will actually build such a network is, of course, yet to be determined – but you have to admire the ambition behind it. Speaking of ambition, this year saw a remarkable flurry of ideas for using quantum devices and quantum principles to study gravity. One innovative proposal involves looking for the gravitational equivalent of the photoelectric effect in a system of resonant bars that have been cooled and tuned to vibrate when they absorb a graviton from an incoming gravitational wave. The idea is that absorbing a graviton would change the quantum state of the column, and this change of state would, in principle, be detectable. Another quantum gravity proposal takes its inspiration from an even older experiment : the Cavendish torsion balance. The quantum version of this 18 th -century classic would involve studying the correlations between two torsion pendula placed close together as they rotate back and forth like massive harmonic oscillators. If correlations appear that can’t be accounted for within a classical theory of gravity, this could imply that gravity is not, in fact, classical. Perhaps the most exciting development in this space, though, is a new experimental technique for measuring the pull of gravity on a micron-scale particle . Objects of this size are just above the limit where quantum effects start to become apparent, and the Leiden and Southampton University researchers who performed the experiment have ideas for how to push their system further towards this exciting regime. Definitely one to keep an eye on. It wouldn’t be quantum if it wasn’t at least little bit weird, so here’s a few head-scratchers for you to puzzle over. Exploring this year’s best physics research in our Top 10 Breakthroughs of 2024 This year, researchers in China substantially reduced the number of qubits required to verify an online shopping transaction . Physicists in Austria asked whether a classical computer can tell when a quantum computer is telling the truth . And in a development that’s sure to warm the hearts of quantum experimentalists the world over, physicists at the SLAC National Laboratory in the US suggested that if your qubits are going haywire and you don’t know why, maybe, just maybe, it’s because they’re being constantly bombarded with dark matter . Using noisy qubits to detect dark matter? Now that really would be a breakthrough. Note: The verification e-mail to complete your account registration should arrive immediately. However, in some cases it takes longer. Don't forget to check your spam folder. If you haven't received the e-mail in 24 hours, please contact customerservices@ioppublishing.org .hen the two Voyager probes launched into space in 1977, they were headed to uncharted territory. It was the humanity had sent robot spacecraft to study up close the four giant outer planets of our solar system: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Stunning images and scientific data captured by the probes over the next few decades of the cosmos. Through the Voyagers, we learned of Jupiter’s , the tilted magnetic field of , a rotating storm on Neptune called the Great Dark Spot, and Saturn’s dynamic rings. We also discovered 23 new moons of the outer planets and found that these moons were not the dead, frozen worlds scientists had suspected. Saturn’s moons appeared to be composed mostly of water ice, while active volcanoes on Jupiter’s moon Io spewed lava dozens of miles high. Eventually, the two spacecraft would not just the four giant planets, but 48 of their moons, as well as the rings, atmospheres, and magnetic fields those planets possess. Once the Voyagers’ tour of the four planets was complete in 1990, the world’s attention faded; but the probes continued to provide remarkable insights into the dynamics of the solar system, including ultraviolet sources among the stars and the boundary between the sun’s influence and interstellar space. Even today, both probes continue sending back data about the interstellar medium, the space between the stars, says Linda Spilker, NASA’s project scientist for the Voyager missions—including precise measurements of the density and temperature of the thin ionized gases it contains and the incidence of high-energy cosmic rays. Some experts give the Voyagers only about five years before we lose contact. More than 45 years after they first launched, the Voyagers are now NASA’s and the most distant human-made objects from the Earth—but they will one day soon go offline and drift silently into the final frontier, perhaps for eternity. NASA has been progressively shutting down the instruments and cameras on the spacecraft for decades, to extend their working lives to the limit by using as little electricity as possible. One of Voyager 1’s last photographs, for example, was the famous “ ” taken in 1990, shortly before its cameras were powered off forever. And since the late 1990s, engineers have commanded both Voyagers to shut down instruments related to plasma science, the strength of electromagnetic fields, and the analysis of starlight. Some experts give the Voyagers only about five years before we lose contact. “There’s been a big push to try to keep the mission going until the 50th anniversary of their launches,” in 2027, says Johns Hopkins space scientist Ralph McNutt, who witnessed the Voyager 1 launch from Florida’s Cape Canaveral in 1977 and has been involved with the Voyager missions throughout his career. “We’ll see.” , Voyager 1 is now more than 15 billion miles from Earth, about three times the average orbit of Pluto, where radio signals take about 23 hours to reach it; while its twin Voyager 2 is almost 13 billion miles away. The probes are still in fragile radio contact with Earth, and their instruments show both have passed the “heliopause”—the theoretical outer edge of the solar system, where the wind of charged particles from the sun finally comes to an end. They are now drifting through interstellar space. But the probes are running critically short of electricity from what are called their “nuclear batteries”—actually radioisotope thermoelectric generators that make electricity from the radioactive decay of plutonium. The fading power of the probes and the difficulties of making contact over more than 10 billion miles means that, one day soon, one or other of the Voyagers won’t answer NASA’s daily attempts to communicate via the Deep Space Network of radio dishes. Both probes use heaters to keep key instruments warm and keep the hydrazine in the fuel lines liquid: When the fuel freezes up, the probes won’t be able to use their thrusters to keep their main radio antennae pointed at the Earth, and their communications will come to an end. Newer space probes are now exploring the outer reaches of the solar system, including the . McNutt is overseeing an instrument on that probe, which is now heading for the “termination shock” where the solar wind first impacts the interstellar medium, about 5.5 billion miles from the Earth—almost twice the distance from Earth to Pluto. He’s also one of the principal scientists behind the proposal, which could launch as soon as 2036. Its technology will be 50 years more advanced than the Voyagers, and it could reach the same distance in half the time. For McNutt, it’s a “pleasant surprise” that the Voyagers are still working after all these years: “I joke with people: If you go back and look at the original papers, the Voyagers were designed to work for four and a half years,” he says. “We’ve outlived the warranty by a factor of 10.” Even when the Voyagers can no longer communicate with Earth, it will not be the end of their mission. Both probes bear the famous 12-inch “ ” of the sounds of Earth, greetings in more than 50 languages, music by Mozart and Chuck Berry, and a star map showing how to get here. The designers of the probe hoped that one day these records might be played by alien spacefarers far from Earth. And their hopes may someday come true: Voyager 1 will get relatively near a star in the constellation Camelopardalis in about 40,000 years, while Voyager 2 will near a star in the constellation Andromeda at about the same time. It’s possible that the Voyagers may one day be overtaken by newer probes from Earth, but for now they are humanity’s ambassadors to the stars; when their communications to the Earth cease, that will become their final mission. Posted on Tom Metcalfe is a science journalist based in London, where he writes mainly about space, energy, archaeology, Earth, and the oceans. He has written for and others. Cutting-edge science, unraveled by the very brightest living thinkers.
The semiconductor industry faces heightened tensions as Chinese industry associations warn domestic companies against purchasing U.S. chips, describing them as 'no longer safe.' This cautionary message comes in response to renewed U.S. export controls targeting China's semiconductor sector, intensifying the long-standing trade conflict between the two countries. The United States, aiming to curb China's technological advancement, has restricted exports to 140 Chinese companies, affecting giants like Nvidia, AMD, and Intel. Despite this, the Semiconductor Industry Association refutes claims of U.S. chip unreliability and calls for precise export controls aligned with national security goals, advocating de-escalation. In retaliation, Beijing has banned exports of critical minerals used in military and manufacturing applications, indicating a strategic shift. These developments underscore a deeper economic tussle, where both nations strategize to reduce dependencies and secure their technological futures in a rapidly changing global landscape. (With inputs from agencies.)Purewave Hydrogen Corp Announces Appointments to the Advisory Board
‘Let’s not panic’: Canada picks up the pieces after Latvia loss at world juniors
NEW YORK, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Alex Mashinsky , the founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two counts of fraud. Mashinsky, 59, was indicted on July 13, 2023, on seven counts of fraud, conspiracy and market manipulation charges. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said he misled customers of Celsius to persuade them to invest, and artificially inflated the value of his company's proprietary crypto token. He pleaded not guilty later that day. On Tuesday, during a hearing before U.S. District Judge John Koeltl, Mashinsky said he pleaded guilty to two out of the seven counts he was initially charged with: commodities fraud, and a fraudulent scheme to manipulate the price of CEL, Celsius’ in-house token. In court, Mashinsky admitted to giving Celsius customers “false comfort” by giving an interview in 2021 in which he said Celsius had received approval from regulators for its “Earn” program, which it had not. He said he also failed to disclose that he had been selling his holdings of CEL, the platform’s in-house token. “I know what I did was wrong, and I want to try to do whatever I can to make it right,” Mashinsky said. As part of his plea deal with prosecutors, Mashinsky agreed not to appeal any sentence of 30 years or less - the maximum he faces for the two counts. Mashinsky was one of several crypto moguls to be charged with fraud after a slump in crypto prices in 2022 caused a number of companies, including now-bankrupt exchange FTX, to collapse. Prices for digital assets like Bitcoin have since surged, in part due to optimism about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump 's expected policies friendly toward cryptocurrency. Founded in 2017, Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2022 after customers rushed to withdraw deposits as crypto prices fell. Many were initially unable to access their funds. The company exited bankruptcy on Jan. 31, and has pivoted to Bitcoin mining. Crypto lenders such as Celsius grew rapidly as crypto prices surged during the COVID pandemic. They promised easy loan access and eye-popping interest rates to depositors, then lent out tokens to institutional investors, hoping to profit from the difference. Celsius was among the first in a series of bankruptcies in the cryptocurrency sector in 2022 as token prices cratered amid rising interest rates and stubbornly high inflation. It filed for bankruptcy shortly after Singapore-based crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and rival crypto lender Voyager Digital did so. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan accused Mashinsky and Celsius' former chief revenue officer, Roni Cohen-Pavon, with manipulating the market for the company's crypto token, known as Cel. Cohen-Pavon pleaded guilty in September 2023 and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors' investigation. Prosecutors have said Mashinsky also personally reaped approximately $42 million in proceeds from selling his holdings of the Cel token. FTX's founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted of stealing roughly $8 billion from the exchange's customers in November 2023 and sentenced in March to 25 years in prison. Sign up here. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Additional reporting by Dietrich Knauth in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Will Dunham and Deepa Babington Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Thomson Reuters Reports on the New York federal courts. Previously worked as a correspondent in Venezuela and Argentina.
Gisele Bündchen and ex Tom Brady are celebrating Vivian Brady reaching the endzone of another year. The pregnant supermodel and former New England Patriots quarterback—who divorced in 2022 following 13 years of marriage—rang in their daughter's 12th birthday with adorable tributes on social media. For Tom's part, the NFL Hall of Famer—who also shares son Benjamin Brady , 14, with Gisele, as well as son Jack Brady , 17, with ex Bridget Moynahan —gave a special shout to his "forever baby girl" alongside a carousel of images, including one snap of the two posing together in front of the Eiffel Tower at the 2024 Olympics . "Watching you grow and chase after your dreams are the proudest moments of my life," Tom continued in his Dec. 5 Instagram post . "Your love, compassion, and joy fill up every room that you’re in, and will always make your daddy smile. You light up my life!" He added, "Here’s to a great day filled with all the laughter and love that you deserve. I love you infinity x infinity!!!" And Gisele—who is currently expecting a baby with boyfriend Joaquim Valente —paid tribute with her own series of photos showing her and Vivian basking in the sun on the beach, riding horses and enjoying a sweet embrace at sunset. Atop the trio of Dec. 5 Instagram Stories, she wrote, "Happy birthday to my ray of sunshine." "You are the best daughter a mom could ever ask for," the 44-year-old continued, "and I'm so blessed to be your mama!" Of course, her daughter isn't the only one hitting new milestones in the family. Gisele recently showed off her bumpin' baby belly while hitting the beach with Joaquim amid their babymoon in Costa Rica . And as for how Gisele and Tom feel about their kids coming into their own? As long as they maintain their family's values, Tom's happy to watch them gain more independence. "I'm trying to raise them—we all are, myself and their mom—in a very loving way toward one another," Tom told E! News last year, "to be very kind, to be empathetic and to have great perspective." For more heartwarming moments between Tom and his kids, read on... Gisele Bündchen shared this family photo on Instagram on Tom Brady 's son Jack 's 14th birthday, writing, "Happy birthday Jack! We are all so lucky to have you in our lives. Thank you for being the best big brother in the world. We love you soooo much!" While wearing his Christopher Cloos x Brady sunglasses, Tom celebrates his Super Bowl win with daughter Vivian during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers boat parade. After winning his seventh Super Bowl, the Tampa Bay quarterback celebrated with his daughter Vivian. Tom snuggled with his kids John "Jack" Moynahan (with ex Bridget Moynahan ), Vivian and Benjamin in this adorable photo snapped by Gisele on Father's Day. Brady went from quarterback to coach with his son on the beach, writing on Instagram that he's "#dadsfavoriteworkoutpartner." Gisele shared this adorable photo on Instagram of Tom giving his son a kiss on the forehead. The whole Brady-bünch posed together at the Mercedes-Benz in Atlanta ahead of the Super Bowl LIII, which the Patriots later won . Tom lurked as Pennywise the Dancing Clown in a window behind his family as they celebrate Halloween in 2018. As Tom geared up for another football season, he stopped to give his daughter a little love and clearly this one has her dad's full attention. In July 2018, the Brady bunch headed out of town for a family vacation and they couldn't look any happier on their horseback riding adventure. Tom celebrated Father's Day with a family dinner and lots of silly photos with his younger son, Ben. There's nothing sweeter than seeing the greatest quarterback of all time (he has seven Super Bowl rings) get smothered in love by his three kids. Even though it was springtime, Tom bundled up with Ben for a fun day outside...complete with a little training. Tom Brady as the Easter bunny? Who would've guessed?! The super sweet family was all smiles during one of Brady's episodes of Tom vs. Time . After playing in another Super Bowl, Tom took a little break with his family, complete with burger time and selfies. Even though the Patriots lost the 2018 Super Bowl, Tom had his support squad ready and waiting to cheer him up. Ahead of Super Bowl LII, the Patriots QB posed for pictures with his whole family including Gisele and oldest son Jack, second-born Ben, and daughter Vivian. The New England Patriots quarterback showed his second oldest son a little love on his birthday in December of 2017, writing , "Happy Birthday to the sweetest 8 year old boy a mom and dad could ever ask for! So filled with love and joy! We are so proud of you Benny! And you shine a light that brightens our lives every day! We love you." Vivian was the ultimate sous chef as her dad made her biscuits before Thanksgiving and really, what can't Brady do? The dynamic duo of Tom and Ben spent a November day swinging in a hammock together and we really wish we had some R&R like this in our near future. Leave it to Tom to teach his son more than just football. The Brady crew rolled around in the grass and enjoyed spending time together in June 2017 and it really does look like they are having a blast. Who says you're too old to make funny faces? When the Patriots headed back to Boston for their parade celebration after their 2017 Super Bowl win, Tom brought Ben along for the ride making him the coolest dad around. Winning the Super Bowl in 2017 was great, but getting to celebrate with your daughter on the field is priceless. In 2017, Vivian gave her dad a big good luck kiss before he headed out for a game. Seriously, these two are so stinking cute. Tom's fans span near and far, but his biggest fans are his three kids and their "Brady" jerseys continually make us love them even more as a unit. Decorating the Christmas tree is twice as fun when you have your precious daughter helping you out...especially when she's dressed as a fairy! The football player loves to spend his off time with his adorable kiddos at the beach and we totally approve.