Inside the cores of ice giant planets, the pressure and temperature are so extreme that the water residing there transitions into a phase completely unfamiliar under natural conditions on Earth.
Known as ‘superionic water’, this form of water is a type of ice. However, unlike regular ice, it’s actually hot, and also black.
For decades, scientists thought that the superionic water in the core of Neptune and Uranus was responsible for the wild, unaligned magnetic fields that the Voyager 2 spacecraft saw when passing them.
Demand is booming for batteries that are faster, thinner and cheaper. We want electric cars and bikes that travel further, devices that last longer, charge quicker and cost less. Today, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) set the benchmark. But after decades of research, this technology is approaching its limits, and each new gain is harder to achieve.
Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries are a promising next-generation technology. They store far more energy than LIBs by weight and are made from cheap, readily available materials.
But here’s the catch. Current Li–S batteries take up around 1.5 to 2.0 times more space than LIBs. In other words, their volumetric capacities are much lower. That’s a serious bottleneck because in many real-world applications, space matters more than weight. From portable electronics, electric vehicles to aerospace systems, every inch of space matters.
Invites you to drift through a calm, cosmic timeline—from our early beginnings to the dream of space exploration—framed by the idea of Kardashev civilization levels. The narration moves at a soft, unhurried pace, gently explaining what Type I, II, and III energy milestones mean, and exploring hopeful paths through science, cooperation, and new ideas. A soothing, sleep-friendly focus makes this a peaceful listen for winding down, inviting quiet curiosity about big questions without rushing to conclusions.å\.
When we talk about the universe, we usually imagine space filled with galaxies, stars, and matter expanding endlessly in all directions. It feels natural to think of the universe as a vast container — a place where everything exists. But modern theoretical physics suggests that this picture may be deeply misleading.
In this video, we explore a more fundamental question: what is the universe really made of? Is it space? Matter? Energy? Or something far more abstract than our everyday intuition allows?
Drawing on ideas associated with Leonard Susskind, this long-form exploration challenges the assumption that the universe is a physical stage where reality takes place. Instead, physics increasingly points toward a universe defined not by objects and locations, but by information, relationships, and boundaries.
Black hole physics, quantum theory, and modern cosmology have forced scientists to rethink the foundations of reality. In some of the deepest descriptions of nature, space and time no longer appear as fundamental ingredients. What we experience as a three-dimensional universe may be an emergent structure — a convenient description rather than the true underlying reality.
Rather than focusing on equations, this video emphasizes intuition and conceptual understanding. Through thought experiments and simple analogies, we examine why the universe feels like a place, why that picture works so well at human scales, and why it may break down at the most fundamental level.
Researchers have created a self-healing composite that is tougher than materials currently used in aircraft wings, turbine blades and other applications—and can repair itself more than 1,000 times. The researchers estimate their self-healing strategy can extend the lifetime of conventional fiber-reinforced composite materials by centuries compared to the current decades-long design-life.
The work is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“This would significantly drive down costs and labor associated with replacing damaged composite components, and reduce the amount of energy consumed and waste produced by many industrial sectors—because they’ll have fewer broken parts to manually inspect, repair or throw away,” says Jason Patrick, corresponding author of the paper and an associate professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering at North Carolina State University.
The agency also says studies show microgravity affects the development of bone marrow cells.
And while astronauts on the Space Station are shielded from much of the cosmic and solar radiation by the Earth’s magnetosphere, the Artemis II crew will fly beyond our planet’s protective layer.
Artemis II astronauts donate platelets that contain cells with a portion of stem and progenitor cells from their bone marrow.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission returned safely to Earth after 167 days in orbit, completing hundreds of hours of research aboard the International Space Station.
🤖 Q: How will the US military become an AI-first warfighting force?
A: The Department of War will implement continuous experimentation, conduct quarterly force-on-force combat labs, and deploy AI coordinated swarms across all domains from Pentagon back offices to tactical front lines, building on the military AI lead established during President Trump’s first term.
🎯 Q: What defines responsible AI for military applications?
A: The Department of War defines responsible AI as objectively truthful and mission-relevant capabilities employed securely within laws governing military activities, focusing on factually accurate models without ideological constraints limiting lawful military applications.
