Two intellectual property lawyers on why questions of AI inventorship and profit remain wide open
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The Genius of Computing with Light
Check out shortform and get a FREE trial and $50 OFF the annual plan! at https://www.shortform.com/DrBen.
PsiQuantum are world leaders in the race to utility-scale quantum computing, but they have been shrouded in mystery for over a decade…until now.
Thanks to some good fortune and incredible generosity from the PsiQuantum team I was able to get behind the scenes and see what makes their ground-breaking quantum computer ‘click’
You can see their public paper here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08820-7
0:00 Silicon Valley’s Most Secretive Quantum Computer.
1:38 A Quantum Computer that runs on Light.
6:03 How to Create a Single Photon.
9:00 How to Build a Quantum Clock.
10:48 Ad Read.
11:54 Detecting Single Photons.
15:00 Creating the Perfect Material.
18:19 How to do math with light.
21:45 How to Build a Scalable Quantum Computer.
24:27 Converting Space to Time.
27:25 The First Photonic Quantum Computer Demonstrator.
PATREON:👨🔬 🚀 http://patreon.com/DrBenMiles.
Microsoft can now store data for 10,000 years on everyday glass thanks to laser breakthrough
Breakthrough improvements to Microsoft’s glass-based data-storage technology mean ordinary glassware, such as that used in cookware and oven doors, can store terabytes of data, with the information lasting 10,000 years.
The technology, which has been in development under the “Project Silica” banner since 2019, has seen steady improvements, and scientists outlined the latest innovations today (Feb. 18) in the journal Nature.
A single inhalation of vapor from dried toad secretion containing 5-methoxy-N
See my Comment below for a link to the original article in NATURE.
5-methoxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine (hereinafter referred to as 5-MeO-DMT) is a psychedelic substance found in the secretion from the parotoid glands of the Bufo alvarius toad. Inhalation of vapor from toad secretion containing 5-MeO-DMT has become popular in naturalistic settings as a treatment of mental health problems or as a means for spiritual exploration. However, knowledge of the effects of 5-MeO-DMT in humans is limited.
Outer rocky world challenges planet-forming theory
Dr. Ryan Cloutier: “We’ve seen this pattern: rocky inside, gaseous outside, across hundreds of planetary systems. But now, the discovery of a rocky planet in the outer part of a system forces us to rethink the timing and conditions under which rocky planets can form.”
What can rocky planets orbiting in the outer parts of a solar system teach scientists about planetary formation and evolution? This is what a recent study published in Science hopes to address as a team of scientists have discovered a rocky planet orbiting in the outer reaches of an exoplanetary system. This study has the potential to challenge longstanding hypotheses regarding the solar system architecture, specifically regarding rocky planets orbiting closer to their star and larger gas giants orbiting farther away.
For the study, the researchers analyzed four exoplanets in the LHS 1903 system orbiting a red dwarf star, the latter of which is smaller and cooler than our Sun. Due to the planets orbiting closer to their star than our planets orbiting our Sun, the researchers estimated the orbital periods for the four exoplanets were between 2.2 and 29.3 days. However, the researchers were surprised to discover that while the innermost planet was rocky and the second the third planets were gaseous, the outermost planet was also rocky. As a result, this finding contradicts longstanding notions about solar system architecture, specifically regarding our own solar system that rocky planets orbit closer to the star while outer planets are gaseous.
Measuring chaos: Researchers quantify the quantum butterfly effect
For the first time, researchers in China have accurately quantified how chaos increases in a quantum many-body system as it evolves over time. Combining experiments and theory, a team led by Yu-Chen Li at the University of Science and Technology of China showed that the level of chaos grows exponentially when time reversal is applied to these systems—matching predictions of their extreme sensitivity to errors. The research has been published in Physical Review Letters.
The butterfly effect is a well-known expression of chaos theory. It describes how a complex system can quickly become unpredictable as it evolves: make just a few small errors when specifying the system’s starting conditions, and it may look completely different from your calculations a short time later.
This effect is especially relevant in many-body quantum systems, where entanglement creates intricate webs of interconnection between particles—even in relatively small systems. As the system evolves, information about its initial state becomes increasingly dispersed across these connections.
New electrolyzer turns plastic-waste syngas into ethylene with less energy
For every ton of ethylene created, one ton of carbon dioxide is produced. With more than 300 million tons of ethylene produced each year, the production system has a huge carbon footprint that scientists and engineers are eager to reduce and eventually eliminate. A new device developed in Ted Sargent’s lab at Northwestern takes a step toward breaking that cycle.
The device, an electrolyzer, has three innovations. It uses electricity to create ethylene from syngas, a waste gas produced from plastic. It uses a novel material to help catalyze the reaction. And it does so in an efficient way, reducing the overall energy needed for the system.
The results, published Feb. 17 in Nature Energy, can be used with renewable energy sources to help pave the way for a greener ethylene supply chain.