Nuclear fusion

Canada Strengthens Global Cooperation on Energy and Climate at 2024 IEA Ministerial

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 14, 2024

The IEA is the leading global intergovernmental organization that provides independent analysis, data and policy recommendations on the global energy sector.

Key Points: 
  • The IEA is the leading global intergovernmental organization that provides independent analysis, data and policy recommendations on the global energy sector.
  • While at the IEA, Minister Wilkinson advanced the following priorities on behalf of the Government of Canada, all of which were reflected in the final IEA Ministerial Communique :
    1.
  • Implementing the Canada–US Memorandum of Understanding on Energy Cooperation, signed in June 2021, on sustainable and equitable energy transitions, clean energy innovation, connectivity and low-carbon transportation.
  • Canada is pleased to support the international energy and climate cooperation, research and programs of the IEA under the leadership of Dr.

AI tools produce dazzling results – but do they really have ‘intelligence’?

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Altman clearly has big plans for his company’s technology, but is the future of AI really this rosy?

Key Points: 
  • Altman clearly has big plans for his company’s technology, but is the future of AI really this rosy?
  • Today’s AI systems – particularly generative AI tools such as ChatGPT – are not truly intelligent.

What is AI?

  • This definition, like many others, is a little blurry: should we call spreadsheets AI, as they can carry out calculations that once would have been a high-level human task?
  • How about factory robots, which have not only replaced humans but in many instances surpassed us in their ability to perform complex and delicate tasks?

Making decisions vs generating outputs

  • Discriminative AI helps with making decisions, such as whether a bank should give a loan to a small business, or whether a doctor diagnoses a patient with disease X or disease Y. AI technologies of this kind have existed for decades, and bigger and better ones are emerging all the time.
  • Read more:
    AI is everywhere – including countless applications you've likely never heard of

    Generative AI systems, on the other hand – ChatGPT, Midjourney and their relatives – generate outputs in response to inputs: in other words, they make things up.

  • This appears to be an inherent defect of the technology, which uses a kind of neural network called a transformer.

AI, but not intelligent

  • In the 1980s, I worked on a computer system designed to provide expert medical advice on laboratory results.
  • However, the system wasn’t intelligent at all.
  • It was really just a kind of look-up table which matched lab test results to high-level diagnostic and patient management advice.

What is real intelligence?

  • If algorithms can produce dazzling results of the kind we see from ChatGPT without being intelligent, what is real intelligence?
  • We might say intelligence is insight: the judgement that something is or is not a good idea.
  • Already, it provides extremely useful tools for transforming and presenting (but not discovering) information, and tools for turning specifications into code are already in routine use.
  • It is not magic, but a very clever magician’s trick: an algorithm that is the product of extraordinary human ingenuity.


Paul Compton was a founder of Pacific Knowledge Systems, later renamed Beamtree, but no longer has any involvement
with the company.

Global Times: Chinese Gen-Zers aim for journey to the sky with more imaginative innovation propelled by China's modernization process

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, December 26, 2023

At an altitude of 400,000 meters above the earth, the carefully raised marlins would eventually appear on Taikonauts' dinner table.

Key Points: 
  • At an altitude of 400,000 meters above the earth, the carefully raised marlins would eventually appear on Taikonauts' dinner table.
  • "We are looking forward to see our experimental project would be adopted," Li told the Global Times with excitement.
  • The dream not only provides a solid guarantee for the grand goal of the Chinese path to modernization, but also gives Chinese youth a more imaginative spirit of innovation, and a grander aspiration.
  • "Maybe in one day, I can become a fellow traveler on the dream journey to the sea of stars."

For A Bright Future Foundation Announces 2023 STEAM Scholarship Award Winners

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, December 14, 2023

MIAMI, Dec. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Louis Hernandez Jr.'s Foundation For A Bright Future ("For A Bright Future") ("FABF"), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the needs of underrepresented and underprivileged children through education, healthcare, the arts, and youth leadership development, awarded its 2023 STEAM Scholarships to Rosa Flores Bautista, 18, of California; Yen Do, 23, of California; Evan Lu, 18, of Philadelphia; and Juan Espinal-Mejia, 23, of Florida.

Key Points: 
  • Committed to illuminating the path toward success, For A Bright Future provides scholarships with an emphasis on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics), financial technology, healthcare, and education.
  • For A Bright Future Foundation was created to open doors of educational opportunities for these promising young individuals that could significantly transform their lives.
  • The inspiring stories from this ' 'year's STEAM Scholarship recipients serve as a testament to this mission.
  • "Winning the 2023 For A Bright Future STEAM Scholarship serves as a powerful testament to my resilience and dedication as someone from an underrepresented background pursuing engineering and recognition of my potential to accomplish great things in the future," says Yen Do.

MetOx Accelerates US Manufacturing Expansion with Strategic Capital Infusion

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, December 12, 2023

This capital infusion is from a consortium of prominent strategic and financial investors.

Key Points: 
  • This capital infusion is from a consortium of prominent strategic and financial investors.
  • Led by Koch Disruptive Technologies, this capital infusion enables MetOx to dramatically expand production of Xeus™ HTS
    The investment, led by Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT) and supported by Safar Partners, Piedmont Capital Investments, DNS Capital, and other investors, will enable MetOx to dramatically expand its domestic production capacity of Xeus™.
  • "Xeus wire is a critical technology for power generation, grid capacity expansion and numerous other applications such as advanced medical diagnostics.
  • This financing will enable capacity expansion by an order of magnitude and further develop its technology with future products and advancements.

Global Nuclear Fusion Technologies Market Expected to Skyrocket to $6.8 Billion by 2040, Driven by Technological Advancements and Private Investment

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, November 9, 2023

The global nuclear fusion technologies market is poised for remarkable growth, with projections indicating a surge from $1.7 billion in 2035 to a staggering $6.8 billion by the end of 2040.

Key Points: 
  • The global nuclear fusion technologies market is poised for remarkable growth, with projections indicating a surge from $1.7 billion in 2035 to a staggering $6.8 billion by the end of 2040.
  • This substantial growth is expected to be driven by advancements in fusion technology, increasing private investment, and a growing number of innovative start-ups entering the nuclear fusion industry.
  • Global Growth: The global nuclear fusion technologies market is forecasted to achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31.6% during the period of 2035-2040, reflecting the rapid evolution of fusion technology.
  • The "Global Nuclear Fusion Technologies Market Outlook 2035-2040" report provides comprehensive insights into the nuclear fusion market, including market trends, technological advances, regulatory landscapes, government-funded projects, and profiles of key industry players such as Commonwealth Fusion Systems, First Light Fusion Ltd, General Fusion Inc., HB11 Energy Holdings Pty Ltd, and Marvel Fusion GmbH.

Surge in Nuclear Fusion Start-Ups and Private Investment Signals a Promising Future for Clean Energy Generation - ResearchAndMarkets.com

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, November 9, 2023

This substantial growth is expected to be driven by advancements in fusion technology, increasing private investment, and a growing number of innovative start-ups entering the nuclear fusion industry.

Key Points: 
  • This substantial growth is expected to be driven by advancements in fusion technology, increasing private investment, and a growing number of innovative start-ups entering the nuclear fusion industry.
  • Furthermore, the nuclear fusion industry is witnessing a surge in start-ups exploring various fusion technologies, including magnetic confinement, inertial confinement, and hybrids.
  • Many of these start-ups have secured backing from prominent publicly listed companies, further emphasizing the growing interest and investment in nuclear fusion.
  • As nuclear fusion continues to make strides in becoming a prominent source of clean energy, the future of the global energy landscape looks promising, with the potential to revolutionize the way we generate power.

Bilibili Announces Most Popular Scientific Topics of 2023 among China's Young Generations

Retrieved on: 
Friday, November 3, 2023

Together with top Bilibili technology creators including Zhihuijun and Mediastorm , scientists and scholars showcased innovative and cutting-edge science experiments and lectures tailored for young audiences.

Key Points: 
  • Together with top Bilibili technology creators including Zhihuijun and Mediastorm , scientists and scholars showcased innovative and cutting-edge science experiments and lectures tailored for young audiences.
  • On Bilibili, science and knowledge-related content rank as the second most searched content category and accounted for 41% of the platform's total video views.
  • Among the "Top 5 Most Popular Scientific Topics", room-temperature superconductors emerged as one of the most discussed scientific breakthroughs worldwide in 2023.
  • The video that has earned the longest viewing hours on Bilibili is an advanced mathematics course taught by Song Hao, a Bilibili creator and a university professor.

Only 1% of chemical compounds have been discovered – here's how we search for others that could change the world

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Scientists believe undiscovered chemical compounds could help remove greenhouse gases, or trigger a medical breakthrough much like penicillin did.

Key Points: 
  • Scientists believe undiscovered chemical compounds could help remove greenhouse gases, or trigger a medical breakthrough much like penicillin did.
  • We needed nuclear fusion (firing atoms at each other at the speed of light) to make the last handful of elements.
  • But to understand the full scale of the chemical universe, you need to understand chemical compounds too.
  • So, how many chemical compounds can we make with the 118 different sorts of element Lego blocks we currently know?

Big numbers

    • There are lots of these: N2 (nitrogen) and O2 (oxygen) together make up 99% of our air.
    • It would probably take a chemist about a year to make one compound and there are 6,903 two-atom compounds in theory.
    • So that’s a village of chemists working a year just to make every possible two-atom compound.
    • And to make all these chemical compounds, we’d also need to recycle all the materials in the universe several times over.

Surely not all those compounds are possible?

    • It’s true there are rules – but they are kind of bendy, which creates more possibilities for chemical compounds.
    • Even the solitary “noble gases” (including neon, argon and xenon and helium), which tend to not bind with anything, sometimes form compounds.
    • So, if you include extreme environments in your calculations, the number of possible compounds increases.

How scientists search for new compounds

    • Often the answer is to search for compounds that are related to ones that are already known.
    • The X-ray technique that Crowfoot Hodgkin invented on her way to identifying penicillin’s structure is still used worldwide to study compounds.
    • And the same MRI technique that hospitals use to diagnose disease can also be used on chemical compounds to work out their structure.
    • For many useful compounds, like penicillin, it’s easier and cheaper to “grow” and extract them from moulds, plants or insects.
    • Thus the scientists searching for new chemistry still often look for inspiration in the tiniest corners of the world around us.

UAE Calls for Global Consensus on AI Governance

Retrieved on: 
Friday, October 13, 2023

The UAE’s AI minister on Wednesday urged countries to come to a consensus on AI governance sooner than it came to the Paris Agreement, which took years to take shape and come into force.

Key Points: 
  • The UAE’s AI minister on Wednesday urged countries to come to a consensus on AI governance sooner than it came to the Paris Agreement, which took years to take shape and come into force.
  • View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231013137762/en/
    An installation of how AI views Museum of the Future (Photo: AETOSWire)
    His Excellency Omar Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy & Remote Work Applications, said at the Dubai Assembly for Generative AI that countries need a fresh approach to governing AI.
  • “I think the current global discussion on AI governance is a non-starter.
  • The assembly also heard how the global banking sector could benefit by as much as USD 400 billion from the boom in generative AI.