Ultra Safe Nuclear has been funded by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to demonstrate a chargeable, encapsulated nuclear radioisotope battery (called EmberCore) for propulsion and power applications in space. This ‘next-gen’ radioisotope system will be able to scale to 10x higher power levels, compared to plutonium systems, and provide more than 1 million kilowatt hours …
Avalanche is a VC-backed, fusion energy start-up based in Seattle, WA. They are designing, testing and building micro-fusion reactors that you can hold in your hand. Their modular reactor design can be stacked for endless power applications and unprecedented energy density to provide clean energy and decarbonize the planet. Avalanche is developing a 5kWe power …
Zap Energy creating the first plasmas in their FuZE-Q prototype. They achieved Q=1 where the process of nuclear fusion inside a plasma yields more energy than was consumed to create the plasma. In 2021, Zap Energy used sheared-flow stabilization to extend the lifetime of Z-pinch plasmas at 500 kiloamps (kA) of current. Zap’s sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch …
Brian and Warren talked in this video about latest developments with Tesla, SpaceX, Boring company and the most important legacy for Elon Musk. Where Tesla will clearly be in two years is more important than the current quarter. Where SpaceX and Starlink will be with the Generation 2 satellites. How Boring Company will change our …
A team from MIT bubbles could be manufactured directly in outer space, forming an extensive deflective raft to reduce light from the sun. This would be geoeneringeering to fix climate change. The bubbles would be positioned at the Lagrangian Point between the Earth and the Sun. At the labs at MIT, they have tested bubbles …
A team of researchers from China used the Sunway supercomputer to train an AI model with 174 trillion parameters called ‘bagualu,’ which means “alchemist’s pot.” The AI parameters are comparable to the number of synapses (1000 trillion in the human brain). However, human synapses and AI parameters are not equivalent. In 2020, Microsoft trained a …
High-tech plant-based 3D printed meat is the ‘gamechanger’ we’ve been waiting for. After a run of good press and some bold predictions, the ‘alt-meat’ naysayers have begun an inevitable backlash. The Financial Times in January this year asked, “Has the Appetite for Plant-Based Meat Already Peaked?” The answer to that question – despite industry setbacks …
SpaceX had three successful launches within a 37 hour period. 3 launches from 3 SpaceX pads in less than 37 hours pic.twitter.com/CLGdPg8smj — SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 20, 2022 June 17, Falcon 9 launched from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. This deployed 53 Starlink satellites. The booster used for the launch completed its 13th flight …
How Can We Usefully Measure Technology Progress? Can we have a scale that is immune to the Technology Singularity? Can we compare humanity on a common scale with animals and aliens? It is possible and I think a new approach is far more useful than the Kardashev scale or other past approaches. Kardashev scale Amount …
Jordan Giesege of the Limiting described the 20-35% range improvement possible by increasing the silicon in the anode of iron LFP batteries. This could be used to reduce the weight and lower the cost while keeping the 260 mile range of a made in China Model 3. This could take the cost down from a …
Robin Hanson and his co-authors have paper and presentations that the universe will become dominated by expansionist aliens who he calls grabby aliens. There are two kinds of alien civilizations. “Quiet” aliens don’t expand or change much, and then they die. We have little data on them, and so must mostly speculate, via methods like …
