There are billions of hours of video on YouTube, literally. And that's hardly the most

Scientists have achieved a net energy gain in nuclear fusion for the second time, marking major progress towards realising the potential of the near-limitless energy source. A team at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, who first achieved the feat last December, claimed to have passed a new milestone with fusion ignition by producing even greater energy output than the original experiment. The nuclear fusion process has been described as the “holy grail” of clean energy, as it requires no fossil fuels and leaves behind no hazardous waste. Instead it mimics the natural reactions that occur within the Sun, though harnessing its potential has puzzled scientists since the 1950s. Achieving nuclear fusion ignition is a crucial step towards building commercial power stations, though the technology needs to be significantly scaled up from the current experiments for it to be a viable energy source. The first ever successful fusion energy gain experiment on 5 December, 2022, used lasers to fuse two light atoms into a single one, releasing 3.15 megajoules of energy from 2.05 megajoules of input. Researchers described the milestone as “one of the most significant scientific challenges ever undertaken by humanity” that would “enable the next steps toward clean fusion energy for the future”. Scientists that were not involved in the fusion experiments said the advance had profound implications for the future of the planet. “We are witnessing a moment in history: controlling the power source of the stars is the greatest technological challenge humanity has ever undertaken,” said physicist Arthur Turrell. “This experimental result will electrify efforts to eventually power the planet with nuclear fusion – at a time when we’ve never needed a plentiful source of carbon-free energy more.” A spokesperson for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory said the final results of the latest experiment are still being analysed. The lab plans to present the results at upcoming scientific conferences and in peer-reviewed journals. Several companies are already investing heavily in nuclear fusion, with Microsoft making the world’s first purchase agreement earlier this year. The US tech giant made the deal with Helion Energy, which aims to set up a nuclear fusion power plant within the next five years despite the challenges remaining to make it commercially viable. Helion chief executive David Kirtley said at the time: “We still have a lot of work to do, but we are confident in our ability to deliver the world’s first fusion power facility.” Read More Superconductor breakthrough could represent ‘biggest physics discovery of a lifetime’ – but scientists urge caution Microsoft makes world first nuclear fusion energy deal Zuckerberg says he is ‘ready today’ but ‘not holding breath’ for cage fight with Musk Musk pledges to fund legal bills of X users ‘unfairly treated’ by employers for posts Scientists want to hack the planet to cool it down. The consequences could be extreme

Students at the Oregon State University were warned to “avoid all robots” following a bomb threat prank involving automated food delivery machines on campus. The threat was made by a student on Tuesday via social media, causing university staff to issue the urgent warning. “Bomb Threat in Starship food delivery robots. Do not open robots. Avoid all robots until further notice. Public Safety is responding,” the institute wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. The university later provided several updates on the unfolding situation, saying that the robots had been isolated in a “safe location” before being inspected by a technician. Students were advised to “remain vigilant for suspicious activity”. The emergency was declared over just before 2pm local time with “normal activities” resuming. “All robots have been inspected and cleared. They will be back in service by 4pm today,” the university later wrote online. Starship, the company that designs the robots, said that despite the student’s subsequent admission that the bomb threat had been “a joke”, it had suspended the service while investigations were ongoing. In its own statement, the company wrote: “A student at Oregon State University sent a bomb threat, via social media, that involved Starship’s robots on the campus. “While the student has subsequently stated this is a joke and a prank, Starship suspended the service. “Safety is of the utmost importance to Starship and we are cooperating with law enforcement and the university during this investigation.” Read More University of Michigan slithers toward history with massive acquisition of jarred snake specimens Trump boasts that he ‘killed’ Tom Emmer’s speaker bid ‘Bandaid on an open chest wound’: Democrats mock latest speaker chaos

The UK’s advertising regulator is cracking down on what it considers greenwashing by fossil fuel giants. A handful

Warzone Season 4 Ranked Play has a range of new rewards, from weapon blueprints to camos, for players to earn based on kills, assists, and placement.

Singapore Inc. has some ways to go when it comes to climate-related disclosures, as mandatory reporting rules are

By Ana Mano and Tom Polansek SAO PAULO/CHICAGO A coalition of environmental groups is pushing U.S. securities regulators

Tesla Inc. designed its stainless-steel Cybertuck to be something special: the first vehicle for the masses that doesn’t

REYKJAVIK, Iceland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 14, 2023--

By Joseph Ax, Sharon Bernstein and Gabriella Borter For decades, selective U.S. colleges and universities have considered, among

Apple’s upcoming iPhone 15 may feature a new stacked battery design that is commonly used in electric vehicles, a new report has suggested. The new handset models expected to be launched in September may have their battery components stacked on top of each other, according to a seasoned leaker who goes by the username RGcloudS on Twitter. This design may lead to battery components being more tightly packaged, likely offering a higher energy density for the new iPhones. An earlier report from ITHome had suggested that these next-gen iPhones could feature as much as a 15 per cent boost to battery life. Many experts said battery packs are one area where there is an opportunity for Apple to explore more innovation. While cameras and display screens have gotten better over the years, there have only been marginal improvements in battery life across models. The development currently seen in the existing iPhone 14 battery life is also not as significant as that seen with the previous model iPhone 13. The leaker, however, pointed out that the new battery technology design for iPhone 15 remains “limited”, indicating that it may not be fully implemented as the handsets roll out for the public. There have been a number of rumours so far regarding design upgrades for the iPhone 15. Some leakers claim the new iPhone could ditch the lightning port in favour of USB-C for the first time and that Apple might remove the mechanical volume and power buttons on its handsets and replace them with solid-state ones. Rumours also suggest the iPhone 15 could feature a new chip to support Apple’s upcoming Vision Pro VR headset and allow the phone to work as part of a “more competitive ecosystem”, leaker Ming-Chi Kuo had said. This latest rumour comes on top of several other features Apple announced for its upcoming iPhone at its Worldwide Developer’s Conference last month. At the conference, the tech giant said iPhone 15 upgrades would include a range of new tools from one for journalling and AirDrop updates to live transcription in voicemail and a new standby mode to turns the iPhone into a smart display. Read More iOS 17: Apple launches beta of iPhone software update, allowing people to download new OS early Nothing Phone (2) review: A weird and wonderful mid-range Android Apple launches ‘Tap to Pay on iPhone’, letting people take payments on their device iPhone 13 pre-order: UK contract deals from Vodafone, EE, O2 and more iPhone 13 - live: UK contract deals and prices for Apple, EE and O2 Apple reveals its ‘most professional handset ever’, iPhone 13 Pro

OpenAI on Monday said it was launching a business version of ChatGPT as its AI bot sensation grapples with declining usership nine...