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Study unlocks full potential of ‘supermaterial’ graphene

New research reveals why the “supermaterial” graphene has not transformed electronics as promised, and shows how to double its performance and finally harness its extraordinary potential.

Graphene is the strongest material ever tested. It’s also flexible, transparent and conducts heat and electricity 10 times better than copper.

After graphene research won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2010 it was hailed as a transformative material for flexible electronics, more powerful computer chips and solar panels, water filters and bio-sensors. But performance has been mixed and industry adoption slow.

Bezos and Musk Will Both be Trillionaires in the Space Internet Age

There are huge multi-trillion dollar opportunities developing with Space and the further evolution of the internet.

Space launch and space satellites were already a $300 billion per year industry. Cloud Computing is a $200 billion market in 2018. Global Internet services is a $600 billion market. The Global IT market is nearing $5 trillion in size. The global Auto industry is $2 trillion in size. The Global supply chain industry is $40 trillion in size.

Space launch, Internet and communication, Internet of Things, Space mining, Space Colonization will each become future multi-trillion markets. Those that are already trillion dollar markets will become even larger.

10-qubit Quantum Integrated Circuit Prototype in Silicon by 2022 10-qubit Quantum Integrated Circuit Prototype in Silicon by 2022

The Silicon Quantum Electronics Workshop will have 200 researchers sharing insights and technology advancements about building the world’s first silicon quantum computer.

NSW university has set up a Quantum Computer Company

Silicon Quantum Computing Pty. Ltd. (SQC) is working to create and commercialize a quantum computer based on world-leading intellectual property acquired from the Australian Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology (CQC2T). We have set ourselves a bold ambition: to develop a 10-qubit quantum integrated circuit prototype in silicon by 2022.

Amazon is launching pay-as-you-go cloud computing in space

Ground control to major Jeff (Bezos).


Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company’s cloud computing arm, just announced a new offering aimed at satellite operators.

The news: At its annual re: Invent conference in Seattle this week, the web giant unveiled a service that lets owners of satellites rent time on Amazon-managed ground stations to send and receive data from orbit. The service, called AWS Ground Station, works in much the same way as Amazon’s well-established business for tapping computing capacity via the cloud.

Ground control … According to an AWS blog post, big businesses with a large number of satellites typically build and operate their own ground stations at a cost of a million dollars or more for each one. Smaller companies that can’t afford their own often end up signing inflexible, long-term contracts with third parties that own and run such stations.

Paving the way: An accelerator on a microchip

Electrical engineers in the accelerator physics group at TU Darmstadt have developed a design for a laser-driven electron accelerator so small it could be produced on a silicon chip. It would be inexpensive and with multiple applications. The design, which has been published in Physical Review Letters, is now being realised as part of an international collaboration.

Ultrafast laser pulses control electrons in graphene, making ultrafast computing possible

IMAGE: The driving laser field (red) ‘shakes’ electrons in graphene at ultrashort time scales, shown as violet and blue waves. A second laser pulse (green) can control this wave and thus determine the direction of current. (Image credit: FAU/Christian Heide)

Being able to control electronic systems using light waves instead of voltage signals is the dream of physicists all over the world. The advantage is that electromagnetic light waves oscillate at petaherz frequency. This means that computers in the future could operate at speeds a million times faster than those of today. Scientists at Friedrich-Alexander University (FAU; Erlangen-Nurenberg, Germany) have now come one step closer to achieving this goal as they have succeeded in using ultra-short laser impulses to precisely control electrons in graphene. The scientists published their results in Physical Review Letters.

Current control in electronics that is one million times faster than in today’s systems is a dream for many. Ultimately, current control is one of the most important components as it is responsible for data and signal transmission. Controlling the flow of electrons using light waves instead of voltage signals, as is now the case, could make this dream a reality. However, up to now, it has been difficult to control the flow of electrons in metals as metals reflect light waves and the electrons inside them cannot be influenced by these light waves.

China Is Building a $9 Billion Rival to the American-Run GPS

Location data beamed from GPS satellites are used by smartphones, car navigation systems, the microchip in your dog’s neck and guided missiles — and all those satellites are controlled by the U.S. Air Force. That makes the Chinese government uncomfortable, so it’s developing an alternative that a U.S. security analyst calls one of the largest space programs the country has undertaken.


The Beidou Navigation System will be accessible worldwide by 2020.

World experts heading down under to talk silicon quantum computing

Scientists from around the world are meeting in Sydney to discuss the latest advancements in silicon quantum computing.

Scientists from around the world are landing in Sydney this week to join discussions on the latest research in silicon quantum computing with renowned physicist and Australian of the Year, Professor Michelle Simmons, and UNSW Sydney researchers from the Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology (CQCT), including Professor Andrew Dzurak, Professor Sven Rogge and Professor Andrea Morello.

Bringing together more than 200 leading researchers in the field, the Silicon Quantum Electronics Workshop is a global initiative to share research insights and technology advancements in the race to build the world’s first quantum computer – in silicon.

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