Unbound: No 136
Quantum Geometry Found To Be Newest Twist in Superconductivity
By Amanda Siegfried | University of Texas at Dallas
Scientists at The University of Texas at Dallas and their collaborators at The Ohio State University have identified a new mechanism that gives rise to superconductivity in a material in which the speed of electrons is nearly zero, potentially opening a pathway to the design of new superconductors.
Their findings, published online Feb. 15 in the journal Nature, demonstrate a new way to measure electron speed and mark the first time that quantum geometry has been identified as the predominant contributing mechanism to superconductivity in any material.
The material the researchers studied is twisted bilayer graphene. Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged periodically in a honeycomb pattern. In twisted bilayer graphene, two sheets of graphene are stacked on top of one another with a slight angular twist. In principle, at a certain “magic” twist angle, the speed of electrons in the material approaches zero, said Dr. Fan Zhang, associate professor of physics in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at UT Dallas and an author of the study. Zhang, a theorist, and his collaborators previously published a review article about the unique physical properties of such systems.
Can crypto mining go green? Critics are skeptical
by Kaylee Tornay | Grist
This story was reported by InvestigateWest, an independent news nonprofit dedicated to investigative journalism in the Pacific Northwest. Visit invw.org/newsletters to sign up for weekly updates.
The word “sustainable” features prominently on the website for Merkle Standard’s crypto mining operation in remote eastern Washington, which aims to be carbon neutral by year’s end.
In Idaho, budding company GeoBitmine plans to meet its “environmental, social, and governance mandate” by using heat waste from its computers to grow crops in a greenhouse.
And in Texas, crypto miners trumpet their presence as eager customers of a growing portfolio of wind and solar power projects.
Across the country, cryptocurrency miners are striving to remake the image of their industry in the public’s and policymakers’ minds: from flighty to reliable, from all about profit to altruistic, from energy guzzling and emissions heavy to climate conscious.
New data affirms too many companies are not taking cybersecurity seriously
by Phil Hall | Westfair Online
Cybersecurity concerns become more acute with each passing year, but is the corporate world taking the threat seriously?
The newly published Deloitte Center for Controllership study found roughly half (48.8%) of the 1,100 C-suite and other executives interviewed for the data research expected the quantity and depth of cyber events targeting their organizations’ accounting and financial data to increase in the year ahead, but only 20.3% of those polled said their organizations’ accounting and finance teams were working closely and consistently with their peers in cybersecurity.
🌙 NASA - Best Photo from Last Week
Pre-Dawn Launch for Crew-6
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carries the company's Dragon spacecraft with NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission members aboard in this five-minute long exposure taken on Thursday, March 2, 2023. Crew-6 is the sixth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Stephen Bowen, Warren "Woody" Hoburg, Sultan Alneyadi, and Andrey Fedyaev will spend six months aboard the orbital outpost.
Image Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
Last Updated: Mar 2, 2023
Editor: Monika Luabeya
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