Category Technology/Electronics

Wild new “gyromorph” materials could make computers insanely fast

Gyromorphs Boost Light Computing Power
Illustration of a 60-fold gyromorph’s properties. Top row: Structure of the gyromorph. Left: Structure factor. Right: Pair correlation function. Bottom row: Optical properties. Left: Polarized light beam fully reflected by a gyromorph. Right: Density of states depletion in the gyromorph. Credit: The Martiniani lab at NYU

Gyromorphs merge order and disorder to deliver unprecedented light-blocking power for next-generation photonic computers. Researchers engineered “gyromorphs,” a new type of metamaterial that combines liquid-like randomness with large-scale structural patterns to block light from every direction. This innovation solves longstanding limitations in quasicrystal-based designs and could accelerate advances in photonic computing.

Researchers are exploring a new genera...

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Google’s plan for space-based computing

Two CubeSats orbiting around Earth after being deployed from the ISS. Google is looking at ways satellites can be used for data centres of the future (Credit : NASA)
Two CubeSats orbiting around Earth after being deployed from the ISS. Google is looking at ways satellites can be used for data centres of the future (Credit : NASA)

The sun produces more power than 100 trillion times humanity’s entire electricity generation. In orbit, solar panels can be eight times more productive than their Earth-bound counterparts, generating energy almost continuously without the need for heavy battery storage. These facts have led a team of Google researchers to ask what if the best place to scale artificial intelligence isn’t on Earth at all, but in space?

Project Suncatcher, Google’s latest space mission, envisions constellations of solar-powered satellites equipped with processors and connected by laser-based optical links...

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First full simulation of 50 qubit universal quantum computer achieved

New record on JUPITER: Simulating a 50-qubit quantum computer
View between the racks of JUPITER. Credit: Forschungszentrum Jülich / Sascha Kreklau

A research team at the Jülich Supercomputing Center, together with experts from NVIDIA, has set a new record in quantum simulation: for the first time, a universal quantum computer with 50 qubits has been fully simulated—a feat achieved on Europe’s first exascale supercomputer, JUPITER, inaugurated at Forschungszentrum Jülich in September.

The result surpasses the previous world record of 48 qubits, established by Jülich researchers in 2022 on Japan’s K computer. It showcases the immense computational power of JUPITER and opens new horizons for developing and testing quantum algorithms. The research is published on the arXiv preprint server.

Quantum computer simulations are vital for develo...

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New holography-inspired reconfigurable surface developed for wireless communication

New holography-inspired reconfigurable surface for wireless communication
Overall schematic of holographic-inspired self-controlled RIS. Credit: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41928-025-01482-3 Credit: Zhu et al.

Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) are engineered structures comprised of several elements known as ‘meta-atoms,’ which can reshape and control electromagnetic waves in real-time. These surfaces could contribute to the further advancement of wireless communications and localization systems, as they could be used to reliably redirect, strengthen and suppress signals.

In conventional applications of RIS for wireless communication, each meta-atom is controlled by a system known as the ‘base-station,’ which is connected to the surface via electrical cables...

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