Let there be matter

ET expired?

Inside the S9

Nanowood

Tau and pi

More fab spending

Talent or luck?

Elvis is alive
... and Melania Trump has a body double. An MIT study indicates that falsehood diffuses significantly farther, faster, deeper, and more broadly than the truth. This rapid dissemination of false news is not just accountable to algorithms and bots or a few powerful social media influencers. It is mainly down to us. Apparently false news is more novel and we are more likely to share novel information within our network.

What next?
The semiconductor industry is well aware of the massive changes in society and technology it has facilitated in the last seventy years. The march of innovation is inextricably linked to the associated and preceding research. But what of the future? The Semiconductor Industry Association and the Semiconductor Research Corporation have come together to set a vision for US semiconductor research in the years ahead. The vision document sets out 14 priority technical areas in which research is essential to future progress. These range from materials to metrology and characterisation.

“We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special.” The words of Professor Stephen Hawking who died last month. He was special. It is fitting that his ashes will rest alongside Newton and Darwin. His work on black holes and cosmology will give him a place in the annals of physics. However to many the detailed science is overshadowed by the person. In a world of banality and bling with ‘followers’ and ‘likes’ mistaken for achievement and worth he was different. The most recognisable scientist of our age. A communicator and a populariser of science who inspired many. Long may others aspire to copy.


We might not need or be able to fully understand Hawking Radiation but we can emulate the late Professor – try listening to Mozart and Beethoven in times of need.