Parking by numbers

Where to park your car, according to maths

The shrinking proton

Scientists measure precise proton radius to help resolve decade-old puzzle

Memory drives spending

Memory forecast to account for 43% of total 2019 semi spending

Re-lay the Table?

Is it time to upend the periodic table?

3 is another

Mathematicians no longer stumped by the number 3

42 is one answer

The answer to life, the universe, and everything

Conference planner

Fifteen tips to make scientific conferences more welcoming for everyone

Optimism extends life

It may be post vacation blues, but it is difficult to avoid a feeling of malaise when absorbing current events. From climate change to national politics, it is not easy to be sanguine. However, solutions are often found in a mix of "something must be done" and "KBO". Amidst this lot it was pleasing to note a Boston University study found that individuals with greater optimism are more likely to live longer and to achieve “exceptional longevity,” that is, living to age 85 or older. Pragmatic optimism sounds good to me.

North of Greenwich?

For the first time in 360 years, compasses in Greenwich, London last month pointed directly at true north.

Happy birthday COBOL

COBOL maybe 60 years old but 95% of ATM transactions pass through COBOL code, 1.5 million new lines of which are written daily.

Young Scientists Prizes in Semiconductors Physics

Nominations are now open for the Young Scientists Prizes in Semiconductors Physics awarded by the IUPAP for outstanding contributions to semiconductor physics and its applications. Winners will have a maximum of 8 years of research experience following the award of their PhD.

Earnings from chips

According to Future Horizons, throughout the history of the semiconductor industry the average revenue per square centimetre of silicon has been constant at $9.

Quantum supremacy?

Last month the Financial Times reported on a scientific paper, briefly published on a NASA website before being deleted, claiming that Google has built a quantum computer that achieved quantum supremacy. A plain text version has been anonymously posted on-line. It says that Google created a quantum computer with 54 quantum bits and used it to perform a very specific set of operations in 200 seconds that would take a supercomputer about 10,000 years to complete. One summary is: rudimentary quantum computer is better being at being a rudimentary quantum computer than a supercomputer

Weird but wonderful

This year’s Ig Noble Prizes continue to demonstrate the weird and wonderful spread of scientific achievements. The Georgia Tech team added to their 2015 award with the Physics Prize for How Do Wombats Make Cubed Poo? [It helps them mark their territory]. Japanese scientists rightly won the Chemistry Prize for Estimation of the total saliva volume produced per day in five year old children. [500 ml].