A renowned supercomputer now uses light instead of electric current

New double helixes store magnetic information in three dimensions. A new wind power wall could produce over 10,000 kwh a year. Dec 26, 2021 [View on browser]( Good morning! Recently, France's Jean Zay supercomputer was equipped with a photonic coprocessor, which means it can now transmit and process information directly using light. 2D architecture in magnetic components is nearing its limits nowadays. So, a team of researchers wanted to find out what sort of things happen when you make those components into helixes. On another note, wind power is cool, but are you aware of what else it is? It's clunky, huge, and intrusive; and thus, not a good fit for cityscapes. Now, a designer's inconspicuous wind power generation device begs to differ. This is The Blueprint. Keep going. INNOVATION [One of the World's Most Powerful Supercomputers Uses Light Instead of Electric Current]( [Jean Zay supercomputer]( France's Jean Zay supercomputer, one of the most powerful computers in the world, is now the first HPC to have a photonic coprocessor, meaning it transmits and processes information using light. The development represents a first in the industry. The breakthrough [was made during a pilot program]( that saw LightOn collaborate with GENCI and IDRIS. The technology will now be offered to a group of select users who will use the device to undertake research on machine learning foundations, differential privacy, satellite imaging analysis, and [natural language processing]( (NLP) tasks. Supercomputers have come a long way in the past few years. - In June of 2018, it was announced that the United States Department of Energy had the world's latest and most powerful supercomputer called Summit, which operated at 200 petaflops at maximum capacity, achieving 200 quadrillion calculations each second. - The numbers at the time outperformed China's Sunway TaihuLight's 93 petaflop capacity as well as the U.S.'s previous record-holder Titan. - Then in June of 2020, it was revealed that [Japan's latest supercomputer Fugaku]( had the fastest computing speed in the world. The event marked the first time in nine years that a Japanese supercomputer nabbed first place. [Read More]( SCIENCE [New Double Helixes Store Magnetic Information in Three Dimensions]( [double helixes]( Today, [magnets have many applications]( being used for energy generation, data storage, and computing. But magnetic computing devices in two-dimensional systems are quickly approaching their shrinking limit. That's why, we have witnessed a [growing trend]( in [moving to three dimensions]( where higher densities can be achieved and three-dimensional geometries can offer new functionalities. Now, an international team led by Cambridge University’s Cavendish Laboratory has used an advanced 3D printing method they developed to create magnetic double helixes that produce nanoscale topological textures in the magnetic field, opening the door to the next generation magnetic devices. “Over the last few years, our research has focused on developing new methods to visualize three-dimensional magnetic structures — think about a CT scan in a hospital, [but for magnets](. We also developed a 3D printing technique for magnetic materials,” said Claire Donnelly, the study’s first author from Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory. The researchers aim to explore the full potential of going from two to three dimensions in terms of the magnetic field. They argue that the strongly bonded textures in the magnetic helixes could be a potential carrier of information and offer new possibilities for particle trapping, imaging techniques, and smart materials. [Read More]( INNOVATION [A New Wind Power Wall Could Produce Over 10,000 KWh a Year]( [Wind Power Wall]( Wind turbines are powerful sources of clean energy that provide cheap reliable energy in many areas. But they run into some issues when we try to bring them into the urban landscape. Your regular run-of-the-mill wind turbines are simply too bulky for cities. That's why designer and entrepreneur Joe Doucet has created an inconspicuous wall of wind turbines that can produce [over 10,000 kilowatt-hours per year]( enough to power a home. Joe's website explains that while wind energy has a key role in reducing fossil fuel dependency, it has "encountered very slow uptake partly due to [their intrusive physicality]( The "kinetic wall" is made up of "an array of rotary blades that spin individually, driving a mini generator that creates electricity." The excess energy can be stored in a wall-mounted battery, or can even be fed back into the national grid to provide revenue for the owner. - At the moment, the wall is 8 feet (2.4 meters) tall and 25 feet (7.6 meters) wide, but the design can be adjusted according to the user's needs. Doucet proposes to do this with a framework made of aluminum, which can then be clad with any lightweight material. The designer has also said he is in talks with manufacturers that could see the product brought to market sooner than expected. Are you ready to have your cities boosted with walls of wind power? [Read More]( MAIL & MUSINGS Arguably, there's no real need for this but... Do you think we can integrate renewables into dense cityscapes? Be sure you check back tomorrow for the results! [Too much investment, not without initiatives from governing bodies]( [In time, it will happen on its own.]( [Nope, nuclear power will negate the need anyway.]( [No way! Wind generators are stupefying ray transmitters.]( Yesterday’s Results Yesterday, we asked you if the James Webb Space Telescope is going to deploy and work as intended. About half of you are confident that it will and almost as many people think it will have fixable problems. Few people seem to think that there will be broken components or that it won't work at all. Yes it will, thousands of people spent so much time on it. 51% It will have problems, but we will fix them eventually. 39% Some of the instrumentation on board will probably not function. 7% This will be a catastrophic failure! 4% [Video]VIDEO OF THE DAY [Where Exactly Does All Our Trash Go?]( A big portion of it unfortunately ends up in our oceans. [Where Exactly Does All Our Trash Go?]( QUOTE OF THE DAY “ If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said of you but answer, "He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would not have mentioned these alone" ” Epictetus AND ANOTHER THING... - James Webb has 344 single-point failures. Here are the [5 most critical ones among them](. - [Tiktok moderator sues over mental trauma]( caused by graphic videos. (TechCrunch) - Web 3.0 is coming, but [not all of us will love it](. - Amazon workers are [organizing for cellphone access]( ‘No one’s life is worth a package’ (Vice) - Tesla [decided to disable its gaming feature]( while the car is on the move. - A 4-year-old Microsoft azure zero-day [exposes web app source code](. (Threat Post) - Scientists can now print metal objects that are [only 25 nanometers in length](. [Share to Win]SHARE TO WIN [All products]( Share The Blueprint! Give your friends deeper insights into engineering and tech, and win exclusive IE swag for free. [Read Details]( Share your link Copy & share your referral link with others. [ [Referral Program Terms and Conditions]( Prepared by Loukia Papadopoulos and Utku Kucukduner Enjoy reading? Don't forget to forward to a friend! Was this email forwarded to you? 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