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Category: computing – Page 43

Imagine a future where your phone, computer or even a tiny wearable device can think and learn like the human brain—processing information faster, smarter and using less energy.

A new approach developed at Flinders University and UNSW Sydney brings this vision closer to reality by electrically “twisting” a single nanoscale ferroelectric domain wall.

The domain walls are almost invisible, extremely tiny (1–10 nm) boundaries that naturally arise or can even be injected or erased inside special insulating crystals called ferroelectrics. The domain walls inside these crystals separate regions with different bound charge orientations.

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Scientists at Penn State have discovered a method to induce ferroelectric properties in non-ferroelectric materials by layering them with ferroelectric materials, a phenomenon termed proximity ferroelectricity.

This breakthrough offers a novel approach to creating ferroelectric materials without altering their chemical composition, preserving their intrinsic properties, and potentially revolutionizing data storage, wireless communication, and the development of next-generation electronic devices.

New ferroelectric materials without chemical alterations.

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A team of researchers has made a remarkable breakthrough in spintronic technology, achieving a one-directional flow of spin-polarized current in a single-atom layer of thallium-lead alloys.

This advancement not only challenges traditional views of material interaction with light but also heralds the development of ultra-fine, environmentally friendly data storage for the future.

Groundbreaking Discovery in Spintronic Technology.

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The past year, 2024, witnessed an array of groundbreaking technological advancements that fundamentally reshaped industries and influenced the global economy. Technology trends like the development of Industry LLMs, Sustainable Computing, and the Augmented Workforce drove innovation, fostered efficiency, and accelerated the pace of Digital Transformation across sectors such as Healthcare, Finance, and Manufacturing. These developments set the stage for even more disruptive Technology Trends in 2025.

This year is set to bring transformative changes to the business landscape, driven by emerging trends that require enterprises to adopt the right technologies, reskill their workforce, and prioritize sustainability. By embracing these Technology Trends, businesses can shape their objectives, remain competitive, and build resilience. However, Success in this rapidly evolving landscape depends not just on adopting these technologies but also on strategically leveraging them to drive innovation and growth.

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Neuralink Corp.’s brain-computer device has been implanted in a third patient and the company has plans for about 20 to 30 more implants in 2025, founder Elon Musk said.

“We’ve got now three humans with Neuralinks implanted and they’re all working well,” Musk said during an event in Las Vegas this week that was streamed on X, his social media service.

Neuralink is one of a growing group of startups developing brain implants that can help treat conditions such as paralysis and ALS. They are experimental procedures that usually require opening up the skull to place electrodes in the brain tissue. A year ago, Neuralink said it had implanted its device in its initial patient, Noland Arbaugh.

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A Yale-led project that aims to develop quantum technology into practical applications has been awarded a prestigious grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Erasure Qubits and Dynamic Circuits for Quantum Advantage (ERASE), a pilot project led by Yale physicist Steven Girvin, is a collaboration between academia and an industrial hardware partner, Quantum Circuits, Inc. (QCI), a Connecticut-based company that aims to bring to market the first practical quantum computers.

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Texas’ growth as a technology and data homebase isn’t slowing down anytime soon. This week, three firms announced the development of a massive, $1 billion data center being planned for North Texas.

Dallas-based fiber internet provider Gigabit Fiber, real estate firm Lincoln Property Co. and investment firm Tradition Holdings are reportedly partnering on the data center and tech space called GigaPop, set for a 131-acre tract of land in Red Oak, about 18 miles south of Dallas. Gigabit Fiber will begin construction of the 800,000-square-foot site in early 2025, starting with a 7,500-square-foot space.

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Researchers at the University of Tokyo have demonstrated that the direction of the spin-polarized current can be restricted to only one direction in a single-atom layer of a thallium-lead alloy when irradiated at room temperature. The discovery defies conventions: single-atom layers have been thought to be almost completely transparent, in other words, negligibly absorbing or interacting with light.

The one-directional flow of the current observed in this study makes possible functionality beyond ordinary diodes, paving the way for more environmentally friendly data storage, such as ultra-fine two-dimensional spintronic devices, in the future. The findings are published in the journal ACS Nano.

Diodes are fundamental building blocks of modern electronics by restricting the flow of currents to only one direction. However, the thinner the device, the more complicated it becomes to design and manufacture these functional components. Thus, demonstrating phenomena that might make such developmental feats possible is critical. Spintronics is an area of study in which researchers manipulate the (spin) of electrons, for example, by applying light.

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A team of metallurgists and geochemists at Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, working with a mechanical engineer from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has improved their previous electrokinetic mining technique by scaling it up to industrial levels. In their paper published in Nature Sustainability, the group describes the changes they made to their system, and the results of testing they conducted at a mine.

Modern technology is reliant on multiple —they are used in EVs, smartphones and computers, for example. Unfortunately, mining such elements is extremely environmentally unfriendly. Huge machines are used to dig dirt and rock from large mines, where it is mixed with water and a host of toxic chemicals in order to extract the desired elements.

The process produces thousands of metric tons of toxic waste. The team in China has been working for several years to develop a cleaner way to extract the elements. It involves generating an electric field underground that coaxes the desired elements closer together and concentrates them, making for a much easier and cleaner separation process.

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