The Quantastic Newsletter

Issue October 2024

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In this edition of the Quantastic Newsletter:

• Temporal Structures of Quantum Entanglement at the Attosecond Scale
• Scientists Decode Animal Language
• epi-bit DNA Storage: Your Photos Stored as DNA?
• Direct Solar Energy From Space For Iceland

A laser pulse hits an atom. One electron is ripped out of the atom, another electron is shifted into a state with higher energy. — Credit: TU Wien.

Temporal Structures of Quantum Entanglement at the Attosecond Scale

Researchers at the discovered in recent experiments interesting aspects about the timing of electron entanglement at the attosecond scale (a billionth of a billionth of a second). They demonstrated that when they hit an atom with an intense laser pulse, one electron is ejected while another remains in a higher energy state. While the departure time of the ejected electron is uncertain, and in a quantum superposition of different moments, the birth time of this electron gets quantum entangled with the state of the remaining electron on an extremely short timescale.

“This means that the birth time of the electron that flies away is not known in principle. You could say that the electron itself doesn’t know when it left the atom,” — Joachim Burgdörfer from the Institute of Theoretical Physics at TU Wien.

Dependent on the energy state of the remaining electron, the entanglement takes only an average of 232 attoseconds. These experimental results challenge the common understanding of the instantaneous nature of quantum events and the possible existence of complex temporal structures at the quantum level. A team of researchers has found a way to speed up the creation of quantum entanglement, a mystifying property of quantum mechanics that Albert Einstein once described as “spooky action at a distance.” at ultrafast timescales opens new perspectives for quantum computing and communication technologies.

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Scientists Decode Animal Language

“We believe that an understanding of non-human languages will transform our relationship with the rest of nature.” —

(ESP) is an innovative nonprofit initiative committed to decoding non-human communication through machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). The goal is to establish two-way communication with animals, such as birds, dolphins, primates, elephants, and honeybees. Understanding animal languages may fundamentally transform human’s relationship with nature. to identify patterns in vocalizations of animals, and correlate them to their specific behaviors.At the the CEO of ESP, Katie Zacarian, explained that applying AI developments from human language processing to animal communication would bring us closer than ever to interacting intelligently with other species of the planet. It is anticipated that the first breakthroughs may happen in relation to marine mammals and their primarily acoustic modes of communication.

“We are on the cusp of applying the advances we are seeing in the development of AI for human language to animal communication.” — Zacarian, at

Karen Bakker, a professor at the University of British Columbia, also at the World Economic Forum, explained that linking an animal species’ communication patterns to their behaviors is an important step for elaborating on meanings and semantics.

“It’s not just as simple as a Dr. Dolittle device.” — Karen Bakker, professor at the University of British Columbia

Kay Firth-Butterfield, the World Economic Forum’s head of AI and machine learning, says that deciphering animal communication would be a step toward sharing other species a clearer voice in environmental and ecological debates. This raises questions such as whether boats should alter their courses instead of disrupting whales’ natural feeding behaviors, or the impact of offshore wind farm noise on marine mammals. Deciphering animal communication may also enhance wildlife management, improve captive animal care, and help to develop more effective conservation strategies. Indeed, the achieving of this level of interspecies communication may happen sooner than anticipated.

IStock Photo

epi-bit DNA Storage: Your Photos Stored as DNA?

iDNAdrive is a newly developed that marks a major step closer to making the technology accessible to the real-world application. between Peking University, Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, University of Stuttgart, and Arizona State University.DNA digital data storage combines molecular biology with advanced data encoding technology to create new forms of information preservation. suggest that an epigenetic-based technology that uses DNA’s exceptional high storage density and longevity, combined with parallel processing capabilities, could potentially change the paradigm of how we store digital information in the future. With the DNA’s evolutionary molecular properties, we could create a storage medium that is thousandfold denser than flash memory and generally more energy-efficient too.

At its core, epigenetic storage uses DNA methylation to encode information. This allows for a parallel processing of up to 270,000 bits by applying a so-called movable-type printing method on universal DNA templates. It has been shown that if using multiple test tubes in parallel, DNA storage systems can even reach processing speeds up to 100,000 MIPS (million instructions per second). These core technologies leverage DNA’s natural properties to create a storage medium that is and potentially more energy-efficient for archived data.

The platform iDNAdrive enables controlled changes to encoded binary data by mere chemical reactions, while parallel programmable, operating stable, and scalable. It achieves synthesis-free writing of ~270,000 bits using a set of 700 DNA movable types and 5 templates, with an automated platform capable of writing 350 bits per reaction. To retrieve data that is encoded in epigenetic patterns, it applies high-throughput nanopore sequencing technology.

Space Solar demonstrated its wireless power-beaming technology in ground-based experiments in April 2024. (Image credit: Space Solar)

Direct Solar Energy From Space For Iceland

“The collaboration with Reykjavik Energy marks a key milestone in Space Solar’s journey toward full-scale deployment. Their forward-thinking approach to climate technology, combined with expertise in carbon storage through Carbfix and a long-standing partnership with Climeworks, makes Reykjavik Energy the perfect partner for Space Solar’s initial phase.” — Kjartan Örn Ólafsson, CEO of Transition Labs.

An innovative is planned to go into . The project, unique in the field of renewable energies, is a partnership between the UK-based Space Solar, Reykjavik Energy, and the Icelandic sustainability initiative Transition Labs. Its goal is to transfer 30 megawatts of clean energy directly from space to the Earth, an amount enough to power about 3,000 households.

The plan is to and position it in the medium Earth orbit at altitudes between 1,241 to 22,000 miles (2,000 to 36,000 km). The satellite with its solar arrays will weigh only 70.5 tons (64 metric tons), be about 1,312 feet (0.4 km) wide. The satellite would then collect and beam the energy as high-frequency radio waves to that would transform it into electricity fed into the power grid. The power transmission from space to earth is entirely wireless. It applies a precision pointing technology for accurately targeting the ground stations. The entire system design is highly modular to allow for future scalability and expansion.

“Space-based solar power offers unparalleled benefits with competitive energy costs and 24/7 availability. Reykjavik Energy’s recognition of the potential for space-based solar to drive the energy transition is exciting, and we’re thrilled to be working together in partnership toward a sustainable future.” — Martin Soltau, co-CEO of Space Solar.

The technology, if successful, could benefit from a continuous power generation because the satellites in the orbit can capture sunlight efficiently 24/7, day and night, and . Not only that such a solar energy system would it might also flexibly target locations around the world, .◼︎