Scientists have claimed to make a breakthrough that would be “one of the holy grails of modern physics” – but experts have urged caution about the results. In recent days, many commentators have become excited by two papers that claim to document the production of a new superconductor that works at room temperature and ambient pressure. Scientists in Korea said they had synthesised a new material called LK-99 that would represent one of the biggest physics breakthroughs of recent decades. Superconductors are a special kind of material where electrical resistance vanishes, and which throw out magnetic fields. They are widely useful, including in the production of powerful magnets and in reducing the amount of energy lost as it moves through circuits. They are also often impractical, since they require low temperatures and high pressure. That means that they cannot be used in most traditional circuits, for instance. Since the beginning of the last century, scientists have been working not only to understand superconductivity but also develop new materials that would allow the phenomenon to be harvested at ambient temperatures and pressures. That has not been successful, and the discovery of such a material would mark a major breakthrough in physics. The new papers, published in recent days as a preprint on the website arXiv, claims to have overcome that problem. The researchers said they had not only found a way to synthesise such a superconducting material, but also that it could be done relatively easily – leading to huge excitement on social media. One Twitter thread from Alex Kaplan, a recent Princeton graduate who is now head of coffee product at startup Cometeer, helped propel the news into the mainstream. His thread had been viewed 8.5 million times, Twitter said, and has been retweeted more than 10,000 times. “Today might have seen the biggest physics discovery of my lifetime. I don’t think people fully grasp the implications of an ambient temperature / pressure superconductor,” he wrote in a long thread that went on to explain the possible applications of the material. Mr Kaplan pointed to the fact that vast amounts of energy are lost in the transmission of electricity across the world, that the the authors claimed material could be made in just 34 hours with simple equipment, and that such a superconductor would have revolutionary uses in everything from nuclear fusion reactors to batteries and quantum computers. Scientists away from the work agreed that such a breakthrough would be hugely significant. But they urged caution, pointing to the fact that the paper has not yet gone through the peer review process, the results have not been replicated, and that there could be other explanations for the apparently astonishing behaviour described in the work. “A real, working room-temperature superconductor which works at ambient pressure would be one of the holy grails of modern physics, unlocking major new developments in energy, transportation, healthcare, and communications,” said Mohammad Yazdani-Asrami of the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering. “As it stands, however, the paper is not yet peer-reviewed and has not yet been tested in other labs to see if other researchers can reproduce its results. These are both key to determining for sure whether the world should be getting excited about the authors’ claims, which need much more scrutiny at this early stage. If the claims of findings are approved, perhaps, this is one of the most significant achievements of last few decades in physics and material engineering.” Others voiced specific concerns about the paper. Some of the results meant that other researchers working on superconductors were not convinced by the claims made in the paper. “The recent preprint by Lee, Kim and Kwon suggesting that they have observed room temperature superconductivity in the copper doped lead phosphate system, without the need for very high applied pressures, is interesting, but not yet wholly convincing,” said Susannah Speller, Professor of Materials Science at the University of Oxford, and Chris Grovenor, Professor of Materials at the University of Oxford. Professors Speller and Grovenor pointed to the fact that the data did not show the behaviour that would be expected to happen when the material became superconducting. Features that would be expected to be evident in the results were not, they said, and “and so it is too early to say that we have been presented with compelling evidence for superconductivity in these samples”. John Durrell, professor of superconductor engineering at Cambridge University, said that it could take considerable time to see the practical benefits of the breakthrough, even if the team’s results were confirmed. “There will be understandable scepticism about this result in the community as there have been numerous reports of room temperature superconductors over the years which have not held up,” he told The Independent. “I would, therefore, personally withhold judgement on this work until it becomes clear if the result is reproducible in other laboratories. “From my engineering point of view, a practical room temperature superconductor would be potentially transformative – allowing a host of exciting applications such as cheap MRI machines, more compact and efficient motors and low loss power transmission. “However, there can be significant challenges in turning a newly discovered superconducting material into a practical material. In previous cases, this has taken one or two decades and is not always possible.” Read More Europe to cover continent in fast EV chargers under new law Elon Musk takes control of @X account from user who had held it for 16 years iPhone users urged to check their photo library amid fears they could be deleted Europe to cover continent in fast EV chargers under new law Elon Musk takes control of @X account from user who had held it for 16 years iPhone users urged to check their photo library amid fears they could be deleted

Starfield's built-in mod support, known as Creations, will release early 2024 and work similarly to Skyrim and Fallout 4.

Apple is about to launch its first new platform in almost a decade, and what could be its most decisive product since the iPhone. A new mixed reality headset is due to be launched during its Worldwide Developers Conference event on Monday, though it might not arrive then. When it is revealed, it could decide the future of Apple, its users and the devices that everyone uses. Here’s everything we know about the headset, ahead of Monday’s likely big reveal. Price One thing has been discussed at length about the headset: how much exactly it will cost. And most of that discussion has agreed that the answer will be a lot. Rumours have pointed at $3,000 for the first version of the headset, which would make it very expensive even among the otherwise expensive Apple products. That high price is likely to be a result of the high-end components that are required to power the headset, which is rumoured to have significantly higher performance than its competitors. Apple is said to be expecting far fewer people to buy the headset than would buy its other products. As such, the high price might not translate to high revenues, and Apple might not be expecting it to. There is some chance, however, that all of those rumours are wrong; when the iPad was released, everyone though it would cost $999, and Steve Jobs took great joy in delighting in having proven the “pundits” wrong when he unveiled it at $499. It’s helpful for Apple if people think that it will cost more and they can then reveal that it’s actually just quite expensive, rather than very expensive. Release date Monday is almost certain to be the day the headset is revealed. But it would be very surprising indeed if it went on sale any time after that. Recent rumours have suggested that it will not actually be on shelves – or however it is sold – until much later in the year. It’s likely that Apple will want it ready for the important holiday period, which would mean getting it on sale in October or November. Apple, under Tim Cook, has developed a much-envied knack for announcing products and having them ready to go soon after, even when they are sold in such vast quantities as the iPhone. But it has still left big gaps between the announcement and the introduction of a product in the past, especially when they represent a whole new platform. The Apple Watch was announced during the September release event for the iPhone 6, but it did not actually arrive until the end of the following April. The move to Apple Silicon for Macs was announced in June 2020, at WWDC, but the first computers using it did not actually arrive until the following November. Those delays meant that Apple could be prepared, ensuring that it could have enough of the hardware made in time and not have to worry about the design or other details leaking. But waiting also meant that developers could be prepared, too, and ensure that their apps and other software were ready for the new platform. Spec Apple is said to be very focused on ensuring that the headset brings a high-quality experience. That means a much more luxurious specification than existing headsets at this kind of price point. That includes very detailed and powerful displays. Reports have suggested that it could offer up to 5,000 nits of brightness – enough for HDR – and a total 8K resolution from two Micro OLED displays that should allow for rich detail and fast response times. It is set to be powered by equally high-level hardware. It will have two chips that ensure it is able to work on its own without a companion device, reports have indicated, and provide stable and quick output. Design Leaked designs have suggested that the headset will look something like the AirPods Max combined with an Apple Watch: the same unapologetic aluminium used on both of those devices, and the soft material that it is combined with to make them actually wearable. That would certainly make sense, since Apple has always been focused on ensuring that its products do not just look nice on their own but sit well together, too. And it will no doubt have learned plenty from its earlier work in wearable devices, including headphones and watches. But little has leaked about what the headset will actually look like. Apple could opt to go for some other look entirely. Sensors VR headsets need sensors both to know where they are and to know what their user is doing. The headset is expected to include a strong array of them. It will use 3D sensors to know where users hands are, as well as any other objects. They are likely to be similar to the LiDAR tools that are in the iPhone and iPad, and can already be used for mapping rooms, for instance. It wil also have tools to detect more about the person wearing it, too. Reports suggest that it will be able to see people’s facial expressions, as well as including microphones for voice control through Siri. It is also expected to include more standard cameras, that will allow users to see the real world and overlay virtual objects on it. That will be controlled using a dial similar to the one on the Apple Watch and AirPods, which can be used to add more or less of the real world, reports have indicated. The headset is also likely to be able to connect to the iPhone for some uses, such as text input. And it will probably be able to use other earphones, such as the AirPods – Apple has already been working hard on “spatial audio” features for them, which would slot in nicely with virtual reality. Software Apple is said to be working on a new AR/VR operating system for the headset, with rumours suggesting that it could be called xrOS or realityOS. But there has been little reported about how exactly that software will work. It will probably be based on Apple’s other platforms – which all have a fairly consistent look – tailored so that users can see it in 3D space. Apple has been rumoured to be working on augmented reality versions of its own apps, such as FaceTime. And part of the reason for launching at WWDC is probably so that it can help developers start working on their apps, too. But one of the key unanswered questions is how the will all work, both individually and within that broader operating system. Problems? No major platform of this kind could be without problems. But numerous reports have suggested that the new headset could have a few more than most. Throughout its development, some both within and outside Apple have argued that the product is either not a good fit or is not ready yet in its current form. At the same time, others have pressed on, arguing that it is better to get some version of the headset out into the world and develop it from there. Even in recent days, as the release of the headset nears, reports have suggested issues. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that even in current testing the headset appears to be getting hot, for instance. Another headset? The mixed reality goggles, due to be released at WWDC, are thought to be just one part of Apple’s big plan for augmented and virtual reality. Apple is also said to be working on a separate headset that could be released at a later date, and for a lower price. Eventually, too, Apple might want to take some of the technology from the goggles and integrate them into glasses that allow people to see the world normally but with virtual objects imposed on top. Rumours have long suggested that is the eventual aim – but it might never come. Read More Apple is about to update all its products – and release a very big new one Mark Zuckerberg reveals new VR headset ahead of Apple Apple gives update on the App Store ahead of expected headset reveal Major leak reveals details of Apple’s VR headset days before unveiling Apple is going to reveal something else alongside its headset, rumours suggest Trust and ethics considerations ‘have come too late’ on AI technology

Vegetarianism may be written in your DNA, a study has found. According to new research which analysed 5000 vegetarians and 300,000 meat eaters, there are genes associated with how well someone is able to adhere to a vegetarian lifestyle. Researchers identified three genes that are strongly identified and another 31 that are potentially identified with vegetarianism. In a genetic analysis, the researchers saw that vegetarians are more likely than non-vegetarians to have different variations of these genes. This might be because of how different people process lipids, or fats. Several of the genes that the study found to be associated with vegetarianism had to do with metabolising lipids and given plants and meat differ in the complexity of their lipids, it may be that some people genetically need some lipids offered by meat. “At this time we can say is that genetics plays a significant role in vegetarianism and that some people may be genetically better suited for a vegetarian diet than others,” said lead study author Dr. Nabeel Yaseen, professor emeritus of pathology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “A large proportion of self-described vegetarians actually report consuming meat products when responding to detailed questionnaires,” he said. “This suggests that many people who would like to be vegetarian are not able to do so, and our data suggest that genetics is at least part of the reason.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The trivia game was developed by Volley and is available for purchase on Roku devices

TikTok is planning to pour “billions of dollars” in Southeast Asia over the next few years, aiming to drive growth in one of its biggest markets amid heightened scrutiny in the U.S. The company’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, made the announcement Thursday during a speech at a TikTok forum in the Indonesian capital Jakarta

TL;DR: The Fire TV Cube is an all-in-one streaming entertainment system, giving you access to

A U.S. judge hearing the Justice Department's lawsuit against Alphabet's Google alleging it broke antitrust law in search

Nissan on Wednesday became the first Japanese automaker to agree to adopt Tesla's electric-vehicle charging technology in the

Scientists are on alert after NASA confirmed there is a chance an asteroid the size of the Empire State Building could come smashing into Earth. The asteroid is named Bennu after the ancient Egyptian bird god and has been on the space agency’s radar for a long time as they try to prevent it from coming crashing into our planet. Bennu has been categorised as one of the two “most hazardous known asteroids” and, despite the chance of impact standing at 1-in-2,700, it could strike the Earth with the force of 24 times that of the largest nuclear bomb – 1,200 megatons of energy. The carbon-based asteroid is approximately 510 metres wide and experts predict that it will come closest to hitting Earth on September 24, 2182. While the asteroid is quite sizeable, it is not quite as sizeable as the six-mile-wide asteroid which almost completely wiped out the dinosaurs. But, NASA warns that Bennu “could cause continental devastation if it became an Earth impactor”. A space mission launched using NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has successfully taken a sample from Bennu in order for scientists to better understand the potentially dangerous asteroid. On Sunday (24 September) a capsule of the material will be dropped by OSIRIS-REx and returned to Earth where it will be retrieved and the matter inside studied. Davide Farnocchia of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory told the Science Journal: “We improved our knowledge of Bennu's trajectory by a factor of 20.” As scientists work to investigate how much of a risk it could cause, Farnocchia added: “In 2135, we'll know for sure.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

(Drops extraneous word from headline) (Reuters) -Tesla missed market estimates for third-quarter deliveries on Monday as the automaker was forced

US prosecutors opened a landmark antitrust trial against Google on Tuesday with sweeping allegations that for years the company intentionally stifled competition challenging its massive search engine, accusing the tech giant of spending billions to operate an illegal monopoly that has harmed every computer and mobile device user in the United States.