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☆ U.S. Argonne National Lab scales up startup SambaNova's latest AI system
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Jane Lanhee Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 14 (Reuters) - Silicon Valley artificial intelligence (AI) computing startup SambaNova Systems said on Monday it delivered eight units of its latest AI system to the U.S. Argonne National Laboratory, which is expanding its AI offering to researchers. With AI work taking center stage in research, Argonne National Laboratory has been testing out various AI chips and systems, Rick Stevens, associate lab director for computing, environment and life sciences at Argonne lab told Reuters. In addition to SambaNova, AI systems from startups including Cerebras Systems, Groq Inc, Graphcore, and Intel Corp (INTC.O) owned Habana Labs have been tested. "We're working with new emerging AI hardware architectures, and we get early hardware and then we play with it, we use it on our science applications," said Stevens. Steven said the lab was evaluating AI hardware for its next supercomputer to see if SambaNova and others can be included.

☆ The US saw Russia moving to possibly test Putin's nuclear-powered 'doomsday' torpedo, but it looks like something went wrong: CNN
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia may be preparing a test of its nuclear-powered Poseidon torpedo, CNN reported Thursday. The Poseidon torpedo was unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018. Russia's claims to use nuclear power to propel Poseidon potentially solve this in an unprecedented way — if it actually works. There are no yet signs that it does, however, and a US official told CNN it appears Russia is having trouble even trying to see if it does. Some are skeptical the Poseidon torpedo will ever work, believing it impossible to reliably fit a working nuclear reactor into something the size of a cruise missile.

As a result, political observers say, public school funding is effectively on the ballot Tuesday. “These groups have been demonizing what is being taught in public schools, and that’s the fastest way to erode faith that public schools work,” Rottinghaus said. (Abbott publicly came out in support of private school vouchers two months after winning the primary with 66.5% of the vote.) Greg Abbott in the GOP primary, campaigned in support of private school vouchers. “I will never support vouchers.”Rep. John Bucy III said he will continue to oppose private school vouchers.

☆ How super-hot rocks miles under the earth's surface could provide limitless clean energy
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

The Clean Air Task Force commissioned a non-profit geothermal organization, the Hot Rock Energy Research Organization, and an international clean energy consultancy, LucidCatalyst, to estimate the levelized cost of commercial-scale superhot rock electricity. Graphic courtesy Clear Air Task ForceRegular versus superhot geothermalWhile energy from superhot rocks is not being used now, geothermal energy is being used in a few places where super-hot temperatures exist close to the surface of the earth. But accessing superhot rock energy involves tapping into hotter, dry rock — which is everywhere, but sometimes far beneath the surface. Graphic courtesy Clear Air Task ForceIceland is a leader in investigating superhot rock geothermal energy with its Iceland Deep Drilling Project. Beyond Iceland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand and the United States are leaders in superhot rock geothermal, according to Friðleifsson.

☆ How super-hot rocks miles under the earth's surface could help combat climate change
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

"It will take public and private investment similar to those being allocated to nuclear, carbon capture, and hydrogen fuels," Hill told CNBC. But accessing superhot rock energy involves tapping into hotter, dry rock — which is everywhere, but sometimes far beneath the surface. Graphic courtesy Clear Air Task ForceIceland is a leader in investigating superhot rock geothermal energy with its Iceland Deep Drilling Project. Beyond Iceland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand and the United States are leaders in superhot rock geothermal, according to Friðleifsson. Oil and gas companies could use their resources to help spur development in the superhot rock industry, the CATF report said.

☆ U.S. funds projects to explore nuclear waste reprocessing
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Timothy Gardner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E, aims to develop a dozen projects to recycle the waste, also known as spent nuclear fuel, with $38 million in funding. France and other countries have reprocessed nuclear waste by breaking it down into uranium and plutonium and reusing it to make new reactor fuel. President Joe Biden's administration supports development of advanced nuclear plants to help reach his goal of decarbonizing the U.S. economy by 2050. Recycling nuclear waste "can significantly reduce the amount of spent fuel at nuclear sites, and increase economic stability for the communities leading this important work," Granholm said. As a result, the waste is now stored at nuclear power plants across the country in spent fuel pools and in casks made of steel and concrete.

☆ A nuclear attack would most likely target one of 6 US cities. Simulated images show how a Hiroshima-like explosion would affect each.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Any buildings, objects, and people caught within this radius would likely burst into flames. Green: Radiation (0.74-mile radius) — Within at least 15 minutes of a blast, clouds of dust and sandlike radioactive particles — what's referred to as nuclear fallout — would reach the ground. Nuclear fallout can cause radiation poisoning, which damages the body's cells and prove fatal. Blue-gray: Air blast (1.04-mile radius) — Air blasts are powerful enough to topple residential buildings. The tool, which can be found here, allows you to input the city and the yield of the nuclear weapon you'd like to simulate.

☆ The UN has said nuclear war is 'back within the realm of possibility.' Here are the places in the US most likely to be hit in a nuclear attack.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Alex Lockie | Abbie Shull | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said earlier in the year that nuclear war is "back within the realm of possibility." A Russian nuclear attack would likely focus on high-value targets in North Dakota or Montana. Even if every single US intercontinental ballistic missile silo, stockpiled nuclear weapon, and nuclear-capable bomber were flattened, US nuclear submarines could — and would — retaliate. Brooke Buddemeier/Lawrence Livermore National LaboratoryThe US has strategically positioned the bulk of its nuclear forces, which double as nuclear targets, far from population centers. Update: This article was originally published in 2017 but has since been updated and re-published amid concerns that the war in Ukraine could escalate to nuclear war.

Many of the most destructive and potentially deadly impacts of a hurricane — including storm surge, flooding and rainfall — are not accounted for in a storm's category number. "Hurricane Ian is a very large, slow-moving hurricane. "There have been several alternative scales proposed over the years and none have gained enough attention or traction by the National Hurricane Center," Collins said. "It is important to have such evidence before even proposing to the National Hurricane Center that this should be considered as a replacement." Kantha said the National Hurricane Center acts conservatively and carefully with changes, particularly those with legal implications.

☆ A CIA doctor investigating the mysterious Havana syndrome says he got symptoms of the illness himself
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A CIA doctor dispatched to investigate the so-called Havana syndrome opened up about his own illness. The anonymous doctor told CNN he started experiencing symptoms of the syndrome himself while in Cuba. Reports of this syndrome, nicknamed "Havana syndrome" because of where it was first reported in late 2016, are officially referred to as "anomalous health incidents" (AHIs). Andrews was awakened by a sudden loud noiseAndrews told CNN that he was in "disbelief" when he started experiencing the symptoms himself. The so-called Havana syndrome has come under intense scrutiny in recent years, as more and more US cases have been reported.

☆ Scientists at America’s top nuclear lab were recruited by China to design missiles and drones, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dilanianmug.Jpg | Ken Dilanian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

The report, by Strider Technologies, describes what it calls a systemic effort by the government of China to place Chinese scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where nuclear weapons were first developed. Scientists were paid as much as $1 million through participation in Chinese government “talent programs,” which are designed to recruit Chinese scientists to return to China. Moreover, U.S. officials and experts say most Chinese scientists who immigrate to the U.S. remain here — and many have made significant contributions to U.S. defense technology. Workers at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M. Los Alamos National Laboratory via AP fileLos Alamos officials referred questions to the Energy Department, which declined to address the report’s specific findings. “No one can say this is not a national security issue,” Evanina said.

☆ Saudi Arabia buys pair of SpaceX astronaut seats from Axiom
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Under the deal, two Saudi astronauts will ride SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule to the space station for a roughly weeklong stay early next year, the sources said. Officials with the Saudi Space Commission, Riyadh's space agency founded in 2018, were not immediately available to comment. The Saudi astronauts will join two previously announced Americans, retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and race car driver and investor John Shoffner, the sources said. For Axiom and other space companies, cutting deals with foreign governments is seen as vital to sustaining a business centered on putting people in space. Axiom's astronaut flight business is crucial experience for the company's broader goals of deploying its own private space station by mid-decade.

☆ Exclusive: Saudi Arabia buys pair of SpaceX astronaut seats from Axiom -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Under the deal, two Saudi astronauts will ride SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule to the space station for a roughly weeklong stay early next year, the sources said. Officials with the Saudi Space Commission, Riyadh's space agency founded in 2018, were not immediately available to comment. The Saudi astronauts will join two previously announced Americans, retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and race car driver and investor John Shoffner, the sources said. Axiom launched its first private mission to the space station in April, sending a four-man crew to the space station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that included a Canadian investor and an Israeli businessman. Axiom's astronaut flight business is crucial experience for the company's broader goals of deploying its own private space station by mid-decade.

Powerful storms battered three disparate, far-flung corners of the planet over the weekend, but they had one thing in common: They were made stronger and wetter by climate change. The three weekend storms add to a trend of wetter storms in a warmer future, said Michael Wehner, a senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. With climate change making storms rainier and more intense, the weekend's extreme weather events offer a glimpse of what could become more common in the future, according to experts. As the world's oceans heat up, they provide more energy for storms, allowing them to intensify as they form. “Hurricane Fiona is a reminder that even though it has been relatively quiet, things can change and strong storms can have a really big impact,” he added.

☆ The US had a plan in the 1960s to blast an alternative Suez Canal through Israel using 520 nuclear bombs
▼ + stars: | 2021-03-25 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A declassified memorandum reveals a 1963 US plan to create an alternative to the Suez Canal. A cargo ship is currently stuck in the Suez Canal, blocking the vital shipping routeTop editors give you the stories you want — delivered right to your inbox each weekday. The historian Alex Wellerstein called the plan a "modest proposal for the Suez Canal situation" on Twitter on March 24, 2021. It suggested that an "interesting application of nuclear excavation would be a sea-level canal 160 miles long across Israel." The laboratory noted that there were 130 miles of "virtually unpopulated desert wasteland, and are thus amenable to nuclear excavation methods."

Persons: —, Alex Wellerstein, Lawrence Organizations: Service, Twitter, US Department of Energy, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, US Atomic Energy Commission, Forbes, Atomic Energy Commission Locations: Suez, Israel, Aqaba, Central America

☆ A nuclear attack would most likely target one of these 6 US cities — but an expert says none of them are prepared
▼ + stars: | 2019-12-17 | by ( Aria Bendix | Taylor Ardrey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

A nuclear attack on US soil would most likely target one of six cities: New York, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Washington, DC. A nuclear attack in a large metropolitan area is one of the 15 disaster scenarios for which the US Federal Emergency Management Agency has an emergency strategy. That includes the six urban areas that Redlener thinks are the most likely targets of a nuclear attack: New York, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. "Can you imagine a public official keeping buildings intact for fallout shelters when the real-estate market is so tight?" Both experts agreed that for a city to be prepared for a nuclear attack, it must acknowledge that such an attack is possible — even if the threat is remote.

☆ If a nuclear weapon is about to explode, here are 17 things you can do
▼ + stars: | 2018-01-24 | by ( Dave Mosher | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Here is how to best protect yourself in case of a nuclear blast, according to trusted sources. A pulse of nuclear radiation. The blast wave is slower, but goes much farther. What to do if you're outside when the blast hitsIf you're outside, your first priority is to shelter from the blast wave. Be prepared to shelterIt's best to hunker down in your blast shelter if you're unsure whether it's safe to move.

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