Bill Cannon

Dec 3, 2024 | ascr-discovery.org | Bill Cannon

The human brain contains a vast expanse of unmapped territory. An adult brain measures only about 1,300 cubic centimeters — less than 80 cubic inches — but it holds 86 billion neurons. Mapping the largely uncharted 100 trillion connections among them is called connectomics, and computer scientists at Argonne National Laboratory are processing huge datasets of human brain imagery to map interneuron links.

Apr 2, 2024 | ascr-discovery.org | Bill Cannon

Quantum computers hold the promise of processing information exponentially faster than traditional machines — 100 million times the speed of your laptop. They do this by replacing the either-or 1’s and 0’s that now direct operations. In their place would be quantum bits, or qubits, which can be a 1 or a 0 at the same time, a quantum physics concept called superposition.

Dec 19, 2023 | ascr-discovery.org | Bill Cannon

Extreme weather events have become more common and more intense than ever. In the past five years, the United States has experienced deadly wildfires in California and Hawaii, record-breaking cold snaps in the Midwest, and severe winter storms in Texas – a state that typically does not see snow. Even the Pacific Northwest and other places known for moderate temperatures have experienced heat domes and intensifying rains called atmospheric rivers that lead to flash flooding.

Nov 24, 2023 | ascr-discovery.org | Bill Cannon

Accelerator facilities that allow nuclear physicists to probe the inner workings of atoms and their nuclei require a costly high-wire act of data acquisition and storage. Take, for example, the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) at the Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, or JLab, in Newport News, Virginia. At CEBAF, electrons hurtle at close to lightspeed into a target, obliterating protons and neutrons.

Nov 13, 2023 | ascr-discovery.org | Bill Cannon

Experts believe that nuclear power – along with renewable energy sources like wind and solar – can help mitigate the accumulation of climate-changing greenhouse gases. Indeed, for decades, nuclear plants have reduced dependency on fossil fuel and supplied nearly carbon-free energy. China and Russia are the biggest producers, but in America and other countries, first-generation plants have reached the end of their operating lifetimes and are closing without replacements.