Edd Gent

Bangalore

Freelance Journalist at Freelance

Contributor at IEEE Spectrum

Freelance science and technology writer. Contributing editor @IEEESpectrum.

Articles

This Brain-Computer Interface Is So Small It Fits Between the Follicles of Your Hair

2 weeks ago | singularityhub.com | Edd Gent

Brain-computer interfaces are typically unwieldy, which makes using them on the move a non-starter. A new neural interface small enough to be attached between the user’s hair follicles keeps working even when the user is in motion. At present, brain-computer interfaces are typically used as research devices designed to study neural activity or, occasionally, as a way for patients with severe paralysis to control wheelchairs or computers.
These Solar Cells Are Made of Moon Dust. They Could Power Future Lunar Colonies.

3 weeks ago | singularityhub.com | Edd Gent

NASA's plan to establish a permanent human presence on the moon will require making better use of lunar resources. A new approach has now shown how to make solar cells out of moon dust. Later this decade, the US space agency’s Artemis III mission plans to return astronauts to the moon for the first time in more than half a century. The long-term goal of the Artemis program is to establish a permanent human presence on our nearest celestial neighbor.
Is D-Wave's Quantum Supremacy Claim Justified or Overhyped?

3 weeks ago | spectrum.ieee.org | Edd Gent

Quantum computing company D-Wave sparked controversy earlier this month by saying it could solve problems beyond classical computers’ capabilities. The claim was quickly challenged, but despite the furor experts say the results demonstrate the growing capabilities of its technology. “Quantum supremacy,“ which refers to the point when a quantum computer can solve a problem that is essentially impossible for a classical computer, has become the guiding star for the quantum computing industry.
D-Wave “Supremacy” Controversy Overshadows Real Progress

3 weeks ago | flipboard.com | Edd Gent

8 hours agoSolar power has long been seen as a clean alternative to fossil fuels. But its everyday use still faces hurdles. Traditional panels are bulky, stiff, and completely opaque. That makes them hard to fit into most urban designs or consumer products. These limits have kept solar tech stuck on rooftops …
Meet the Solar Engineer Transforming Lebanon’s Power Grid

3 weeks ago | spectrum.ieee.org | Edd Gent

In Mira Daher’s home country of Lebanon, the national grid provides power for only a few hours a day. The country’s state-owned energy provider, Electricity of Lebanon (EDL), has long struggled to meet demand, and a crippling economic crisis that began in 2019 has worsened the situation. Most residents now rely on privately owned diesel-powered generators for the bulk of their energy needs.
What Anthropic Researchers Found After Reading Claude’s ‘Mind’ Surprised Them

3 weeks ago | singularityhub.com | Edd Gent

Despite popular analogies to thinking and reasoning, we have a very limited understanding of what goes on in an AI’s “mind.” New research from Anthropic helps pull the veil back a little further. Tracing how large language models generate seemingly intelligent behavior could help us build even more powerful systems—but it could be also be crucial for understanding how to control and direct those systems as they approach and even surpass our capabilities. This is challenging.
Modvion Builds Wind Turbine Towers from Engineered Wood

4 weeks ago | spectrum.ieee.org | Edd Gent

Wood might seem like a construction material from a bygone era, but Swedish start-up Modvion is putting it to a very modern use. The Gothenburg-based company is using engineered wood to build wind turbine towers, and it recently received design certification for the tallest one to date: 119 meters, matching the height of most on-shore wind turbines in operation. The company’s tower can support a 6.4-megawatt turbine.
What Range Anxiety? These Chinese Electric Cars Charge in Just Five Minutes

1 month ago | singularityhub.com | Edd Gent

A major barrier to widespread adoption of electric vehicles is the time it takes to recharge them. This week, Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD unveiled a charger almost as fast as filling up at the gas pump. The distance electric vehicles can travel on a single charge has climbed dramatically in recent years, but on average, they still only manage about half of what’s possible on a full tank of gas.
Could Ultrasonic Beams Revolutionize Private Audio Spaces?

1 month ago | spectrum.ieee.org | Edd Gent

Ultrasonic beams fired through a 3D-printed metasurface can create localized pockets of sound that are inaudible to passers-by. The technique could be used to create private speech zones for secure communications or enable personalized audio spaces in public spaces and vehicles. The ability to deliver sounds to a specific listener without the need for headphones, known as directional sound, has been a long standing area of research in audio engineering.
Green Steel Startup’s Largest Reactor Yet Produces a Ton of Molten Metal With Electricity

1 month ago | singularityhub.com | Edd Gent

Steelmaking is one of the hardest industries to decarbonize due to its reliance on high temperatures and coal-based fuels to drive crucial reactions. But a green steel company has made a major breakthrough after its new plant produced more than a ton of the metal. Rapid progress decarbonizing the energy and transport sectors is leading to a growing focus on areas of the economy where it will be harder to ditch fossil fuels.