Lee Billings

3 days ago | scientificamerican.com | Gayoung Lee |Lee Billings

The allure of quantum computers is, at its heart, quite simple: by leveraging counterintuitive quantum effects, they could perform computational feats utterly impossible for any classical computer. But reality is more complex: to date, most claims of quantum “advantage”—an achievement by a quantum computer that a regular machine can’t match—have struggled to show they truly exceed classical capabilities.

2 weeks ago | scientificamerican.com | Lee Billings

In the pantheon of modern physics, few figures can match the quiet authority of Gerard ’t Hooft. The Dutch theoretical physicist, now a professor emeritus at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, has spent much of the past half-century reshaping our understanding of the fundamental forces that knit together reality.

2 weeks ago | flipboard.com | Lee Billings

23 hours agoPentagon opens ‘crazy’ competition to build quantum computerThe Pentagon wants to know, once and for all, if a useful quantum computer can actually be built — or if it remains in the realm of science …2 days agoScientists Are Mapping the Boundaries of What Is Knowable and UnknowableMath and computer science researchers have long known that some questions are fundamentally unanswerable.

3 weeks ago | scientificamerican.com | Lee Billings

In some respects, the most notable thing about Fram2, the private four-person space mission that launched on Monday night on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, is its polar orbit. Named after the Norwegian polar-exploration vessel Fram, the Fram2 mission marks the first time humans have occupied this particular slot around our planet, a swooping ellipse that takes a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft between Earth’s North and South Poles in about 45 minutes.

1 month ago | scientificamerican.com | Lee Billings

Sometimes, a picture can be worth much more than a thousand words. For instance, one measure associated with the pictures below—new high-definition snapshots of the cosmos in its infancy—is 1,900 “zetta-suns.”On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.