< Notes...

Images of an alien world (Mars is as alien as it can be; I mean, the Moon is, and it is closer) really touch me deeply. I imagine what will it be like being there, touching those rocks, letting that sand go through my fingers, looking at the horizon. But it goes further than that, hard to describe; it is a rather primal feeling.

Also, such a lonely machine. I know, it is a machine, still. I am not comparing humans to a Mars rover, but aren’t we some kind of machine too? As such, I can’t help but feeling sad for Curiosity.

science thoughts

We have re-ignited our desire to go back to the Moon, and towards that aim we are going around it this time, just for giggles (kidding, kidding!). And, of course, the chosen for the task crew took pictures. Really great pictures!

“The Artemis II crew captured this view of Earth setting on April 6, 2026, as they flew around the Moon. As the astronauts flew over the Moon’s far side, the crew photographed and described terrain features including impact craters, ancient lava flows, and surface cracks and ridges formed as the Moon slowly evolved over time.”

What an amazing experience the Artemis II crew is having! 😍

science tubes

Donut Lab’s all-solid-state battery delivers 400 Wh/kg of energy density, enabling longer range, lighter structures, and unprecedented flexibility in vehicle and product design. It can be charged to full in just five minutes without limiting charging to 80%, and supports full discharge safely, repeatedly, and reliably.

And:

Unlike conventional lithium-ion batteries, the Donut Battery experiences minimal capacity fade over its lifetime, with a design life of up to 100,000 cycles, offering practical longevity that far exceeds existing technologies. Safety is built in at the core: no flammable liquid electrolytes, no thermal runaway chains, and no metallic dendrites. This eliminates the root causes of battery fires, making the Donut Battery extremely safe and truly revolutionary.

And:

Performance has been rigorously tested across extreme conditions. At –30°C, the battery retains over 99% of its capacity, and when heated to temperatures exceeding 100°C, it continues to retain over 99% capacity with no signs of ignition or degradation.

The Donut Lab solid state battery is made entirely from abundant, affordable, and geopolitically safe materials, does not rely on rare or sensitive elements, and demonstrates a lower cost than lithium-ion.

I had to quote all of that because it sounds incredible; it addresses battery issues found in the current leading EVs. I truly want to believe: we need better, affordable, and abundant batteries. Yet, we will have to wait and see.

➝ Via Hacker News.

science tech via

“So this is a very exciting day for me, because today, we’re going to start quantum mechanics and that’s all we’ll do till the end of the term. Now I’ve got bad news and good news. The bad news is that it’s a subject that’s kind of hard to follow intuitively, and the good news is that nobody can follow it intuitively. Richard Feynman, one of the big figures in physics, used to say, “No one understands quantum mechanics.” So in some sense, the pressure is off for you guys, because I don’t get it and you don’t get it and Feynman doesn’t get it. The point is, here is my goal. Right now, I’m the only one who doesn’t understand quantum mechanics. In about seven days, all of you will be unable to understand quantum mechanics. Then you can go back and spread your ignorance everywhere else.”

Professor Ramamurti Shankar “Fundamentals of Physics II” transcript introduction will keep me in his class, heck, will make me sign up for it even if I didn’t need the credit! Such quality on a professor is the reason why he teaches at Yale.

humour science tubes

“This is not just a piece of paper”. Immerse yourself “traveling” along with this video, from the smallest, to the biggest. Very, very well done.

science youtube

Why everytime we deorbit something (a satellite, or, you know, the ISS, when its time comes) we bring it in, into the atmosphere, to crash on Earth? Why don’t we push them out, to the vast cosmos? A few answers come to mind, with cost making the only sense.

science thoughts

The air we breathe is composed, amongst many other things of course, “of the previous breaths of everyone who ever lived”.

“How many molecules from Caesar’s last breath do we inhale with each breath we take? Shockingly, the answer is about one molecule—we actually do share breaths with Caesar! And, by extension, every breath we take is composed of the previous breaths of everyone who ever lived—Socrates, Lincoln, Einstein, etc. Isn’t that crazy?”

➝ Via Hacker News.

interesting science via

Peter Higgs has died:

“Higgs, 94, who was awarded the Nobel prize for physics in 2013 for his work in 1964 showing how the boson helped bind the universe together by giving particles their mass, died at home in Edinburgh on Monday.”

Ninety four years old! If only I could be that lucky!

interesting science

We must set, and use, and enforce, Azimov’s “Three Laws of Robotic” on the now called AI:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

llm science tech thoughts

TIL that there are around 12kg of gold, and 21kg of silver in 4.2 cubic kilometres of seawater. You can read more about it and, at the same time, learn why the ocean is salty.

➝ Via Hacker News.

interesting science