Tech News : 1 Second Lost in 300 Billion Years
Researchers at European XFEL X-ray laser have reported creating an atomic clock with such a precise pulse generator that it has an accuracy of only 1 second lost in in 300 billion years!
How Atomic Clocks Work
Up until now, atomic clocks have been the world’s most accurate timekeepers by using electrons in the atomic shell of chemical elements, such as caesium, as the pulse generator define the time.
Electrons absorb microwaves at specific frequencies, elevating their energy levels. Atomic clocks use this principle, targeting caesium atoms with microwaves and adjusting the frequency to maximise absorption, known as ‘resonance.’ This resonance helps to stabilise the clock’s quartz oscillator, allowing caesium clocks to maintain accuracy within a second for 300 ‘million’ years (note, that’s not a mistake – the ‘billion’ accuracy is outlined later in this article). The narrower the resonance, the more precise the clock.
Who Uses Atomic Clocks, And Why?
The unparalleled precision, the size (at least server-rack size) and the expense (from thousands to millions of pounds) means that most of us won’t have one in the kitchen any time soon. Atomic clocks are actually used in a variety of sectors for a number of reasons (with accuracy being the main one), such as:
- In Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), e.g. GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo. These use atomic clocks on board their satellites to enable accurate positioning and navigation information to users worldwide.
- In Telecommunications networks to synchronise data transmissions, ensuring efficient and error-free data exchange.
- In scientific research (unsurprisingly). For example, physicists and other scientists use atomic clocks in experiments that require precise time measurements. They’re also crucial in testing fundamental principles of physics, like Einstein’s theory of relativity.
In astronomy, atomic clocks are used to provide the synchronisation for multiple observatories to coordinate observing the same astronomical object (known as VLBI or Very Long Baseline Interferometry).
Other ways that atomic clocks are used are for accurate time-stamping in financial market systems, in energy (power grid synchronisation), national timekeeping services, and in deep space exploration (to help with navigation accuracy in places where GPS signals aren’t accessible).
Strontium Clocks – Even More Accurate!
While caesium atomic clocks are highly accurate, strontium clocks are even more so, with an accuracy of one second in 15 billion years!
The Challenge
Although most of us would probably perfectly happy with such accurate clocks, scientists have long been frustrated by the fact that any improvement in accuracy is practically impossible to achieve with this method of electron excitation.
Nuclear Clocks
In what has been described as a “groundbreaking” experiment, and a “milestone” achievement, the European XFEL’s team focused on using the atomic nucleus (of scandium) rather than electrons, and the atomic shell to generate an accurate pulse. This is because nuclear resonances are much more acute than the resonances of electrons in the atomic shell (although harder to excite).
The researchers have reported using X-rays with an energy of 12.4 kiloelectronvolts (keV, about 10,000 times the energy of visible light) to achieve the necessary resonance. One major bonus of using scandium is that it’s readily available as a high-purity metal foil or as the compound scandium dioxide.
Using this method, the researchers have reported being able to make a clock with an accuracy of 1:10,000,000,000,000 possible, which corresponds to one second (lost) in 300 billion years!
Why Now?
Although the scientific potential of the scandium resonance has been known about for more than 30 years, as Anders Madsen, leading scientist at the MID experiment station at the European XFEL says: “Until now, however, no X-ray source was available that shone brightly enough within the narrow 1.4 feV line of scandium” and “That only changed with X-ray lasers like the European XFEL.”
Another important breakthrough by the scientists in this experiment has been the precise determination of the transition energy. As the head of the data analysis, Jörg Evers of the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg explains: “The exact knowledge of this energy is of enormous importance for the realisation of an atomic clock based on scandium.”
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
This breakthrough in finding a way to make even more accurate atomic clocks has value for many high-tech industries sectors, e.g. space global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) telecoms networks, scientific research, financial market systems, deep space exploration, and more. It is these types of areas where improving accuracy (even by what could seem an unfathomably small amount), can make a real difference, and there will be rub-off benefits to humanity, economies, and other industries in the future. Also, a clock with this new even greater level of accuracy could help research in some exciting, truly futuristic areas such as enabling gravitational time dilation to be probed at sub-millimetre distances, thereby enabling studies that haven’t been accessible so far.
Clearly, it won’t be possible to verify if the claim about the accuracy of the new type of atomic clock is as accurate as predicted, and most of us will have to take the scientists’ word for it that this is a significant breakthrough, that could feed into other breakthroughs.
Sustainability-in-Tech : Microsoft’s Green Concrete In Data Centres
As part of its commitment to be carbon negative by 2030, Microsoft is trialling cement containing microalgae-based limestone in its data centre builds.
The Issue For Microsoft
The main issue for Microsoft is that it needs to decarbonise its data centre builds by reducing the amount of ‘embodied carbon’ in the concrete used to build its data centres, thereby helping it to hit its green targets. Embodied carbon is the measure of the carbon emitted during the manufacturing, installation, maintenance, and disposal of a product or material (in this case, concrete).
The Issue With Traditional Concrete
The issue with traditional concrete is that its embodied carbon is responsible for around a massive 11 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions!
Most of the emissions associated with concrete are the result of the key ingredient of cement being limestone. For example, traditional Portland cement is produced by quarrying limestone in large quarries and burning it at high temperatures (heating it with clay around 2,650 degrees Fahrenheit) which results in the production 2 gigatons of carbon dioxide every year! Also, Portland cement, the most popular kind of cement, uses ground (quarried) limestone. The quarrying process not only produces massive amounts of damaging greenhouse gasses, but also has a serious environmental impact. Although Portland Cement typically forms 7 to 15 per cent of a concrete mix by weight, it can contribute 80 to 95 per cent of the embodied carbon in concrete.
What Is Microalgae-Based Limestone And How Can It Help?
Microalgae-Based Limestone, often referred to as a “biogenic limestone,” is produced (in the lab) from microalgae such as coccolithophores, which has a cloudy white appearance. These microalgae produce the largest amounts of new calcium carbonate on the planet at a much faster rate than coral and do so by capturing and storing CO2 from the atmosphere in the form of calcium carbonate shells that form on their surface. By replacing the quarried limestone with this naturally produced biogenic limestone (which also stores carbon from the atmosphere) in a concrete mix, Microsoft aims to find a mix design that can lower embodied carbon in concrete by more than 50 per cent compared to traditional concrete mixes.
Pilots Under Way
With this in mind, Microsoft already has a pilot under way in Quincy (Washington) for biogenic limestone concrete mix.
Microsoft is also experimenting with a concrete mix with fly ash and slag that are activated with alkaline soda ash, and with both the alkali activated cement and biogenic limestone.
Signed An Open Letter
Amazon (AWS), Google, Meta, and Microsoft all recently released an open letter on the iMasons (Infrastructure Masons) website, which calls for action to use greener concrete in data centre infrastructure and encourage other companies to join them.
Other Investment
Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund, which was launched in 2020, also invests in early-stage companies engaged in work to find solutions that could cut the amount of embodied carbon in concrete and other building materials to zero.
For example, one early investment was in ‘CarbonCure,’ which deploys low carbon concrete technologies that inject captured carbon dioxide into concrete, where the CO2 immediately mineralises and is permanently embedded as nanosized rocks within the physical product. This acts both as both a carbon sink and a way to strengthen the material, enabling a reduction in the amount of carbon-intensive cement required.
What Does This Mean For Your Organisation?
Microsoft’s pursuit of greener concrete through micro-algae-produced biogenic limestone shows how its leveraging its influence partly to meet its own targets, but also for a more sustainable future. Their initiative not only aligns with their overarching objective to achieve carbon negativity by 2030, but also seems to underline a broader vision of constructing markets and technologies that facilitate the decarbonisation journey. If a way could be found to completely replace quarried limestone, the prize could be a potential reduction of 2 gigatons of carbon dioxide annually, a game changer in the global fight against climate change. Also, the mass production of microalgae not only sequesters more carbon but also promises multiple environmental benefits like improved air quality and reduced quarry-induced damage.
The prospect of seamlessly substituting biogenic for quarried limestone without compromising product quality, combined with the potential economic benefits from microalgae by-products, does sound very promising.
Drawing from insights like those of the iMasons Climate Accord, the path forward appears to need collective industry efforts, innovative research, and consistent progress measurements. If Microsoft’s pilot experiments manage to pinpoint the ideal green concrete mix, it could help revolutionise the building industry, let alone help Microsoft to decarbonise its own data centre builds. This could significantly curb greenhouse gas emissions and environmental degradation linked to cement and concrete production (which is something that’s much needed).
Pioneering efforts by Microsoft and the other big tech companies that published the open letter may not only advance their own sustainability goals but could potentially present effective and sustainable solutions for the greater good of the planet.
Tech-Trivia : Did You Know? This Week in Tech-History …
October 1980 : Halloween, Early AI & Ghosts …
AI isn’t something that’s just emerged in the last couple of years. Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde had distinct personalities and if these names sound familiar it’s because they were the four ghosts that chased Pac-Man around his maze, each with different styles of trying to catch him, a kind of ‘AI’.
Originally developed by Namco in 1979, the game went on to break multiple records, emerging as one of the most played games of all time and in the United States, the icon of Pac-Man was listed as recognisable by 94% of the population, at the time making it the most recognisable video game character ever (source : Guinness World Records) and has grossed over $14 Billion dollars.
3 Take-Aways About Being Different :
1-Different Offering. At the time, almost all of the other video games were “shoot ’em ups” and dominated by male players. The designer, Toru Iwatani, said: “All the computer games available at the time were of the violent type—war games and Space Invader types. There were no games that everyone could enjoy, and especially none for women. I wanted to come up with a ‘comical’ game women could enjoy.”
He was right, they did!
2-Different Markets. When Pac-Man was introduced to the States (October 1980), things really took off thanks to a deal with Bally/Midway. The code was ported across to various other platforms and consoles so that the game was ubiquitous across the country (and later Europe and other countries worldwide) and available on all major personal computer brands.
I.e. the distribution was an incredible success well outside Japan.
3-Different Names. It was originally called ‘Puck-Man’ (a derivative of the Japanese phrase “Paku paku taberu” meaning to gobble something up).
As legend would have it, the original inspiration came when Toru Iwatani saw his a pizza with a slice removed (resembling a hungry face) while the Power-Pellets (AKA Power ‘Cookies’) were inspired by the spinach-superpowers from Popeye.
Namco were concerned American teenagers would vandalise machines to make the name “Puck-Man” obscene, hence the name-change to Pac-Man.
Bonus Ball :
Within Mergers and Acquisitions, a “Pac-Man defence” is a strategy whereby a target-company of a hostile takeover tries to switch things around and buy the acquirer. It refers to when Pac-Man eats an energizer and starts eating the ghosts (rather than the other way around).
Tech Tip – Prioritise WhatsApp Messages By Pinning A Chat To The Top
If there’s a particular WhatsApp chat you would like to prioritise, you can pin it to the top of your chats list. Here’s how:
– For Android: Tap and hold the chat you want to pin, then tap the Pin symbol at the top of the screen.
– For iPhone: Swipe right on the chat you want to pin, then tap Pin.
Your chosen chats (you can choose up to three) will then moved to top of your chats list.
Featured Article : Live Information From ChatGPT
OpenAI’s ChatGPT has announced that as part of three big changes, it can now access current information by browsing the internet.
Previously
Prior to the new (Beta) change, ChatGPT had only been trained on information up until September 2021, although ChatGPT’s newer GPT-4 architecture was trained up until January 2022. This has meant that unless using a plugin, accessing current information hasn’t been possible, which has been seen by many users as one of the main weaknesses of the chatbot.
Now
OpenAI has announced that ChatGPT can now browse the internet to provide Plus users first (with all users to follow later) with: “current and authoritative information, complete with direct links to sources.”
This effectively means that some ChatGPT users will soon be able to ask questions and receive up to date answers about current affairs and access current news and topics.
How?
OpenAI says that the ‘Browse’ feature is rolling out to all Plus users. Users may also notice that there is also a “ChatGPT September 25 Version” link at the foot of page, going to ‘Settings & Beta > Beta features’ where users can move the toggle to ‘on’ for ‘Browse with Bing’ (in the selector under GPT-4).
The Implications
In addition to making ChatGPT a more attractive tool to many users, this could mean that ChatGPT will take queries away from search engines and other online news sources, thereby seeing the chatbot acting as a competitor (to a degree). This will, of course, be less of a worry to Microsoft because of its close partnership with OpenAI and the fact that its Bing search will be used to enable ChatGPT to access current information.
Two Other Changes To ChatGPT
ChatGPT has also announced two other new capabilities for ChatGPT. As of September 25, OpenAI says it’s rolling out voice and image capabilities to Plus and Enterprise users over the next two weeks. The capabilities will enable users to ask questions and “have a voice conversation” with ChatGPT (like users of smart speakers can do e.g., Amazon Echo) or “show ChatGPT what you’re talking about” (Google’s Bard can currently do this).
Voice
The Voice (Beta) capability, which is being rolled out to Plus users on iOS and Android, enables users to do a number of things such as have a conversation or “speak with it on the go, request a bedtime story, or settle a dinner table debate.” It’s interesting that in its announcement, OpenAI describes ChatGPT in this context as “your assistant,” perhaps positioning it alongside digital assistants, e.g. Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple’s Siri.
How?
OpenAI says to activate it, users should head to ‘Settings → New Features’ on the mobile app and opt into voice conversations. Then, it’s a case of tapping the headphone button (top-right corner of the home screen) and choosing the preferred voice out of five different voice options.
Images
Open AI also says that ‘Image input’ will soon be generally available to Plus users on all platforms. This will allow users to tap the photo button to capture or choose an image, and show/upload one or more images to ChatGPT to help get answers to queries. For example, OpenAI says users can “troubleshoot why your grill won’t start, explore the contents of your fridge to plan a meal, or analyse a complex graph for work-related data.” Image input will also enable users to focus on a specific part of the image by using a drawing tool in the mobile app.
Challenges
Despite ChatGPT becoming the fastest growing consumer app in history (UBS research, 2023), and OpenAI introducing these new value-adding features to the app, ChatGPT and its new features are not without their widely acknowledged challenges. For example:
– As ChatGPT states clearly at the foot of its search page “ChatGPT may produce inaccurate information about people, places, or facts,” and its CEO, Sam Altman, has spoken freely about the chatbots ability to have ‘hallucinations’, i.e. produce content that looks plausible but is simply made up. For example, back in July, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent a letter to the Microsoft-backed business requesting information on how it addresses risks to people’s reputations caused ChatGPT’s potential to “generate statements about real individuals that are false, misleading, or disparaging.”
– As some technology commentators have noted, in addition to potentially helping to bring more creative and accessibility-focused applications, the new voice technology feature could potentially be open to misuse, e.g. malicious actors using it to impersonate public figures or commit fraud.
– Some commentators have also noted how the new image input feature could create safety issues for users. This could include a situation when people rely on the model when it hallucinates – perhaps misreading a safety-diagram for example. That said, OpenAI has said that the model has been tested with red teamers for risk domains (e.g. extremism and scientific proficiency) and with a diverse set of alpha testers. OpenAI is also reported to have worked with the ‘Be My Eyes’ (free) mobile app for blind and low-vision people. Measures have also reportedly been taken to limit ChatGPT’s ability to make direct statements about people in its analysis of images (because it’s widely accepted that these aren’t always accurate).
Amazon and Anthropic – Challenging Microsoft
Just as Microsoft and OpenAI’s partnership and Microsoft’s investment have given Microsoft Copilot, and these new capabilities in ChatGPT, and Google has Bard and Duet, Amazon is now teaming up with Anthropic (which has the ‘Claude’ chatbot) to enter the generative AI world and take on Microsoft. It’s been reported that Amazon is to invest up to £3.3bn in San Francisco-based AI firm Anthropic to get Claude 2 and to create new apps and improve its existing ones for its customers. As part of the deal Anthropic will be able to leverage Amazon’s huge computing power (Amazon has the AWS cloud computing service). Chatbots typically need large amounts of computing power for their LLMs and to handle the numbers and variations of customer queries. OpenAI, for example, is able leverage Microsoft’s Azure.
Another Perspective
Whereas many commentators see OpenAI’s new features for ChatGPT as part of the fight-back from other tech companies against Microsoft and OpenAI (which is to be expected as companies race to offer their own value-adding version of the relatively new generative AI technology) not all agree. For example, some tech commentators have suggested that the Anthropic deal (with Amazon) is also a sign that companies like Amazon and Google are looking to challenge Nvidia’s dominance in the market for specialist AI chips.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
For UK businesses navigating the rapidly evolving digital landscape, these advancements in generative AI signal an era of unparalleled access to real-time information and enhanced user engagement. OpenAI’s groundbreaking features in ChatGPT come at a time when tech giants are all recognising the commercial potential of AI-driven chatbots, a fact underscored by Amazon’s timely announcement to supercharge Alexa’s AI capabilities. Such competitive moves are not just coincidences, but they mark the onset of a race where big tech firms are vying to seamlessly integrate generative AI into their product ecosystems, a shift that will inevitably reshape how businesses and consumers interact.
In the case of ChatGPT’s competitors, these new features could have a negative effect on them, likely by taking queries away from search engines and other online news sources.
For most UK enterprises, big tech firms vying to seamlessly integrate generative AI presents a dual-edged sword. On one hand, the ability to pull current data and have more interactive user experiences could elevate customer service, streamline operations, and drive innovation. On the other, the challenges posed by ‘hallucinations’ in AI outputs, potential misuses, and concerns over data integrity may necessitate a cautious approach. Companies, therefore, must be discerning in their adoption, weighing the transformative potential against the risks. Also, with Amazon’s massive investment in Anthropic and the resultant potential synergies with AWS, businesses may soon be faced with a broader array of AI-driven solutions, further intensifying the competitive landscape.
As the dust begins to settle in this technological race, some would say that UK businesses stand at a crossroads, e.g. to embrace these advancements as pivotal tools for future growth, or to tread cautiously, ever mindful of the evolving implications of AI in the business realm. Others would say, on balance, using a common-sense approach and being careful to check ChatGPT’s outputs for any obvious errors, these new features and others will provide further time and cost savings cost, and efficiency, and productivity benefits to businesses as they learn the many ways they can leverage advances in generative AI and its widescale adoption.
Tech Insight : How To Make a QR Code
In this tech insight, we look at QR codes, the many different methods to generate them, the benefits of doing so, and the future for QR codes as the successor to barcodes.
What Is A QR code?
A QR (Quick Response) code, first designed in 1994 by Japanese company ‘Denso Wave’, is a type of two-dimensional barcode. It looks like square grid made up of smaller black and white squares (modules) and typically features three larger square patterns in three of its corners, which help scanners identify and orient the code. The black and white squares within the grid encodes the data. Unlike a one-dimensional barcode, which represents data in a series of vertical lines (which are based on the dots and dashes in Morse code), a QR code stores data in both vertical and horizontal arrangements. This means that a lot more data can be encoded in a QR code than a bar code, and a QR code can contain complex information, e.g. text, URLs, and other data types.
Making A QR Code
There are several ways you can make your own QR code. If you want to quickly share a URL of interest with others, it’s possible to make a QR code in Microsoft Edge that can be shared, and which directs them to that web page. This could be particularly useful if you want to open the same web page on a mobile device or share it with someone else without having to type or text the entire URL. Here’s how to make a QR code for a URL in Edge:
– Open Edge and go to the web page you want to make a QR code for.
– Right-click on a blank area of the web page and select ‘Create QR code for this page’ and choose either the option to ‘Copy’ (to paste and share it) or ‘Download’ (to get a png image download of the QR code).
– A QR code symbol also appears in the right-hand side of the address bar enabling you to re-use the code by clicking on it (which launches another QR code copy/download window).
Making A QR Code For A URL In Google Chrome
To make a QR code for a URL using Google Chrome, the process is the same, but a QR code symbol doesn’t appear in the address bar.
Safari?
For the Safari browser, a QR code can’t be generated unless a Safari QR code generator extension or an online QR code generator is used.
Online QR Code Generators
You can also use online QR code generators. Examples include https://www.qr-code-generator.com/, https://www.the-qrcode-generator.com/, and many more.
Other Options
Other options for making a QR code include:
– Using open-source software e.g., Libre Office (free open-source software).Open the ‘Insert’ menu, hover over ‘OLE,’ click ‘QR and Barcode,’ and paste in the URL to be converted to QR code.
– Mobile apps for Android’s or iOS. These apps often have the function to generate QR codes in addition to reading them. Examples include: QR Code Reader and Scanner, QR TIGER, QR & Barcode Scanner, QR Code Reader, NeoReader, and many more.
– Web browser extensions or add-ons.
– QR Code APIs e.g., QRServer’s free API or Goqr.me’s API.
QR Codes Will Replace Bar Codes
QR codes are already set to replace bar codes. This will of course mean lower costs for retailers, will have implications for package design (less on-packaging information but more information available to customers), and the positive environmental impact of less packaging. For retailers, this could also mean improvements to inventory management, and it is likely to give greater flexibility to manufacturers and retailers in terms of updating product information.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
QR codes provide businesses a streamlined and interactive method to connect with their audience, offering a bridge between the physical and digital realms. By generating and sharing QR codes for URLs, businesses can quickly direct customers to specific online content, whether it’s a promotional deal, a digital menu, or an informational page, without requiring users to manually type in web addresses. This eliminates potential errors, speeds up access, and is easy and convenient for customers in a world where most of us now use our mobiles for everything.
Having QR code generation features built into browsers, is also very convenient for users as the creation process is fast, seamless, integrated, and creates something that’s easy to share, which helps the business whose URL is being shared. Also, not having to rely upon on external tools or platforms to generate QR codes means that businesses can instantly create, share, and update QR codes directly from their browser, thereby enhancing efficiency and ensuring they can adapt to changing digital needs swiftly.
Being able to generate and share QR codes will soon be more important than ever for businesses with the QR codes set to replace the now 50-year-old bar codes. It should be noted, however, that QR codes can send users to web pages containing malicious code and therefore care should be taken when scanning them to check for authenticity, which could be something as simple as ensuring a sticker hasn’t been put over the original code.