134. Neuralink In Humans Next Year, Approaching Fusion Breakthrough, Hydrogen Jet Engine Test

That‘s Cool News | A weekly breakdown of positive Science & Tech news.

Elon Musk says he's confident Neuralink will be ready to put chips into human brains in the next 6 months | Business Insider (00:51)

• Neuralink hosted an event in California this past Wednesday (Nov. 30th), and Musk expects the wireless brain chip developed by Neuralink to begin human clinical trials in six months.
• After the event on Twitter stating:
  • “We are now confident that the Neuralink device is ready for humans, so timing is a function of working through the FDA approval process”
• Neuralink has in recent years been conducting tests on animals as it seeks approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin clinical trials in people.
  • At the event, they demonstrated the brain-computer interface technology by showing a video of a monkey apparently fitted with a Neuralink brain chip, "telepathically typing."
• Neuralink's brain chip, which is around the size of a coin, has tiny wires embedded with electrodes that aim to monitor brain activity and electrically stimulate the brain.
  • Goal to help treat a variety of conditions, such as neurological disorders, paralysis, and other conditions that affect the nervous system.
• Little skeptical of the 6 months timeline:
  • Musk said in a 2019 presentation he was aiming to receive regulatory approval by the end of 2020.
  • Then said at a conference in late 2021 that he hoped to start human trials this year (2022).
• Elon does believe the progress will continue to more rapidly than before:
  • “The progress at first, particularly as it applies to humans, will seem perhaps agonizingly slow, but we are doing all of the things to bring it to scale in parallel … So, in theory, progress should be exponential."

GM’s Cruise pursuing permit to test its custom-built ‘Origin’ robotaxi in San Francisco | TechCrunch (08:01)

• Cruise, GM’s self-driving technology subsidiary, has started the regulatory process to test its next-generation “Origin” robotaxi on public roads in San Francisco.
• The company applied for a permit with the California Department of Motor Vehicles to test its custom-built driverless vehicle on public roads.
  • Already charging the public for rides in its autonomous Chevy Bolt EVs
• The driverless Origin, the product of a multiyear collaboration with parent company GM and investor Honda that is designed for a ridesharing service
  • Has no steering wheel or pedals and is designed to travel at highway speeds.
• The Origin doesn’t meet a handful of federal motor vehicle safety standards (known as FMVSS) because it lacks certain parts like a steering wheel that are currently required in human-driven vehicles.
  • Filed for temporary exemption
• Cruise has previously said it expects to begin production of the Origin in 2023, a date that gives some guidance on when the automaker expects to have an exemption and other permits that would allow it to ramp from testing to commercial operations.

Government Scientists ‘Approaching What is Required for Fusion’ in Breakthrough Energy Research | Vice (12:05)

• Researchers have confirmed that magnetic fields can enhance the energy output of their experiments, reports a new study.
  • Suggest that magnets may play a key role in the development of this futuristic form of power
• Sort of knew the importance of magnets already since they are used to contain and control the plasma in a nuclear fusion reactor, preventing it from touching the walls of the and cooling down.
• National Ignition Facility (NIF) scientists have reported that the magnetic fields can boost the temperature of the fusion “hot spot” in experiments by 40 percent and more than triple its energy output.
  • “temperature approaching what is required for fusion ignition”
• Remember, in a fusion reaction, hydrogen atoms are combined to form helium, releasing a large amount of energy.
  • Can only take place at extremely high temperatures, on the order of millions of degrees Celsius.
• The hot spots in the NIF’s fusion experiments are created by shooting nearly 200 lasers at a tiny pellet of fuel made of heavier isotopes of hydrogen, such as deuterium and tritium.
  • Isotope – variant of a chemical element that has the same number of protons in its nucleus, but a different number of neutrons
• The lasers generate X-rays that make the small capsule implode
  • Producing extreme pressures and temperatures that are necessary for the isotopes to fuse together and release their enormous stores of energy.
• NIF has already brought their experiments to the brink of ignition.
  • The point at which fusion reactions become self-sustaining in plasmas.
  • Achieving ignition is an important step toward creating a possible “breakeven” system that produces more energy output than input.
• The advances at NIF, and at other fusion experiments around the world, can at times seem painstakingly incremental, but this slow progress may have an incalculable payoff down the line.

SpaceX Is Preparing to Launch The World's First Private Lunar Lander | ScienceAlert (17:47)

• SpaceX is set to launch the first private – and Japanese – lander to the Moon.
  • Scheduled for this past Wednesday and Thursday but was postponed
• According to SpaceX account on Twitter:
  • “After further inspections of the launch vehicle and data review, we're standing down from [Thursday’s] launch of @ispace_inc's HAKUTO-R Mission 1; a new target launch date will be shared once confirmed."
• Until now, only the United States, Russia, and China have managed to put a robot on the lunar surface.
• The lander would touch down around April 2023 on the visible side of the Moon, in the Atlas crater.
  • The mission, by Japanese company ispace, is the first of a program called Hakuto-R.
  • Carries on board a 10-kilogram rover named Rashid, built by the United Arab Emirates.
• Ispace says it "aims to extend the sphere of human life into space and create a sustainable world by providing high-frequency, low-cost transportation services to the Moon".

World’s first test run of a hydrogen jet engine a success | The Verge (22:04)

• Rolls-Royce and European airline easyJet announced that they’ve successfully tested a hydrogen jet engine.
  • Hope to erase aviation’s greenhouse gas emissions
• Rolls-Royce said in a press release:
  • “[They] have set a new aviation milestone with the world’s first run of a modern aero engine on hydrogen.”
• The two companies used a converted Rolls-Royce AE 2100-A regional aircraft engine for the ground test conducted in the UK.
  • The hydrogen provided was made with wind and tidal power, it’s called green hydrogen.
• A major hurdle for hydrogen-fueled flight, according to the International Air Transport Association, will be to introduce and certify new aircraft designs.
  • Aircraft need to be redesigned to incorporate larger fuel tanks.
  • Need at least 4x larger tank, so shorter flights may be what green hydrogen will initially be most useful for.
  • Funny enough, easyJet, is primarily a short-haul airline
• Rolls-Royce and easyJet are planning more ground tests before moving on to a longer-term ambition of carrying out flight tests.