Ask Dr. Faizal 1 – The Classical and Quantum Understandings of the World – News Intervention

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ByDr. Mir FaizalandScott Douglas Jacobsen

Dr. Mir Faizal is an Adjunct Professor in Physics and Astronomy at the University of Lethbridge and aVisiting Professor inIrving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciencesat the University of British Columbia Okanagan.

Here we start the cosmology educational series on the differences between the classical and the quantum worlds.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Wehave heard terms like classical physics and quantum physics. What do theseterms mean in simple worlds, and what is the difference between them?

Dr. Mir Faizal:We have evolved at a certain scale, and ourintuitiveunderstandingof world is also limited to that scale. Nowcommon sense is the expression of this intuitive understanding of the world in languageslike English or French. If this intuitiveunderstanding of the world isexpressed in mathematics, we naturally will obtain a mathematical descriptionof common sense. This mathematical descriptionof ourintuitiveunderstanding is called classical physics. However, there is nofundamental reason why such an description will hold at a different scale. Infact, now we known that the classical description does not hold at very smallscales, and the common sense seems also to break at such a scale. It is hard toaccuratelydescribe the world at such a small scaleusing languageslike Englishor French, as these languages have not been evolved todescribe the world at such a scale. However, it is still possibletomathematicallydescribe the world at such a small scale, and thismathematical description of small scale is called quantum physics. Even thoughit is not possible to describe the world at such a small scale in commonlanguage, it is possible to use analogies to understandphysics atsuch small scales.

Jacobsen: We see the worldaround us, and know how it behaves, and this forms a basis for our commonsense. Youmentionedthat our common sense breaks in quantum mechanical. Canyou give some examples of such a breaking of common sense in quantummechanics?

Faizal: Let us start by a simple example, to understandhow the common sense breaks in quantum mechanism. If there are two pathsbetween your home and your office, and you are travelling between them, you cantake any one of these two path at one time. However, you will infer that it isimpossible to take both these paths at the same time. Even if you are reallytiny, you cannot take two paths at the same time. The main reason for this is thatit is impossible for you to be present at two different places at the sametime. This seems to be something that you know from common sense. However, thisdescription of the world does not hold at much smaller scales. In quantummechanics, you go to your office from both those paths. In fact, you will takeall the possible paths between your home and office, and we have tomathematically sum these path to describe your behaviour of going between yourhome and office. This is actually how things are calculated for quantummechanical particles. This description of quantum mechanics (where a particletakes all possible path between two points) is called the Feynman path integralapproach.

Jacobsen: We have seenpeople commute between their home and office. In fact, as more simple system,we have seen a stone fall down, and it does not appear to take many pathsbetween two points. We have also never seen a particle present at two places atthe same time. How does the quantum mechanical fit with these observations?

Faizal:In quantum mechanics, as soon as someone makes ameasurement on some object, it instantaneously collapses to just one of thosepaths. Now it is possible to calculate the chance of an object to be collapseto a certain path in quantum mechanics. For large enough objects, this almostcoincides with the path that the object is expected to take based on classicalmechanics. However, as the objects gets smaller, the deviations between the twopaths becomes significant. It may be noted to calculate the position of anobject at any point in future, you need to know about two things. You need toknow where that object is present at a given time, and you need to know howfast it is travelling in a certain direction. If you know both these things,then you can know where that object will be present in future. However, in quantummechanics, it is impossible to measure both the position of a particle and howfast it is travelling, at the same time. Thus, in quantum mechanics it is notpossible to accurately measure the position of a particle in future. What wecan measure is the chance for a particle to be present at a certain point intime. So, in quantum mechanics causality is also only probabilistically true.As it is impossible to obtain certain knowledge of cause, the effects can beonly probabilistically predicted.

Jacobsen: It is possible toexactly predict the future positionof particle by improving ourtechnology and inventing better devices?

Faizal:Technological development cannot be usedto predict the future position of a particle beyond what is allowed by quantummechanics. This is because for such quantum system certain knowledge isactually not present in nature, and so we can only get probabilistic knowledgeof such system. This is the main difference between the classical and quantumdescription of the world. In classical mechanics, at least in principle, it ispossible to know the behaviour of a particle with certainty. In other world,the world is totally deterministic in classical mechanics. It might bedifficult to exactly calculate such a behaviour, but such a knowledge exists innature. In fact, even in classical mechanics, we usually use probability todescribe the world. This is the basis of statistical mechanics. However, such ause of probability is epistemological as certain knowledge exists atanontological level in classical physics. It is just very difficult forus to obtain such knowledge accurately for many systems. However, in quantummechanics there is anontological use probability as certain knowledge isabsent at anontological level from nature.

Jacobsen: Can you give asimple analogy of this difference to make it easy to understand?

Faizal:Let us again use a simple example tounderstand this difference. Someone is going to a coffee shop, and he usuallylikes to drink coffee but sometime orders tea. As it is a coffee shop they keeprunning out of tea. Now if it is known that he takes tea about twenty times in hundreddays, then you can calculate the chance of him drinking tea of coffee. Youcannot predict accurately what he will take on a given day, as such a knowledgeis not present in this system. However, knowing what he is more likely toorder, you can predict his behaviour over a large number of visits. So, for thenext ten days you can save two tea bag for him. This is an example of anontological absence of knowledge, and this is how probabilities work in quantummechanics. Now consider another example, in a group of ten people, two of themlike tea and the rest like coffee. Also they have a rule that they will notvisit the coffee shop more than once in ten days. Now if you do not bother toask them who like tea and who likes coffee, and just know how they behave in agroup, you can again predict the probability of them drinking tea. However, inthis case, the knowledge exists in form a hidden variable, which you did notbother to measure. This is an example of anepistemological absence ofknowledge, and this is how probabilities work in statistical mechanics.

Jacobsen: I can understandthat certain knowledge of the particle is not present, but where is theparticle actually present.

Faizal:Theparticle is present at every possible point it can occupy, till it is measured.However, when it is measured, it instantaneously collapses to a single point,and we can measure the chance of it collapsing to a certain point. This is animportant feature of quantum mechanics. In classical mechanics, two different contradictionscannotbe simultaneously existing. In quantum mechanics, all possibilitiessimultaneously exist, till they are measured. However, when they are measured,only one of them is instantaneously observed, and the system ceases to exist inthe other possibilities. This principle has been illustrated by the famousthought experiment of Schrodingers cat, in which a cat is killed by a quantummechanical process. There are two possibilities, as the cat can be dead andalive. Now if the system is not observed, then the cat can exist in a statebeing dead and alive at the same time. As soon as an observation is made, thesysteminstantaneously collapses to one of the two possibilities, so thecat is actually observed to be dead or alive. However, if no observation ismade, the cat is in a state of being dead and alive at the same time.

Jacobsen:Can these quantum effects be observed in our daily life?

Faizal: A important requirement of quantum mechanics isthat it should coincide with the classical physics at our scale, for all thesystem that have been described using classical mechanics. This means thesequantum effects become so small at our scale that they can be neglected, andcannot be observed. There are few phenomena like superconductivity andsuperfluiditywhere quantum effects can change the behaviourofcertain system at large scale. However, most quantum mechanical effect, whichbreak common sense, can be neglected at our scale, and the world at our scalecan described by classical mechanics. It is possible that there are somesystems, where other quantum effects become important even at large scale, and theirbehaviouris very different from thebehaviourpredictedfrom classical mechanics.

Jacobsen: Thank you for theopportunity and your time, Dr. Faizal.Faizal:My pleasure.

Photo by Billy HuynhonUnsplash

https://www.in-sightjournal.com

Assistant Editor, News Intervention,Human Rights Activist.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen is the Founder of In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal and In-Sight Publishing. Jacobsen works for science and human rights, especially womens and childrens rights. He considers the modern scientific and technological world the foundation for the provision of the basics of human life throughout the world and advancement of human rights as the universal movement among peoples everywhere. You can contact Scott via email, his website, or Twitter.

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Ask Dr. Faizal 1 - The Classical and Quantum Understandings of the World - News Intervention

Swinburne physicist wins Moyal Medal – Swinburne University of Technology

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Swinburne researcher Professor Margaret Reid has become the first woman physicist to be awarded the Moyal Medal, recognising her outstanding contributions to the field of physics.

The prestigious science award is given annually and named after the late Australian mathematician and mathematical physicist Professor Jos Enrique Moyal.

His insight into the interaction between mathematics, physics and statistics has had far-reaching ramifications for a number of fields, including aeronautical engineering,electrical engineeringandstatistics.

It is such an honour to be awarded, says Professor Reid. It was the nicest professional email and invitation I have ever received! I was totally surprised.

It was especially wonderful given the nature of Moyals work and how it relates to her own, she says.

He was responsible for many of the results on phase space methods that I use routinely in my theoretical work in quantum physics. In preparing the talk I gave when receiving the award, it was good to be able to reflect on his work and its impact.

Professor Reid is currently a Professor of Physics at Swinburne and a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.

She completed her PhD and postdoctoral studies at the University of Auckland and University of Waikato in New Zealand, working on theories for squeezed states of light. She has also conducted research at AT&T Bell Laboratories in the United States (USA), where she developed the atomic theory for the first experiment creating squeezed light.

Subsequently, she proposed how to create Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entanglement using parametric down conversion, connecting squeezing and entanglement, which has helped with quantum noise reduction.

For contributions to the fields of quantum entanglement and nonlocality, she was made a fellow of the Optical Society of America and a fellow of the American Physical Society. She was recently awarded a visiting position at Harvard University and a JILA Fellowship at the University of Colorado in the USA.

In a ceremony at Sydneys Macquarie University, Professor Reid was presented with the Moyal Medal and delivered a lecture titled Einsteins elements of reality, entanglement and understanding the quantum to classical transition.

In the lecture, she discussed how Albert Einstein, along with Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen, had reservations about the interpretation of quantum mechanics. These reservations led to debate over the meaning of quantum mechanics, and gave the underpinning for the new field of quantum information.

Bringing these thoughts into the modern day, Professor Reid outlined discoveries in this field and the different interpretations of quantum mechanics over time.

To find out more about the award criteria and past winners, see: Moyal Medal.

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Swinburne physicist wins Moyal Medal - Swinburne University of Technology

Meet the scientist who thinks we all exist in multiple universes – The Next Web

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Have you ever laid wide-awake in the late hours of the night wondering what your life would look like if you took that other job, moved countries, or ended up with someone else? While theres no definite answer and probably never will be the idea that theres multiple versions of you, living in various universes, isnt as make-believe as you might think.

According to Sean Carroll, a theoretical physicist at the California Institute of Technology and author of Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime, the theory of Many Worlds Interpretation suggests every important event has multiple possible outcomes and splits the world into alternate realities.

This mind-bending idea originally came from Hugh Everett, a graduate student who wrote just one paper in the 1950s. Everetts theory describes the universe as a changing set of numbers, known as the wave function. According to Many Worlds, the universe continually splits into new branches, to produce multiple versions of ourselves. Carroll argues that, so far, this interpretation is the simplest possible explanation of quantum mechanics.

The ideas we have had for at least 25 years, before Everett came along, was this puzzle in quantum mechanics that theres one set of rules of how wave functions behave when youre not looking at them and theres another set of rules for how they behave when they get measured, Carroll told TNW.

According to Live Science, quantum mechanics is the body of scientific laws that describe the bizarre behavior of photons, electrons, and any other particles that make up the universe. At the scale of atoms and electrons, many of the equations of classical mechanics, which describe how things move at everyday sizes and speeds, cease to be useful.

A lot of people, including Everett, thought this didnt sound right, he said you are quantum mechanical also because youre made of atoms and particles, and theres only one wave function so youre really part of this function.

According to Carroll, this theory raises philosophical problems in regards to how you treat and treat the copies of you other branches because theyre originated from us. They share the same memories as you and they have every right to be thought of as you, but theyre separate people in a different universe. The number of universal branches increases over time, and the older you get, the more versions of you there are.

To better understand this, Carroll dumbs it down to being much like a Star Trek teleporter that malfunctions and makes two copies of you theyre both real, but theyre gonna live different lives and theres nothing you can do about it.

Carroll argues that your identity over time is like a branching tree where theres many possibilities for the future. But once one version of you has branched, theres no way to communicate with them. But theyre definitely there and theyre as real as you are according to this interpretation.

According to Carroll, he doesnt think a new self is formed by every single tiny decision you make or dont make in life.You didnt decide to have a pizza or hamburger one evening and in one branch, you end up having pizza, and the other branches you had a hamburger its only when you measure quantum mechanical systems that new worlds are created.

Like many theorists, Roger Penrose, a mathematical physicist and philosopher of science, dismisses the idea of Many Worlds as physics reduced to absurdity, as reported by Mach. However, Stephen Hawking, who was a theoretical physicist and cosmologist, believed this theory was self-evidently true.

Some scientists have rejected Everetts original explanation. But even now, decades later, no one has found any flaws in the equation itself. Because of this, scientists like Carroll have agreed that Many Worlds is the only logical way to understand quantum mechanics.

If we take this theory seriously, we can explain unlikely events like quantum tunneling, where we know that one particle can tunnel through another particle, this is what happens when a radioactive nucleus decays, Carroll added. If you follow through that same logic, I could take a coffee cup and put it on the table and theres a chance it will tunnel right through and just hit the floor. This chance is incredibly, enormously, and hilariously small, but if you believe in Many World, theres a world in which it happened.

According to Everetts theory, its possible that an infinite number of you lives somewhere in existence. This bizarre theory is enough to make you question the whole meaning of life, and rethink your beliefs of fate and destiny.

To make sure you rest easy at night, worrying about all your life choices and potential, Carroll assured The universe knows whats going to happen and well never know until we actually get there and see whats going on, and theres nothing you can do about it.

Read next: TRX Q3 2019: Justin Sun's canceled Warren Buffett lunch did its price no favors

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Meet the scientist who thinks we all exist in multiple universes - The Next Web

We May Finally Understand the Moments Before the Big Bang – Livescience.com

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There's a hole in the story of how our universe came to be. First, the universe inflated rapidly, like a balloon. Then, everything went boom.

But how those two periods are connected has eluded physicists. Now, a new study suggests a way to link the two epochs.

In the first period, the universe grew from an almost infinitely small point to nearly an octillion (that's a 1 followed by 27 zeros) times that in size in less than a trillionth of a second. This inflation period was followed by a more gradual, but violent, period of expansion we know as the Big Bang. During the Big Bang, an incredibly hot fireball of fundamental particles such as protons, neutrons and electrons expanded and cooled to form the atoms, stars and galaxies we see today.

The Big Bang theory, which describes cosmic inflation, remains the most widely supported explanation of how our universe began, yet scientists are still perplexed by how these wholly different periods of expansion are connected. To solve this cosmic conundrum, a team of researchers at Kenyon College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Netherlands' Leiden University simulated the critical transition between cosmic inflation and the Big Bang a period they call "reheating."

Related: From Big Bang to Present: Snapshots of Our Universe Through Time

"The post-inflation reheating period sets up the conditions for the Big Bang and, in some sense, puts the 'bang' in the Big Bang," David Kaiser, a professor of physics at MIT, said in a statement. "It's this bridge period where all hell breaks loose and matter behaves in anything but a simple way."

When the universe expanded in a flash of a second during cosmic inflation, all the existing matter was spread out, leaving the universe a cold and empty place, devoid of the hot soup of particles needed to ignite the Big Bang. During the reheating period, the energy propelling inflation is believed to decay into particles, said Rachel Nguyen, a doctoral student in physics at the University of Illinois and lead author of the study.

"Once those particles are produced, they bounce around and knock into each other, transferring momentum and energy," Nguyen told Live Science. "And that's what thermalizes and reheats the universe to set the initial conditions for the Big Bang."

In their model, Nguyen and her colleagues simulated the behavior of exotic forms of matter called inflatons. Scientists think these hypothetical particles, similar in nature to the Higgs boson, created the energy field that drove cosmic inflation. Their model showed that, under the right conditions, the energy of the inflatons could be redistributed efficiently to create the diversity of particles needed to reheat the universe. They published their results Oct. 24 in the journal Physical Review Letters.

A crucible for high-energy physics

"When we're studying the early universe, what we're really doing is a particle experiment at very, very high temperatures," said Tom Giblin, an associate professor of physics at Kenyon College in Ohio and co-author of the study. "The transition from the cold inflationary period to the hot period is one that should hold some key evidence as to what particles really exist at these extremely high energies."

One fundamental question that plagues physicists is how gravity behaves at the extreme energies present during inflation. In Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity, all matter is believed to be affected by gravity in the same way, where the strength of gravity is constant regardless of a particle's energy. However, because of the strange world of quantum mechanics, scientists think that, at very high energies, matter responds to gravity differently.

The team incorporated this assumption in their model by tweaking how strongly the particles interacted with gravity. They discovered that the more they increased the strength of gravity, the more efficiently the inflatons transferred energy to produce the zoo of hot matter particles found during the Big Bang.

Now, they need to find evidence to buttress their model somewhere in the universe.

"The universe holds so many secrets encoded in very complicated ways," Giblin told Live Science. "It's our job to learn about the nature of reality by coming up with a decoding device a way to extract information from the universe. We use simulations to make predictions about what the universe should look like so that we can actually start decoding it. This reheating period should leave an imprint somewhere in the universe. We just need to find it."

But finding that imprint could be tricky. Our earliest glimpse of the universe is a bubble of radiation left over from a few hundred thousand years after the Big Bang, called the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Yet the CMB only hints at the state of the universe during those first critical seconds of birth. Physicists like Giblin hope future observations of gravitational waves will provide the final clues.

Originally published on Live Science.

For the more space news, subscribe to our sister publication "All About Space" magazine.

(Image credit: Future)

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We May Finally Understand the Moments Before the Big Bang - Livescience.com

Using Quantum Physics to Create Your Life-Suzanne Adams on the Shamangelic Healing Podcast – PR Web

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Suzanne Adams

SEDONA, Ariz. (PRWEB) November 07, 2019

When Shamangelic Healing founder, Anahata Ananda and Suzanne Adams, CEO and co-founder of Ignite and Expand got together on the Shamangelic Healing Podcast to discuss techniques using quantum physics to change peoples lives, the number of downloads skyrocketed. With a trending focus on learning ways to use bio-hacking to enhance a persons body, productivity shortcuts to upgrade lifestyle, meditation to balance the work/personal-life dynamic and living life with purpose, Suzanne shares her techniques shes discovered while working from the quantum level. Her basis is firmly grounded in the foundation that everything is vibrating energy. From that premise, she lays out a process of attracting situations and people which are beneficial in assisting with moving toward goals more quickly.

Adams explains the underlying principles of The Law of Attraction and how emotional intensity can amplify manifestation and abundance. She states one of the most key elements to attract or repel that which is desired, is being aware of the current vibration one is in at any given time. On the smallest level, cells are vibrating at various frequencies, emitting messages out to their immediate world. From larger scale perspective, the cumulative effect of the energy being given off will begin to affect the vibration of the person as a whole. Adams explains that by understanding the value of stretching limiting beliefs and habits, one can begin to create vibrations which result in tangible changes in life. Anahata has implemented this knowledge into her online Quantum Leap Program which people can use to completely change the course of their lives over 12 months.

Anahata and Adams both point out the importance of keeping vibrations at the highest, most productive, healthy levels possible. An immediate influence are the interactions with people we are around the most. Select your circle of influence wisely and give yourself permission to grow out of unhealthy relationships or toxic environments, states Adams. Clear, conscious communication and boundary setting is a must, Anahata adds. Lowered vibrations due to stress, negative people or pessimistic thoughts can be a big influence. Both women describe the traps of living an inauthentic life to please others and how important it is to dream big. Adams outlines how to change the outcome resulting from blocks to successful manifestation and prosperity. Anahata assists people all over the world by providing the tools for maintaining healthy, conscious relationships through one of her online courses.

Suzanne Adams is on a mission to help people reach their highest level of potential. She is a thought leader in the field of spirituality, personal development, and heart-centered entrepreneurship. Adams is a bestselling author and transformational coach and TEDx presenter helping heart-centered entrepreneurs create and scale soulful businesses.

Anahata blends the compassion and tenderness of an Angel and the wisdom and strength of a Shaman to guide profound journeys of core healing and spiritual awakening. As a Certified High-Performance Coach, Shamanic Healer and Soul Guide, Anahata has guided thousands of individuals across the globe through core life shifts, helping them to turn their life around and create the life of their dreams. She is the host of the internationally acclaimed Shamangelic Healing Podcast which is designed as a platform for sharing deep authentic conversations about REAL LIFE issues. She offers deep healing through in-person sessions in Sedona, Arizona and supportive online courses for self-paced, at home learning. https://shamangelichealing.com

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Using Quantum Physics to Create Your Life-Suzanne Adams on the Shamangelic Healing Podcast - PR Web

The Oort Cloud Is Trying To Kill Us With Comets – Forbes

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Yeah it looks cool but don't let it get close.

It almost sounds like a riddle. We know where comets come from, even though we've never seen their home.

Some comets come back into the inner solar system again and again every few decades. But some visit once and only once, slipping close to the sun and then evacuated from the solar system altogether. These comets are totally unpredictable. They come from random directions on the sky, and we don't even know they're there until they come close enough that the heat from the sun starts evaporating all of their ices, turning on their famous tails that stretch millions of miles.

These once-in-a-lifetime comets approach from a region of our solar system known as the Oort cloud, named after Jan Oort, the guy who first figured it out. The Oort cloud lies well beyond the orbit of any planet. Our rough estimates put the inner boundary at somewhere around one or two thousand times further away from the sun than the Earth is. And the outermost edges? The Oort cloud could stretch as far as a lightyear away from our sun.

Like the name suggests, the Oort cloud is kind of cloudy, and surrounds our solar system like a wide but tenuous shell. Inside the Oort cloud there are trillions upon trillions of comets, each one just waiting for their chance to get destabilized from their orbit and come crashing into the inner solar system.

But we have never ever seen an object in the Oort cloud. So how do we know it exist?

Well Jan Oort gave us the answer. These kinds of comets appear from any direction on the sky without warning. So whatever their origin point is, it has to be outside the plane of the planets of our solar system.

After you watch a comet or two for long enough, you can reconstruct their orbit to figure out where they started from. And these irregulars comets all come from the starting point at least 1,000 times away further than the sun than the Earth is.

The conclusion: there is a reservoir of comets ready to rain down on us at a moment's notice. The Oort cloud.

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The Oort Cloud Is Trying To Kill Us With Comets - Forbes

FOOTBALL: Comets unable to overcome slow start against Panthers – Kokomo Tribune

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GREENTOWN Even as Easterns football team saw its historic season come to a screeching halt Friday night, the Comets had plenty of reasons not to hang their heads.

In the moments immediately following its 42-12 loss to No. 8 Eastbrook in the Class 2A Sectional 36 championship at Cogdell Field, No. 9 Eastern could look back at some of the games momentum shifts a 30-yard Comet field goal attempt veering just wide right, a botched punt attempt setting up the Panthers with prime position for a quick score, an errant pass to the end zone stalling a strong drive late in the third quarter and realize they were still within a pair of scores early in the second half against one of the states most successful programs.

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Nolan Grubb runs the ball. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Nathan Herr gets emotional in the huddle after the game. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

Eastern running back Zane Downing fights for yards against Eastbrook in the Class 2A Sectional 36 final Friday night at Greentown. Downing ran for 227 yards and a touchdown, but the Panthers downed the Comets 42-12.

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Easterns Tallan Morrisett pushes Eastbrooks Ezekiel Binkard out of bounds. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

Eastern defensive players Makhai Reed (25) and Tallan Morrisett take down Eastbrook QB Dylan Bragg during Fridays game.

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Easterns Makhai Reed runs the ball. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Easterns Ethan Jones runs the ball. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Zane Downing looks to outrun Eastbrooks defense. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Zane Downing scores a touchdown for the Comets. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Easterns Zane Downing runs the ball. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Easterns Tallan Morrisett takes down Eastbrooks Ezekiel Binkerd. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Easterns Karson West takes down Eastbrooks Justin Starr. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Easterns Ethan Jones runs the ball. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Nolan Grubb runs the ball. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Nathan Herr gets emotional in the huddle after the game. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

Eastern running back Zane Downing fights for yards against Eastbrook in the Class 2A Sectional 36 final Friday night at Greentown. Downing ran for 227 yards and a touchdown, but the Panthers downed the Comets 42-12.

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Easterns Tallan Morrisett pushes Eastbrooks Ezekiel Binkard out of bounds. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

Eastern defensive players Makhai Reed (25) and Tallan Morrisett take down Eastbrook QB Dylan Bragg during Fridays game.

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Easterns Makhai Reed runs the ball. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Easterns Ethan Jones runs the ball. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Zane Downing looks to outrun Eastbrooks defense. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Zane Downing scores a touchdown for the Comets. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Easterns Zane Downing runs the ball. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Easterns Tallan Morrisett takes down Eastbrooks Ezekiel Binkerd. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Easterns Karson West takes down Eastbrooks Justin Starr. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Easterns Ethan Jones runs the ball. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

11-8-19 Eastern vs Eastbrook sectional football championship Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

In the end though, it was those kinds of miscues that allowed Eastbrook all the momentum it needed in securing its fourth straight sectional title and 15th overall. The Panthers are two wins away from going to the State Finals for the third time in four years.

Theyve been here, done this, Eastern coach Josh Edwards said of the Panthers. Thats our goal. We want to make this an annual thing, to get to this game and that way our kids are used to it and theyre prepared for this type of setting. I think were closing the gap, were making ground but I think this game shows were not quite there yet.

That showed early on as Eastbrook (10-2) scored on each of its first four possessions on the way to a commanding 28-0 lead, running at will against a Comet defense that entered the game surrendering a scant 9.4 points per game. The Panthers opened the game with a 10-play, 92-yard drive that chewed up just over three minutes of game clock.

Ill be honest, its just a matter of speed, Edwards said. Its very difficult to simulate the speed in practice and if you noticed, it took us two or three series to kind of adjust to their speed. I felt like our kids did a good job of that. Made a few adjustments at halftime and made some stops, had a few scores.

It didnt help that Eastern (11-1) was stagnant on offense early, failing to capitalize on its first three possessions as the Comets turned the ball over on downs, missed a 30-yard field goal attempt and followed that with a bad snap on a punt attempt that set the Panthers up at the Comet 12.

We felt we needed to get a fast start, kind of make them play from behind a little bit, longtime Eastbrook coach Jeff Adamson said. The punt over the head got us an extra one maybe.

Eastern found life late in the first half as they strung together an eight-play, 75-yard that culminated with a four-yard touchdown toss from Nolan Grubb to Ethan Jones with :29 to play in the half. Junior running back Zane Downing keyed the drive with a 43-yard run.

Downing gave the Comets serious life when Eastern opened the second half with good field position at its own 40 and Downing took the first play from scrimmage 60 yards to paydirt, breaking through several Eastbrook defenders on his way to getting the Comets within 28-12.

Downing finished with 227 yards on 28 carries. Eastbrook countered with a running game that amassed 388 yards with a four-man committee. Wyatt Stephenson rushed for 140 yards and a TD, Isaiah Dalton had 127 yards and a score, Ezekial Binkerd finished with 62 yards and a pair of scores, and quarterback Dylan Bragg had 28 yards and a pair of touchdown runs.

For us defensively we were focusing a lot of attention on Downing, even if it didnt look like it, Adamson said, and trying to limit how many times he could touch it or at least make sure we had enough guys at the line of scrimmage to keep him contained. But I thought their offensive line played really well. Good team, man.

With the score 28-12, Eastern stopped Eastbrook on fourth-and-3 when junior Jaeden Hannah made a big tackle, but the Comets couldnt capitalize and had to punt on their next possession.

Were down by two scores and we made a stop and couldnt finish, Edwards said. We couldnt finish a lot of drives. I think that was the big thing.

Following a Panther punt, the Comets again had a chance to make it a one-score game, but Binkerd picked off a Grubb pass in the end zone. Eastbrook capitalized on the turnover, scoring on the opening play of the fourth quarter and adding another score on its next possession to create a comfortable lead.

Our kids did an outstanding job of battling and not quitting but I also say kudos to Eastbrooks defense for holding us in the red zone and keeping us out of the end zone, Edwards said. I told the kids to play with their head and play with their heart and I believe they did that.

Our seniors have helped resurrect our program and our underclassmen have bought in and I couldnt be more proud of our guys.

Eastern was playing in its first sectional final since 2001.

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FOOTBALL: Comets unable to overcome slow start against Panthers - Kokomo Tribune

Comets JV cap perfect season with win over Tunstall – YourGV.com

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For the first time in a good number of years, Halifax County High School has an undefeated junior varsity football team.

That accomplishment rests with the Comets in the wake of the teams 44-0 win over Tunstall High School Thursday night at Tunstall High School in Dry Fork.

Thursday nights win gave the Comets a perfect 10-0 slate for the season.

It was a great night overall, Comets head coach Thomas Turbeville said of Thursday nights win.

It was a great ending to a storybook season. The kids played hard all year long. They left it all out on the field and proved we have some talent here in Halifax County.

While the Comets ran the tables on the season, the season wasnt without its anxious moments.

We went through a little adversity, Turbeville noted.

We lost a couple of kids during the season that we had penciled in as starters, and the kids behind them stepped right in and filled in where the others left off, and we didnt lose a beat.

I am extremely proud of our 10th-graders, Turbeville added.

They stepped up and played as if they were veteran players. They led the show and helped our ninth-graders learn what it is to play over here. I think that will bode well for us moving forward.

The Comets dominated Thursdays game against Tunstall High School, scoring in all phases of the contest. Offensively, Savion Howard scored on a 70-yard run and later scored a 2-point conversion. Howard also returned a kick 87 yards for a touchdown to give the Comets special teams unit a score.

In addition, the Comets got touchdowns on a 24-yard run by Qualik Tucker and a 15-yard run from Demitrius Robertson. The Comets also got successful 2-point conversions from Tucker, Kameron Roberts and Semaj Jeffreys.

The Comets also had a stellar defensive effort that netted two touchdowns.

Two interceptions from AZiyah Easley intercepted two passes during the contest, returning one 70 yards for a touchdown. Jonathan Hammock recovered two fumbles, one of which resulted from a botched Tunstall High School punt, that Hammock recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.

We went into this game with the plan that we were going to score four times on defense, and we got two, Turbeville said.

We got half of what we were looking for. We challenged the kids to not only stop the other team, but to try to get the ball away and do something with it.

Our defense played tremendously, Turbeville added, and set us up with good opportunities to have short fields on some plays and get us the ball back quickly, so we had opportunities on offense.

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Binghamton Devils Lose a Tough One to Utica Comets in OT – All About The Jersey

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Binghamton, NY - This one stings.

The BDevils controlled play for much of three periods over the Utica Comets on Saturday but found a way to lose in OT by a score of 3-2 without a bit of controversy at the end.

Zack MacEwen scored the game-winner after Aston Sautner got tied up with goaltender Louis Domingue in a battle with Dakota Mermis in the crease, but the referee called it a good goal after a lengthy discussion by the four officials near the penalty box.

Here is an overhead shot I obtained with the play in question with the puck in the net;

But the main topic was another two-goal lead that disappeared for the Devils and led to the eventual outcome with the Comets scoring three unanswered in their comeback.

Binghamton (5-7-3) would jump to an early 1-0 lead when Joe Morrow (1) pounced on a rebound given up by Utica goalie Michael DiPietro off the stick of Ben Street. The momentum carried on and a 1:38 later Street (6) scored for a power-play tally by some smooth tic-tac-toe passing involving Joey Anderson and Brett Seney.

No scoring took place in the middle frame as both teams had their opportunities as it became a battle between the two players in-between the pipes.

However, the third period had a different story-line as Utica (9-4-0) began their comeback by goals from Stefan LeBlanc (1) and Tyler Graovac (1) that would send the contest to overtime with both clubs securing a point.

Binghamton lost to end their three game winning streak at home while Utica ended their four game losing streak. It was the fifth time for the BDevils to face the Comets in 15 outings this season as the game was chippy with player engagements throughout the night.

Shots ended up in favor of the Comets 35-30.

Seney - Street - Anderson, Conner - McLeod - Bastian, Sharangovich - Maltsev - Studenic, Baddock - Larsson - Schmelzer

Morrow/White, Snuggerud/Paliotta, Mermis/Jacobs

Domingue - Senn

Scratches: Gignac, Speers, Comiskey, Zetterlund, & Melchiori

#1. Ben Street (1g, 1a), #2. Zack MacEwen (1g), #3. Joe Morrow (1g)

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Binghamton Devils Lose a Tough One to Utica Comets in OT - All About The Jersey

Utica Comets: Life after Sven Baertschi, the Nikolay Goldobin situation and Mike DiPietro’s dominant start – The Athletic

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BINGHAMTON, N.Y. Its been the very definition of an up-and-down season for the Utica Comets.

The Vancouver Canucks AHL affiliate jumped out to an 8-0-0 start to the season. The Comets were averaging 4.5 goals per game, ventilating the competition.

Then the calendar turned to November and being an AHL affiliate caught up to them.

The Canucks recalled Ashton Sautner and then Sven Baertschi. Sautner returned, then was recalled again.

Adam Gaudette was reassigned, then recalled. Oscar Fantenberg spent two games with the Comets on a conditioning loan. Hes still yet to play for the Canucks.

Reid Boucher scored 10 goals in October and then got hurt. So did Carter Camper. Before back-to-back games this weekend, Vancouver recalled Jalen Chatfield as insurance for Chris Tanev.

Realistically, though, the Comets season can be divided into two parts: with Baertschi and after Baertschi.

Thats...

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Utica Comets: Life after Sven Baertschi, the Nikolay Goldobin situation and Mike DiPietro's dominant start - The Athletic

Comets set their preseason roster – Kirksville Daily Express and Daily News

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Bill Althaus bill.althaus@examiner.net @AlthausEJC

TuesdayNov12,2019at12:01AM

Some familiar faces and new names create an interesting scenario for the Kansas City Comets, as the Major Arena Soccer League team announced its preseason roster Monday.

Each MASL team is restricted to 26 registered players. On game days, those rosters will be limited to an active roster of 14 field players and up to two goalkeepers.

The Comets kicked off their preseason training camp Nov. 4, with the franchises all-time caps, goals and assist leader, Leo Gibson, taking the helm as player/coach.

Most of the team has been in camp since day one, while others will join as their contracts and visas are finalized. Others are in camp as trialists, hoping to earn a contract.

Its an exciting time, Gibson said. There are players who return from last years team and some new players. But it feels like a team, like everyone is on the same page.

The season, the Comets 10th, kicks off on the road Nov. 22 in Turlock, Calif., against the Cal Express, with the home opener on Nov. 30 against the St. Louis Ambush at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena.

Goalkeeper Mark Saxby said Gibson has quickly earned the respect of his teammates, as he takes over the player/coach role.

When you look back at the overall process, Leo was the only real choice, Saxby said. We have so much respect for Leo, I think this is going to lead to great things this season.

Added veteran Comets forward John Sosa: We have always respected Leo as a person and a player, and we will show him the same respect as a coach. He brings a love of the game and so much experience and expertise to his new job as the head coach no one knows the game better than Leo.

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MUCC Comets win third football provincial championship in eight years – northeastNOW

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Dave Rogers, head coach of the Comets football team, said his players knew they hadnt won anything yet after one half. They knew Martensville was more than capable of scoring 28 points in a quarter like the Comets did in the first.

[Our players] came today prepared mentally with the intensity to impose their will on their opponents, Rogers told northeastNOW. We asked them if they were ready to play football and it was yes coach in a loudness and timbre in the response that I hadnt heard all season, maybe not in a long time. It showed from the first whistle through to the end of the game.

The Comets and Martensville cancelled one another out with a 14-14 score in the second half. The final score was 51-15 for the Comets, as they won their first provincial championship since 2014; their third in eight seasons.

Even though winning by nearly 40 points became a norm for the Comets in 2019, Rogers was still surprised at the championship games point spread.

I knew we had a high-powered offence and wed score some points, he said. We expected their offence which had been very similar to ours to score, but hats off to Coach Russell and his defence for the way they prepared. The defence probably played the best game they played this year.

For the 12 players expecting to graduate from MUCC after the 2019-20 academic year, theres no better way to conclude their secondary school playing careers than with a provincial championship.

However, some of MUCCs Grade 12s could move on to play post-secondary football, whether it be in the Canadian Junior Football League or for a Canadian university. Rogers mentioned Lance Barnett, Mason Gordon-Danku, and Ty Milne as some of the Grade 12s who can move to the next level of football.

After going 6-0 in the regular season and winning all three of their post-season games by nearly 40 points on their way to a provincial championship, Rogers isnt sure where this season ranks compared to other Comets teams hes coached because theyre all different.

Im proud of every team weve coached, he said. [The 2019 team] definitely maximized the potential of their team. This is one of the best offences weve ever coached; we had four exceptional, quality athletes on offence. On defence, we had great kids and played team defence.

Its difficult to compare one championship team to another, or to maybe a team that could have been champions. I try to avoid those comparisons, but one thing that really sets this group apart from what Ive seen is the tightness of everybody on the team. Its not the seniors or the juniors, this year were really the Melfort Comets.

aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow

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MUCC Comets win third football provincial championship in eight years - northeastNOW

NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX Debuts As The Smallest Super Computer For AI At The Edge – Forbes

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On November 6th, NVIDIA introduced the latest member of the Jetson family - the Jetson Xavier NX. With the size thats smaller than a credit card, this module packs a punch.

Earlier this year, NVIDIA launched Jetson Nano, the smallest yet the most powerful GPU-based edge computing device. Jetson Xavier NX, much-advanced edge computing device, has the pin compatibility with Jetson Nano making it possible to port the AIoT applications deployed on the Nano. It also supports all major AI frameworks, including TensorFlow, PyTorch, MXNet, Caffe and others.

Jetson Xavier NX

According to NVIDIA, Jetson Xavier NX delivers up to 14 terra operations per second (TOPS) at 10W or 21 terra operations per second at 15W, running multiple neural networks in parallel and processing data from multiple high-resolution sensors simultaneously in a Nano form factor. Like other Jetson products, the Xavier NX runs on CUDA-X AI software which makes it easy to optimize deep learning networks for inference at the edge. Similar to Jetson Nano and Jetson TX2, Xavier NX is powered by JetPack software that comes with all the components need to train and infer neural networks.

When it comes to the CPU, the Xavier NX is powered by a 6-core Carmel Arm 64-bit CPU, 6MB of L2 and 4MB of L3 cache. The device can support up to six CSI cameras over 12 MIPI CSI-2 lanes. It comes with 8GB of 128-bit LPDDR4x RAM, which is capable of performing data transfer at 51.2GB/second. The device runs an Ubuntu-based Linux operating system.

Priced at USD 399, The Jetson Xavier NX device is expected to be shipped in March of 2020.

In the recently announced MLPerf inferencing benchmark results, Jetson Xavier has helped NVIDIA top the inferencing benchmark results. According to NVIDIA, Xavier ranked as the highest performer under both edge-focused scenarios (single- and multi-stream) among commercially available edge and mobile SoCs.

MLPerf Benchmark

Though there are AI accelerators available from Google, Intel, and Qualcomm, what differentiates NVIDIA is the compatibility of the software stack. With an increased number of GPU cores, the Jetson family of devices can not only be used for inferencing but also for performing training on the device. CUDA compatibility ensures that neural networks trained in mainstream frameworks such as TensorFlow, Caffe, PyTorch, and MXNet can be run on these devices with no conversion or optimization. But for increased performance, NVIDIA ships SDK and tools to convert the trained models into TensorRT, a software layer optimized for inferencing.

Jetson Nano and Xavier NX are the most affordable and powerful edge computing devices available in the market. With CUDA-X AI software and support for popular deep learning frameworks, developers are adopting the Jetson family for running AI at the edge.

When it becomes available early next year, Jetson Xavier NX will enable developers and businesses to run sophisticated AI-infused applications at the edge.

NVIDIA is moving fast with its AI strategy. Having captured the majority of the AI training segment with K80, P100, and T4 GPUs, NVIDIA is now eyeing the inferencing segment with the Jetson family of products.

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NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX Debuts As The Smallest Super Computer For AI At The Edge - Forbes

Apple announces a new MacBook Pro and says it has finally fixed the broken keyboard problem – CNBC

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The MacBook Pro's keys are deeper and have more travel, so they feel better than the shallow keys on earlier models.

Todd Haselton | CNBC

Apple announced on Wednesday a 16-inch MacBook Pro that replaces the company's high-end 15-inch MacBook Pro laptops.

But here's what matters most: Apple completely redesigned the keyboard for the first time since 2015.

And that's big news because previous MacBook keyboards that used a so-called butterfly switch were prone to lots of problems, like jamming keys and endless typos. On a super-nice and super-expensive computer like the MacBook Pro, the keyboard was often just a sore point in an otherwise excellent laptop. Assuming that the keyboard problems have been fixed and that the new design finds its way to other MacBook models, the company's laptop woes could finally be over.

Here's what you need to know about the new 16-inch MacBook Pro, which starts at $2,399.99 and will be available for preorder Wednesday. It will be in stores by the end of the week.

Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pro has a brand new keyboard, and it's nice.

Todd Haselton | CNBC

Apple was panned by industry experts and fans alike for spending four years making a MacBook keyboard that malfunctioned for many customers. Well-known blogger and Apple pundit John Gruber said in March that the previous generation keyboards were "the worst products in Apple history" and that they were "doing lasting harm to the reputation of the MacBook brand."

The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern wrote a review of the third generation butterfly keyboard in March, which was supposed to fix some of the issues in earlier versions. It was titled "Appl still hasn't fixd its MacBook kyboad Problm." Her column prompted Apple to issue an apology.

You get the idea.

With the 16-inch MacBook Pro, Apple has a new scissors-style design that moves back toward it previous keyboards. In my early tests, it's pretty great. But problems with the earlier keyboards didn't always crop up immediately. For example, it took a few weeks for the keyboard to break on Apple's redesigned MacBook Air that I bought last year. Only time will tell.

Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pro

Todd Haselton | CNBC

Still, Apple is standing by this redesign. The company claims it's the best keyboard it has ever made for a MacBook. It used the Magic Keyboard for desktop Macs, which people love, as the inspiration for the new design.

The keys have more travel, meaning you can feel more when you push down on them. Earlier models felt like you were tapping on a flat surface at times. Also, Apple put rubber domes under the keys that help hold them in place and keep them sturdy. And it relied on user studies and testing to build a keyboard people liked.

Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pro

Todd Haselton | CNBC

Finally, Apple added a physical escape key back to the MacBook Pro keyboard by shortening the "Touch Bar" at the top, which is a touchscreen that lets you access shortcuts inside apps and other things. I know. It seems silly the escape key was removed in the first place.

Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pro

Todd Haselton | CNBC

There's a lot more to the story here. Apple's MacBook Pros cater to people who need a lot of power and really good screens for things like photo editing and video editing. The display is really important to those folks, so Apple made it larger while keeping the device similar size to the 15-inch MacBook Pro. That means the bezels on the side of the screen are 34% smaller than before. It's a sharp screen, it gets nice and bright and it's generally just gorgeous. Apple said it's the best display in any MacBook ever. Tough to disagree.

Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pro

Todd Haselton | CNBC

Apple added new ninth-generation Intel Core processors and upgraded the graphics to the latest AMD 5300 and 55000 chips, depending on the model you buy. Translation: That means it's faster for stuff that artistic professionals want.

Apple also increased the power while extending battery life, which is impressive. This year's model gets 11 hours of battery life, an hour longer than last year's MacBook Pro. It's definitely heavy at 4.3 pounds, but only 0.3 pounds heavier than last year's model. I prefer my less powerful MacBook Air, which is a heck of a lot lighter at 2.75 pounds.

It's big!

Todd Haselton | CNBC

Apple is also including a faster USB-C charger that can juice up the 16-inch MacBook Pro in just 2.5 hours. That's pretty good given the size of the battery. It means you won't need to sit at an outlet for half a day just to get a full charge.

Aside from the keyboard, my favorite feature is the new speakers. They sound better than anything I've ever heard out of a laptop before. I demoed them while listening to Miles Davis and loved how it felt like I was sitting inside the music, thanks to Dolby Atmos support. It's almost as if you're sitting in front of a really good speaker rather than a laptop. It's weird to hear something this good. It worked really well for surround sound when I watched a clip of the Apple TV+ show "Dickinson," too.

The internal microphone also was improved. Apple claims it's good enough to record a podcast without using any accessories, but I haven't tested that yet.

Watching the Apple TV+ show Dickinson on the new 16-inch MacBook Pro.

Todd Haselton | CNBC

Some other things didn't change. The trackpad is the same (it's still really good), you still get four USB-C ports and the FaceTime cameras haven't changed from the last model. That's kind of a bummer, since I still wish Apple would just add a really high-quality camera for FaceTime.

The screen color accuracy is great for photo editing. Here: my dog Mabel.

Todd Haselton | CNBC

Anyway, despite all of this, it definitely feels like a huge and heavy laptop compared with my MacBook Air. It's for professionals who need this sort of power and who are willing to pay a lot for a MacBook Pro. It is not for people like me who like to travel light. I assume, though Apple hasn't confirmed, this keyboard will eventually make it to the MacBook Air and other MacBook models.

Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pro

Todd Haselton | CNBC

Apple will sell two models of the 16-inch MacBook Pro that you can upgrade with additional storage, which ultimately increases the price drastically. For example, you can add up to 8TB of storage in it, which is more storage than any other laptop I've ever come across.

The starting configuration costs $2,399.99 and comes with a 6-core Intel processor, 512GB of hard drive space and AMD Radeon 5300 graphics. A $2,799 model will ship with an 8-core processor, 1 terabyte of storage and AMD 5500 graphics. They're available to order on Wednesday and will be in stores by the end of the week.

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Apple announces a new MacBook Pro and says it has finally fixed the broken keyboard problem - CNBC

Nvidia’s Jetson Xavier NX Is ‘World’s Smallest Supercomputer’ For AI – CRN: The Biggest Tech News For Partners And The IT Channel

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Nvidia said its new Jetson Xavier NX is the world's smallest supercomputer for artificial intelligence applications at the edge, giving robotics and embedded computing companies the ability to deliver "server-class performance" in a 10-watt power envelope.

The $399 Jetson Xavier NX, revealed Wednesday during the GPU powerhouse's Nvidia GTC conference in Washington, D.C., is the smallest form factor in Nvidia's Jetson computing board lineup, measuring at just 70-by-45 millimeters, roughly as tall as a Lego figurine. The company also announced that it has achieved the fastest results across five benchmarks in the MLPerf Inference Suite.

[Related: Nvidia Reveals EGX Edge Supercomputing Platform For AI, IoT And 5G]

The computing board comes with 384 CUDA cores and 48 tensor cores, allowing it to deliver up to 21 Tera Operations Per Second, or TOPs, a common way to measure performance in high-performance system-on-chips. Thanks to Nvidia's engineering and design, the Jetson Xavier NX provides up to 15 times higher performance than its Jetson TX2 in a smaller form factor with the same power draw.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company said the Jetson Xavier NX is made for performance-hungry devices that are "constrained by size, weight, power budgets or cost," such as commercial robots, drones high-resolution factory sensors, portable medical devices and industrial IoT systems.

"AI has become the enabling technology for modern robotics and embedded devices that will transform industries," Deepu Talla, vice president and general manager of edge computing at Nvidia, said in a statement. "Many of these devices, based on small form factors and lower power, were constrained from adding more AI features. Jetson Xavier NX lets our customers and partners dramatically increase AI capabilities without increasing the size or power consumption of the device."

Like Nvidia's other Jetson products, Jetson Xavier NX runs on the chipmaker's CUDA-X AI software architecture that the company said can speed up development and lower costs. It's also supported by the company's JetPack software development kit, which provides a "complete AI software stack."

Lee Ritholz, director and chief architect of applied AI at Lockheed Martin, said that Nvidia's embedded Jetson products help accelerate research, development and deployment of AI solutions on Lockheed Martin's platforms.

"With Jetson Xavier NXs exceptional performance, small form factor and low power, we will be able to do more processing in real time at the edge than ever before," he said in a statement.

In addition to its 384 CUDA cores and 48 Tensor Cores, the Jetson Xavier NX comes with Nvidia's Deep Learning Accelerator, up to a six-core Carmel Arm CPU, up to six CSI cameras, 12 lanes for the MIPI CSI-2 camera serial interface, 8 GB of 128-bit LPDDR4x memory, gigabit Ethernet and Ubuntu-based Linux. It comes with options for 10-watt and 15-watt power envelopes.

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Nvidia's Jetson Xavier NX Is 'World's Smallest Supercomputer' For AI - CRN: The Biggest Tech News For Partners And The IT Channel

16,000 core supercomputer completes best galaxy simulation video ever – TweakTown

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The most detailed large-scale simulation has been released showing just after the Big Bang, all the way until the present day.

Scientists have been struggling with the creation of accurate simulations of cosmic-level events due to the limitations of computing power. The computational limitations forced scientists to choose between large-scale designs or fine detail. But now, scientists from Germany and the United States have completed and released the most detailed large-scale simulation of a galaxy forming.

The simulation is called TNG50 and is a state-of-the-art simulation of the formation of a galaxy similar in mass to our neighboring galaxy Andromeda. The video shows a formation of a single massive galaxy, with cosmic gas becoming denser and denser over the course of billions of years. The Hazel Hen supercomputer, located in Stuttgart, created the simulation over the course of a year using 16,000 computational cores. The results are an extremely detailed cosmic visualization that consists of 230 million light-years in diameter and more than 20 billion particles that represent dark matter, stars, cosmic gas, magnetic fields, and supermassive black holes.

* Prices last scanned on 11/13/2019 at 6:32 am CDT - prices may not be accurate, please click for very latest pricing

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16,000 core supercomputer completes best galaxy simulation video ever - TweakTown

Simulated BCS rankings have 2 SEC teams in top 4 after Week 11 – Saturday Down South

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Dave Holcomb | 16 hours ago

Towards the end of the BCS era, everyone hated the computer system that decided who should play for the national championship.

But what if we combined the two eras? What if we still had the College Football Playoff with two teams vying for a championship at the end of the year, but the teams were determined by a super computer as opposed to a committee.

BCSKnowHow.com looks at that every week. On Tuesday, the website tweeted how the BCS would rank the potential playoff teams following Week 11.

On those rankings, two SEC teams LSU and Alabama were ranked in the Top 4. Joining them in that group was Ohio State and Clemson.

If the committees rankings Tuesday night mirror these, there might be a mutiny outside the SEC. Alabama was No. 3 last week and lost at home for the first time in more than four years. Granted, it was to the top team in the country, but the Crimson Tide, at one point, trailed by 20.

Regardless, in the computer rankings, Alabama would be ranked just ahead of Oregon and Georgia. Minnesota would slot in behind them at No. 7, making one of the biggest jumps of the week, moving just in front of Penn State at No. 8.

Here are the entire playoff rankings from BCS Know How as of Tuesday:

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Simulated BCS rankings have 2 SEC teams in top 4 after Week 11 - Saturday Down South

Solving a Riddle That Would Provide the World With Entirely Clean, Renewable Energy – SciTechDaily

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Scientists from Trinity College Dublin have taken a giant stride towards solving a riddle that would provide the world with entirely renewable, clean energy from which water would be the only waste product.

Reducing humanitys carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is arguably the greatest challenge facing 21st-century civilization especially given the ever-increasing global population and the heightened energy demands that come with it.

The Trinity team behind the latest breakthrough combined chemistry smarts with very powerful computers to find one of the holy grails of catalysis.

One beacon of hope is the idea that we could use renewable electricity to split water (H2O) to produce energy-rich hydrogen (H2), which could then be stored and used in fuel cells. This is an especially interesting prospect in a situation where wind and solar energy sources produce electricity to split water, as this would allow us to store energy for use when those renewable sources are not available.

The essential problem, however, is that water is very stable and requires a great deal of energy to break up. A particularly major hurdle to clear is the energy or overpotential associated with the production of oxygen, which is the bottleneck reaction in splitting water to produce H2.

Although certain elements are effective at splitting water, such as Ruthenium or Iridium (two of the so-called noble metals of the periodic table), these are prohibitively expensive for commercialization. Other, cheaper options tend to suffer in terms of their efficiency and/or their robustness. In fact, at present, nobody has discovered catalysts that are cost-effective, highly active and robust for significant periods of time.

So, how do you solve such a riddle? Stop before you imagine lab coats, glasses, beakers, and funny smells; this work was done entirely through a computer.

By bringing together chemists and theoretical physicists, the Trinity team behind the latest breakthrough combined chemistry smarts with very powerful computers to find one of the holy grails of catalysis.

The team, led by Professor Max Garca-Melchor, made a crucial discovery when investigating molecules that produce oxygen: Science had been underestimating the activity of some of the more reactive catalysts and, as a result, the dreaded overpotential hurdle now seems easier to clear. Furthermore, in refining a long-accepted theoretical model used to predict the efficiency of water splitting catalysts, they have made it immeasurably easier for people (or super-computers) to search for the elusive green bullet catalyst.

Lead author, Michael Craig, Trinity, is excited to put this insight to use. He said: We know what we need to optimize now, so it is just a case of finding the right combinations.

Professor Max Garcia-Melchor and Ph.D. Candidate, Michael Craig, Trinity College Dublin, searching for the green bullet catalyst. Credit: Trinity College Dublin

The team aims to now use artificial intelligence to put a large number of earth-abundant metals and ligands (which glue them together to generate the catalysts) in a melting pot before assessing which of the near-infinite combinations yield the greatest promise.

In combination, what once looked like an empty canvas now looks more like a paint-by-numbers as the team has established fundamental principles for the design of ideal catalysts.

Professor Max Garca-Melchor added: Given the increasingly pressing need to find green energy solutions it is no surprise that scientists have, for some time, been hunting for a magical catalyst that would allow us to split water electrochemically in a cost-effective, reliable way. However, it is no exaggeration to say that before now such a hunt was akin to looking for a needle in a haystack. We are not over the finishing line yet, but we have significantly reduced the size of the haystack and we are convinced that artificial intelligence will help us hoover up plenty of the remaining hay.

He also stressed: This research is hugely exciting for a number of reasons and it would be incredible to play a role in making the world a more sustainable place. Additionally, this shows what can happen when researchers from different disciplines come together to apply their expertise to try to solve a problem that affects each and every one of us.

###

Professor Max Garca-Melchor is an Ussher Assistant Professor in Chemistry at Trinity and senior author on the landmark research that has just been published in a leading international journal, Nature Communications.

Reference: Universal scaling relations for the rational design of molecular water oxidation catalysts with near-zero overpotential by Michael John Craig, Gabriel Coulter, Eoin Dolan, Joaqun Soriano-Lpez, Eric Mates-Torres, Wolfgang Schmitt and Max Garca-Melchor, 8 November 2019, Nature Communications.DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12994-w

Collaborating authors include Gabriel Coulter, formerly of Trinity and now studying for a MSc at the University of Cambridge; Eoin Dolan formerly of Trinity and now completing an Erasmus Mundus joint MSc degree in Paris; Dr Joaqun Soriano-Lpez, MSCA-Edge fellow in Trinitys School of Chemistry; Eric Mates, PhD candidate in Trinitys School of Chemistry and Professor Wolfgang Schmitt from Trinitys School of Chemistry.

The research has been supported by Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC), where the team is benefiting from 4,500,000 CPU hours at Irelands state-of-the-art super-computer facility.

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Solving a Riddle That Would Provide the World With Entirely Clean, Renewable Energy - SciTechDaily

Supercomputer predicts Championship table and Reading FC fans will be livid – Get Reading

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We are now well into the Championship campaign and a thrilling season is on the cards following a dramatic first few months.

Leaders West Brom are just six points ahead of seventh-placed Sheffield Wednesday, with the play-off and automatic promotion picture shifting every week after the latest batch of matches.

Meanwhile, the bottom of the table has managerless Stoke City struggling to find their footing, while Middlesbrough and Huddersfield Town are among the heavy-hitters floundering at the wrong end of the standings.

With things being extremely tight, it is very difficult to predict the final outcomes but that is exactly what TalkSport has done with their latest supercomputer - which issues the final verdict for all 24 clubs.

In the end, its good news for Leeds United and West Brom, both of whom earn promotion to the Premier League, leaving Fulham, Swansea City, Preston and Nottingham Forest battling it out in the play-offs.

But it's bad news for Reading who have once again been written off and predicted for relegation.

A run of two wins in three matches has seen them slowly move up the league but that's still not enough to convince the outsiders it won't be a dismal season.

Royals, Barnsley and Luton have all been predicted to face the drop into the third tier of English football.

You can see the full table below.

1 - Leeds United

2 - West Brom

-------------------

3 - Fulham

4 - Swansea City

5 - Preston

6 - Nottingham Forest

---------------------------

7 - Bristol City

8 - Brentford

9 - Sheffield Wednesday

10 - QPR

11 - Charlton

12 - Cardiff City

13 - Derby County

14 - Blackburn Rovers

15 - Stoke City

16 - Hull City

17 - Birmingham City

18 - Huddersfield Town

19 - Middlesbrough

20 - Millwall

21 - Wigan Athletic

------------------------

22 - Luton Town

23 - Reading

24 - Barnsley

Keep an eye out on our social media pages for more Reading FC news - we are on Twitter @readingfclive and on Facebook Reading FC Live

Follow our dedicated Reading FC reporter on Twitter @jonathanl50

You can also get the latest news via the FREE getreading app - download it for Apple devices here and Android devices here

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Supercomputer predicts Championship table and Reading FC fans will be livid - Get Reading

Using AI to Split Water Electrochemically in a Cost-Effective, Reliable Way – AZoCleantech

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Written by AZoCleantechNov 11 2019

Researchers from Trinity College Dublin have taken a massive stride towards finding an answer to a puzzle that would offer the world a totally renewable, clean energy from which the sole waste product would be water.

Left to right, Professor Max Garcia-Melchor and PhD Candidate Michael Craig, Trinity College Dublin. Image Credit: Trinity College Dublin.

Decreasing human-induced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is debatably the paramount challenge facing the 21st-century civilizationparticularly given the constantly growing global population and the intensified energy demands that accompany it.

One ray of hope is the concept that renewable electricity could be used to split water (H2O) to create energy-rich hydrogen (H2), which could be subsequently stored and used in fuel cells. This is a particularly stimulating perspective in a situation where solar and wind energy sources generate electricity to split water, as this would enable the storage of energy for use when those renewable sources are not available.

The vital issue, however, is that water is highly stable and necessitates a considerable amount of energy to split up. A specifically major obstacle to overcome is the energy or overpotential related to the formation of oxygen, which is the bottleneck reaction in splitting water to generate H2.

Although some elements like Iridium or Ruthenium (two of the noble metals of the periodic table) hold the potential to split water, these are exorbitantly expensive for commercialization. Other, inexpensive options tend to be less robust and/or have low efficiency. At the moment, no one has found catalysts that are robust, cost-effective, and highly active for substantial lengths of time.

So, how does one solve such a puzzle? Without any need for glasses, lab coats, beakers, and odd smells, this work was performed completely with a computer.

By uniting theoretical physicists and chemists, the Trinity team behind the latest innovation combined chemistry experts with highly robust computers to discover one of the holy grails of catalysis.

The team, headed by Professor Max Garca-Melchor, made a critical discovery while examining molecules that synthesize oxygen: Science had been undervaluing the activity of some of the more reactive catalysts. Consequently, the dreaded overpotential obstacle now seems easier to overcome.

By improving a long-accepted theoretical model used to estimate the efficiency of water splitting catalysts, they have made it extremely easier for people (or super-computers) to locate the mysterious green bullet catalyst.

Michael Craig from Trinity College Dublin, who was the lead author, is eager to implement this insight.

We know what we need to optimise now, so it is just a case of finding the right combinations.

Michael Craig, Study Lead Author, Trinity College Dublin

The team intends to use artificial intelligence (AI) to place a large number of earth-rich metals and ligands (which stick together to produce the catalysts) in a melting pot before evaluating which of the near-infinite combinations hold the greatest potential.

Together, what earlier appeared like an empty canvas currently appears more like paint-by-numbers as the researchers have defined fundamental principles for designing perfect catalysts.

Given the increasingly pressing need to find green energy solutions it is no surprise that scientists have, for some time, been hunting for a magical catalyst that would allow us to split water electrochemically in a cost-effective, reliable way.

Max Garca-Melchor, Study Senior Author and Ussher Assistant Professor in Chemistry, Trinity College Dublin

Professor Garca-Melchor continued, However, it is no exaggeration to say that before now such a hunt was akin to looking for a needle in a haystack. We are not over the finishing line yet, but we have significantly reduced the size of the haystack and we are convinced that artificial intelligence will help us hoover up plenty of the remaining hay.

This research is hugely exciting for a number of reasons and it would be incredible to play a role in making the world a more sustainable place. Additionally, this shows what can happen when researchers from different disciplines come together to apply their expertise to try to solve a problem that affects each and every one of us.

Max Garca-Melchor, Study Senior Author and Ussher Assistant Professor in Chemistry, Trinity College Dublin

Max Garca-Melchor, who is a Ussher Assistant Professor in Chemistry at Trinity, is the senior author on the breakthrough research that has recently been published in Nature Communications, a leading international journal.

Authors collaborating on this research include Gabriel Coulter, formerly of Trinity and now studying for an MSc at the University of Cambridge; Eoin Dolan, formerly of Trinity and currently completing an Erasmus Mundus joint MSc degree in Paris; Dr Joaqun Soriano-Lpez, MSCA-Edge fellow in Trinitys School of Chemistry; Eric Mates, PhD candidate in Trinitys School of Chemistry; and Professor Wolfgang Schmitt from Trinitys School of Chemistry.

The study has been supported by Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC), where the team is profiting from 4,500,000 CPU hours at Irelands high-tech super-computer facility.

Source: https://www.tcd.ie

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Using AI to Split Water Electrochemically in a Cost-Effective, Reliable Way - AZoCleantech