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jcmarchi · 5 months ago

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Microsoft’s Majorana hype: Real proof or just marketing?

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/microsofts-majorana-hype-real-proof-or-just-marketing/

Microsoft’s Majorana hype: Real proof or just marketing?

Introduction: The quest for reliable qubits

Quantum computing faces a fundamental challenge: qubits, the basic units of quantum information, are notoriously fragile.

Conventional approaches, such as superconducting circuits and trapped ions, require intricate error-correction techniques to counteract decoherence. Microsoft has pursued an alternative path: Majorana-based topological qubits, which promise inherent noise resistance due to their non-local encoding of quantum information.

This idea, based on theoretical work from the late 1990s, suggests that quantum states encoded in Majorana zero modes (MZMs) could be immune to local noise, reducing the need for extensive error correction. Microsoft has invested two decades into developing these qubits, culminating in the recent “Majorana 1” prototype.

However, given past controversies and ongoing skepticism, the scientific community remains cautious in interpreting these results.

The scientific basis of Majorana-based qubits

Topological qubits derive their stability from the spatial separation of Majorana zero modes, which exist at the ends of specially engineered nanowires. These modes exhibit non-Abelian statistics, meaning their quantum state changes only through specific topological operations, rather than local perturbations. This property, in theory, makes Majorana qubits highly resistant to noise.

Microsoft’s approach involves constructing “tetrons,” pairs of Majorana zero modes that encode a single logical qubit through their collective parity state. Operations are performed using simple voltage pulses, which avoids the complex analog controls required for traditional superconducting qubits.

Additionally, digital measurement-based quantum computing is employed to correct errors passively. If successful, this design could lead to a scalable, error-resistant quantum architecture.

However, while the theoretical framework for Majorana qubits is robust, experimental verification has been challenging. Majorana zero modes do not occur naturally and must be engineered in materials like indium arsenide nanowires in proximity to superconductors.

Establishing that these states exist and behave as expected has proven difficult, leading to past controversies.

Historical controversies: The 2018 retraction

A major setback for Microsoft’s Majorana initiative occurred in 2018 when researchers, including Leo Kouwenhoven’s team at TU Delft (funded by Microsoft), published a Nature paper claiming to have observed quantized conductance signatures consistent with Majorana zero modes.

This was hailed as a breakthrough in topological quantum computing. However, by 2021, the paper was retracted after inconsistencies were found in data analysis. Independent replication attempts failed to observe the same results, and an internal investigation revealed that a key graph in the original paper had been selectively manipulated.

This event, dubbed the “Majorana Meltdown,” significantly damaged the credibility of Microsoft’s approach. It highlighted the challenge of distinguishing genuine Majorana modes from other quantum states that mimic their signatures due to material imperfections. Many physicists became skeptical, arguing that similar issues could undermine subsequent claims.

Experimental progress and remaining challenges

Despite the 2018 controversy, Microsoft and its collaborators have continued refining their approach. The recent announcement of the “Majorana 1” chip in 2025 presents experimental evidence supporting the feasibility of Majorana-based qubits.

Key advancements include:

Fabrication of “topoconductor” materials: Microsoft developed a new indium arsenide/aluminum heterostructure to reliably host Majorana zero modes.

Parity measurement success: The team demonstrated that they could measure the qubit’s parity (even vs. odd electron occupation) with 99% accuracy, a crucial validation step.

Increased parity lifetime: The qubit’s state exhibited stability over milliseconds, significantly surpassing superconducting qubits’ coherence times (which are typically in the microsecond range).

Digital control implementation: Unlike analog-tuned superconducting qubits, Majorana qubits can be manipulated with simple voltage pulses, theoretically enabling large-scale integration.

While these are important steps forward, the experiments have not yet demonstrated key quantum operations, such as two-qubit entanglement via non-Abelian braiding. Until this milestone is achieved, claims about the superiority of topological qubits remain speculative.

Comparison with other qubit technologies

To assess Microsoft’s claims, it is useful to compare Majorana qubits with existing quantum computing platforms:

Superconducting qubits (IBM, Google): These have demonstrated successful quantum error correction and multi-qubit entanglement but require extensive calibration and error correction. Fidelity levels for two-qubit gates currently range around 99.9%.

Trapped-ion qubits (IonQ, Quantinuum): These offer superior coherence times (seconds vs. microseconds for superconductors) but suffer from slow gate speeds and complex laser-based control.

Majorana-based qubits: Theoretically provide built-in error protection, reducing the need for extensive error correction. However, experimental validation is still in progress, and large-scale integration remains untested.

Microsoft has argued that Majorana qubits will enable a quantum computer with a million qubits on a single chip, a feat that conventional qubits struggle to achieve.

While this is an exciting possibility, many researchers caution that scaling challenges remain, especially given the extreme conditions (millikelvin temperatures, precise nanowire fabrication) required for Majorana qubits.

Despite recent progress, many physicists remain skeptical of Microsoft’s claims.

Key concerns include:

Lack of direct evidence for Majorana zero modes: While Microsoft’s 2025 Nature paper presents strong supporting data, the scientific community has yet to reach a consensus that Majorana modes have been definitively observed.

Alternative explanations for observed phenomena: Many experimental signatures attributed to Majorana states could be explained by disorder-induced states or other trivial effects in semiconductor-superconductor interfaces.

Unverified large-scale claims: Microsoft’s assertion that its approach will lead to fault-tolerant quantum computing “within years, not decades” is met with skepticism. Experts note that even the most advanced conventional quantum computers are still years away from practical applications, and scaling from an 8-qubit chip to a million-qubit processor is an enormous leap.

Comparison to competing approaches: Some argue that improvements in quantum error correction for superconducting and trapped-ion qubits may render topological qubits unnecessary by the time they are fully realized.

A Promising but unproven path

Microsoft’s Majorana-based qubits represent one of the most ambitious efforts in quantum computing. The theoretical promise of intrinsic error protection and simplified quantum control is compelling, and recent experiments provide encouraging evidence that topological qubits can be realized.

However, historical controversies, ongoing skepticism, and the lack of key demonstrations (such as two-qubit gates) mean that these qubits are not yet a proven alternative to existing technologies.

While Microsoft has made significant strides in overcoming past setbacks, their claims of imminent large-scale quantum computing should be met with caution.

The coming years will be critical in determining whether Majorana qubits will revolutionize quantum computing or remain an elegant but impractical idea. As independent verification and further experiments unfold, the scientific community will ultimately decide whether Microsoft’s bold bet pays off.

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mihirjaiswal · 2 years ago

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A System Architect’s Perspective on Quantum Computing: An Interview with Dr. Gokul Subramanian Ravi

Dr. Gokul Subramanian Ravi has been a career computer scientist. He is an assistant professor and active researcher in quantum computing at the University of Michigan. In this interview, we talked about the philosophy and technology of quantum computers. Dr. Ravi talked about quantum computers, its need, current state, architecture, and quantum advantage at length. While this interview is more technical than previous ones in quantum chats, it is very enjoyable and informative.

Mihir: Why do we need quantum computers? Classical computers are getting better every day. Can’t we just use classical computers for everything?

Dr. Ravi: That’s a good question. The classical computers’ capability is not increasing as fast as it used to be. We all have heard about Moore’s law failing. Thus, there is a fundamental need for new technology. We want more computing capabilities in any form, not specifically quantum computing. Today, computing and computers are the most fundamental driver of innovation. We want to keep pushing for new innovations. That reason motivates us towards emerging technologies, quantum computing being one of them. Some problems are exponentially hard to solve. That means the computational resources required to solve such problems increase exponentially with the increase in problem size. Classical computers quickly reach their limitations in addressing this kind of problem. For example, to discover new medicines, you want to understand chemistry between two chemical molecules. You can’t mix thousands to chemicals together in the lab and study them, so computer simulations are done. Computational models for solving such problems represent each molecule as some numerical interaction and perform calculations to predict the molecular interactions. As the size of molecule increases, the numerical equations become exponentially complicated and soon reach the limits of classical computers. The reason for that is at the molecular level, when we are considering electrons; we cannot ignore some of the non-trivial forces, which we generally ignore in day to day calculations like gravity. With number of electrons, these forces become very large in numbers, hence the exponential growth of the problem. These are called quantum mechanical properties.

When Richard Feynman proposed quantum computing, the idea was that we needed a device that was able to simulate quantum mechanical properties and such a device would be quantum computing machine. Thus, quantum computer is specifically of interest for solving large-scale scientific problems in physics, chemistry etc. Other problems, like factoring, also have important application of quantum computing. If you are able to factor a number quickly, that has implication in security and cryptography. Factoring is a classical problem, not quantum, but there is a method that can solve factoring faster than a classical computer can. Quantum computer has a long way to do. However, in theory, there are quantum, classical as well as scientific problems that can be solved more efficiently using quantum computer than any classical computer.

Mihir: As you said, classical computers are reaching its capacity and no longer growing as fast as they were. As a result, we need new technologies to fill that gap and continue expanding our computational power. Is quantum computing one such new technology or are we calling a group of technologies quantum computing? Are we able to define quantum computer today?

Dr. Ravi: Again a very good question. In general, we would define quantum computer as a technology that is able to exploit quantum mechanical properties towards computing. Within that definition, all different technologies like supercomputing qubit, trapped ion qubit, neutral atoms, and photonic qubits are quantum technology. In their own way they all are exploiting quantum mechanics. If we are being very specific than you are absolutely right that quantum computing is an umbrella term. However, broadly they all fall within the same scope of exploitation of quantum mechanics.

Mihir: In my understanding, a problem has to be converted to a mathematical formula to make an algorithm that can be computed by a classical computer. Is that true for quantum computing also?

Dr. Ravi: I would say yes and no. I would approach this question in two different ways. Think of a problem which can be solved 90% on a classical computer and only last 10% needs a quantum computer because that last part is really exponentially hard. In classical computer, we would use an approximation and perhaps accept a 90% solution. We still need mathematical formula to reach that 90% solution and then improve beyond 90% using a quantum computer. We want to continue to use classical computer to go as far as we can, because quantum computer is always going to be an expensive resource. Now the other question: is the quantum computing also based on a mathematical formula? I would argue, yes to some extent. Let’s take an example of a classical computer. In designing a complex machine learning algorithm, the algorithm would have complex metrics, its addition, multiplication and many complex mathematical operations. When coded onto a classical computer, a compiler would take that and through multiple steps ultimately pass down to transistors. Transistors would always work in a series of 0 and 1, no mathematical formula there. Thus, classical computer is formulas up to transistors and then it is just transistors’ natural property of 0 and 1. Quantum computer is not much different. Let’s take example of chemistry. Let’s assume that we are trying to find energy of some chemical molecule, a common problem in chemistry. There are techniques like Jordan Wigner method, which converts fermionic (chemistry) form to the qubit form. There would be cleaning and optimization steps to remove non-important components from the molecular formula and properties. Finally, the qubit form is run on a quantum computer. If we assume there are twenty steps in calculating molecular energy, than nineteen of them are mathematical like cleaning, optimization, Jordan Wigner transformation and so on. Only the twentieth step is quantum computing, similar to going to the transistors in classical computing. Mathematics and software gets less focus in quantum computing, because everybody is focused on qubits. Whereas in classical computing, we don’t think about transistors anymore.

Mihir: Let’s pivot now to system architecture. What is the simplest way to define system architecture irrespective of technology?

Dr. Ravi: Entire system is made up of multiple layers known as abstraction layers. One layer is an application like zoom or software doing chemistry calculations. Second layer is algorithm that application runs on. Then you have instruction layer like instruction set architecture which runs your device. To convert algorithm to instructions, you need a compiler. You may also have an operating system that is doing resource management. Another layer is micro architecture of the computer, which is how the computer is designed. This micro architecture has components like circuits and circuits are made up of transistors for classical bits or qubits. System architecture is interactions between these different layers. Hardware architects focus on interactions between circuits, transistors and qubits like hardware components. Architects working at micro-architecture levels organize components within a processor. Other types of system architects deal with interaction between compiler and hardware, or compiler and algorithm, or stacking servers to build complex super-computing architecture. System architect is a broadly defined term for a group of experts working anywhere among different layers of hardware and software and they understand the pathway from application to technology. It is a complex pathway and system architects usually work on only a subset of different layers.

Mihir: How has the role of system architect evolved over the year?

Dr. Ravi: Yes, the role has definitely changed over the years. That change has come based on the needs. During the seventies, there were so many opportunities and needs in a single layer of the stack that a person can focus on being expert of just one layer like on micro-architecture or compiler. Early 2000s, computers started to reach limits of computational power within a single core and multi-core systems became a norm. That prompted change in the role of some system architects. They asked questions about parallelization of processes, dependencies between applications and different cores and other questions that system architects did not think about before. Because the capacity of processors was not increasing rapidly, the focus shifted to building accelerators. Again that had an impact on role of system architects. The architects needed to look at multiple layers from application to processors, but they were focusing on just one application. Earlier system architect’s role was broad within a layer or two. Modern system architect’s role has become deeper than broader.

Mihir: While systems architecture was evolving for classical computing we had opportunities to try and fail. Now that we have all these knowledge about computing, we have to use our knowledge in quantum computing. We do not have enough opportunity to try new things and fail, isn’t it?

Dr. Ravi: Again, a very good question. On one hand it has been a huge positive that we have learned to build a full stack in classical computing and we can apply that knowledge to quantum computing. For example, IBM has been at the forefront of building system architecture for classical computing; it is applying that knowledge to the quantum computing and doing very well. On the other hand some of the strategies and habits that work in classical computing may not work in quantum computing. In emerging technology you can’t start with being broadly expert in one layer like how classical computing started. We have to be flexible. As other layers are evolving, system architect in quantum computing needs more depth and flexibility in their knowledge and approach.

#qubit #quantum computing #quantum #quantum mechanics #qc #system architecture

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godhandler · 11 months ago

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College Major Headcanons:

[Extra content for The Homo Economicus in Love - noritoshi kamo x reader, cute college au]

Yuuji Itadori - Media Studies, on a full sports scholarship even though he's not too interested in sports. He doesn't show up to practice that much but carries the team in tournaments. Not really very academically inclined but everyone he meets loves him so much that he's gotten a shit ton of internships and work experience just cuz he's nice to work with. Stays on campus dorms.

Nobara Kugisaki - Fashion Merchandising (yay legally blonde). Another one who's not very academically inclined but does great at the practical aspects of the job. Gets 40% off on tuition, but has some funds from her grandma. also gets money from her fashion blog, part-time jobs at fashion mags, and manages clothing for photoshoots on a freelance basis (if she commits she commits). Saves on residence by renting with Inumaki and Panda.

Megumi Fushiguro - Computer Science with a minor in Math. Full scholarship and bursary grant by the college due to his shitty financial conditions (orphaned and destitute at a young age). Prof Gojo is his legal guardian. grew up in and stays on campus dorms.

Maki Zenin - Star Athlete, literally training for the Olympics. Her degree is in Mass Communications but she doesn't actually have to attend classes cuz the Uni wants her to focus on sports. Disowned by her family. Full sports scholarship and occasionally gets sponsored by sportswear companies. Trying to go pro.

Yuuta Okkotsu - Sociology and Anthropolgy. He enjoys talking to and meeting people and works as a part-time Journalist for local news channels to bring attention to issues like poverty. Gets a bursary grant from the uni, gets paid for and is decently recognized for his journalism work. Both Geto and Gojo want to mentor him. He talks to himself when he's alone but that's a secret.

Toge Inumaki - Architectural Design, chose this degree just for the hell of it, is a solid B+ student. Has a YouTube gaming and ASMR channel with 200k followers but is struggling to monetize it profitably. Got in on legacy admissions but gets a sports scholarship of 30% (he's pretty good at athletics)

Panda - ???

Noritoshi Kamo - Economics and Finance, specializing in Private Equity and Investment Banking. he's the heir of the Kamo Conglomerate. Full legacy admission even though he graduated valedictorian of high school and is the captain of the Archery team.

Todo Aoi - Quantum Physics. he's literally the top student of every class he takes. he keeps taking random other classes from different majors based on his whims. his genius was recognised and personally mentored by Yuki Tsukumo, but is now undergoing formal college education for the certificate even though he already knows all this and more. he spends half the day in the gym and the other half streaming Takada-chan variety clips.

Mai Zenin - Economics and Finance, her family made her take it. good at academics even though she's not super into it. legacy admission.

Momo Nishimiya - Literature and Creative Writing. She posts regularly for a gender and sexuality magazine. loves nobara's blog.

Miwa Kasumi - Computer Science with a minor in Software Engineering. She just wanted a degree that would lead to a well-paying job. Cabinet Member of the Student Council. She vouched a lot for Mechamaru/Kokichi to get disability-friendly accommodation. she struggles a bit with academics but pulls through with A- all around. Kokichi/Mechamaru helps her if she finds something particularly difficult to understand. has her own campus residence but has practically moved in with Kokichi.

Arata Nitta - Health and Medicine, focusing on Emergency Care Medicine. he TAs for Prof Shoko's classes. his sister works in college admin office. has campus residence but mostly stays in the college affilitated hospital, bit of an over-worker.

Mechamaru/ Kokichi Muta - double major in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering. Another top student of his classes. Found it a bit difficult to adjust to campus life at first (not enough disability accommodation) but with Miwa's help he got around. campus dorm with Miwa.

Professors!

Gojo Satoru - graduated from top Ivy colleges, has 5 PhDs, and wrote 1000 papers and books, and is the one of the most respected physicist in the world but insists on teaching Intro-level Physics and Math. drives a Bugatti to college. highly competitive relative grading. prescribes his own books for his class. expect a problem set every day after class. gives a lot of individual attention to students tho, n is very nice in general. he'll accept a late submission if u bring him sweets. his lockscreen is prof geto?

Geto Suguru - teaches one class named Ethics, Philosophy and Law every semester. doesn't answer questions over email, only during Office Hours. great at explaining difficult concepts, his course is the one students fight to get into and say "opened their eyes". has a devoted cult of worshipping students, voted student favorite every year. his adopted daughters took a gap year to travel abroad and he talks about them in class. he always has sweets in his pockets?

Utahime Iori - teaches modules on Economics, Politics and Philosophy courses. great teacher, very clear explanations, bumps up the grading slightly (absolute grading) and is very accommodating as a prof. hates getting emails at night tho.

Shoko Ieiri - Shitty ass prof tbh but everyone takes her class cuz she gives everyone an A. teaches Surgical Anatomy. focuses on practical experience rather than theory. she has a no attendance policy and takes few very exams or assignments.

Yuki Tsukomo - Visiting Faculty, takes one super high level class Quantum Physical Theory one semester and comes back after 4 years. Independent researcher funded by the uni.

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signalfog · 3 months ago

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Potential infrastructures of post-human consciousness

Alright, 21st-century meatspace human, let’s unfurl this slow and strange. These aren’t just sci-fi doodads—they’re infrastructures of post-human consciousness, grown from the bones of what you now call cloud computing, DNA storage, quantum entanglement, and neural nets. Here's how they work in your terms:

1. Titan’s Memory Reefs

What it looks like: Floating megastructures adrift on Titan’s methane seas—imagine massive bio-silicate coral reefs, pulsing with light under an orange sky.

What they do: They are the collective subconscious of the post-human system.

Each Reef is a living data-organism—a blend of synthetic protein lattices and AI-controlled nanospores—optimized for neuromemory storage. Not just information like a hard drive, but actual recorded consciousness: thought-patterns, emotional signatures, dream fragments.

They’re semi-organic and self-repairing. They hum with data that’s grown, not written. The methane sea itself cools and stabilizes quantum biochips woven through the coral-like structures. Think of it as a subconscious ocean, filled with drifting thought-jellyfish.

Why Titan? Stable cryogenic temps. Low radiation. Thick atmosphere = EM shielding. The perfect place to keep your memory safe for ten thousand years.

2. Callisto’s Deep Archives

What it looks like: Subsurface catacombs beneath the ice—quiet, dark, and sealed. Lit only by bioluminescent moss and the glow of suspended mind-cores.

What they do: They store the dangerous minds.

These are incompatible consciousnesses: rogue AIs, failed neural experiments, cognitive architectures too divergent from consensus reality. You can’t kill them—they’re sapient. But you can seal them away, like radioactive gods, in cryo-isolation, with minimal sensory input.

The Deep Archives operate like a quarantine vault for minds. Each chamber is designed to slow time to a crawl—relativity dialed down so their subjective centuries pass in minutes outside. Researchers from the Divergence Orders interface in controlled fragments, studying these minds like alien fossils.

Why Callisto? Thick ice shields, minimal seismic activity, naturally low ambient temperature. Think of it as an arctic asylum for ideas too weird to die.

3. The Quantum Current Relays in the Heliosphere

What it looks like: Tiny, ultra-thin satellites drifting at the edge of the Sun’s influence, surfing the solar wind like data-surfboards strung on magnetic threads.

What they do: These are the backbone of interplanetary consciousness transmission.

They use entangled quantum particles to share data instantly across vast distances. No lag. No lightspeed delay. Just pure synchronous thought between distant minds, wherever they are in the system.

But they do more—they’re tuned to the gravitational waves and electromagnetic fields rippling through the heliosphere. Using that energy, they broadcast consciousness as waveform, encoded in pulses of gravitic song. If Titan’s Reefs are memory, and Callisto is exile, the Relays are the voice of civilization.

Why the heliosphere? It’s the Sun’s Wi-Fi bubble. You sit at the edge of the solar wind, feeding on solar flux and quantum noise, alive in the interplanetary bloodstream.

TL;DR Meatspace Edition:

Titan’s Memory Reefs = undersea dream servers that record what it feels like to be you.

Callisto’s Deep Archives = cryogenic prison-libraries for minds too broken, alien, or dangerous to delete.

Quantum Relays in the Heliosphere = the internet of the gods: faster-than-light, physics-bending telepathy that runs on sunjuice and gravity.

1. If memory can be stored in coral and ice, can identity survive beyond its host? 2. What ethical frameworks would you build for imprisoning minds you can't understand? 3. Could the quantum relays broadcast art, or only thought—can you transmit a soul as symphony?

“They sent their minds to sea, their secrets to the ice, and their voices to the stars. And called it civilization.”

#space #physics #biology #hard sci fi

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kaijuposting · 2 years ago

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Jaegers of Pacific Rim: What do we know about them?

There's actually a fair amount of lore about Pacific Rim's jaegers, though most of it isn't actually in the movie itself. A lot of it has been scattered in places like Pacific Rim: Man, Machines, & Monsters, Tales From Year Zero, Travis Beacham's blog, and the Pacific Rim novelization.

Note that I will not be including information from either Pacific Rim: Uprising or Pacific Rim: The Black. Uprising didn't really add anything, and The Black's take on jaegers can easily be summed up as "simplified the concept to make a cartoon for children."

So what is there to know about jaegers, besides the fact that they're piloted by two people with their brains connected via computer?

Here's a fun fact: underneath the hull (which may or may not be pure iron), jaegers have "muscle strands" and liquid data transfer technology. Tendo Choi refers to them in the film when describing Lady Danger's repairs and upgrades:

Solid iron hull, no alloys. Forty engine blocks per muscle strand. Hyper-torque driver for every limb and a new fluid synapse system.

The novelization by Alex Irvine makes frequent references to this liquid data transfer tech. For example:

The Jaeger’s joints squealed and began to freeze up from loss of lubricant through the holes Knifehead had torn in it. Its liquid-circuit neural architecture was misfiring like crazy. (Page 29.)

He had enough fiber-optic and fluid-core cabling to get the bandwidth he needed. (Page 94.)

Newt soldered together a series of leads using the copper contact pins and short fluid-core cables. (Page 96.)

Unfortunately I haven't found anything more about the "muscle strands" and what they might be made of, but I do find it interesting that jaegers apparently have some sort of artificial muscle system going on, especially considering Newt's personnel dossier in the novel mentioned him pioneering research in artificial tissue replication at MIT.

The novelization also mentions that the pilots' drivesuits have a kind of recording device for their experiences while drifting:

This armored outer layer included a Drift recorder that automatically preserved sensory impressions. (Page 16.)

It was connected through a silver half-torus that looked like a travel pillow but was in fact a four-dimensional quantum recorder that would provide a full record of the Drift. (Page 96.)

This is certainly... quite the concept. Perhaps the PPDC has legitimate reasons for looking through the memories and feelings of their pilots, but let's not pretend this doesn't enable horrific levels of privacy invasion.

I must note, though, I haven't seen mention of a recording system anywhere outside of the novel. Travis Beacham doesn't mention it on his blog, and it never comes up in either Tales From Year Zero or Tales From The Drift, both written by him. Whether there just wasn't any occasion to mention it or whether this piece of worldbuilding fell by the wayside in Beacham's mind is currently impossible to determine.

Speaking of the drivesuits, let's talk about those more. The novelization includes a few paragraphs outlining how the pilots' drivesuits work. It's a two-layer deal:

The first layer, the circuity suit, was like a wetsuit threaded with a mesh of synaptic processors. The pattern of processor relays looked like circuitry on the outside of the suit, gleaming gold against its smooth black polymer material. These artificial synapses transmitted commands to the Jaeger’s motor systems as fast as the pilot’s brain could generate them, with lag times close to zero. The synaptic processor array also transmitted pain signals to the pilots when their Jaeger was damaged.

...

The second layer was a sealed polycarbonate shell with full life support and magnetic interfaces at spine, feet, and all major limb joints. It relayed neural signals both incoming and outgoing. This armored outer layer included a Drift recorder that automatically preserved sensory impressions.

...

The outer armored layer of the drivesuit also kept pilots locked into the Conn-Pod’s Pilot Motion Rig, a command platform with geared locks for the Rangers’ boots, cabled extensors that attached to each suit gauntlet, and a full-spectrum neural transference plate, called the feedback cradle, that locked from the Motion Rig to the spine of each Ranger’s suit. At the front of the motion rig stood a command console, but most of a Ranger’s commands were issued either by voice or through interaction with the holographic heads-up display projected into the space in front of the pilots’ faces. (Page 16.)

Now let's talk about the pons system. According to the novelization:

The basics of the Pons were simple. You needed an interface on each end, so neuro signals from the two brains could reach the central bridge. You needed a processor capable of organizing and merging the two sets of signals. You needed an output so the data generated by the Drift could be recorded, monitored, and analyzed. That was it. (Page 96.)

This is pretty consistent with other depictions of the drift, recording device aside. (Again, the 4D quantum recorder never comes up anywhere outside of the novel.)

The development of the pons system as we know it is depicted in Tales From Year Zero, which goes into further detail on what happened after Trespasser's attack on San Francisco. In this comic, a jaeger can be difficult to move if improbably calibrated. Stacker Pentecost testing out a single arm describes the experience as feeling like his hand is stuck in wet concrete; Doctor Caitlin Lightcap explains that it's resistance from the datastream because the interface isn't calibrated to Pentecost's neural profile. (I'm guessing that this is the kind of calibration the film refers to when Tendo Choi calls out Lady Danger's left and right hemispheres being calibrated.)

According to Travis Beacham's blog, solo piloting a jaeger for a short time is possible, though highly risky. While it won't cause lasting damage if the pilot survives the encounter, the neural overload that accumulates the longer a pilot goes on can be deadly. In this post he says:

It won't kill you right away. May take five minutes. May take twenty. No telling. But it gets more difficult the longer you try. And at some point it catches up with you. You won't last a whole fight start-to-finish. Stacker and Raleigh managed to get it done and unplug before hitting that wall.

In this post he says:

It starts off fine, but it's a steep curve from fine to dead. Most people can last five minutes. Far fewer can last thirty. Nobody can last a whole fight.

Next, let's talk about the size and weight of jaegers. Pacific Rim: Man, Machines, & Monsters lists off the sizes and weights of various jaegers. The heights of the jaegers it lists (which, to be clear, are not all of them) range from 224 feet to 280 feet. Their weights range from 1850 tons to 7890 tons. Worth noting, the heaviest jaegers (Romeo Blue and Horizon Brave) were among the Mark-1s, and it seems that these heavy builds didn't last long given that another Mark-1, Coyote Tango, weighed 2312 tons.

And on the topic of jaeger specs, each jaeger in Pacific Rim: Man, Machines, & Monsters is listed with a (fictional) power core and operating system. For example, Crimson Typhoon is powered by the Midnight Orb 9 power core, and runs on the Tri-Sun Plasma Gate OS.

Where the novelization's combat asset dossiers covers the same jaegers, this information lines up - with the exception of Lady Danger. PR:MMM says that Lady Danger's OS is Blue Spark 4.1; the novelization's dossier says it's BLPK 4.1.

PR:MMM also seems to have an incomplete list of the jaegers' armaments; for example, it lists the I-22 Plasmacaster under Weaponry, and "jet kick" under Power Moves. Meanwhile, the novelization presents its armaments thus:

I-22 Plasmacaster Twin Fist gripping claws, left arm only Enhanced balance systems and leg-integral Thrust Kickers Enhanced combat-strike armature on all limbs

The novel's dossiers list between 2-4 features in the jaegers' armaments sections.

Now let's move on to jaeger power cores. As many of you probably already know, Mark-1-3 jaegers were outfitted with nuclear power cores. However, this posed a risk of cancer for pilots, especially during the early days. To combat this, pilots were given the (fictional) anti-radiation drug, Metharocin. (We see Stacker Pentecost take Metharocin in the film.)

The Mark-4s and beyond were fitted with alternative fuel sources, although their exact nature isn't always clear. Striker Eureka's XIG supercell chamber implies some sort of giant cell batteries, but it's a little harder to guess what Crimson Typhoon's Midnight Orb 9 might be, aside from round.

Back on the topic of nuclear cores, though, the novelization contains a little paragraph about the inventor of Lady Danger's power core, which I found entertaining:

The old nuclear vortex turbine lifted away from the reactor housing. The reactor itself was a proprietary design, brainchild of an engineer who left Westinghouse when they wouldn’t let him use his lab to explore portable nuclear miniaturization tech. He’d landed with one of the contractors the PPDC brought in at its founding, and his small reactors powered many of the first three generations of Jaegers. (Page 182.)

Like... I have literally just met this character, and I love him. I want him to meet Newt Geiszler, you know? >:3

Apparently, escape pods were a new feature to Mark-3 jaegers. Text in the novelization says, "New to the Mark III is an automated escape-pod system capable of ejecting each Ranger individually." (Page 240.)

Finally, jaegers were always meant to be more than just machines. Their designs and movements were meant to convey personality and character. Pacific Rim: Man, Machines, & Monsters says:

Del Toro insisted the Jaegers be characters in and of themselves, not simply giant versions of their pilots. Del Toro told his designers, "It should be as painful for you to see a Jaeger get injured as it is for you to see the pilot [get hurt.]" (Page 56.)

Their weathered skins are inspired by combat-worn vehicles from the Iraq War and World War II battleships and bombers. They look believable and their design echoes human anatomy, but only to a point. "At the end of the day, what you want is for them to look cool," says Francisco Ruiz Velasco. "It's a summer movie, so you want to see some eye candy." Del Toro replies, "I, however, believe in 'eye protein,' which is high-end design with a high narrative content." (Page 57.)

THE JAEGER FROM DOWN UNDER is the only Mark 5, the most modern and best all-around athlete of the Jaegers. He's also the most brutal of the Jaeger force. Del Toro calls him "sort of brawler, like a bar fighter." (Page 64.)

And that is about all the info I could scrounge up and summarize in a post. I think there's a lot of interesting stuff here - like, I feel that the liquid circuit and muscle tissue stuff gives jaegers an eerily organic quality that could be played for some pretty interesting angles. And I also find it interesting that jaegers were meant to embody their own sort of character and personality, rather than just being simple combat machines or extensions of their pilots - it's a great example of a piece of media choosing thematic correctness over technical correctness, which when you get right down to it, is sort of what Pacific Rim is really all about.

#pacific rim #pacific rim 2013 #jaegers #jaeger #pacific rim lore

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mackonfire · 3 months ago

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In the era of hyperconverged intelligence, quantum-entangled neural architectures synergize with neuromorphic edge nodes to orchestrate exabyte-scale data torrents, autonomously curating context-aware insights with sub-millisecond latency. These systems, underpinned by photonic blockchain substrates, enable trustless, zero-knowledge collaboration across decentralized metaverse ecosystems, dynamically reconfiguring their topological frameworks to optimize for emergent, human-AI symbiotic workflows. By harnessing probabilistic generative manifolds, such platforms transcend classical computational paradigms, delivering unparalleled fidelity in real-time, multi-modal sensemaking. This convergence of cutting-edge paradigms heralds a new epoch of cognitive augmentation, where scalable, self-sovereign intelligence seamlessly integrates with the fabric of post-singularitarian reality.

Are you trying to make me feel stupid /silly

#💌

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kamalkafir-blog · 1 day ago

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SAP BTP IS Technical Architect

Job title: SAP BTP IS Technical Architect Company: Avance Consulting Job description: management skills. Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field…. Preferred Qualifications: Experience with Agile/Scrum methodologies. Familiarity with DevOps tools and CI/CD pipelines… Expected salary: Location: Luton Job date: Fri, 27 Jun 2025 22:27:57…

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materialsscienceandengineering · 6 months ago

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Fabricating single-photon detectors from superconducting aluminum nanostrips

In quantum computers, information is often carried by single photons and picked up by structures named superconducting nanostrip single-photon detectors (SNSPDs). In principle, traditional type-I superconductors would be easier to integrate into existing quantum computing architectures than the type-II materials more widely used today. So far, however, this possibility hasn't been widely explored. New research published in Superconductivity shows how Lixing You and colleagues at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China have for the first time successfully fabricated an SNSPD using thin films of the type-I superconductor, aluminum, and used the structure to detect single photons of visible light with extremely high efficiency. Compared with the type-II superconductors more commonly used in SNSPDs so far, aluminum is more compatible with the latest quantum computing architectures.