BBC: A heated debate has arisen over a paper in the New Journal of Physics about a technique that potentially allows for increase data transmission rates via light waves. The paper’s authors claim that extra data can be encoded in light by defining the mode of the orbital angular momentum. (A paper on a similar technique was published recently in Science.) Whether the physicists have done anything new and whether the technique will be effective have been discussed in a number of journals. Several electrical engineers have argued that the two modes the researchers used re-create a data transmission technique outlined in the 1970s called “multiple input, multiple output.” They also argue that any attempt to increase the number of modes used will fail.
The finding that the Saturnian moon may host layers of icy slush instead of a global ocean could change how planetary scientists think about other icy moons as well.
Modeling the shapes of tree branches, neurons, and blood vessels is a thorny problem, but researchers have just discovered that much of the math has already been done.
January 29, 2026 12:52 PM
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