{"id":828577,"date":"2025-02-21T02:12:03","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T08:12:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/21\/the-download-microsofts-quantum-chip-and-explaining-rising-energy-demand\/"},"modified":"2025-02-21T02:12:03","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T08:12:03","slug":"the-download-microsofts-quantum-chip-and-explaining-rising-energy-demand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/21\/the-download-microsofts-quantum-chip-and-explaining-rising-energy-demand\/","title":{"rendered":"The Download: Microsoft\u2019s quantum chip, and explaining rising energy demand"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This is today’s edition of\u00a0The Download<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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A new Microsoft chip could lead to more stable quantum computers<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Microsoft has announced that it\u2019s made significant progress in its 20-year quest to make topological quantum bits, or qubits\u2014a special approach to building quantum computers that could make them more stable and easier to scale up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The company says it\u2019s developed a chip containing eight of these qubits, and has also published a Nature paper that describes a fundamental validation of the system.<\/a> It\u2019s a different approach to competitors like Google and IBM. But, if it works, it could be a significant milestone on the path to unlocking quantum computers\u2019 dramatic new abilities to discover new materials, among many other possible applications.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many of the researchers MIT Technology Review spoke with would still like to see how this work plays out in scientific publications, but they were cautiously optimistic. Read the full story<\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014Rachel Courtland<\/em><\/p>\n

What’s driving electricity demand? It isn’t just AI and data centers.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Electricity demand rose by 4.3% in 2024 and will continue to grow at close to 4% annually through 2027, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s been a constant stream of headlines about energy demand recently, largely because of the influx of data centers\u2014especially those needed to power AI. These technologies are sucking up more power from the grid, but they\u2019re just a small part of a much larger story.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What\u2019s actually behind this demand growth is complicated. Read our story to learn what\u2019s going on<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

\u2014Casey Crownhart\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

This story is from The Spark, our weekly newsletter all about the tech that could help us combat climate change. Sign up<\/a> to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This company is trying to make a biodegradable alternative to spandex<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It probably hasn\u2019t been long since you last slipped into something stretchy. From yoga pants to socks, stretch fabrics are everywhere. And they\u2019re only getting more popular: The global spandex market, valued<\/a> at almost $8 billion in December 2024, is projected<\/a> to grow between 2% and 8% every year over the next decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That might be better news for your comfort than for the environment. Most stretch fabrics contain petroleum-based fibers that shed microplastics and take centuries to decompose. Alexis Pe\u00f1a and Lauren Blake, cofounders of Good Fibes, aim to tackle this problem with lab-grown elastics. Read the full story<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014Megan DeMatteo<\/em><\/p>\n

This story is from the next edition of our print magazine, which is all about relationships. Subscribe now<\/a> to read it and get a copy of the magazine when it lands on February 26!<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The must-reads<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve combed the internet to find you today\u2019s most fun\/important\/scary\/fascinating stories about technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

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1 DOGE has \u2018god mode\u2019 access to government systems\u00a0<\/strong>
The risk of harm, abuse, or revenge is clear. But simple, brazen corruption is also a concern. (The Atlantic<\/a>\u00a0$)
+\u00a0Elon Musk is hunting for social security fraud. It\u2019s not very common.<\/em>\u00a0(Business Insider<\/a>\u00a0$)
+\u00a0DOGE claimed it had saved $8 billion in one contract. It was, at most, $8 million<\/em>. (NYT<\/a>\u00a0$)
+\u00a0Elon Musk, DOGE, and the Evil Housekeeper Problem.<\/em>\u00a0(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

2 The Trump administration is scrambling to rehire people working on bird flu\u00a0<\/strong>
This exact pattern is being replicated across multiple agencies right now, and it\u2019s straight from Musk\u2019s playbook. (Gizmodo<\/a>)
+\u00a0Trump just issued an executive order giving the President power over independent agencies.\u00a0<\/em>(Ars Technica<\/a>)<\/p>\n

3 DeepSeek is considering its first external funding round\u00a0<\/strong>
It badly needs more chips and more servers to meet exploding demand. (The Information<\/a>\u00a0$)
+\u00a0Meanwhile, Alibaba is opening up its first data center in Mexico<\/em>. (South China Morning Post<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0
+\u00a0How a top Chinese AI model overcame US sanctions<\/em>. (MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

4 Electric truck maker Nikola has filed for bankruptcy protection<\/strong>
It was once (on paper) worth more than Ford. But then a fraud scandal hit, and now it\u2019s run out of money. (Business Insider<\/a>\u00a0$)
+\u00a0The race to clean up heavy-duty trucks<\/em>. (MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

5\u00a0 How a crypto scammer turned a small town against itself\u00a0<\/strong>
Shan Hanes drained Elkhart in Kansas dry\u2014and turned neighbor against neighbor in the process.\u00a0 (NYT<\/a>\u00a0$)<\/p>\n

6 Google\u2019s has unveiled a new AI \u2018co-scientist\u2019 tool\u00a0<\/strong>
Researchers are excited, but it\u2019s hard to say what its true impact will be. (New Scientist<\/a>\u00a0$)
+\u00a0A data bottleneck is holding AI science back, says new Nobel winner.<\/em>\u00a0(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

7 People are logging off<\/strong>
Eight years ago, social media became a battleground. This time, many don\u2019t see much point in fighting online. (New Yorker<\/a>\u00a0$)<\/p>\n

8 What America\u2019s first generation chipmakers endured\u00a0<\/strong>
They had to work in unsafe conditions\u2014<\/em>and never got answers about why their kids were born with birth defects. (The Verge<\/a>)<\/p>\n

9 Can you use ChatGPT to learn a new language?<\/strong>
Kind of, a bit? But not\u00a0really<\/em>. (Wired<\/a>\u00a0$)
+\u00a0Translators in Turkey are training the AI tools that will replace them.<\/em>\u00a0(Rest of World<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

10 The latest TikTok trend? Using AI to time travel\u00a0<\/strong>
And not just to disasters like Pompeii or the Titanic\u2014you could just be an American teen in 1983. (Fast Company<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Quote of the day<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThey destroyed everything here, and now we\u2019re supposed to give up? How does that work?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Alla Kriuchkova, a resident of Bucha in Ukraine, where Russian soldiers slaughtered hundreds of people in March 2022, tells the\u00a0New York Times<\/a>\u00a0how angry she is at President Trump for suggesting the war is Ukraine’s fault.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The big story<\/strong><\/p>\n

The $100 billion bet that a postindustrial US city can reinvent itself as a high-tech hub<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"A<\/p>\n

KATE WARREN<\/p>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n


July 2023
<\/strong>
On a day in late April, a small drilling rig sits at the edge of the scrubby overgrown fields of Syracuse, New York, taking soil samples. It\u2019s the first sign of construction on what could become the largest semiconductor manufacturing facility in the United States.<\/p>\n

The CHIPS and Science Act was widely viewed by industry leaders and politicians as a way to secure supply chains, and make the United States competitive again in semiconductor chip manufacturing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now Syracuse is about to become an economic test of whether, over the next several decades, aggressive government policies\u2014and the massive corporate investments they spur\u2014can both boost the country\u2019s manufacturing prowess and revitalize neglected parts of the country. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014David Rotman<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Charlotte Jee<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is today’s edition of\u00a0The Download ,\u00a0our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. A new Microsoft chip could lead to more stable quantum computers Microsoft has announced that it\u2019s made significant progress in its 20-year quest to make topological quantum bits, or qubits\u2014a special approach<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":828578,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24097,4308,46],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-828577","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-download","8":"category-microsofts","9":"category-technology"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=828577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/828578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=828577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=828577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=828577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}