Latest news with #crystals
Times
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Novak Djokovic: I'd like to steal David Beckham's wardrobe
Classic, clean and traditional. I love a polo shirt or something with a collar. I also like my clothes to be well fitted — I don't like things that are too baggy. It was probably something awful! I had no fashion sense whatsoever when I was a kid. I'd always be wearing flip-flops with baggy jeans paired with a print shirt that combined about ten different colours. And I thought that I was quite stylish! I always wear my cross necklace. But I also have sentimental things that I keep in my tennis bag like photos of my family, and the Orthodox Christian saints of my religion. I sometimes take quartz crystals with me on tour too, as I'm big into the belief that they can offer protection and positive energy. Probably David Beckham's. I mean, he's quite a fashion role model for a lot of men, isn't he? I got married. It was a grey Dolce & Gabbana tux. Oof … I should get bonus points from my wife for that being my answer. To be yourself, and to wear something that allows you to express parts of your personality. In sport you often have to follow a dress code — and that works for me because I don't like extremes. It means you can respect the rules but still play around with the details to showcase your personality and uniqueness. • Read more fashion advice and style inspiration from our experts It would have to be something I'm comfortable in and can move freely in. I love playing sports — tennis, obviously, but also skiing or just being active outdoors and in nature. But I'd want it to be elegant and sporty. Something I could wear to play, and then head straight to dinner. I personally like to camouflage my clothes by wearing colours that resemble the court surface. It makes me feel more agile. But I also enjoy it when somebody's bold on court and brings that fashion element into the game. Some of the women in tennis — Venus and Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, Maria Sharapova — they've worn some incredible outfits and they always look phenomenal. Class. I like clothes that are rooted in history and have a connection to the place where they originated. For example, I love the history of fashion in tennis. You see these retro photos from the late 19th century: everyone playing with wooden rackets, the ladies in long, beautiful white dresses, the men in white blazers. Nowadays I like to wear colour when I can, but I really respect the all-white tradition Wimbledon has preserved. Especially now, when everything feels so disposable, I value things that feel eternal and Aman Essentials Tennis Club collection is available to shop now at
TechCrunch
31-05-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Space Forge raises $30M Series A to make chip materials in space
From AI to EVs, demand for semiconductors is exploding, but silicon is hitting its limits. Making more efficient chips requires new materials, ones far less ubiquitous than sand, but the solution might be out there — literally. Space Forge, a U.K. startup headquartered in Cardiff, Wales, recently raised a £22.6 million (approximately $30 million) Series A to make wafer materials in space, where unique conditions unlock new possibilities. For instance, the Welsh startup earlier won funding for a project through which BT (formerly British Telecom) is hoping to test how integrating crystal materials grown in space could reduce the power consumption of its 5G towers. Because of weightlessness and other properties, crystals made in space have fewer defects, which can help devices use less energy. Real-world use cases like this help Space Forge convey the message that critical systems could use its technology as an invisible backbone. The whole idea of making chips in orbit may sound like science fiction, but its feasibility has been known since the 1970s, CEO Joshua Western told TechCrunch. 'We're stood on the shoulders of about 50 years of research when it comes to not only knowing that this is possible, but also knowing that there is a profound improvement in doing so,' Western said. The improvement in question is obtaining crystals and advanced semiconductor materials with fewer defects and enhanced performance, making them appealing for use in applications such as quantum computing and defense systems. This dual-use potential explains why NATO Innovation Fund led Space Forge's Series A, and why major U.S. defense contractor Northrop Grumman is one of its partners. Techcrunch event Save now through June 4 for TechCrunch Sessions: AI Save $300 on your ticket to TC Sessions: AI—and get 50% off a second. Hear from leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Khosla Ventures, and more during a full day of expert insights, hands-on workshops, and high-impact networking. These low-rate deals disappear when the doors open on June 5. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | REGISTER NOW Partners will be key to Space Forge's trajectory: The company won't build rockets and is instead relying on existing space providers for the launch part — a 'solved problem,' in Western's words. It's not just the rockets; from chip manufacturing to space return, Space Forge is tying together technologies that may be described as solved problems, at least on paper. But if you ask Western about its moat, he has a quick retort: 'How bloody hard is it to do?!' That's the price to pay to take advantage of space's unique environment: It requires adapting to harsh conditions such as extreme temperatures and microgravity, Western said. 'Physics has the answers, and engineering is how you actually get there.' 'Mary Poppins from space' Engineering is also needed to bridge the gap between innovation and commercially viable technology. Rather than capsules like Apollo's, Space Forge returns its materials to Earth as 'Mary Poppins from space.' Western explained the nickname: 'We deploy something that looks very much like an umbrella, [but] that's space grade, and that allows us to float back from space down to the ground.' Image Credits:Space Forge Developing new return technology is a key focus of Space Forge. Besides its heat shield, Pridwen, a nod to the legend of King Arthur, the startup also developed Fielder, a floating net to catch returning satellites and ensure a soft landing on water. These efforts were supported by the U.K. Space Agency and European Space Agency, of which the U.K. is still a member despite Brexit. Establishing a return infrastructure across Europe is one of Space Forge's ambitions — and it is underway. This week, the company opened an office in Portugal on the island of Santa Maria in the Azores, a well-suited location for satellite return in mainland Europe and an important step to convince European partners that this approach can reach industrial scale. The increasing commoditization of both return and launch technologies is what made the rise of in-space manufacturing startups possible in the first place, with applications also including drug discovery and telecom hardware. But their viability is still very dependent on costs coming down, or in finding clients willing to pay that premium. Shifting geopolitics could help Space Forge secure more of these clients. Western and his co-founder and CTO Andrew Bacon previously worked at Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales and its Italian peer Leonardo. But the trend is broader than just defense, as concerns mount across Europe over reliance on semiconductors from Taiwan. 'We urgently need a resilient, homegrown supply of the next-gen supermaterials required for the future of compute. We also need this homegrown chip supply to be produced sustainably,' World Fund general partner Daria Saharova wrote in a statement. The climate tech VC firm, which co-led Space Forge's seed round and participated in its Series A, is buying into Space Forge's positioning as a 'carbon negative technology' that could fight climate change. However, the emissions savings have yet to be proven at scale and rely on commercial adoption to truly offset each mission. Space Forge, though, still has to complete its first mission. Its first attempt ended after a grand total of six and a half minutes when Virgin Orbit's rocket suffered an anomaly in its launch of Cornwall in 2023, losing its entire payload, including Space Forge's ForgeStar-0 satellite. With its new funding, the company is now accelerating the development of its latest spacecraft and readying for the launch of its ForgeStar-1 demonstrator later this year, together with Pridwen. And in a nod to the galaxy far, far away, Space Forge announced the mission's official name — 'The Forge Awakens' — on May 4. Anna Heim met and interviewed Joshua Western and Daria Saharova at a World Fund event that the VC firm covered her travel costs to attend; this article was written independently.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NYU unlocks secret behind hollow crystal formation through two-step self-assembly
From the delicate patterns of snowflakes to the robust structure of diamonds, crystals are all around us. For a long time, scientists believed their growth followed a predictable path. But now, researchers at New York University (NYU) have unveiled a more complex and surprising journey, even discovering a brand new crystal. The team observed how crystals transition from disorganized "amorphous blobs" into ordered structures. During this process, they discovered a novel, rod-shaped crystal named "Zangenite." 'We never imagined that we would discover a crystal that we cannot find in the real world,' said PhD student Shihao Zang. Think of tiny particles, like miniature building blocks, spontaneously arranging into precise, repeating patterns. This self-assembly, what scientists poetically call "orchestrating order from chaos," was once thought to be a straightforward process. However, as these NYU researchers are discovering, the reality is far more intricate. Crystal formation follows a two-step process: messy, shapeless clumps of particles, or amorphous blobs, first come together before finally organizing themselves into the beautiful, ordered structures we recognize as crystals. This two-step dance leads to a stunning variety of types and shapes. The team used crystals made of tiny spheres or colloidal particles to get a closer look at this fascinating process. 'The advantage of studying colloidal particles is that we can observe crystallization processes at a single-particle level, which is very hard to do with atoms because they're too small and fast. With colloids, we can watch crystals form with our microscope,' said Stefano Sacanna, professor of chemistry at NYU. Through experiments, researchers observed charged colloidal particles transitioning from saltwater suspensions to solid crystals. Moreover, they conducted thousands of computer simulations to gain insights into the formation process. And within these experiments, a remarkable discovery awaited. Zang stumbled upon a peculiar, rod-shaped crystal unlike anything seen before. At first glance, it resembled a known crystal, but closer inspection revealed a unique combination of particles and, surprisingly, hollow channels at its tips. No match was found despite comparing it to over a thousand known crystals. The team used computer modelling to decode its characteristics. 'This was puzzling because usually crystals are dense, but this one had empty channels that ran the length of it,' said Glen Hocky, assistant professor of chemistry at NYU. Based on its composition, it was scientifically named L3S4. However, in the spirit of discovery, the lab affectionately nicknamed it "Zangenite," in honor of Shihao Zang's keen observation. The emergence of Zangenite opens up exciting new avenues for exploration. These hollow, low-density crystals could have unique applications. 'The channels inside Zangenite are analogous to features in other materials that are useful for filtering or enclosing things inside them,' said Hocky. This discovery hints that structures might be far more diverse than previously imagined. Interestingly, the team says that the insights on crystal formation could lead to developing next-gen materials for technologies like lasers and solar panels. The findings were published in Nature Communications.
