TL;DR: Still no “optical transistor” yet, but they figured out a way to do matrix multiplication:
The researchers encoded the various quantities they wanted to multiply into beams of light, then sent the beams through a series of components that altered the beam’s phase—the way its light waves oscillated—with each phase alteration representing a multiplication step. By repeatedly splitting the beams, changing their phase, and recombining them, they could make the light effectively carry out matrix multiplication. At the end of the chip, the researchers placed photo detectors that measured the light beams and revealed the result.
Also making these companies pay the same electricity rates as the average citizen could help too…no more company rebates to syphon everything for 1/100th the cost
I’d give them a little more credit than that. They also calculate if the planet will outlive them by at least a minute and then maximize gains in the interim.
For those of you who can’t afford to have a professionally installed there is a brand called Mr DIY that sells complete kits with pre-charged quick connect lines for around $5,000 (can be both more or less depending on how many rooms you want heated/cooled) . They are very very easy to install, the worst you might need professionally is an electrician to set up a new circuit for you to power it if you’re not comfortable doing that yourself
My problem is the up-front cost. I need to insulate walls (…goddamn lack of building codes in my area…), replace at least one window, insulate the rim joists, etc., and I’m still looking at a cost of around $15,000 for what really isn’t a very large house. Sure, there are federal and state rebates, and that’s important to me. But right now I heat primarily with wood, and cool mostly with fans and sweat. If I had to use propane alone for heating, it would cost me about $2250/year; if electricity was free–it’s not–it would take me about 7 years to capitalize the cost.
But I still want to switch, because I’d rather heat with electricity than with a wood stove.
wired.com
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