The Japanese government also said on Friday that it is determined the Games will go ahead following an unconfirmed report that a cancellation might be imminent.
On Friday, the Times of London, citing an unnamed senior member of the ruling coalition, reported that Japanese authorities had privately concluded that the Olympics could not proceed due to the ongoing pandemic. CNN has not independently verified this report, which officials have refuted
“Some news reports circulating today are claiming that the government of Japan has privately concluded that the Tokyo Olympics will have to be canceled because of the coronavirus,” said the statement from the IOC.
“This is categorically untrue … All parties involved are working together to prepare for a successful Games this summer.”
In a statement, the Tokyo 2020 organizers said that Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga had expressed to them his determination to hold the Games, and that meetings were ongoing to ensure that they could go ahead while implementing thorough infection countermeasures and other precautions due to the pandemic.
“All our delivery partners including the national government, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, the IOC and the IPC are fully focused on hosting the Games this summer,” the statement said. “We hope that daily life can return to normal as soon as possible, and we will continue to make every effort to prepare for a safe and secure Games.”
Speaking in parliament Friday morning, Suga said the Games “will be a symbol of humanity overcoming the novel coronavirus, and a chance to showcase Japan’s reconstruction from the devastating (2011) earthquake and tsunami to the world.”
“We are determined to work closely together with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, and the IOC to realize a safe and secure Olympics,” Suga said.
Other Olympic officials were also quick to deny the claims made by the Times.
“Unfortunately, I need to address unfounded rumors that Tokyo Games will be canceled, rumors that only create more anxiety for the athletes in our sports,” Australian Olympic Committee CEO Matt Carroll told reporters Friday. “The Tokyo Games are on. The flames will be lit on the 23rd of July 2021. This has been just reconfirmed again by the Japanese Prime Minister this afternoon.”
In a thread on Twitter, Canadian Olympic chief David Shoemaker said his team was “unaware of any decision taken by the Japanese government as is being reported.”
“The Canadian Olympic Committee has confidence that the Games can be staged safely and successfully given what has been learned in sport over the last several months and the emphasis the IOC and Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee have placed on Covid-19 countermeasures,” he said. “We continue in our preparation to participate at Tokyo 2020 with a focus on the health and safety of our athletes, their families, and their communities.”
Saturday marks six months until the postponed Games are due to begin.
Jack was supposed to be pansexual in Mass Effect 2, but BioWare changed her romance after the first game was criticized by the mainstream media.
In the 11 years since Mass Effect 2 launched, fans have often wondered why Jack – a character who specifically references times in which she became intimate with non-male romantic partners – is only romanceable if Commander Shepard is a man. As it turns out, this wasn’t supposed to be the case. Jack was originally written as pansexual, but her relationship conditions were changed towards the end of development due to concerns about the mainstream media’s reception to the first Mass Effect game.
After Mass Effect launched in 2007, Fox News hosted an extraordinarily tactless panel pertaining to the game’s depiction of sex. As expected of the time, sex was spoken about as if it were completely taboo.
The panel instigated a domino effect, which led to baseless criticism not only towards Mass Effect’s sex scenes, but also the fact that it included a non-straight romance option in Liara T’Soni (Kaidan Allenko was locked into a straight-only relationship arc until Mass Effect 3).
“I was trying to chart out the arc of [Jack’s] romance, which for much of the development – it was actually very late that it became a male/female-only romance,” Brian Kindregan tells me. Kindregan was the lead writer for Jack, Samara, and the first critical path mission on Horizon in Mass Effect 2, and also did the first pass on Grunt and Tuchanka, “She was essentially pansexual for most of the development of that romance.
Related: Retailers List Mass Effect: Legendary Edition For March
“Mass Effect had been pretty heavily and really unfairly criticized in the US by Fox News, which at the time… maybe more people in the world thought that there was a connection between reality and what gets discussed on Fox News,” Kindregan continues. “The development team of Mass Effect 2 was a pretty progressive, open-minded team, but I think there was a concern at pretty high levels that if [the first] Mass Effect, which only had one gay relationship, Liara – which on paper was technically not a gay relationship because she was from a mono-gendered species – I think there was a concern that if that had drawn fire, that Mass Effect 2 had to be a little bit careful.”
Interestingly enough, Courtenay Taylor – who played Jack in Mass Effect 2 – also expressed that she was originally supposed to be a pansexual character. In a recent chat with our own Kirk McKeand, Taylor said:
“It’s funny to me because my understanding was always that she was pansexual. So I don’t know if that’s just something I inferred from the character or something that she said that maybe got cut. I was surprised there wasn’t a female romance possible because that was my understanding. I think it was the time, you know? That was, what – 2008/2009? The industry has changed exponentially since then, and BioWare was leading the charge on that. I don’t know if it came down to a budget constraint or maybe someone being like ‘this is too obvious’ because everyone was like ‘of course she’s a lesbian.’ But my sense was always that she was [pansexual] and it just didn’t get followed through. Of course, the community modded it immediately so you can have it your way.”
As Jack’s writer, Kindregan explains that he didn’t necessarily agree with the decision to change her sexuality. He understands why it happened, and says “it wasn’t like some anti-gay person high up on the Mass Effect 2 team saying, ‘we’re not going to have that’.” Instead, it had to do with the firestorm of controversy that Mass Effect had received back in 2007, and attempting to minimize the amount of critique that would be directed towards the community by outlets like Fox News again. “The short version is, a lot of us were asked pretty late to focus the relationships on a more traditional kind of vector,” Kindregan says.
“I’ve definitely heard a lot from people who were surprised that Jack turned out to not be open to that,” he continues. “I understand why. I would say that there were a lot of seeds planted in her conversations that certainly implied that she was pansexual – she once specifically references being part of a thrupple. She says there was a guy and a woman she was running with that invited her into their robberies and into their bed. She definitely references those things. That was explicitly to start sending the message that yes, this is a character who is pansexual. In the eleventh hour revision of cleaning that up, she’d already been partially recorded with voiceover. Not all of that could be changed.
“I would say even with the things I could change, and I don’t know if this was the right decision or not, I still saw her as a character with an edge,” Kindregan says. “Not edgy, but with an edge of not following traditional norms. I think I might have, even during the revision process, kept some of that stuff in there with a sense of like yeah, this is a person who’s been around and done a lot of things, went off the farm and down to Paris.”
Ultimately, though, Jack became a romance option that was exclusively available for male Shepard, despite the fact that both her writer and actor agree that she was originally supposed to be pansexual. 2010 was only three years after the infamous Fox News Mass Effect debacle, and so BioWare was reluctant to follow through on some of the ideas that were specifically put in place early in development. By the end of production, the only non-straight romance options in the game were:
Kelly Chambers, who is not a squadmate and does not disqualify other relationships.
Samara, who expresses that she has feelings for you but ultimately turns you down – Kindregan compares it to someone saying, sure, I’ll be with you, but I’m in love with this other person and I’ll ditch you for them if they come calling.
Morinth, who literally kills you less than a single second into having sex.
“I’ve worked with lesbian developers who have come up to me and said like, ‘Why is Jack not into me?’” Kindregan says. “And I have to say ‘I’m so sorry, it’s partially my fault.’ But I still stand by the thing of keeping her with a more varied background. Maybe someday Jack will be portrayed as pan.”
Keep an eye on TheGamer.com at the beginning of February for our Mass Effect Day – an entire day of deep-dive articles dedicated to one of the best RPG series of all time.
Next: Stop Making Every Good Pokemon A Boring Dragon
Fire Emblem’s 30th Anniversary Edition Is Continuing To Sell Like Hot Sweet Buns
About The Author
Cian Maher (465 Articles Published)
Cian Maher is the Lead Features Editor at TheGamer. He’s also had work published in The Guardian, The Washington Post, The Verge, Vice, Wired, and more. You can find him on Twitter @cianmaher0.
In their COVID—19 information page, both the CDC and the WHO warn people against touching their faces with unwashed hands, since the virus can survive on surfaces. There’s been a rise in the use of touchless technologies as a result, and Singaporean studio Stuck Design envisions a world wherein passengers won’t even have to press elevator buttons with their fingers to get to where they need to go. The studio’s Kinetic Touchless technology can mimic the movement of one’s fingers and recreate the tactile response of pushing a button.
It works by using motion as an input method so it doesn’t need direct contact and can imitate the movement from a distance. The studio says the type of touchless interaction its technology offers can be applied to various gestures, as well. That means buttons using the technology can sink inwards or move outwards if the user makes a pushing or pulling motion. A row of buttons can also follow the user’s finger if they make a sliding movement.
WandaVision episode 3 is now out on Disney+ and stars Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany). Here’s who else appears.
Warning: SPOILERS for WandaVision episode 3.
The cast of WandaVision episode 3 features the returns of the show’s cast members and introduces a few new characters too. Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe officially started with the debut of WandaVision on Disney+. The series brings back Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) but places them in a brand new setting. WandaVision‘s first two episodes showcased the beginning of their new suburban lives together in Westview.
After introducing several residents of Westview in the previous episodes, WandaVision episode 3 tells a slightly more contained story. Episode 3 explores the quick pregnancy of Wanda, as she starts showing and gives birth in around 24 hours. Since most of the episode deals with Wanda and Vision preparing for their growing family, they are even more so the focus of WandaVision in episode 3. But, with the show continuing to unravel some of the mystery at its center, there are also plenty of Westview residents who return and some new ones.
Continue scrolling to keep reading Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
Related: WandaVision: How Is Vision Alive After Infinity War?
WandaVision episode 3 didn’t include any major surprise characters or cameos, but it still featured some of the people Wanda and Vision (and audiences) are starting to get familiar with. There are also a few newcomers who have small roles for the time being. Here’s every character who appears in WandaVision episode 3 and who plays them.
Elizabeth Olsen As Wanda Maximoff Aka Scarlet Witch
Elizabeth Olsen once again stars as Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch in WandaVision episode 3. MCU viewers know her quite well after four movie appearances, but Olsen is also known for roles in Godzilla and Ingrid Goes West. With WandaVision episode 3, Wanda spends her time trying to cover up her impending pregnancy from suspecting neighbors.
Paul Bettany As Vision
WandaVision episode 3 sees Paul Bettany suit up as Vision once more. Vision is busy in this episode trying to figure out how Wanda is suddenly pregnant and begins to suspect that not all is right in Westview. Bettany has physically appeared in three previous MCU movies and voiced JARVIS in several others. Outside of his android role, Bettany is known for his roles in A Beautiful Mind and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.
Kathryn Hahn As Agnes
Kathryn Hahn returns as Agnes for a smaller role in WandaVision episode 3. After having a bit more screentime in the first two episodes, Hahn only briefly appears in the latest episode. Hahn is best known for roles in the Bad Moms franchise and Private Life.
Related: WandaVision Theory: Mephisto (Marvel’s Devil) Is The Real Villain
Teyonah Parris As “Geraldine” Aka Monica Rambeau
Teyonah Parris returns as “Geraldine” in WandaVision episode 3. Following her introduction in episode 2, “Geraldine” plays a much bigger role in the newest WandaVision episode. Of course, “Geraldine” is really the adult version of Monica Rambeau from Captain Marvel. Parris is best known for roles in Chi-Raq and If Beale Street Could Talk.
Randy Oglesby as Doctor Nielson
The biggest new character introduced in WandaVision episode 3 is Randy Oglesby as Doctor Nielson. He consults Wanda and Vision about the upcoming pregnancy. Oglesby has a long career of appearing in movies and TV shows, with some of his most recent credits including Godless, Sharp Objects, and Magnum P.I.
WandaVision Episode 3 Guest Stars & Cameos
Emma Caulfield Ford As Dottie – Emma Caulfield Ford appears for a short scene as Dottie in WandaVision episode 3. The actress is best known for her role as Anya in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
David Lengel as Phil Jones – David Lengel returns as Phil Jones in WandaVision episode 3 alongside Dottie. He previously appeared in episodes of Bosch.
David Payton as Herb – David Payton has a few unnerving scenes as Herb in episode 3. Payton recently had roles in Waves and Chicago P.D. before joining WandaVision.
Ithamar Enriquez as Commercial Man – Ithamar Enriquez returns as the mysterious Commercial Man for episode 3. He can be seen in Lady Bird and A Series of Unfortuante Events.
Victoria Blade as Commercial Woman – Victoria Blade returns as the Commercial Woman in episode 3. She previously appeared in episodes of Doom Patrol and The Outsider.
Wesley Kimmel as Commercial Boy – Wesley Kimmel joins WandaVision in episode 3 as Commercial Boy. The young actor previously appeared in The Rookie and Good Girls.
Sydney Thomas as Commercial Girl – Sydney Thomas appears in WandaVision episode 3 as Commercial Girl. She recently had a role in Netflix’s Tall Girl.
Rose Bianco as Mrs. Nielson – Rose Bianco joins WandaVision in episode 3 as Mrs. Nielson, the wife of Doctor Nielson. Bianco most recently appeared in Cobra Kai as Rosa, the grandmother of Miguel Diaz.
MORE: WandaVision Is Boring? Why Some Marvel Fans Don’t Like The Show
Black Widow (2021)Release date: May 07, 2021
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)Release date: Jul 09, 2021
Eternals (2021)Release date: Nov 05, 2021
Spider-Man: Homecoming 3 (2021)Release date: Dec 17, 2021
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Release date: Mar 25, 2022
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
Cooper Hood is a news and feature writer for Screen Rant. He joined Screen Rant in late 2016 following a year-long stint with MCU Exchange, which came after first developing an MCU blog of his own. He graduated college in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Media & Public Communication, with a minor in Media Production. Cooper’s love for movies began by watching Toy Story and Lion King on repeat as a child, but it wasn’t until The Avengers that he took an invested interest in movies and the filmmaking process, leading him to discover the world of film journalism. Every year Cooper looks forward to seeing the latest blockbusters from the likes of Marvel, DC, and Star Wars, but also loves the rush to catch up on Oscar films near the end of the year. When he isn’t writing about or watching new releases, Cooper is a fantasy football obsessive and looking to expand his Blu-Ray collection – because physical media is still king! Follow Cooper on Twitter @MovieCooper.
GRUENHEIDE, GERMANY – SEPTEMBER 03: Tesla head Elon Musk talks to the press as he arrives to to have a look at the construction site of the new Tesla Gigafactory near Berlin on September 03, 2020 near Gruenheide, Germany. Musk is currently in Germany where he met with vaccine maker CureVac on Tuesday, with which Tesla has a cooperation to build devices for producing RNA vaccines, as well as German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier yesterday.
Maja Hitij | Getty Images
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has announced that he is donating $100 million towards a prize for the best technology that can capture carbon dioxide.
Musk, who overtook Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to become the world’s richest person this month, made the announcement on Twitter late Thursday, saying he would share more details next week.
“Am donating $100M towards a prize for best carbon capture technology,” Musk tweeted to his 42.7 million followers.
Carbon capture is the process of trapping waste carbon dioxide either directly from the air, or just before it gets emitted from factories and power plants.
With the latter, the first step is often to install solvent filters on factory chimneys, which catch the carbon emissions before they’re released into the Earth’s atmosphere. Once captured, carbon dioxide can then be shipped or piped somewhere it can’t escape from (often deep underground) to prevent it contributing to global warming.
Most of the captured carbon dioxide remains underground, but some of it can also used to make plastics and fizzy drinks.
Why is carbon capture needed?
Global carbon dioxide emissions have soared over the last 100 years, leading to unprecedented global warming and climate change.
There are currently around 20 carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) projects operating commercially worldwide, according to the International Energy Agency.
The agency said that 30 new projects had been agreed since 2017, but stressed that many more were needed to prevent carbon emissions from raising the temperature on Earth by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The IEA believes CCUS projects could reduce carbon emissions by almost a fifth, while also slashing the cost of tackling the climate crisis by 70%. Adapting heavy industry to run on clean energy is relatively difficult and expensive compared to installing carbon capture systems.
U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged to put more of a focus on cutting emissions than his predecessor and said he wants the U.S. to be carbon neutral by 2050.
‘Plant more trees’
The prize that Musk has said he will contribute to is connected to the Xprize Foundation, TechCrunch reported, citing an anonymous source. The foundation is a nonprofit that puts on competitions to promote and support innovation.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, Musk has a total net worth of $201 billion, while Bezos has $193 billion. Microsoft founder Bill Gates is the next wealthiest person, with a total net worth of $134 billion.
Musk recently asked his Twitter followers what he should do with his money.
“Critical feedback is always super appreciated, as well as ways to donate money that really make a difference (way harder than it seems),” he tweeted Jan. 8.
MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin on Friday welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden’s proposal to extend the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty between the two countries, which is set to expire in less than two weeks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that Russia stands for extending the pact and is waiting to see the details of the U.S. proposal.
The White House said Thursday that Biden has proposed to Russia a five-year extension of the New START treaty.
“We can only welcome political will to extend the document,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. “But all will depend on the details of the proposal.”
The treaty, signed in 2010 by President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, and envisages sweeping on-site inspections to verify compliance. It expires on Feb. 5.
Russia has long proposed to prolong the pact without any conditions or changes, but President Donald Trump’s administration waited until last year to start talks and made the extension contingent on a set of demands. The talks stalled, and months of bargaining have failed to narrow differences.
“Certain conditions for the extension have been put forward, and some of them have been absolutely unacceptable for us, so let’s see first what the U.S. is offering,” Peskov said.
Mikhail Ulyanov, the Russian ambassador at the international organizations in Vienna, also hailed Biden’s proposal as an “encouraging step.”
“The extension will give the two sides more time to consider possible additional measures aimed at strengthening strategic stability and global security,” he tweeted.
Biden indicated during the campaign that he favored the preservation of the New START treaty, which was negotiated during his tenure as U.S. vice president.
The talks on the treaty’s extension also were clouded by tensions between Russia and the United States, which have been fueled by the Ukrainian crisis, Moscow’s meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and other irritants.
Despite the extension proposal, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden remains committed to holding Russia “to account for its reckless and adversarial actions,” such as its alleged involvement in the Solar Winds hacking event, 2020 election interference, the chemical poisoning of opposition figure Alexei Navalny and the widely reported allegations that Russia may have offered bounties to the Taliban to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan.
Asked to comment on Psaki’s statement, Peskov has reaffirmed Russia’s denial of involvement in any such activities.
After both Moscow and Washington withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019, New START is the only remaining nuclear arms control deal between the two countries.
Arms control advocates have strongly called for New START’s preservation, warning that its lapse would remove any checks on U.S. and Russian nuclear forces.
Last week, Russia also declared that it would follow the U.S. to pull out of the Open Skies Treaty allowing surveillance flights over military facilities to help build trust and transparency between Russia and the West.
While Russia always offered to extend New START for five years — a possibility envisaged by the pact — Trump asserted that it put the U.S. at a disadvantage and initially insisted that China be added to the treaty, an idea that Beijing flatly rejected. Trump’s administration then proposed to extend New START for just one year and also sought to expand it to include limits on battlefield nuclear weapons.
Moscow has said it remains open for new nuclear arms talks with the U.S. to negotiate future limits on prospective weapons, but emphasized that preserving New START is essential for global stability.
Russian diplomats have said that Russia’s prospective Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile and the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle could be counted along with other Russian nuclear weapons under the treaty.
The Sarmat is still under development, while the first missile unit armed with the Avangard became operational in December 2019.
The Russian military has said the Avangard is capable of flying 27 times faster than the speed of sound and could make sharp maneuvers on its way to a target to bypass missile defense systems. It has been fitted to the existing Soviet-built intercontinental ballistic missiles instead of older type warheads, and in the future could be fitted to the more powerful Sarmat.
The Houston Texans presumably don’t want to trade Deshaun Watson, a legitimate franchise quarterback in the prime of his NFL career.
But, with all signs pointing to a superstar who wants out of his current situation, the Texans ultimately might have no other choice.
Thus, the question becomes: What can Houston realistically expect to receive in a trade involving Watson?
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler recently posed this question to front-office personnel across the NFL, and several evaluators told him Houston definitely could land at least three first-round draft picks.
“Oh yeah — he’s worth at least that,” an NFC executive said, per Fowler. “The haul would be pretty insane.”
As Fowler notes, eight veteran NFL players have been traded for multiple first-round picks since 2000, but technically no player since Herschel Walker in 1989 has brought back three first-rounders.
It’s reasonable to think the Texans’ asking price for Watson will be astronomical, however, as it’s extremely rare that a player of his caliber becomes available in trade talks, especially a quarterback in today’s pass-happy NFL.
Three first-round picks — or similar value — might be a starting point in negotiations.
“NFL front-office personnel are unanimous in this, with several saying additional draft capital might be necessary,” Fowler wrote in a piece published Wednesday on ESPN.com. “It largely depends where the picks in the first round might fall. Many pointed out that if (Jamal) Adams, (Jalen) Ramsey and (Laremy) Tunsil garnered two firsts, Watson should get far more because of the importance of the quarterback position.”
Watson, the 12th overall pick in 2017, has earned three Pro Bowl selections in his four seasons with the Texans, who posted a 4-12 record in 2020 despite the 25-year-old’s excellent performance.
He’s also under contract through the 2025 campaign after signing an extension with Houston back in September. So, any team that acquires Watson would do so with the understanding that he’s locked up for several years at a reasonable rate for a quarterback of his stature.
Thumbnail photo via
Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports Images
JOHANNESBURG—Three new laboratory studies are raising concerns that the immune response triggered by a Covid-19 infection or vaccination may be less effective at protecting against the new strain of the coronavirus that first emerged in South Africa.
The findings come from experiments done in the laboratory and only look at certain elements of a body’s immune response. Still, they reinforce the possibility that vaccine makers and regulators will need to update Covid-19 vaccines as the virus evolves.
A fourth study, conducted by scientists at BioNTech SE and Pfizer Inc. and published by the companies, showed that their vaccine successfully neutralized a variant that was initially detected in the U.K. That study didn’t include the South African strain.
The U.K. variant has already spread to many other countries, including the U.S.
More than a year into the pandemic, the discovery of new variants that appear to have made the virus more contagious is forcing researchers to adapt their understanding of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. One concern, researchers said, is that the new strains are emerging in countries where a significant percentage of people have already built up an immune response to earlier variants after getting Covid-19.
The comedian Dave Chappelle has tested positive for Covid-19 and has canceled several upcoming shows at the Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater in Austin, Texas, a spokeswoman told The Associated Press.
The venue’s website showed cancellations for four shows through Tuesday.
Mr. Chappelle, who had been hosting socially distanced shows in Ohio since June, with rapid testing for audience members and himself, moved his shows to Austin during the winter, the spokeswoman said.
Mr. Chappelle is asymptomatic and quarantining, she said.
Joe Rogan, a comedian and podcast host who had been scheduled to perform with Mr. Chappelle on Friday and Saturday, apologized for the cancellations. “We’ll reschedule them as soon as we can,” Mr. Rogan said early Friday in an Instagram post.
Mr. Chappelle’s positive test result came about three months after he hosted “Saturday Night Live” and commented on the pandemic in a monologue that also heavily touched on the presidential election.
“Do you guys remember what life was like before Covid?” Mr. Chappelle said. “I do. There was a mass shooting every week. Anyone remember that? Thank God for Covid. Someone had to lock these murderous whites up and keep them in the house.”
To artists and romantics, the twinkling of stars is visual poetry; a dance of distant light as it twists and bends through a turbulent ocean of air above our heads.
Not everybody is so enamoured with our atmosphere’s distortions. To many scientists and engineers, a great deal of research and ground-to-satellite communication would be a whole lot easier if the air simply wasn’t there.
Losing our planet’s protective bubble of gases isn’t exactly a popular option. But Australian and French researchers have teamed up to design the next best thing – a system that guides light through the tempestuous currents of rippling air with the flick of a mirror.
The result is a laser link capable of holding its own through the atmosphere with unprecedented stability.
While astronomers have a few tricks up their sleeve to correct for the atmosphere’s distortions on incoming light, it’s been a challenge to emit a coherent beam of photons from the ground to a distant receiver so they keep together and on point.
Keeping transmissions on target and coherent – with their phases remaining neatly in line – through hundreds of kilometres of shifting air would allow us to link highly precise measurement tools and communications systems.
Satellites could probe for ores or evaluate water tables with improved precision. High-speed data transfer could require less power, and contain more information.
Lead author Ben Dix-Matthews, an electrical engineer with the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research in Australia, explained the technology to ScienceAlert.
“The active terminal essentially uses a small four-pixel camera, which measures the sideways movement of the received beam,” says Dix-Matthews.
“This position measurement is then used to actively control a steerable mirror that keeps the received beam centred and removes the sideways movement caused by the atmosphere.”
In effect, the system can be used to compensate for the warping effects of the moving air in three dimensions – not just up and down, or left and right, but along the beam’s trajectory, keeping the link centred and its phases in order.
So far it’s only been tested across a relatively short distance of 265 metres (about 870 feet). About 715 metres (just under half a mile) of optical fibre cable was run underground between the transmitter and receiver to carry a beam for comparison.
The results were so stable they could be used to connect the kinds of optical atomic clocks used to test fundamental physics, such as Einstein’s theories of relativity.
With the proof of concept demonstrated, there’s no reason to think a similar technique won’t one day be aiming for the sky, and beyond. Though there are a few hurdles that need to be overcome first.
“During this experiment we had to do the initial alignment by hand, using a visible guide laser that was in line with the stabilised infrared beam,” Dix-Matthews told ScienceAlert.
“When making links between optical atomic clocks, it would be good to have a way of doing this coarse alignment more easily.”
Fortunately Dix-Matthews’ French collaborators are working on a device that will speed up the initial coarse alignment process, promising a second generation of laser link technology that won’t require such an involved set-up.
The team also found temperature variations in the equipment affected the phase’s stability, limiting the duration of the signal to around 100 seconds. This hurdle will also be the focus of future improvements.
We might not need to wait long. The researchers are already making headway on upgrades for their system.
“We have started using a high-power laser amplifier that should help us deal with the larger power losses expected over longer distances, such as to space,” says Dix-Matthews.
“We have also completely rebuilt our active terminal to make it more sensitive to low received powers and make it more effective at cancelling out the movement of the received beam.”
With orbiting technology rapidly becoming a major focus for many data providers, potentially filling our skies with satellites, innovations that make linking communications systems across our atmosphere will only become more sought after.
As useful as our atmosphere is for, well, keeping us all alive, there are certainly some downsides to being buried under a restless blanket of warm gas.
This research was published in Nature Communications.
