New Designs Could Boost Solar Cells Beyond Their Limits
By Daniel Oberhaus
A material that effectively splits a photon in two is one way scientists are trying to increase solar cells’ efficiency beyond what they’d thought possible.
Major Enemy
President Trump Is the Latest Critic of Facebook's Libra
By Gregory Barber
In a series of tweets late Thursday, the president attacked cryptocurrencies and said Libra "will have little standing or dependability."
Privacy
On TikTok, Teens Meme the Safety App Ruining Their Summer
By Louise Matsakis
Parents can use Life360 to track their teen’s location in real time. The company can use that data to sell car insurance.
watch out
An Amazon Phishing Scam Hits Just in Time For Prime Day
By Brian Barrett
Some deals are too good to be true, even on the most made-up holiday of all.
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speed records
How Elite Tennis Players Crank Out Serves at 150 MPH
By Robbie Gonzalez
Serve speeds have been climbing for decades—topping out at 163.7 mph. Here’s how players store all that energy in their bodies to release it in a coordinated strike.
Ideas
Can Sci-Fi Writers Prepare Us for an Uncertain Future?
By Rose Eveleth
Businesses and public policy makers are tapping novelists to imagine the path forward. But how much stock should we put in the predictions of storytellers?
Big Bet
This New Poker Bot Can Beat Multiple Pros—at Once
By Tom Simonite
Software designed by a Carnegie Mellon professor and Facebook researcher beat five human pros in no-limit Texas Hold’em.
Replay
Amazon Is Making a Lord of the Rings MMO Game
By Julie Muncy
Soon anyone will be able to play in J.R.R. Tolkien's world.
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