Today's Tech News: Notable or Not?

https://news.ok.ubc.ca/2026/04/30/ubco-breakthrough-could-transform-future-wireless-networks/ "linear surfaces only perform simple signal manipulations, overcome making nonlinear so neural network-like... as electromagnetic waves pass through layers, each element changes wave slightly to process data without power-hungry circuitry/ digital processors... significantly reduced symbol error rates, complex wave patterns much more noise/ interference resistant... offloading signal processing to building/ wall surfaces enables ultra-fast 6G... building prototype of a non-linear unit cell to test results"

https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-optical-chip-static-power-enabling.html "chips require constant electricity, overcome using silicon optical circuits integrated with phase-change materials where electrical pulse changes state from crystalline to amorphous (staying that way without additional power), altering light movement... near 0 static power consumption... large neural networks can be hard-wired into chip's light paths... combines electronics' programmability (logic/ control) with photonics' energy efficiency... optical switching, edge computing, autonomous vehicles, drones"

https://phys.org/news/2026-05-lithium-plasma-key-mars-propulsion.html "lithium has low ionization energy/ excellent plasma characteristics, up to 90% fuel savings... pairing with space nuclear reactor for continuous thrust, potentially shortening Mars journey from 9 months to only 1 to 3 months... instead of 1 big pop at start, low-thrust, high-efficiency stays on for entire trip, constantly accelerating enabling much straighter path... NASA testing engine for 23,000 hours to make sure survives far longer than actual mission duration to ensure won't fail in middle of deep-space void"