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General Fusion’s Magnetized Target Fusion approach involves compressing a spherical tokamak plasma to achieve fusion conditions. This presentation will detail how the COMSOL Multiphysics® software was used in the LM26 fusion demonstration, which has been in operation since February 2025. Initially, COMSOL® was used to model the magnetomechanical compression of small-scale lithium rings and cylinders. These 2D axisymmetric models, which coupled the nonlinear solid mechanics, magnetic field, and heat transfer modules, were validated against high-speed imagery and laser diagnostics from those experiments. The validated models were then instrumental in defining the LM26 compressor design and operating conditions.A central challenge is that plasma equilibrium characteristics and lithium liner model parameters need to be adjusted during a compression shot. While some mater

For many in the research community, it’s gotten harder to be optimistic about the impacts of artificial intelligence.As authoritarianism is rising around the world, AI-generated “slop” is overwhelming legitimate media, while AI-generated deepfakes are spreading misinformation and parroting extremist messages. AI is making warfare more precise and deadly amidst intransigent conflicts. AI companies are exploiting people in the global South who work as data labelers, and profiting from content creators worldwide by using their work without license or compensation. The industry is also affecting an already

Quantum computing has long held promise as the next era in information processing, with applications in drug discovery, finance, and encryption. But it’s only in recent years that the technology has edged closer to commercial viability. With that, a new demand has emerged in the job market: engineers capable of designing, building, and maintaining the next generation of supercomputers. As big tech firms, governments, and investors pour money into building scalable quantum machines, jobs in the now-niche sector are expected to grow.

The IEEE TryEngineering Summer Institute, one student participant says, “allowed me to gain new experiences and understand the different types of engineering disciplines, and make many great friends and memories that will remain with me.”Administered by IEEE Educational Activities, the institute is a nine-day summer sleepaway camp for students ages 13 to 17. It provides a fun, immersive approach to learning. Students engage in hands-on activi

Email security has always been a cat-and-mouse game. Viruses are invented, and antivirus software is invented to catalog known viruses and detect their presence in email attachments and URLs. As viruses morphed into more sophisticated forms of malware, cybersecurity tools adapted to be able to scan for and detect these new threats. Phishing became the next arena, giving birth to new tools

The Internet, born as an experiment meant to connect teams of researchers, has grown into a planetary-scale infrastructure that has reshaped society. Over the course of six decades, it has advanced through—by our count—three phases: first connecting computers, then mobile devices, and later all devices. But that’s just the start. Because just ahead comes new frontiers of connected intelligence and then, later, perception. Last, we suggest, represents a kind of global or ubiquitous connectedness, and finally connectedness even down to the quantum scale. Through every ph

Crowdsourcing has become a go-to for independent and open-source hardware creators hoping to turn a cool prototype into a polished product. But many projects fail along the way, often for nontechnical reasons.Helen LeighHelen Leigh is Crowd Supply’s director of business development and its former head of community. She helms the annual

A lithium battery powersmost of our favorite devices—a charge every twenty-four hoursfor typical usage suffices.Billions of tiny transistorsenable these wonders of science:video calls between sisters,virtual briefings with clients,Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections,a camera for taking a photo,GPS-guided directionsin Kentucky, Kyiv, or Kyoto,apps that are snappy and nifty,a podcast for every headphone,a live-stream for every Swiftie(as long as they’re not in a dead zone).Diversions supremely accessible!Conveniences almost unending!Activity near-irrepressible—recommending and friending and trending!If the power grid ever stops

Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclusion.ROSCon 2025: 27–29 October 2025, SINGAPOREEnjoy today’s videos! Welcome to this world—standing 180 cm tall and weighing 70 kg. The H2 bionic humanoid—

Researchers in the U.S. Pacific Northwest recently delivered a piece of assistive technology whose design began with a simple but important question: What will the person using this tech need?Last month a team of engineers and occupational therapists from Whitworth University in Spokane, Wash. delivered a learning station they’d designed for a first grader with cerebral palsy.David Schipf, assistant professor of engineering and physics at Whitworth, says the project’s success was due to the collaborative efforts between team members—engineers, physical therapists, and occupational therapists—and the child and his family. After multiple consultations with the family, the Whi