A City on Mars: Reality kills space settlement dreams
Let’s not send a few thousand people to Mars as a big experiment in survival.
Chris Lee
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Chris Lee
Associate writer
chris.lee@arstechnica.com
Chris is a mild mannered physicist by day and an even milder mannered science writer by night. He teaches at the Fontys University of Applied Science. Although most of his writing is on physics, he is willing to write on almost any topic. Although his writing used to be alcohol fuelled, Chris has embarked on an exciting new adventure: writing while sober.
Recent stories by
Chris Lee
ChatGPT failed my course: How bots may change assessment
Does ChatGPT spell the end of the essay? No, but it may improve assessment.
Chris Lee
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107
No sugarcoating: Donut math yields way to make qubits last longer
Quasi-periodic kicks result in very periodic qubits, thanks to donuts.
Chris Lee
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This river is made of light, and it’s beautiful
Interference and irregularity come together to create beautiful art.
Chris Lee
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Quantum memristor: A memory-dependent computational unit
Quantum memristor bridges conflicting quantum requirements in single device.
Chris Lee
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34
How to make a sound wave spin? Hit it with a pipe
Spinning sound waves open up new possibilities for acoustic traps and tricks.
Chris Lee
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Atomic cloud key to controlling a quantum state without measuring it
Cloud of atoms acts as the heart of a controller for quantum cooling system.
Chris Lee
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Scalloped iceberg sculptures occur due to the weirdness of water
Water’s strange properties turn nature into a natural abstract sculptor.
Chris Lee
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Most Read
Spinning black holes may prefer to lean in sync
Black holes may be inclined to lean while merging, get kicked as a result.
Chris Lee
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Dark matter asteroids (if they exist) may cause solar flares
The trick is distinguishing a potential dark asteroid flare from a normal solar one.
Chris Lee
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Entangled microwave photons may give 500x boost to radar
Stretched, entangled microwave pulses are the key.
Chris Lee
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A year on: the highs and lows of a new engineering education system
Last Christmas, I got a new curriculum, but no curriculum survives actual students.
Chris Lee
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61
Programmable optical quantum computer arrives late, steals the show
New optical quantum computer overcomes previous limits, looks like a winner.
Chris Lee
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112
All I want for Christmas is an awesome new curriculum
Revitalizing a curriculum in the middle of a chaos-inducing pandemic? Sure.
Chris Lee
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214
Quantum device performs 2.6 billion years of computation in 4 minutes
Photons explore quantum maze faster than possible for any classical computer.
Chris Lee
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148
Explaining foam in the absence of soap: It’s a tension gradient
Surface-tension gradient in thin films explains why foams unexpectedly form.
Chris Lee
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53
Smaller, more efficient tokamak could follow in ITER’s fusion footsteps
Physics modeling and design show SPARC feasibility, but uncertainties remain.
Chris Lee
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215
Quantum reality is either weirdly different or it collapses
Either quantum state has to collapse at macroscopic level, or reality is unreal.
Chris Lee
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338
Planet X? Why not a tiny black hole instead?
Unsuccessful at finding planet X? Substitute with undetectable black hole.
Chris Lee
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222
Model reveals why slicing a tomato works better than dicing
Model of gel-cutting reveals why slicing is better than dicing.
Chris Lee
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108
Wave-particle duality in action—big molecules surf on their own waves
Heavy molecules reveal wave-like properties after scattering from light beam.
Chris Lee
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77
Tiny pendulum may reveal gravity’s secrets
Gravity and quantum mechanics may influence each other as tiny pendulum swings.
Chris Lee
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151
Fractal flaming hydrogen wiggles through tiny gaps
In a confined space, hydrogen burns on, making a beautiful fractal pattern.
Chris Lee
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81
Corkscrew light promises higher optical-communication data rates
An infinite number of orbital angular momentum states are there for the taking.
Chris Lee
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105
Researchers count the kinks in a ring, predict their stability
A study of collapsing soap films shows how rings buckle under surface tension.
Chris Lee
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Microwave thruster makes for clean-burning jet
Air-burning plasma thruster may be competitive with jet engines.
Chris Lee
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147
Single-chip lidar routing is in our tiny future
Silicon nonlinear device enables light to route light to the right location.
Chris Lee
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31
Fine structure constant may vary with space, constant in time
Researchers extend direct fine structure measurements, confirm spatial variation.
Chris Lee
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83
Hollow corkscrews may put a cork in noisy ventilation
Baffling baffle brings (almost) boundless blessed silence.
Chris Lee
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Portable clock provides new ruler for measuring the Earth
Portable optical clock so accurate it runs faster if lifted by a centimeter.
Chris Lee
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Glowing silicon nanowire reveals how to put optics in your CPU
Silicon-germanium alloy glows, may be future CPU optical communication laser.
Chris Lee
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49
Experiment finds that gravity still works down to 50 micrometers
Sensitive gravity test fails to find hidden dimension. Next: find old wardrobe.
Chris Lee
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127
Real learning in a virtual classroom is difficult
Let's go on a tour of a future that we all should be trying to avoid.
Chris Lee
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144
Long narrow wires carry heat with little resistance
Smooth-walled wire traps high energy phonons, low energy phonons carry heat.
Chris Lee
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47
OLED-power link jumps from useless 50Mb/s to useful 1Gb/s
Tuning tiny OLEDs' fabrication results in faster switching times.
Chris Lee
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48
Dunes use turbulence as a buffer to prevent collisions
Dune racing shows turbulence keeps speedster dunes away from slow dunes.
Chris Lee
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