fightback

China has been on the receiving end of semiconductor export restrictions for years. Now, it’s striking back with the same tactic.  On July 3, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced that the export of gallium and germanium, two elements used in producing chips, solar panels, and fiber optics, will soon be heavily restricted. Exports of the materials will need to be approved by the government, and Western companies that rely on them could have a hard time securing a supply.  Even though the news immediately sent the…

Across the world, video cameras have become an accepted feature of urban life. Many cities in China now have dense networks of them, and London and New Delhi aren’t far behind.  Now France is playing catch-up. Since 2015, the year of the Bataclan terrorist attacks, the number of cameras in Paris has increased fourfold. The police have used such cameras to enforce pandemic lockdown measures and monitor protests.Concerns have been raised throughout the country. But the surveillance rollout has met special resistance in…

Fully charged: Electric vehicles are becoming more popular, but they’re still constrained by how far they’re able to travel on a single charge—a Tesla Model 3 can go for about 350 miles before it needs to be recharged. In a quest to build batteries that can take us farther safely, startup Solid Power is working to make solid-state batteries that could pack more energy into a smaller space.Battery powered: The company makes battery cells that replace the liquid used as the electrolyte in lithium-ion batteries with ceramic…