Chris Campbell:

California Startup’s New Fire-Suppression System Uses Sound Instead of Water

Sonic Fire Tech, co-founded by aerospace engineer Geoff Bruder, has developed a system that uses infrasound – low-frequency sound waves below the threshold of human hearing – to suppress fire.

Bruder, who previously researched thermal energy conversion at NASA, says the key is shaking up the oxygen molecules that feed combustion. When vibrations disrupt how oxygen mixes with fuel, the chain reaction that sustains a flame collapses.

According to Bruder, Sonic's system works through a piston-based generator powered by an electric motor. The piston emits pulsed sound waves through metal ducts mounted under a building's roof and eaves. Arrays of sensors detect heat or flame and automatically trigger the system.

When activated, it projects an infrasound field that drives oxygen away from vulnerable surfaces, preventing embers from igniting the structure. The company's tests have demonstrated suppression from up to 25 feet away.

If these trials succeed, infrasound could join drones, AI-based detection, and other emerging tools in the growing arsenal of wildfire defense technology.

⇒ Read More Here

Ray Blanco:

The Orbital Data Center Space Race Has Officially Begun

There's a growing theme stealing headlines: data centers in low Earth orbit, or at least the race to get these AI chips into space.

Week after week, the news flow shows a new space race taking shape, as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Sam Altman appear to be the major players in the scramble to get chips into orbit - almost certainly joined by other billionaires quietly working behind the scenes.

The latest news on the AI chips-in-space theme comes from a Bloomberg report that Musk's SpaceX is planning to raise $30 billion at a $1.5 trillion valuation, with some of the proceeds expected to be used for space-based data centers.

Meanwhile, ChatGPT founder Sam Altman attempted to buy rocket startup Stoke Space this past summer, with the intent of joining the space race to launch AI chips into orbit.

The push to move data centers into low Earth orbit is all about sidestepping Earth's power constraints and soaking up precious resources, harnessing essentially limitless solar energy, and leveraging space's near-zero thermal environment to keep advanced AI chips cool.

⇒ Read More Here

Enrique Abeyta:

Meet Mr. Bubbleology, the Next Fed Chair

There’s a growing consensus that Trump’s top economic advisor, Kevin Hassett, is in line to be the next Fed chair.

Normally, this news doesn’t mean much for the markets. Our economy is much bigger than any one of the individuals at the Fed. While they have influence, they very seldom change the course of events – at least not on purpose.

But like so many other aspects of Trump’s administration, these rules are changing. The reality is that political norms have been under attack for decades by both sides. Trump is simply taking it to the next step. That doesn’t make it right or good for the country, but it’s the truth.

And 2026 could be the year when the president and the Fed exert more influence on the stock market than any other time in American history. It all starts with Kevin Hassett.

Hassett is also someone with a longer-term view who would argue that while the bubbles are painful, they are normal. In the context of fealty to Trump and Trump’s focus on winning the November midterm elections, Hassett will not be afraid to feed the beast.

⇒ Read More Here