Francis Halzen won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for IceCube, a cubic kilometre of Antarctic ice that catches neutrinos from space. This piece covers how the detector works, what it found, and where the quantum physics comes in.
Month: October 2026
Stablecoin Payment Fees vs Credit Card: Stripe, Shopify, PayPal
Stablecoin checkout can cost less than cards, but the savings depend on the platform. Here is what Stripe, Shopify and PayPal have published, with worked examples and the trade-offs merchants accept in return.
BIP-361 Explained: Bitcoin’s Plan to Sunset Quantum-Vulnerable Coins
BIP-361 is a draft plan to phase Bitcoin’s quantum-vulnerable signatures out in two stages, roughly three and five years after a still-undefined activation. Here is what it would do, what it means for Satoshi’s P2PK coins, and why it is not in force.
Eagle-1 QKD Satellite Launch Date: Why It Slipped to 2027–28
Europe’s first quantum key distribution satellite, Eagle-1, is now expected to launch at the end of 2027 or the beginning of 2028, about three years later than first planned. Here is what caused the delays, what the mission will test, and how its Dutch ground station is progressing.
CNSA 2.0 January 2027 Deadline: What NSA Actually Requires
From January 1, 2027, new purchases for US National Security Systems must be CNSA 2.0 compliant unless otherwise noted. Here is what that rule covers, which algorithms it names, and which deadlines come after it.
Quantinuum’s 99.9995% Logical Fidelity: What the Record Measures
Quantinuum’s 99.9995% logical fidelity is about five logical errors per million error-correction cycles, measured on a distance-7 color code on Helios. This article covers what was measured, how the “10x” and “100x vs Google” claims compare, and what the result does not change.
Hadamard Matrix of Order 668 Found: What It Means for the Conjecture
On 12 August 2026, a 668×668 Hadamard matrix was announced, settling the smallest open case of the Hadamard conjecture after about 20 years. This article covers how it was checked, why the AI credit is still provisional, and what remains unsolved.
Aharonov-Bohm Effect Explained: 1959 Theory to Oxford’s 2026 Result
A charged particle can be affected by a magnetic field that is zero everywhere along its path. Here is how that prediction from 1959 was tested in 1960 and 1986, extended to gravity in 2022, and simulated on Oxford’s hybrid trapped-ion quantum computer in 2026.
GENIUS Act Effective Date: Jan 18, 2027 and What the OCC Rule Changes
The GENIUS Act takes effect on January 18, 2027, and the OCC’s final rule from October 21, 2026 does not change that date. Here is what the rule guarantees stablecoin holders, which parts are still unfinished, and what merchants accepting USDC should check.
Jacques Hadamard: Prime Numbers, Poincaré’s Seat and the H Gate
Jacques Hadamard (1865–1963) proved the prime number theorem in 1896, succeeded Poincaré at the Académie des Sciences and defined well-posed problems. Here is a carefully sourced account of his life that corrects errors repeated online.