Set of orbits with the same average distance to sun
Suppose a planet is in an elliptical orbit around the sun with semimajor axis a and semiminor axis b. Then the average distance of the planet to the sun over time equals a(1 + e²/2) where the eccentricity e satisfies e² = 1 − b²/a². You can find a proof
Read moreThe UK hasn’t lost its appeal for venture capital
W elcome to the TechCrunch Exchange, a weekly startups-and-markets newsletter. It’s inspired by the daily TechCrunch+ column where it gets its name. Want it in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here. Not dead yet: This is true both of the U.K.’s capacity to attract venture capital dollars, and of
Read moreDeal Dive: Maybe venture debt works for asset managers after all
Blackstone last August was looking to put $2 billion toward lending to startups and tech companies, according to The Information. But venture debt lenders remain skeptical that the asset class’s small checks are worth it for asset managers and their large LPs. Recently, a few lenders told me they didn’t
Read moreMental Models, Programming Fictions, and Wittgenstein
Photo by Arnold Francisca on UnsplashThis is a follow-up essay to my previous one about Empathy and Debuggers, where I confessed to my preference for empathically understanding the code rather than for line-oriented debugging.Here, I would like to expand that slightly mystic notion of empathic understanding with a more exact one
Read moreMeta says it’s totally fine for 10-year-olds to wear its VR headset, probably
Meta will soon officially permit users as young as 10 to use its Meta Quest 2 and 3 VR headsets — if their parents say it’s okay, anyway. In a blog post, the tech giant says that there’s “a vast array of engaging and educational apps, games, and more” for
Read moreElectric truck maker Nikola to cut 23% of workforce
Nikola Corp. is laying off 270 employees, or about 23% of its workforce, and restricting its electric truck efforts to North America as it seeks to preserve cash. The company said Friday it will lay off 150 workers who were supporting the company’s European programs. Another 120 employees based at
Read moreHere’s why it’s scary that investors believe they can monetize the climate crisis
Welcome to Startups Weekly. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Friday afternoon. The event horizon for when we can expect to end up in (literal) hot water when it comes to climate has come a lot closer. You wanna know how close? The climate deadline is
Read moreBuilding a Multi-document Reader and Chatbot With LangChain and ChatGPT
Building a Multi-Document Reader and Chatbot With LangChain and ChatGPTThe best part? The chatbot will remember your chat historyhttps://medium.com/media/a282895ea484352d0e9c1e558570a22f/hrefMany AI products are coming out these days that allow you to interact with your own private PDFs and documents. But how do they work? And how do you build one? Behind the scenes,
Read moreNASA hits up 7 space companies to take on orbital squad goals
NASA has announced Space Act agreements with seven private space companies in the hopes of spurring tech developments the government may invest in down the line, from space stations to human transport and robotics. While no money is changing hands, these partnerships are official collaborations, with NASA providing expertise and
Read moreBuzzCutt steers the sober curious toward booze-free bar and restaurant options
If you don’t drink, navigating nightlife, bars and even eating out can be an exercise in frustration. Non-alcoholic options are popping up everywhere, but for every neighborhood haunt with a booze-free beer, there are ten spots where you’ll be left high and dry — usually with a flat soda water
Read more