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AI investigates electricity theft and bill errors
NEWS & TECHNOLOGY
STEVEN SAFFI
AI investigates electricity theft and bill errors
Energetic cosmic rays cross galaxies Anil Ananthaswamy
spread across 3000 square kilometres of Argentinian grassland. Over a decade, it detected 30,000 UHECRs. Some thought that the highenergy particles could have been produced at the centre of the Milky Way, which is known to harbour celestial objects that can accelerate particles to at least a million billion electronvolts. But the Pierre Auger analysis shows that the UHECRs are coming from outside our galaxy
A LONG-STANDING mystery about the origin of the highest energy particles arriving from outer space has been solved. Ten years of readings from the world’s largest cosmic ray observatory show that these ultra-high-energy particles come from outside our galaxy. Cosmic rays are charged particles, mainly atomic nuclei of hydrogen, helium and some other heavier elements, that constantly bombard Earth. Particles with “The particles are travelling energies above about 8 billion about 326 million light billion electronvolts were first years from a region that detected about 50 years ago, but has starburst galaxies” the sources of such ultra-highenergy cosmic rays (UHECRs) have been a mystery. (Science, doi.org/cdf4). After That is because as cosmic rays accounting for the deflection of become ever more energetic, their the cosmic rays by the Milky Way’s numbers plummet. On average, magnetic field, the team found only a single UHECR falls on one that the particles are travelling square kilometre of Earth’s about 326 million light years from surface per year. At that rate, a region of extragalactic space telescopes couldn’t collect enough containing several potential of them to reveal their origins. sources, such as active galactic That changed with the Pierre nuclei and starburst galaxies. Auger Observatory, which is “We can conclude that these are 16 | NewScientist | 30 September 2017
AN ALGORITHM tested on several million Brazilian households could help cut electricity theft and ensure your bills are accurate. Electricity theft is a problem in Brazil, but it isn’t limited to that country: some nations see as much as 40 per cent of their supply siphoned off, largely by users who have tampered with meters. “Mostly it’s fraud,” says Patrick Glauner at the University of Luxembourg. But big data may soon blow the thieves’ cover. –Watch this space– Glauner and his team looked at records of the energy used by 3.6 million Brazilian households truly extragalactic sources, and over five years. Based on this, they it’s the basis of ongoing studies looking for the sources,” says Karl- developed an algorithm that could recognise when energy use at a Heinz Kampert, a spokesperson property was suspiciously low. for the Pierre Auger Observatory. Because the researchers also had data To identify the precise sources, on past inspections against which to the observatory’s telescopes will check the AI’s conclusions, they could now try to measure the exact atomic weights of the rays so their verify that their tool was correctly highlighting potential cases of fraud precise deflection by the Milky or faulty metering. Way’s magnetic field can be The system identified problem worked out. For example, helium cases just over 65 per cent of the nuclei will be deflected twice as time, which the team believes much as hydrogen nuclei of the outperforms similar tools (arxiv.org/ same energy. This can then be abs/1709.03008). Smart energy firm used to retrace each cosmic ray’s Choice Technologies plans to deploy path back to its source. Other telescopes have also been the tool in Latin America. AI could help better target physical looking at the extreme universe of inspections of properties in developed high-energy particles by hunting for highly energetic neutrinos and countries too. “It’s interesting that this gamma rays. “The energy density software can, in theory at least, tell in the extreme universe observed that a building using 10 per cent of what others are using is stealing in cosmic rays, in neutrinos and electricity,” says Paul Ruyssevelt at gamma rays turns out to be the University College London’s Energy same,” says Francis Halzen at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Institute. However, he points out that it’s normal for adjacent buildings to and the principal investigator of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. use different amounts of energy, which could lead to false positives. “This may point at common Similar false positives may be sources and not be an accident.” leading to erroneous billing by energy Neutrinos don’t get deflected by the Milky Way’s magnetic field, companies. “Meters break, or there so if it can be established that they could be billing errors,” says Glauner. An algorithmic approach to meter come from the same sources as readings could lead to a better deal the cosmic rays, the neutrinos for both suppliers and consumers. can be used to better locate their Chris Baraniuk ■ shared origins. ■
STEVEN SAFFI
AI investigates electricity theft and bill errors
Energetic cosmic rays cross galaxies Anil Ananthaswamy
spread across 3000 square kilometres of Argentinian grassland. Over a decade, it detected 30,000 UHECRs. Some thought that the highenergy particles could have been produced at the centre of the Milky Way, which is known to harbour celestial objects that can accelerate particles to at least a million billion electronvolts. But the Pierre Auger analysis shows that the UHECRs are coming from outside our galaxy
A LONG-STANDING mystery about the origin of the highest energy particles arriving from outer space has been solved. Ten years of readings from the world’s largest cosmic ray observatory show that these ultra-high-energy particles come from outside our galaxy. Cosmic rays are charged particles, mainly atomic nuclei of hydrogen, helium and some other heavier elements, that constantly bombard Earth. Particles with “The particles are travelling energies above about 8 billion about 326 million light billion electronvolts were first years from a region that detected about 50 years ago, but has starburst galaxies” the sources of such ultra-highenergy cosmic rays (UHECRs) have been a mystery. (Science, doi.org/cdf4). After That is because as cosmic rays accounting for the deflection of become ever more energetic, their the cosmic rays by the Milky Way’s numbers plummet. On average, magnetic field, the team found only a single UHECR falls on one that the particles are travelling square kilometre of Earth’s about 326 million light years from surface per year. At that rate, a region of extragalactic space telescopes couldn’t collect enough containing several potential of them to reveal their origins. sources, such as active galactic That changed with the Pierre nuclei and starburst galaxies. Auger Observatory, which is “We can conclude that these are 16 | NewScientist | 30 September 2017
AN ALGORITHM tested on several million Brazilian households could help cut electricity theft and ensure your bills are accurate. Electricity theft is a problem in Brazil, but it isn’t limited to that country: some nations see as much as 40 per cent of their supply siphoned off, largely by users who have tampered with meters. “Mostly it’s fraud,” says Patrick Glauner at the University of Luxembourg. But big data may soon blow the thieves’ cover. –Watch this space– Glauner and his team looked at records of the energy used by 3.6 million Brazilian households truly extragalactic sources, and over five years. Based on this, they it’s the basis of ongoing studies looking for the sources,” says Karl- developed an algorithm that could recognise when energy use at a Heinz Kampert, a spokesperson property was suspiciously low. for the Pierre Auger Observatory. Because the researchers also had data To identify the precise sources, on past inspections against which to the observatory’s telescopes will check the AI’s conclusions, they could now try to measure the exact atomic weights of the rays so their verify that their tool was correctly highlighting potential cases of fraud precise deflection by the Milky or faulty metering. Way’s magnetic field can be The system identified problem worked out. For example, helium cases just over 65 per cent of the nuclei will be deflected twice as time, which the team believes much as hydrogen nuclei of the outperforms similar tools (arxiv.org/ same energy. This can then be abs/1709.03008). Smart energy firm used to retrace each cosmic ray’s Choice Technologies plans to deploy path back to its source. Other telescopes have also been the tool in Latin America. AI could help better target physical looking at the extreme universe of inspections of properties in developed high-energy particles by hunting for highly energetic neutrinos and countries too. “It’s interesting that this gamma rays. “The energy density software can, in theory at least, tell in the extreme universe observed that a building using 10 per cent of what others are using is stealing in cosmic rays, in neutrinos and electricity,” says Paul Ruyssevelt at gamma rays turns out to be the University College London’s Energy same,” says Francis Halzen at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Institute. However, he points out that it’s normal for adjacent buildings to and the principal investigator of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. use different amounts of energy, which could lead to false positives. “This may point at common Similar false positives may be sources and not be an accident.” leading to erroneous billing by energy Neutrinos don’t get deflected by the Milky Way’s magnetic field, companies. “Meters break, or there so if it can be established that they could be billing errors,” says Glauner. An algorithmic approach to meter come from the same sources as readings could lead to a better deal the cosmic rays, the neutrinos for both suppliers and consumers. can be used to better locate their Chris Baraniuk ■ shared origins. ■