 We're ready for the future with the top 10 coolest advances of 2018 from Army scientists and engineers. Coming in at number 10. Future American soldiers will use powerful quantum computers and sensors. They'll need to communicate using entanglement, something Einstein called spooky action at a distance. Two separated photons can now stay entangled without distortion, thanks to Army researchers. They say this is a big step on the road to ultra-secure battlefield communications. Number 9. Army researchers make a giant leap in quantum sensing, building the world's first atomic antenna. We use antennas every day to transmit and receive data using electromagnetic waves. Army researchers used atoms prepared into exotic quantum states known as Rydberg states. With super sensitivity to electric fields, achieving communication rates much faster than you'd expect to get from a comparable small traditional antenna. A new quantum receiver may allow future soldiers to perform parallel, fast communications with miniature quantum receivers. Number 8. Neuromorphic computers mimic the human brain, helping the future Army to perform complex computations required for artificial intelligence, using very little electricity, which can be scarce in field conditions. For example, in 2018, Army scientists discovered a way for computers to quickly factor large composite integers, something that can take years on conventional computers. Number 7. The gas turbine jet engine gets an X-ray. In the past, it was impossible to take a look at the atomization process that happens inside a gas turbine combustor. Now for the first time ever, scientists discovered a way to do this. With this new information, Army engineers are helping with the design of future gas turbine combustors that may operate on alternative jet fuels and lead to higher power density and efficiency. Number 6. Cool coating stops attacks of sand. This discovery is literally cool because it's a thermal barrier material. Army scientists created a new material that rejects the sand particles, saving the blades and keeping future soldiers safe. Number 5. A new super-strong alloy can withstand extreme impact and temperature, just like the fictitious material of Captain America's shield. Army researchers created a nano-crystalline alloy of copper and tantalum, with grains about the average size of 50 nanometers, making it a good candidate for projectiles or future armor. Number 4. Human power for jumping robots. An Army research office investment, part of a multidisciplinary university research initiative, led to robots that mimic grasshoppers that can jump incredibly fast and far. In the future, jumping robots may collect battlefield intelligence while remaining unnoticed. Number 3. This new explosive is more powerful than TNT and Safer. A new explosive called Bowden is 50% more powerful than today's most commonly known explosive, TNT. Bowden includes molecular features that make it stable. Unlike TNT, Bowden is non-toxic, but like TNT, it is easy to melt for manufacturing of artillery shells. Number 2. Army scientists and their academic partners are developing new techniques for robots or computer programs to learn, dramatically faster and with significantly less data, how to perform tasks by interacting with a human instructor. A human teammate provides the agent with real-time feedback. A new algorithm combines deep learning with the human feedback to help artificially intelligent agents learn much faster, which may lead to improved manned, unmanned teaming for the future Army. And coming in as the number one coolest advance, Taming the Atom. The nucleus of an Atom can store tremendous energies. Army researchers and their multinational partners found a new, safe phenomenon to release energy from an Atom's nucleus in a controlled manner. This technique, which is not a nuclear reaction, was never demonstrated experimentally before. They arranged electrons at just the right speeds to be captured by Atoms, tickling their nuclei to release energy. Scientists said this is a first demonstration, but with potential applications, such as harvesting thousands of times the energy of conventional batteries. And that might power the future Army. Thanks for joining us for a look at the top 10 coolest Army science and technology advances of 2018. Follow the links in the notes for more information and subscribe to the lab's channel for future news and information about science and technology for tomorrow's soldiers.