Physics

Apr 18th, 2024 - The potential of quantum computing is immense, but the distances over which entangled particles can reliably carry information remains a massive hurdle. The tiniest of disturbances can make a scrambled mess of their relationship. To circumvent the problem, quantum computing researchers have found ways to stabilize long lengths of optical fibers or used satellites to preserve signals through the near-vacuum of space. Yet there's more to a quantum-based network than a transmission. Scientists ... [Read More]

Apr 18th, 2024 - Researchers have shown that double-layer graphene can function both as a superconductor and an insulator, a property that could revolutionize transistor technology. This dual functionality allows for the development of nanoscale transistors that are highly energy-efficient. An international research team led by the University of Göttingen has demonstrated experimentally that electrons in naturally occurring double-layer graphene move like particles without any mass, in the same way that ... [Read More]

Apr 18th, 2024 - In principle, one shouldn't compare apples to oranges. However, in topology, which is a branch of mathematics, one must do just that. Apples and oranges, it turns out, are said to be topologically the same since they both lack a hole—in contrast to doughnuts or coffee cups, for instance, which both have one (the handle in the case of the cup), and thus are topologically equal. In a more abstract way, quantum systems in physics can also have a specific apple or doughnut topology, which ... [Read More]

Apr 18th, 2024 - Fraunhofer IAF achieves record output power with VECSEL for quantum frequency converters. The expansion of fiber optics is progressing worldwide, which not only increases the bandwidth of conventional Internet connections, but also brings closer the realization of a global quantum Internet. The quantum internet can help to fully exploit the potential of certain technologies. These include much more powerful quantum computing through the linking of quantum processors and registers, more secure ... [Read More]

Apr 17th, 2024 - Silicon-based electronics are approaching their physical limitations and new materials are needed to keep up with current technological demands. Two-dimensional (2D) materials have a rich array of properties, including superconductivity and magnetism, and are promising candidates for use in electronic systems, such as transistors. However, precisely controlling the properties of these materials is extraordinarily difficult. In an effort to understand how and why 2D interfaces take on the ... [Read More]

Apr 17th, 2024 - A new hybrid layered perovskite featuring elusive spontaneous defect ordering has been found, report scientists. By introducing specific concentrations of thiocyanate ions into FAPbI3 (FA = formamidinium), they observed that ordered columnar defects appeared in the stacked crystalline layers, taking up one-third of the lattice space. These findings could pave the way to an innovative strategy for adjusting the properties of hybrid perovskites, leading to practical advances in optoelectronics ... [Read More]

Apr 17th, 2024 - Electron spin states can now be probed at much higher resolution and more efficiently, opening new opportunities in materials analysis and data processing technologies. Researchers Koichiro Yaji and Shunsuke Tsuda at the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan have developed an improved type of microscope that can visualize key aspects of electron spin states in materials. Their study is published in the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials: Methods . The quantum ... [Read More]

Apr 17th, 2024 - In some materials, spins form complex magnetic structures within the nanometer and micrometer scale in which the magnetization direction twists and curls along specific directions. Examples of such structures are magnetic bubbles, skyrmions, and magnetic vortices. Spintronics aims to make use of such tiny magnetic structures to store data or perform logic operations with very low power consumption, compared to today's dominant microelectronic components. However, the generation and ... [Read More]

Apr 16th, 2024 - Warp drives are among the more plausible of science fiction concepts, at least from a mathematical perspective. Now, Applied Physics, a multidisciplinary group of international scientists and engineers, has launched Warp Factory, open-source software that anyone can use to design a functional warp drive. "Physicists can now generate and refine an array of warp drive designs with just a few clicks, allowing us to advance science at warp speed," said Gianni Martire, CEO of Applied Physics. "Warp ... [Read More]

Apr 16th, 2024 - In their ongoing quest to develop a range of methods for managing plasma so it can be used to generate electricity in a process known as fusion, researchers have shown how two old methods can be combined to provide greater flexibility. In their ongoing quest to develop a range of methods for managing plasma so it can be used to generate electricity in a process known as fusion, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have shown how two old ... [Read More]

Apr 16th, 2024 - "Neutronic Molecules" – Neutrons Meet Quantum Dots in Groundbreaking MIT Discovery Study shows neutrons can bind to nanoscale atomic clusters known as quantum dots. The finding may provide insights into material properties and quantum effects. Neutrons are subatomic particles that have no electric charge, unlike protons and electrons. That means that while the electromagnetic force is responsible for most of the interactions between radiation and materials, neutrons are essentially immune ... [Read More]

Apr 15th, 2024 - Physicists have made a measurement at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) which could expand our understanding beyond the Standard Model of Particle Physics . Since the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012, questions have remained open in fundamental physics about what lies beyond the Standard Model's framework which describes all of the particles and forces in the universe. One such parameter which has, until now, remained a mystery is the width of the W boson particle. The W boson along with the ... [Read More]

Apr 15th, 2024 - The wealth of emerging evidence suggest that physics may be on the brink of something big odern physics deals with some truly mind-boggling extremes of scale. Cosmology reveals the Earth as a tiny dot amid an observable universe that is a staggering 93bn light years across. Meanwhile, today's particle colliders are exploring a microcosmic world billions of times smaller than the smallest atom. These two extremes, the biggest and smallest distances probed by science, are separated by 47 orders ... [Read More]

Apr 15th, 2024 - Researchers have developed a method that can improve the performance of quantum resistance standards. It's based on a quantum phenomenon called Quantum Anomalous Hall effect. Researchers at the University of Würzburg have developed a method that can improve the performance of quantum resistance standards. It´s based on a quantum phenomenon called Quantum Anomalous Hall effect. The precise measurement of electrical resistance is essential in industrial production or electronics -- for ... [Read More]

Apr 14th, 2024 - Princeton University researchers detect a strange form of matter that has eluded direct detection for some 90 years. Electrons—these infinitesimally small particles that are known to zip around atoms—continue to amaze scientists despite the more than a century that scientists have studied them. Now, physicists at Princeton University have pushed the boundaries of our understanding of these minute particles by visualizing, for the first time, direct evidence for what is known as the ... [Read More]

Apr 14th, 2024 - Long-anticipated experiments that use light to mimic gravity are revealing the distribution of energies, forces, and pressures inside a subatomic particle for the first time. The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine . Physicists have begun to explore the proton as if it were a subatomic planet. Cutaway maps display newfound details of the particle's interior. The proton's core features pressures more intense than in any other known form of matter. Halfway to the surface, ... [Read More]