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Archive for the ‘quantum physics’ category: Page 339

Nov 6, 2022

Researchers From MIT Have Developed A New Machine Learning Based Approach With 90 Percent Accuracy To Screen Candidate Materials If They Are Topological For Next-Generation Computer Chips or Quantum Devices

Posted by in categories: biological, chemistry, quantum physics, robotics/AI

Topological materials are a special kind of material that have different functional properties on their surfaces than on their interiors. One of these properties is electrical. These materials have the potential to make electronic and optical devices much more efficient or serve as key components of quantum computers. But recent theories and calculations have shown that there can be thousands of compounds that have topological properties, and testing all of them to determine their topological properties through experiments will take years of work and analysis. Hence, there is a dire need for faster methods to test and study topological materials.

A team of researchers from MIT, Harvard University, Princeton University, and Argonne National Laboratory proposed a new approach that is faster at screening the candidate materials and can predict with more than 90 percent accuracy whether a material is topological or not. The traditional way of solving this problem is quite complicated and can be explained as follows: Firstly, a method called density functional theory is used to perform initial calculations, which are then followed by complex experiments that involve cutting a piece of material to atomic-level flatness and probing it with instruments under high vacuum.

The new proposed method is based on how the material absorbs X-rays, which is different from the old methods, which were based on photoemissions or tunneling electrons. There are certain significant advantages to using X-ray absorption data, which can be listed as follows: Firstly, there is no requirement for expensive lab apparatus. X-ray absorption spectrometers are used, which are readily available and can work in a typical environment, hence the low cost of setting up an experiment. Secondly, such measurements have already been done in chemistry and biology for other applications, so the data is already available for numerous materials.

Nov 6, 2022

Black Holes in Quantum States Have Surprisingly Weird Masses

Posted by in categories: cosmology, mathematics, quantum physics

For the better part of a century, quantum physics and the general theory of relativity have been a marriage on the rocks. Each perfect in their own way, the two just can’t stand each other when in the same room.

Now a mathematical proof on the quantum nature of black holes just might show us how the two can reconcile, at least enough to produce a grand new theory on how the Universe works on cosmic and microcosmic scales.

A team of physicists has mathematically demonstrated a weird quirk concerning how these mind-bendingly dense objects might exist in a state of quantum superposition, simultaneously occupying a spectrum of possible characteristics.

Nov 6, 2022

Finding commercial success in the burgeoning quantum-technology sector

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

This podcast features three executives from quantum-computing companies.

Nov 5, 2022

How the Stern–Gerlach experiment made physicists believe in quantum mechanics

Posted by in category: quantum physics

A century ago, the German physicists Otto Stern and Walther Gerlach carried out an experiment that gave an important credibility boost to the new-fangled notion of quantum mechanics. But as Hamish Johnston discovers, their now-famous experiment succeeded even if the physics on which it was based wasn’t quite right.

Nov 5, 2022

Why Have We Not Found Any Aliens? — with Keith Cooper

Posted by in categories: alien life, computing, quantum physics

After six decades of examining signals from space, why have we yet to discover evidence of extra-terrestrial life?
Keith’s book “The Contact Paradox: Challenging our Assumptions in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence” is available now — https://geni.us/JFpy.

For the past six decades a small cadre of researchers have been on a quest, as part of SETI, to search for extraterrestrial intelligence. So far, SETI has found no evidence of extraterrestrial life, but with more than a hundred billion stars in our Galaxy alone to search, the odds of quick success are stacked against us.

Continue reading “Why Have We Not Found Any Aliens? — with Keith Cooper” »

Nov 5, 2022

A new quantum component made from graphene

Posted by in categories: particle physics, quantum physics

Less than 20 years ago, Konstantin Novoselov and Andre Geim first created two-dimensional crystals consisting of just one layer of carbon atoms. Known as graphene, this material has had quite a career since then.

Due to its exceptional strength, is used today to reinforce products such as tennis rackets, car tires or aircraft wings. But it is also an interesting subject for , as physicists keep discovering new, astonishing phenomena that have not been observed in other materials.

Nov 5, 2022

Quantum Error Correction: Time to Make It Work

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

If technologists can’t perfect it, quantum computers will never be big.

Nov 5, 2022

Entangled Photons Can Come Out in Webs Now

Posted by in category: quantum physics

The equipment that generates quantum entanglement is bulky and produces entangled photons just a pair at a time. Now scientists have created a device roughly one-third as thick as a penny that can yield complex webs of entangled photons—not just in pairs, but several pairs all linked together.

Nov 4, 2022

Are Newton’s Laws of Gravity Wrong: Observation Puzzles Researchers

Posted by in categories: particle physics, quantum physics, space

With the new observations we are seeing a mixture of particle physics being the new physics governing even long standing laws like gravity. Also that string theory is still alive and well. I think we may never know everything unless we essentially get to a type 5 civilization or beyond.


Finding cannot be explained by classical assumptions.

An international team of astrophysicists has made a puzzling discovery while analyzing certain star clusters. The finding challenges Newton’s laws of gravity, the researchers write in their publication. Instead, the observations are consistent with the predictions of an alternative theory of gravity. However, this is controversial among experts. The results have now been published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The University of Bonn played a major role in the study.

Continue reading “Are Newton’s Laws of Gravity Wrong: Observation Puzzles Researchers” »

Nov 4, 2022

Synthesizing quantum nanomagnets via metal-free multi-porphyrin systems

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry, nanotechnology, quantum physics

A team of researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, working with a pair of colleagues from Harvard University, has developed a new way to synthesize single quantum nanomagnets that are based on metal-free, multi-porphyrin systems. In their paper published in the journal Nature Chemistry, the group describes their method and possible uses for it.

Molecular magnets are materials that are capable of exhibiting ferromagnetism. They are different from other magnets because their are composed of or a combination of coordination compounds. Chemists have been studying their properties with the goal of using them to develop medical therapies such advanced magnetic resonance imaging, new kinds of chemotherapy and possibly magnetic-field-induced local hyperthermia therapy. In this new effort, the researchers have developed a way to create molecular nanomagnets with quantum properties.

The technique involved first synthesizing a monoporphyrin using what they describe as conventional “solution chemistry”—the monoporhyrins were created by using an atomic-force microscope to pull off of polyporphyrins. The researchers then applied the result to a base of gold, which they placed in an oven and heated to 80 °C. This forced the rings in the material to become chained. They then turned the oven up to 290°C and then let the material cook for another 10 minutes. This resulted in the formation of additional carbon cycles and the creation of quantum nanomagnets.