Lifeboat Foundation

To achieve remarkable performances, quantum computing systems based on multiple qubits must attain high-fidelity entanglement between their underlying qubits. Past studies have shown that solid-state quantum platforms—quantum computing systems based on solid materials—are highly prone to errors, which can adversely impact the coherence between qubits and their overall performance.

A team of researchers at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), in the U.S., has developed what they describe as a squeezed light system to improve detection sensitivity.

A new study has uncovered important behavior in the flow of electric current through quantum superconductors, potentially advancing the development of future technologies like quantum computing.

New research in quantum entanglement could vastly improve disease detection, such as for cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers have made a groundbreaking discovery that human olfactory perception can detect changes in odors within just a single breath, challenging the previously held view that our sense of smell is slow.

By utilizing a sniff-triggered device precise to 18 milliseconds, they demonstrated that people can discern between two different odors in sequences as short as 60 milliseconds—faster than a blink.

Understanding Olfaction: Speed and Sensitivity.

Approximately 41 000 years ago, Earth’s magnetic field briefly reversed during what is known as the Laschamp event. During this time, Earth’s magnetic field weakened significantly—dropping to a minimum of 5% of its current strength—which allowed more cosmic rays to reach Earth’s atmosphere.

Scientists at the Technical University of Denmark and the German Research Centre for Geosciences used data from ESA’s Swarm mission, along with other sources, to create a sounded visualisation of the Laschamp event. They mapped the movement of Earth’s magnetic field lines during the event and created a stereo sound version which is what you can hear in the video.

Continue reading “Sound of Earth’s magnetic flip 41 000 years ago” »

Mitigating the need for hypothetical dark matter.

Kyoto, Japan — Scanning your brain to decode the contents of your mind has been a subject of intense research interest for some time. As studies have progressed, scientists have gradually been able to interpret what test subjects see, remember, imagine, and even dream.

There have been significant limitations, however, beginning with a necessity to extensively catalog each subject’s unique brain patterns, which are then matched with a small number of pre-programmed images. These procedures require that subjects undergo lengthy and expensive fMRI testing.

A quantum experiment revealed two observers can experience different, coexisting realities.

Our understanding of reality is often shaped by biases—our senses, cultures, and knowledge influence how we see the world. But even science, often regarded as a path to objective truth, may not always offer a single, consistent version of reality. A recent experiment testing a 1961 thought experiment by Nobel Prize winner Eugen Wigner highlights this issue, showing that two versions of reality can coexist in the quantum world.

Wigner’s Friend: The Thought Experiment Wigner’s thought experiment, known as “Wigner’s Friend,” explores a scenario in quantum mechanics where two observers can experience contradictory realities. The setup involves a quantum system, such as a photon with two possible polarizations (horizontal or vertical), that exists in a state of superposition, meaning both states exist at the same time until measured.