Quantum Physics News

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Gold Nanospheres Generate a Quantum Kiss

Researchers from the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) and the Materials Physics Center in Donostia-San Sebastián (CFM) have observed for the first time, with optical methods, the quantum regime in the interaction between nano-sized spheres of gold. This quantum regime has been identified thanks to the change of colour of the gap or empty space between these particles when they are at distances of less than one nanometre. This work, published in Nature journal, enables literally “seeing” a quantum kiss between nanoparticles.

8 Nov 2012

Quantum Weirdness Observed in Computer Chip Nanoelectronics

To build the computer chips of the future, designers will need to understand how an electrical charge behaves when it is confined to metal wires only a few atom-widths in diameter.

7 Nov 2012

Swinburne Awarded ARC Grants for Discovery Projects in Quantum Physics

Swinburne University of Technology has been awarded $5.135 million under Australian Research Council (ARC) grants announced by Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research, Senator Chris Evans.

7 Nov 2012

Scientists Detect Brightest Flare Ever Observed from Sagittarius A* Black Hole

As black holes go, Sagittarius A* is relatively low-key. The black hole at the center of our galaxy emits very little energy for its size, giving off roughly as much energy as the sun, even though it is 4 billion times as massive.

7 Nov 2012

Rotating Vortex Beams Offer New Possibilities for Electron Microscopy

Nowadays, electron microscopes are an essential tool, especially in the field of materials science. At TU Vienna, electron beams are being created that possess an inner rotation, similarly to a tornado. These "vortex beams" cannot only be used to display objects, but to investigate material-specific properties - with precision on a nanometer scale. A new breakthrough in research now allows scientists to produce much more intense vortex beams than ever before.

6 Nov 2012

Quantum Cryptography Offers Security Protected by the Laws of Physics

Quantum cryptography is the ultimate secret message service. Research published 18 October in Physical Review Letters shows that it can counter even the ultimate paranoid scenario: when the equipment or even the operator is in the control of a malicious power.

5 Nov 2012

Carbon-Rich Asteroids Contribute to Dark Material on Giant Asteroid Vesta

Like a Hollywood starlet constantly retouching her make-up, the giant asteroid Vesta is constantly stirring its outermost layer and presenting a young face. Data from NASA's Dawn mission show that a common form of weathering, which occurs on many airless bodies in the inner solar system like the Moon, does not age Vesta’s outermost layer.

3 Nov 2012

Researchers Test Quantum Mechanical Entanglement with Rotating Photons

To this end, the researchers developed a new method for entangling single photons which gyrate in opposite directions. This result is a first step towards entangling and twisting even macroscopic, spatially separated objects in two different directions.

3 Nov 2012

Scientists Generate Quantum Matter Having Crystal-Like Properties

Both high-valued diamond and low-prized graphite consist of exactly the same carbon atoms. The subtle but nevertheless important difference between the two materials is the geometrical configuration of their building blocks, with large consequences for their properties.

2 Nov 2012

Astronomers Study Gamma Rays from Black Hole-Powered Galaxies

Astronomers using data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have made the most accurate measurement of starlight in the universe and used it to establish the total amount of light from all of the stars that have ever shone, accomplishing a primary mission goal.

2 Nov 2012