Quantum Physics News

Solar Cell Efficiency Research Focused on Quantum Cutting at Hamilton College

Solar cells hold the potential to provide an efficient and environmentally-clean energy source. With the recent interest in alternative forms of energy, solar power is gaining importance, and so is research on solar cell...

A Quantum Tip for Microscopy

Microscopes make tiny objects visible, as their name suggests. However, modern microscopes often do this in a round-about way, not by optically imaging the object with light, but by probing the surface with a fine, needle-like tip.

A Quantum Physics First

Quantum mechanics is famous for saying that a tree falling in a forest when there's no one there doesn't make a sound. Quantum mechanics also says that if anyone is listening, it interferes with and changes the tree. And...

The Atom and its Quantum Mirror Image

Standing in front of a mirror, we can easily tell apart ourselves from our mirror image. The mirror does not affect our motion in any way. For quantum particles, this is much more complicated.

100 Years Since the Discovery of Superconductvity

On April 8, 2011, the scientific community will celebrate the centennial of the discovery of superconductivity—the ability of certain materials to conduct electricity without resistance when cooled below a specific temperature.

NIST's Microscopic Drum Could Link Electromagnetic, Mechanical Motion at Quantum Level

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated an electromechanical circuit in which microwaves communicate with a vibrating mechanical component 1,000 times more vigorously than ever achieved before in similar experiments.

Quantum Dots May Bring Cheaper, More Efficient Solar Cells

The sun provides more than enough energy for all our needs, if only we could harness it cheaply and efficiently. Solar energy could provide a clean alternative to fossil fuels, but the high cost of solar cells has been a major barrier to their widespread use.

Open-System Quantum Simulation

Experimental physicists have put a lot of effort in isolating sensitive measurements from the disruptive influences of the environment. In an international first, Austrian quantum physicists have realized a toolbox of elementary building blocks for an open-system quantum simulator, where a controlled coupling to an environment is used in a beneficial way.