http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (Phys.org) —Researchers at a SLAC/Stanford institute have made the first direct images of electrical currents flowing along the edges of a topological insulator – a recently discovered state of matter with potential applications in information technology. http://phys.org/news290763014.html Physics Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:31:30 EST news290763014 (Phys.org) —In the strange world of quantum mechanics, the vacuum state (sometimes referred to as the quantum vacuum, simply as the vacuum) is a quantum system's lowest possible energy state. While not containing physical particles, neither is it an empty void: Rather, the quantum vacuum contains fluctuating electromagnetic waves and so-called virtual particles, the latter being known to transition into and out of existence. In addition, the vacuum state has zero-point energy – the lowest quantized energy level of a quantum mechanical system – that manifests itself as the static Casimir effect, an attractive interaction between the opposite walls of an electromagnetic cavity. Recently, scientists at Aalto University in Finland and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland demonstrated the dynamical Casimir effect using a Josephson metamaterial embedded in a microwave cavity. They showed that under certain conditions, real photons are generated in pairs, and concluded that their creation was consistent with quantum field theory predictions. http://phys.org/news281960445.html Physics Fri, 08 Mar 2013 10:20:57 EST news281960445 A multi-university team of researchers has artificially engineered a unique multilayer material that could lead to breakthroughs in both superconductivity research and in real-world applications. http://phys.org/news281521307.html Physics Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:00:12 EST news281521307 LANL researchers and collaborators have made the first demonstration of rapidly switching on and off "slow light" in specially designed metamate­rials at room temperature. Metamaterials are assemblies of multiple individual elements fashioned from conventional microscopic materials arranged in periodic patterns. This work opens the possibility to design novel chip-scale, ultrafast devices for applications in terahertz wireless communications and all-optical computing. http://phys.org/news279878136.html Physics Tue, 12 Feb 2013 07:55:58 EST news279878136 Experiments on the quantum wave nature of atoms and molecules have enabled researchers to precisely measure tiny forces and displacements as well as to shed light onto the unexplored zone between the microscopic realm of quantum physics and our everyday world. Physicists around Philipp Haslinger and Markus Arndt at the University of Vienna have now succeeded in constructing a novel matter wave interferometer which enables new quantum studies with a broad class of particles, including atoms, molecules and nanoparticles. These lumps of matter are exposed to three pulsed laser light gratings which are invisible to the human eye, exist only for a billionth of a second and never simultaneously. http://phys.org/news279792795.html Physics Mon, 11 Feb 2013 08:13:25 EST news279792795 (Phys.org)—Italian nano-science researchers Francesco Giazotto and María José Martínez-Pérez have built a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) that confirms a theory that describes the Josephson effect, whereby the application of a magnetic field applied to such a device can cause changes in the amount of heat that flows through it. They describe their device and how it works in a paper they've published in the journal Nature. http://phys.org/news275213483.html Physics Thu, 20 Dec 2012 08:50:01 EST news275213483 (Phys.org)—PFC supported scientists at JQI have created the first controllable atomic circuit that functions analogously to a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) and allows operators to select a particular quantum state of the system at will. http://phys.org/news273397621.html Physics Thu, 29 Nov 2012 07:47:20 EST news273397621 (Phys.org)—Scientists have created the first controllable atomic circuit that functions analogously to a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) and allows operators to select a particular quantum state of the system at will. http://phys.org/news271497215.html Physics Wed, 07 Nov 2012 07:53:55 EST news271497215 (Phys.org)—In a paper published in Nature Nanontechnology on September 2, 2012, scientists from the DOE's Brookhaven National Laboratory and Columbia University's departments of Chemistry and of Applied Physics explore the laws that govern electronic conductance in molecular scale circuits. http://phys.org/news265998274.html Nanotechnology Tue, 04 Sep 2012 17:25:11 EST news265998274 (Phys.org) -- When two photons simultaneously enter two input ports of a beam splitter, their paths interfere destructively, which causes the photons to simultaneously exit the beam splitter through the same output port. Because this quantum interference effect changes the input into a different output, it could have applications in quantum information processing. But whereas the two photons are usually identical in experiments demonstrating this effect, a new study has demonstrated that quantum interference can also occur between two photons with different frequencies, giving researchers an additional degree of control. http://phys.org/news258274237.html Physics Thu, 07 Jun 2012 08:50:02 EST news258274237 A miniature atom-based magnetic sensor developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has passed an important research milestone by successfully measuring human brain activity. Experiments reported this week verify the sensor's potential for biomedical applications such as studying mental processes and advancing the understanding of neurological diseases. http://phys.org/news254070955.html Technology Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:16:15 EST news254070955 (PhysOrg.com) -- A group of physicists working out of Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, have succeeded in proving what was until now, just theory; and that is, that visible photons could be produced from the virtual particles that have been thought to exist in a quantum vacuum. In a paper published on arXiv, the team describes how they used a specially created circuit called a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) to modulate a bit of wire length at a roughly five percent of the speed of light, to produce visible "sparks" from the nothingness of a vacuum. http://phys.org/news226574542.html Physics Mon, 06 Jun 2011 10:23:04 EST news226574542 A new optical sensor developed by the American National Institute of Standards and Technology was successfully tested by the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (Germany) in the "magnetically best shielded room on Earth." The sensor does not need advanced cooling and is very small. Its suitability was proven for biomagnetic measurements in the picotesla range. So, magnetocardiographic measurement devices -- to be used as a supplement or an alternative to the ECG -- could become simpler and less expensive. http://phys.org/news179751368.html Physics Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:56:58 EST news179751368 (PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists at Yale University have made the first definitive measurements of "persistent current," a small but perpetual electric current that flows naturally through tiny rings of metal wire even without an external power source. http://phys.org/news174222765.html Physics Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:13:18 EST news174222765 Scientists have created a viable technology to improve the detection of leukemia cells in bone marrow. http://phys.org/news174058065.html Medicine & Health Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:40:01 EST news174058065 (PhysOrg.com) -- Despite their popularity in the science fiction genre, there is much to be learned about black holes, the mysterious regions in space once thought to be absent of light. In a paper published in the August 20 issue of Physical Review Letters Dartmouth researchers propose a new way of creating a reproduction black hole in the laboratory on a much-tinier scale than their celestial counterparts. http://phys.org/news170081334.html Physics Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:50:01 EST news170081334 A superconducting sheet of lead only two atoms thick, the thinnest superconducting metal layer ever created, has been developed by physicists at The University of Texas at Austin. http://phys.org/news163676931.html Physics Mon, 08 Jun 2009 10:49:24 EST news163676931