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. Matter is categorized as either conductive, semi-conductive or resistive to the flow of electrons based on its bulk properties. However, physicists have now predicted a new state of matter in which the bulk of the material is insulating—resisting electron flow—but where electrons are free to move along its edges. The possibility of such a material, known as a 'topological insulator', has caused a great deal of excitement among physicists because its surface conducting states are unusually stable, making them a promising resource for use in quantum computers. Bohm-Jung Yang and Naoto Nagaosa from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and their co‐workers have now devised a general theory for how an insulator changes into a topological insulator, which should aid in the practical search for such materials. http://phys.org/news287393985.html Physics Fri, 10 May 2013 08:39:52 EST news287393985 (Phys.org)—In ytterbium nickel phosphide there is a quantum critical point between the ferromagnetic and non-magnetic states that was previously not thought possible. http://phys.org/news281177714.html Physics Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:55:55 EST news281177714 (Phys.org)—UK-based physicist Ole Steuernagel from the University of Hertfordshire, alongside Dimitris Kakofengitis and Georg Ritter, have found that a new powerful tool they call 'Wigner flow' is the quantum analogue of phase space flow. http://phys.org/news275899138.html Physics Fri, 28 Dec 2012 06:39:24 EST news275899138 (Phys.org)—Former and current USC Dornsife physicists have led a study that represents the first, quantitative account of the universal features of disordered bosons—or quantum particles—in magnetic materials. http://phys.org/news267689276.html Physics Mon, 24 Sep 2012 07:08:09 EST news267689276 Scientists have designed a simple system to study how electrons travel through energy barriers instead of over them. http://phys.org/news263039761.html Physics Wed, 01 Aug 2012 13:00:14 EST news263039761 Atomic processes take place on extremely short time scales. Measurements at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna) can now visualize these processes. http://phys.org/news256289218.html Physics Tue, 15 May 2012 08:27:16 EST news256289218 A new type of quantum bit called a "phase-slip qubit", devised by researchers at the RIKEN Advanced Science Institute and their collaborators, has enabled the world's first-ever experimental demonstration of coherent quantum phase slip (CQPS). The groundbreaking result sheds light on an elusive phenomenon whose existence, a natural outcome of the hundred-year-old theory of superconductivity, has long been speculated, but never actually observed. http://phys.org/news253972313.html Physics Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:00:21 EST news253972313 At extremely low temperatures atoms can aggregate into so-called Bose Einstein condensates forming coherent laser-like matter waves. Due to interactions between the atoms fundamental quantum dynamics emerge and give rise to periodic collapses and revivals of the matter wave field. http://phys.org/news193051053.html Physics Fri, 14 May 2010 10:17:47 EST news193051053 (PhysOrg.com) -- A team of U.S. and Japanese scientists has shown for the first time that the spectroscopic "fingerprint" of high-temperature superconductivity remains intact well above the super chilly temperatures at which these materials carry current with no resistance. This confirms that certain conditions necessary for superconductivity exist at the warmer temperatures that would make these materials practical for energy-saving applications — if scientists can figure out how to get the current flowing. http://phys.org/news170602115.html Physics Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:29:39 EST news170602115 (PhysOrg.com) -- Transitions are exciting. And at temperatures close to absolute zero, studying the transition from one quantum phase to another tantalizes physicists looking for a deeper understanding of the fundamental laws of the universe. http://phys.org/news170006749.html Physics Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:07:24 EST news170006749 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago have reached a milestone in the study of emergent magnetism. http://phys.org/news164559849.html Physics Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:04:39 EST news164559849 A team of researchers at the University of Illinois has demonstrated that, counter to classical Newtonian mechanics, an entire collection of superconducting electrons in an ultrathin superconducting wire is able to "tunnel" as a pack from a state with a higher electrical current to one with a notably lower current, providing more evidence of the phenomenon of macroscopic quantum tunneling. http://phys.org/news162650639.html Nanotechnology Wed, 27 May 2009 13:48:12 EST news162650639 (PhysOrg.com) -- When water transforms into steam, or magnetized iron changes to demagnetized iron, Katsushi Hashimoto explains to PhysOrg.com, a phase transition is taking place: “Classical phase transitions…often share many fundamental characteristics near the critical point. Quantum phase transitions also show universal critical behaviors, which are affected not only by temperature but also by quantum mechanics.” http://phys.org/news150988279.html Physics Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:11:19 EST news150988279