News tagged with optical physics

Research group creates longer lived and more efficient quantum memory

(Phys.org) -- One of the main sticking points to creating a true quantum computer capable of performing meaningful work, is the problem of storing quantum state information in memory. Recent efforts have resulted in highly ...

Physics / Quantum Physics

created May 30, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (8) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Two stopped light pulses interact with each other

(Phys.org) -- For the first time, physicists have experimentally demonstrated the interaction of two motionless light pulses. Because the stopped light pulses have a long interaction time, it increases the ...

Physics / General Physics

created May 08, 2012 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (16) | comments 8 | with audio podcast feature

Efficient and tunable interface for quantum networks

(Phys.org) -- Quantum computers may someday revolutionize the information world. But in order for quantum computers at distant locations to communicate with one another, they have to be linked together in ...

Physics / Quantum Physics

created May 23, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

A magnetic approach to lattices

(Phys.org) -- JQI experimentalists under the direction of Ian Spielman are in the business of using lasers to create novel environments for neutral atoms. For instance, this research group previously enticed ...

Physics / General Physics

created May 22, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Fast photon control brings quantum photonic technologies closer

(PhysOrg.com) -- Using photons instead of electrons to transmit information could lead to faster and more secure ways to communicate, among other advantages. Now a team of physicists has taken another step toward realizing ...

Physics / Optics & Photonics

created Feb 13, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (9) | comments 2 | with audio podcast feature

Lenses can bend light and sound in almost any direction

(PhysOrg.com) -- When an optical fiber is bent by 90° or more, the light begins to leak away, posing a problem for fiber optics communications. But by using special lenses that can bend light by not only ...

Physics / Optics & Photonics

created Apr 02, 2012 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (12) | comments 17 | with audio podcast feature

Trade-off coding for quantum communication provides more benefits than previously thought

(Phys.org) -- In optical communication systems, the overall performance depends on the strategy used to transmit photons from one location to another. In previous attempts to optimize this performance, scientists ...

Physics / Quantum Physics

created Apr 16, 2012 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (9) | comments 0 | with audio podcast feature

New way to store light could prove useful for optical communication

(PhysOrg.com) -- Due to its high data carrying capacity and low loss, light can serve as an ideal information carrier. However, due to the high speed at which it travels, light is difficult to store. Because ...

Physics / Optics & Photonics

created Oct 03, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (10) | comments 3 | with audio podcast feature

Physicists describe how to make time-reversed light pulses

(PhysOrg.com) -- By taking advantage of the properties of periodic systems, physicists have described how to efficiently time-reverse ultrashort electromagnetic pulses. Since a time-reversed pulse evolves ...

Physics / General Physics

created May 31, 2011 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (17) | comments 44 | with audio podcast feature

New way to funnel light could have infrared applications

(PhysOrg.com) -- Taking light control to a new level, scientists have proposed a technique for confining light into an area just 1/500th the size of the light's wavelength. Since funneling light through su ...

Physics / General Physics

created Oct 25, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (7) | comments 1 | with audio podcast feature

Physicists take steps toward delivering quantum information to the home

(PhysOrg.com) -- Today, fiber optics technology transports information in the form of classical data to homes and businesses. But researchers are currently working on ways to combine quantum data with the ...

Physics / Quantum Physics

created Jul 18, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (50) | comments 4 | with audio podcast feature

Using quantum methods to read classical memories offers surprising advantages

(PhysOrg.com) -- Currently, the data stored in classical digital memories such as CDs, DVDs, and barcodes is read by classical light. But as a new study shows, using quantum light to read these classical memories ...

Physics / Quantum Physics

created Mar 14, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (31) | comments 5 | with audio podcast feature

Transporting spatially entangled photons through an optical fiber

(PhysOrg.com) -- "Spatially entangled photons is a hot topic in quantum information science, and optical fibers are the cornerstone of our communication society," Wolfgang Loffler tells PhysOrg.com. "So fa ...

Physics / Quantum Physics

created Jun 30, 2011 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (8) | comments 1 | with audio podcast feature

Scientists move objects across meter-scale distances using only light (w/ Video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- For more than 40 years, scientists have been using the radiation pressure of light to move and manipulate small objects in space. But until now, the movements have always been restricted to ...

Physics / General Physics

created Sep 30, 2010 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (36) | comments 10 | with audio podcast feature

Physicists Explain How Human Eyes Can Detect Quantum Effects

(PhysOrg.com) -- By greatly amplifying one photon from an entangled photon pair, physicists have theoretically shown that human eyes can be used as detectors to observe quantum effects. Usually, detecting ...

Physics / Quantum Physics

created Sep 29, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (48) | comments 19 feature