News tagged with quantum mechanics

Quantum computers will be able to simulate particle collisions (w/ Video)

(Phys.org) -- Quantum computers are still years away, but a trio of theorists has already figured out at least one talent they may have. According to the theorists, including one from the National Institute of Standards and ...

Physics / Quantum Physics

created Jun 01, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (11) | comments 7 | with audio podcast

Cosmic calculations: Advance will help astrophysicists explore where stars are born

A University of Delaware-led research team reports an advance in the June 1 issue of Science that may help astrophysicists more accurately analyze the vast molecular clouds of gas and dust where stars are bo ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created May 31, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Advances in mathematical description of motion

Complex mathematical investigation of problems relevant to classical and quantum mechanics by EU-funded researchers has led to insight regarding instabilities of dynamic systems. This is important for descriptions ...

Other Sciences / Mathematics

created May 29, 2012 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Physicist awarded prestigious John Bardeen Prize

James A. Sauls, professor of physics and astronomy in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University, has been awarded the 2012 John Bardeen Prize for his contributions to the theory of unconventional ...

Physics / Superconductivity

created May 11, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Paper stirs up controversy over the nature of the quantum wave function

(Phys.org) -- Back in November, a paper posted to a preprint server arXiv by three British physicists prompted some heated debate regarding the nature of the quantum wave function, a probability function that p ...

Physics / Quantum Physics

created May 09, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (23) | comments 131 | with audio podcast weblog

Researchers demonstrate new way to control nonvolatile magnetic memory devices

(Phys.org) -- Cornell researchers have demonstrated a new strategy for making energy- efficient, reliable nonvolatile magnetic memory devices -- which retain information without electric power.

Physics / General Physics

created May 07, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Does the quantum wave function represent reality?

(Phys.org) -- At the heart of quantum mechanics lies the wave function, a probability function used by physicists to understand the nanoscale world. Using the wave function, physicists can calculate a system's ...

Physics / Quantum Physics

created Apr 25, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (38) | comments 136 | with audio podcast feature

Researchers strive to simulate turbulent combustion in aerospace applications

A research team at the University of Pittsburgh is developing quantum-computing algorithms to better model turbulent combustion in aerospace applications.

Physics / Quantum Physics

created Apr 18, 2012 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Raising the prospects for quantum levitation

More than half-a-century ago, the Dutch theoretical physicist Hendrik Casimir calculated that two mirrors placed facing each other in a vacuum would attract. The mysterious force arises from the energy of virtual particles ...

Physics / General Physics

created Apr 18, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (11) | comments 1

Micromechanical mirror performs under pressure... of light

(Phys.org) -- A team of scientists from PML's Quantum Measurement Division has designed and tested a novel device that may lead to substantial progress in the new and fast-moving field of optomechanics.

Physics / General Physics

created Apr 06, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 10 | with audio podcast

Physicists control quantum tunneling with light for the first time

Scientists at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge have used light to help push electrons through a classically impenetrable barrier. While quantum tunnelling is at the heart of the peculiar wave nature of particles, this ...

Physics / Quantum Physics

created Apr 05, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (15) | comments 11 | with audio podcast

Space tourist is just one way to describe Simonyi

(AP) -- Charles Simonyi may still be described as a space tourist even though the Microsoft billionaire has no plans to take a third vacation on the International Space Station and hasn't hung out in outer ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Apr 03, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Neutrons uncover new density waves in fermion liquids

Scientists working at the Institut Laue-Langevin, one of the world's leading centres for neutron science, have carried out the first investigation of two-dimensional fermion liquids using neutron scattering, and discovered ...

Physics / General Physics

created Mar 28, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Highest honors for quantum computer pioneer

Experimental physicist Rainer Blatt from the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) in Innsbruck, Austria, will receive the Stern-Gerlach Medal of the German Physical Society. The medal ...

Physics / Quantum Physics

created Mar 23, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 0

Looking at quantum gravity in a mirror

Einstein's theory of gravity and quantum physics are expected to merge at the Planck-scale of extremely high energies and on very short distances. At this scale, new phenomena could arise. However, the Planck-scale ...

Physics / Quantum Physics

created Mar 18, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (27) | comments 9 | with audio podcast

Quantum mechanics

Quantum mechanics is a set of principles underlying the most fundamental known description of all physical systems at the submicroscopic scale (at the atomic level). Notable among these principles are simultaneous wave-like and particle-like behavior of matter and radiation ("Wave–particle duality"), and the prediction of probabilities in situations where classical physics predicts certainties. Classical physics can be derived as a good approximation to quantum physics, typically in circumstances with large numbers of particles. Thus quantum phenomena are particularly relevant in systems whose dimensions are close to the atomic scale, such as molecules, atoms, electrons, protons and other subatomic particles. Exceptions exist for certain systems which exhibit quantum mechanical effects on macroscopic scale; superfluidity is one well-known example. Quantum theory provides accurate descriptions for many previously unexplained phenomena such as black body radiation and stable electron orbits. It has also given insight into the workings of many different biological systems, including smell receptors and protein structures.

For more information about Quantum mechanics, read the full article at Wikipedia.
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