The smallest pieces of nature—individual particles like electrons, for instance—are pretty much interchangeable. An electron is an electron is an electron, regardless of whether it's stuck in a lab on Earth, bound to ...
Quantum Physics
Oct 15, 2019
3
1375
Scientists at the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) have been steadily improving the performance of ion trap systems, a leading platform for future quantum computers. Now, a team of researchers led by JQI Fellows Norbert Linke ...
Quantum Physics
Aug 19, 2019
0
364
Everything radiates. Whether it's a car door, a pair of shoes or the cover of a book, anything hotter than absolute zero (i.e., pretty much everything) is constantly shedding radiation in the form of photons, the quantum ...
General Physics
Aug 5, 2019
4
865
Researchers at the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) have created the first silicon chip that can reliably constrain light to its four corners. The effect, which arises from interfering optical pathways, isn't altered by small ...
Optics & Photonics
Jun 18, 2019
0
326
Electrons inside an atom whip around the nucleus like satellites around the Earth, occupying orbits determined by quantum physics. Light can boost an electron to a different, more energetic orbit, but that high doesn't last ...
Optics & Photonics
Feb 4, 2019
0
129
These days, movies and video games render increasingly realistic 3-D images on 2-D screens, giving viewers the illusion of gazing into another world. For many physicists, though, keeping things flat is far more interesting.
General Physics
Dec 21, 2018
1
229
A powerful engine roils deep beneath our feet, converting energy in the Earth's core into magnetic fields that shield us from the solar wind. Similar engines drive the magnetic activity of the sun, other stars and even other ...
General Physics
Oct 29, 2018
0
106
Electrons tend to avoid one another as they go about their business carrying current. But certain devices, cooled to near zero temperature, can coax these loner particles out of their shells. In extreme cases, electrons will ...
Quantum Physics
Sep 18, 2018
0
224
The smallest amount of light you can have is one photon, so dim that it's pretty much invisible to humans. While imperceptible, these tiny blips of energy are useful for carrying quantum information around. Ideally, every ...
Optics & Photonics
Sep 11, 2018
0
236
State-of-the-art quantum devices are not yet large enough to be called full-scale computers. The biggest comprise just a few dozen qubits—a meager count compared to the billions of bits in an ordinary computer's memory. ...
Quantum Physics
Aug 3, 2018
0
405
