Science Daily August 5, 2021 The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, transports warm water masses from the tropics northward at the ocean surface and cold water southward at the ocean bottom. It influences weather systems worldwide. A potential collapse of this ocean current system could have severe consequences. An international team of researchers (Germany, UK) have developed a robust and general early-warning indicator for forthcoming critical transitions. Significant early-warning signals are found in eight independent AMOC indices, based on observational sea-surface temperature and salinity data from across the Atlantic Ocean basin. The findings support the assessment that the AMOC […]
Author Archives: Hema Viswanath
A major challenge to harvesting fusion energy on Earth
Phys.org August 5, 2021 A key challenge to producing the fusion energy is preventing the runaway electrons that can bore holes in tokamaks. To see the electrons so that they can find ways to stop them before their population can grow into an avalanche an international team of researchers (USA – Princeton University, University of Wisconsin, Edgewood College, Japan, Switzerland) used a multi-energy pinhole camera which has the unique ability to record not only the properties of the plasma in time and space but its energy distribution as well. Use of the novel camera moves technology forward. Comparing their diagnosis […]
Nearly 14,000 Scientists Warn That Earth’s ‘Vital Signs’ Are Rapidly Worsening
Science Alert August 2, 2021 An international team of researchers (USA – Oregon State University, Tufts University, Australia, South Africa) suggests a “three-pronged near-term policy approach”: a significantly higher global price on carbon, a worldwide phase-out and eventual ban of fossil fuels, and development of climate reserves to protect and restore biodiversity and carbon sinks. They have presented a suite of graphical vital signs of climate change over the last 40 years for human activities that can affect GHG emissions and change the climate and climatic impacts using only relevant data sets that are clear, understandable, systematically collected for at […]
New approach to information transfer reaches quantum speed limit
Phys.org August 5, 2021 A team of researchers in the US (University of Maryland, University of Colorado) designed a quantum protocol that reaches the theoretical speed limits for certain quantum tasks. In the new protocol, data stored on one qubit is shared with its neighbors using entanglement. The qubits work together to spread it to other sets of qubits. Because more qubits are involved, they transfer the information even more quickly. This process can be repeated to generate larger blocks of qubits that pass the information faster and faster. They found that the snowballing qubits speed along the information at […]
Running quantum software on a classical computer
EurekAlert August 3, 2021 A key open question in quantum computing is whether quantum algorithms can potentially offer a significant advantage over classical algorithms for tasks of practical interest. An international team of researchers (USA – Flatiron Institute, Columbia University, Switzerland) has introduced a method to simulate layered quantum circuits consisting of parametrized gates suitable for near-term quantum computers. They used a neural-network parametrization of the many-qubit wavefunction focusing on states relevant for the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA). For the largest circuits simulated, they reached 54 qubits at 4 QAOA layers without requiring large-scale computational resources. For larger systems, […]
Towards next-gen computers: Mimicking brain functions with graphene-diamond junctions
Science Daily August 4, 2021 Researchers in Japan designed graphene-diamond junctions that can mimic the characteristics of biological synapses and key memory functions, opening the doors for next-generation image sensing memory devices. They demonstrated optoelectronically controlled synaptic functions using junctions between vertically aligned graphene (VG) and diamond. The fabricated junctions mimic biological synaptic functions when stimulated with optical pulses and exhibit other basic brain functions such as the transition from short-term memory (STM) to long-term memory (LTM). The VG-diamond arrays underwent redox reactions induced by fluorescent light and blue LEDs under a bias voltage. The researchers attributed this to the […]
World’s first commercial re-programmable satellite blasts into space
Phys.org July 30, 2021 The European Space Agency launched the world’s first commercial fully re-programmable satellite from French Guiana on Friday [July 30, 2021] ushering in a new era of more flexible communications paving the way for a new era of more flexible communications. Unlike conventional models that are designed and “hard-wired” on Earth and cannot be repurposed once in orbit, the Eutelsat Quantum allows users to tailor the communications to their needs—almost in real-time. Because it can be reprogrammed while orbiting in a fixed position 35,000 kilometres (22,000 miles) above the Earth, the Quantum can respond to changing demands […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of July 30, 2021
01. Bird’s-eye view could be key to navigating without GPS 02. Autonomous self-healing seen in piezoelectric molecular crystals 03. A new information storage and processing device 04. New quantum research gives insights into how quantum light can be mastered 05. The quantum refrigerator 06. Spin-sonics: Acoustic wave gets the electrons spinning 07. Through the thin-film glass, researchers spot a new liquid phase 08. Wirelessly charging multiple devices simultaneously 09. To de-ice planes on the fly, researchers aim to control rather than combat ice formation 10. Dancing with the light: A new way to make crystals bend by shining light And […]
Autonomous self-healing seen in piezoelectric molecular crystals
Phys.org July 23, 2021 Self-healing polymers, gels and other materials developed so far have been soft. To develop self-healing hard materials, an international team of researchers (India, Germany) grew bipyrazole organic crystals in tiny (2mm long by 0.2mm wide) needle shapes. When pressure was applied they broke but and then bounced back from the break into straight-line needles again, verifying that the material had truly healed. It is not clear if the type of crystals produced the team will be useful in any given product. However, the work shows that piezoelectric molecular crystals can be grown in ways that allow […]
Bird’s-eye view could be key to navigating without GPS
Science Daily July 27, 2021 Working under a project co-supported by the US Army, an international team of researchers (Germany, UK, USA – Purdue University, UT Dallas, China) has demonstrated that cryptochrome 4, a protein in birds’ retinas is sensitive to magnetic fields. They identified the molecular mechanism underlying this sensitivity. They extracted the genetic code for cryptochrome 4 and produced the photoactive protein in large quantities using bacterial cell cultures. They used a wide range of magnetic resonance and novel optical spectroscopy techniques to demonstrate its pronounced sensitivity to magnetic fields due to electron transfer reactions triggered by absorption […]