Science Daily November 16, 2020 A team of researchers in the US (Western Washington University, UC Santa Barbara, University of Michigan, NYCity University) has developed a quantum algorithm that uses quantum gates acting on neighboring qubits in a quasi-one-dimensional setting and its circuit depth is linear in the number of qubits. They identified correlation functions that serve as signatures of the Laughlin state and discussed how to obtain them on a quantum computer. Application of the algorithm provides tools to improve quantum computing devices. The algorithm opens a new venue to use the new quantum devices to study problems which […]
Author Archives: Hema Viswanath
The troubling rise of facial recognition technology (podcast; 35 minutes)
Nature Podcast November 18, 2020 Scientists have grave concerns over ethical and societal impacts of facial-recognition technology. Cities across the globe are installing thousands of surveillance cameras equipped with facial recognition technology. Although marketed to reduce crime, researchers worry that these systems are ripe for exploitation and are calling for strict regulations on their deployment. Despite concerns surrounding consent and use, researchers are still working on facial recognition technology. Nature surveyed 480 researchers who have published papers on facial recognition, AI, and computer science. The results revealed that many researchers think there is a problem. Podcast
Ultra-fast polymer modulators that can take the heat
Science Daily November 13, 2020 Researchers in Japan took advantage of the high electro-optic activities, low dielectric constant, low propagation loss and ultra-high glass transition temperature of the developed side-chain electro-optic polymers to fabricate silicon-polymer hybrid modulator. It supports ultra-fast single-lane data rates up to 200 gigabits per second, excellent reliability, and exceptional signal fidelity at extremely high ambient temperatures up to 110 °C even after long-term exposure to high temperatures. It could provide ultra-fast and reliable interconnects for datacenters, 5G/B5G, autonomous driving, and aviation systems, effectively addressing the energy consumption issue for the next-generation optical communication…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of November 13, 2020
01. Anti-hacking based on the circular polarization direction of light 02. DARPA’s plan for an airborne COVID detector 03. New approach to circuit compression could deliver real-world quantum computers years ahead of schedule 04. The next biometric identifier? 3D images of your finger veins 05. Power-free system harnesses evaporation to keep items cool 06. Scientists uncover secrets to designing brain-like devices 07. Sticky electrons: When repulsion turns into attraction 08. Tiny device enables new record in super-fast quantum light detection 09. Bioinspired metagel with broadband tunable impedance matching 10. Getting single-crystal diamond ready for electronics And others… Biodefense Headlines – […]
Anti-hacking based on the circular polarization direction of light
Phys.org November 6, 2020 Hardware-based Physical unclonable function (PUF) semiconductor chips have a unique physical code, however, the hardware structure had to be changed to increase the number of combinations of keys to enhance cryptographic characteristics. An international team of researchers (South Korea, USA – AFRL) has developed an encryption device that can greatly strengthen the cryptographic characteristics of PUFs selectively detecting circular polarization, without modify the hardware structure. They developed a phototransistor that can detect the circular polarization of light rotating in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. As a proof‐of‐concept, the chiral phototransistor arrays are demonstrated as a physically […]
Biodefense Headlines – 8 November 2020
Global Biodefense November 8, 2020 This week’s selections include COVID-19 surveillance data systems; pandemic impact on measles, polio vaccination rates; and revisiting a verification mechanism for the BWC… read more.
Bioinspired metagel with broadband tunable impedance matching
Phys.org November 10, 2020 The concept of impedance matching has been established in electrical, acoustic, and optical engineering to maximize energy transmission from a source through a media. However, existing design of acoustic impedance matching, which extends exactly by a quarter wavelength, sets a fundamental limit of narrowband transmission. An international team of researchers (China, USA – MIT, Harvard University, Duke University, South Korea, Denmark, Canada, Scotland, Germany) has shown that a class of bioinspired metagel impedance transformers can overcome this limit. The transformer embeds a two-dimensional metamaterial matrix of steel cylinders into hydrogel. Using experimental data of the biosonar […]
DARPA’s plan for an airborne COVID detector
Defense Systems November 11, 2020 The small and variable characteristics of the virus combined with complex indoor environments make using a single detection and measurement technique extraordinarily difficult. Optical environmental sensors, which can offer fast detection times, are not always able to discriminate between benign and pathogenic material. The SenSARS program (Pre-solicitation) aims to overcome these existing challenges to environmental monitoring. DARPA is primarily interested in three use cases: detecting the virus in a 50-cubic-meter office, similar detection in a 300-cubic-meter conference room or classroom, and central monitoring of HVAC systems in buildings up to 10 stories. Solutions must have […]
DARPA Selects Teams to Modify Skin Microbiome for Disease Prevention
DARPA November 6, 2020 The ReVector program aims to maintain the health of military personnel operating in disease-endemic regions limiting exposure to mosquito-transmitted diseases. In order to advance concept of exerting precise control over our microbiomes to provide protection from mosquito-borne diseases, DARPA has awarded ReVector Phase 1 contracts to Stanford University and Ginkgo Bioworks. They are tasked with developing precise, safe, and efficacious technologies to modulate the profile of skin-associated volatile molecules by altering the organisms that are present in the skin microbiome and/or their metabolic processes. Phase 1 of the ReVector program (18 months) will focus on modifying […]
Getting single-crystal diamond ready for electronics
Phys.org November 10, 2020 A limitation of silicon is that high temperatures damage which limits the operating speed of silicon-based electronics. Researchers in Japan fabricated a single-crystal diamond wafer and polished it using plasma-assisted polishing to be nearly atomically smooth. Common methods of polishing the surface are slow and damaging to the material. The polished surface was unaltered chemically. The only detected impurity was a small amount of nitrogen from the original wafer preparation. The procedure can help replace some of the silicon components of electronic devices with diamond…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE