Nanowerk February 7, 2018 In the new concept for quantum gate demonstrated by researchers in Germany, photons impinging on an optical cavity mediate an interaction between two atoms trapped inside. This interaction is the basis for performing characteristic gate operations between the atoms. The gate operations take place within microseconds and the gate mechanism can be applied to other experimental platforms, and the two-atom gate can serve as a building block in a quantum repeater… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Author Archives: Hema Viswanath
The quantum internet has arrived (and it hasn’t)
Nature February 14, 2018 Researchers in the Netherlands argue that they could use quantum mechanics to do much more, by harnessing nature’s uncanny ability to link or entangle distant objects, and teleporting information between them. They have already started to build the first genuine quantum network, which will link four cities in the Netherlands. The project, set to be finished in 2020, could be the quantum version of ARPANET. The lead scientist is also coordinating a larger European project, called the Quantum Internet Alliance, which aims to expand the Dutch experiment to a continental scale… read more
Researchers help robots think and plan in the abstract
Eurekalert February 8, 2018 A team of researchers in the US (Brown University, MIT) there has been less progress in perceptual abstraction, which has to do with helping a robot make sense of its pixelated surroundings. They gave a robot called Ana a set of high-level motor skills for manipulating the objects in a room. Once Ana was armed with her learned abstract representation, the researchers asked her to do something that required some planning which Ana executed. According to the researchers, their research provides an important theoretical building block for applying artificial intelligence to robotics… read more. Video Open […]
Taking terahertz data links around the bend
Science Daily February 6, 2018 Unlike microwaves, terahertz waves are entirely blocked by most solid objects. The assumption has been that it’s not possible to bounce a terahertz beam around — say, off a wall or two — to find a clear path around an object. A team of researchers in the US (Brown University, New Jersey Institute of Technology) bounced terahertz waves at four different frequencies off a variety of objects and showed that acceptable bit-error-rates were achievable with modest increases in signal power… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Using technology to detect hidden threats
Eurekalert February 9, 2018 A team of researchers in the US (University of Delaware, Army Research Laboratory) is creating an augmented reality system that will use traditional cameras, thermal infrared sensing, and ground penetrating radar to find and classify potentially dangerous objects from up to 30 meters away. The radar can detect objects buried up to 3-5 inches. The multi-camera system can be used in the night, foggy conditions, and dust storms. It can be deployed on autonomous vehicles, drones, or robots sent to scout the surroundings before troops move in. The technology is being tested in a training facility… […]
What causes ionic wind?
Physorg February 07, 2018 An international team of researchers (South Korea, Slovenia) reports direct evidence that electric wind is caused by an electrohydrodynamic force generated by the charged particle drag as a result of the momentum transfer from electrons/ions to neutral particles. The findings may have applications in reducing the drag force on a vehicle, resulting in the reduction of fuel consumption and reducing flow separation on wind turbine blades… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Worm ‘uploaded’ to computer and taught amazing tricks
Science Daily February 6, 2018 C. elegans must get by with only 300 neurons. It can be drawn as a circuit diagram or reproduced by computer software, so that the neural activity of the worm is simulated by a computer program. Researchers in Austria trained and optimized the artificial reflex network on the computer with the help of reinforcement learning. They succeeded in teaching the virtual nerve system to balance a pole on its tip – solving a standard technology problem. They have demonstrated that their neural policy performs as good as existing traditional control theory and machine learning approaches… […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Innovations for the Week of 02/09/2018
01. Speed of light drops to zero at ‘exceptional points’ 02. Compound could transform energy storage for large grids 03. Researchers demonstrate graphene as a source of high-speed light pulses 04. Innovative diode design uses ultrafast quantum tunneling to harvest infrared energy from the environment 05. A fast-evolving new botnet could take gadgets in your home to the dark side 06. Clemson researchers blaze new ground in wireless energy generation 07. Vanadium dioxyde: A revolutionary material for tomorrow’s electronics 08. Controlling quantum interactions in a single material 09. Certain bacteria produce tiny gold nuggets by digesting toxic metals 10. The […]
Certain bacteria produce tiny gold nuggets by digesting toxic metals
Science Daily January 31, 2018 In nature, C. metallidurans plays a key role in the formation of so-called secondary gold, which emerges following the breakdown of primary, geologically created, ancient gold ores. It transforms the toxic gold particles formed by the weathering process into harmless gold particles, thereby producing gold nuggets only a few nanometers in size. An international team of researchers (Germany, Australia) has discovered the molecular processes that take place inside the bacteria C. metallidurans to extract valuable trace elements, including tiny gold nuggets, without poisoning itself… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Innovative diode design uses ultrafast quantum tunneling to harvest infrared energy from the environment
Phys org February 5, 2018 Researchers in Saudi Arabia have designed a device, rectenna, that can tap into the infrared radiation in the environment and waste heat from industrial processes and transform quadrillionth-of-a-second wave signals into useful electricity. Tunneling devices, such as metal-insulator-metal (MIM) diodes, rectify infrared waves into current by moving electrons through a small barrier. They used a ‘bowtie-shaped’ nano-antenna that sandwiches the thin insulator film between two slightly overlapped metallic arms to generate the intense fields needed for tunneling… read more.