Phys.org April 24, 2019 A theory developed only two years ago proposed a way to make qubits more resilient through combining a semiconductor, indium arsenide, with a superconductor, aluminum, into a planar device. An international team of researchers (Denmark, USA – University of Chicago, Purdue University, Israel) has provided experimental support to the theory in a device that could also aid the scaling of qubits. These experiments provide evidence that aluminum and indium arsenide, when brought together to form a device called a Josephson junction, can support Majorana zero modes, which scientists have predicted possess topological protection against decoherence. The […]
New holographic technique opens the way for quantum computation
Eurekalert May 3, 2019 An international team of researchers (Switzerland, UK, Spain) shows that holograms of local electromagnetic fields can be obtained with combined attosecond/nanometer resolution in an ultrafast transmission electron microscope. Unlike conventional holography, where signal and reference are spatially separated and then recombined to interfere, our method relies on electromagnetic fields to split an electron wave function in a quantum coherent superposition of different energy states. In the image plane, spatial modulation of the electron energy distribution reflects the phase relation between reference and signal fields. Beyond imaging applications, this approach allows implementing quantum measurements in parallel, providing […]
The military wants to build barracks autonomously
Fedscoop April 26, 2019 The Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is looking for companies to help build the barracks of the future. They want tech that works with minimal operator input, can be deployed in about an hour and is able to operate in a range of different conditions. Beyond these few directives, the solicitation doesn’t offer much specification on what it is looking for. Interested companies have until May 7 to respond to the Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO)…read more.
Ice-proof coating for big structures relies on a ‘beautiful demonstration of mechanics’
Phys.org April 25, 2019 The problem with the strategy to lower adhesion strength strategy is that the larger the sheet of ice, the more force is required. Researchers at the University of Michigan developed new coating which lowers the interfacial toughness (LIT). Surfaces with low LIT encourage cracks to form between ice and the surface. And unlike breaking an ice sheet’s surface adhesion, which requires tearing the entire sheet free, a crack only breaks the surface free along its leading edge. Once that crack starts, it can quickly spread across the entire iced surface, regardless of its size. Mathematically they […]
The Fundamentals Behind Hacking: MIT Technology Review’s Martin Giles
MIT Technology Review April 25, 2019 According to the MIT Technology Review widespread dangers of a cyber attack have become a guarantee for organizations in all sectors and regions. They describe how cyber attackers are most likely to penetrate a company’s defenses, including through cloud storage, cloud services and even hardware. They discuss some of the most striking trends in cyber security strategies, including the “death of the perimeter” —how the type of robust firewalls and strong anti-virus programs that were keeping companies safe, no longer work. They show how business leaders can focus on effective cyber hygiene and cyber […]
Can AI and autonomous systems detect hostile intent?
Defense Systems April 24, 2019 The Urban Reconnaissance through Supervised Autonomy (URSA) project aims to use autonomous systems to help the military detect hostile forces in cities and positively identify combatants before any U.S. troops come in contact with them. DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office is hosting a Proposers Day to provide information to potential applicants on the structure and objectives of the new Urban Reconnaissance through Supervised Autonomy (URSA) program. URSA aims to develop technology to enable autonomous systems operated and supervised by U.S. ground forces to detect hostile forces and establish positive identification of combatants before U.S. troops encounter […]
Battery research: New breakthroughs in research on super-batteries
Science Daily April 25, 2019 Previously researchers in Austria uncovered that cell ageing in living organisms and in batteries are caused by highly reactive singlet oxygen. Redox mediators play a vital role in the flow of electrons between the exterior circuit and the charge storage material in oxygen batteries and have a considerable impact on their performance. Singlet oxygen also triggers parasitic reactions, which compromise battery life and rechargeability. The researchers identified DABCOnium — which is a salt of the organic nitrogen compound DABCO — as an electrolyte additive which is much more resistant to oxidation and compatible with a […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of April 26, 2019
01. Catalyst renders nerve agents harmless 02. Cornell Engineers Create a Robotic Material That Displays 3 of The Key Traits For Life 03. Breakthrough research to revolutionise internet communication 04. Study opens a new route to achieving invisibility without using metamaterials 05. Tiny, fast, accurate technology on the radar 06. New way to improve cybersecurity 07. Bioengineers program cells as digital signal processors 08. Creating a cloak for grid data in the cloud 09. Printing self-powered sensor systems on plastic 10. Biosensor ‘bandage’ collects and analyzes sweat And others… Earth’s North Magnetic Pole Is Moving Fast, And We Might Finally […]
Tiny, fast, accurate technology on the radar
Phys.org April 8, 2019 An international team of researchers (Italy, Saudi Arabia) has developed a low-power, portable frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar with an operating frequency of 24 Gigahertz. It has one transmitting and two receiving antennae, meaning it can better estimate the angular location of a target. The device fits into a 10-centimeter box, weighs less than 150 grams and is powered by a 5V battery. Initial trials suggest the device is capable of target detection, speed estimation and tracking at ranges of up to 12 meters. Possible applications include object detection for visually impaired people or unmanned moving […]
Study opens a new route to achieving invisibility without using metamaterials
Phys.org April 23, 2019 Researchers in Japan report a way of making a cylinder invisible without a cloak for monochromatic illumination at optical frequency including those visible to the human eye. Based on Mie scattering they looked for a region indicating very low scattering efficiency, which they knew would correspond to the cylinder’s invisibility and determined that in this region invisibility would occur when the refractive index of the cylinder ranges from 2.7 to 3.8. Natural materials such as silicon, aluminum arsenide and germanium arsenide, which are commonly used in semiconductor technology fall in this category. They found that the […]