Phys.org January 10, 2019 An international team of researchers (Italy, the Netherlands, UK) provides a common frame in which one tool can be applied to both network reconstruction and pattern detection, and even to fundamental aspects of statistical physics. They have found that in some cases, networks behave as an intermediate between Fermi-Dirac systems, where particles cannot be in the same state, and Bose-Einstein systems, where no such restriction is in place. More recently they identified a new mechanism responsible for the breaking of a century-old assumption in statistical physics—namely, the equivalence of canonical and microcanonical ensembles, which are traditionally […]
China Cleaned Up Beijing Air First and Now Targets Big Truck Pollution
Next Big Future January 7, 2019 China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment is targeting having 90+ percent diesel trucks capable of meeting emission standards by 2020. They will improve the quality of diesel, crack down on low-grade fuel, and reduce overall nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions from fuel combustion. Northern regions near the capital Beijing will eliminate more than 1 million outdated diesel-fueled trucks by the end of 2020. Tougher controls on diesel freight will also be imposed during smog build-ups…read more.
A century and half of reconstructed ocean warming offers clues for the future
Science Daily January 7, 2019 Most of the excess energy stored in the climate system due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions has been taken up by the oceans, leading to thermal expansion and sea-level rise. Accurate estimates of past ocean heat content is critical for understanding the future anthropogenic warming An international team of researchers (UK, USA) has succeeded in reconstructing ocean temperature change from 1871 to 2017. This work offers an answer to an important gap in knowledge of ocean warming and help predict future patterns of warming and sea level rise…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of January 04, 2019
01. Physicists uncover new competing state of matter in superconducting material 02. Quantum chemistry on quantum computers 03. Scientists move quantum optic networks a step closer to reality 04. A catalytic flying carpet 05. China Has Radio Antenna to Talk to Submarines and It Covers Five Times Area of NY City 06. Manhole Covers Serve as Antennas Expanding Wireless Network Coverage 07. New version of memory could power AI phones, smart devices 08. Emotion-reading tech fails the racial bias test 09. How does the brain learn by talking to itself? 10. Computer program can translate a free-form 2-D drawing into […]
The US and China are in a quantum arms race that will transform warfare
MIT Technology Review January 3, 2019 In November 2018 China unveiled a prototype radar that it claims can detect stealth aircraft in flight using quantum physics. The technology could bolster the security of battlefield communications and affect the ability of submarines to navigate the oceans undetected. In the absence of hard evidence, US researchers are skeptical of the Chinese claims. But the potential of quantum radar isn’t in doubt. To maintain US lead in the field of quantum communications and QKD a team of researchers at the US Army Research Laboratory is working on a quantum teleportation…read more. Related article […]
TOP TECH 2019
Here are some of the technologies you’ll be reading about this year according to IEEE Spectrum…read more.
Scientists move quantum optic networks a step closer to reality
Nanowerk January 2, 2019 A team of researchers in the US (Argonne National Laboratory, University of Chicago, Northwestern University) found that absorption dipoles in individual quasi-two-dimensional nanoplatelets are isotropic in three dimensions at the excitation wavelength. Emission anisotropy can be readily explained by the electric field renormalization effect caused by the dielectric contrast between the NPLs and the surrounding medium. They concluded that emission dipoles in NPLs are isotropic in the plane of the NPLs. The findings present an approach for disentangling the effects of dipole degeneracy and electric field renormalization on emission anisotropy and can be adapted for studying […]
Quantum chemistry on quantum computers
Phys.org January 2, 2019 Among many important and fundamental issues in science, solving the Schroedinger equation (SE) of atoms and molecules is one of the ultimate goals in chemistry, physics and their related fields. Researchers in Japan have found a novel quantum algorithm enabling us to perform full configuration interaction (Full-CI) calculations suitable for “chemical reactions” without exponential/combinatorial explosion. Full-CI gives the exact numerical solutions of SE, which are intractable problems even for supercomputers. Such a quantum algorithm contributes to the acceleration of implementing practical quantum computers…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Physicists uncover new competing state of matter in superconducting material
Science Daily January 2, 2019 Using ultrafast terahertz pump-probe a team of researchers in the US (Iowa State University, University of Alabama) found an unusual out-of-equilibrium Cooper pair nonlinear dynamics and a nonequilibrium state in iron pnictides. They identified long prebottleneck dynamics that are sensitive to both doping and temperature. According to the researchers the buildup of excitonic interpocket correlation between electron-hole quasiparticles quenches superconductivity after photoexcitation leading to a long-lived, many-quasiparticle excitonic state. Findings help create better superconducting electronics and energy-efficient devices…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
New version of memory could power AI phones, smart devices
Nanowerk December 31, 2018 The new version of phase-change memory developed by an international team of researchers (Singapore, UK) reduces the switching time and allows memory cells to produce excellent stability. The manufacturing procedure uses a normal voltage pulse and requires no additional special materials. They reduced the switching time to 400 picoseconds by creating a single high amplitude voltage pulse and moderate duration to produce favorable atomic rearrangement in a material…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE