IEEE Spectrum August 6, 2018 To combine the advantages of ultrafast femtosecond nano-optics with an on-chip communication scheme, optical signals with a frequency of several hundreds of THz need to be down-converted to coherent electronic signals propagating on-chip. Researchers in Germany have demonstrated that 14 fs optical pulses in the near-infrared can drive electronic on-chip circuits with a prospective bandwidth up to 10 THz. The corresponding electronic pulses propagate in macroscopic striplines on a millimeter scale. They exploit femtosecond photoswitches based on asymmetric, nanoscale metal junctions to drive the pulses. The non-linear ultrafast response is based on a plasmonically enhanced, multiphoton […]
Quantum chains in graphene nanoribbons
Science Daily August 9, 2018 Graphene nano-ribbons have very different electronic properties depending on their shape and width: conductor, semiconductor or insulator. An international team of researchers (Switzerland, China, Germany, USA -Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) has succeeded in precisely adjusting the properties of the ribbons by specifically varying their shape. They were able to show that if these ribbons are built with regularly alternating zones of different widths, a chain of interlinked quantum states with its own electronic structure is created by the numerous transitions. The semiconducting nanoribbons would allow transistors with a channel cross-section 1,000 times smaller than typically manufactured […]
The quantum technologies roadmap: a European community view
New Journal of Physics August 1, 2018 In 2016 EU created a 150-page QT Roadmap . This article presents an updated summary of the roadmap. Software, protocols, and quantum information theory are essential for an optimal development of QT. Until now, most of the effort has focused on identifying the ultimate limits for quantum information processing. In the next 5–10 years, a parallel effort will be devoted to understanding what can be done with the first generations of small quantum processors, identifying for instance quantum computation protocols whose classical simulation is infeasible or realisation of protocols with unprecedented levels of security. […]
Regular old WiFi spots dangerous objects in bags
Futurity August 16, 2018 A team of researchers in the US (Rutgers University, Indiana University, Binghamton University) have developed a system which detects the existence of suspicious objects and identifies the material type based on the reconstructed CSI complex value (including both amplitude and phase information); it then determines the risk level of the object by examining the object’s dimension (i.e., liquid volume and metal object’s shape) based on the reconstructed CSI complex of the signals reflected by the object. In tests the system was able to detect over 95% suspicious objects in different types of bags and successfully identify […]
Researchers calculate that sound has negative mass and negative gravity
Next Big Future August 17, 2018 It is usually said that sound waves do not transport mass. They carry momentum and energy, and lead to temporary oscillations of the local mass density of any region they happen to pass through, but it is an accepted fact that the net mass transported by a sound wave vanishes. Using an effective point-particle theory, researchers at Columbia University have shown that phonons in zero-temperature superfluids have an effective coupling to gravity, which depends solely on their energy (or momentum) and on the superfluid’s equation of state. This effect is completely equivalent to standard […]
Scientists create biodegradable, paper-based biobatteries
Science Daily August 8, 2018 Researchers at SUNY Binghamton have designed a high‐performance microbial battery using biodegradable paper‐polymer substrate. Poly (amic) acid and poly(pyromellitic dianhydride‐p‐phenylenediamine) are processed and incorporated into a porous, hydrophilic network of intertwined cellulose fibers to revolutionize oxygen‐blocking, proton‐exchanging, and biodegrading properties of the paper‐based microbial biobatteries. The battery exhibits a much higher power‐to‐cost ratio than all previously reported paper‐based microbial batteries. It biodegrades without the requirements of special facilities, conditions, or introduction of other microorganisms… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Scientists design material that can store energy like an eagle’s grip
Science Daily August 9, 2018 Researchers in the UK have redesigned auxetic materials with smooth curves which distribute the forces and make repeated deformations possible. A major problem for materials exposed to harsh conditions, such as high temperature, is their expansion. The new material can be designed so its expansion properties continuously vary to match a gradient of temperature farther and closer to a heat source. It will be able to adjust itself naturally to repeated and severe changes. The work lays the basis for designs of lightweight 3D supports, which also fold in specific ways and store energy which […]
Scientists squeeze nanocrystals in a liquid droplet into a solid-like state and back again
Science Daily August 8, 2018 An international team of researchers (USA – Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, UC Berkeley, UMass Amherst, Japan) put a droplet of a liquid containing iron oxide nanocrystals into an oily liquid containing tiny polymer strands and cause the nanoparticles assembled here to jam, making it act like a solid, and then to unjam and return to a liquid-like state by the competitive push-pull action of the polymer and the additive. They can control the rate at which this happens through the use of a ligand at a defined concentration and manipulate the properties of the liquid […]
Superconductivity above 10 K in a novel quasi-one-dimensional compound
Phys.org August 13, 2018 Researchers in China succeeded in synthesizing the new Q1D K2Mo3As3 compound whose Tc value exceeded 10 K. Bulk superconductivity below 10.4 K was confirmed by electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and heat capacity measurements. The K2Mo3As3 is the first MoAs-based superconductor and possesses the record Tc in all Q1D superconductors. This discovery indicates that Cr and Mo based Q1D superconductors may share some common underlying origins within the similar structural motifs and will help to uncover the exotic superconducting mechanism in low dimensional materials… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
The US Is Woefully Underprepared For The Next Pandemic
Science Alert August 20, 2018 Pandemic policy scholars believe that it is essential to prepare the country and the world for the next pandemic. It is not a matter of if, but when, the next disease will sweep the world with deadly and costly consequences. Topic areas that national leaders must address to create better preparedness and response capabilities include – overuse and misuse of antibiotics; ensuring continuity of supply chains; the absence of high-level leadership. If the United States chooses to elevate the issue of pandemic preparedness and biosecurity as a national security priority, we could be prepared Outbreaks […]