Phys.org September 24, 2020 Despite previous optical surveys probing to around 10–20 cm in size, regular monitoring of faint sources at GEO is challenging, thus our knowledge remains sparse. Researchers in the UK present photometric results from a survey of the GEO region carried out in Canary Islands. They uncovered 129 orbital tracks with GEO-like motion across the eight nights of dark-grey time comprising the survey. The faint end of the brightness distribution continues to rise until the sensitivity limit of the sensor is reached, suggesting that the modal brightness could be even fainter. They uncover several faint, uncatalogued objects […]
Tag Archives: S&T UK
A new strategy to implement a high-fidelity mixed-species entangling gate
Phys.org September 22, 2020 One of the greatest challenges in the development of trapped ion quantum computers is scalability because adding new qubits to a quantum computing system often results in a rapid decrease in performance, as it introduces new errors and makes it harder to interact with a single qubit without affecting some of the others. Researchers in the UK used modularization and optical networking to have ions in separate ion traps and vacuum systems, which are only connected through optical fibers. This approach limits crosstalk between qubits, retaining only interactions that are desirable and can be controlled by […]
Physicists ‘trick’ photons into behaving like electrons using a ‘synthetic’ magnetic field
Nanowerk September 14, 2020 Researchers in the UK have shown that it is possible to create artificial magnetic fields for light by distorting honeycomb metasurfaces that are engineered to have structure on a scale much smaller than the wavelength of light. They embedded the metasurface in photonic cavity and showed that it is possible to tune the artificial magnetic field by changing only the width of the photonic cavity, thereby removing the need to modify the distortion in the metasurface. Using this mechanism it is possible to bend the trajectory of the polaritons using a tunable Lorentz-like force and also […]
Researchers capture footage of fluid behaving like a solid
Phys.org August 14, 2020 To study the Discontinuous Shear Thickening (DST) researchers in the UK used regular kitchen corn starch mixed with water, placed this in a narrow cell and released pressurized air into the cornstarch-water fluid. They observed three distinct pattern morphologies: viscous fingering, dendritic fracturing, and system-wide fracturing, which correspond to the same packing fraction ranges as weak shear thickening, discontinuous shear thickening, and shear-jammed regimes. DST behaviour could be used to calibrate future theoretical models for unique engineering applications such as soft body armour, “smart” speed bumps, and food production…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Demonstrating entanglement through a fiber cable with high fidelity
Phys.org August 13, 2020 Researchers in the UK exploited a property of quantum physics that allows for mapping the medium (fiber cable) onto the quantum state of a particle moving through it to transport entangled particles through a commercial fiber cable with 84.4% fidelity. They sent one of a pair of photons through a complex medium, but not the other. Both were then directed toward spatial light modulators and then on to detectors, and then finally to a device used to correlate coincidence counting. In their setup, light from the photon that did not pass through the complex medium propagated […]
Novel magnetic stirrer speaks to lab equipment
Science Daily August 3, 2020 Researchers in the UK have developed a device, called “Smart Stirrer”. When immersed in a solution, it can in situ monitor physical properties of the chemical reaction such as the temperature, conductivity, visible spectrum, opaqueness, stirring rate, and viscosity. This data is transmitted real-time over a wireless connection to an external system, such as a PC or smartphone. The flexible open-source software architecture allows effortless programming of the operation parameters of the Smart Stirrer in accordance with the end-user needs. In a series of experiments its capability for many hours of continuous telemetry with fine […]
The solar cell you can print
EurekAlert July 27, 2020 Researchers in the UK are working on a grant drive next-generation solar technology into new applications. Their performance competes with current technology, but they have the advantages of being flexible, lightweight, cheap to produce, and they can be printed directly onto products during manufacture. The goal is to Deliver the fundamental science and engineering to underpin the development of these promising solar technologies; Develop low-carbon, low-cost manufacturing methods that will enable them to be produced at scale; Develop prototypes to show how they can provide solar power in new applications…read more.
Tailored meta-grid of nanoparticles boosting performance of light-emitting diodes
Phys.org July 29, 2020 Current methods to use new materials for increasing LED light output are has led to the LED chips becoming bulkier or costly to manufacture. According to a theoretical model proposed by researchers in the UK a significant enhancement in light extraction from LEDs can be achieved by boosting the transmission across LED-chip/encapsulant interface. They propose introducing a monolayer of plasmonic nanoparticles on top of the LED chip which can reduce the Fresnel reflection loss at the chip/encapsulant interface. A similar effect is also applicable for enhancing the trapping of light in solar cells…read more. Open Access […]
Thermophones offer new route to radically simplify array design, research shows
Science Daily July 2, 2020 When a medium is rapidly heated and cooled, heat transfers to its surroundings as sound. A controllable source of this sound is realized through joule heating of thin, conductive films by an alternating current. Researchers in the UK show that arrays of these sources generate sound unique to this mechanism. From the sound alone, they spatially resolved current flow by varying the film geometry and electrical phase. Electrical coupling between sources creates its own distinctive sound that depends on the current flow direction, making it unusually sensitive to the interactions of multiple currents sharing the […]
New system uses wind turbines to defend the national grid from power cuts
EurekAlert June 19, 2020 Frequency control to raise frequency nadir and eliminate frequency second dip is highly desirable for power grids with high penetration of wind energy. In order to achieve similar frequency support performance and ensure stability of wind turbine systems (WTSs) under varying wind speeds, different levels of wind power penetration and system conditions, researchers in the UK propose a fast frequency support scheme, an adaptive gain which is a function of real-time rotor speed and wind power penetration level. Rotor speeds of WTSs are proposed not to be recovered to the optimal operating points during the primary […]