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Physicists at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz have developed a quantum interface which connects light particles and atoms. The interface is based on an ultra-thin glass fiber and is suitable for the transmission of quantum information. This is an essential prerequisite for quantum communication which shall be used for secure data [...]

October 7, 2009
Electron microscopes are the most powerful type of microscope, capable of distinguishing even individual atoms. However, these microscopes cannot be used to image living cells because the electrons destroy the samples.
Now, MIT assistant professor Mehmet Fatih Yanik and his student, William Putnam, propose a new scheme that can overcome this limitation by using [...]

September 30, 2009
University of Michigan physicists have created the first atomic-scale maps of quantum dots, a major step toward the goal of producing “designer dots” that can be tailored for specific applications.
Quantum dots—often called artificial atoms or nanoparticles—are tiny semiconductor crystals with wide-ranging potential applications in computing, photovoltaic cells, light-emitting devices and other technologies. Each [...]

September 24, 2009
Physicists at UC Santa Barbara have made an important advance in quantum mechanics using a superconducting electrical circuit. The finding is reported in this week’s issue of the journal Nature.
The researchers showed that they could detect the quantum correlations in the results of measurements of entangled quantum bits, using a superconducting electrical circuit. [...]

September 23, 2009
Diamonds, it has long been said, are a girl’s best friend. But a research team including a physicist from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has recently found that the gems might turn out to be a patient’s best friend as well.
The team’s work has the long-term goal of developing quantum [...]

September 23, 2009
A new toolkit of equations will help theorists determine whether a promising agreement between particle physics and string theory is fact or fancy.
The research is reported in Physical Review Letters and accompanied by a Viewpoint in the September 21, 2009 issue of Physics.
Physicists long for a single theory to describe the universe, but [...]

September 15, 2009
It may sound like science fiction, but freakish galactic events such as ravenous black holes and ripples in the space-time continuum could be happening all around us. according to new research from Swinburne University of Technology.
In a study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Swinburne researchers examined 50 regular [...]

September 1, 2009
Scientists using a continent-wide array of radio telescopes have made an extremely precise measurement of the curvature of space caused by the Sun’s gravity, and their technique promises a major contribution to a frontier area of basic physics.
“Measuring the curvature of space caused by gravity is one of the most sensitive ways to [...]

September 1, 2009
Predatory fish are well aware of the problem: In a swarm of small fish it is hard to isolate prey. A similar situation can be found in the microcosm of atoms and molecules, whose behavior is influenced by “swarms” of electrons. In order to achieve control over single electrons in a bunch, ultrashort [...]

August 31, 2009
As scientists attempt to learn more about how galaxies evolve, an open question has been whether collisions with our dwarf galactic neighbors will one day tear apart the disk of the Milky Way.
That grisly fate is unlikely, a new study now suggests.
While astronomers know that such collisions have probably occurred in the past, [...]