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Working at nanoscale dimensions, billionths of a meter in size, a team of scientists led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory revealed a new way to measure high-speed fluctuations in magnetic materials. Knowledge obtained by these new measurements, published in Nano Letters, could be used to advance technologies ranging from traditional computing to the emerging field of quantum computing.

Many materials undergo phase transitions characterized by temperature-dependent stepwise changes of important fundamental properties. Understanding materials’ behavior near a critical transition temperature is key to developing new technologies that take advantage of unique physical properties. In this study, the team used a nanoscale quantum sensor to measure spin fluctuations near a phase transition in a magnetic thin film. Thin films with magnetic properties at room temperature are essential for data storage, sensors and electronic devices because their magnetic properties can be precisely controlled and manipulated.

The team used a specialized instrument called a scanning nitrogen-vacancy center microscope at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, a DOE Office of Science user facility at ORNL. A nitrogen-vacancy center is an atomic-scale defect in diamond where a nitrogen atom takes the place of a carbon atom, and a neighboring carbon atom is missing, creating a special configuration of quantum spin states. In a nitrogen-vacancy center microscope, the defect reacts to static and fluctuating magnetic fields, allowing scientists to detect signals on a single spin level to examine nanoscale structures.

Consciousness is one of the most fundamental aspects of our existence, but it remains barely understood, even defined. Across the world scholars of many disciplines — philosophy, science, social science, theology — are joined on a quest to understand this phenomenon.

Tune into one of the more original and controversial thinkers at the forefront of consciousness research, Stuart Hameroff, as he presents his ideas. Hameroff is an anaesthesiologist who, alongside Roger Penrose, proposes that the source of consciousness is structural, produced from a certain shape in our brain. He expands on this, and much more (such as evolution), in this talk. Have a listen!

To witness such topics discussed live buy tickets for our upcoming festival: https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/

In the past, events that took place in a flash were considered instantaneous. Yet modern experiments show that even when particles seem to shift in the blink of an eye, as with quantum entanglement, there are measurable intervals involved.

These findings spark questions about how electrons leave atoms or how entangled pairs form, opening avenues for precise control in various applications.

Scientists are diving into the deep sea to study one of the universe’s biggest mysteries—quantum gravity.

Using KM3NeT, a vast underwater neutrino telescope, researchers are watching ghost-like particles that may hold the key to uniting the physics of the very large and the very small. By analyzing how neutrinos oscillate—or don’t—during their journey through space, they’re searching for subtle signs of decoherence, a possible effect of quantum gravity.

A tiny particle and a big physics puzzle.

If quantum computers are to fulfill the promise of solving problems faster or which are too complex for classical supercomputers, then quantum information needs to be communicated between multiple processors.

Modern computers have different interconnected components such as a memory chip, a Central Processing Unit and a General Processing Unit. These need to communicate for a computer to function.

Current attempts to interconnect superconducting quantum processors use “point-to-point” connectivity. This means they require a series of transfers between nodes, compounding errors.

Physicists at Princeton stumbled upon a mysterious quantum pattern hidden in twisted graphene — something theorized nearly 50 years ago but never seen before. What they found wasn’t part of the plan… and it looks like a butterfly.

Deep ultraviolet (DUV) lasers, known for their high photon energy and short wavelengths, are essential in various fields such as semiconductor lithography, high-resolution spectroscopy, precision material processing, and quantum technology. These lasers offer increased coherence and reduced power consumption compared to excimer or gas discharge lasers, enabling the development of more compact systems.

As reported in Advanced Photonics Nexus, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have made a significant advancement by developing a compact, solid-state laser system capable of generating 193-nm coherent light.

This wavelength is crucial for photolithography, a process used to etch intricate patterns onto , forming the backbone of modern electronic devices.

For the first time, scientists have directly measured the cross-section of a weak r-process nuclear reaction using a radioactive ion beam. Specifically, the team studied the reaction 94Sr(α, n)97Zr, where a radioactive isotope of strontium (strontium-94) absorbs an alpha particle (a helium nucleus), emits a neutron, and becomes zirconium-97.

The findings have been published as an Editors’ Suggestion in Physical Review Letters

<em> Physical Review Letters (PRL)</em> is a prestigious peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Physical Society. Launched in 1958, it is renowned for its swift publication of short reports on significant fundamental research in all fields of physics. PRL serves as a venue for researchers to quickly share groundbreaking and innovative findings that can potentially shift or enhance understanding in areas such as particle physics, quantum mechanics, relativity, and condensed matter physics. The journal is highly regarded in the scientific community for its rigorous peer review process and its focus on high-impact papers that often provide foundational insights within the field of physics.