Category Physics

Physicists led by Roland Wester of the University of Innsbruck have now for the first time observed a quantum mechanical tunneling reaction in experiments. The observation can also be described exactly in theory. With the study published in Nature, the scientists provide an important reference for this fundamental effect in chemistry. It is the slowest reaction with charged particles ever observed.

Tunneling reactions in chemistry are very difficult to predict. The quantum mechanically exact description of chemical reactions with more than three particles is difficult, with more than four particles it is almost impossible. Theorists simulate these reactions with classical physics and must neglect quantum effects...

Cybercriminals are coming up with increasingly savvy ways to disrupt online services, access sensitive data or crash internet user’s devices. A cyberattack that has become very common over the past decades is the so-called Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack.

This type of attack involves a series of devices connected to the internet, which are collectively referred to as a “botnet.” This “group” of connected devices is then used to flood a target server or website with “fake” traffic, disrupting its operation and making it inaccessible to legitimate users.

To protect their website or servers from DDoS attacks, businesses and other users commonly use firewalls, anti-malware software or conventional intrusion detection syste...

The device could help workers locate objects for fulfilling e-commerce orders or identify parts for assembling products. MIT researchers have built an augmented reality headset that gives the wearer X-ray vision.

The headset combines computer vision and wireless perception to automatically locate a specific item that is hidden from view, perhaps inside a box or under a pile, and then guide the user to retrieve it.

The system utilizes radio frequency (RF) signals, which can pass through common material...

Quantum entanglement refers to a phenomenon in quantum mechanics in which two or more particles become linked such that the state of each particle cannot be described independently of the others, even when they are separated by a large distance. The principle, referred to by Albert Einstein as “spooky action at a distance,” is now utilized in quantum networks to transfer information. The building blocks of these networks—quantum nodes—can generate and measure quantum states.

Among the candidates that can function as quantum nodes, the Sn-V center in diamond (a defect where a tin (Sn) atom replaces a carbon atom, resulting in an interstitial Sn atom between two carbon vacancies) has been shown to have suitable properties for quantum network applications.

The...