Category Physics

Quantum Electrodynamics Experiment

Künstlerische Visualisierung
Artistic visualisation: Symmetries constrain the motion of ultracold atoms in the lab. | © Cellule

Researchers see application in future quantum technologies. The fundamental laws of physics are based on symmetries that, among other things, determine the interactions between charged particles. Using ultracold atoms, researchers at Heidelberg University have experimentally constructed the symmetries of quantum electrodynamics. They hope to gain new insights for implementing future quantum technologies that can simulate complex physical phenomena. The results of the study were published in the journal Science.

The theory of quantum electrodynamics deals with the electromagnetic interaction between electrons and light particles...

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A New Way to Cool Down Electronic Devices, recover Waste Heat

042220-heat-conversion
A hydrogel can cool off electronics and generate electricity from their waste heat. Scale bar, 2 cm.
Credit: Adapted from Nano Letters 2020, DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c00800

Using electronic devices for too long can cause them to overheat, which might slow them down, damage their components or even make them explode or catch fire. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Nano Letters have developed a hydrogel that can both cool down electronics, such as cellphone batteries, and convert their waste heat into electricity.

Some components of electronic devices, including batteries, light-emitting diodes (known as LEDs) and computer microprocessors, generate heat during operation. Overheating can reduce the efficiency, reliability and lifespan of devices, in addition to wasting energy...

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Quantum Entanglement offers unprecedented precision for GPS, Imaging and beyond

Graphic of RF waves being transferred to photonic waves and then entangled.
A graphic demonstrating the team’s quantum metrology experiment.

Engineers have demonstrated for the first time that it’s possible to connect a network of sensors through quantum entanglement. The experiment opens a door to unprecedented levels of sensitivity in GPS navigation, medical imaging and astronomy.

Your phone’s GPS, the WiFi in your house and communications on aircraft are all powered by radio-frequency waves, or waves, which carry information from a transmitter at one point to a sensor at another. The sensors interpret this information in different ways. For example, a GPS sensor uses the angle at which it receives an RF wave to determine its own relative location. The more precisely it can measure the angle, the more accurately it can determine location.

In a paper pu...

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New discovery settles Long-Standing Debate about Photovoltaic Materials

Ames Laboratory scientists discovered evidence of the Rashba effect by using extremely strong and powerful bursts of light firing at trillions of cycles per second to switch on or synchronize a “beat” of quantum motion within a material sample; and a second burst of light to “listen” to the beats, triggering an ultrafast receiver to record images of the oscillating state of matter. Credit: US Department of Energy, Ames Laboratory

Scientists have theorized that organometallic halide perovskites— a class of light harvesting “wonder” materials for applications in solar cells and quantum electronics— are so promising due to an unseen yet highly controversial mechanism called the Rashba effect. Scientists at the U.S...

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