Category Physics

Purdue researchers Wenzhuo Wu and Peide Ye recently discovered tellurene, a two-dimensional material they manufactured in a solution, that has what it takes to make high-speed electronics faster. Credit: Purdue University image/Vincent Walter

Discovery could have big impact on semiconductor industry. A new experimental discovery, led by researchers at the University of Minnesota, demonstrates that the chemical element ruthenium (Ru) is the fourth single element to have unique magnetic properties at room temperature. The discovery could be used to improve sensors, devices in the computer memory and logic industry, or other devices using magnetic materials.

The use of ferromagnetism, or the basic mechanism by which certain materials (such as iron) form permanent magnets or are attracted to m...

Image of the di-Omega, by Keiko Murano

Based on complex simulations of quantum chromodynamics performed using the K computer, one of the most powerful computers in the world, the HAL QCD Collaboration, made up of scientists from the RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-based Science and the RIKEN Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences (iTHEMS) program, together with colleagues from a number of universities, have predicted a new type of “dibaryon” – a particle that contains 6 quarks instead of the usual three. Studying how these elements form could help scientists understand the interactions among elementary particles in extreme environments eg the interiors of neutron stars or the early universe moments after the Big Bang.

Particles known as “baryons” – principally protons...

A research team at the Technical University of Munich has developed molecular nanoswitches that can be toggled between two structurally different states using an applied voltage. They can serve as the basis for a pioneering class of devices that could replace silicon-based components with organic molecules. Credit: Yuxiang Gong / TUM / Journal of the American Chemical Society

An international research team led by physicists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has developed molecules that can be switched between two structurally different states using an applied voltage. Such nanoswitches can serve as the basis for a pioneering class of devices that could replace silicon-based components with organic molecules.

The development of new electronic technologies drives the incessant redu...

Electrodes stretch diamond strings to increase the frequency of atomic vibrations to which an electron is sensitive, just like tightening a guitar string increases the frequency or pitch of the string. The tension quiets a qubit’s environment and improves memory from tens to several hundred nanoseconds, enough time to do many operations on a quantum chip. (Second Bay Studios/Harvard SEAS)

A process similar to guitar tuning improves storage time of quantum memory. A quantum internet promises completely secure communication. But using quantum bits or qubits to carry information requires a radically new piece of hardware – a quantum memory. This atomic-scale device needs to store quantum information and convert it into light to transmit across the network.

A major challenge to this vision i...