Quantum Science News

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Shrinking Cores Enhances Transfer of Electric Charges from Quantum Dots

Quantum dots—tiny semiconductor crystals with diameters measured in billionths of a meter—have enormous potential for applications that make use of their ability to absorb or emit light and/or electric charges. Examples include more vividly colored light-emitting diodes (LEDs), photovoltaic solar cells, nanoscale transistors, and biosensors. But because these applications have differing—sometimes opposite—requirements, finding ways to control the dots’ optical and electronic properties is crucial to their success.

17 Dec 2013

New Image Captured by NASA’s WISE Shows Dying Star, Helix Nebula

In an unexpected juxtaposition of cosmic objects that are actually quite far from each other, a newly released image from NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) shows a dying star, called the Helix nebula, surrounded by the tracks of asteroids. The nebula is far outside our solar system, while the asteroid tracks are inside our solar system.

16 Dec 2013

Astrophysicist Kris Sigurdson Discusses Significance of Dark Energy

Up to 70 per cent of the universe is made up of “dark energy,” – a discovery worthy of the 2011 Nobel Prize – but scientists still know precious little about it. Kris Sigurdson, associate professor of Theoretical Physics and Cosmology in UBC’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, discusses how the study of dark energy could provide a more complete portrait of the universe.

16 Dec 2013

New Discovery Holds Potential to Better Understand Supernovas

Astronomers have discovered a rare chemical pairing in the remains of an exploded star, called the Crab nebula. A gas thought to be a loner has made a "friend," linking up with a chemical partner to form a molecule. The discovery, made with the Herschel space observatory, a European Space Agency mission with important NASA contributions, will help scientists better understand supernovas, the violent deaths of massive stars.

16 Dec 2013

Scientists Observe Twisting Patterns in Polarization of Cosmic Microwave Background

South Pole Telescope scientists have detected for the first time a subtle distortion in the oldest light in the universe, which may help reveal secrets about the earliest moments in the universe’s formation.

16 Dec 2013

IceCube Project Earns 2013 Breakthrough of the Year Award for Neutrino Discovery

Less than one month after reporting the first evidence for cosmic neutrinos, the IceCube project received the 2013 Breakthrough of the Year award from the British magazine Physics World.

16 Dec 2013

The Universe at Greater Risk of Collapse

Maybe it happens tomorrow. Maybe in a billion years. Physicists have long predicted that the universe may one day collapse, and that everything in it will be compressed to a small hard ball. New calculations from physicists at the University of Southern Denmark now confirm this prediction – and they also conclude that the risk of a collapse is even greater than previously thought.

13 Dec 2013

Fundamental Quantum-Mechanical Processes Play a Crucial Role in Disordered Organic, Biological Systems

By using an ultrafast camera, scientists say they have observed the very first instants following the absorption of light into artificial yet organic nanostructures and found that charges not only formed rapidly but also separated very quickly over long distances - phenomena that occur due to the wavelike nature of electrons which are governed by fundamental laws of quantum mechanics.

13 Dec 2013

Chancellor Outlines UK Government’s £270M Funding Support for Quantum Technologies

In his Autumn Statement, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, outlined how the government will provide £270M of funding over five years to support quantum technologies.

13 Dec 2013

New Lab for Creation of Quantum Materials Opens at Institute for Quantum Computing

A first-of-its-kind, world-class laboratory that could lead to the creation of quantum materials for use in a new generation of technologies opened at the University of Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) today.

13 Dec 2013

Kiel Physicists Compile Exhibition Devoted to Max Planck

December 14 in the year 1900 is commonly deemed birthday of quantum theory. It is relsted to a lecture given by Max Planck, who was born in Kiel. Physicists of Kiel University have now compiled an exhibition devoted to the famous Nobel laureate. The President of Kiel City Council Hans-Werner Tovar will open it on Saturday, December 14, at Kiel University’s physics centre – the 113th birthday of the theory, which revolutionised the natural sciences.

12 Dec 2013

Giant Molecular Clouds Embedded in Fog Which Permeates the Galactic Disc

A multi-year study of the Whirlpool galaxy (M51) has changed our understanding of giant molecular clouds, in which stars are born. The new study, which mapped 1,500 such clouds, shows that, instead, they are embedded in a kind of molecular fog, which permeates the whole of the galactic disc. Pressure exerted by this fog is crucial in determining whether or not new stars will form within the clouds.

12 Dec 2013

Phase Transition May Occur Between an Empty Spacetime and an Expanding Universe

When soup is heated, it starts to boil. When time and space are heated, an expanding universe can emerge, without requiring anything like a "Big Bang". This phase transition between a boring empty space and an expanding universe containing mass has now been mathematically described by a research team at the Vienna University of Technology, together with colleagues from Harvard, the MIT and Edinburgh.

12 Dec 2013

‘Assembling Galaxies of Resolved Anatomy’ Project to Compare Computer Simulations of Galaxy Formation

One of the most powerful tools for understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies has been the use of computer simulations--numerical models of astrophysical processes run on supercomputers and compared with astronomical observations. Getting computer simulations to produce realistic-looking galaxies has been a challenge, however, and different codes (simulation programs) produce inconsistent results.

12 Dec 2013

Physicists Propose New Concept for Improvement of Electron-Beam-Powered Plasma Accelerators

A team around DESY’s plasma acceleration researcher Jens Osterhoff has developed a new concept to improve electron-beam-powered plasma accelerators. Simulations suggest that their idea should enable the acceleration of very high-quality particle bunches. The DESY researchers, who are planning experiments at SLAC in the USA and FLASH in Hamburg, have now presented the results of their studies in the scientific journal Physical Review Letters.

12 Dec 2013

Quantum Science News

Shrinking Cores Enhances Transfer of Electric Charges from Quantum Dots

New Image Captured by NASA’s WISE Shows Dying Star, Helix Nebula

Astrophysicist Kris Sigurdson Discusses Significance of Dark Energy

New Discovery Holds Potential to Better Understand Supernovas

Scientists Observe Twisting Patterns in Polarization of Cosmic Microwave Background

IceCube Project Earns 2013 Breakthrough of the Year Award for Neutrino Discovery

The Universe at Greater Risk of Collapse

Fundamental Quantum-Mechanical Processes Play a Crucial Role in Disordered Organic, Biological Systems

Chancellor Outlines UK Government’s £270M Funding Support for Quantum Technologies

New Lab for Creation of Quantum Materials Opens at Institute for Quantum Computing

Kiel Physicists Compile Exhibition Devoted to Max Planck

Giant Molecular Clouds Embedded in Fog Which Permeates the Galactic Disc

Phase Transition May Occur Between an Empty Spacetime and an Expanding Universe

‘Assembling Galaxies of Resolved Anatomy’ Project to Compare Computer Simulations of Galaxy Formation

Physicists Propose New Concept for Improvement of Electron-Beam-Powered Plasma Accelerators

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Quantum Science News

News Categories

The Limits of Current Quantum Simulations

How Quantum Physics Is Powering Next-Gen Navigation Systems

Advancing Aerospace with Sustainable Composites

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