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Lead-free alternative discovered for essential electronics component

Ferroelectric materials are used in infrared cameras, medical ultrasounds, computer memory and actuators that turn electric properties into mechanical properties and vice-versa. Most of these essential materials, however, contain lead and can therefore be toxic.

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New photonic chips passively convert laser light into multiple colors on demand

Over the past several decades, researchers have been making rapid progress in harnessing light to enable all sorts of scientific and industrial applications. From creating stupendously accurate clocks to processing the petabytes of information zipping through data centers, the demand for turnkey technologies that can reliably generate and manipulate light has become a global market […]

Ultrafast light-driven electron slide discovered

When an intense laser pulse hits a stationary electron, it performs a trembling motion at the frequency of the light field. However, this motion dies down after the pulse, and the electron comes to rest again at its original location. If, however, the light field changes its strength along the electron’s trajectory, the electron builds […]

Ultrafast electron diffraction captures atomic layers twisting in response to light

A pulse of light sets the tempo in the material. Atoms in a crystalline sheet just a few atoms thick begin to move—not randomly, but in a coordinated rhythm, twisting and untwisting in sync like dancers following a beat.

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String theory: Scientists are trying new ways to verify the idea that could unite all of physics

In 1980, Stephen Hawking gave his first lecture as Lucasian Professor at the University of Cambridge. The lecture was called “Is the end in sight for theoretical physics?”

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Optimal scaling for magic state distillation in quantum computing achieved

Researchers have demonstrated that the theoretically optimal scaling for magic state distillation—a critical bottleneck in fault-tolerant quantum computing—is achievable for qubits, improving on the previous best result by reaching a scaling exponent of exactly zero.

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Researchers validate measurement-protection quantum key distribution

Korean researchers have successfully established a measurement protection (MP) theory that enables stable quantum key distribution (QKD) without the need for measurement correction of quantum states, and experimentally verified it.

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Q&A: Chiral phonons research offers new ways to control materials

The rapidly growing field of research on chiral phonons is giving researchers new insights into the fundamental behaviors and structures of materials. The chirality of phonons could pave the way for new methods to control material properties and to encode information at the quantum level, which has implications for, among other areas, quantum technologies, electronics, […]

First full simulation of 50-qubit universal quantum computer achieved

A research team at the Jülich Supercomputing Center, together with experts from NVIDIA, has set a new record in quantum simulation: for the first time, a universal quantum computer with 50 qubits has been fully simulated—a feat achieved on Europe’s first exascale supercomputer, JUPITER, inaugurated at Forschungszentrum Jülich in September.

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Metasurfaces show promise in boosting AR image clarity and brightness

Researchers have designed and demonstrated a new optical component that could significantly enhance the brightness and image quality of augmented reality (AR) glasses. The advance brings AR glasses a step closer to becoming as commonplace and useful as today’s smartphones.

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Harnessing intricate, self-organized plasma patterns to destroy PFAS

Increasing the surface area when plasma and water interact could help scale up a technology that destroys contaminants such as PFAS, detergents and microbial contaminants in drinking water, new research from the University of Michigan shows.

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Developers and expert users benchmark three leading open-source thermal conductivity calculation packages

Mechanical Engineering Professor Alan McGaughey of Carnegie Mellon University recently coordinated the Phonon Olympics, bringing together developers and expert users to benchmark three leading open-source thermal conductivity calculation packages.

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Stable molecule trapped with deep ultraviolet light for the first time

Researchers from the Department of Molecular Physics at the Fritz Haber Institute have demonstrated the first magneto-optical trap of a stable “closed-shell” molecule: aluminum monofluoride (AlF). They were able to cool AlF with lasers and selectively trap it in three different rotational quantum levels—breaking new ground in ultracold physics.

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X-ray techniques map and measure the invisible properties of altermagnets

The new big thing in magnetics is altermagnetism, a form of magnetism that promises to power the next generation of electronics. Unlike ferromagnets, like a fridge magnet, where all internal atomic spins align to create a strong magnetic field, altermagnets have no net magnetic pull (strongly magnetic on the inside, but appears non-magnetic on the […]

Turning the faint quantum ‘glow’ of empty space into a measurable flash

Researchers from Stockholm University and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali have reported a practical way to spot one of physics’ strangest predictions: the Unruh effect, which says that an object speeding up (accelerating) would perceive empty space as faintly warm. But, trying to heat something up by accelerating it unimaginably […]