eCosmology - Quantum Mechanics News

Quantum Mechanics News

Delving into the world of the ultra-cold Thursday, September 2, 2010 @ 4:47AM(PhysOrg.com) -- In Swinburne University's 'cold molecules lab', where temperatures one millionth of a degree above absolute zero are routinely achieved, researchers are making significant advances in understanding the weird and wonderful world of quantum mechanics.
NA-F2000: Series Mid-Ohio season finale preview Wednesday, September 1, 2010 @ 9:28PM[150x101-images-stories-10season-mo-pre-carbone2.JPG] Carbone has been at the front of the title fight all year. (click for high-res). (photo: Janice Eakin).
Mind the Gap Wednesday, September 1, 2010 @ 12:39PMOver at his blog Science, Reason, and Critical Thinking, Crispian Jago presents a "subway map" of modern scientific achievements , or as he puts it, "500 Years of science, reason, and critical thinking via the medium of gross over-simplification, dodgy demarcation, glaring omission and a very tiny font."
Designer Optoelectronics - Quantum Mechanics For New Materials Monday, August 30, 2010 @ 9:28AMEuropean researchers have combined computer modelling of quantum mechanics and precision fabrication processes to create novel transparent conductive oxides made to order for a wide range of scientific and consumer applications.
A Year of Living Dangerously: Reflections on Hot-Button Science Monday, August 30, 2010 @ 7:03AMLast September I wrote my first column for Scientific American , and this September marks my last one. In writing on science issues relevant to our culture and society, there is an inevitable tension between sticking just to science issues and commenting on potentially hot-button social issues. I have tried during the past 12 months to strike some balance, but without fail those issues that stir ...
Darkspore Details! Sunday, August 29, 2010 @ 11:42PMDarkspore (PC) Maxis clues us in on Darkspore's backstory, its game mechanics and how it's inspired by Plants vs. Zombies.
Changing our mental climate: We must alter our ways now Sunday, August 29, 2010 @ 4:43AMCommunity Perspective I recently returned from a seven-month, winter bike ride from Fairbanks to Washington, D.C. I rode, impelled by the urgency of reigning in carbon dioxide emissions from the...
The World Beyond the Hill (Alexei Panshin, Cory Panshin) Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 11:25AMScience Fiction and the Quest for Transcendence
Researcher finds revolutionary way to treat eye cancer Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 11:23AMRare but devastating, eye cancer can strike anyone at any time and treating it often requires radiation that leaves half of all patients partially blind.
BYU's electric streamliner hums quickly, quietly over Salt Flats Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 7:53AM(PhysOrg.com) -- Brigham Young University student engineers spent six years designing and building an electric streamliner, a special kind of racecar designed for straight-ahead speed. It achieved speeds of 139 mph during a run on the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Learn to play by playing Songs2See Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 7:38AMRecorder, guitar, piano or violin - many children and young people learn to play these popular instruments. It requires a lot of practice to read note after note from the sheet music and then strike the right key or pluck the correct string. Songs2See software makes learning easier and more entertaining. The developers will be presenting the prototypes at the IFA international electronics ...
Viewers are required to activate Outer Body/Inner Experiences. Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 2:29AMThe exertions of the dancers' bodies suggests a religious fervor, revealing their internal experience and tying the work to the show's theme. By Savannah Schroll Guz.
What lies beyond ‘What the Bleep’? Wednesday, August 25, 2010 @ 8:20PMScience editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: JZ Knight — one of the prominent players behind the science-meets-self-actualization movie "What the Bleep Do We Know!?" — discusses what lies ahead for her and for Ramtha, the 35,000-year-old warrior spirit she says she channels. Alan Boyle - What the Bleep Do We Know!? - j-z-knight - Ramtha - Ramtha's School of Enlightenment
Comic hopefuls Wednesday, August 25, 2010 @ 10:17AMA look at the five nominees in the running for this year's Edinburgh Comedy Award
Edinburgh Comedy Award hopefuls Wednesday, August 25, 2010 @ 10:17AMA look at the five nominees in the running for this year's Edinburgh Comedy Award.
Edinburgh Comedy Award hopefuls Wednesday, August 25, 2010 @ 10:17AMA look at the five nominees in the running for this year's Edinburgh Comedy Award.
Blog - Quantum Entanglement Can Be A Measure Of Free Will Tuesday, August 24, 2010 @ 11:31PMThe same experiments that reveal the nature of entanglement can also be interpreted as a measure of free will, say researchers. The nature of quantum mechanics has forced researchers to reconsider their own role in the process of science. Gone is the Victorian idea that measurement is objective and absolute. Today, we know that in the quantum world, it is impossible to separate the measured from ...
Blog - Quantum Entanglement Can be a Measure of Free Will Tuesday, August 24, 2010 @ 11:31PMThe same experiments that reveal the nature of entanglement can also be interpreted as a measure of free will, say researchers. The nature of quantum mechanics has forced researchers to reconsider their own role in the process of science. Gone is the Victorian idea that measurement is objective and absolute. Today, we know that in the quantum world, it is impossible to separate the measured from ...
Researchers build quantum fidelity firmware Tuesday, August 24, 2010 @ 10:37PMSydney physicist wins part of US military grant.
Diamond could be the key to next generation of supercomputers Tuesday, August 24, 2010 @ 9:14AMWashington, Aug 24 : Scientists in California are developing diamond-based computers that, they believe, would store millions of times more information than the current silicon-based systems.
Four Awarded Mathematics’ Fields Medal Monday, August 23, 2010 @ 10:00PMThe prestigious Fields Medal, given every four years, went to men in diverse areas of research.
Study reveals how changes in gene expression could lead to infertility Monday, August 23, 2010 @ 3:24PM(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers used a yeast model to map epigenetic processes-- those that influence gene expression -- in cells as they undergo sperm formation. Understanding the process can help explain how it goes awry in cases of human male infertility. They found several sites on proteins that may be important epigenetic regulators of sperm and egg formation: Novel chemical changes key to ...
Diamonds could store millions of times more data Monday, August 23, 2010 @ 2:29PMDiamond sheets filled with holes could be the key to the next generation of supercomputers. Supercomputer - Diamond - Business - Jewelry - Shopping
Is quantum theory weird enough for the real world? Monday, August 23, 2010 @ 2:16AMOur most successful theory of nature is bewilderingly remote from reality. But fixing that may require a weirder theory still
Founding member of Perimeter Institute memorialized Sunday, August 22, 2010 @ 9:55PMHundreds of family members and friends of the late Lynn Watt gathered at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics — of which he was a founding member — Saturday to celebrate his extraordinary life.
$1.7 million grant for Sydney physicist Sunday, August 22, 2010 @ 9:23PMThe US National Security Agency and Army Research Office have awarded a $1.7 million research grant to Dr Michael J Biercuk, a quantum physicist based within the School of Physics.
Blog - Quantum Zeno Effect Allows "Interaction-free" Switching Friday, August 20, 2010 @ 5:46AMExploiting one of the quantum world's strangest effects should lead to a new generation of switches that can handle quantum information The quantum zeno effect is one of the stranger and more fascinating consequences of quantum mechanics. It offers a surprising and counterintuitive way of controlling quantum systems that are changing from one state to another.
‘Young Curators, New Ideas III’ Friday, August 20, 2010 @ 1:19AMP.P.O.W.’s “Young Curators, New Ideas III” is made up of six puzzler mini-shows all based on exhibition proposals — too often more interesting to read than the shows are to look at — submitted to the overseeing curator, Amani Olu.
Last Night's Winner: MMA's New "Quantum Physics" Division [Last Night's Winner] Wednesday, August 18, 2010 @ 10:08AM# lastnightswinner In sports, everyone is a winner-some people just win better than others. Like MMA champ Matt Horwich , who showed in a post-fight interview that he's the smartest man in the world. That, or he'd just been punched in the head repeatedly. More »
Lasers could make virtual particles real Tuesday, August 17, 2010 @ 2:21PMGhostly particles that, according to quantum mechanics, pop in and out of existence all the time could be captured in large numbers by future lasers
David Cage opens up about Heavy Rain Monday, August 16, 2010 @ 7:11PMGDC Europe 2010: Quantic Dream CEO talks about the challenges of developing an original game in today's market; PS3 thriller sells 1.5 million.
In their element: The science of science Sunday, August 15, 2010 @ 6:23PMScience begets science. In a letter to fellow natural philosopher Robert Hooke in 1676, Isaac Newton famously decreed that his own achievements were merely a matter of "standing on the shoulders of giants".
2010 Reith Lecture Series: Scientific Horizons Saturday, August 14, 2010 @ 11:40PMPart Four: The Runaway World
2010 Reith Lecture Series: Scientific Horizons Saturday, August 14, 2010 @ 2:27AMPart Four: The Runaway World. In the last Reith Lecture of 2010, Martin Ree explores how fast our world is moving in the 21st century. Speaking at the Open University in Milton Keynes, the home of online learning, he acknowledges how the internet and other technologies have transformed our lives. Now he calls on politicians and other authorities to provide the funding that will keep the UK among ...
New Paper Offers Breakthrough On Blinking Molecules Phenomenon Thursday, August 12, 2010 @ 3:23PMA new paper by University of Notre Dame physicist Boldizsár Jankó and colleagues offers an important new understanding of an enduring mystery in chemical physics.More than a century ago, at the dawn of modern quantum mechanics, the Noble Prize-winning physicist Neils Bohr predicted so-called "quantum jumps." He predicted that these jumps would be due to electrons making transitions ...
Related Stories Thursday, August 12, 2010 @ 11:38AMNew light on quantum computing Photons are an attractive alternative to electron spins as quantum bits in information processing because they can propagate over large distances with low losses and can operate at low powers.
Fundamental Physics Roadmap Released Thursday, August 12, 2010 @ 8:11AMAfter an in-depth consultation with the European scientific community, the ESA-appointed Fundamental Physics Roadmap Advisory Team (FPR-AT) has released its final report.The 51 page document includes a series of recommendations stating priorities among current and candidate future space missions and relative technologies in the field of fundamental physics, within ESA's Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 ...
Breakthrough in blinking molecules phenomenon Wednesday, August 11, 2010 @ 4:19PMA new paper offers an important new understanding of an enduring mystery in chemical physics. More than a century ago, at the dawn of modern quantum mechanics, the Noble Prize-winning physicist Neils Bohr predicted so-called "quantum jumps." He predicted that these jumps would be due to electrons making transitions between discrete energy levels of individual atoms and molecules. Although ...
New paper offers breakthrough on blinking molecules phenomenon Wednesday, August 11, 2010 @ 3:27PM( University of Notre Dame ) A new paper by University of Notre Dame physicist Boldizsar Janko and colleagues offers an important new understanding of an enduring mystery in chemical physics.
Electrons in motion Wednesday, August 11, 2010 @ 9:20AMIn order to understand the behavior of atoms and molecules, it is not enough to know their structure; physicists also want to observe their motions, and the motions of their electrons. Because electrons move so rapidly, this was not possible until now. A European team of researchers has now developed a method that allows one to observe the motions of electrons.
First-time Fringe Wednesday, August 11, 2010 @ 5:17AMStand-up comedy's young pretenders
Report: Faulty steering likely caused Framingham fire engine crash Monday, August 9, 2010 @ 11:49PMA faulty all-wheel steering system likely caused Engine 7's rollover crash April 10 that injured four firefighters, according to a long-awaited report released late yesterday.
Science smorgasbord on the Web Thursday, August 5, 2010 @ 6:20PMAvWeek: SpaceX lays out vision for heavy-lifter ... and for Mars Popular Mechanics: The race to dive from 120,000 feet BBC TV: Remains of John the Baptist reportedly found The Atlantic: Market wizards track odd robot traders
Stenger on Quantum Woo [EvolutionBlog] Wednesday, August 4, 2010 @ 5:17PMI can't quite believe I am writing this, but the HuffPo religion section actually has not one, but two, good posts up. The first is from Victor Stenger talking about some of the daffier misapplications of quantum mechanics. It makes a nice follow-up to Monday's post about Michael Shermer's essay. In short, a physical object isn't either a particle or a wave. These are just two alternative ...
Quantum networks advance with entanglement of photons, solid-state qubits Wednesday, August 4, 2010 @ 4:34PMA team of physicists has achieved the first-ever quantum entanglement of photons and solid-state materials. The work marks a key advance toward practical quantum networks, as the first experimental demonstration of a means by which solid-state quantum bits, or "qubits," can communicate with one another over long distances.
Watching the electrons, and chemistry in motion Wednesday, August 4, 2010 @ 4:18PMThe elusive goal of observing chemistry in action at the atomic level just took a quantum leap forward. Physicists using laser pulses have been able to observe for the first time--in real time--the outermost electrons of krypton atoms . As you may recall from high school chemistry it is these electrons that allow basic bonds to be made and broken--for example, the chemical binding of an oxygen ...
Quantum networks advance with entanglement of photons, solid-state qubits Wednesday, August 4, 2010 @ 12:28PM( Harvard University ) A team of Harvard physicists led by Mikhail D. Lukin has achieved the first-ever quantum entanglement of photons and solid-state materials. The work marks a key advance toward practical quantum networks, as the first experimental demonstration of a means by which solid-state quantum bits, or "qubits," can communicate with one another over long distances.
Pitt scientist to lead quantum quest Tuesday, August 3, 2010 @ 7:53PMJeremy Levy's work could help destroy our ability to encrypt information on the Internet, and it could help transfer electricity without burning energy. Or it could lead to nothing.
Film Showtimes for the week of August 4-10, 2010 Tuesday, August 3, 2010 @ 7:11PMTo submit a listing, e-mail film@sfweekly.com . Artists' Television Access. A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition Film Festival: Political films from the left. Aug. 7-8. 992 Valencia (at 21st St.), 824-3890,
In my library: Josh Hutcherson Saturday, July 31, 2010 @ 11:02PMFor a guy who’s four years away from ordering a cocktail, Josh Hutcherson, 17, keeps sophisticated company. These days, you’ll catch him with Annette Bening, Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right.” It’s the latest in a string of films the star of...