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Discussion of the Essence# programming language, and related issues and technologies. |
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From PhysOrg.com:
Using a composite metamaterial to deliver a complex set of instructions to a beam of light, Boston College physicists have created a device to guide electromagnetic waves around objects such as the corner of a building or the profile of the eastern seaboard.Full article
From PhysOrg.com:
The electron is a fundamental building block of nature and is indivisible in isolation, yet a new experiment has shown that electrons, if crowded into narrow wires, are seen to split apart.Full article
From Science Daily:
Oxford scientists have created a transparent form of aluminium by bombarding the metal with the world’s most powerful soft X-ray laser. ‘Transparent aluminium’ previously only existed in science fiction, featuring in the movie Star Trek IV, but the real material is an exotic new state of matter with implications for planetary science and nuclear fusion.Full article
From PhysOrg.com:
Scientists at Rice University and North Carolina State University have found a method of attaching molecules to semiconducting silicon that may help manufacturers reach beyond the current limits of Moore's Law as they make microprocessors both smaller and more powerful.Full article
From PhysOrg.com:
The first known example of a liquid protein has been made by chemists at the University of Bristol opening up the possibility of a number of medical and industrial applications including high-potency pharmaceuticals and protein-based coolants and lubricants.Full article
From PhyOrg.com:
Ytterbium was discovered in 1878, but until it recently became useful in atomic clocks, the soft metal rarely made the news. Now ytterbium has a new claim to scientific fame. Measurements with ytterbium-174, an isotope with 70 protons and 104 neutrons, have shown the largest effects of parity violation in an atom ever observed - a hundred times larger than the most precise measurements made so far, with the element cesium.Full article
From PhyOrg.com:
Last month, researchers from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory made headlines when they revealed experimental evidence of a topological insulator: a material that could revolutionize computer processors by allowing electricity to flow without resistance. This week in Science, SLAC theorists along with an experimental group in Germany report additional details about the way these topological insulators conduct electricity. Using the topological insulator mercury telluride, the paper shows that an electric current sent through these materials goes against conventional physics knowledge and travels far away from its input points, to the outer edges of the material.Full article
From PhyOrg.com:
A recent breakthrough by researchers at the Swiss Nanoscience Institute sees for the first time the creation of thin films with controllable electronic properties. This discovery could have a large impact on future applications in sensors and computing...Full article
It's commonly accepted that electrical resistance of a given material cannot be adjusted as is the case with, for example, density and color. However, Dr Meike Stöhr and her collaborators have now succeeded in developing a new method to selectively tune surface properties such as resistance.
From PhyOrg.com:
Usually when physicists talk about quantum teleportation, they're referring to the transfer of quantum states from one particle to another without a physical link. Now, physicists have investigated a slightly different form of teleportation, in which they teleport a quantum field, or an entire beam of light, from one location to another. This kind of "strong" teleportation is required for some quantum information applications, and could lead to the teleportation of quantum images.Full article
From PhysOrg.com:
The giant monoliths of Easter Island are worn, but they have endured for centuries. New research suggests that a compound first discovered in the soil of the South Pacific island might help us stand the test of time, too.Full article
From PhyOrg.com:
In the science fiction movie "Minority Report," set 50 years in the future, Tom Cruise's character interacts with a computer display by moving his hands in front of it.Full article
It won't take 50 years. Thanks to a promising new kind of image sensor, consumers may be interacting with computers and other devices in the same way in less than five years.
From PhysOrg.com:
Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have overcome a hurdle in quantum computer development, having devised a viable way to manipulate a single "bit" in a quantum processor without disturbing the information stored in its neighbors. The approach, which makes novel use of polarized light to create "effective" magnetic fields, could bring the long-sought computers a step closer to reality.Full article
From ScienceDaily:
ETH Zurich researchers have successfully created an optical transistor from a single molecule. This has brought them one step closer to an optical computer.Full article
From PhyOrg.com:
For the first time, scientists have successfully operated a quantum gate between two remote particles of matter, marking an important step toward the development of a quantum computer. In previous experiments, researchers have used photons, which are difficult to store. Using matter qubits enables the researchers to store the obtained quantum information, opening up new possibilities for the generation of remote networks of entangled qubits.Full article
