Lifeboat Foundation

A major goal in the field of molecular electronics, which aims to use single molecules as electronic components, is to make a device where a quantized, controllable flow of charge can be achieved at room temperature. A first step in this field is for researchers to demonstrate that single molecules can function as reproducible circuit elements such as transistors or diodes that can easily operate at room temperature.

A team led by Latha Venkataraman, professor of applied physics and chemistry at Columbia Engineering and Xavier Roy, assistant professor of chemistry (Arts & Sciences), published a study in Nature Nanotechnology that is the first to reproducibly demonstrate current blockade—the ability to switch a device from the insulating to the conducting state where charge is added and removed one electron at a time—using atomically precise molecular clusters at room temperature.

Bonnie Choi, a graduate student in the Roy group and co-lead author of the work, created a single cluster of geometrically ordered atoms with an inorganic core made of just 14 atoms—resulting in a diameter of about 0.5 nanometers—and positioned linkers that wired the core to two gold electrodes, much as a resistor is soldered to two metal electrodes to form a macroscopic electrical circuit (e.g. the filament in a light bulb).

Under the direction of Latha Venkataraman, associate professor of applied physics at Columbia Engineering, researchers have designed a new technique to create a single-molecule diode, and, in doing so, they have developed molecular diodes that perform 50 times better than all prior designs. Venkataraman’s group is the first to develop a single-molecule diode that may have real-world technological applications for nanoscale devices. Their paper, “Single-Molecule Diodes with High On-Off Ratios through Environmental Control,” is published May 25 in Nature Nanotechnology.

“Our new approach created a single-molecule diode that has a high (250) rectification and a high “on” current (~ 0.1 micro Amps),” says Venkataraman. “Constructing a device where the active elements are only a single molecule has long been a tantalizing dream in nanoscience. This goal, which has been the ‘holy grail’ of molecular electronics ever since its inception with Aviram and Ratner’s 1974 seminal paper, represents the ultimate in functional miniaturization that can be achieved for an electronic device.”

With electronic devices becoming smaller every day, the field of molecular electronics has become ever more critical in solving the problem of further miniaturization, and single molecules represent the limit of miniaturization. The idea of creating a single-molecule diode was suggested by Arieh Aviram and Mark Ratner who theorized in 1974 that a molecule could act as a rectifier, a one-way conductor of electric current. Researchers have since been exploring the charge-transport properties of molecules. They have shown that single-molecules attached to metal electrodes (single-molecule junctions) can be made to act as a variety of circuit elements, including resistors, switches, transistors, and, indeed, diodes. They have learned that it is possible to see quantum mechanical effects, such as interference, manifest in the conductance properties of molecular junctions.

Quantum computers may one day rapidly find solutions to problems no regular computer might ever hope to solve, but there are vanishingly few quantum programmers when compared with the number of conventional programmers in the world. A new beginner’s guide aims to walk would-be quantum programmers.

The standard approach toward building quantum computers, called the gate model, involves arranging qubits in circuits and making them interact with each other in a fixed sequence. In contrast, Burnaby, Canada-based D-Wave has long focused on what are called annealing quantum computers.

A Matrioshka Brain is a supermassive structure in space consisting of processors and connected to each other into a massive computer around a sun harnessing its energy completely. So far we haven’t built one as we don’t have the technology for it but when we do the question will be if people will be lost in the vast computing power of the Matrishka brain.

Watch all 3 videos with Brendan Caulfield:
3. Future of Humanity https://youtu.be/XbhWEDhcdFk.
2. The Rockets of SpaceX 🚀https://youtu.be/VPgVS9qgBEM
1. The CAR company that will take us to SPACE🚀 https://youtu.be/Y0jiGkAH-pE

Continue reading “Humanity getting lost in the MATRIOSHKA Brain🤖” »

A first-of-its-kind quantum simulator could lead to the creation of never-before-seen materials powered by quantum phenomena.

How does the human brain work and how is it different from computers? If you think this is too complex to explain in a few minutes, you will be surprised. In this energetic and insightful talk, neuro-scientist Dr. Henning Beck gives insights into thought processes and tells you how you can create new ideas.

Dr. Henning Beck, neuroscientist and author, supports businesses to use brain-based approaches in order to develop innovative and efficient workflows. He studied biochemistry in Tübingen from 2003 to 2008. After his diploma thesis, he started his research at the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research and intensified his work at the Institute of Physiological Chemistry at the University of Ulm. Supported by a PhD scholarship granted by the Hertie Foundation he did his doctorate at the Graduate School of Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience in Tübingen. He expanded his scientific expertise by an International Diploma in Project Management at the University of California, Berkeley in 2013. Until 2014, he worked for start-ups in the San Francisco Bay Area to develop creative workspace designs and advanced communication styles based on neuroscientific principles.

Continue reading “What is a Thought? How the Brain Creates New Ideas | Henning Beck | TEDxHHL” »

IBM Research partnered with Tokyo Electron to streamline the 3D chip stacking process and alleviate the strain on the chip industry for years to come.

Quantum collaboration demonstrates in Chicagoland the first steps toward functional long-distance quantum networks over deployed telecom fiber optics, opening the door to scalable quantum computing — https://bit.ly/3QXe780