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Category: quantum physics – Page 6

Why Physics Can Mislead You About Physical Reality

If you want to learn about the nature of physical reality, naturally, you would turn to physics. It would seem a bit contradictory to say that physics itself can mislead you about the nature of physical reality. Yet, this can actually happen, and let me explain.

For any physical theory, it is possible to mathematically formulate it in various different mathematically equivalent ways. Yet, some formulations of the theory may be more difficult to carry out calculations in than others. Naturally, physicists will gravitate towards the formalism that is the simplest to perform calculations in.

Before quantum mechanics, there was matrix mechanics as developed by Heisenberg. Matrix mechanics is mathematically equivalent to quantum mechanics, and so it gives all of the same predictions. When Schrodinger developed the modern formulation of quantum mechanics, he referred to it as wave mechanics to distinguish it from Heisenberg’s formulation.

First quantum-mechanical model of quasicrystals reveals why they exist

A rare and bewildering intermediate between crystal and glass can be the most stable arrangement for some combinations of atoms, according to a study from the University of Michigan.

The findings come from the first quantum-mechanical simulations of quasicrystals—a type of solid that scientists once thought couldn’t exist. While the atoms in quasicrystals are arranged in a lattice, as in a crystal, the pattern of atoms doesn’t repeat like it does in conventional crystals. The new simulation method suggests quasicrystals—like crystals—are fundamentally , despite their similarity to disordered solids like glass that form as a consequence of rapid heating and cooling.

“We need to know how to arrange atoms into specific structures if we want to design materials with desired properties,” said Wenhao Sun, the Dow Early Career Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and the corresponding author of the paper published today in Nature Physics. “Quasicrystals have forced us to rethink how and why certain materials can form. Until our study, it was unclear to scientists why they existed.”

Quantum spirals: Programmable platform offers new ways to explore electrons in chiral systems

A new platform for engineering chiral electron pathways offers potential fresh insights into a quantum phenomenon discovered by chemists—and exemplifies how the second quantum revolution is fostering transdisciplinary collaborations that bridge physics, chemistry, and biology to tackle fundamental questions.

“China’s Quantum Leap Unveiled”: New Quantum Processor Operates 1 Quadrillion Times Faster Than Top Supercomputers, Rivalling Google’s Willow Chip

IN A NUTSHELL 🚀 Chinese scientists have developed the Zuchongzhi 3.0 quantum processor, which is significantly faster than the world’s top supercomputers. 🔍 The processor features 105 superconducting qubits and demonstrates unprecedented speed, completing tasks in seconds that would take traditional supercomputers billions of years. 💡 With enhanced coherence time, gate fidelity, and error correction.

A quantum random access memory based on transmon-controlled phonon routers

Recent technological advances have opened new exciting possibilities for the development of cutting-edge quantum devices, including quantum random access memory (QRAM) systems. These are memory architectures specifically meant to be integrated inside quantum computers, which can simultaneously retrieve data from multiple ‘locations’ leveraging a quantum effect known as coherent superposition.

Scientists achieve precision activation of quantum defects in diamond

A new study led by researchers at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Manchester has achieved a major advance in quantum materials, developing a method to precisely engineer single quantum defects in diamond—an essential step toward scalable quantum technologies. The results have been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Using a new two-step fabrication method, the researchers demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to create and monitor, “as they switch on,” individual Group-IV quantum defects in diamond—tiny imperfections in the diamond that can store and transmit information using the exotic rules of quantum physics.

By carefully placing single tin atoms into synthetic diamond crystals and then using an ultrafast laser to activate them, the team achieved pinpoint control over where and how these quantum features appear. This level of precision is vital for making practical, large-scale quantum networks capable of ultra-secure communication and distributed quantum computing to tackle currently unsolvable problems.