Lifeboat Foundation

For the first time, astronomers have observed a strange quantum phenomenon in action, where a neutron star is surrounded by a magnetic field so intense, it’s given rise to a region in empty space where matter spontaneously pops in and out of existence.

Called vacuum birefringence, this bizarre phenomenon was first predicted back in the 1930s, but had only ever been observed on the atomic scale. Now scientists have finally seen it occur in nature, and it goes against everything that Newton and Einstein had mapped out.

“This is a macroscopic manifestation of quantum field,” Jeremy Heyl from the University of British Columbia in Canada, who was not involved in the research, told Science. “It’s manifest on the scale of a neutron star.”

Continue reading “We Just Got the First Real Evidence of a Strange Quantum Distortion in Empty Space” »

A University of California, Riverside assistant professor has combined photosynthesis and physics to make a key discovery that could help make solar cells more efficient. The findings were recently published in the journal Nano Letters.

Nathan Gabor is focused on experimental condensed matter physics, and uses light to probe the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics. But, he got interested in photosynthesis when a question popped into his head in 2010: Why are plants green? He soon discovered that no one really knows.

During the past six years, he sought to help change that by combining his background in physics with a deep dive into biology.

Continue reading “Team combines quantum physics and photosynthesis to make discovery that could lead to highly efficient solar cells” »

Multicoloured qubits could boost quantum computing.

Astronomers have at last observed polarisation of light by virtual particles in a neutron star’s magnetic field, a long-expected quantum effect.

Glad others have caught the QC Light. I told so many we’re not 10+ or even 10 years away.

Quantum computing got a big push forward this month as researchers managed to create quantum dot light-emitting diodes (LED’s) that have the ability to produce entangled photons that could be used to encode information. Previously, the highest number of photons known to be entangled at one time was 8, but as of June, that number has now risen to 10.

Researchers from Brown University have demonstrated an unusual method of putting the brakes on superconductivity, the ability of a material to conduct an electrical current with zero resistance.

The research shows that weak magnetic fields—far weaker than those that normally interrupt superconductivity—can interact with defects in a material to create a “random gauge field,” a kind of quantum obstacle course that generates resistance for superconducting electrons.

“We’re disrupting superconductivity in a way that people haven’t done before,” said Jim Valles, a professor of physics at Brown who directed the work. “This kind of phase transition involving a random gauge field had been predicted theoretically, but this is the first time it has been demonstrated in an experiment.”

Continue reading “Quantum obstacle course changes material from superconductor to insulator” »

Want a louder bass or speakers in general get Quantum.

Ora, a Montreal-based tech start-up, has announced that it has developed the first consumer-ready graphene loudspeaker.

The company believes that graphene holds the ideal properties sought after in loudspeaker diaphragms: stiffness (graphene is stronger than diamond) and lightness (graphene is the thinnest known material, one atom thick).

Continue reading “Nano-materials start-up uses graphene to sweeten loudspeaker response” »

There is a worldwide scientific experiment today aiming to test the laws of quantum physics via a video game – and you’re invited!

The BIG Bell Test: worldwide quantum experiments powered by human randomness aims to conduct a series of quantum experiments in labs around the world that, for the first time, will be controlled by human decisions made by volunteers (aka Bellsters). Here’s how you can take part.

Coordinated by ICFO, the Institute of Photonic Sciences, the experiments will test Albert Einstein’s idea of “local realism,” a phenomenon at the very core of the mysteries of the quantum world.

Continue reading “Take Part In Today’s Worldwide Quantum Physics Experiment” »

Microsoft plans to create its own quantum computing systems; here’s how the company is doing so differently and how it can do it better.