Physics and Matter News - June 2009 Archives

Scientists create first electronic quantum processor (6/30/2009)

A team led by Yale University researchers has created the first rudimentary solid-state quantum processor, and used the two-qubit superconducting chip to successfully run elementary algorithms, demonstrating quantum information processing with a solid-state device for the first time. ...> Full Article

Stream of sand behaves like water (6/28/2009)

Research opens up new experimental territory ...> Full Article

Salt block unexpectedly stretches in Sandia experiments (6/27/2009)

To stretch a supply of salt generally means using it sparingly.But researchers from Sandia National Laboratories and the University of Pittsburgh were startled when they found they had made the solid actually physically stretch. ...> Full Article

University of Nevada, Reno mathematician receives nuclear energy grant to study reactors (6/26/2009)

New computational methods to help in design of next generation reactors ...> Full Article

New calibration tool for radio frequencies (6/25/2009)

Part of the 'Measurement for Innovators' program that helps industry achieve business goals through utilizing the facilities and expertise at NPL ...> Full Article

Scientists reach milestone in study of emergent magnetism (6/24/2009)

Quantum criticality in chromium is a stand-in for more complex systems ...> Full Article

CERN reports on progress toward LHC restart (6/24/2009)

At the 151st session of the CERN Council today, CERN Director General Rolf Heuer confirmed that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) remains on schedule for a restart this autumn, albeit about two to three weeks later than originally foreseen. ...> Full Article

Mechanics: Ordinary meets quantum (6/23/2009)

Caltech physicists devise new method to detect quantum mechanical effects in ordinary objects ...> Full Article

Researchers putting a freeze on oscillator vibrations (6/20/2009)

University of Oregon work could boost quantum information processing, allow more precise measurements ...> Full Article

Researchers discover how strain at grain boundaries suppresses high-temperature superconductivity (6/19/2009)

NIST researchers have discovered that a reduction in mechanical strain at the boundaries of crystal grains can significantly improve the performance of high-temperature superconductors. ...> Full Article

A sonic boom in the world of lasers (6/18/2009)

It was an idea born out of curiosity in the physics lab, but now a new type of "laser" for generating ultra-high frequency sound waves instead of light has taken a major step towards becoming a unique and highly useful 21st century technology. ...> Full Article

Study gives clues to increasing X-rays' power (6/17/2009)

Three-dimensional, real-time X-ray images may be closer to reality because of research by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a pair of Russian institutes. ...> Full Article

Scientists discover magnetic superatoms (6/16/2009)

A team of Virginia Commonwealth University scientists has discovered a "magnetic superatom" -- a stable cluster of atoms that can mimic different elements of the periodic table -- that one day may be used to create molecular electronic devices for the next generation of faster computers with larger memory storage. ...> Full Article

Thinnest superconducting metal created (6/11/2009)

A superconducting sheet of lead only two atoms thick, the thinnest superconducting metal layer ever created, has been developed by physicists at The University of Texas at Austin. ...> Full Article

Manipulating light on a chip for quantum technologies (6/10/2009)

A team of physicists and engineers has demonstrated exquisite control of single particles of light -- photons -- on a silicon chip to make a major advance towards long-sought-after quantum technologies, including super-powerful quantum computers and ultra-precise measurements. ...> Full Article

Sweden to host 1.3 billion Euro research center (6/7/2009)

The world's most powerful neutron source should be built in Lund, Sweden, it has been announced by EU Research Ministers at a meeting in Brussels last night. ...> Full Article

Physicists demonstrate quantum entanglement in mechanical system (6/6/2009)

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have demonstrated entanglement -- a phenomenon peculiar to the atomic-scale quantum world -- in a mechanical system similar to those in the macroscopic everyday world. The work extends the boundaries of the arena where quantum behavior can be observed and shows how laboratory technology might be scaled up to build a functional quantum computer. ...> Full Article

Memory with a twist: NIST develops a flexible memristor (6/5/2009)

Electronic memory chips may soon gain the ability to bend and twist as a result of work by engineers at NIST, who have found a way to build a flexible memory component out of inexpensive, readily available materials. ...> Full Article

Scientists create metal that pumps liquid uphill (6/4/2009)

Ultra-fast laser makes metal that attracts, repels and guides liquids ...> Full Article

Goal: developing the best atomic clock in the world (6/3/2009)

They are masters at working with light: the scientists at the newly founded QUEST Institute at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Braunschweig. And they want to work on some of the most exciting questions relating to physics today: on unimaginably precise methods of measurement for observing the Earth, on the pressing question of the fundamentals of physics, of whether the fundamental constants are really constant, and on the development of the best atomic clock in the world made of a single aluminium atom. ...> Full Article

Theorists reveal path to true muonium (6/2/2009)

True muonium, a long-theorized but never-seen atom, might be observed in future experiments, thanks to recent theoretical work by researchers at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Arizona State University. True muonium was first theorized more than 50 years ago, but until now no one had uncovered an unambiguous method by which it could be created and observed. ...> Full Article

Regular light bulbs made super-efficient with ultra-fast laser (6/1/2009)

Laser process doubles brightness for the same amount of energy ...> Full Article

Researchers describe breakthrough in the quantum control of light (6/1/2009)

Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have recently demonstrated a breakthrough in the quantum control of photons, the energy quanta of light. This is a significant result in quantum computation, and could eventually have implications in banking, drug design, and other applications. ...> Full Article