Atoms

You can cram much more quantum processing power into a given space if you use four different ways to store data on a single atom, according to new research. The method unlocks more powerful quantum computers that are easier to control.

Scientists have found that a “superatomic” material is the fastest and most efficient semiconductor ever. Taking advantage of a tortoise-and-hare mechanism, the new material can transport energy much faster than silicon.

Researchers at NIST have shown that a cloud of atoms can be used as a receiver to pick up video transmissions. The team demonstrated this “Atomic Television” by transmitting live video feed and even video games through the atoms to a monitor.

Researchers have demonstrated key tech that could help scale up quantum computers, creating a model with a record-breaking 512 qubits. The team combined atoms of two elements into an array, so atoms can be manipulated without disturbing their neighbors.

Silicon is vital to all of the electronics that our modern world is built on. Now, research led by the Carnegie Institution for Science has developed a way to create a new form of silicon with a unique hexagonal structure.

Mundane as it may seem, glass is a surprisingly mysterious material. Now scientists at the University of Konstanz have identified a new state of matter called liquid glass, which has some unusual properties.

Researchers have taken advantage of defects to make silver much stronger while still being conductive – breaking a theoretical limit in the process.

Graphene hogs all the headlines about two-dimensional materials, but it might just be the beginning. Researchers have now isolated a 2D form of the soft metal gallium, dubbed "gallenene," which could make for efficient, thin metal contacts in electronic devices.

Researchers have now found a way for graphene to be used as a clean and potentially unlimited energy source. By tapping into the random fluctuations of the carbon atoms that make up graphene sheets, the scientists can generate an alternating current strong enough to indefinitely power a wristwatch.

Having created the world’s smallest magnet, IBM has managed to store one bit of data in a single atom, in a breakthrough that could lead to storage devices that can hold 1,000 times more data in the same physical space.

At just three atoms wide, scientists from Stanford University and the SLAC laboratory say they've created the world's thinnest nanowire assembled from diamondoids. The researchers believe that the new wire could be useful in a range of applications including energy-generating materials.

Researchers at ETH Zurich claim to have created both the world's smallest optical switch using a single atom, and accompanying circuitry that is smaller than the wavelength of the light that passes through it.