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Record-breaking atomic clocks precise enough to measure spacetime distortions

Michael Irving November 28, 2018

In recent tests run by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), experimental atomic clocks have achieved record performance in three metrics, meaning these clocks could help measure the Earth’s gravity more precisely or detect elusive dark matter.

A ytterbium lattice atomic clock, which was used in the new study to make some of ...

Physics

Atomic tractor beam traps atoms for quantum memory

Michael Irving October 30, 2018

The tractor beam is a long-time staple of sci-fi, but now Australian researchers have created a real-world version. While it won’t exactly be capturing enemy spaceships anytime soon, the device can use light to pull in and trap atoms, which may be handy for quantum communications or memory systems.

Lead researcher Philip Light with the chamber in which the tractor beams were created

Physics

X-ray laser boils water into strange plasma state hotter than Earth's core

Michael Irving May 15, 2018

Waiting for water to boil is a minor inconvenience that we’ve all experienced. Maybe next time try the world’s most powerful X-ray laser, which has now been used to boil water to 100,000° C in 75 millionths of a billionth of a second, turning it into a new plasma-like state of matter in the process.

A simulated image of the water molecules after being struck with an intense X-ray pulse, as ...

Physics

Overlooked atom ticks the boxes for better atomic clocks

Michael Irving May 10, 2018

At the heart of an atomic clock are, as the name suggests, atoms of a specific type. Now, physicists at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have found that lutetium atoms could make for more stable atomic clocks.

Lutetium atoms trapped in a vacuum chamber in an atomic clock

Materials

Meet gallenene: Gallium joins graphene in the second dimension

Michael Irving March 12, 2018

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.

"Gallenene" is a new, two-dimensional version of gallium

Physics

Quantum ball lightning forged in the lab for the first time

Michael Irving March 7, 2018

Ball lightning has been consistently reported for centuries, and yet we still know very little about it. Now, scientists have created quantum ball lightning by knotting together the magnetic spins of atoms, which could help unlock the secrets of the phenomenon, or make more stable fusion reactors.

An artist's rendition of quantum ball lightning, which a research team has managed to create in ...

Physics

"Giant atoms" swallow other atoms to form new state of matter

Michael Irving February 26, 2018

As tiny as they are, there's a relatively large amount of empty space inside an atom. Now, scientists from Austria and the US have filled in some of those gaps, creating a new state of matter in the form of "giant atoms" filled with other atoms.

An excited electron (blue) orbits the nucleus (red) of an atom at such a wide distance ...

Materials

Could graphene ripples be tapped into as a clean, limitless energy source?

Michael Irving November 23, 2017

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.

The natural wave-like movements of carbon atoms in graphene could turn the material into a potentially ...

Physics

Attosecond-scale X-ray laser pulse is the shortest controlled event ever created by humans

Michael Irving October 31, 2017

To better understand molecular events, scientists use short-pulse X-ray lasers to take precise snapshots. Now, researchers at ETH Zurich have managed to shorten the pulse of an X-ray laser down to 43 attoseconds – which the team says is the shortest controlled event ever created by humankind.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have created an x-ray laser pulse lasting just 43 attoseconds (one quntillionth ...

Physics

The largest X-ray laser to step up the pace in Europe this month

Michael Irving August 31, 2017

To get a better look at the molecular scale we need a “camera” that’s several kilometers long, and one such facility is firing up this month. The European X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL), which happens to be the largest x-ray laser in the world, can take 3,000 images per second of that tiny world.

The largest x-ray laser in the world, the European XFEL, will begin its experiments later this ...