Quantum Mechanics

Classical physics describes how large objects and systems work on an everyday scale, while quantum physics describes the “spooky” subatomic world. Now scientists have observed a rare crossover where a quantum fluctuation affected a macroscale object.

Researchers at Empa and EPFL have created one of the smallest motors ever made. It’s composed of just 16 atoms, and at that tiny size it seems to function right on the boundary between classical physics and the spooky quantum realm.

​​Quantum entanglement, where two objects become intertwined and remain so no matter the distance that grows between them, is a tricky phenomenon to study let alone photograph. But scientists doing the former have now managed the latter, for the first time ever.

If you throw a particle at a wall, there’s a chance that it will suddenly appear on the other side. This is thanks to a phenomenon known as quantum tunneling, and now a team of physicists has measured just how long that process takes.

Quantum entanglement is the idea that two distant atoms can become so entwined that changes to one can instantly affect the other. Now scientists have managed to demonstrate it on a much larger scale, which is beginning to cross over into our everyday world.

​​Researchers have come up with a way to generate truly random numbers using quantum mechanics. The method uses photons to generate a string of random ones and zeros, and leans on the laws of physics to prove that these strings are truly random, rather than merely posing as random.

When the universe was a few microseconds old, it was a soupy substance called quark-gluon plasma, exhibiting a host of unusual quantum effects previously only thought to occur just after the Big Bang. For the first time, IBM researchers have now observed a gravitational anomaly in earthly materials

If you pushed a ball with negative mass, it would move towards you. It might be hard to picture, but according to Newtonian physics it should be possible. Now a team at Washington State University has demonstrated the phenomenon in practice, creating a fluid that has the properties of negative mass.

According to the experts, quantum cryptography is the most secure way to send data. Based on the laws of physics, any attempt to steal a quantum key not only changes it but also alerts the sender and receiver. So why not use it to make mobile transactions more secure, if not, hack-proof?​​

Using extremely short, femtosecond pulses of light, engineers are working on ways to so finely control lasers that they can move electrons faster than electric currents – opening the way toward lightwave electronics.

Laser physicists have captured an atomic-level event – an electron being ejected from a helium atom after being struck by a photon – with an accuracy of a trillionth of a billionth of a second, showing the definitive correlation between quantum theory and experimental proof.

The Nobel Prizes are being announced this month, and we now know the winners of the prizes in three fields of science: physics, chemistry and medicine. Here's what you need to know about the advancements in each area that led to the award of some of the world's most prestigious prizes.