Quantum Physics

It may seem like electronics will always get faster, but at some point the laws of physics intervene. Scientists have now calculated the absolute speed limit – the point at which quantum mechanics prevents microchips from getting any faster.

The flow of time isn’t as consistent as we might think – gravity slows it down, so clocks on Earth tick slower than those in space. Now researchers have measured time passing at different speeds across just one millimeter, the smallest distance yet.

Random numbers are crucial for computing, but our current algorithms aren’t truly random. Researchers at Brown University have now found a way to tap into the fluctuations of skyrmions to generate millions of truly random numbers per second.

The universe is governed by two sets of seemingly incompatible laws of physics – classical and quantum physics. MIT physicists have now observed the moment atoms switch from one to the other, as they form intriguing “quantum tornadoes.”

An exotic state of matter originally hypothesized almost 50 years ago has been observed for the first time. Created by Harvard researchers, this material called quantum spin liquid could eventually help improve quantum computers.

Time crystals sound like something a video game character would be trying to collect, but this bizarre phase of matter is very real – and now one of them has been created in Google’s quantum processor, Sycamore.

Quantum computers could one day outperform traditional machines, but hurdles remain. Now physicists have successfully entangled three silicon quantum dots for the first time, in a breakthrough that could help make quantum computers more practical.

By using cutting-edge tools to study microscopic jets of the liquid, scientists have spotted water molecules pushing and pulling on each other in what is described as a "quantum tug," a phenomenon that has never been directly observed before.

There are many exotic states of matter besides the basics of solid, liquid, gas and plasma. One of these, known as a supersolid, was confirmed a few years ago, and now University of Innsbruck scientists have created it in a new two-dimensional form.

Dark matter should be all around us, but the stuff is frustratingly elusive. Now physicists at NIST have developed a new sensor that could help us detect certain hypothetical dark matter particles, using a two-dimensional quantum crystal.

In a breakthrough that could open up exciting new possibilities in computing and electronics, scientists in the US have developed a two-dimensional magnetic material that is the thinnest in the world, measuring just a single atom thick.

“Stationary” has very different meanings in quantum scales – an object that looks perfectly still to us is made up of bouncing atoms. Now, scientists have managed to slow down the atoms almost to a complete stop in the largest macro-scale object yet.