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Schrödinger's Art: Spooky physics paints microscopic artworks on "quantum canvas"

Michael Irving May 20, 2019

Researchers have produced what may very well be the first pieces of art made using non-classical matter. The team has reproduced classic artworks like the Mona Lisa and Starry Night on a “quantum canvas” as small as a human hair, by projecting light onto Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs).

The Mona Lisa, imaged on a "quantum canvas" that's only as wide as a human hair

Physics

Scientists drum up quantum entanglement at the macro scale

Michael Irving April 26, 2018

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.

An illustration of two drumheads, measuring 15 microns wide, which are now the largest objects to ...

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 ...

Telecommunications

Global quantum internet dawns, thanks to China's Micius satellite

Michael Irving January 23, 2018

Quantum encryption can make data breaches literally impossible, and in a new demonstration of that kind of security, scientists have now used the Chinese satellite Micius to send quantum-encrypted data between China and Austria. That brings the world another step closer to a global quantum internet.

The Micius satellite has sent quantum-encrypted data between China and Austria, bringing the world closer to ...

Physics

Upgrades begin on Stanford's chillingly powerful X-ray laser

Michael Irving January 21, 2018

The world’s most powerful X-ray laser, the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), is about to get far more powerful. The first of 37 “cryomodules” has arrived at Stanford University’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, which will boost the speed and power of the facility.

The first of 37 cryomodules has arrived at Stanford's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, which will boost ...

Materials

Scientists unleash graphene’s innate superconductivity

Colin Jeffrey January 21, 2017

Scientists at the University of Cambridge claim to have discovered a method to trigger the superconducting properties of graphene without actually altering its chemical structure.

Scientists have discovered a way to trigger the superconducting properties of graphene without actually altering its ...

Quantum Computing

China launches world's first quantum satellite

Colin Jeffrey August 18, 2016

Chinese scientists claim to have launched the world's first quantum communications satellite with which they intend to experiment with quantum communication and teleportation from space, in the hope of one day producing an entire global network of quantum communication systems.

The QUESS satellite being launched on a Long March-2D rocket

Physics

New form of light promises boost for photonic computing

Colin Jeffrey August 5, 2016

Researchers at Imperial College London have surprised everyone with research suggesting that binding light to a single electron could result in a new type of light that boasts the properties of both light and electricity.

"The results of this research will have a huge impact on the way we conceive light"

Science

Inside a photon prison, a light-and-matter hybrid is born

Dario Borghino June 17, 2016

By trapping photons inside a tiny gold cavity, scientists have created a hybrid state of light and matter. This could allow them to develop tiny on-chip lasers or tweak the chemical bonds of single molecules.

Trapped inside a tiny cavity between a gold film and a gold nanoparticle, a photon and ...

Science

Triple entanglement feat adds new twist to quantum cryptography

Colin Jeffrey March 2, 2016

Researchers have managed to entangle three photons and add a 3-D corkscrew motion that effectively allows multiple recipients to simultaneously receive information securely encoded in the one transmission

Scientists have added an extra dimension to the attributes of quantum entangled photons that enables the ...