New Atlas

Quantum Computing Audio available

Physicists measure how long graphene qubits hover in "alive/dead" superposition

Michael Irving January 1, 2019

Practical quantum computers may be another step closer to reality, thanks again to graphene. The bits of information in quantum computers (qubits) can exist in two states at once, and now researchers have managed to record just how long that superposition state can last in a qubit made of graphene.

Researchers have managed to record how long graphene "qubits" can stay in a superposition state

Science

Did Harvard really create the "holy grail" of solid metallic hydrogen?

Eric Mack January 27, 2017

Researchers at Harvard University say they've managed to create the first-ever sample of metallic hydrogen.

Hydrogen has the simplest atomic structure of the elements, consisting of just a single proton and ...

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 ...

Materials

Graphene breakthrough is big news for future of semiconductors

Eric Mack August 29, 2016

The latest graphene breakthrough comes in the form of a method for using the supermaterial to create two-dimensional materials that could be used in the next generation of lasers, electronics and sensors.

An illustration of the Migration Enhance Encapsulated Growth (MEEG) process using graphene

Materials

Laser pulses keep superconductors working at higher temperatures

Dario Borghino February 10, 2016

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute may have found a new superconducting state of matter that is better suited to high temperatures, in a development that brings the dream of mainstream maglev trains and highly energy-efficient electronics a little closer to reality.

Intense laser flashes remove the electrical resistance of a crystal layer of the alkali fulleride K3C60, ...

Physics

New and unusual phase of matter could shed light on high-temperature superconductivity

Colin Jeffrey October 27, 2015

California Institute of Technology physicists have observed a new phase of matter whose properties may help explain fundamental questions in the field of high-temperature superconductors

Artist's rendition of multipolar order in the Sr2IrO4 crystal, in which the new phase of matter ...

Physics

New record set for high-temperature superconductivity

David Szondy August 24, 2015

As part of the quest to come up with a room temperature superconductor, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz have developed new record high-temperature superconductor – and it smells like rotten eggs.

Apparatus used in developing the record high temperature superconductor

Energy

ARC reactor design uses superconducting magnets to draw fusion power closer

David Szondy August 16, 2015

MIT's new compact tokamak fusion reactor design is based on the latest magnetic superconductor technology. The ARC (affordable, robust, compact) reactor design promises smaller, cheaper reactors that could make fusion power practical within 10 years.

A cutaway view of the proposed ARC reactor that could see commercially viable fusion power become ...

Electronics

Aluminum "superatoms" hint at a new type of superconducting materials

Dario Borghino February 28, 2015

Scientists at the University of Southern California (USC) have made steps toward discovering a new family of superconductor materials that work at relatively high temperatures, with possible applications in physics research, medical imaging and high-performance electronics.

Research into aluminum superatoms may lead to the discovery of a new class of high-temperature superconductors ...

Physics

Cesium atoms get a shake-up to create excitation in superfluid

Colin Jeffrey February 24, 2015

With properties that seemingly defy normal physics, Helium-4 superfluid has long defied practical demonstrations of its theorized quasiparticle structure. Now physicists claim to have synthesized this structure in a laser latticed, super-cold superfluid by giving the whole thing a good shake.

Researchers at the University of California claim to have successfully created a roton structure in an ...