Blog
- 14/10/2021 Novel quantum effect discovered in naturally occurring graphene Usually, the electrical resistance of a material depends very much on its physical dimensions and fundamental properties. Under special circumstances, however, this resistance can adopt a fixed value that is independent of the basic material properties and "quantised" (meaning that it changes in discrete steps rather than continuously). This quantisation of electrical resistance normally occurs within strong magnetic fields and at very low temperatures when electrons move in a two-dimensional fashion. Now, a research team led by the University of Göttingen has succeeded in demonstrating this effect at low temperatures in the almost complete absence of a magnetic field in naturally occurring double-layer graphene, which is just two atoms thick. The results of the study have been published in Nature.
- 12/10/2021 2021 Nobel Prize in chemistry rewards game-changing work on molecular manipulation The Swedish Academy awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in chemistry to two chemists who independently but simultaneously discovered a new way to catalyze chemical reactions. This process, called asymmetric organocatalysis, uses organic molecules like carbohydrates and amino acids instead of metals and enzymes. Compared to metal and enzymes, organocatalysis is easier, cheaper, and much safer for both people and environment alike.
- 07/10/2021 Study unveils the quantum nature of the interaction between photons and free electrons For several decades, physicists have known that light can be described simultaneously as a wave and a particle. This fascinating 'duality' of light is due to the classical and quantum nature of electromagnetic excitations, the processes through which electromagnetic fields are produced.
- 05/10/2021 New way to simulate hydrogen storage efficiency of materials Hydrogen energy has the potential to be a key measure to meet the United Nations net zero emissions target, but its industrial use has been hindered by the difficulty in its storage and handling. Hydrogen becomes a gas at a very low temperature (-252°C), which makes its storage at room temperature challenging. The interaction between hydrogen and its storage material is simply too weak to persist at room temperature. This makes the design of storage materials crucial to achieving the goal of bringing hydrogen energy into daily use.
- 30/09/2021 Graphene valleytronics: Paving the way to small-sized room-temperature quantum computers Valleytronics is an emerging field in which valleys—local minima in the energy band structure of solids—are used to encode, process, and store quantum information. Though graphene was thought to be unsuitable for valleytronics due to its symmetrical structure, researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India, have recently shown that this is not the case. Their findings may pave the way to small-sized quantum computers that can operate at room temperature.
- 28/09/2021 Scientists achieved triple qubit entanglement Quantum entanglement of three spin qubits demonstrated in silicon.
- 23/09/2021 Developing better nanopore technology At the simplest of levels, nanopores are (nanometre-sized) holes in an insulating membrane. The hole allows ions to pass through the membrane when a voltage is applied, resulting in a measurable current. When a molecule passes through a nanopore it causes a change in the current, this can be used to characterize and even identify individual molecules. Nanopores are extremely powerful single-molecule biosensing devices and can be used to detect and sequence DNA, RNA, and even proteins. Recently, it has been used in the SARS-CoV-2 virus sequencing.
- 21/09/2021 Ultrafast electron microscopy leads to pivotal discovery Researchers used ultrafast electron microscopy to study a nanoscale phenomenon that occurs in less than a few hundred quadrillionths of a second. Insights from the study could aid in the development of new sensors and quantum devices.
- 16/09/2021 Next generation electronics: Expanding the possibilities with silver nanowires Today's nanoscale technologies are sophisticated enough to be applied in an endless number of useful devices, from sensors in touch screen devices and household appliances to wearable biosensors that can monitor chemical levels in our blood, muscle movement, breathing and pulse rate. In addition, there are technologies for precision devices such as high-resolution scanning probe microscopes which enable one to visualize surfaces not only at the atomic level, but even the individual atoms themselves.
- 14/09/2021 Physicists develop new unique scanning tunneling microscope with magnetic cooling to study quantum effects Scanning tunneling microscopes capture images of materials with atomic precision and can be used to manipulate individual molecules or atoms. Researchers have been using the instruments for many years to explore the world of nanoscopic phenomena. A new approach is now creating new possibilities for using the devices to study quantum effects.