Archive for the ‘quantum physics’ category: Page 772
May 27, 2016
Loop quantum gravity theory offers glimpse beyond the event horizon
Posted by Andreas Matt in categories: cosmology, quantum physics
In principle, nothing that enters a black hole can leave the black hole. This has considerably complicated the study of these mysterious bodies, which generations of physicists have debated since 1916, when their existence was hypothesized as a direct consequence of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. There is, however, some consensus in the scientific community regarding black hole entropy—a measure of the inner disorder of a physical system—because its absence would violate the second law of thermodynamics. In particular, Jacob Bekenstein and Stephen Hawking have suggested that the entropy of a black hole is proportional to its area, rather than its volume, as would be more intuitive. This assumption also gives rise to the “holography” hypothesis of black holes, which (very roughly) suggests that what appears to be three-dimensional might, in fact, be an image projected onto a distant two-dimensional cosmic horizon, just like a hologram, which, despite being a two-dimensional image, appears to be three-dimensional.
As we cannot see beyond the event horizon (the outer boundary of the back hole), the internal microstates that define its entropy are inaccessible. So how is it possible to calculate this measure? The theoretical approach adopted by Hawking and Bekenstein is semiclassical (a sort of hybrid between classical physics and quantum mechanics) and introduces the possibility (or necessity) of adopting a quantum gravity approach in these studies in order to obtain a more fundamental comprehension of the physics of black holes.
Planck’s length is the (tiny) dimension at which space-time stops being continuous as we see it, and takes on a discrete graininess made up of quanta, the “atoms” of space-time. The universe at this dimension is described by quantum mechanics. Quantum gravity is the field of enquiry that investigates gravity in the framework of quantum mechanics. Gravity has been very well described within classical physics, but it is unclear how it behaves at the Planck scale.
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May 26, 2016
China may send the first unhackable messages with quantum encryption
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: cybercrime/malcode, encryption, quantum physics, satellites
I sure hope US, Canada, UK, etc. are already for a Quantum Net China.
China is set to become the first nation in the world to launch a quantum communications satellite, which might make its data hacker-proof.
May 26, 2016
Doubling down on Schrödinger’s cat
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: computing, particle physics, quantum physics
Could Yale physicists finally give Schrödinger’s cat a second box to play in proving the superposition of states.
Yale physicists have given Schrödinger’s famous cat a second box to play in, and the result may help further the quest for reliable quantum computing.
Schrödinger’s cat is a well-known paradox that applies the concept of superposition in quantum physics to objects encountered in everyday life. The idea is that a cat is placed in a sealed box with a radioactive source and a poison that will be triggered if an atom of the radioactive substance decays. Quantum physics suggests that the cat is both alive and dead (a superposition of states), until someone opens the box and, in doing so, changes the quantum state.
May 26, 2016
Synopsis: Position Detector Approaches the Heisenberg Limit
Posted by Andreas Matt in categories: electronics, quantum physics
The light field from a microcavity can be used to measure the displacement of a thin bar with an uncertainty that is close to the Heisenberg limit.
Tracking the exact location of an object is important in gravitational-wave detectors and optical cooling techniques. However, quantum physics imposes certain limits on the measurement precision. Tobias Kippenberg and his colleagues at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne have devised an optomechanical device that measures the displacement of a tiny vibrating bar at room temperature with an uncertainty near the so-called Heisenberg limit. The precision of the sensor is nearly 10,000 times smaller than the zero-temperature fluctuations (zero-point motion) of the bar.
The Heisenberg uncertainty principle says—in practical terms—that any measurement of an object’s position will unavoidably give it a push that disturbs its momentum. To minimize this backaction, researchers have developed systems that couple the position of an object with the light field from an optical cavity.
May 25, 2016
Large-scale technique to produce quantum dots
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: electronics, quantum physics, solar power, sustainability
Nice new method in producing Q-Dots which seems to be more cost effective, efficient and reliable.
Large-scale technique to produce quantum dots.
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May 25, 2016
The quantum world view and vedanta
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: evolution, quantum physics
Luv this article (science meets philosophical theory on the evolution of science); reminds me of an article that one of my Quantum friends shared yesterday on Linkedin Pulse.
Science is the biggest enterprise that man ever created. Of all the living things on this planet, man is the only one that seems to have started thinking about how this world works. To understand that he started this new venture, called Science, which was originally meant just to understand how this world works. Some exceptionally brilliant minds did accidentally stumble upon some understanding of the world’s laws like gravity, buoyancy, and others in the west while Indian sages had realised this much earlier.
Next step was to find out how the world works by doing some experiments. That was the stage when the Churches started obstructing “Science” as this kind of scientific enquiry, the Church felt, might interfere with religious beliefs. That is where the first conflict between religion and science started. The fall out was that scientists subconsciously developed an aversion to the God concept in religion and thus God was kept out of the scientific realm. Let us, therefore, think from now on. Science, then, was more of a hobby for the well to do. The leading lights of that generation were Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. There were a host of others but less illustrious than these two. Newton’s Laws of deterministic predictability and Einstein’s laws of relativity together founded a world view of “space-time” constraints where everything else out with this space time module was rejected.
May 25, 2016
Silicon quantum computers take shape in Australia
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: computing, quantum physics
Any technology related company (including medical, consulting, etc.) without Quantum as part of their product & services 5 year roadmap will find themselves obsolete in the next 7 years.
Two blueprints emerge from centre tasked with creating a practical quantum device.
May 25, 2016
China to combat hackers with launch of quantum communication satellite
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: cybercrime/malcode, quantum physics
Although this states it is to protect China; who will protect us from China’s hacks when they have this.
China is expected to launch the satellite into space in July.
May 24, 2016
Top international award for UNSW Australia quantum computing chief
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: computing, electronics, nanotechnology, quantum physics
Love this; Congrats to Michelle Simmons and her work on QC — Superstar females in STEM.
For her world-leading research in the fabrication of atomic-scale devices for quantum computing, UNSW Australia’s Scientia Professor Michelle Simmons has been awarded a prestigious Foresight Institute Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology.
Two international Feynman prizes, named in honour of the late Nobel Prize winning American physicist Richard Feynman, are awarded each year in the categories of theory and experiment to researchers whose work has most advanced Feynman’s nanotechnology goal of molecular manufacturing.
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