For scientists, breakthroughs often stem from unexpected turns. A research team led by Oscar Dahlsten, an associate professor in the Department of Physics at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK), set out to prove a theoretical limitation, only to discover a quantum solution. The finding breaks traditional physical constraints and introduces a strategy for harvesting energy from fluctuating sources.

The study was recently published in Physical Review Letters under the title “Nonunique Decompositions of Mixed States and Deterministic Energy Transfers.”

Energy from natural sources is often accompanied by entropy, or randomness, making it difficult to convert into the predictable power needed to charge batteries and operate electronic devices.