Lifeboat Foundation

As silicon-based computer chips approach their physical limitations in the quest for faster and smaller designs, the search for alternative materials that remain functional at atomic scales is one of science’s biggest challenges.

In a groundbreaking development, researchers at the Würzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence have engineered a protective film that shields quantum semiconductor layers just one atom thick from environmental influences without compromising their revolutionary quantum properties. This puts the application of these delicate atomic layers in ultrathin electronic components within realistic reach. The findings have been published in Nature Communications.

Scientists have created a reprogrammable light-based processor, a world-first, that they say could usher in a new era of quantum computing and communication.

Technologies in these emerging fields that operate at the atomic level are already realizing big benefits for drug discovery and other small-scale applications.

In the future, large-scale quantum computers promise to be able to solve complex problems that would be impossible for today’s computers.

Quantum computers are set to transform computing and society with their ability to solve problems that are currently intractable.

Elon Musk disclosed that a human patient implanted with a brain chip from the company has fully recovered and demonstrated the ability to control a computer mouse using their thoughts.

An interesting exploration of the importance of oceanic microorganisms to biogeochemical processes, how existing computational climate models do not adequately capture the complexity introduced by these microbes, and suggestions for future directions in climate modeling that better incorporate the…

Microorganisms are the engines that drive most marine processes. Ocean modelling must evolve to take their biological complexity into account.

Quantum materials have generated considerable interest for computing applications in the past several decades, but non-trivial quantum properties—like superconductivity or magnetic spin—remain in fragile states.

“When designing quantum materials, the game is always a fight against disorder,” said Robert Hovden, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Michigan.

Heat is the most common form of disorder that disrupts quantum properties. Quantum materials often only exhibit exotic phenomena at very low temperatures when the atom nearly stops vibrating, allowing the surrounding electrons to interact with one another and rearrange themselves in unexpected ways. This is why quantum computers are currently being developed in baths of liquid helium at −269 °C, or around −450 F. That’s just a few degrees above zero Kelvin (−273.15 °C).

Japan’s ambitious moonshot to develop fault-tolerant computers by 2050 has a clear goal, but it remains uncertain which technology will win out.

Fuzziness may rule the quantum realm, but it can be manipulated to our advantage.

Say cheese, get gold.

Many electronic devices, such as smartphones, computers, and televisions, contain small amounts of gold in components like connectors, circuit boards, and integrated circuits, but they are usually considered electronic waste.

Uncover the innovative use of whey protein to extract gold from electronic waste. A sustainable and efficient solution for reducing e-waste.

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