Australian scientists are making strides towards solving one of the greatest mysteries of the universe: the nature of invisible “dark matter”.
Capturing the world on an atomic scale is a challenging feat. But scientists have this possible after atoms swimming in liquid were caught on camera!
Peer long enough into the heavens, and the Universe starts to resemble a city at night. Galaxies take on characteristics of streetlamps cluttering up neighborhoods of dark matter, linked by highways of gas that run along the shores of intergalactic nothingness.
This map of the Universe was preordained, laid out in the tiniest of shivers of quantum physics moments after the Big Bang launched into an expansion of space and time some 13.8 billion years ago.
Yet exactly what those fluctuations were, and how they set in motion the physics that would see atoms pool into the massive cosmic structures we see today is still far from clear.
Nowadays, the development of renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, and nuclear energy sources, has become imperative, due to the limited resource constraints of the traditional fossil fuels [1 ]. However, these renewable sources could not deliver a regular power supply as the sources are variable in time and diffuse in space. Thus, the focus has been shifted to the electrical energy storage to smooth the intermittency of the energy sources. Rechargeable battery has the ability to store chemical energy and convert it into electrical energy with high efficiency [ 2]. Lithium-ion battery (LIB), as one typical rechargeable electrochemical battery, has dominated the markets of portable electronic devices, electric vehicles, and hybrid electric vehicles in the past decades, due to its high output voltages, high energy densities, and long cycle life; even though the high cost and the shortage of lithium resources are inhibiting the application of LIB in large-scale energy storage [[3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9]].
Sodium-ion battery (SIB) is one promising alternative to LIB, with comparable performance to that of LIB, abundant sodium resources and low price of starting materials [[10], [11], [12], [13]]. As Na atom is heavier and larger than those of Li atom, the gravimetric and volumetric energy density of Na-ion battery are expected to not exceed those of the Li analogues [14]. However, energy density would not be considered as the critical issue in the field of large-scale grid support, for which the operating cost and the battery durability are the most important aspects [15,16].
Quantum entanglement is one of the most fundamental and intriguing phenomena in nature. Recent research on entanglement has proven to be a valuable resource for quantum communication and information processing. Now, scientists from Japan have discovered a stable quantum entangled state of two protons on a silicon surface, opening doors to an organic union of classical and quantum computing platforms and potentially strengthening the future of quantum technology.
One of the most interesting phenomena in quantum mechanics is “quantum entanglement.” This phenomenon describes how certain particles are inextricably linked, such that their states can only be described with reference to each other. This particle interaction also forms the basis of quantum computing. And this is why, in recent years, physicists have looked for techniques to generate entanglement. However, these techniques confront a number of engineering hurdles, including limitations in creating large number of “qubits” (quantum bits, the basic unit of quantum information), the need to maintain extremely low temperatures (1 K), and the use of ultrapure materials. Surfaces or interfaces are crucial in the formation of quantum entanglement. Unfortunately, electrons confined to surfaces are prone to “decoherence,” a condition in which there is no defined phase relationship between the two distinct states.
Entanglement is an ubiquitous concept in modern physics research: it occurs in subjects ranging from quantum gravity to quantum computing. In a publication that appeared in Physical Review Letters last week, UvA-IoP physicist Michael Walter and his collaborator Sepehr Nezami shed new light on the properties of quantum entanglement—in particular, for cases in which many particles are involved.
In the quantum world, physical phenomena occur that we never observe in our large scale everyday world. One of these phenomena is quantum entanglement, where two or more quantum systems share certain properties in a way that affects measurements on the systems. The famous example is that of two electrons that can be entangled in such a way that—even when taken very far apart—they can be observed to spin in the same direction, say clockwise or counterclockwise, despite the fact that the spinning direction of neither of the individual electrons can be predicted beforehand.
Graphene scientists from The University of Manchester have created a novel “nano-petri dish” using two-dimensional (2D) materials to create a new method of observing how atoms move in liquid.
Publishing in the journal Nature, the team led by researchers based at the National Graphene Institute (NGI) used stacks of 2D materials like graphene to trap liquid in order to further understand how the presence of liquid changes the behavior of the solid.
The team were able to capture images of single atoms “swimming” in liquid for the first time. The findings could have widespread impact on the future development of green technologies such as hydrogen production.
The solution as to why gravity is so weak may come from taking a closer look at the Higgs boson.
What would happen if you fell into a black hole? Join James Beacham, particle physicist at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, as he explores what happens when the fabric of reality – physical or societal – gets twisted beyond recognition.
Watch the Q&A with James here: https://youtu.be/Q37oEB4bNSI
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Why is there something rather than nothing? And what does ‘nothing’ really mean? More than a philosophical musing, understanding nothing may be the key to unlocking deep mysteries of the universe, from dark energy to why particles have mass. Journalist John Hockenberry hosts Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek, esteemed cosmologist John Barrow, and leading physicists Paul Davies and George Ellis as they explore physics, philosophy and the nothing they share.
This program is part of the Big Ideas Series, made possible with support from the John Templeton Foundation.
