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Blog – Page 15

From smartphones and TVs to credit cards, technologies that manipulate light are deeply embedded in our daily lives, many of which are based on holography. However, conventional holographic technologies have faced limitations, particularly in displaying multiple images on a single screen and in maintaining high-resolution image quality.

Recently, a research team led by Professor Junsuk Rho at POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) has developed a groundbreaking metasurface technology that can display up to 36 on a surface thinner than a . This research has been published in Advanced Science.

This achievement is driven by a special nanostructure known as a metasurface. Hundreds of times thinner than a human hair, the metasurface is capable of precisely manipulating light as it passes through. The team fabricated nanometer-scale pillars using silicon nitride, a material known for its robustness and excellent optical transparency. These pillars, referred to as meta-atoms, allow for fine control of light on the metasurface.

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The precise measurement of states in atomic and molecular systems can help to validate fundamental physics theories and their predictions. Among the various platforms that can help to validate theoretical predictions are so-called diatomic molecular hydrogen ions (MHI), molecular ions that consist of two hydrogen nuclei (i.e., protons or their isotopes) and a single electron.

Compared to , these molecular ions have a more complex internal structure, as they contain two nuclei instead of one. Even when they are in their lowest possible electronic energy level (i.e., the electron’s ground state), these two nuclei can still rotate and vibrate, producing a wide range of rovibrational states.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics recently introduced a new method to precisely control and non-destructively measure the rovibrational ground state of a single molecular hydrogen ion in a Penning trap (i.e., a device that confines charged particles using static electric and magnetic fields).

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Modern computer chips generate a lot of heat—and consume large amounts of energy as a result. A promising approach to reducing this energy demand could lie in the cold, as highlighted by a new Perspective article by an international research team coordinated by Qing-Tai Zhao from Forschungszentrum Jülich. Savings could reach as high as 80%, according to the researchers.

The work was conducted in collaboration with Prof. Joachim Knoch from RWTH Aachen University and researchers from EPFL in Switzerland, TSMC and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) in Taiwan, and the University of Tokyo. In the article published in Nature Reviews Electrical Engineering, the authors outline how conventional CMOS technology can be adapted for cryogenic operation using and intelligent design strategies.

Data centers already consume vast amounts of electricity—and their are expected to double by 2030 due to the rising energy demands of artificial intelligence, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The computer chips that around the clock produce large amounts of heat and require considerable energy for cooling. But what if we flipped the script? What if the key to energy efficiency lay not in managing heat, but in embracing the cold?

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IN A NUTSHELL 🌱 Researchers at the University of Tokyo developed a method to produce ammonia using artificial photosynthesis. 🔬 The process mimics natural nitrogen fixation by cyanobacteria, utilizing atmospheric nitrogen, water, and sunlight. ⚙️ This method uses a combination of iridium and molybdenum catalysts to enhance reaction efficiency. 🌍 The innovation promises to reduce

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Back in 2018, a scientist from the University of Texas at Austin proposed a protocol to generate randomness in a way that could be certified as truly unpredictable. That scientist, Scott Aaronson, now sees that idea become a working reality. “When I first proposed my certified randomness protocol in 2018, I had no idea how long I’d need to wait to see an experimental demonstration of it,” said Aaronson, who now directs a quantum center at a major university.

The experiment was carried out on a cutting-edge 56-qubit quantum computer, accessed remotely over the internet. The machine belongs to a company that recently made a significant upgrade to its system. The research team included experts from a large bank’s tech lab, national research centers, and universities.

To generate certified randomness, the team used a method called random circuit sampling, or RCS. The idea is to feed the quantum computer a series of tough problems, known as challenge circuits. The computer must solve them by choosing among many possible outcomes in a way that’s impossible to predict. Then, classical supercomputers step in to confirm whether the answers are genuinely random or not.

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