IN A NUTSHELL 🚀 Brown University students developed a novel imaging technique using quantum entanglement to capture 3D images. 🔬 The method employs infrared light for illumination and visible light for imaging, enhancing depth resolution without costly infrared cameras. 🧪 The team solved the issue of phase wrapping by using two sets of entangled photons.
Quantum mechanics is generally regarded as the physical theory that is our best candidate for a fundamental and universal description of the physical world. The conceptual framework employed by this theory differs drastically from that of classical physics. Indeed, the transition from classical to quantum physics marks a genuine revolution in our understanding of the physical world.
One striking aspect of the difference between classical and quantum physics is that whereas classical mechanics presupposes that exact simultaneous values can be assigned to all physical quantities, quantum mechanics denies this possibility, the prime example being the position and momentum of a particle. According to quantum mechanics, the more precisely the position (momentum) of a particle is given, the less precisely can one say what its momentum (position) is. This is (a simplistic and preliminary formulation of) the quantum mechanical uncertainty principle for position and momentum. The uncertainty principle played an important role in many discussions on the philosophical implications of quantum mechanics, in particular in discussions on the consistency of the so-called Copenhagen interpretation, the interpretation endorsed by the founding fathers Heisenberg and Bohr.
This should not suggest that the uncertainty principle is the only aspect of the conceptual difference between classical and quantum physics: the implications of quantum mechanics for notions as (non)-locality, entanglement and identity play no less havoc with classical intuitions.
Black holes played a critical role in the formation of the early universe. However, astronomers have been debating for a long time just how critical, as the information we had about early black holes, which exist at high red-shifts, was relatively limited.
Scientists at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have uncovered a critical molecular cause keeping aqueous rechargeable batteries from becoming a safer, economical option for sustainable energy storage.
Their findings, published in Science Advances, reveal how water compromises battery life and performance and how the addition of affordable salts—such as zinc sulfate—mitigates this issue, even increasing the battery lifespan by more than ten times.
One of the key determinants of the lifespan of a battery—aqueous or otherwise—is the anode. Chemical reactions at the anode generate and store the battery’s energy. However, parasitic chemical reactions degrade the anode, compromising the battery lifespan.
Engineering innovations generally require long hours in the lab, with a lot of trial and error through experimentation before zeroing in on the best solution.
But sometimes, if you’re lucky, the answer can be right under your nose—or in this case, beneath your feet.
Binghamton University Professor Seokheun “Sean” Choi has developed a series of bacteria-fueled biobatteries over the past decade, building on what he has learned to improve the next iteration. The biggest limitation isn’t his imagination—he’s always juggling several projects at once—but the materials he has to work with.
The researchers came up with a new way to describe how an electron’s spin interacts with the material it moves through, without using the complicated and unreliable tool called the orbital angular momentum operator, which usually causes problems in crystals.
Instead, they introduced a new idea called relativistic spin-lattice interaction. This basically means they focused on how an electron’s spin reacts to the structure of the solid itself, using principles from Einstein’s theory of relativity.
