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Mechanical engineers develop buttons that rise with light

No wires. No actuators. Shine light on the metal surface, and it rises like a button. KAIST researchers have developed a metal structure that changes shape using light, without any light-absorbing coating. This technology could open new possibilities for tactile interfaces with physical pop-up buttons, shape displays, next-generation wearable devices and soft robots.

A research team led by Professor Il-Kwon Oh from the Department of Mechanical Engineering has developed a technology that transforms a flat NiTi shape-memory alloy (SMA) sheet into a “photothermally driven meta-morphing structure” that rises from a flat surface into a three-dimensional form when exposed to light, using only a single UV laser process.

The results are published in the journal Advanced Science.

Quantum entanglement without transport: Leaky qubits offer route around noisy channels

The inevitable leakage of energy and information from a quantum system into its surrounding environment is the enemy of quantum technology. Now, researchers have demonstrated that it can be exploited to generate entanglement—the “resource” that quantum technologies use to perform tasks inaccessible to standard classical technologies.

A collaboration between physicists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Chicago has realized a theoretical prediction in which an externally driven quantum system achieves entanglement through dissipation. While the original prediction relies on highly idealized settings, the researchers developed a new technique called synthetic squeezing to realize the phenomenon in a laboratory setting with a pair of superconducting qubits.

Moreover, the generated entanglement is in a steady state, meaning that, in principle, it can be maintained indefinitely over arbitrarily large distances. The researchers believe that this technique holds promise as a more robust and reliable alternative to current methods of entanglement generation.

How quantum circuits based on neutral atoms could find and fix errors

Quantum computers, devices that process information by leveraging the laws of quantum mechanics, have been found to outperform classical computers in some advanced tasks. Instead of storing information in the form of classical binary bits (i.e., 0 or 1), quantum computers rely on quantum bits (i.e., qubits), which can also exist in combinations of 0 and 1 states.

Despite their potential, quantum computers are known to be highly prone to errors. This is because qubits are very sensitive to heat, magnetic fields and other changes in their surroundings, which can disrupt the delicate quantum states they rely on to store and process data.

Researchers at Princeton University recently introduced a new approach for developing quantum computers that make fewer errors and whose errors are easier to detect and correct.

How physics and mathematical modeling help us make better clothes

A new paper in the journal Nature Physics offers insights into the physics of liquid droplets—and while many people may not appreciate the mathematical accomplishment, they will benefit from the athletic wear and raincoats it makes possible. The recent article, “Tricky Tension,” explores the intersection of physics and textiles and how wetting is influenced by the structure of tiny individual liquid droplets.

In physics, the cohesive force between two phases is called surface tension. This allows small insects to walk on water.

In a three-phase system—where gas, liquid and solid objects all interact—there is a less-understood phenomenon called the line tension of a liquid droplet. This refers to the force acting at the boundary where the liquid droplet, the air and the solid surface on which the droplet sits all meet. Learning more about the mechanics of droplets on solid surfaces, known as sessile droplets, is important for understanding the wetting and drying of textiles, especially for very small droplets.

How Gravity from Entropy theory connects the second law of thermodynamics with the emergence of cosmic structure

A new study by Queen Mary University of London mathematician Professor Ginestra Bianconi proposes a new perspective on one of the deepest questions in modern physics: How can the universe become increasingly structured and complex while still obeying the second law of thermodynamics?

Einstein famously stated that “The second law of thermodynamics occupies a unique position among the laws of Nature,” reflecting his conviction that it is among the most fundamental principles of physics and unlikely to be overthrown. The second law states that the total entropy of an isolated system tends to increase over time, a principle often associated with the growth of disorder.

This presents a long-standing puzzle in cosmology. The early universe is generally believed to have existed in a low-entropy state and to evolve toward states of higher entropy. Yet over cosmic history, the universe has also given rise to increasingly complex structures, including galaxies, stars, planets and ultimately life itself. Reconciling the emergence of such ordered structures with the relentless increase of entropy remains an open challenge.

A scheme to verify gates of a quantum computer without examining devices

Quantum computers, systems that process information using the principles of quantum mechanics, could solve some problems that cannot be tackled by the classical computers currently used worldwide. Despite their potential, verifying that these computers are working correctly and can reliably perform computations remains challenging.

Shubhayan Sarkar, a researcher at the University of Gdansk, recently introduced a new scheme for certifying that quantum chips (unitary gates) in a quantum computer are operating correctly without relying on assumptions about their internal components. This scheme, introduced in a paper published in Physical Review Letters, uses an approach referred to as almost device-independent (DI) certification.

“Consider the computer you are using right now,” Sarkar told Phys.org. “If it provides the answer to a mathematical problem, how do you know that the computation is correct? In practice, we rarely verify every calculation ourselves.

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