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Physicists achieve high precision in measuring strontium atoms using rubidium neighbor

Having good neighbors can be very valuable—even in the atomic world. A team of Amsterdam physicists was able to determine an important property of strontium atoms, a highly useful element for modern applications in atomic clocks and quantum computers, to unprecedented precision. To achieve this, they made clever use of a nearby cloud of rubidium atoms. The results were published in the journal Physical Review Letters this week.

Strontium. It is perhaps not the most popularly known chemical element, but among a group of physicists it has a much better reputation—and rightfully so.

Strontium is one of six so-called alkaline earth metals, meaning that it shares properties with better-known cousins like magnesium, calcium and radium. Strontium atoms have 38 protons in their nucleus, and a varying number of neutrons—for the variations (or isotopes) of strontium that can be found in nature, either 46, 48, 49 or 50.

Thin-film strontium titanate sets electro-optic performance record at cryogenic temperatures

At 4 degrees Kelvin, most electro-optic materials falter. Nanoelectronics R&D center imec has now successfully engineered thin-film strontium titanate (SrTiO₃) that delivers record electro-optic performance with low optical loss, pointing to shorter, faster building blocks for quantum devices.

Quantum computers and detectors run at temperatures close to absolute zero. In these , even the best room-temperature materials struggle to control light efficiently. This feature is essential to encode, route, and convert information in electro-optic networks, which at room temperature are used in data and telecom applications, but also increasingly for ultra-low temperature quantum links.

In a new paper published today in Science, imec researchers, in collaboration with KU Leuven and Ghent University, report how they re-engineered a common crystal, (SrTiO₃), so it behaves with record performance at .

Scientist Solves 100-Year-Old Physics Puzzle To Track Airborne Killers

Researchers at the University of Warwick have created a straightforward new way to predict how irregularly shaped nanoparticles, a harmful type of airborne pollutant, move through the air.

Each day, people inhale countless microscopic particles such as soot, dust, pollen, microplastics, viruses, and engineered nanoparticles. Many of these particles are so small that they can reach deep into the lungs and even pass into the bloodstream, where they may contribute to serious health problems including heart disease, stroke, and cancer.

While most airborne particles have uneven shapes, existing mathematical models often treat them as perfect spheres because that makes the equations easier to handle. This simplification limits scientists’ ability to accurately describe or track how real, non-spherical particles move, especially those that are more dangerous.

Scientists Finally Confirm True 1D Electronic Properties in a Material

A sophisticated analysis of experimental ARPES data confirmed that the electronic properties of each chain are truly one-dimensional, and calculations further predict an exciting phase transition. For the first time, researchers at BESSY II have successfully shown that a material can exhibit trul

New Quantum Battery Could Revolutionize Energy Storage

Scientists have designed a topological quantum battery that can charge efficiently without losing energy, using the unique properties of quantum mechanics and topology.

Their research suggests dissipation, long considered harmful, might actually boost power in these next-generation batteries.

Quantum Leap in Energy Storage.

AI Is Overheating. This New Technology Could Be the Fix

Engineers have developed a passive evaporative cooling membrane that dramatically improves heat removal for electronics and data centers Engineers at the University of California San Diego have created an innovative cooling system designed to greatly enhance the energy efficiency of data centers

Hackers exploit WordPress plugin Post SMTP to hijack admin accounts

Threat actors are actively exploiting a critical vulnerability in the Post SMTP plugin installed on more than 400,000 WordPress sites, to take complete control by hijacking administrator accounts.

Post SMTP is a popular email delivery solution marketed as a feature-rich and more reliable replacement of the default ‘wp_mail’ function.

On October 11, WordPress security firm Wordfence received a report from researcher ‘netranger’ about an email log disclosure issue that could be leveraged for account takeover attacks.

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