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Dec 27, 2019

Electronics at the Speed of Light – Using Light Waves to Move Electrons at Sub-Femtosecond Speeds

Posted by in categories: computing, mobile phones, physics

A European team of researchers including physicists from the University of Konstanz has found a way of transporting electrons at times below the femtosecond range by manipulating them with light. This could have major implications for the future of data processing and computing.

Contemporary electronic components, which are traditionally based on silicon semiconductor technology, can be switched on or off within picoseconds (i.e. 10-12 seconds). Standard mobile phones and computers work at maximum frequencies of several gigahertz (1 GHz = 109 Hz) while individual transistors can approach one terahertz (1 THz = 1012 Hz). Further increasing the speed at which electronic switching devices can be opened or closed using the standard technology has since proven a challenge. A recent series of experiments – conducted at the University of Konstanz and reported in a recent publication in Nature Physics – demonstrates that electrons can be induced to move at sub-femtosecond speeds, i.e. faster than 10-15 seconds, by manipulating them with tailored light waves.

“This may well be the distant future of electronics,” says Alfred Leitenstorfer, Professor of Ultrafast Phenomena and Photonics at the University of Konstanz (Germany) and co-author of the study. “Our experiments with single-cycle light pulses have taken us well into the attosecond range of electron transport”. Light oscillates at frequencies at least a thousand times higher than those achieved by purely electronic circuits: One femtosecond corresponds to 10-15 seconds, which is the millionth part of a billionth of a second. Leitenstorfer and his team from the Department of Physics and the Center for Applied Photonics (CAP) at the University of Konstanz believe that the future of electronics lies in integrated plasmonic and optoelectronic devices that operate in the single-electron regime at optical – rather than microwave – frequencies. “However, this is very basic research we are talking about here and may take decades to implement,” he cautions.

Dec 27, 2019

New rule would make it possible to track and identify nearly all drones flying in the U.S.

Posted by in categories: drones, government, law enforcement, security

The Federal Aviation Administration put forward a rule Thursday that would empower the government to track most drones in the U.S.

The rule will require drones to implement a remote ID system, which will make it possible for third parties to track them. The measure will help law enforcement identify unauthorized drones that may pose a security threat, paving the way for wider adoption of commercial drone technology.

The rule said that the FAA expects all eligible drones in the U.S. to comply with the rule within three years.

Dec 27, 2019

Viewpoint: Shooting Ahead with Wakefield Acceleration

Posted by in category: particle physics

A method for accelerating particles, called wakefield acceleration, has notched up its output energy, bringing it closer to its goal of shrinking the size of accelerator facilities.

The field of plasma wakefield acceleration is picking up speed. This method, which was first proposed in 1979 [1], creates a collective motion of plasma particles, generating an accelerating field in its wake. The amplitude of this accelerating field is not limited, as it is in conventional acceleration techniques that use radio frequency pulses. The implication is that wakefield acceleration has the potential to work over much smaller lengths, which would allow a reduction in the size (and cost) of accelerator facilities. There exist different methods for generating wakefields, and now researchers are reporting significant progress for two of these techniques. One method using laser-driven wakefields has generated 8-GeV electrons, a new energy record that doubles the previous record [2].

Dec 27, 2019

Move aside drones, the next extreme cameras could be mounted on go-anywhere cars

Posted by in categories: drones, electronics

Four-wheeled vehicles with integrated action cameras may be remote-controlled and could provide an alternative to drones and hand-held cams.

Dec 27, 2019

Understanding Distant Dust In Other Solar Systems Is Key To Imaging Exo-Earths, Says NASA

Posted by in category: space

NASA hopes to learn more about how dust clouds in our solar system may resemble those in orbit around other stars.

Dec 27, 2019

Laser Tooth Regeneration

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

It turned out that laser can actually regenerate damaged teeth. Credit: Hashem Al-Ghaili.

Dec 27, 2019

Sorry Truckers, Volvo’s Autonomous Vehicles Can Handle it From Here

Posted by in categories: employment, robotics/AI, transportation

https://youtube.com/watch?v=CMREUiQZSIs

To start, Volvo’s Vera will ferry goods from a logistics center to a port in Gothenburg, Sweden. But more Veras will eventually mean fewer trucking jobs.

Dec 26, 2019

Regular exercise is linked with a reduced risk of these cancers, study says

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health

A new study analyzed data from more than 750,000 adults in the United States, Europe and Australia, and found that recommended amounts of physical activity correlated with lower risks of seven types of cancer, of the 15 researchers looked at.

Dec 26, 2019

The Biggest Myth In Quantum Physics

Posted by in category: quantum physics

There are a slew of ways to interpret just what’s happening when you make an observation. The biggest myth of all is that you need one.

Dec 26, 2019

Brain tumor organoids may be key to time-sensitive treatments for glioblastomas

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

Lab-grown brain organoids developed from a patient’s own glioblastoma, the most aggressive and common form of brain cancer, may hold the answers on how to best treat it. A new study in Cell from researchers at Penn Medicine showed how glioblastoma organoids could serve as effective models to rapidly test personalized treatment strategies.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remains the most difficult of all brain cancers to study and treat, largely because of tumor heterogeneity. Treatment approaches, like surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, along with newer personalized cellular therapies, have proven to slow tumor growth and keep patients disease-free for some periods of time; however, a cure remains elusive.

“While we’ve made important strides in glioblastoma research, preclinical and clinical challenges persist, keeping us from getting closer to more effective treatments,” said senior author Hongjun Song, Ph.D., Perelman Professor of Neuroscience in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. “One hurdle is the ability to recapitulate the tumor to not only better understand its complex characteristics, but also to determine what therapies post-surgery can fight it in a timelier manner.”