Quantum Physics

  1. physicist Yali Mao working with highly technical physics apparatus
    Quantum Physics

    Quantum physics requires imaginary numbers to explain reality

    Quantum theory based only on real numbers fails to explain the results of two new experiments.

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  2. a hand holding a thin green wire at the end of which is a bright light, surrounded by scientific apparatus
    Quantum Physics

    Physicists have coaxed ultracold atoms into an elusive form of quantum matter

    Quantum spin liquids could be used to help protect fragile information in quantum computers.

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  3. a dense cloud of atoms, illustrated as blue spheres, with light waves bouncing off them
    Quantum Physics

    Scientists finally detected a quantum effect that blocks atoms from scattering light

    When all available quantum states are full, atoms can’t scatter light, thanks to the Pauli exclusion principle, new experiments show.

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  4. chip used to trap ytterbium ions
    Quantum Physics

    Scientists are one step closer to error-correcting quantum computers

    In a quantum computer made with trapped ions, multiple quantum bits were combined into one to detect mistakes.

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  5. illustration of quantum spin
    Quantum Physics

    One of nature’s key constants is much larger in a quantum material

    The fine-structure constant is 10 times its normal value in the material, giving a peek into what physics in an alternate universe could look like.

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  6. bluish-green beam forming a spiral
    Physics

    New ‘vortex beams’ of atoms and molecules are the first of their kind

    Twisted beams of atoms and molecules join other types of corkscrew beams made of light or electrons.

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  7. European robin on a branch
    Animals

    A proposed ‘quantum compass’ for songbirds just got more plausible

    Quantum physics could be behind birds’ magnetic sense of direction, new measurements indicate.

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  8. scientists working on a LIGO mirror
    Quantum Physics

    Physicists used LIGO’s mirrors to approach a quantum limit

    Using LIGO’s laser beams to reduce jiggling rather than detect gravitational waves, scientists have gotten closer to the realm of quantum mechanics.

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  9. inside of the g-2 experiment at Fermilab
    Particle Physics

    Muon magnetism could hint at a breakdown of physics’ standard model

    After two decades, a new measurement of the muon magnetic anomaly reinforces earlier hints that its value disagrees with standard physics.

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  10. illustration of a molecule acting as a quantum bit
    Quantum Physics

    ‘Designer molecules’ could create tailor-made quantum devices

    Scientists are making molecules suited to a variety of quantum tasks by building them up, atom by atom.

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  11. illustration of drones above a city
    Quantum Physics

    Drones could help create a quantum internet

    Flying drones sent entangled particles of light to two locations a kilometer apart.

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  12. illustration of quantum computer light channels
    Quantum Physics

    The new light-based quantum computer Jiuzhang has achieved quantum supremacy

    A second type of quantum computer has now performed a calculation impossible for a traditional computer.

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