PHYSICS & MATH

Breaching the horizons: Universal spreading laws confirmed

PHYSICS & MATH 02.04.2019 08:54 AM

A novel toolbox developed to implement ultrafast simulations of quantum transport allowed to achieve unprecedented limits in the understanding of wave spreading mechanisms.

JILA researchers uncover quantum structure of buckyballs

01.31.2019 08:57 AM

JILA researchers have measured hundreds of individual quantum energy levels in the buckyball, a spherical cage of 60 carbon atoms. It's the largest molecule that has ever been analyzed at this level of experimental detail in the history of quantum mechanics.

South African-Scottish research team demonstrate fractal light from lasers

01.31.2019 08:43 AM

Team confirms a 20-year-old prediction that 'nature's geometry' could be recreated by the use of laser technology

How does a quantum particle see the world?

01.30.2019 09:54 AM

Researchers at the University of Vienna study the relevance of quantum reference frames for the symmetries of the world

Plasmonic pioneers fire away in fight over light

01.28.2019 20:12 PM

In a new paper in the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters, Rice chemist Stephan Link and graduate student Yi-Yu Cai make a case that photoluminescence, rather than Raman scattering, gives gold nanoparticles their remarkable light-emitting properties.

3D human epidermal equivalent created using math

01.24.2019 17:12 PM

Scientists have successfully constructed a three-dimensional human epidermis based on predictions made by their mathematical model of epidermal homeostasis, providing a new tool for basic research and drug development.

Novel device may rapidly control plasma disruptions in a fusion facility

01.24.2019 17:09 PM

Scientists seeking to capture and control on Earth fusion energy, the process that powers the sun and stars, face the risk of disruptions -- sudden events that can halt fusion reactions and damage facilities called tokamaks that house them.

Russian physicists upgrade cheap diode laser for use in precise measurements

01.14.2019 13:11 PM

Russian physicists have developed a method for drastically narrowing the emission spectrum of an ordinary diode laser, like that in a laser pointer, for use in compact chemical analyzers that can fit into a smartphone, cheap lidars for self-driving cars, as well as security and structural health monitoring systems on bridges, gas pipelines, and elsewhere.

Physicists train robotic gliders to soar like birds

01.14.2019 13:08 PM

Scientists know that upward currents of warm air assist birds in flight. To understand how birds find and navigate these thermal plumes, researchers used reinforcement learning to train gliders to autonomously navigate atmospheric thermals. The research highlights the role of vertical wind accelerations and roll-wise torques as viable biological cues for soaring birds. The findings also provide a navigational strategy that directly applies to the development of UAVs.