|
NEWS
|
Hot logic
A scheme to transmit information using tiny heat
flows rather than the usual electricity shows that it's
theoretically possible to use heat to carry out the basic
logic of computer chips. Heat-based computers aren't likely
to replace electronic chips, but they could lead to smart
materials and help scientists understand how heat moves
at the molecular scale in living beings. (Thermal
Logic Gates: Computation with Phonons, to be published
in Physical Review Letters)
Quantum pipe
An optical communications channel links two superconducting
quantum bits, allowing one qubit to forward information
to a sort of holding pen and the other to retrieve the
information later. The device makes it easier for qubits
to pass information back and forth, which could make it
easier to build practical quantum computers. Quantum computers
have the potential to crack today's security codes. (Coherent
Quantum State Storage and Transfer between Two Phase Qubits
Via a Resonant Cavity, Nature, September 27,
2007)
Puff and sniff
A sensor analyzes substances on surfaces, including
skin and food, without requiring that the samples be prepared
in any way. The device blasts nitrogen at a surface and
directs the rebounding gas into a mass spectrometer. The
nitrogen picks up traces of whatever is on the sample.
The sensor could be used for medical diagnosis, food safety
and security. (Neutral
Desorption Sampling of Living Objects for Rapid Analyses
by Extractive Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry,
Angewandte Chemie International Edition, published
online September 4, 2007)
T-rays out of thin air
An ultrafast laser pulse split into a pair of
parallel beams produces concentrated terahertz radiation
that can be generated meters, and possibly kilometers,
away from the laser. Terahertz radiation, or T-rays, can
be used to peer through coverings, including clothing.
The laser technique could be used for military and security
scanning. (Terahertz
Radiation Source in Air Based on Bifilamentation of Femtosecond
Laser Pulses, Physical Review Letters, September
28, 2007)
Ethnic DNA
A software algorithm rapidly analyzes a population's
genetic structure from DNA samples without prior knowledge
of the subjects' ancestry by tracking DNA sequences that
differ by a single nucleotide, or DNA letter. The single
nucleotide polymorphisms algorithm will help scientists
carry out medical and biological research. (PCA-Correlated
SNPs for Structure Identification in Worldwide Human Populations,
PLoS Genetics, September 21, 2007)
Extracting hydrogen and storing it too
A titanium disilicide semiconductor splits water
into hydrogen and oxygen using sunlight. The material
also stores the hydrogen and oxygen and releases them
separately. The semiconductor could be used to cleanly
generate hydrogen for fuel. (A
Titanium Disilicide Derived Semiconducting Catalyst for
Water Splitting under Solar Radiation - Reversible Storage
of Oxygen and Hydrogen, Angewandte Chemie International
Edition, published online September 5, 2007) |
FEATURES
|
View
from the High Ground: ICL's John Pendry
Physics as machine tool, negative refractive
index, metamaterials, shattered wine glasses, higher capacity
DVDs, scientific backwaters, risk perception and practice,
practice, practice.
|
How
It Works: Quantum computing: qubits
Photons, electrons and atoms, oh my! These particles are
the raw materials for qubits, the basic building blocks
of quantum computers. |
|
 |
News RSS feed 
Blog RSS feed
Bookshelf RSS feed
New: TRN's
Internet Services
TRN's Jobs Center
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
"Physics
is to the rest of science what machine tools are
to engineering. A corollary is that science places
power in our hands which can be used for good or
ill. Technology has been abused in this way throughout
the ages from gunpowder to atomic bombs."
- John Pendry, Imperial College London |
|
| |
|
| |
Thanks
to Kevin from
GoldBamboo.com
for technical support |
|
