Tag

Quantum Mechanics

All articles tagged with #quantum mechanics

science10 days ago•160 min saved

Magnetar’s polarized light tests quantum vacuum, solving a 90-year mystery

New observations of magnetar 1E 1547-5408 with IXPE and other telescopes show X-ray polarization about three times higher than standard models and aligned with the star’s magnetic field, providing strong evidence for vacuum birefringence — the idea that empty space behaves like a prism under ultra-strong magnetic fields and a prediction dating back to Heisenberg and Euler nearly 90 years ago; the findings test fundamental physics and future missions like GoSOX may help confirm the effect and illuminate the fabric of reality.

via Space|

#ixpe #magnetar #polarization

science10 days ago•25 min saved

Century-Old Pitt Physicist Keeps Working

Jim Choyke, a 100-year-old emeritus professor in Pitt's physics and astronomy department, spent decades studying silicon carbide—the semiconductor material underpinning AI, quantum computing, and advanced batteries. He moved to Pittsburgh in 1952 for a Westinghouse role, joined Pitt in 1974, and says he never believed in retirement because he loves physics. His work and mentorship helped advance the field and inspire a generation of scientists, and he continues to work and teach from his Pitt office.

via post-gazette.com|

#jim-choyke #quantum-mechanics #retirement

science16 days ago•9 min saved

From Chronos to Quantum Time: Can We Stop the Clock?

An interview with Guido Tonelli ties humanity’s long obsession with time to a journey from myth (Chronos) to modern science, explaining how relativity rewrites time for fast-moving particles and gravity, how time’s arrow emerges for macroscopic systems but can blur or reverse in microscopic realms, and how the Heisenberg principle lets physicists measure particle lifetimes (including the Higgs boson). Tonelli argues time remains fundamental but not necessarily ultimate, with future theories potentially reimagining or even abandoning it as a basic concept, a vision explored in his book Time: The Dream of Killing Chronos.

via Gizmodo|

#higgs-boson #physics #quantum-mechanics

science1 month ago•14 min saved

Quantum Basics: From Spooky Action to a New Computing Era

A plain‑language primer on quantum ideas: at tiny scales particles can be in superpositions and only take a definite state when measured, while entangled particles remain linked across distances. These quirks enable qubits that can encode many possibilities in parallel, potentially solving problems in drug design, materials science and cryptography far faster than classical computers. Real-world quantum tech is still fragile and not a substitute for everyday tasks; nonetheless, progress raises both exciting capabilities and security/ethical questions as encryption faces new risks and quantum‑safe networks develop.

via The Conversation|

#cryptography #entanglement #quantum-computing

science1 month ago•118 min saved

Einstein wasn’t flawless: the missteps that advanced physics

Albert Einstein, celebrated for relativity and groundbreaking insights, also had notable missteps—most famously a mistaken belief that gravitational waves might not exist due to a mathematical hiccup later corrected with peer input, and early skepticism about black holes and quantum entanglement. The process of identifying and fixing these errors, rather than undermining his genius, helped push physics forward and underscored how even the brightest minds progress through errors and rigorous critique.

via Live Science|

#black-holes #einstein #gravitational-waves

science1 month ago•93 min saved

Real-number quantum mechanics passes the test, matching all standard predictions

Physicists built a working version of quantum mechanics using only real numbers, recreating all predictions of the standard theory by replacing the usual complex-number tensor product with a real-number rule and a bookkeeping flag system. The approach shows complex numbers aren’t fundamental to quantum mechanics, though the work currently covers finite systems and does not alter experimental predictions.

via Live Science|

#complex-numbers #entanglement #quantum-mechanics

science1 month ago•4 min saved

Quantum Mechanics: From Paradox to Everyday Technology

A Science perspective shows how quantum mechanics evolved from a puzzling 20th‑century idea to the foundation of lasers, microchips, secure communications, and emerging quantum computers, driven by coherence and entanglement; the piece highlights quantum heat engines that may exceed classical limits and notes expanding applications in biology, gravity, and turbulence, with open questions about quantizing gravity and the future impact of quantum technologies.

via ScienceDaily|

#entanglement #quantum-coherence #quantum-computing

science1 month ago•66 min saved

Time's Flow Reimagined: Gravity, Quantum Arrows, and the Shape of Reality

New theoretical ideas suggest time may emerge from gravity via Shape Dynamics, while open quantum systems could host two arrows of time; other approaches explore time as potentially emergent or even illusory, with concepts like tachyons and quantum entanglement hinting at multi-dimensional or timeless frameworks.

via Yahoo|

#arrow-of-time #entropy #gravity

physics2 months ago•82 min saved

Cutting a Photon Unveils a Cloud of Zero-to-Infinity States

Physicists simulated slicing a single photon with a shutter and found that the global quantum state becomes a complex mixture spanning zero to infinitely many photons. Locally, measurements on one side can reveal a single-photon state while the other side appears as vacuum, illustrating a paradoxical, nonlocal distribution and raising questions about the nature of particles and causality. The work, reported in Physical Review Letters, could lead to a clearer way to describe particle interactions and extend to other quantum particles like electrons; in realistic setups the infinite case requires an idealized infinitely fast shutter.

via Live Science|

#causality #measurement #photon

space2 months ago•57 min saved

Three Time Dimensions? New Relativity Theory Bridges Space-Time and Quantum Behavior

Physicists propose extending special relativity to include observers moving faster than light, suggesting that keeping the superluminal branch yields a many-path, probabilistic view of particles that aligns relativity with quantum behavior. In a 1+3 spacetime this implies three time dimensions and one spatial dimension, offering a conceptual path to connect causality, quantum indeterminacy, and the Higgs mechanism—though the work is purely theoretical and lacks experimental proof.

via The Brighter Side of News|

#causality #faster-than-light-observers #higgs-mechanism

science3 months ago•1 min saved

When Schrödinger Met the Box: Reassessing Quantum Reality

The piece revisits Schrödinger’s 1935 cat-in-a-box thought experiment, used to critique interpretations of quantum mechanics by suggesting a system could be in a live-and-dead superposition until observed. It notes Schrödinger’s letter to Einstein and the ongoing debate over whether reality collapses to a definite state at measurement, highlighting the origin and stakes of the quantum measurement problem.

via Nautilus | Science|

#measurement #quantum-mechanics #schrodinger

physics-and-chemistry3 months ago•17 min saved

One of Physics’ Biggest Surveys Finds Almost No Consensus

APS’s large survey of about 1,660 participants—ranging from researchers to science enthusiasts—reveals widespread disagreement on core physics questions, from the Big Bang to quantum gravity. The Big Bang is widely seen as a hot, dense state (68%), not necessarily the absolute beginning (25%). Quantum interpretations are not universally accepted: Copenhagen leads at around 36%, with many opting for other theories or 'no opinion.' About half agree on cosmic inflation, while dark energy and ΛCDM show no clear majority, with evolving dark energy edging ahead slightly. Only a minority subscribe to specific quantum gravity views, with string theory leading among them. The results underscore that physics frontiers remain active and data and theory must advance to resolve these debates.

via Gizmodo|

#big-bang #cosmic-inflation #dark-energy

science4 months ago•9 min saved

Time’s Quantum Riddle: Collapse Models Hint at Tiny Fundamental Uncertainty

A team studying quantum-collapse models (Diósi–Penrose and Continuous Spontaneous Localization) linked to gravity finds that time itself may have a minute intrinsic uncertainty, implying a fundamental limit on how precisely time can be measured. The effect is unimaginably small and would not affect current timekeeping, but it suggests deep connections between quantum mechanics and gravity and offers a way to experimentally distinguish collapse models from standard quantum theory.

via SciTechDaily|

#collapse-models #gravity #quantum-mechanics

science4 months ago•8 min saved

Metal Nanoparticles Demonstrate Quantum Superposition at Near-Macroscopic Scale

Vienna and Duisburg-Essen researchers show that sodium nanoparticle clusters (~8 nm, >170,000 amu) can exhibit quantum interference, existing in a superposition as they pass through three UV-laser diffraction gratings. Achieving a macroscopicity value of μ = 15.5, the experiment extends quantum behavior toward larger scales and opens the door to studying bigger particles and precision sensing.

via SciTechDaily|

#interferometry #macroscopicity #nanoparticles

technology4 months ago•7 min saved

Quantum Mechanics: From Paradox to Tech Powerhouse

Quantum mechanics has evolved from a puzzling theory to the backbone of modern technology, powering lasers, chips, quantum computing, and secure communications. Texas A&M physicist Marlan Scully surveys the journey—from Schrödinger’s cat to coherence and entanglement enabling new sensors and cryptography, to quantum heat engines that can exceed classical limits. The reach extends into biology and cosmology, while open questions about unifying gravity with quantum theory promise a continued scientific adventure.

via SciTechDaily|

#entanglement #lasers #quantum-coherence