http://www.physorg.com/ en-us PhysOrg Team Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (PhysOrg.com) -- While quantum dots have existed since the 1980s, only in the past decade have physicists successfully created lateral few-electron single quantum dots. These quantum dots enable physicists to manipulate quantum spins, which could be used as qubits for quantum information applications. Along these lines, a team of physicists from the National Research Council in Canada who were responsible for the original lateral few-electron single quantum dot have recently designed a new few-electron triple quantum dot circuit, and demonstrated that all three quantum dots can be tuned in resonance. http://www.physorg.com/news178789034.html Nanotechnology 2009-11-30T09:10:01-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- "Carbon nanotubes are exciting for fundamental physics, and for potential technological applications," Nadya Mason tells PhysOrg.com. "However, we are generally limited in the way that we can study them. Many of these limitations have to do with controlling tunneling, or the way electrons move on and off the nanotube." In order to overcome this limitation, Mason, a scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, participated in an experiment using a superconducting tunnel probe in a carbon nanotube to observe spectroscopic features. http://www.physorg.com/news177934374.html Nanotechnology 2009-11-20T10:13:55-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- Studying the patterns that emerge in natural and social phenomena is a popular area of research, although usually individual phenomena are studied separately from each other. In a recent study, researchers have found innate correlations among some of these phenomena, showing that the amount of money that individuals in a society donate to a charity can be used to determine the distribution of personal wealth in that society. The connection between these two topics can also be used for exploring the complexity of a society's economic system. http://www.physorg.com/news177667305.html Physics 2009-11-17T10:10:03-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- One of the drawbacks associated with using semiconductor lasers is that many of them can only produce a beam of a single wavelength, and can only send that beam in one direction at a time. There have been efforts to tune lasers so that different wavelengths can be achieved, but these lasers still emit light only in one direction, and one wavelength at a given time. All that could change, though. Harvard University scientists Federico Capasso and Nanfang Yu , in Cambridge, Massachusetts, have been working with an international team to develop a laser that offers multibeam emission. http://www.physorg.com/news177582639.html Physics 2009-11-16T09:50:01-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have found that acidic ozone water can deactivate H1N1 viruses very effectively, offering a promising disinfectant for the millions of people trying to avoid the disease. Acidic ozone water (AOW) is made from regular tap water mixed with a small amount of acid such as hydrochloric acid, along with an ozonized gas that can be produced in the lab. After deactivating the virus, the substance eventually decays into plain water, leaving no residue or harmful materials in the environment. http://www.physorg.com/news176991361.html Chemistry 2009-11-09T12:18:10-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- Computers of the future could be operating not on electrons, but on tiny waves traveling through an electron "fluid," if a new proposal is successful. The new circuit design, recently introduced by Dr. Héctor J. De Los Santos, CTO of NanoMEMS Research, LLC, in Irvine, California, may be a promising candidate to replace CMOS-based circuits, and ultimately continue the circuit density growth described by Moore's Law. http://www.physorg.com/news176635049.html Nanotechnology 2009-11-05T09:50:02-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- In 2008, scientists built a loudspeaker made of carbon nanotubes that produced sound and music based on the thermoacoustic effect. Now, a different team of scientists has built a loudspeaker made of tiny aluminum wires suspended like a bridge between two supports, producing sound in a similar way. The new wire bridge also has the advantage of being much easier to fabricate than the nanotube device, offering the potential for a wide range of audio applications. http://www.physorg.com/news176543078.html Physics 2009-11-04T09:00:01-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- The first stars in the universe may have been very different from the stars we see today, yet they may hold clues to understanding some of the mysterious features of the universe. These "dark stars," first theorized in 2007, could grow to be much larger than modern stars, and would be powered by dark matter particles that annihilate inside them, rather than by nuclear fusion. In the early universe, dark stars would have emitted visible light like the Sun, but today their light would be redshifted into the infrared range by the time it reaches us, and so dark stars would be invisible to the naked eye. http://www.physorg.com/news176457990.html Physics 2009-11-03T09:40:01-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- Many scientists believe that quantum entanglement is required in order for effective quantum computing. Entanglement takes place when there is a connection that exists between two objects - even when they are spatially separated - that allows what happens to one to happen to the other. The link is such that each entangled object cannot be adequately described without its counterpart. So far, entangling qubits for practical use has been difficult, since scientists want to be able to entangle several qubits at once. http://www.physorg.com/news176364815.html Physics 2009-11-02T11:20:01-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- Terms such as the "invisible hand," laissez-faire policy, and free-market principles suggest that economic growth and decline in capitalist societies seem to be somehow self-regulated. Now, scientists Arto Annila of the University of Helsinki and Stanley Salthe of Binghampton University in New York show that economic activity can be regarded as an evolutionary process governed by the second law of thermodynamics. Their perspective may provide insight into some fundamental economic questions, such as the causes of economic growth and diversification, as well as why it`s so difficult to predict economic growth and decline. http://www.physorg.com/news176365278.html Physics 2009-11-02T08:00:03-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- Porphyrins are most commonly thought of as the pigment in red blood cells, but now scientists have found that porphyrins can also be used to increase the efficiency of an inexpensive type of solar cell. In a recent study, researchers have found that a variety of porphyrin arrays can improve the solar-to-electrical energy conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), and could potentially be used to construct larger 3-D light harvesting arrays. http://www.physorg.com/news176112834.html Chemistry 2009-10-30T09:50:01-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- "Scientists have been working with dipole fields for quite some time," Peter Barker tells PhysOrg.com. "However, most of the work is focused on very small particles, like atoms, or on larger particles, such as for use as optical tweezers. There is an interim region between atoms and large particles, and that is what we are looking at. We want to be able to control molecules a little differently." http://www.physorg.com/news176032268.html Physics 2009-10-29T10:52:22-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- Despite ongoing efforts to save the trees, many offices print high volumes of paper documents on a daily basis. Although many companies encourage paper recycling, both disposing of and recycling paper have negative environmental impacts. What if there was a way to reuse printed paper by removing the ink and quickly transforming it back into clean, white paper? http://www.physorg.com/news175847766.html Chemistry 2009-10-27T09:40:01-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- The ability to store and retrieve data is an important component of today's computers, as well as other modern electronic devices such as cell phones, video game consoles, and camcorders. Since their invention in the 1950s, magnetic-based hard disk drives (HDDs) have been the primary method of nonvolatile storage. However, researchers are currently developing several new and promising nonvolatile memory (NVM) technologies, but for one of them to replace HDDs within the next decade, it will be a challenge. http://www.physorg.com/news175505861.html Electronics 2009-10-23T09:40:03-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- For more than 50 years, physicists have been intrigued by the concept of closed time-like curves (CTCs). Because a CTC returns to its starting point, it raises the possibility of traveling backward in time. More recently, physicists have theorized that CTC-assisted computers could enable ideal quantum state discrimination, and even make classical computers (with CTCs) equally as powerful as quantum computers. However, a new study argues that CTCs, if they exist, might actually provide much less computational benefit than previously thought. http://www.physorg.com/news175421039.html Physics 2009-10-22T10:40:01-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- "If you open up almost any electronic gadget, you will see various elements that operating using electric circuitries," Nader Engheta tells PhysOrg.com. "Many of them have different functionalities, such as inductors, capacitors, resistors, transistors, and so forth. These well-known elements have been around for decades. But what if you could bring these concepts to the nanoscale, and what if they could operate with light instead of electricity?" http://www.physorg.com/news175161170.html Nanotechnology 2009-10-19T08:53:59-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists have investigated the purest graphene to date, and have found that the material possesses unprecedented high electronic quality. The discovery has raised the bar for this relatively new material, and challenges scientists to find out just how perfect graphene can be. http://www.physorg.com/news174654627.html Nanotechnology 2009-10-13T12:11:02-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- In urban areas, there`s almost always more than one way to get somewhere, but often it`s difficult to predict which road will be fastest. In an attempt to improve traffic flow and decrease congestion, researchers have been developing intelligent traffic systems that display real-time information about various roads on a display board, helping drivers make the best road choice. Until now, this information has always displayed traffic conditions from the immediate past. A new system can now predict future traffic conditions based on real-time data, giving drivers more relevant information to choose the fastest route. http://www.physorg.com/news174560362.html Technology 2009-10-12T10:00:05-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- What if atoms could be used to perform the functions currently the province of electronic devices? The goal of atomtronics is to do just that by creating analogues to the common items found in electronic devices. Ron Pepino, a graduate student at JILA and the University of Colorado, believes that he and his colleagues have found a way to create the atomtronic versions of diode and transistor circuits. The work of Pepino, Cooper, Anderson and Holland is described in Physical Review Letters: "Atomtronic Circuits of Diodes and Transistors." http://www.physorg.com/news174303837.html Physics 2009-10-09T10:44:44-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time, physicists have demonstrated the quantum entanglement of three light beams, all of different wavelengths. Entanglement of two light beams of different wavelengths has already been demonstrated, but the researchers explain that going beyond two beams is important since three beams can serve as connections at the nodes of a quantum network. http://www.physorg.com/news174133022.html Physics 2009-10-07T11:17:35-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- With recent advances in biochemistry, researchers can control the circuitry in a developing cell, thereby influencing cells to develop into specific phenotypes. Taking a step forward in this area, researchers have recently demonstrated a new technique to control gene expression in two dimensions over time, which has not previously been demonstrated. And they have done so using a slightly modified $100 inkjet printer. http://www.physorg.com/news173950754.html Chemistry 2009-10-05T10:10:01-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time, physicists have experimentally demonstrated a four-qubit bound-entangled state - a peculiar form of entanglement that cannot be distilled (optimized) by the usual means. However, the scientists have found a novel method for distilling the entanglement by working with two qubits at a time. As the researchers explain, the special properties of bound entanglement could make it a useful quantum resource for new multiparty communication and secret sharing schemes, and the results could also contribute to a deeper understanding of the foundations of quantum mechanics. http://www.physorg.com/news173517599.html Physics 2009-09-30T10:00:01-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- By greatly amplifying one photon from an entangled photon pair, physicists have theoretically shown that human eyes can be used as detectors to observe quantum effects. Usually, detecting quantum phenomena requires sensitive photon detectors or similar technology, keeping the quantum world far removed from our everyday experience. By showing that it`s possible to perform quantum optics experiments with human eyes as detectors, the physicists can bring quantum phenomena closer to the macroscopic level and to everyday life. http://www.physorg.com/news173423784.html Physics 2009-09-29T09:10:03-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- Life's ability to replicate itself is essential for evolution, yet even the simplest kind of replication requires a relatively complex system. So what kind of non-replicating system might have served as the predecessor of evolution, paving the way for life as we know it? The answer, according to a recent study, is a kind of "prelife" -- a chemical system that can lead to information and diversity, and that is capable of selection and mutation, but does not yet have the ability to self-replicate. http://www.physorg.com/news173351870.html Chemistry 2009-09-28T10:18:22-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- As technology advances, scientists look for ways to enhance electronic applications and devices. Indeed, electronics are getting smaller and more diverse. And as this happens, there is an increased requirement for flexibility in transistors, which make the electronic devices we desire work. Unfortunately, silicon and polymers may not fulfill the requirements needed to advance on to the transistors of the future. http://www.physorg.com/news172837799.html Nanotechnology 2009-09-22T11:30:32-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- "Scientists have been making Bose-Einstein Condensates [BECs] for nearly 15 years," Charlie Doret tells PhysOrg.com. "Essentially all BEC research to date, however, begins with laser cooling. Unfortunately, laser cooling is impractical for some atoms, and it is especially difficult with molecules, limiting the scope of new research." http://www.physorg.com/news172400869.html Physics 2009-09-17T10:40:11-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- In an ironic twist to our understanding of life, robots may offer a greater degree of realism for studying some of the intricacies of natural selection and evolution than real organisms offer. In a recent study, scientists have used evolutionary robots to investigate the evolution of social information. Their results mirror theoretical predictions more closely than results from experiments with real organisms, and may provide an explanation for some of the observed variation in animal species. http://www.physorg.com/news172304708.html Electronics 2009-09-16T09:30:02-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- Generally, scientists prefer to avoid the concept of perpetual motion. The idea of a machine that could produce movement that goes on forever, and using that movement to generate an endless stream of energy, is usually considered more science fiction than science. But recently, physicist Pavel Ivanov has investigated previous speculation that an exotic fluid with unusual properties could cause energy to flow continuously between different regions of space, resulting in a runaway transfer of energy. If an advanced civilization were able to construct a device to capture this energy, it might finally possess its own "perpetuum mobile" -- or perpetual motion. http://www.physorg.com/news172225206.html Physics 2009-09-15T09:50:02-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- In the series Star Trek, Klingons and Romulans have spaceships outfitted with cloaking devices that hide their presence from sight, as well as from the sensors of their rivals' spaceships. Unlike current invisibility cloaks, which are mostly effective only over a narrow range, these fictional devices provide a broadband type of invisibility that so far has eluded modern scientists. http://www.physorg.com/news171876586.html Physics 2009-09-11T10:00:01-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- How do we discover new things? For scientists, observation and measurement are the main ways to extract information from Nature. Based on observations, scientists build models that, in turn, are used to make predictions about the future or the past. To the extent that the predictions are successful, scientists conclude that their models capture Nature`s organization. However, Nature does not reveal secrets easily - there is no way for observers to learn everything about a process, so some information always remains hidden from view; other kinds of information are present, but difficult to extract. In a recent study, researchers have investigated how to measure the degree of hidden information in a process (its `crypticity`) and, along the way, solved several puzzles involved in extracting, storing, and communicating information. http://www.physorg.com/news171800572.html Physics 2009-09-10T11:23:36-07:00