It used to be known as the information superhighway — the fibre-optic infrastructure on which our gigabytes and petabytes of data whizz around the world at (nearly) the speed of light. Continue reading “Photonic chips harness sound waves to speed up local networks”
Terahertz spectroscopy enters the single-molecule regime
The interaction of light with matter is the basis of spectroscopy, a set of techniques lying at the heart of physics and chemistry. From infrared light to X-rays, a broad sweep of wavelengths is used to stimulate vibrations, electron transitions, and other processes, thus probing the world of atoms and molecules. Continue reading “Terahertz spectroscopy enters the single-molecule regime”
Superradiance: Quantum effect detected in tiny diamonds
The effect has been predicted theoretically decades ago — but it is very hard to provide experimental evidence for it: “Superradiance” is the phenomenon of one atom giving off energy in the form of light and causing a large number of other atoms in its immediate vicinity to emit energy as well at the same time. This creates a short, intense flash of light. Continue reading “Superradiance: Quantum effect detected in tiny diamonds”
New way to make light interact with matter
A new way of enhancing the interactions between light and matter, developed by researchers at MIT and Israel’s Technion, could someday lead to more efficient solar cells that collect a wider range of light wavelengths, and new kinds of lasers and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that could have fully tunable color emissions. Continue reading “New way to make light interact with matter”
Semiconductor quantum transistor opens the door for photon-based computing
Transistors are tiny switches that form the bedrock of modern computing; billions of them route electrical signals around inside a smartphone, for instance. Continue reading “Semiconductor quantum transistor opens the door for photon-based computing”
When photons spice up the energy levels of quantum particles
Quantum particles behave in mysterious ways. They are governed by laws of physics designed to reflect what is happening at smaller scales through quantum mechanics. Quantum state properties are generally very different to those of classical states. Continue reading “When photons spice up the energy levels of quantum particles”
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