Quantum physics is weird, but here’s how it’s making us money

07 Dec 2022 James McKenzie

Following a visit to the UK’s National Quantum Technology Showcase, James McKenzie is excited about the prospects of UK firms developing “quantum 2.0” technology

Powerful aim A quantum computer microchip developed by the University of Sussex spin-off company Universal Quantum, which wants to build the world’s first million-qubit quantum computer. (Courtesy: Universal Quantum)

Physicists have long boasted of their success in what’s known as “quantum 1.0” technology – semiconductor junctions, transistors, lasers and so on. But the future will increasingly focus on “quantum 2.0” technology, which taps into phenomena like superposition and entanglement to permit everything from quantum computing and cryptography to quantum sensing, timing and imaging.

 

Quantum teleportation opens a ‘wormhole in space–time’

30 Nov 2022

Teleporting qubits: artist’s impression a wormhole created in a quantum processor. (Courtesy: A Mueller/Caltech)

The equivalent to a wormhole in space–time has been created on a quantum processor. Researchers in the US used an advanced quantum teleportation protocol to open the wormhole and send quantum signals through it. By studying the dynamics of the transmitted quantum information, the team gained insights into gravitational dynamics. The experiment could be further developed to explore quantum gravity or string theory.

 

Black holes could reveal their quantum-superposition states, new calculations reveal

17 Nov 2022

Superposition on a massive scale: illustration of a mass-quantized black hole that was created using NightCafe Creator AI. (Courtesy: University of Queensland)

Quantum superposition is not just a property of subatomic particles but also of the most massive objects in the universe. That is the conclusion of four theoretical physicists in Australia and Canada who calculated the hypothetical response of a particle detector placed some distance from a black hole. The researchers say the detector would see novel signs of superimposed space–times, implying that the black hole may have two different masses simultaneously.

 

UK firm Universal Quantum wins major quantum-computing contract

18 Nov 2022

Cash generator The UK quantum start-up firm Universal Quantum has been awarded €67m from the German Aerospace Centre. (Courtesy: Universal Quantum)

A British quantum start-up firm has been awarded one of the largest government quantum-computing contracts ever given to a single company. Universal Quantum has won the €67m contract from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to build fully scalable quantum computers based on trapped-ion technology.

 

Want to slash your energy bill? Try these record-breaking solar cells

16 Nov 2022 James McKenzie

Could a new solar cell with a record-breaking efficiency of 30.1% transform the commercial potential of solar panels, asks James Mckenzie

Bright future Combining silicon and perovskite, “tandem” solar cells such as this one developed by researchers in the Netherlands could transform the solar sector. (Courtesy: Niels van Loon)

 

Microscale structure of rock affects microseismicity at underground carbon dioxide storage site

24 Nov 2022 Sabrina Reichert

Underground storage: illustration of the geological strata at the Illinois Basin Decatur Project in the US. (Courtesy: N Bondarenko, Y Podladchikov & R Makhnenko/Science Advances)

Mitigating and reversing the effects of climate change is the most important scientific challenge facing humanity. Carbon sequestration describes a range of technologies with the potential to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Most of these schemes involve storing the gas underground, however, this is not without risk, and scientists are concerned that underground storage could lead to increased seismic activity (a phenomenon known as “induced seismicity”).

 

Meteorites have a seismic effect on Mars, revealing what lies below the surface

05 Dec 2022

Before and after: images of Amazonis Planitia taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The image on the left shows the region before the impact while the image on the right shows the effect of the meteorite. (Courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

Two meteorite impacts on the Martian surface have given scientists a better understanding of the interior structure of the Red Planet. The impacts happened in 2021 and an international team of researchers has shown that surface seismic waves detected on Mars were caused by the impacts. A second, related study, examined the seismic waves in detail and concluded that the planet’s crust varies in density.