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Quantum physics

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The (Often) Overlooked Experiment That Revealed the Quantum World

December 5, 2023

A century ago, the Stern-Gerlach experiment established the truth of quantum mechanics. Now it’s being used to probe the clash of quantum theory and gravity.

The Quest to Quantify Quantumness

October 19, 2023

What makes a quantum computer more powerful than a classical computer? It’s a surprisingly subtle question that physicists are still grappling with, decades into the quantum age.

Nobel Prize Honors Inventors of ‘Quantum Dot’ Nanoparticles

October 4, 2023

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to three researchers who harnessed the quantum behaviors of semiconductor nanocrystals.

Physicists Who Explored Tiny Glimpses of Time Win Nobel Prize

October 3, 2023

The development of attosecond pulses of light allowed researchers to explore the frame-by-frame movement of electrons.

Machine Learning Aids Classical Modeling of Quantum Systems

September 14, 2023

By using “classical shadows,” ordinary computers can beat quantum computers at the tricky task of understanding quantum behaviors.

Physicists Observe ‘Unobservable’ Quantum Phase Transition

September 11, 2023

Measurement and entanglement both have a “spooky” nonlocal flavor to them. Now physicists are harnessing that nonlocality to probe the spread of quantum information and control it.

New Codes Could Make Quantum Computing 10 Times More Efficient

August 25, 2023

Quantum computing is still really, really hard. But the rise of a powerful class of error-correcting codes suggests that the task might be slightly more feasible than many feared.

Does Nothingness Exist?

July 26, 2023

Even empty space bubbles with energy, according to quantum mechanics — and that fact affects almost every facet of physical reality. The theoretical physicist Isabel Garcia Garcia explains to Steven Strogatz why it’s so important in modern physics to understand what a true vacuum is.

How Quantum Physicists Explained Earth’s Oscillating Weather Patterns

July 18, 2023

By treating Earth as a topological insulator — a state of quantum matter — physicists found a powerful explanation for the movements of the planet’s air and seas.

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