Lifeboat Foundation

Perfecting the macro-molecule.

(Phys.org)—A pair of physicists with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Switzerland has found a way to create very large diatomic molecules, and in so doing, have proved some of the theories about such molecules to be correct. In their paper published in Physical Review Letters, Johannes Deiglmayr and Heiner Saßmannshausen describe their experiments and results and why they believe such molecules may have a future in quantum computing.

Physicists have been interested in the properties of macromolecules for many years because they believe studying them will illuminate the fundamental properties of molecules in general. Prior research has shown that large, two-atom molecules should be possible if they were put into a Rydberg state—in which the outer electron exists in a high quantum state, allowing it to orbit farther than normal from the nucleus—and thus allowing for the creation of molecules thousands of times larger than conventional diatomic molecules such as H₂.

Continue reading “Research pair create two-atom molecules that are more than a thousand times bigger than typical diatomic molecules” »

It echoes the nanite and nanobot technology seen in science fiction TV series like Star Trek and Red Dwarf, where swarms of microscopic robots can be used to repair damaged tissue.

Researchers at Bar Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel, and the Interdisciplinary Centre in Herzliya, built their nanobots using a form to DNA origami to create hollow shell-like structures.

Drugs could then be placed inside these before they were chemically locked shut with particles of iron oxide.

Continue reading “Mind-controlled nanobots could be used to treat depression or epilepsy” »

Rice physicists are closing in on a method that will create a new condensed matter state in which all electrons in a material act as one by manipulating them with light and a magnetic field. This research advance technologies such as quantum computers.

For particle physicists, studying the interactions between photons and electrons has long been an area of interest. After all, observing such phenomena could eventually lead us to the creation of a viable quantum computer.

Physicist Junichiro Kono and his colleagues at Rice University are making headway on a method to create a new condensed matter state, where electrons in a material “couple” after they are manipulated with light and a magnetic field.

Continue reading “New Condensed Matter State Paves the Way for Scalable Quantum Computers” »

(Phys.org)—A small team of researchers at Harvard University who are part of the Breakthrough Starshot team has been testing the likely damage to an interstellar spacecraft traveling at approximately one-fifth the speed of light as it makes its way to the Alpha Centauri star system. As they note in a paper describing their testing and results, which was uploaded to the arXiv preprint server, such damage could be catastrophic, but they believe they have a solution.

Earlier this year, Russian billionaire Yuri Milner announced to the world that he wants to send a probe to the Alpha Centauri star system—he put up $100 million of his own money to get the ball rolling on what is expected to be a multi-billion-dollar effort. At the time of the announcement, Milner told the press that his team of advisors had identified 20 main challenges that would have to be overcome in order for such a mission to be a success. In this new effort, the researchers have addressed one of those challenges—assessing the likely damage to the craft due to space dust and gases, and offering solutions to the problem.

The preliminary working design of a space probe able to travel at ∼0.2c is little more than a circuit board that has come to be known as a wafersat—it would be attached to a light sail that would be the target of a laser sent from Earth to push it during the initial part of the journey. The wavsat would be made mostly of graphite and quartz. Thus, the researchers focused the bulk of their testing on these two materials. They discovered that particles of space dust hit by the craft would mostly come in the form of collections of heavy atoms rather than particles—those collisions would cause two problems. The first would be the creation of pits on the surface of the craft, which would result in loss of material (up to 30 percent of the entire craft might be lost).

Continue reading “First test of Breakthrough Starshot interstellar probe highlights likely damage due to gas and dust” »

Although this is true (speed of communication via entanglement is not at the speed of light); like other early stage technologies this will also evolve and improve in time.

China recently launched a satellite to test quantum entanglement in space. It’s an interesting experiment that could lead to “hack proof” satellite communication. It’s also led to a flurry of articles claiming that quantum entanglement allows particles to communicate faster than light. Several science bloggers have noted why this is wrong, but it’s worth emphasizing again. Quantum entanglement does not allow faster than light communication.

This particular misconception is grounded in the way quantum theory is typically popularized. Quantum objects can be both particles and waves, They have a wavefunction that describes the probability of certain outcomes, and when you measure the object it “collapses” into a particular particle state. Unfortunately this Copenhagen interpretation of quantum theory glosses over much of the subtlety of quantum behavior, so when it’s applied to entanglement it seems a bit contradictory.

Continue reading “Quantum Entanglement: Slower Than Light” »

Brace for impact —

Just how dangerous is it to travel at 20% the speed of light?

Breakthrough Starshot has examined the impact of stray atoms, cosmic dust.

Continue reading “Just how dangerous is it to travel at 20% the speed of light?” »

The possible discovery of a boson at the Large Hadron Collider suggests a restoration of symmetry between two simple things: left and right.

Dean Radin, Ph.D. and Chief Scientist of IONS, the Institute for Noetic Sciences, recently introduced the results of a series of experiments that may provide the missing link between consciousness and matter, turning the tables on materialism and asserting consciousness as a fundamental component of reality itself. Using a variation of the famous double-slit experiment, he and his team hypothesized that the conscious intent of a human mind might be able to collapse a quantum wave function without direct interaction. Simply by concentrating they postulated, meditation might be able to affect and influence quantum particles – the smallest components of matter that form our physical universe. .

Initial experiments used participants 2 meters away from the device. Alternating between asking participants to concentrate on the apparatus, then removing their attention showed astounding results. Fearing that temperature differences or other variables might have influenced the test, they offered the experiment to participants online. Using several thousand robotic control sessions to ensure that a determination could be made for the factor of human consciousness, the results were likewise astounding, with initial trial results of greater than 5 sigma.

Continue reading “Groundbreaking Research Shows Conscious Intention Directly Affects Quantum States; Scientific Basis for Mind of Over Matter?” »

When they are confined to a small space, the behavior of electrons can only be explained by quantum physics. Much like electrons in an atom, they are forced into discrete quantum states. These states can be used for quantum information technologies.