Two very different types of quantum particles may be able to form stable droplets that hold themselves together, challenging decades of conventional thinking. The prediction could soon be tested experimentally and may reveal an unexpectedly rich world of new quantum phases.

from Top Technology News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/NnbPO3Z

Extreme experiments have revealed how diamond behaves at crushing pressures beyond those inside Neptune and Uranus, resolving a decades-old conflict between theory and observation. The results could help scientists boost fusion energy output while revealing more about the exotic diamond rain hidden inside ice giant planets.

from Top Technology News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/Jh9dfpV

MIT physicists found that two electronic phases inside the same quantum material emerge through surprisingly different mechanisms—one smoothly and the other in expanding pockets resembling growing ice crystals. The discovery could help explain how exotic properties such as superconductivity and magnetism develop and coexist.

from Top Technology News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/k97NZWB

A tiny machine made from just an atom and particles of light may sound impossibly simple, but it raises a surprisingly difficult question: what counts as heat, and what energy can still do useful work? University of Basel researchers have developed a theoretical framework that brings quantum physics and thermodynamics into better agreement for these microscopic “light engines.”

from Top Technology News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/XZFOVR7

Researchers have built microscopic, light-driven robots that can rapidly navigate through liquid, collect bacteria, and deposit them in chosen locations. These tiny “cleaners” could open new possibilities for manipulating cells and microbes with remarkable precision.

from Top Technology News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/i4SEALG

A magnetar’s colossal magnetic field may have revealed a quantum effect predicted by Werner Heisenberg nearly 90 years ago, in which seemingly empty space alters the behavior of light. If confirmed, the discovery could offer the first direct evidence of vacuum birefringence and open a new window into the strange physics of the quantum vacuum.

from Top Technology News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/Gqwke2n

Caltech scientists have created ultra-low-loss optical pathways on silicon chips that approach the efficiency of fiber optics and dramatically outperform existing technology at visible wavelengths. The breakthrough could unlock more powerful lasers, miniature atomic sensors and clocks, quantum systems, and more energy-efficient data centers.

from Top Technology News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2OtYlNG