Quantum Physics
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MIT creates diode for light, makes photonic silicon chips possible
Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are a cornerstone of consumer tech.
Quantum qubits found in cheap, mass-produced semiconductor
Don your quantum computing tinfoil hat, for we have epic news that might just result in qubits replacing bits before the decade is out: Physicists at UC Santa Barbara have discovered a quality of silicon carbide — a material commonly used in the manufacture of semiconductors — that can be used to perform quantum computing. Silicon carbide is a compound that has some 250 crystalline forms, but its 4H polytype (pictured below right) has an imperfection that traps electrons. The spin of these electrons can then be manipulated and measured (addressed) with optical wavelengths.
Entangled diamonds vibrate together
A pair of diamond crystals has been linked by quantum entanglement.Light created from a vacuum: Casimir effect observed in superconducting circuit
Nov. 19, 2011 — Scientists at Chalmers have succeeded in creating light from vacuum -- observing an effect first predicted over 40 years ago.
NOTHING sits still. Even at absolute zero, when the thermal jiggling of matter is frozen, all things must still buzz to the tune of quantum mechanics. Now this subtle jittering has been detected in a small silicon bar, the first solid object ever to reveal its quantum vibrations.