Technology
Here we bring you all the latest technological news both here on Earth and in space.
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Stanford’s Light Breakthrough Could Finally Make Quantum Computers Scale
Stanford University / SciTechDaily
A new way of capturing light from atoms could finally unlock ultra-powerful, million-qubit quantum computers.
After decades of effort, researchers may finally be closing in on a practical path toward powerful quantum computers. These machines are expected to handle certain calculations so efficiently that tasks taking classical computers thousands of years could be completed in just hours.
A research team led by physicists at Stanford University has created a new type of optical cavity designed to capture single photons, the smallest units of light, emitted by individual atoms. Those atoms store qubits, which are the basic units of information in a quantum computer. For the first time, this system allows information to be read from all qubits at the same time rather than one by one.
Capturing Light From Individual Atoms… In a study published in Nature, the researchers describe a working array of 40 optical cavities, each holding a single atom qubit, along with a larger prototype containing more than 500 cavities. The results suggest a realistic path toward building quantum networks…Read more here.
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Scientists Just Created Tiny Earthquakes Inside a Microchip
By Daniel Strain, University of Colorado at Boulder – SciTechDaily
Engineers have learned how to create tiny earthquakes on a microchip—and it could change how smartphones are built.
Engineers have developed a new way to create extremely small vibrations that resemble miniature earthquakes.
At the center of the work is a device called a surface acoustic wave phonon laser. In the future, this technology could support the development of more advanced chips for cellphones and other wireless electronics, helping make those devices smaller, faster, and more energy efficient.
The research was led by Matt Eichenfield, an incoming faculty member at the University of Colorado Boulder, together with collaborators from the University of Arizona and Sandia National Laboratories. Their results were published Jan. 14 in the journal Nature.
The device relies on a physical effect known as surface acoustic waves, or SAWs. These waves behave similarly to sound waves, but instead of traveling through the bulk of a material they move….Read more here.
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Scientists Develop a New Way To See Inside the Human Body Using 3D Color Imaging
California Institute of Technology / SciTechDaily
A newly developed imaging method blends ultrasound and photoacoustics to capture both tissue structure and blood-vessel function in 3D.
By blending two powerful imaging methods, researchers from Caltech and USC have developed a new way to see inside the human body with unprecedented speed and detail. The technique produces three-dimensional, full-color images that show not only the shape of soft tissues but also how blood vessels are functioning in real time. In early demonstrations, the researchers successfully imaged several different parts of the human body, highlighting the versatility of the approach.
This combined imaging method could significantly improve how doctors detect and study disease. Potential applications include more precise breast tumor imaging, new ways to track nerve damage caused by diabetes, and advanced tools for observing brain structure alongside blood flow. The work suggests a path toward medical scans that are both more informative and easier to repeat over time. Read more here.
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A Simple Brain Scan May Help Restore Movement After Paralysis
By American Institute of Physics – SciTechDaily
A brain cap and smart algorithms may one day help paralyzed patients turn thought into movement—no surgery required.
People with spinal cord injuries often experience partial or complete loss of movement in their arms or legs. In many cases, the nerves in the limbs themselves still function, and the brain continues to produce normal signals. The problem is the injury to the spinal cord, which blocks communication between the brain and the rest of the body.
Researchers are now exploring ways to reconnect those signals without repairing the spinal cord itself.
Using Brain Scans to Capture Movement Intent: In a study published today (January 20) in APL Bioengineering by AIP Publishing, scientists from universities in Italy and Switzerland examined whether electroencephalography (EEG) could help link brain activity to limb movement. Their work focused on testing whether this noninvasive technology could read the brain’s movement signals and more…Read more here.
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