Quantum entanglement: A simple explanation

Quantum entanglement is a bizarre, counterintuitive phenomenon that explains how two subatomic particles can be intimately linked to each other even if separated by billions of light-years of space. Despite their vast separation, a change induced in one will affect the other.  Related: How quantum entanglement works (infographic) In 1964, physicist John Bell posited that … Read more

Wild New Paper Says ‘Quantum Gravity’ Could Emerge From a Holographic Universe

In the last decades of his life, Albert Einstein hoped to unite his description of gravity with existing models of electromagnetism under a single master theory. It’s a quest that continues to vex theoretical physicists to this day. Two of our best models of reality – Einstein’s general theory of relativity and the laws of … Read more

Does Quantum Mechanics Rule Out Free Will?

A conjecture called superdeterminism, outlined decades ago, is a response to several peculiarities of quantum mechanics: the apparent randomness of quantum events; their apparent dependence on human observation, or measurement; and the apparent ability of a measurement in one place to determine, instantly, the outcome of a measurement elsewhere, an effect called nonlocality. Einstein, who … Read more

New quantum gravity sensor could someday peel away the surfaces of other worlds

To find features like groundwater under Earth‘s surface — or under the surface of another world — scientists can sense the subtle marks those features leave in the planet’s gravitational field. But those measurements aren’t easy to get; you need very sensitive instruments, and even the slightest vibrations can throw off the measurements. Now, a … Read more

Wormholes Could Help Solve an Infamous Black Hole Paradox, Says Fun New Paper

What happens to information after it has passed beyond the event horizon of a black hole? There have been suggestions that the geometry of wormholes might help us solve this vexing problem – but the math has been tricky, to say the least.   In a new paper, an international team of physicists has found … Read more

Encryption meant to protect against quantum hackers is easily cracked

Rainbow, an algorithm that was supposed to protect data from hacking by quantum computers, has been defeated using a standard laptop Technology 8 March 2022 By Matthew Sparkes Encrypted data might be vulnerable to quantum computer hackers SERGII IAREMENKO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Alamy ONE of three cryptography algorithms vying to become a global standard against the looming security … Read more

Fluorescent silk: Quantum dots make silkworms glow in the dark

Nanometre-sized semiconductors extracted from mulberry leaves make silkworms and their silk emit a strong red glow Technology 4 March 2022 By Alex Wilkins A silkworm fluorescing under green light Huan-Ming Xiong Silkworms that eat nanometre-sized particles called quantum dots produce fluorescent silk. Researchers have previously used gene editing to make fluorescent silkworms, but these methods … Read more

Fluorescent silk: Quantum dots make silkworms glow in the dark

Nanometre-sized semiconductors extracted from mulberry leaves make silkworms and their silk emit a strong red glow Technology 4 March 2022 By Alex Wilkins A glowing silkworm Huan-Ming Xiong Silkworms that eat nanometre-sized particles called quantum dots produce glow-in-the-dark silk. Researchers have previously used gene editing to make fluorescent silkworms, but these methods can be costly … Read more

Can quantum mechanics help a UK council plan when to collect bins?

Josie Ford The order of not things Cambridge – of Cambridgeshire, not Massachusetts, before anyone jumps in – is famed as the academic home of Ludwig Wittgenstein, Bertrand Russell and G. E. Moore, three philosophers who did much to elucidate, not to say obfuscate, language, logic and meaning. It is very much in their spirit, … Read more