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Time-Reversal Phenomenon: In the Quantum Realm, Not Even Time Flows As You Might Expect

New study shows the boundary between time moving forward and backward may blur in quantum mechanics. A team of physicists at the Universities of Bristol, Vienna, the Balearic Islands and the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI-Vienna) has shown how quantum systems can simultaneously evolve along two opposite time arrows — both forward and backward in time. The study, published in the latest issue of Communications Physics, necessitates a rethink of how the flow of time is understood and represented in contexts where quantum laws play a crucial role. For centuries, philosophers and physicists have been pondering the existence…

Beyond Qubits: Cryogenic Chip Is Big Step To Scale Up Quantum Computing

Lead Image: The Cryogenic CMOS chip platform. The chip itself is just below the shining component, which houses the qubits. Credit: University of Sydney Cryogenic chip allows for control of thousands of qubits. Through the Microsoft partnership with the University, Professor David Reilly and colleagues have invented a device that operates at 40 times colder than deep space to directly control thousands of qubits, the building blocks of quantum technology. Scientists and engineers at the University of Sydney and Microsoft Corporation have opened the next chapter in quantum technology with the invention of a single chip that can generate control…

Modern-Day Alchemy: Transforming Sugar Into Hydrocarbons To Power Future Cars

Lead Image: Genetically engineered bacteria can convert glucose into a fatty acid, which can then be transformed into hydrocarbons called olefins. To grow such bacteria, scientists add the microbes to flasks filled with nutrients (the yellow broth) and shake them in an incubator to encourage oxygen flow, as pictured here. Credit: Douglas Levere / University at Buffalo In a new study, genetically engineered E. coli eat glucose, then help turn it into molecules found in gasoline It sounds like modern-day alchemy: Transforming sugar into hydrocarbons found in gasoline. But that’s exactly what scientists have done. In a study in Nature…

Gaining More Through Private Labeling

From pharmaceuticals and cleaning products to groceries, private labeling is a common practice. As a product maker, several benefits of private labeling include greater earnings and less competition, making it a promising opportunity. “Generic” items are not what they appear to be: private labels contend against branded items at a lower price point and are sometimes supplied in bulk. Shop keepers and manufacturers benefit from private labeling through positive ROI, a widespread kind of retailing. What Is Private Labeling? Certain businesses or people will want their items sold under your brand name without acknowledgment if you plan on being a…

Could There Be Alien Life Next Door? Looking for Habitable Planets Around Alpha Centauri

Artist’s illustration of a Super-Earth planet. Credit: NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/Tim Pyle Could life survive around the nearest stars? In collaboration with the Breakthrough Initiative, Saber Astronautics, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Professor Peter Tuthill is leading TOLIMAN, a project to discover if the nearest stars have planets that could support life. A mission to discover new planets potentially capable of sustaining life around Earth’s nearest neighbor, Alpha Centauri, was announced on November 17, 2021. The proposed telescope project will look for planets in the ‘Goldilocks’ zone around the star system just four light-years away, where temperatures could allow for liquid surface…