Articles by Lisa Zyga
Phys.org / Proposed diamond maser could operate at room temperature
(Phys.org)—Before there were lasers, there were masers—devices that operate in the microwave regime and other wavelengths that are longer than those of visible light. But while the first masers were built back in the 1950s, ...
Tech Xplore / Incident of drunk man kicking humanoid robot raises legal questions
A few weeks ago, a drunk man in Japan was arrested for kicking a humanoid robot that was stationed as a greeter at a SoftBank, Corp., store, which develops the robots. According to the police report, the man said he was angry ...
Phys.org / First observation made of quantum-tunneling diffusion of hydrogen atoms on ice
(Phys.org)—As long as the temperature is above absolute zero, gas molecules are always in constant random motion. They may diffuse—or spread out—through three-dimensional space or, in a process called "surface diffusion," ...
Phys.org / One-way sound tunnel offers novel way to control acoustic waves
(Phys.org)—Scientists have designed and built an acoustic one-way tunnel that allows sound to pass through in one direction only while blocking it from passing through in the opposite direction. The tunnel is completely open ...
Phys.org / Small entropy changes allow quantum measurements to be nearly reversed
(Phys.org)—In 1975, Swedish physicist Göran Lindblad developed a theorem that describes the change in entropy that occurs during a quantum measurement. Today, this theorem is a foundational component of quantum information ...
Phys.org / Alloy engineering addresses long-standing problem of semiconductor defects
(Phys.org)—The performance of all of today's electronic devices depends on the quality of the semiconductor materials they're made of. Two of the most important factors that affect a semiconductor's properties are its band ...
Phys.org / 'Golden' silver nanoparticle looks and behaves like gold
(Phys.org)—In an act of "nano-alchemy," scientists have synthesized a silver (Ag) nanocluster that is virtually identical to a gold (Au) nanocluster. On the outside, the silver nanocluster has a golden yellow color, and on ...
Phys.org / Delicately opening a band gap in graphene enables high-performance transistors
(Phys.org)—Electrons can move through graphene with almost no resistance, a property that gives graphene great potential for replacing silicon in next-generation, highly efficient electronic devices. But currently it's very ...
Phys.org / Dark matter hiding in stars may cause observable oscillations
(Phys.org)—Dark matter has never been seen directly, but scientists know that something massive is out there due to its gravitational effects on visible matter. One explanation for how such a large amount of mass appears ...
Phys.org / What's the best way to charge millions of electric vehicles at once?
(Phys.org)—About 350,000 plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) have been sold in the US from 2008—when they first entered the market—to mid-2015. Although EVs still represent a small fraction of the country's 250 million total ...
Phys.org / Most precise test of Lorentz symmetry for the photon finds that the speed of light is indeed constant
(Phys.org)—The laws of physics are the same no matter which direction you're facing or how fast you're moving—it's such an intuitive concept that most people probably don't know that it has a name: Lorentz symmetry. Over ...
Phys.org / Chameleon-inspired stretchable e-skin changes color when touched
(Phys.org)—Researchers at Stanford University have fabricated a stretchable, color-changing, pressure-sensitive material–basically the closest thing yet to an artificial chameleon skin. Touching the new electronic skin (e-skin) ...
Phys.org / New limit to the Church-Turing thesis accounts for noisy systems
(Phys.org)—The question of what a computer is capable of, and what it is not, has intrigued computer scientists since the 1930s, when Alonzo Church and Alan Turing began investigating the capabilities and limits of computers. ...
Phys.org / Entanglement lifetime extended orders of magnitude using coupled cavities
(Phys.org)—Entangled qubits form the basic building blocks of quantum computers and other quantum technologies, but when qubits lose their entanglement, they lose their quantum advantage over classical bits. Unfortunately, ...
Phys.org / Holographic lens printing method could allow printing of telescope lenses in space
(Phys.org)—Researchers have developed a method for printing optical holographic lenses that could greatly simplify their fabrication. Because the method can be performed quickly and easily, it could potentially be used by ...
