Pitt researchers create new form of matterMay 21, 2007New substance combines characteristics of superconductors with those of a laser PITTSBURGH -- Physicists at the University of Pittsburgh have demonstrated a new form of matter that melds the characteristics of lasers with those of the world's best electrical conductors. The work introduces a new method of moving energy from one point to another as well as a low-energy means of producing a light beam like that from a laser. The Pitt researchers and their collaborators at the Bell Labs of Alcatel-Lucent in New Jersey detail the process in the May 18 issue of the journal Science. The new state is a solid filled with a collection of energy particles known as polaritons that have been trapped and slowed, explained lead investigator David Snoke, an associate professor in the physics and astronomy department in Pitt's School of Arts and Sciences. Snoke worked with Pitt graduate students Ryan Balili and Vincent Hartwell on the project. Using specially designed optical structures with nanometer-thick layers-which allow polaritons to move freely inside the solid-Snoke and his colleagues captured the polaritons in the form of a superfluid. In superfluids and in their solid counterparts, superconductors, matter consolidates to act as a single energy wave rather than as individual particles. In superconductors, this allows for the perfect flow of electricity. In the new state of matter demonstrated at Pitt-which can be called a polariton superfluid-the wave behavior leads to a pure light beam similar to that from a laser but is much more energy efficient. Traditional superfluids and superconductors require extremely low temperatures, approximately negative 280 and negative 450 degrees Fahrenheit for a superconductor and superfluid, respectively. The polariton superfluid is more stable at higher temperatures, and may be capable of being demonstrated at room temperature in the near future. The Pitt research builds on current efforts in physics laboratories around the world to create materials, which mix the characteristics of superconductors and lasers. Snoke's work provides a new method to trap and manipulate the energy particles. Applied to technology, this technique could provide new ways of controlled transfer of optical signals through solid matter. Snoke's polariton trap was devised with a technique similar to that used for superfluids made of atoms in a gaseous state known as the Bose-Einstein condensate. Three scientists shared the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics for producing the condensate. University of Pittsburgh |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Related Matter Current Events and Matter News Articles Breakthrough for babies born with severe cleft palates after experiments at ISIS Scientists working on a treatment for babies born with cleft palates have made a promising breakthrough and the first clinical trials are planned for early next year. Prescribed burns may help reduce US carbon footprint The use of prescribed burns to manage Western forests may help the United States reduce its carbon footprint. A new study finds that such burns, often used by forest managers to reduce underbrush and protect bigger trees, release substantially less carbon dioxide emissions than wildfires of the same size. Bees see super color at super speed Bees see the world almost five times faster than humans, according to new research from scientists at Queen Mary, University of London. Nurses' Research Settles a Common Cancer Concern: Skin Care Given the complexity of cancer treatment, skin care may seem like a small matter. However, a nurse at the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center knew that skin issues were a constant source of anxiety for many patients receiving radiation therapy, and through research she discovered that routine advice was rooted in myth instead of scientific evidence. Light twists rigid structures in unexpected nanotech finding In findings that took the experimenters three years to believe, University of Michigan engineers and their collaborators have demonstrated that light itself can twist ribbons of nanoparticles. News from Stardust As reported in last week's Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, two most promising candidates for stardust have been identified. Seeking Dark Matter on a Desktop Desktop experiments could point the way to dark matter discovery, complementing grand astronomical searches and deep underground observations. Princeton scientists say Einstein's theory applies beyond the solar system A team led by Princeton University scientists has tested Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity to see if it holds true at cosmic scales. And, after two years of analyzing astronomical data, the scientists have concluded that Einstein's theory, which describes the interplay between gravity, space and time, works as well in vast distances as in more local regions of space. Foiling an Attack on General Relativity Einstein's General Theory of Relativity explains gravity in terms of the curvature of space by mass. Dating from the second decade of the 20th century, after more than 90 years it is still the basis of our understanding of how gravity works to shape the cosmos. Wine vine: Microscopic photography reveals bacteria destroying grape plant cell wall Like a band of detectives surveying the movement of a criminal, researchers using photographic technology have caught at least one culprit in the act. More Matter Current Events and Matter News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||