Chemistry • Computer science • Condensed matter • Materials • Physics
A visionary perspective of molecular electronics is the use of single molecules as functional entities in electronic devices. In this context, some of the most important components are molecular switches, which are molecules that can be interconverted reversibly between at least two stable states, one for the OFF and one for the ON. In order […]
Let ‘s continue with the story of the development of the loophole-free Bell experiment. As we discussed in the first post, it is possible to prove that the universe is either non-real, meaning that the outcomes of some experiments can only be predicted statistically, or it is non-local, meaning that there are signals that propagate […]
The most prevalent use today of semiconductors is forming them into transistors, the basic electronic building blocks of all “solid-state electronics” and computer microchips. Semiconductors are the most important materials in the burgeoning revolution in computers and other electronic devices today. Such applications also arose, beginning in the 1930s, from the quantum mechanics of the […]
The interactions between moving charges and magnetic fields can be quite complicated; more if we consider the quantum effects. One example is the collection of Hall effects. There are analogues of these effects for spin and the detection of the most sophisticated one in graphene, where, at least, it should not be strong, is something […]
All we know about fire under Earth´s gravity must be questioned in microgravity. In fact, most of the well-known characteristics of fire behavior are driven by the effects of gravity. That´s why the science of combustion in low-gravity environments is an important field of knowledge for NASA studies when evaluating spacecraft safety. And, contrary to […]
Quantum mechanics was founded upon the existence of the wave–particle dualism of light and matter, and the enormous success of quantum mechanics, including the probability interpretation, seems to reinforce the importance of this dualism. But how can a particle be thought of as “really” having wave properties? And how can a wave be thought of […]
The band theory of metals has been subjected to experimental tests many times and is now the accepted model of the behaviour of conductors and insulators. But it has to be modified when it comes to superconductivity. Electrical resistance is due to collisions of the electrons (whether treated as particles or waves) with impurities, imperfections […]
In our previous post, we have discussed the importance of a loophole-free entanglement experiment. Now, we are going to discuss one of the most important loopholes for this kind of experiments, the locality (or communication) loophole . To understand the locality loophole we need to review the Bell’s inequalities experiments one more time. Alice and […]
In 1928, just two years after the formulation of quantum mechanics, the German physicist Arnold Sommerfeld modified the classical free-electron model by treating the electrons according to quantum mechanics. But the new theory still contained the unrealistic assumption that the electrons do not interact with the charged lattice ions except to collide with them. As […]
Electrical energy is now the dominant form of energy consumption in industrialized countries and is an essential element in the operation of many of the devices we use every day. For decades, one of the most poorly understood yet most practical properties of a piece of solid matter was its ability, or lack of ability […]